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Rosh Hashanah: Explaining the celebration

Sunday is the start of the Jewish New Year as Rosh Hashanah begins at sunset.Rosh Hashanah marks the first day of the “10 Days of Repentance,” where Jewish people acknowledge their sins of the previous year and are judged for their sins by God. The 10 days end with Yom Kippur, which is the “Day of Repentance” and constitutes the holiest Jewish holiday. Those attending synagogue services will hear the sound of a ram’s horn being blown. In all, the ceremonial horn (called a shofar) is blown 100 times. It is the only Jewish holiday that is two days long both outside and inside Israel. Rosh Hashanah ends at sunset on Tuesday. 

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Season 45 of ‘SNL’ premieres

“Saturday Night Live” is returning for Season 45, tapping all-time “SNL” great Eddie Murphy along with David Harbour of “Stranger Things” and Phoebe Waller-Bridge of “Fleabag.” The biggest name, however, could be Taylor Swift, who will make her third appearance as a musical guest on the season’s second show. Murphy, making his first return to “SNL” since hosting in December 1984, will headline the final show of 2019 on Dec. 21. Woody Harrelson, making his fourth hosting visit, will open the NBC late-night institution’s season on Saturday as “SNL” continues its recent practice of broadcasting the series live throughout the country. 

Free admission to National Parks!

National parks across the country are waiving entrance fees Saturday for National Public Lands Day. There’s a national park in every state, and while not every park charges admission, the fee-free days are designed to encourage visitors to see some of the country’s highest-profile parks, from Arizona’s Grand Canyon to California’s Yosemite and Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. Also among the National Park Service’s 418 sites across the country are Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina, Zion National Park in Utah and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. 

College football powerhouses hope to avoid slipups

The college football schedule picks up steam this weekend with key showdowns to keep an eye on. Ohio State getting trounced by a random Big Ten school has become a fall tradition, and this week the No. 6-rated Buckeyes visit Nebraska. Can the Cornhuskers pull off a shocker? Elsewhere, No. 7 Auburn, No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 17 Washington face games that could profoundly impact the College Football Playoff race. Before settling in for a Saturday of football, see who our experts think will win in every matchup involving a ranked team. 

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SportsPulse: Death, taxes and Ohio State getting trounced by a random Big Ten school has become a fall tradition. As Paul Myerberg prognosticates, the Buckeyes should be on high alert against Nebraska.
USA TODAY

Take to the skies at Disney World

The long-awaited aerial transportation system at the Walt Disney World megaresort is set to take flight Sunday. Disney Skyliner, a state-of-the-art aerial gondola system, is the latest addition to one of the largest private transportation systems in the U.S., according to the Associated Press. In any given 24 hours, 350,000 people — the population of a medium-size city — can be on Disney World property, which is the physical size of San Francisco. The system will connect the Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme parks to four resort hotels. “There are a lot of benefits to being in the air,” said Alison Armor, vice president of transportation at Disney World. “People are off the roadways. They’re moving very smoothly and very seamlessly.”   

Contributing: Associated Press