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What is a Therme? Massive spa resort considering DC site aims to be ‘antithesis to the metaverse’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:42 GMT

Last month, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced D.C. had inked a deal with a company seeking to build a massive $500 million complex in the District. No, it’s not for a new Commander’s stadium or swanky hotel.The agreement is with an Austrian-based company that hopes to build an indoor spa and water park the size of 10 baseball fields somewhere in the nation’s capital.The exclusive deal Bowser announced called for a one-year period in which the Therme Group would only consider locations in D.C. — not anywhere else in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia or Pennsylvania — for its next “Therme” spa.D.C. officials hail the potential project as a key part of D.C.’s “comeback” from post-pandemic economic uncertainty and the idea has support from some local business leaders.But, a month into the exclusive agreement, WTOP’s DMV Download podcast digs into the deal: Just what is a Therme? Where is there space to build o...

DC United’s Benteke, Miller selected to MLS All-Star roster that will face Arsenal

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Reigning league MVP Hany Mukhtar and teammate Walker Zimmerman from Nashville, LAFC scoring leader Dénis Bouanga and top newcomer Giorgos Giakoumakis highlight the 26-player roster for the Major League Soccer All-Star Game.The MLS All-Stars announced Tuesday will face Premier League powerhouse Arsenal on July 19 in Washington.The 26-player roster consists of 12 players voted into the game by a combination of fans, players and media, 12 selected by D.C. United and All-Star head coach Wayne Rooney and two commissioners’ selections.FC Cincinnati, currently leading the Supporters’ Shield standings with 43 points, has the most selections of any club with three — midfielder Luciano Acosta and defenders Álvaro Barreal and Matt Miazga.A total of 17 different clubs will be represented in the All-Star Game and 19 of the 26 players are first-time selections.After winning his first MVP last season, Mukhtar leads the league with 13 goals in 20 matches played for Nashville. HeR...

Bayern Munich and Qatar end sponsorship deal which riled fans

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:42 GMT

MUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich and Qatar Airways said Wednesday they are ending a sponsorship deal which caused tension between the German soccer champion and its fans.Bayern and the Qatari state-owned airline said in a joint statement that the sponsorship “ends by mutual agreement on 30 June 2023 after five very exciting years together.” Bayern’s players wore the Qatar Airways logo on their sleeves and regularly traveled to Qatar for winter training camps, including one in January this year.Fan groups critical of the human rights record of the 2022 World Cup host nation had campaigned not to renew the deal when it expired at the end of the season.Bayern fans booed the club’s directors at the club’s 2021 annual general meeting when officials refused to allow a vote on the sponsorship deal. Bayern management defended the sponsorship by saying that it had helped to bring positive change to Qatar, which was heavily criticized ahead of the World Cup for the conditions of migran...

Some Dutch people seeking euthanasia cite autism or intellectual disabilities, researchers say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:42 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Several people with autism and intellectual disabilities have been legally euthanized in the Netherlands in recent years because they said they could not lead normal lives, researchers have found. The cases included five people younger than 30 who cited autism as either the only reason or a major contributing factor for euthanasia, setting an uneasy precedent that some experts say stretches the limits of what the law originally intended. In 2002, the Netherlands became the first country to allow doctors to kill patients at their request if they met strict requirements, including having an incurable illness causing “unbearable” physical or mental suffering. Between 2012 and 2021, nearly 60,000 people were killed at their own request, according to the Dutch government’s euthanasia review committee. To show how the rules are being applied and interpreted, the committee has released documents related to more than 900 of those people, most of whom were older and had c...

Costco sigue el ejemplo de Netflix: entérate qué hará para evitar que compartas tu membresía, según CNBC

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:42 GMT

Costco parece estar siguiendo el ejemplo de Netflix.El minorista está tomando medidas enérgicas contra las personas que ingresan a escondidas a sus clubes y tratan de comprar con las tarjetas de membresía de otras personas.Costco dijo que siempre ha pedido a los compradores sus tarjetas de membresía en las cajas registradoras cuando pagan. Ahora, también solicita ver tarjetas con una foto en las cajas de autopago, y ver una identificación con foto si la tarjeta de membresía de un comprador no la tiene.“No creemos que sea correcto que los no miembros reciban los mismos beneficios y precios de quienes sí lo son”, dijo la compañía en un comunicado.Costco, que ofrece un servicio de membresía a sus clientes, dijo que ha notado un abuso mayor del uso de tarjetas compartidas desde que expandió el servicio de autopago a más supermercados. CNBC: el icónico combo de hot dog a $1.50 de Costco se convierte en una camiseta viral Más cara: Sam’...

