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Minnesota Senate approves $240 million for lead-pipe replacement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:30 GMT

In an effort to finally rid the state of lead water-service lines by the next decade, Minnesota lawmakers are advancing a bill that would put $240 million toward replacement projects.The Minnesota Senate on Tuesday passed a bill 64-2 that would help cover a significant chunk of the $1 billion or so it will take to replace an estimated 100,000 remaining lead-containing service lines in the state.Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, bill sponsor Sen. Jen McEwen, DFL-Duluth, emphasized that toxic lead in water lines affects rural and urban communities alike in all corners of the state, especially low-income and young Minnesotans.“It disproportionately affects children — young children in particular — pregnant women, developing fetuses,” said McEwen. “This is a very, very important bill for our public health.”Public health officials consider no amount of lead in drinking water safe. It can cause nervous system and brain damage, lower IQ, and cause learning and behavior problems in child...

McCarthy: No 'new movement' with Biden on debt ceiling debate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:30 GMT

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday said there was no movement from either side in debt limit negotiations as a crucial deadline on the matter looms following a White House meeting with President Biden and top congressional leaders.“Everybody in this meeting reiterated the positions they were at. I didn’t see any new movement,” McCarthy told reporters after the roughly hourlong sit-down in the Oval Office.Biden convened a meeting with McCarthy, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) It comes just more than a week after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers the U.S. will run out of mechanisms to pay trillions of dollars in debt by June 1.McCarthy said the leaders will meet again Friday.Jeffries struck a more positive tone after the meeting and told reporters the fact every leader agreed to convene Tuesday, that they had “an honest, frank discussion about a path ...

READ: Jury's verdict in Carroll's civil case against Trump

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:30 GMT

A federal jury Tuesday found that former President Trump sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s and later defamed her by denying her claims, marking the first time Trump has been found liable for sexual misconduct at a trial.He was ordered to pay Carroll $5 million in damages.Read the jury's verdict here.E.-Jean-Carroll-Trump-verdictDownload

Driver of crashed pickup in Aurora dies at hospital of apparent gunshot wound, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:30 GMT

A driver who crashed a pickup into a parked car in Aurora was shot and a homicide investigation is underway, police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | $2,000 reward offered for tips leading to conviction in Denver teen’s shooting death Crime and Public Safety | Road rage may have led to fatal Edgewater charging station shooting, police say Crime and Public Safety | Children ages 10 to 12 can still be arrested in Colorado after lawmakers gut bill to raise minimum age of prosecution Crime and Public Safety | Man convicted of murder in death of homeless man in Denver Crime and Public Safety | Man dead after shooting in northeast Denver, homicide investigators appeal to public for help About 12:50 a.m. Monday, Aurora police officers responded to the 2200 block of Oakland Street where a pickup driver hit a parked car, officials stated in a news release.Officers found an unresponsive man in t...

Three California Lottery players win over $12 million from Mega Millions ticket, scratcher games

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:30 GMT

Three California Lottery players won over $12 million from lottery games, the state lottery office announced Tuesday.Two lottery players, Luis Castaneda Esparza and Baltazar Hernandez-Jimenez, won $5 million each after playing the Year of Fortune and Neon Cash Party scratcher games.Esparza purchased the winning scratcher game at a Chevron station in Brea in Orange County. Hernandez-Jimenez bought the Neon Cash Party scratcher ticket at a 7-Eleven location in San Leandro in Alameda County."Both players matched the same number, 36, on their scratchers tickets to win their $5 million prizes," a news release said. California Lottery player wins over $2 million from Mega Millions ticket Ali Dib, who purchased a Mega Millions ticket in November, won about $2 million after the ticket matched five out of the six winning numbers. The ticket was purchased at a Shell station in San Bruno, San Mateo County.The current Mega Millions jackpot stands at $83 million and people interested in parti...

