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Column: In defense of background TV

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

Nina Metz | (TNS) Chicago TribuneNearly half of the top 10 streaming shows in late June were “library” shows. Meaning, shows that originated somewhere else (usually traditional TV) and are now licensed by a streaming platform. The popular shows in June were “Suits,” “S.W.A.T.,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “NCIS.”Looking at that list, journalist-turned-screenwriter Oriana Schwindt made an observation: “People love watching shows with lots of episodes. Shows with strong episodic structure. Make more shows like this.”She’s not wrong.I’m always baffled by the snobbery toward background TV. Streamers prefer to call it “second-screen content,” aka the kind of shows you pick when you’re tired or distracted by your phone — or your kids, or that sink full of dishes you’re washing, or pile of laundry you’re folding.The original run of “Law & Order” is high-quality background TV. It’s formulaic, but that’s a feature, not a bug. The writing is just spirited and smart and novel enough to provide va...

Former Mississippi officers charged with federal civil rights offenses against 2 Black men during home raid

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Former Mississippi officers charged with federal civil rights offenses against 2 Black men during home raid.

Mac Jones ensuring there’s no Patriots QB competition with Bailey Zappe

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

FOXBORO — It would have made for a more interesting summer at Patriots training camp if there was a quarterback competition between Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe, but so far no such battle exists.Jones takes first-team reps. He plays with the starting offensive line. That conversation, at least through a week-plus of training camp, should be over.The Patriots starting quarterback was asked Thursday about avoiding the distraction that has come with the narrative that there would be a QB battle this summer. It was kickstarted at the NFL annual meeting when head coach Bill Belichick wouldn’t specifically name Jones as QB1. Even this week, Belichick made a comment to Sirius XM about his QBs that, “We’ll give them a chance to compete and see how it goes.” When asked a follow up this week asking if Jones will be the “day one starter,” Belichick repeated, “Everybody is out here competing. Everybody is out here competing, that’s what everybody is doing.”Related ArticlesNew England ...

Isiah Kiner-Falefa screamed with joy as the trade deadline passed: ‘Thank god I’m a Yankee’

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

As Tuesday’s 6 p.m. trade deadline neared, Isiah Kiner-Falefa awaited clarity.The Yankees’ utilityman, an impending free agent, had just discussed the anxieties that players feel on deadline day. Suddenly moving, packing, uprooting families and separating from friends and teammates is not easy, no matter how much money you make. And in Kiner-Falefa’s case, he would have had to coordinate care and travel plans for his goldendoodle, Bella.“IKF” didn’t have to do any of that on Tuesday, though. The deadline came and went, and no member of the Yankees’ brass informed him of a trade. He eventually started shouting in excitement.“I didn’t get called into the office,” Kiner-Falefa said Wednesday. “6, 6:15, I was waiting, waiting, waiting…“They didn’t find me. Nothing happened, and it was a sigh of relief, and I just started screaming.”While some players use social media to track trade rumors before th...

What to watch: ‘Heartstopper’ carries the magic to Season 2

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

This week’s releases are full of surprises — from a heartwarming second season of “Heartstopper” to a satisfying animated reboot of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” and more.Here’s our roundup.“Heartstopper Season 2”: Even the most cynical amongst us probably couldn’t resist the charm of this Netflix series that depicts the romantic tale about two very unlike teen boys falling in love. Now the legions of “Hearstopper” fans can take heart, Season 2 has arrived and it’s just as good as the first season, as worrywart Charlie (Joe Locke) and jock Nick (Kit Connor) prepare to take their relationship to another level — announcing to all, including a handful of homophobes at school, that they are indeed a couple. But feeling comfortable and getting the timing right to do so proves challenging in Season 2. Just as Nick musters up the courage to declare that he is bisexual and in a relationship with Charlie, an obstacle gets put into the couple’s path.Based on the graphic novel and webcomic b...

