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Man killed in Halls Ferry Road crash identified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:04 GMT

ST. LOUIS – A police report sheds some new light on a fatal crash over the weekend. The crash happened at the intersection of Halls Ferry Road and Lucas-Hunt. The victim has been identified. Lawrence Pruitt, 68, was pronounced dead at the scene.The incident is currently under investigation by St. Louis Crimes Against Persons detectives and the Accident Reconstruction Unit. The collision involved a Ford F-150 traveling southbound on Halls Ferry Road on September 9th, at around 11:05 p.m. The truck collided with a Lexus sedan traveling northbound as it attempted to make a westbound turn onto Lucas-Hunt Road. Pruitt was a passenger in the Lexus sedan. The truck's driver, as well as the driver and another passenger of the sedan, were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. 

Tree canopies will expand as eight Colorado cities, including Denver and Aurora, share $22 million from feds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:04 GMT

Eight Colorado cities — including the state’s three most populated — will share $22.2 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for tree planting and other programs that increase access to green space, particularly in underserved communities.The USDA announced the distribution of more than $1 billion for 385 projects in cities, territories and tribal lands across the country, using forestry program funding provided by the federal Inflation Reduction Act. The 2022 law was touted as the largest climate investment in U.S. history.Colorado cities received these grants: $9 million to Colorado Springs, $5 million each to Aurora and Denver, $1 million to Monte Vista, $689,134 to Greeley, $669,073 to Wheat Ridge, $600,000 to Glenwood Springs and $230,000 to Westminster.Colorado Springs intends to use the money for a project that would improve its urban forest, focusing on restoring tree health and boosting the tree canopy in neighborhoods and parks that have been his...

Texas Senate begins deliberations at Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:04 GMT

By PAUL J. WEBER, JIM VERTUNO and JAKE BLEIBERG (Associated Press)AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Senate on Friday began deliberating whether impeached Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton should be removed from office over corruption allegations that have shadowed him for years.The deliberations began after Texas lawmakers leading the impeachment made a final appeal Friday to the jury of senators following nearly two weeks of testimony. The closing arguments were the last chance for impeachment managers to make their case that Paxton is unfit for office over allegations he abused his power to protect a political donor who was under FBI investigation.“If we don’t keep public officials from abusing the powers of their office, then frankly no one can,” said Republican state Rep. Andrew Murr, a member of the bipartisan group of impeachment managers from the Texas House.Paxton, whose three terms in office have been marred by scandal and criminal charges, faces a...

Suspect arrested in 2 separate fatal shootings along Denver’s South Platte River Trail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:04 GMT

Denver police have arrested a 31-year-old suspect who they believe is responsible for two separate fatal shootings along the South Platte River Trail last week, officials announced Friday.Tanner Fielder was arrested Thursday in Black Hawk on suspicion of first-degree murder in the deaths of Lluvia Robles-Banuelos, 31, and Jeremy Hutcheson, 43.Robles-Banuelos was found dead Sept. 6 on the trail under Interstate 70 near North Washington Street, and Hutcheson, 43, was found dead Saturday near the intersection of South Platte River Drive and West Florida Avenue, the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner reported Tuesday.Both bodies were discovered just after midnight with multiple gunshot wounds.Denver police say they identified Fielder as a suspect after officers patroling near the South Platte River Trail heard shots fired shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday in the area of West 13th Avenue and North Zuni Street.The officers saw someone leaving the area, officials said. They established a p...

Stanislav Kondrashov from Telf AG: nickel production strategy and market trends

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:04 GMT

While the overall market is forecast to be in surplus in 2023, the supply of Grade 1 nickel on the London Metal Exchange (LME) remains relatively tight, says Stanislav Kondrashov of Telf AG. Grade 1 nickel stocks on the LME are currently at historical lows, which is expected to limit downward pressure on nickel prices throughout the year.Kondrashov Telf AG: Grade 2 nickel is in surplus, Grade 1 supply is limitedAccording to the forecasts of the International Nickel Research Group (INSG), global production of primary nickel in 2021 reached 2.610 million tons (Mt), and increased to 3.060 Mt in 2022. According to forecasts, in 2023 it will reach 3.374 million tons.As for the use of primary nickel, according to INSG, in 2021 it amounted to 2.779 million tons, and in 2022 it increased to 2.955 million tons. The forecast for 2023 suggests a further increase to 3.134 Mt.After a deficit of 169 kt (kt) in 2021, the nickel market moved to a surplus of 105 kt in 2022, with a surplus of 239 kt ...

