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NYC partly shutters 4 parking garages after deadly collapse

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — After the deadly collapse of a parking structure in lower Manhattan, New York City building officials swept through dozens of parking garages and ordered four of them to immediately shutter because of structural issues that “deteriorated to the point where they were now posing an immediate threat to public safety.”Two of the parking garages have apartments above them — a 25-story high-rise in downtown Manhattan and an eight-story building in Chinatown — but officials said the residential areas appear to be in no danger.City officials directed the owners of the parking facilities to make immediate repairs to corroded concrete and other damage.Inspections were launched soon after a three-story stand-alone parking structure, about a century old, imploded into shards of concrete and twisted metal on April 18, crushing to death its manager.“This work was done in the interest of public safety, and out of an abundance of caution,” said Building Department spokesperson Andre...

3 indicted in Alabama mail thefts involving stolen keys

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Three Alabama residents have been indicted in a federal investigation that found letter carrier illegally sold keys that allowed others to open and pilfer Birmingham-area mailboxes.The indictment filed Thursday in federal court in Birmingham accuses Keaundria Janae Gresham, 30, of Pleasant Grove, a letter carrier at a local post office, of selling two keys for $3,000 each to Derrell Allen Matthews, 25, of Birmingham.What the U.S. Postal Service calls “arrow keys” open mail collection boxes. It’s illegal for someone who doesn’t work for the post office to have them.U.S. Postal Inspector Montaleto Barber said in a sworn statement on April 4 that people who steal mail often then try to illegally cash checks that they find. Barber said thieves have hit boxes outside multiple post offices, including in Hoover and Birmingham, with postal inspectors tracking down Matthews based on surveillance videos of a car registered to him. When they raised Matthews&...

US conducts 1st evacuation of its citizens from Sudan war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of Americans fleeing two weeks of deadly fighting in Sudan reached the east African nation’s port Saturday in the first U.S.-run evacuation, completing a dangerous land journey under escort of armed drones.American unmanned aircraft, which have been keeping an eye on overland evacuation routes for days, provided armed overwatch for a bus convoy carrying 200 to 300 Americans over 500 miles or 800 kilometers to Port Sudan, a place of relative safety, U.S. officials said.The U.S., which had none of its officials on the ground for the evacuation, has been criticized by families of trapped Americans in Sudan for initially ruling out any U.S.-run evacuation for those among an estimated 16,000 Americans in Sudan who wish to leave.U.S. special operations troops briefly flew to the capital, Khartoum, April 22 to airlift out American staffers at the embassy and other American government personnel. More than a dozen other nations have already been carrying out evacua...

Man, 39, fatally shot in Austin neighborhood overnight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

CHICAGO — A man was found shot dead in the Austin neighborhood overnight.Police responded to shots fired in the 4900 block of West Hubbard Street around 12:32 a.m. where they found a 39-year-old man lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the torso. 5 killed in ‘execution style’ mass shooting in Texas, suspect on the run Police said he was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead. There is no one custody and police are investigating the incident.

What's the cheapest day of the week to buy gas? Here's when to fill up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – As temperatures heat up, so do gas prices – unfortunately. Prices at the pump – already averaging around $3.60 nationwide – are expected to rise over the next few months as we head into the peak summer travel season. Not every station in your town will have the same prices, of course. But saving money at the pump doesn’t just mean knowing where to fill up – it also helps to know when to fill up.In general, gas prices tend to be lowest at the beginning of the week, on Monday and Tuesday, GasBuddy’s lead petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan told Nexstar. As the week goes on, gas prices tend to rise until they reach their most expensive point on the weekend – especially on Friday and Saturday.What drives this trend? Judge tentatively OKs $725M Facebook settlement: How to apply for a payout “If I had to venture a guess, energy markets are closed over the weekend, but they’re open Monday through Friday,” De Haan said. “By the time the weekend rolls aro...

