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Flesh-eating parasite spread by sand flies is causing skin infections in US, CDC says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:07:01 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) – A flesh-eating parasitic disease, typically seen in people who travel to tropical or subtropical areas, is now spreading through some sand flies in parts of the U.S., according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis.The disease, known as leishmaniasis, occurs through a bite of an infected female sand fly, which consumes blood to produce eggs. The infection is most common in parts of Africa, Brazil, and the eastern Mediterranean region, like Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen, according to the World Health Organization. The CDC now believes the disease may be endemic, or regularly occurring, in Texas and other states. The agency has received anecdotal reports of leishmaniasis in Florida, though the cases haven't been confirmed, according to NBC News. Past studies have also noted occasional cases among non-travelers in southeast Oklahoma and Arizona. RSV shots for infants in short supply: CDC “Historically, it was considered that cutan...

Six Flags Great America closing two attractions, preparing for ‘future expansion’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:07:01 GMT

Six Flags Great America in Gurnee has confirmed that two attractions will be closing forever. Revolution (2004) and Mardi Gras Hangover (2018). Both rides will be removed from Six Flags Great America in the offseason. Photos courtesy Six Flags.Revolution, the spinning pendulum ride located in the County Fair section of the park, will be removed after this season. The ride’s fate was pretty much sealed when Great America announced Sky Striker, their new addition for 2024. Sky Striker is a much taller and faster pendulum ride and will be located just steps from where Revolution sits now. You can find a full preview of the new attraction here. Mardi Gras Hangover is also being removed from the park. Hangover is a Larson Loop attraction that was billed as the largest ride of its kind when it first opened in 2018. It takes riders back and forth in one giant loop. Here's a video of me riding the attraction LIVE on WGN Morning News on opening day. Great America visitors will...

Two private jets 'clipped their wings,' leads to ground stop at Hobby Airport

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:07:01 GMT

HOUSTON (KXAN) -- Two private jets "clipped their wings" at the Hobby Airport in Houston Tuesday, which led to the airfield being shut down, according to a statement on the airport's social media.Reports of the two jets moving on the airfield came in at approximately 3:30 p.m., the airport said. No injuries were reported.Additionally, the jets were "declared fire-safe" by the Houston Fire Department.The airfield will be shut down until further notice due to debris caused by the accident, the airport said.The statement said Houston Airports was working to remove the debris "to restore operations as soon as possible."

Feds add charges against Baxter nurse accused of stealing pain meds from hospice clinic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:07:01 GMT

BAXTER, Minn. — A registered nurse has been indicted for fraudulently obtaining prescription opioid pain medications from a central Minnesota hospice clinic, U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger announced last week.According to court documents, Cambie Elizabeth Broker, 33, of Aitkin, was a registered nurse case manager at a hospice clinic in Baxter. She is accused of entering false prescription requests into the clinic’s e-prescribing software to fraudulently obtain oxycodone, hydromorphone and fentanyl for illegal sale and personal use.Broker made her initial appearance on the federal indictment on Oct. 18 in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Judge Douglas L. Micko.This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office.Broker also faces six felony charges in Crow Wing County related to the theft of prescription medications. She was charged on Nov. 30, 2022, in Crow Wing County District Court with five coun...

St. Lawrence Seaway strike in Canada shuts down oceangoing traffic on Great Lakes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:07:01 GMT

DULUTH, Minn. — A strike by unionized workers of Canada’s St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. that started Sunday morning has virtually shut down oceangoing shipping traffic on the entire seaway system.Because the seaway is a linear system of canals and locks through Ontario, New York and Quebec, closure of any portion effectively results in closure of the entire waterway, officials of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority said Monday.As a result of the strike, multiple ships loaded with exports are presently unable to exit the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System, and a growing line of inbound ships are unable to enter or pass through specific segments.One vessel presently loading wheat in Duluth is scheduled to deliver its cargo to Algeria upon departure through the now-shuttered seaway, according to officials at the Duluth Seaway Port Authority. Several additional ships are scheduled to arrive in Duluth-Superior via the seaway for grain in the coming weeks. Various other vessels ar...