Significantly cooler weather arrives in Southern California

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:04 GMT

Southern Californians have dealt with a number of heat waves this summer, but now residents finally get the chance to settle in and enjoy some cooler afternoon highs.The decline in temperatures started this week and will continue through at least the weekend, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters believe we will get even further cooling next week as clouds and fog spread into most areas west of the mountains every night and into the morning hours.Afternoon highs are already expected to be slightly below average on Friday but could be nearly 10 degrees under the average in some areas by next week.In the Inland Empire, afternoon highs could tumble from about 90 degrees Friday to nearly 80 degrees by Tuesday and Wednesday.Nothing in the Weather Service forecast appeared to show a return to hot weather any time soon, so Southern Californians may finally have a chance to get used to these cooler, fall-like days.

Ex-Sheriff Villanueva To Run For Board of Supervisors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:04 GMT

Former L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced his intention to run for a seat on the Board of Supervisors.Villanueva would run for the county’s 2024 4th district seat, which is currently held by Supervisor Janice Hahn.In response to Villanueva’s announcement, Supervisor Hahn pointed back to the former Sheriff’s re-election loss as evidence that voters did not want him in a position of power.“LA County voters — including District 4 — resoundingly rejected the man known as the ‘Donald Trump of LA County’ last November for his incompetence and corruption,” Hahn said in a statement. “LA County became less safe under Villanueva’s reign. He is a fraud and a failure, and LA County voters won’t be fooled again.”In 2022, Villanueva lost his re-election bid for sheriff against now Sheriff Robert Luna.During the election cycle, Villanueva was accused of being part of law enforcement gangs, accusations he said “fell apart” in courts d...

New England, Canada prep for Hurricane Lee’s arrival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:04 GMT

By David Sharp and Patrick Whittle | Associated PressPORTLAND, Maine — New England harbors and fishing villages were being emptied of boats — and some were becoming ghost towns — as commercial fishermen and recreational boaters scrambled Friday to make final preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Lee, a storm threatening to bring tropical-storm-force winds across a swath hundreds of miles wide.Hundreds of out-of-state utility workers poured into Maine amid fears of widespread power outages because of a combination of heavy winds and rain-saturated soil in the nation’s most heavily wooded state.A tropical storm warning was in place from Maine to Massachusetts, but forecasters removed a hurricane watch for eastern Maine, as the storm with 20-foot (6-meter) ocean swells approached. Forecasters said there would be winds topping 40 mph (64 kph) across an area spanning more than 400 miles (643 kilometers) ahead of landfall Saturday afternoon.On Friday, there was little else to be...

Bay Area adds jobs in August, but clear signs of economic slowdown emerge

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:04 GMT

The Bay Area gained jobs in August, but signs have emerged that the region’s economic engine has begun to sputter and isn’t creating employment as briskly as before.The nine-county region added 3,000 jobs last month, powered mainly by sturdy employment gains in the East Bay that offset big job losses in the San Francisco-San Mateo region and smaller losses in the South Bay, the state Employment Development Department reported.The East Bay added 3,500 jobs in August, but the San Francisco-San Mateo metro area chopped 1,200 jobs while the South Bay lost 500 jobs, according to the most recent EDD report. All the numbers were adjusted for seasonal volatility.California added 23,100 jobs during August and the statewide unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.6% compared with the prior month, the EDD reported.While employment can fluctuate month to month, an analysis of the pace of job gains over the most recent one-year period shows a definite shift towards a job slowdown &...

Mayo Clinic expert answers questions about the new COVID-19 vaccine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:04 GMT

DeeDee Stiepan | Mayo Clinic News Network (TNS)Ahead of the fall respiratory virus season, the Food and Drug Administration has approved two updated COVID-19 vaccines. The new messenger RNA, or mRNA, vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech are formulated to better target variants that are currently circulating and will replace outdated vaccines.“The new vaccine that was just approved by the FDA is essentially a COVID vaccine targeting a different strain of the COVID virus than was in the original vaccine or in the bivalent vaccines that came out last year. It’s still a COVID vaccine, but it’s now targeting the XBB.1.5 strain, which has been the omicron-type virus that’s been circulating throughout the U.S. and most parts of the world since the beginning of this year,” says Dr. Priya Sampathkumar, a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases expert.Is it considered a booster?“It’s not exactly a booster. I would liken it to the updated influenza vaccin...