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Looking for a refill? McDonald’s is saying goodbye to self-serve soda in the coming years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Say goodbye to refilling that Coke. McDonald’s is getting rid of self-served soda.The Chicago-based fast food chain plans to eliminate self-service soda machines at its U.S. restaurants by 2032, McDonald’s confirmed this week. It’s unclear if locations outside the U.S. will follow suit.In an email to The Associated Press Tuesday, McDonald’s USA said the goal of the change is to create consistency for customers and crew members across the chain’s offerings — from in-person dining to online delivery and drive-thru options.The company did not specify if any additional factors — such as finances or sanitation — impacted the decision to part ways with its self-serve machines. For years, McDonald’s customers have used the machines to fill and refill their beverages without additional trips to a cashier.Behind-the-counter soda machines already exist at some other fast food chains — and a handful of McDonald&#...

Apple’s new iPhones get faster chips, better cameras and new charging ports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:00 GMT

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE (AP Technology Writer)CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) — Apple on Tuesday unveiled its next generation of iPhones — a line-up that will boast better cameras, faster processors, a new charging system and a price hike for the fanciest model.The showcase at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., comes as the company tries to reverse a mild slump that has seen its sales drop from last year in three consecutive quarters. The malaise is a key reason Apple’s stock price has dipped by nearly 10% since mid-July, dropping the company’s market value below the $3 trillion threshold it reached for the first time earlier this summer.Investors apparently were not impressed with what Apple rolled out Tuesday. The company’s shares were down by nearly 2% during afternoon trading.As has been case with Apple and other smartphone makers, the four types of iPhone 15 models aren’t making any major leaps in technology. But Apple added enough new bells ...

Patriots WR Kayshon Boutte moving past 4th-down error with this advice

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:00 GMT

For a moment, it appeared the Patriots’ comeback hopes had remained alive when Mac Jones connected with Kayshon Boutte along the left sideline on fourth down.But it was ultimately the final play. A video review confirmed that the rookie wide receiver only got one foot in bounds on the catch, sealing the Patriots’ season-opening loss to the Eagles.It was the second time that Boutte – the Patriots’ sixth-round rookie receiver – had failed to get his two feet in bounds necessary for a completion in his NFL debut on Sunday. It was a costly mistake, but a valuable teaching moment as he begins his career.“It’s definitely something that can be worked on,” Patriots wide receivers coach Ross Douglas said. “We have a whole ball drill routine that we do, and that’s something definitely that will be added and more emphasized. It’s his first game as a professional football player, he’s coming from college football where he only needed one foot down to have it be a complete pass and now you gotta...

Popular nasal decongestant doesn’t actually relieve congestion, FDA advisers say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:00 GMT

By MATTHEW PERRONE (AP Health Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The leading decongestant used by millions of Americans looking for relief from a stuffy nose is no better than a dummy pill, according to government experts who reviewed the latest research on the long-questioned drug ingredient.Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Tuesday against the effectiveness of the key drug found in popular versions of Sudafed, Allegra, Dayquil and other medications stocked on store shelves.“Modern studies, when well conducted, are not showing any improvement in congestion with phenylephrine,” said Dr. Mark Dykewicz, an allergy specialist at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.The FDA assembled its outside advisers to take another look at phenylephrine, which became the main drug in over-the-counter decongestants when medicines with an older ingredient — pseudoephedrine — were moved behind pharmacy counters. A 2006 law had forced the mov...

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers has a torn left Achilles tendon and will miss the rest of the season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:00 GMT

Aaron Rodgers has a torn left Achilles tendon and the 39-year-old New York Jets quarterback will miss the rest of the season, coach Robert Saleh announced Tuesday.An MRI revealed the four-time NFL MVP’s injury, confirming what the Jets feared after their 22-16 overtime win over Buffalo on Monday night. Saleh said Rodgers will have season-ending surgery, but he wasn’t certain when that would occur.Torn Achilles tendons typically take several months of recovery due to the extensive rehabilitation needed.On his fourth regular-season snap in a Jets uniform, Rodgers tried to avoid a rushing Leonard Floyd, who wrapped up the quarterback and spun him down to the MetLife Stadium turf. Rodgers stood up after a few moments, looked over to the Jets’ sideline and then sat on the turf — seemingly knowing he was seriously hurt.He needed help from trainers to get to New York’s sideline, where he was taken to the blue medical tent to be examined. Rodgers then got on a cart to go t...

