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State Fairgrounds event encourages more Minnesotans to adopt

Published Sun, 15 Dec 2024 23:39:59 GMT

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — Families across Minnesota came together Saturday to celebrate adoption while advocating the need for more people to get involved.The Minnesota Department Of Human Services hosted its 26th annual “Circus Of The Heart” event at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.Hundreds of blended families participated in games and art activities. DHS also held a presentation for adults interested in learning more about the adoption and kinship care process.“I’m just so proud of Minnesota; it’s a state that always embraced adoption and now kinship care and I think the state population is very open to that and has been really welcoming,” Commissioner Jodi Harpstead said. “And we’re just so proud of folks that step up to be forever families to the kids that really need them.”Harpstead said 1,006 children were adopted from foster care in 2022 and another 637 children were placed in the care of a relative.Becky Puchtel fostered and adopted two children. She said being at this event l...

Emergency managers hope new radar will fix coverage gaps in Minnesota

Published Sun, 15 Dec 2024 23:39:59 GMT

A newly installed radar system is intended to cover a gap in weather radar coverage in western Minnesota.Radar gaps happen in areas far from National Weather Service radar sites.Because the earth curves, the radar beams go higher into the atmosphere as they travel away from the source. In some areas of Minnesota, those radar beams miss lower levels of the atmosphere.A map showing diminished weather radar coverage in some areas of Minnesota. (Courtesy / Tina Lindquist)The new radar was installed recently atop the water tower in the Grant County town of Wendell, Minn., by a private company called Climavision.Climavision co-founder and CEO Chris Goode said the data will help the National Weather Service improve weather warnings.“It’s not to denigrate the existing network. We’ve got a good network, but these blind spots do set us up to miss low-level impactful weather, thunderstorms, tornadoes,” he said.Climavision plans to install seven or eight similar radar systems in Minnesota over ...

Menands conducts train derailment evacuation drill

Published Sun, 15 Dec 2024 23:39:59 GMT

MENANDS, N.Y. (NEWS10) -The village of Menands welcomed residents and drivers west of the CP Rail line to participate in their train derailment evacuation drill on November 5. Mayor Brian Marsh says the test is done to help first responders improve rescue efforts in the event of an incident.At 3:30 p.m., the fire department’s siren activated to alert the village of the test. Other warnings were sent to hundreds of residents registered for village alerts. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! "Those folks did get an alert on their phone and via email that this is a drill and this is happening. If this was a real emergency, they would get that same information," said Marsh.Police, fire, and emergency services helped those west of the train tracks along an alternate route, the Menands School path. "We had about two dozen respondents from the community who participated in the drill. The whole drill lasted just under half an hour." Amer...

Why some St. Louis kids ride in a taxi instead of a school bus

Published Sun, 15 Dec 2024 23:39:59 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Parents called the You Paid For It Team about school bus woes. They say even though the district switched bus companies and is paying more with the new one they are seeing the same old problems. Buses are not showing up, leaving kids stranded at the bus stops.Elliott Davis talked to the new St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Keisha Scarlett. She said it’s a nationwide problem brought on by a bus driver shortage, and so far they haven’t figured out how to solve it.The school district paid about $4 million more for the new company it hired after so much criticism of the old company. The problem is expensive; the district is allocating $2 million a year for taxicabs to get kids to school.

Rallies held in St. Louis over the Israel-Hamas War

Published Sun, 15 Dec 2024 23:39:59 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Two rallies were held today in the St. Louis area over the Israel-Hamas War.The pro-Palestinian rally happened on Delmar in University City. Hundreds of people turned out for that rally, demanding an end to Israel’s bombing of Gaza. They want a cease-fire and an end to the fighting.Not far away in Clayton, pro-Israel protesters rallied at the St. Louis County Government Center. It was a rally held by Christian and Jewish organizations. Protesters say one of their goals is the return of the hostages taken by Hamas in the terror attacks on October 7.

$10K in stolen retail merchandise recovered after 3 arrests made

Published Sun, 15 Dec 2024 23:39:59 GMT

Deputies in Riverside County recovered more than $10,000 in stolen merchandise after arresting a 19-year-old woman, along with two juveniles, who reportedly returned to a store for the second time in one day to steal additional merchandise, authorities announced earlier this weekend.  The incident unfolded on Nov. 2 with Riverside County Sheriff’s Department deputies responding to reports of the grand theft just after 8 p.m. at an unidentified retail store.  At the scene, employees told deputies with the robbery and burglary suppression team that earlier in the day the store had lost some $2,000 worth of merchandise and that the suspects, one of whom was later identified as Georgiana Velcu, were seen returning to the store and concealing more items.  Velcu, a resident of Brea, along with the two juveniles were detained.  Georgiana Velcu, 19, from Brea, was arrested along with two juveniles on Nov. 4, 2023, in connection with a theft a retail store in Riverside County....