Paramount shuts down MTV News division

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:30 GMT

By Liam Reilly | CNNParamount Media Networks announced Tuesday it will shutter MTV News and slash its US workforce by 25%, bringing to an end the iconic music video network’s news division that once covered a range of issues from pop culture to politics and became a household name for Generation X and Millennial adolescents.The division’s President Chris McCarthy said in a memo to staff Tuesday that despite the media giant’s “success” in streaming, the company continues to “feel pressure from broader economic headwinds like many of our peers.”“As a result, we have made the very hard but necessary decision to reduce our domestic team by approximately 25%,” he continued. “Through the elimination of some units and by streamlining others, we will be able to reduce costs and create a more effective approach to our business as we move forward.”Employees affected by the layoffs were to be notified in person on Tuesday, McCar...

Oakland A’s swap stadium deals in Las Vegas: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:30 GMT

Three weeks after flooring their fans and Oakland officials by announcing a land deal in Las Vegas, the A’s are now pursuing a different stadium deal in the desert.The team has an agreement to build a $1.5 billion stadium on a portion of the Tropicana site, a move that would cut its public financing request from $500 million to $395 million, according to a report Tuesday from the Nevada Independent.The A’s announced on April 19 they were nearing a “binding agreement” with Red Rock Resorts to build a stadium off the Las Vegas Strip.The A’s resumed looking at alternate sites, the Independent reported this week, as they faced the uphill battle of convincing the state legislature, whose session ends June 5, to approve the $500 million package.Steve Yeager, speaker of the Nevada Assembly told The Nevada Independent recently that the A’s could “run out of time” to get a deal done in Las Vegas because no concrete proposal for the tax package ...

Letters: Truth about DA | Fire Kuiper | Pathway to equity | Red-flag laws | Indifferent to violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:30 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Learn truth about Pricebefore judging herRe: “Price’s messy road to reform” (Page A1, May 7).Don’t believe everything you read. Correction: Don’t believe everything the conservatives say. Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is not the villain here; she is just the victim of poor PR.Price’s addressing of racism’s overreaction to criminal sentencing, which devastated communities of color, has left some people believing she is lenient toward crime. False narratives claim she is not charging enhancements, when in fact her office has charged enhancements.Please do some investigation and go to the DA’s website (www.alcoda.org). Read the press releases and view the posted interviews.Readers owe it to themselves to discover the facts before judging her.Rene WiseFremontA’s organization shouldfire Kuiper for commentRe: “A’s announcer Glen Kuiper apologizes ...

The 10 most expensive reported home sales in Saratoga the week of May 1

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:30 GMT

A house in Saratoga that sold for $4.7 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in Saratoga in the past two weeks.In total, 11 residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past two weeks, with an average price of $3.4 million. The average price per square foot was $1,319.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded from the week of April 24 to the week of May 8 even if the property may have been sold earlier.10. $2.4 million, single-family residence in the 18700 block of Harleigh DriveThe sale of the single-family residence in the 18700 block of Harleigh Drive, Saratoga, has been finalized. The price was $2,400,000, and the house changed hands in April. The house was built in 1958 and has a living area of 1,623 square feet. The price per square foot was $1,479. The house features 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.Harleigh Drive9. $2.7 million, single-family home in the 13800 block of Ravenwood Dri...

Melania Trump endorsed Trump’s 2024 bid just before E. Jean Carroll sex abuse verdict

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:30 GMT

Melania Trump broke more than a month of silence Tuesday to affirm her support for Donald Trump’s third run for president, saying she backs her embattled husband’s effort to return to the White House so they can restore “hope for the future.”Melania Trump’s statement of endorsement to Fox News Tuesday came several hours before a New York jury found the former president liable for the sexual abuse and defamation of the magazine writer E. Jean Carroll. The jury also awarded Carroll $5 million in damages in a widely-watched federal civil trial that sought to apply the accountability of the #MeToo era to a powerful political figure.The former first lady told Fox News Digital that she looks forward to working alongside her husband in a second White House term, saying she hopes they can lead “America with love and strength.”Melania Trump also said it would be a “privilege” to serve as first lady again and would continue to prioritize i...