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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore launches Red Line revival

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:48:32 GMT

Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld speak to reporters after announcing the relaunch of the Red Line transit project. Photo by Bryan P. Sears Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld speak to reporters after announcing the relaunch of the Red Line transit project. Photo by Bryan P. Sears This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.State, federal and local officials led by Gov. Wes Moore (D) vowed Thursday to build a Baltimore transit system canceled by the Hogan administration nearly eight years ago. Moore, during an hour-long press conferenc...

Mitchell’s jumper lifts Fever to win over Sky

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:48:32 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Kelsey Mitchell sank a step-back jumper with 1.1 seconds left and the Indiana Fever beat the short-handed Chicago Sky 92-90 on Thursday night.Dana Evans made a field goal on four straight Chicago possessions, the last coming on a runner with 38.3 seconds left for an 89-88 lead. Erica Wheeler worked the clock down and was short on a jumper, but NaLyssa Smith grabbed the rebound and put it back to give Indiana the lead with 14.5 left.Evans drove into the lane again and was fouled with 7.5 seconds left before making 1 of 2 free throws to tie it at 90-all. After Mitchell’s make, Chicago had an open look from 3-point range but Alanna Smith’s shot didn’t hit the rim.Indiana won consecutive games for the first time since May 2022.Chicago (5-6) was without its leading scorer Kahleah Copper due to personal reasons. Marina Mabrey scored 19 of her career-high 37 points in the third quarter for the Sky. DREAM 92, SUN 88UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) — Allisha Gray had a career-high 27 po...

Denver school board votes to reinstate school resource officers

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:48:32 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver's public school board has decided to bring back school resource officers.The Board of Education voted Thursday night to do so, reversing a 2020 decision that removed them from Denver Public Schools campuses.Vice President Auon'tai Anderson tweeted about the decision, which he opposed. He said four board members voted in favor."We used flawed data to justify this. We say that students were in support, but truly, they weren't," Anderson told FOX31. Could Colorado home prices set a new record this summer? The school board voted to get rid of SROs to cut down on the number of students who were cited or arrested in school. But after the shooting at East High School earlier this year, the board reconsidered the policy. Denver's mayor and police chief have both supported SRO reinstatement."What I saw today by my colleagues was just a reintroduction to the school-to-prison pipeline and I am disappointed in their actions," Anderson said.Anderson said he hopes voters ...

Denver Police increase security after recent shootings

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:48:32 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Crime typically increases during the summer months in most metropolitan areas in the U.S., but it's only June and Denver has seen multiple shootings within 72 hours. A shooting that left two people in the hospital happened after the Denver Nuggets victory parade on Thursday. FOX31 spoke to parade attendees who said they were traumatized by the sudden outbreak of violence. “We didn’t feel like Denver wasn’t safe, and then literally, it wasn’t within 30 seconds,” said one mother, who brought her daughter to the event. Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said in a Thursday press conference that the post-parade shooting was not related to the event. “We believe that this was a targeted incident," Thomas said. Many attendees say they were still in shock after learning of the shooting that injured 10 people during the Monday night celebration of the team’s NBA Finals win. “You just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time,” one onlooker said.Downtown blocks see highe...

Tornado devastates Texas Panhandle town, killing 3 and injuring dozens

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:48:32 GMT

PERRYTON, Texas (AP) — A tornado ripped through the Texas Panhandle town of Perryton on Thursday, killing three people, injuring dozens more and causing widespread damage as another in a series of fierce storms carved its way through Southern states.The National Weather Service in Amarillo confirmed that a tornado hit the area Thursday afternoon. But there was no immediate word on its size or wind speeds, meteorologist Luigi Meccariello said. “There are still reports of ongoing rescues,” he said.Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher told reporters that three people were killed in the storm.He said at least one person was killed in a mobile home park that took a “direct hit” from a tornado. Dutcher said at least 30 trailers were damaged or destroyed. At 6 p.m., firefighters were rescuing people from the rubble.First responders from surrounding areas and from Oklahoma descended on the town, which is home to more than 8,000 people and about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of Amarillo, ...

