Colorado completely out of drought for the first time in years

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:34:31 GMT

Colorado completely out of drought for the first time in years DENVER (KDVR) -- The entire State of Colorado is officially out of drought for the first time since July 2019, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.The state's southeastern corner was the last part of the state with dry conditions of any kind, and it officially lost its "abnormally dry" status in the last week. Why you may be seeing more black widow spiders in Colorado this season To put things into perspective, as of three months ago, 47.5% of the state was suffering from drought, with parts of the state in "exceptional drought," the highest intensity level, according to the data.How does drought compare to last year?The change has been even more dramatic since the start of the year. At the tail end of 2022, 86% of the state was in varying levels of drought.Conditions were much worse this time last year, with all but 1.52% of the state in drought.The entire Denver metro was characterized as being in "moderate drought," the second level of intensity. At times during the spring of...

‘Peaky Blinders’ says Ron DeSantis campaign video used footage of Cillian Murphy ‘without permission’

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:34:31 GMT

‘Peaky Blinders’ says Ron DeSantis campaign video used footage of Cillian Murphy ‘without permission’ (CNN) — The Twitter account for the Netflix series “Peaky Blinders” posted a message on Wednesday strongly disapproving of the use of footage of star Cillian Murphy as lead character Thomas Shelby in a Ron DeSantis campaign video targeting the LGBTQ+ community, from the account @Proudelephantus. The video was retweeted by the account @DeSantisWarRoom.https://twitter.com/ThePeakyBlinder/status/1676674269550465032Other actors seen in the clip included Leonardo DiCaprio in “Wolf of Wall Street” and Brad Pitt in “Troy,” intercut with footage of DeSantis and newsclips pertaining to both his and Donald Trump’s LGBTQ+-related policies.“We confirm the footage of Tommy Shelby’s character used within the video posted by Ron Desantis (sic) campaign was obtained without permission or official li...

18-year-old arrested for string of armed robberies in Hollywood and Broward County

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:34:31 GMT

18-year-old arrested for string of armed robberies in Hollywood and Broward County An 18-year-old was arrested after, police say, he committed a series of armed robberies. According to officials, Matthew Carr, of Hollywood, was arrested for the the robberies that took place near South 56th Avenue and Washington Street throughout the month of June. The robberies primarily took place during transactions conducted through Facebook Marketplace.A comprehensive investigation conducted by the assigned detective linked Carr to multiple armed robberies not only in Hollywood but also across Broward County. Additionally, Carr has been implicated in various other violent crimes within the county.On July 5, 2023, Hollywood Detectives, in collaboration with Detectives from the US Marshals Service, Florida Caribbean Regional Task Force, successfully took Carr into custody.

Russian cruise missile attack on Ukraine city of Lviv kills 6 people and injures dozens

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:34:31 GMT

Russian cruise missile attack on Ukraine city of Lviv kills 6 people and injures dozens By MSTYSLAV CHERNOV (Associated Press)LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia fired cruise missiles Thursday at a western Ukraine city far from the front line of the war, killing at least six people in an apartment building in what officials said was the heaviest attack on civilian areas of Lviv since the Kremlin’s forces invaded the country last year.Emergency crews with search dogs went through the rubble of the building after the nighttime attack destroyed the roof and the top two floors. At least 36 people were injured, according to authorities. The youngest of the people who died was 21 years old and the oldest was a woman of 95, Lviv province governor Maksym Kozytskyi said. “This woman survived the Second World War, but unfortunately she didn’t survive” Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kozytskyi said.Debris and wrecked parked cars lined the street outside the building, which overlooks a small neighborhood park with swings and other playground eq...

Ferry between N.S. and P.E.I. unavailable over weekend, stalled by mechanical problem

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:34:31 GMT

Ferry between N.S. and P.E.I. unavailable over weekend, stalled by mechanical problem CHARLOTTETOWN — The company that operates the ferry between Nova Scotia and eastern Prince Edward Island says the MV Confederation will be out of service until at least next week. The ferry was pulled off-line Sunday for the second time since mid-June, when it was removed from the water for two weeks because of a mechanical issue. Northumberland Ferries said Thursday in a news release that it expected the problem to be resolved over the weekend.“The required parts are due to arrive on Saturday, and an expedited repair, followed by extensive testing will see the vessel back in service early next week,” said Mark Wilson, senior vice-president of Northumberland Ferries.“Service remains suspended through Saturday and Sunday.”He said a second vessel, MV Saaremaa 1, is scheduled to be in service by the middle of this month. “MV Saaremaa 1 is expected to arrive late on Monday, and the remaining crew will be trained and final preparations will be completed as q...