27 years after his death, Dakota County highway named for fallen deputy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:07:01 GMT

A stretch of highway about 10 miles southeast of Hastings and near the Vermillion River will bear the name of a deputy who was killed in the line of duty over 27 years ago.A segment of County Road 68, also known as 200th Street East, in Ravenna Township will be renamed as Deputy Luther Klug Memorial Highway after a Tuesday vote by the Dakota County Board of Commissioners.Deputy Luther Klug (Courtesy of the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office)Klug was killed in the line of duty in the summer of 1996 when he was struck by a drunken driver while assisting a traffic stop on County Road 68, said Dakota County Sheriff Joe Leko during Tuesday’s board meeting.The driver, a U.S. Army veteran and then-recent college student, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.18, more than twice today’s legal limit, two hours after the crash. He was convicted of criminal vehicular homicide and sentenced to four years in prison.Although 27 years have passed since Klug’s death, “not a day goes by...

Girls state tennis: Mounds View, East Ridge fall in Class 2A quarterfinals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:07:01 GMT

Mounds View pushed perennial power Edina in the Class 2A girls tennis state tournament quarterfinals Tuesday at Baseline Tennis Center before falling 5-2 to the third-seeded Hornets.Unseeded Mounds View’s victories came at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles. At No. 2 doubles, Shae Crockarell and Sofia Kostinovski emerged victorious in straight sets, while it was Stella Fagerlee and Sonali Bhaskar winning at No. 3 doubles.Rory Wahlstrand won the first set at No. 1 singles, but Edina’s Rashi Singh rallied to take the final two sets to win that match.Edina will meet two-time defending champion Minnetonka in Wednesday morning’s semifinals after the second-seeded Skippers downed East Ridge 7-0.Minnetonka didn’t drop a set in the match, and claimed 84 of the 96 games played. But this week marks invaluable experience for the Raptors, who didn’t have a single senior in Tuesday’s quarterfinal lineup.Top-seeded Rochester Mayo will meet fifth-seeded Maple Grove in Wedn...

The mushroom that’s a reminder of home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:07:01 GMT

By Christina Morales, The New York TimesFor much of the year in Haiti, rain seeps into the crevices of rotting wood, sparking the growth of an island delicacy: an earthy, black mushroom named djon-djon that is the main ingredient for a rice dish made on special occasions.The mushrooms are hand-picked throughout the rainy season and left to shrivel in the sun. Then they’re sold across the island or bagged and exported to the United States, where Haitian Americans buy the dried mushrooms online or from Caribbean grocery stores.For holidays, family events or Sunday dinners, Haitians clean the dried mushrooms thoroughly (or separate the woody stem from the cap, which has the most flavor). They soak and boil them in chicken broth to extract their meaty flavor, then cook rice in that stock and add lima beans. The mushrooms turn the rice a dark brown or black — thus the Haitian Creole name diri djondjon, or black mushroom rice, that some call the dish. Some people also add blue crabs, shri...

Boulder plans “tall curbs” featuring local art along Baseline Road bike lanes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:07:01 GMT

Boulder is in the process of installing “tall curbs” to provide physical separation between the bike lane and vehicle lane on parts of Baseline Road between 30th Street and Foothills Parkway.Baseline Road is a priority corridor that forms part of the city’s Core Arterial Network.According to a city release, tall curbs are already in use in other North American cities, such as Toronto, but Boulder will be the first city in the U.S. to implement them. The tall curbs are replacing the existing flexible white posts and striped buffers, and some of the curbs feature designs from local artist Talia Swartz Parsell, who was chosen from Boulder’s mural artist roster.Related ArticlesColorado News | 15 Denver places we spotted during the “Married at First Sight” premiere Colorado News | CU Buffs announce Oregon State game time, channel Colorado News | Colorado lawmakers consider plan that would provide state oversight of jails for first ti...

Driver dies after crashing into building in Greeley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:07:01 GMT

Police continue to investigate an early Sunday morning traffic crash near downtown Greeley that killed a young man and left a young woman with life-threatening injuries.Just before 1 a.m. Sunday, police responded to a report of a vehicle striking an occupied building at 8th Avenue and 14th Street.The driver, a 27-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene. First responders took the 22-year-old female passenger to a local medical facility to treat life-threatening injuries.A city building inspector ensured the structural integrity of the building, which had only suffered cosmetic damage.Police do not yet know if drugs, alcohol or speed are a factor in the crash.Sign up to get crime news sent straight to your inbox each day.