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Report: Taylor Swift gifts $100K bonuses to truck drivers on 'Eras Tour'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:52 GMT

Taylor Swift was generous with the truck drivers responsible for hauling her equipment over the country for "The Eras Tour" — gifting each driver with a $100,000 check, according to TMZ.She passed out the checks before her Saturday show in Santa Clara. Her U.S. tour wraps up Aug. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.In addition to the drivers, TMZ reported that other people involved in the tour, including dancers, sound technicians and more, received a "very generous amount" of bonuses.Swift brought an economic boost to Chicago during her three-day stay at Soldier Field. According to Bloomberg, hotel occupancy averaged 96.8%. ‘Sooooo epic:’ Taylor Swift’s message to Chicago fans after Soldier Field concerts “Chicago that was sooooo epic. Playing 3 nights at Soldier Field and getting to sing ‘You All Over Me’ with Maren Morris who I adore. You guys were so much fun to play for, I love you,” Swift wrote on Twitter after the Chicago shows.Beginning on Aug. 27 in Mexico City, Swift begins...

Cedar Point reveals new record-breaking coaster

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:52 GMT

SANDUSKY, Ohio (WJW) - Calling all thrill seekers! Cedar Point has done it, again.The Roller Coaster Capital of the World announced that in 2024 they will debut "Top Thrill 2."Roller coaster experts say the new ride will be "the world’s tallest and fastest triple-launch strata roller coaster."So, how does it compare to the original Top Thrill Dragster? Outdoor waterparks in Ohio: Big and small Whereas the Top Thrill dragster had a single 120-mile-an-hour launch point, this new coaster will have three launches, the second being a backward launch at 101 miles-per-hour, the final one catapulting riders to speeds of 128 miles-per-hour. It will include a 90-degree verticle climb of 420 feet, equalling the height of the original Top Thrill Dragster.Courtesy: Cedar PointCourtesy: Cedar PointCourtesy: Cedar PointCourtesy: Cedar PointThe step-by-step breakdown, as described by the experts at Cedar Point:At the start, riders will peel out down the straightaway reaching speeds of 74 mph, rac...

'Very loud' NASA research flyover lifts off; flight path released

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:52 GMT

CHICAGO — The NASA aircraft took off Tuesday morning for a "very loud" flight over the Chicago area for research purposes.According to Flight Aware, NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center’s DC-8 aircraft took off from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base at around 9:50 a.m.The proposed flight path is also on Flight Aware. The aircraft will fly up through Indiana and may be over southern Lake County before flying in a rectangle pattern through the south suburbs.The aircraft will then fly into the city — flying through parts of the South Side, West Side and Northwest Side before heading to southern Wisconsin.It will then fly over parts of the northern suburbs and back into the city. According to Flight Aware, the aircraft will fly across parts of the West Side again and Lincoln Park.It is scheduled to land at 6:18 p.m. Previous: NASA warns Chicago area residents of 'very loud' jet flyover for data research NASA is warning residents that it will be flying at a low-altitude. It will also ...

Zoo in China denies that bear in viral video is just a human wearing a costume

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:52 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – A zoo in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou has been forced to deny that its bears are just human beings in elaborate costumes after a video clip showing one of the animals went viral.Internet users reportedly began joking about the legitimacy of the Hangzhou Zoo’s bears after photos of the animal — a sun bear — began circulating on social media, the Associated Press reported. What happens to animals who die at the zoo? Video clips of the Hangzhou Zoo’s bear exhibit also began popping up on China's popular Weibo social-media platform, showing one of the bears standing on its hind legs. An accumulation of furry skin on the hind area of the bear led to further observations that the bear’s “butt folds” looked like “wrinkled” leather pants, some Weibo users said.“Imagine you get a job at the zoo and you have to be the sun bear,” a Twitter user joked, commenting on a post that noted how “lanky and uncanny” the sun bear appears compared to other bear species.Sun bears are ...