Stars of ‘The Blackening’ talk about working in new horror-comedy that pokes fun at genre

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:48:32 GMT

Those of you who kill at trivia night — I do not — will probably love “The Blackening.” It’s a horror-comedy where, like, if you can’t name the five or so Black guest stars on the show “Friends,” you die. Good luck!The tagline of “The Blackening”…Unknown (as Blackening): “Your time has run out. It’s time to die.”…is, “We can’t all die first.”Antoinette Robertson (as Lisa, reading): “‘The Black character is always the first to die. I will spare your lives if you sacrifice the person you deem the blackest.'”Grace Byers (as Allison): “The blackest?”The new horror-comedy is poking fun at that trope. You know, where minority characters often don’t last very long in the genre.Melvin Gregg: “I think it was all a missed opportunity every time they killed us first.”Alex Miranda: “Yeah.”Think Jada Pinkett Smith in “Scream 2.”Ja...

‘Inspiration to the community’: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami celebrate 2023 graduating class

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:48:32 GMT

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami held its annual graduation for those who successfully completed their mentorship program and graduated from their respective high schools.On Thursday evening, 276 graduating mentees and 600 high school juniors and seniors of the program joined together at Florida Memorial University in Miami Gardens to be honored for their achievements, highlighting their resilience and determination. Many who walked the stage were the first in their family to receive a high school diploma. Hispanic students made up 62% of the graduating class. The guest speaker was Victor Fontanez, a 21-year-old self-made motivational speaker, entrepreneur and barber.Fontanez is known by his social media handle Vic Blends, described as the most famous barber in the world and the leading motivational voice of the new generation. For decades, Big Brothers Big Sisters has paired caring role models with disadvantaged children to help shape their future and allow them to reach their ful...

Biden ‘open’ to plan that eases Ukraine’s path to NATO membership

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:48:32 GMT

President Joe Biden is “open” to removing a big hurdle to Ukraine’s membership in NATO after the war, even if the plan doesn’t specify when Kyiv would join the alliance.According to two U.S. officials, Biden would welcome the removal of a Membership Action Plan, or MAP, for Ukraine’s entry into the military alliance. The MAP requires a candidate nation to make military and democratic reforms, with NATO’s advice and assistance, before a determination of membership can be made. By removing that requirement, Ukraine would still need to make some pro-democracy changes, but alliance members could at any point afterward unanimously welcome Kyiv into the club.Biden spoke about the idea with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who has quietly floated the proposal, in Washington this week. The president made clear that he was “open” to the idea if allies supported the plan, said a senior U.S. official who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive conversation. A formal announcement o...

Harassment and bullying: What is wrong with British politics?

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:48:32 GMT

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Google Play EN_Google_Podcasts_Badge Created with Sketch. Stitcher .st0{fill:#EB8A23;} .st1{fill:#FAC617;} .st2{fill:#612368;} .st3{fill:#3792C4;} .st4{fill:#C33727;} Acast LONDON — Two weeks ago, POLITICO revealed Geraint Davies was accused of sexual harassment by 5 different women. The Labour MP said he did not recognize the allegations but apologized if he inadvertently cau...

Divisions deepen at Bonn climate talks amid UAE leadership vacuum

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:48:32 GMT

BONN, Germany — This was supposed to be the United Arab Emirates’ chance to prove its critics wrong. The host of this year’s COP28 climate summit was under pressure to set out a clear vision at preparatory talks held at the United Nations HQ in Bonn amid growing unease over the petrostate’s fossil fuel interests. But by the time negotiators departed the former West German capital on Thursday, concerns about the UAE’s handling of the global climate talks had only deepened. “Bridges are not being built,” said one EU diplomat, who was granted anonymity to candidly discuss the negotiations. “I’m worried that at COP28, half of the countries will want to talk about funding and half about reducing emissions, as happened here.” The 10-day Bonn talks were consumed by a power struggle over the conference agenda, which remained unadopted until Wednesday night. The EU — backed by other Western countries as well as several Latin American nations and the Allian...