Hurricane Lee to weaken as it approaches Maritimes, but will still pack a punch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:00 GMT

HALIFAX — Hurricane Lee is expected to lash parts of the Maritimes with strong winds and heavy rain this weekend, but the Canadian Hurricane Centre says much of its strength will be sapped by cooler sea-surface temperatures as it moves north.By early Tuesday afternoon, the Category 3 hurricane was about 900 kilometres south of Bermuda, churning out winds at 185 kilometres per hour. The slow-moving storm was forecast to make a turn to the north on Wednesday and then accelerate toward Canada.The hurricane centre in Halifax issued a statement Tuesday saying the approaching storm is expected to slow the progress of the front of an air mass, increasing the risk of heavy rain over the Maritimes on Thursday and Friday.“As of now, western Nova Scotia has the higher possibility of impacts, which is worth noting since that region wasn’t impacted by recent storms like Dorian (in 2019) and Fiona (in 2022),” the statement said, referring to powerful post-tropical storms that ma...

Serial killer and former police officer Anthony Sully dies on death row at a California prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:00 GMT

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) — A former California police officer turned serial killer who was on death row after being convicted of murdering six people in the 1980s has died of natural causes, authorities said. Anthony Sully, 79, died Friday at a medical facility outside the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, where he had been housed for decades, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.The Marin County Coroner’s Office will determine Sully’s official cause of death, the department said in a news release Monday.Sully was sentenced to death in June 1986 for the slayings of Kathryn Barrett, 24; Barbara Searcy, 22; Gloria Jean Fravel, 24; Brendan Oakden, 19; Michael Thomas, 24; and Phyllis Melendez, 20.The victims were beaten, stabbed and shot inside an electrical supply warehouse in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1983. Three of the bodies were found stuffed into barrels dumped at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, the San Jose Mercury News reported. Detect...

FBI investigates cybersecurity issue at MGM Resorts while casinos and hotels stay open across US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:00 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Casino operator MGM Resorts International said Tuesday that resorts are open and an investigation is continuing after what it called a “cybersecurity issue” led to the shutdown of computer systems at company properties across the U.S.The FBI characterized the investigation as ongoing but Special Agent Mark Neria, spokesperson for the bureau in Las Vegas, said no additional information is available.Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts said the event started Sunday and that it shut down “certain systems” in efforts to protect data. It did not call it a cyberattack or specify which systems were affected. It said reservations and casino floors in Las Vegas and states including Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York and Ohio were affected.Late Monday, the company posted a statement saying that “resorts, including dining, entertainment and gaming are currently operational” and that “guests remain able to access their hotel rooms and our front de...

New TIFF documentary shines a light on boil water advisories across Indigenous communities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:00 GMT

A documentary that sheds light on the unclean water crisis in Indigenous communities across the country is premiering this week in TIFF.The film, Boil Alert, directed by Stevie Salas and James Burns takes viewers on a journey with Layla Staats, an artist and activist from Six Nations of the Grand River.Six Nations is located around two hours away from where the Toronto Film Festival is, yet some of the community is still facing the struggle of unclean drinking water.The film follows Staats as she investigates these issues surrounding unsafe water in Indigenous communities across Turtle Island.“I’m so excited for the world to hear these stories, these voices, and I can’t wait for people to take It in, for people to understand and for it to change them, like it changed me,” Staats told CityNews in an interview.Throughout the documentary, Staats is also on a journey of reclaiming her identity as a Mohawk woman.“I grew up in an urban town and very disconnec...

New Mexico Democratic attorney general won’t defend suspension of right to publicly carry guns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:00 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Some demonstrators defiantly carried holstered handguns on their hips in a Tuesday rally by gun-rights advocates, protesting Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s surprise order last week to suspend the right to carry firearms to address what she called an epidemic of gun violence.The rally unfolded on Albuquerque’s Civic Plaza shortly before New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced he cannot defend the governor’s public health order on firearms, exposing a divide between the state’s top-ranked elected Democrats. In his letter to Lujan Grisham, Torrez said that although he agrees a debate is needed on the impact of gun violence, it cannot be rebranded a public health emergency to justify a blanket 30-day prohibition against carrying firearms. He urged the governor to consider whether her time would be better spent on developing comprehensive legislation. “While I understand that frustration may have led you to undertake a unilateral approa...