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Enzo Maresca ‘thankful’ for connection at Leicester ahead of return with ChelseaBy DEE-ANN DURBIN and MANUEL VALDES, Associated Press SEATAC, Washington (AP) — Background music is no longer an afterthought at many airports, which are hiring local musicians and carefully curating playlists to help lighten travelers’ moods . London’s Heathrow Airport built a stage to showcase emerging British performers for the first time this summer. The program was so successful the airport hopes to bring it back in 2025. Nashville International Airport has five stages that host more than 800 performances per year, from country musicians to jazz combos. In the Dominican Republic , Punta Cana International Airport greets passengers with live merengue music. Tiffany Idiart and her two nieces were delighted to hear musicians during a recent layover at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport . “I like it. There’s a lot of people here and they can all hear it,” said Grace Idiart, 9. “If their flight got delayed or something like that, they could have had a hard day. And so the music could have made them feel better.” Airports are also carefully curating their recorded playlists. Detroit Metro Airport plays Motown hits in a tunnel connecting its terminals. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas has a playlist of local artists compiled by an area radio station. Singapore’s Changi Airport commissioned a special piano accompaniment for its giant digital waterfall. Music isn’t a new phenomenon in airport terminals. Brian Eno’s “Music for Airports,” an album released in 1978, helped define the ambient music genre. It’s minimalist and designed to calm. But Barry McPhillips, the head of international creative for Mood Media, which provides music for airports and other public spaces, said technology is enabling background music to be less generic and more tailored to specific places or times of day. Mood Media – formerly known as Muzak – develops playlists to appeal to business travelers or families depending on who’s in the airport at any given time. It might program calmer music in the security line but something more energizing in the duty-free store. “We see it as a soundscape,” McPhillips said. “We design for all of these moments.” There’s a science to Mood Music’s decisions on volume, tempo, even whether to play a song in a major key versus a minor one, he added. “How do we want to affect their mood at that moment?” McPhillips said. “It’s not just like, ‘Here’s a load of songs.’ It’s a load of songs for that 10-minute segment, and then we move to the next 10 minutes.” At the same time, many airports are going low-tech, hiring local musicians to serenade travelers and give them a sense of the place they’re passing through. Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports have more than 100 live performances each year. Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport began a live music program five years ago and now has two stages featuring local artists. Tami Kuiken, the manager of airport music in Seattle, said the Seattle-Tacoma airport launched its live music program about a decade ago after a city commissioner heard live music at the airport in Austin, Texas . “The idea was like, ’Man, why doesn’t Seattle have music? We’re a music city too,” Kuiken said. At first, the airport created a playlist featuring emerging artists along with famous ones like Pearl Jam . Then it decided to try live musicians for a 12-week trial. It was so successful that the airport now features live musicians daily and is building new performance spaces. “People’s anxiety levels are very high when they’re traveling,” Kuiken said. “The feedback that we started getting was that once they got through the checkpoint and they were greeted with music, all of a sudden their anxiety and stress levels dropped.” The programs also benefit musicians, who get paid to perform and gain wider exposure. When Colorado Springs Airport announced a live music program in March, more than 150 musicians applied. It now hosts two two-hour performances each week. David James, a singer and guitarist who plays at Seattle’s airport about once a week, said waking up in time for a daytime gig took some adjustment. But he’s gained new fans from all over the world. “I get really sweet responses from people all the time, saying, ‘That was so soothing to be able to just sit and listen to music in between flights,’” James said. “So it feels like it’s especially therapeutic for people.” Country stars like Blake Shelton and Keith Urban have come through Nashville’s airport and interacted with local musicians, said Stacey Nickens, the airport’s vice president of corporate communications and marketing. Shelton even gave one his guitar. Otto Stuparitz, a musicologist and lecturer at the University of Amsterdam who has studied airport music, said airports should think carefully about their selections. Music that’s meant to be actively listened to – like live music or catchy pop songs – can be very distracting in an already chaotic environment, he said. He has noticed some airports – especially in Europe — turning off piped melodies altogether. But McPhillips said big spaces like airports can feel cold and unwelcoming without background music. “A well-crafted audio strategy is one that people aren’t particularly cognizant of,” he said. “They just know they’re having a good time and that it’s appropriate.” Durbin reported from Detroit.

Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — The Research, Development, and Innovation Authority (RDIA) has announced the launch of its 2025 Research Grants on Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) National Priorities, marking a significant step toward advancing the Kingdom’s research, development, and innovation ecosystem. Applications for the grants are now open, empowering researchers and innovators to deliver pioneering research and innovations that address national priorities while strengthening Saudi Arabia’s leadership in the RDI sector. The 2025 grants are structured into four main programs designed to support various stages of research, development, and innovation. These programs are the Saudi Basic Science Program, the Saudi Applied Research and Technology Program, the Saudi Emerging Investigator Program, and the Flagship Research Program. Together, these programs align with RDI National Priorities : Health and Wellness; Sustainable Environment and Supply of Essential Needs; Energy and Industrial Leadership; and Economies of the Future. The Saudi Basic Science Program aims to explore new scientific frontiers and lay the foundation for future research efforts. It offers grants to support researchers in addressing fundamental challenges and advancing scientific understanding in priority fields. Additionally, it promotes partnerships through research consortium grants, enabling ambitious projects that foster collaboration between institutions and teams. The Saudi Applied Research and Technology Program is dedicated to accelerating applied research innovations and transforming them into practical technological and economic solutions. It includes grants for prototype development, rapid advancement of promising technologies, and strategic partnerships between academia and industry to address market-driven challenges. The Saudi Emerging Investigator Program focuses on nurturing early-career researchers by supporting their first research projects. This program is designed to enable researchers to grow and excel in their fields. The Flagship Research Program is tailored to drive research in critical areas essential to RDI National Priorities. It provides grants for organizations to address pressing challenges, accelerates the commercialization of advanced technologies, and promotes collaborative efforts between academia, industry, and government to tackle multidisciplinary challenges requiring shared expertise. These programs target a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, innovators, faculty members, and specialists at Saudi universities. They also extend to national research centers, endowed chairs, and organizations across government, private, and nonprofit sectors. Entrepreneurs and owners of small and medium-sized tech enterprises are also encouraged to participate. RDIA will monitor participants’ progress based on key performance indicators, including returns from tech startups, patents, awards, investment attraction, research participation, and overall economic and social impacts. RDIA invites individuals, research institutions, companies, and other stakeholders to explore the details of 2025 Research Grants by visiting https://saudiminds . rdia.gov.sa/account/national - priorities < Previous Page Next Page >

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — Jordan Jones scored 20 points as Cent. Conn. St. beat Holy Cross 69-56 on Saturday. Jones added six steals for the Blue Devils (6-3). Abdul Momoh scored 12 points and added three steals. Devin Haid had 12 points and shot 4 for 8, including 3 for 5 from beyond the arc. Max Green led the Crusaders (5-5) in scoring, finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds. Tyler Boston added 13 points and five assists for Holy Cross. Caleb Kenney finished with 12 points, nine rebounds, two steals and three blocks. Cent. Conn. St. took the lead with 6:53 remaining in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 38-25 at halftime, with Haid racking up 12 points. Cent. Conn. St. pulled away with an 11-3 run in the second half to extend a six-point lead to 14 points. They closed out the victory over Holy Cross from there, as Jones led the way with a team-high 14 second-half points. NEXT UP Cent. Conn. St.'s next game is Sunday against Rhode Island on the road, and Holy Cross visits Quinnipiac on Tuesday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .