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Arizona third graders receive full-ride college scholarships

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:53 GMT

AVONDALE, Arizona (KNXV) — Dozens of elementary school students received a special surprise to help them along their educational journey on Wednesday.Third-grade students in Avondale will be able to get a head start after receiving college scholarships.While many were in attendance at the Avondale Elementary School District, only a few people knew what was to come.“This is very surprising. We are very grateful. It just took us like a bucket of cold water,” said parent Ana Verdin.Verdin was excited to learn that her third-grade son from Michael Anderson School would receive a full-ride college scholarship.“He was like, ‘woah,’ just whispered into my ear, ‘I am going to be a scientist,’” added Verdin.Cristobal Verdin was among dozens getting help from the Rosztoczy Foundation on Wednesday.“The whole idea is just to introduce the program to them, get them comfortable with the idea, and really get them started with thinking about their fut...

Jimmy Buffett reschedules show after check-up in Boston leads to hospital trip for issues needing ‘immediate attention’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:53 GMT

Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett was forced to reschedule a concert scheduled for this weekend after the musician said a health check-up in Boston led to a trip to the hospital.Buffett, 76, addressed the public with a statement on Thursday, telling fans that “growing old is not for sissies, I promise you” as he explained why a Saturday show in Charleston, SC, was being moved.The statement was posted to the “Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefers” Facebook page and described how the tropical island rock icon recently stopped in Boston for a check-up, but ended up being hospitalized.“Two days ago, I was just back from a trip to the Bahamas, thawing out from the California ‘winter tour,’ and chomping at the bit to get to Charleston,” Buffett said. “I had to stop in Boston for a check-up but wound up back in the hospital to address some issues that needed immediate attention. Growing old is not for sissies, I promise you. I also will pro...

Judge: New Hampshire has a year to stop holding psychiatric patients in emergency rooms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:53 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire has one year to stop the involuntary holding of psychiatric patients in emergency rooms, a federal judge ruled, several months after declaring the state’s practice unconstitutional.U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty issued an order Wednesday after giving the state and hospitals time to submit proposed orders or a timeline for how they would develop an order together. But both sides couldn’t come to an agreement. McCafferty ruled following a hearing Monday.McCafferty also ruled the state can only hold people in emergency rooms for up to six hours, before transferring them to a facility for treatment. State officials had asked for up to 12 hours. She asked for status reports from the state every four months.New Hampshire has long struggled with a mental health system that advocates say is overburdened at every stage, from initiation of treatment to re-entry into the community. Emergency room boarding, with people in crisis waitin...

Body found by investigators a day after fire destroys hotel in southern Maine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:53 GMT

KITTERY, Maine (AP) — The body of a person was found during a fire investigation after a fierce blaze destroyed a hotel in southern Maine, fire officials said Thursday.The fire destroyed the Days Inn in Kittery, a town along the New Hampshire line, on Wednesday. Officials with the Maine Fire Marshal’s Office said the body was found at about 2:15 p.m. on Thursday afternoon during an investigation.The identity of the victim is awaiting confirmation from the state medical examiner, officials said. The cause and origin of the fire remain under investigation, they said.Kittery Fire Chief David O’Brien said building owner Kamlesh Patel has been cooperating with the investigation. The building is a total loss, O’Brien said.A person answering a phone at a business listing for Patel said the owner was unavailable and declined to comment further.Kittery issued violation notices for code problems at the hotel several years ago, O’Brien said. He said every issue that...

Howie Carr: Who’s the ‘zealot’ now, Rachael? [+her texts]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:53 GMT

The most amazing thing about the downfall of US attorney Rachael Rollins is that it actually happened at all.Given her status as a member of multiple protected classes, I believed she was totally immune, invulnerable.And you know what – so did Rachael, obviously, or she wouldn’t have behaved in such a brazen fashion.How many times must I repeat the obvious, ancient wisdom?“Never write when you can speak, never speak when you can nod, and never nod when you can wink.”And to update to today: “And never, ever text. Period.”Rachael Rollins is a textbook example of why some prominent figures never text, period. Even a single ill-considered thought can sink you forever, at least if you’re not in a Democrat-protected class. But the lesson of Rachael Rollins is, at some point, you can go so far off the rails that even the protected-class shields fail.Look at the texts between her and Ricky Ricardo Arroyo, the Boston city councilor who was running last year for district attorney of Suffolk C...

North County schools locked down after report of suspicious person

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:53 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Three North County schools were placed on lock down Thursday afternoon after a student reported seeing a suspicious person in the area, authorities said.According to the Oceanside Police Department, a call came in around 1:24 p.m. from a staff member at Palmquist Elementary School reporting that a student saw an unknown individual in a heavily wooded hillside to the west of the campus on the 1800 block of California Street. Man shot, killed at Campland on the Bay; suspect arrested The staff member also reported that the student believed the suspicious person possibly had a weapon, police said. After the call, OPD says Palmquist Elementary School, Lincoln Middle School and Oceanside Adventist School were all locked down while police responded and searched the area.A team searched the hillside where the student reported seeing the individual while a separate search team simultaneously conducted a safety sweep of the school grounds, OPD explained. An aerial team was also...

NEED TO KNOW: Construction spots impacting your drive to cottage country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:53 GMT

The Victoria Day long weekend is the unofficial kick off to summer with motorists heading to cottage country in droves to soak up the warmer weather.But road construction is also kicking into high gear, so CityNews has put together a list of the major construction spots affecting cottage routes to make your drive up as smooth as possible.Leaving the GTABoth Highway 401 and Highway 400 will be impacted by construction this season.On the 401 eastbound, rehabilitation work through Scarborough and into Pickering is ongoing. Currently, the collector lanes are reduced between Neilson and Whites roads. Resurfacing and bridge work will make it a tight squeeze for drivers as this project continues through 2025.Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO) is also scheduled to begin work to remove both the Simcoe and Albert streets bridges over the 401 in Oshawa to prepare for future widening. This may also require lane restrictions but work on this project has already been delayed by several ye...

Missouri governor to announce his pick as new St. Louis prosecutor after Kim Gardner resignation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:53 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Republican Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Friday will announce his pick to serve out the remainder of Kim Gardner’s term as the chief prosecutor in St. Louis, following her sudden departure earlier this week.Parson will be joined by Democratic Mayor Tishaura Jones and Police Chief Robert Tracy as he announces Gardner’s replacement as circuit attorney, a news release said. The appointee will fill out the term that runs through 2024.Gardner, 47, had been the subject of an ouster effort by Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. Simultaneously, GOP-led state lawmakers were considering a bill allowing Parson to appoint a special prosecutor to handle violent crimes, effectively removing the bulk of Gardner’s responsibilities. She also faced possible contempt of court after her office failed to have an attorney present for the start of a trial.Gardner announced on May 4 that she would resign effective June 1. Then unexpectedly on Tuesday, she announc...

Saudi Arabia’s surge of diplomacy brings Syria’s Assad, Ukraine’s Zelenskyy to Arab summit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:53 GMT

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia hosted an Arab League summit on Friday in which Syrian President Bashar Assad was welcomed back after a 12-year suspension and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to rally support against Russia.Russian airstrikes have left a swath of destruction across both countries, but in Syria they came at Assad’s invitation and helped him cling to power through years of grinding civil war. Several other Arab states have maintained warm ties with Moscow while remaining largely neutral on the Ukraine war.The odd pairing of the two leaders in the same forum is the result of a recent flurry of diplomacy by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is pursuing regional rapprochement with the same vigor he previously brought to the oil-rich kingdom’s confrontation with its archrival Iran. In recent months, Saudi Arabia has restored diplomatic ties with Iran, is ending the kingdom’s yearslong war against Iran-backed rebe...

Stock market today: Wall Street opens higher, on track for best weekly gain since March

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:53 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is ticking higher as it heads towards its best week since March, despite a long list of worries hanging over it. The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading Friday and on pace for a 2% gain for the week. That would break a long, listless stretch where it failed to rise or fall by 1% for six straight weeks. The Dow was just barely higher while the Nasdaq composite was up 0.2%. Rising hopes that the U.S. government can avoid a disastrous default on its debt have been one of the main engines for the market.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street pointed toward gains before the bell Friday, potentially setting up markets for their best week since March as optimism about a U.S. debt ceiling deal grew heading into the weekend.Futures for the Dow Jones industrials and S&P 500 each rose 0.2% in premarket trading.Hopes are high that the United States Congress would reach a deal to avoid defaulting on the nation’s...