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School supplies reach record-high costs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:02 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Consumers are expected to spend record amounts on school supply shopping this year, according to the National Retail Federation.Fifty-five percent of people had all of their supplies bought before July, according to the NRF.So, how much did they spend?The National Retail Federation said families with children in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $890.07 on back-to-school items per child. That’s a record high that was set just last year. 5 new laws will expand medical accessibility More than half, 54%, of families are very concerned that rising costs might prevent them from buying all the items their kids need, according to Savings.com.There has been a ton of free school supply distributions across the metro. There was one in Douglas County last month. Ashley Sommers with the Foundation for Douglas County Schools said these events are crucial. “[We're] doing what we can do to relieve some of that financial tension. Giving them those basic ki...

MDPD Director Freddy Ramirez, wife release joint statement following suicide attempt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:02 GMT

According to the Miami Herald, Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez and his wife Jody Ramirez released a statement following a hotel incident in Tampa that led to a highway shooting.In the statement director Ramirez and his wife thanked those who sent their best wishes. The statement goes on to say at no time was there physical aggression between the two.According to the statement released to the Herald, the two also deny that Ramirez pulled out a gun inside the JW Marriott prior to being put in handcuffs.A police report and body camera video provide some details into the interaction between Tampa officers and Ramirez hours before he tried to take his own life.In the drive back to Miami, Ramirez, called Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to offer his resignation and then wounded himself with a gunshot to the head. The statement also revealed that Jody saved his life by grabbing Ramirez’s arm while he shot himself which led to the injury not being fatal.The st...

NASA successfully conducts Artemis II capsule recovery test off California coast in preparation for moon mission

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:02 GMT

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (WSVN) — NASA is gearing up for its next mission to the moon, Artemis II, by conducting crucial tests off the California coast in preparation for the scheduled launch next year.Among the comprehensive training exercises is a focus on safely extracting astronauts after they land in the Pacific Ocean and recovering the Orion crew module. Recently, the first capsule recovery test for Artemis II was carried out, and it proved to be a resounding success.Commanding Officer Captain Doug Langenberg of the USS John P. Murtha, which participated in the test, expressed his pride in being part of this historic event. “It was special to be a part of this; it’s a history-making event is what I told the crew,” said Captain Langenberg. “There were a few moments there when they were making the countdown to capsule splashdown where you can really kind of feel how it would feel if the Orion was coming back.”The “crew module test article,̶...

Trump taunts defeated US women’s national football team

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:02 GMT

There’s a clear culprit behind the shock ouster of the United States from the ongoing Women’s World Cup, at least in the mind of Donald Trump: President Joe Biden.The top-ranked American women were defeated Sunday on penalty kicks by Sweden in the tournament’s round of 16, the earliest exit ever for the U.S. team. Trump, the former president and top-of-the-polls candidate for the 2024 Republican White House nomination, wrote on his social media platform Sunday night that “the ‘shocking and totally unexpected’ loss by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to Sweden is fully emblematic of what is happening to the our once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden.”There’s a clear culprit behind the shock ouster of the United States from the ongoing Women’s World Cup, at least in the mind of Donald Trump: President Joe Biden.The top-ranked American women were defeated Sunday on penalty kicks by Sweden in the tournament’s round of 16, the earliest exit ever for the U.S. team. Trump, the former presid...

Romania decries ‘cynical’ Russian grain infrastructure attacks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:02 GMT

Romania is working to find more ways to help transport Ukrainian grain, the country’s foreign minister said Monday, describing the security situation in the Black Sea region as “quite serious.” More than half of Ukrainian exports using the EU’s solidarity lanes — corridors set up to facilitate transit by road, rail and inland waterway — came through Romania. The European Commission has estimated that more than 65 percent of the grain exported via solidarity lanes in June traveled along the Danube corridor. Russia pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative last month, fueling fears about the future of Ukraine’s grain exports and impact on food security. Over the past weeks, Kremlin forces have repeatedly attacked Ukrainian grain storage infrastructure, including on the Danube river — close to Romanian territory — raising further concerns about how Ukraine can get its products to world markets. Speaking to POLITICO, Romanian Foreign Minister Luminița-Teodora Odob...