Los surcoreanos se vuelven más jóvenes de la noche a la mañana después de que el país desechara la “edad coreana”

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:42 GMT

Seúl, Corea del Sur (CNN) — Más de 51 millones de personas en Corea del Sur se despertaron este miércoles siendo uno o dos años más jóvenes, al menos, de acuerdo con la ley.Según la legislación que entró en vigencia este miércoles, “todas las áreas judiciales y administrativas” en el país de Asia oriental adoptarán el sistema de “edad internacional” utilizado en la mayor parte del mundo, poniendo fin a años de debate sobre los problemas causados por el uso anteriormente común de la “edad coreana” y “edad del calendario”.La estandarización de las edades “reducirá diversas confusiones y disputas sociales”, dijo Lee Wan-kyu, ministro de Legislación Gubernamental, en una conferencia de prensa este lunes.También se espera que la ley, aprobada por el Parlamento de Corea del Sur en diciembre pasado, “reduzca en gran medida los costos sociales que han sido innecesarios debido al uso mixto de los estándares de edad”, dijo Lee, y agregó que esta había sido una im...

Travelers, experts react to severe weather conditions causing major travel problems at MIA

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:42 GMT

In the face of relentless severe weather conditions across the country, travelers at Miami International Airport (MIA) have been grappling with significant disruptions to their flights, leading to frustration and inconvenience. From endless delays to exhausted passengers resorting to sleeping on airport floors, the impact of these weather-related challenges has been extensive.Since Saturday, the nation’s airlines have been forced to cancel over 6,000 flights, with an additional 32,000 experiencing delays. Such statistics reflect the magnitude of the travel woes that have beset airports nationwide, leaving passengers stranded and longing for their intended destinations.Zachary Navit, a weary traveler, voiced his exasperation as he mentioned he barely got sleep while he awaited his flight.“It’s certainly been a test of patience, frustrating in many ways,” he said.Edwar Barajona, another traveler caught in the chaos, described scenes of long queues, distressed c...

‘Tragic’ Brexit has hipster beer boss crying into his pints

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:42 GMT

Brexit has brought “zero benefit” to businesses in the U.K., the boss of a major beer chain lamented Wednesday.James Watt, CEO of Brewdog — known for its in-your-face marketing and bars with kids play equipment in them — told Bloomberg that Britain’s exit from the EU has “had a significant negative impact on our business,” and made getting beer to its customers in Europe “significantly more difficult.”“For me, it’s just massively handicapped U.K. companies that do business in Europe, with zero benefit at all,” he added.“I think it’s been tragic for U.K. business and a lot of the economic issues the U.K. is facing — more inflation than other places, being harder to do business, is a result of the catastrophic decision to leave the EU. It’s really crippled businesses in the U.K,” Watt said.Brewdog is headquartered in Ellon, near Aberdeen in Scotland. It has experienced a rough ride over the past year, ...

Police killing of teen sparks rage in Paris

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:42 GMT

PARIS — French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin called Wednesday “for calm and for the truth of the judicial investigation” after protests erupted in the Paris suburb over the fatal police shooting of a local teenager.The death of the 17 year old, named as Naël M., has triggered outrage in France and reignited questions over the appropriate use of force by police officers.In video footage that emerged on social media, a police officer is seen pointing a gun at the driver of a car during a traffic stop before a gunshot is heard and the car crashes shortly after. The teen died of gunshot wounds to the chest, despite efforts from the rescue services to resuscitate him. The incident took place Tuesday in Nanterre, in the western Paris suburbs, not far from La Défense business district. The officer who is accused of shooting Naël M. has been detained on voluntary homicide charges.The incident sparked unrest and protests in Nanterre and the surrounding suburbs Tuesday night. Thirty-one p...

Explained: Europe’s new data law

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:12:42 GMT

Industrial manufacturers in Europe sense the opportunity of big data — but Brussels is about to change the rules on how to tap into it.European Union legislators struck a deal Tuesday evening on a landmark bill that aims to regulate who can access and share data generated by connected machines and devices, both on the work floor and at home.The new law is a response to the untapped potential of industrial data in Europe, as 80 percent of machine or device-generated data is never used. The slow pace of its data economy is a threat to Europe’s industrial base — where the Continent still holds considerable sway — and data will be key for the deployment of artificial intelligence technologies in coming years.The EU’s Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton warned last week that underusing industrial data is “holding back its huge potential for growth and innovation.”Still, Europe’s effort to regulate itself into a thriving industrial data economy has gained little attention. T...