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St. Paul City Council to consider ballot questions Wednesday for roads, parks and early childcare

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

The St. Paul City Council will weigh on Wednesday whether to put two tax-related questions on the November 2023 and November 2024 voter ballots. The first involves sales tax funding for roads and parks and the second is aimed at raising funds for early childcare initiatives through a dedicated, 10-year property tax levy.The council could vote Wednesday on two resolutions in support of moving forward with both citywide ballot questions.On Friday, former City Council President Kathy Lantry and St. Paul Parks and Recreation Director Mike Hahm announced they were leading an outreach effort to support a “yes” vote on a likely Nov. 7 ballot question that could raise nearly $1 billion in St. Paul sales tax revenue for arterial road reconstruction and parks spending over 20 years.The proposal, which would triple the city portion of the sales tax from .5 to 1.5%, was generated by St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s office but has met strong resistance from the St. Paul Area Cham...

Fargo officer slain in shooting was a ‘member of our family,’ police chief says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

FARGO, N.D. — From Day 1 with the Fargo Police Department, Officer Jake Wallin made his colleagues laugh.So much so that Chief David Zibolski remembered him by name, though the chief said he wasn’t quite sure how to pronounce it at first. When Wallin said Wal-leen, putting extra emphasis on the last syllable, everyone laughed, Zibolski said.“He meant a lot to the department,” Zibolski said before playing a video to give people a sense of who Wallin was.Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin trains at the Fargo Police Academy in this undated photo. (Courtesy of the Fargo Police Department)The 23-year-old officer who was sworn in by the Fargo Police Department less than three months ago was killed Friday afternoon as he and other officers responded to what Zibolski called a routine crash response. As officers arrived on the scene, 37-year-old Mohamad Barakat of Fargo opened fire for an unknown reason, Zibolski said Saturday afternoon during a news conference announcing the names of those in...

Rapidly spreading ‘Rabbit Fire’ continues to scorch over 7,500 acres in Riverside County; remains 25 percent contained 

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

The “Rabbit Fire” that broke out on Friday night is continuing to spread and force evacuations near Beaumont. According to fire officials, the blaze has torched 7,600 acres and is 25 percent contained. Mountainsides near the 79 Freeway were seen charred by the wildfires as early as 6 a.m. Sunday morning, and authorities confirmed that flames did briefly cross the freeway late Saturday night before crews were able to contain them. The two biggest challenges firefighters face are accessing the remote area that the fire is spreading through and mitigating the effects of the large amounts of dry brush in the area, but fighting the blaze at night is proving to be a key tactic in extinguishing it. “As the earth cools down, the wind will go in the reverse direction of where it was coming to,” said Cal Fire Deputy Chief Lucas Spelman. “In this area we’ve been having fires over and over the last few weeks because of the heat and how dry it is.” The “Rabbit Fire” that brok...

Spain captain apologizes after haka video is criticized by indigenous Maori before Women’s World Cup

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Spain captain Ivana Andres has apologized to the Maori people of New Zealand for a video showing four members of her country’s Women’s World Cup squad mocking the traditional haka which was shared a week ago on social media.The video was posted shortly after the team’s arrival in New Zealand but was removed when experts of Maori culture and protocol condemned it as disrespectful.Andres read a statement of apology Monday to elders and members of the local Rangitane O Manawatu iwi (tribe) at a powhiri (greeting) ceremony in the North Island city of Palmerston North, where the Spain squad is based.She also presented a Spain playing shirt with the word Papaioea, the Maori name for Palmerston North, to tribal elders.The Real Madrid center back spoke in Spanish during the almost hour-long greeting ceremony. Her words were translated into English.“We’ve only been in Aotearoa New Zealand for a few days and we have so much to learn about your culture,” An...