3 killed when firefighting helicopters collide in Southern California, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:02 GMT

CABAZON, Calif. (AP) — Three people were killed when two firefighting helicopters collided in Southern California on Sunday while fighting a blaze in Riverside County.One of the helicopters landed safely. “Unfortunately, the second helicopter crashed and tragically all three members perished, which included one Cal Fire Division chief, one Cal Fire captain and one contract client pilot,” Cal Fire Southern Region Chief David Fulcher said during a news conference early Monday.Fulcher did not identify the victims.Cal Fire and Riverside County Fire Department resources had been dispatched to a structure fire near the intersection of Broadway Street and South Ronda Avenue in the community of Cabazon, Fulcher said. That blaze spread into the surrounding vegetation and a full wildland fire dispatch was initiated, which included fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.While battling the blaze, the two helicopters collided. The crash caused an additional 4-acre (1.6-hectare) fire, which was exti...

After long delays, new cannabis businesses are opening in Illinois with a vow to help others along the way

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:02 GMT

Five years after starting the process, Dan Pettigrew finally has opened his first cannabis store in Illinois.Pettigrew is the co-founder of Viola CHI with former NBA star Al Harrington, following years of operation by Viola Brands in Colorado, Michigan and other states.But Illinois was much harder to break into. Controversy and lawsuits over the application process delayed new licenses. Then a perfect storm of supply chain breakdowns, high costs and interests rates combined with poor stock market performance to drive investors away.As a result, newcomers have struggled to open here while state laws have allowed large multistate operators to keep the market largely to themselves, resulting in the highest prices in the nation.“There’s this pie-in-the-sky notion that everybody’s gonna get rich,” Pettigrew said. “There will be a lot of wealth created, but it’s expensive and competitive and extremely challenging.”Existing medical cannabis growers...

Bob Marley’s daughter is lauded as the ‘fairy godmother’ of the Jamaican women’s team

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:02 GMT

By ANNE M. PETERSON (AP Sports Writer)MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The daughter of reggae legend Bob Marley is something of a “fairy godmother” for the Jamaica team playing in its second Women’s World Cup.Cedella Marley has been a tireless advocate and fundraiser for the Reggae Girlz and helped rescue the team after it was disbanded in 2008. Her work has paid of and Jamaica is in the round of 16. The Reggae Girlz play Colombia on Tuesday night in Melbourne, Australia. “Her support has been really important to us and she’s just the heart of this team,” said Jamaica player Deneisha Blackwood. “She’s just like our fairy godmother. We just appreciate her for everything she has done so far.”The Reggae Girlz were disbanded after failing to qualify for the 2007 World Cup and the 2008 Olympics. In 2014, Bob and Rita Marley’s eldest daughter was alarmed to learn the Jamaican soccer federation had stopped funding the team. Marle...

Populist party and member of outgoing administration will try to form Thailand’s next government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:02 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s populist Pheu Thai party announced Monday that it will form a coalition with a party from the outgoing military-backed administration to try to end nearly three months of political deadlock after the progressive party that won national elections was excluded from the formation of a new government.Thailand has struggled to break the impasse and select a new leader after the progressive Move Forward Party became the surprise winner of the May elections but was blocked by the conservative elite from taking power.Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat had assembled an eight-party coalition with 312 seats in the 500-member lower house. But under Thailand’s military-enacted constitution, a new prime minister must receive a majority in a vote by both the elected House and 250-member appointed Senate, selected by a previous military government. Pita’s initial bid last month fell short by more than 50 votes, largely because only 13 senators backed him. He...

Migrants moved to housing barge moored in southern UK as government seeks to cut asylum-seeker costs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:02 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A small group of asylum-seekers has been moved to a barge moored in southern England as the U.K. government tries to cut the cost of sheltering people seeking protection in the country, British news media reported Monday.The asylum-seekers were transferred to the Bibby Stockholm, a barge outfitted with temporary accommodations that will ultimately house up to 500 men moved from hotels or elsewhere in the country. More were expected to arrive later Monday. The barge, owned by a Swedish company, was previously used to house oil field workers and migrants in other countries.The U.K. government wants to use barges and former military bases to house some migrants as the cost of accommodating them in hotels soars.Home Office Minister Sarah Dines told the BBC that people arriving in in the U.K. via unauthorized means should have “basic but proper accommodation” and that they “can’t expect to stay in a four-star hotel.”___Follow AP’s coverage of global migration at https...