Obama, Spielberg and Springsteen hang together in Barcelona, pose for photo with restaurant staff

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Former President Barack Obama, Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg and singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen dined together in Barcelona on Thursday, the night before Obama and Spielberg attended Springsteen’s concert at the city’s Olímpic Lluís Companys Stadium on Friday.The three also stopped to pose for a photo with the restaurant’s chefs, waitstaff and management inside the eatery.“It was an honour to welcome Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen and Steven Spielberg at Amar Barcelona,” a member of the restaurant’s team wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of the group.“Pleasures that this job gives you!!” staffer Pol Perello, who shared the image, added in a caption posted to his personal account. Crowds, high prices and the ‘White Lotus’ effect: Worst places to travel this summer The former president and wife Michelle Obama had visited cultural sites across the Catalan capital on Friday, including stops at the Sagrada Familia basilica and the Picasso museum, Reuters...

In debt from your kid's education? There are options

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

(NerdWallet) - In January, the Department of Education unveiled details of a repayment plan overhaul that could halve monthly payments for many federal student loan borrowers. But one group, the 3.7 million parents who owe parent PLUS loans, won’t benefit. Policymakers have long excluded parent PLUS loans from most relief, though the program looks much different today than it did during its 1980 debut.While parent PLUS loans were initially intended as a tool for well-off families, says Robert Kelchen, a higher education professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, they’ve increasingly become the loan of last resort for lower-income families. Parents, who can borrow up to the total cost of attendance per child (minus other federal aid) with PLUS loans, use the loans to fill funding gaps after their student hits the borrowing limit of no more than $7,500 per year from the government.» MORE: Student loan debt spans generations, and many aren’t ready to resume paymentsParent PLU...

Teen artists behind mural 'La Mujer', celebrate deeper meaning behind its creation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — As trail goers enjoy one of downtown Austin's outdoor spaces, they're now greeted by bold, bright faces like beloved singer Selena and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.These are Latina figures that have undoubtedly made an impact on not only the Latina culture but society.The Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC) unveiled its new mural, 'La Mujer,' honoring Latina women. It's a mosaic mural made mostly of tile material, located on the trail near 600 River Street. A group of teens—with guidance—created the work of art, which was four years in the making. They were a part of the Caminos paid internship program through MACC. It'll be a permanent installation at MACC but will be on display outside along the trail downtown for now, while the MACC's building undergoes renovations. Teen artist poses with mentors in front of 'La Mujer.' (KXAN photo/Jala Washington).The mural is a physical representation of the experience students gained through the Caminos internship....

Texas DPS discontinues CLEAR Alert for missing man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A CLEAR Alert issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety for a missing man was discontinued at 10 a.m. Saturday.Overnight, the San Antonio Police Department said it was searching for the man, and DPS issued the alert.At the time, law enforcement officials said they believed the man's disappearance posed a credible threat to his own health and safety.

NFL Draft: Vikings trade down in 4th, pick LSU corner Jay Ward

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:34:39 GMT

After trading down in the fourth round, the Vikings used the 134th overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to select cornerback Jay Ward from Louisiana State.After trading down in the third round on Friday, the Vikings did it again on Saturday, sending the 119th overall pick to Kansas City for the No. 134th pick and a fifth-rounder in the 2024 draft.With the 119th overall pick, the Chiefs chose Virginia Tech cornerback Chamarri Conner.Ward, 22, finished 2022 with 60 total tackles, one interception and a fumble recovery. In his college career, he intercepted six passes and broke up 17. He joins a secondary group that includes veteran corners Byron Murphy and Joejuan Williams, and safety Harrison Smith, but is overall very young with players such as Akayleb Evans, Andrew Booth, Lewis Cine, and now Blackmon and Ward.Through four rounds, the only players the Vikings have selected are USC receiver Jordan Addison (23rd overall), USC cornerback Mekhi Blackmon (102) and Ward (134). On Friday, th...