Why is gas getting expensive again? You can blame the weather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:52 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Temperatures around the country aren't the only numbers reaching new heights. Gas prices are also heating up, reaching a nationwide average of $3.76 per gallon on Monday, according to AAA. The situation is way worse out West. In California, the average is $5. Washington isn't far behind at $4.95. Gas prices typically rise in the summer, but the heat is making it even worse this year, industry experts say. The cheapest day of the week to fill up on gas, according to experts "You've got a lot of refineries that are coughing and wheezing. They're not really geared to run with 10 or 15 days with 100-degree temperatures in a row," explained Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at OPIS, in an interview with NBC News. When refineries don't run at their full capacity, less and less gasoline is produced. A tighter supply naturally means higher prices. The biggest drop in production has been at refineries on the West Coast, USA Today reports. Here’s how to predict when g...

You'll need this overlooked piece of info to file a Facebook settlement claim

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:52 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Facebook users and ex-Facebook users still have time to file a claim in the $725 million settlement the social media company has agreed to pay eligible Americans. But in order to do so, people will need one hidden piece of information: a Facebook username. Filling out a claim is quick and easy, especially if you do it online, and most of the questions on the form won't trip you up (name, address, etc.) – until you get toward the bottom, and need to enter your Facebook username. Time running out to file for $725M Facebook settlement: How to claim your payment Unlike on other social media platforms, like Instagram or Twitter, your Facebook username isn't obvious right off the bat. You'll need to dig for it a bit on your profile. The first and easiest way is by going to your Facebook profile on a web browser. When looking at your profile, check out the URL at the top of the page. It should read something like "facebook.com/jdoe." In this (fake) person's case, jdoe would ...

GM recalling hundreds of vehicles over potentially exploding Takata air bag inflators

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:52 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is recalling nearly 900 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada with Takata air bag inflators that could explode and hurl shrapnel in a crash.The recall covers certain Chevrolet Camaro, Sonic and Volt vehicles as well as the Buick Verano, all from the 2013 model year. Some 2013 Chevrolet Trax versions in Canada also are included.The company says in documents posted Tuesday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the driver's front air bag inflator can explode in a crash due to a manufacturing defect.The inflators are among a group made by Takata that is under investigation by the agency but has not previously been recalled.Takata used volatile ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate air bags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate over time and explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and spewing shrapnel.At least 26 people have been killed in the U.S. by the inflators since May of 2009, and more t...

Need parenting advice to keep your cool this summer? Family therapist shares works with her kids

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:52 GMT

(KXAN) -- As kids wind down the last few days before heading back to school, a family therapist has this advice for parents: stay flexible during the rest of summer break, but communicate often with your kids.“My recommendation is that families get together, it doesn't have to be every day, but for some families, you make a game plan and you call it that," Dr. Erika Bocknek explained. "You talk about the general course of what the day is going to look like, but you make it clear through your language, ‘we stay flexible.’ Unexpected events come up and when they do we can handle them together."Dr. Erika Bocknek helps families all over the country as a Marriage and Family Therapist specializing in the parent-child relationship and has intensive training in early child development.One topic Dr. Bocknek suggests parents should not be so flexible about is waiting to talk about safety.“Please think about this with older kids and teens who are going to be having a lot of autonomous time in ...

With ‘Romeo & Juliet,’ Mixed Precipitation delivers opera with Fleetwood Mac

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:52 GMT

Mixed Precipitation brings its annual touring opera production to parks, nature centers and farms around Minnesota after opening “Romeo & Juliet” last weekend at Theodore Wirth Regional Park in Minneapolis.The production mashes together “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” (“The Capulets and the Montagues”) by Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini, with modern music by bands that have had lasting feuds. Fleetwood Mac — a band notorious for its long-lasting animosity between musicians Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, has a prominent presence in the score, as does the work of the Fugees and former member Lauryn Hill, among others.Bellini and his librettist, Felice Romani, didn’t base “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” on Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Instead, it’s sourced from a different opera that is based on a play based on a novella. That novella, by Luigi Da Porta, was expanded upon by a different Italian novelist, then translated into a long narrative poem by English poet Arth...

Gov. Hochul to make housing announcement in Amsterdam

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:18:52 GMT

AMSTERDAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Governor Kathy Hochul is in Amsterdam, at the New Amsterdam Apartments Tuesday to make a housing announcement. The announcement is expected to start at 11:30 a.m.