Mayo Clinic Q&A: Cancer of the nerve cells

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

Chloe Corey | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkDEAR MAYO CLINIC: My 4-year-old niece recently was diagnosed with neuroblastoma after not feeling well for a few weeks. Her parents noticed her belly was swollen, so they took her to the doctor after it didn’t resolve on its own. I’d never heard of this form of cancer before. What is neuroblastoma? Do children typically have surgery to treat this cancer? What can we expect?ANSWER: Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer that occurs almost only in children and develops from abnormal nerve cells. It is the most common cancer in babies under 1 year old and makes up nearly 10% of cancers in children. Neuroblastoma often happens in one of the adrenal glands, which sit on top of the kidneys. However, it also can occur in the chest and abdomen near the spine.Sometimes children are born with neuroblastoma, and it can even be detected before birth on an ultrasound. Most commonly, it is found when children have a mass in their abdomen. They al...

Trump is flying to Washington to face charges he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump headed to Washington on Thursday to answer to charges that he worked to overturn the 2020 presidential election, with the former president set to appear in a federal courthouse mere blocks from the U.S. Capitol building that his supporters stormed to try to block the peaceful transfer of power.Trump departed from his New Jersey golf club and boarded a private plane for the flight to Washington. In what’s become a familiar but nonetheless stunning ritual, he will be processed by law enforcement and enter a not guilty plea in front of a judge. He’s expected to then be released as the case proceeds, enabling him to rejoin the campaign trail as he seeks to reclaim the White House in 2024.An indictment Tuesday from Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith charges Trump with four felony counts related to his efforts to undo his presidential election loss in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, including conspiracy to defraud ...

Trump allies who ‘orchestrated’ plan to tamper with voting machines face charges in Michigan

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan attorney involved in multiple efforts around the country to overturn the 2020 election in support of former President Donald Trump has been charged in connection with accessing and tampering with voting machines in Michigan, prosecutors announced Thursday.The charges against Stefanie Lambert come days after Matthew DePerno, a Republican lawyer whom Trump endorsed in an unsuccessful run for Michigan attorney general last year, and former GOP state Rep. Daire Rendon were arraigned in connection with the case. Lambert, DePerno, and Rendon were named by Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office last year as having “orchestrated a coordinated plan to gain access to voting tabulators.” Michigan is one of at least three states where prosecutors say people breached election systems while embracing and spreading Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was stolen.Investigators there say five vote tabulators were illegally taken from three counties and brought to a hote...

Why are actors making movies during the strike? What to know about SAG-AFTRA waivers

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

The actors and writers strikes have resulted in most Hollywood film and television productions being shut down, from the “Gladiator” sequel to the live action “Lilo & Stitch.” But some independent films and television productions are being granted waivers by the union that will allow them to continue, with Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists actors, amid the strike. It’s a move that the union leadership says is an essential negotiating tactic, but that’s also proved divisive and confusing to many sweating it out on the picket lines while movie stars like Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey continue to work.Here’s what to know about the “interim agreements” that are keeping some Hollywood productions filming.WHAT FALLS UNDER THE INTERIM AGREEMENTS?Actors are striking against studios and streaming services that bargain as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. The group’s ranks include the major film studios (Disn...

Missouri budgets $50M for railroad crossings in response to fatal 2022 Amtrak derailment

Published Fri, 14 Feb 2025 00:00:51 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and state transportation officials on Thursday outlined options for spending the first chunk of $50 million budgeted for railroad crossing improvements in an effort to prevent tragedies like last year’s fatal Amtrak derailment.The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that poor design contributed to the derailment in the north-central Missouri town of Mendon , which killed four people and injured 146 others.Recommendations from a $750,000 study unveiled Thursday suggest changes at 47 public rail crossings on three tracks that carry passenger trains throughout Missouri for a total cost of about $18.5 million. Total closure is recommended at 17 crossings, including the Mendon site where the crash occurred. The rest of the $50 million is planned for improvements at freight train crossings. The 27 crossings slated for improvements do not have lights, barriers or other alerts to warn drivers when a train is approaching. T...