Stock market today: Wall Street falls after hot jobs data raises threat of high rates

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:34:31 GMT

Stock market today: Wall Street falls after hot jobs data raises threat of high rates NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling Thursday after reports suggested the U.S. job market remains much more resilient than expected.The S&P 500 was 0.8% lower in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 355 points, or 1%, at 33,933 with less than an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.8% lower.While a sturdy labor market keeps the economy out of a long-feared recession, it could also push the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates higher for longer in its campaign to defeat high inflation. That in turn could mean more pressure down the line on the economy and financial markets.A report from ADP Research Institute suggested hiring by private employers was much stronger last month than economists expected, with nearly twice as many jobs created than forecast.The ADP report can be volatile and “isn’t necessarily a good predictor of the monthly jobs report” that is more comprehensive and due from the U.S. government on Friday, said Mike Loewen...

Minnesota forest land linked to polygamous leader Warren Jeffs is up for sale

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:34:31 GMT

Minnesota forest land linked to polygamous leader Warren Jeffs is up for sale GRAND MARAIS, Minn. (AP) — A 40-acre plot of Minnesota forest land connected to a polygamous sect once led by Warren Jeffs is up for sale.News that the property is back on the market, listed for $189,000, relieved residents in the remote area near the town of Grand Marais, where some once feared the group would establish a new compound, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported Thursday.The land has belonged since 2018 to Seth Jeffs via the Montana-registered entity Emerald Industries LLC. Seth Jeffs was convicted in 2006 of concealing his brother, Warren Jeffs, who was sentenced in 2011 to life in prison for sexually abusing underage members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose members consider him a prophet. Seth Jeffs pleaded guilty to food stamp fraud in 2016 in a scheme to divert benefits to church members.The FLDS split from the main Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, widely known as the Mormon church, after the latter renounced pol...

Flint contractor agrees to settlement of lead contamination lawsuits

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:34:31 GMT

Flint contractor agrees to settlement of lead contamination lawsuits DETROIT (AP) — An engineering company accused of being partially responsible for Flint’s lead-contaminated water in 2014-15 has agreed to settle lawsuits brought by some residents of the Michigan city, attorneys said Thursday.Lockwood, Andrews & Newman, an engineering firm known as LAN, said in a court filing that a confidential deal was reached with residents in federal court but that both sides need more time to iron out the details.Separately, LAN reached a deal in a different lawsuit that Michigan’s attorney general filed in state court.Flint families sued LAN and another contractor, Veolia North America, accusing them of not doing enough to get Flint to treat highly corrosive water or to urge a return to a regional water supplier.Flint, which was under state-appointed managers, used the Flint River for water in 2014-15, but the water wasn’t treated the same as water previously supplied by a Detroit-area provider. As a result, lead leached throughout the va...

California Science Center to start complex process to display space shuttle Endeavour vertically

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:34:31 GMT

California Science Center to start complex process to display space shuttle Endeavour vertically LOS ANGELES (AP) — The lengthy process of putting the retired space shuttle Endeavour on display in the vertical launch position will begin this month in Los Angeles.The California Science Center announced Thursday that the six-month process will get underway July 20 at the future Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center currently under construction in Exposition Park.The initial step, dubbed “Go for Stack,” will be installation of the bottom portion of the solid rocket boosters known as aft skirts upon which will be stacked the booster segments, the external tank and then Endeavour.The 20-story tall display will show the shuttle as it would appear waiting on a launch pad.Endeavour was built as a replacement for the destroyed shuttle Challenger and flew 25 missions between 1992 and 2011.When NASA’s shuttles were retired, Endeavour was flown to California atop NASA’s special Boeing 747 shuttle carrier in 2012, drawing crowds as it flew over locations in the state associated with the space ...

Pulling ads from Facebook could force its hand on news deals — if support grows

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:34:31 GMT

Pulling ads from Facebook could force its hand on news deals — if support grows MONTREAL — Pulling ads from Facebook could prod Meta toward inking deals with news outlets, though more momentum would be needed to push it over the edge, experts say.The tactic adopted by several governments and companies in Canada this week might force the social media giant’s hand if other countries and corporations follow suit in larger markets, said Sam Andrey, managing director of the Dais at Toronto Metropolitan University.“I thought it was interesting how quickly a bunch of organizations and governments followed, and I’m sure there will be more,” he said.“The government of Canada by itself as an advertiser is not a huge material loss for them in the scheme of their total Canadian advertising. But if it kicks off a movement then you could see them reconsidering.”The federal government — followed swiftly by the province of Quebec, the City of Montreal and media companies Quebecor Inc. and Cogeco Inc. — said Wednesday they would suspend adver...