Photos: Blast at Al-Maghazi refugee camp in Gaza kills dozens as Israel continues to identify victims of Oct. 7 Hamas attack

Published Sun, 15 Dec 2024 23:39:59 GMT

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Gaza lost communications Sunday in its third total outage of the Israel-Hamas war, while Israel’s military said it encircled Gaza City and divided the besieged coastal strip into two.Israeli warplanes struck two refugee camps, killing at least 53 people and wounding dozens in central Gaza, the zone where Israel’s military had urged Palestinian civilians to seek refuge, health officials said. Israel said it would press on with its offensive to crush Hamas, despite U.S. appeals for even brief pauses to get aid to desperate civilians.Journalist Muhammed Alaloul told CNN on Sunday the explosion killed four of his children and three of his siblings. Alaloul, a freelance photojournalist with the Turkish news agency Anadolu, said his home was destroyed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the Al-Maghazi refugee camp.Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry said more than 9,700 Palestinians have been killed in nearly a month of war in Gaza, more than 4,000 of them ...

Warriors 3 Things: The Cavs exposed Golden State’s biggest weakness

Published Sun, 15 Dec 2024 23:39:59 GMT

So far, this Warriors season has felt charmed.The Dubs are playing beautiful, connected basketball and executing at an enviable level in crunch-time play.The team’s five wins at this early juncture of the season served as a warning to the rest of the NBA: Golden State is back.But the Dubs received a dose of reality in Cleveland.These Warriors are small. Tiny. Diminutive. Itty-bitty.And for all the positives this team possesses — and there are too many to list here — there’s not much the Dubs can do to fix that problem.Luckily, I don’t foresee it being a massive problem for Golden State this season.Now, the Warriors lost to the Cavs 115-104 Sunday, and the reason why was evident to anyone watching: The Dubs were out-rebounded by 10 and outscored in the paint by 34 points in the loss.But Golden State is leaning into its reality. Don’t go snooping for lifted shoes with this team.Against one of the NBA’s best defenses and a team that has absurd length — Cle...

Warriors’ five-game win streak snapped by Cleveland Cavaliers

Published Sun, 15 Dec 2024 23:39:59 GMT

CLEVELAND — The Warriors lost on the road for the first time this season Sunday as the Cleveland Cavaliers used their size to earn a 115-104 victory, snapping Golden State’s overall five-game winning streak.Golden State was down at the half, by 12, for the first time on the road this season as they struggled to hit shots.Steph Curry and Klay Thompson kept them afloat, scoring 24 combined points at the half. The team went on an eight-minute scoring drought between the first and second quarters, leading to a season-low 15-point second-quarter. They’ve been down at the half for both of their losses, the other on Opening Night against the Phoenix Suns.The offense succumbed to the Cavaliers’ size — led by two-headed monster Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen — and lost the game in the paint on both ends, where Cleveland outscored them 58-24.Curry, Thompson, and Draymond Green primarily carried the scoring from beyond the arc to counter Mobley and Allen mucking up...

“1989 (Taylor’s Version)” de Taylor Swift es su decimotercer álbum número uno

Published Sun, 15 Dec 2024 23:39:59 GMT

(CNN) — Taylor Swift continúa batiendo récords en un año vertiginoso para la artista.El domingo, Billboard informó que “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” de Swift, el exitoso álbum de 2014 que regrabó y lanzó el mes pasado, alcanzó el número 1 en la lista de álbumes Billboard 200 en la primera semana de su lanzamiento.El hito marca el decimotercer álbum número uno de la cantante de “Blank Space” (sí, finalmente el número 13, Taylor)”.El debut de “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” marcó las mayores ventas de álbumes en la primera semana para cualquier álbum desde que Adele lanzó su álbum “25” en 2015 y es hasta ahora el álbum más vendido del año, según Billboard.Travis Kelce revela detalles de su fin de semana con Taylor Swift en Nueva YorkEl álbum de Swift de 2022, “Midnights”, y el lanzamiento en julio de “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” completan los tres álbumes más vendidos en 2023.Swift también dejó su huella en los servicios de transmisión de música, convirtiéndose en la artista más reprodu...