Traffic on key bridge connecting Crimea to Russia’s mainland halted amid reports of explosions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Traffic on the key bridge connecting Crimea to Russia’s mainland has been halted amid reports of explosions.The governor of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, announced the closure early Monday but did not specify the reason.News reports said local residents heard explosions before dawn, but there was no confirmation.The 19-kilometer (12-mile) bridge that was opened in 2018 is the main land connection between Russia and the Crimean peninsula.The bridge that spans the Kerch Strait was damaged in October by a truck bomb and required months of repairs before resuming full service. The bridge carries both road and rail traffic and is an important supply artery for Russia’s war in Ukraine.Source

Editorial: Biden cracks down on affordable health insurance

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

Barack Obama earned his place in Bartlett’s during the Obamacare debate with his famous fib, “If you like your doctor, you’ll be able to keep your doctor.” Now it turns out that Joe Biden uttered a similar whopper when he told an Iowa audience in 2019 that, under his health care agenda, “if in fact you have private insurance, you can keep it.”The Biden administration recently announced a crackdown on what progressives describe as “junk” health insurance coverage. Democrats have long sought such an edict because these bare-bones private plans tend to attract younger, healthier adults who prefer not to pay more expensive premiums on the Obamacare exchange.But if the goal is to limit the number of uninsured Americans, why take away this option? The answer is that Obamacare hasn’t turned out to be as affordable as promised.Recall that the Affordable Care Act initially demanded that all adults sign up for health insurance coverage under the threat of financial penalty. The aim was to for...

Man, 65, dragged by vehicle after struck in Hillcrest alley

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A 65-year-old man was hospitalized Sunday morning after a vehicle struck and dragged him about 30 feet through a Hillcrest alley, San Diego police said.Around 11:38 a.m., the man was lying on a mattress in the west alley of 3800 Park Blvd., authorities said, when a vehicle traveling eastbound on University Avenue made a right turn into the alley and struck the man.The driver, described as a 48-year-old man, dragged him with the vehicle. According to SDPD, the 65-year-old was dragged about 30 feet before the driver realized. 1 arrested at DUI checkpoint in Chula Vista SDPD said he sustained 2nd and 3rd degree burns in the incident, as well as a fractured femur. He was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment, and his current condition is not known.The identities of both people involved have not been disclosed by law enforcement.The series of events that led to the incident remain under investigation by the SDPD Traffic Division. Anyone with information related to...

South Korea’s death toll from destructive rainstorm grows to 40 as workers search for survivors

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Heavy downpours lashed South Korea a ninth day on Monday as rescue workers struggled to search for survivors in landslides, buckled homes and swamped vehicles in the most destructive storm to hit the country this year.At least 40 people have died, 34 others are injured and more than 10,000 people have had to evacuate from their homes since July 9, when heavy rain started pounding the country. The severest damage has been concentrated in South Korea’s central and southern regions.In the central city of Cheongju, hundreds of rescue workers, including divers, continued to search for survivors in a muddy tunnel where about 15 vehicles, including a bus, got trapped in a flash flood that may have filled up the passageway within minutes Saturday evening.The government has deployed nearly 900 rescue workers to the tunnel, who have so far pulled up 13 bodies and rescued nine people who were treated for injuries. It wasn’t immediately clear how many people were...

International Court of Justice rejects Armenia’s request for Azerbaijani troops to withdraw from border

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

On 14 July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) published its decision to unanimously reject Armenia’s request for Azerbaijan “to “[w]ithdraw any and all personnel deployed on or along the Lachin Corridor since 23 April 2023 and refrain from deploying any such personnel on or along the Lachin Corridor”. Armenia had made a request for the Court to modify its February 2023 Order in May this year. The request was rejected unanimously by the 15 ICJ judges.See the statement issued by Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Foreign Minister Elnur Mammadov welcoming the Court’s and stating that “Azerbaijan has a right to control its own borders. The ICJ rejected Armenia’s request to issue an order that would deny our country an inherent aspect of our sovereignty. The below request by Armenia was unanimously rejected. The best response to Armenia’s falsehoods.”Some key points from the Court's order are:Armenia’s attempts to spin the Court’s decision into a “win” and “reaffi...

Emeryville: One shot during attempted armed robbery in Bank of America parking lot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:14 GMT

EMERYVILLE — Four male suspects attempted to rob two individuals at gunpoint in a Bank of America parking lot Sunday afternoon, police said.The robbery took place at 12:38 p.m. on the 4000 block of San Pablo Avenue, according to the Emeryville Police Department. During the engagement, one of the suspects fired at a victim, hitting them in the leg.The suspects then fled in a red Hyundai Sedan with black rims that had damage to the front of the car.The victim who was shot was transported to a local hospital and is in stable condition.Anyone with information regarding the incident should contact the Emeryville Police Department Criminal Investigations Section at 510-596-3700 and reference case 2307-1144.