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Auto parts store in north St. Louis catches fire, collapses

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:40 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A fire broke out Wednesday morning in the Kingsway East neighborhood of north St. Louis.It started about 2:30 a.m. at an old auto parts store on Dr. Martin Luther King Drive near Walton Avenue. Top story: “Easter Miracle” for Lake St. Louis officer critically injured by suspected drunk driver A large portion collapsed of the building about 30 minutes after the fire started.

Rockies Mailbag: How concerned is Colorado about Ezequiel Tovar’s slow start?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:40 GMT

Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.Pose a Rockies — or MLB — related question for the Rockies Mailbag.Patrick, what’s your opinion on the new rules? The games are shorter and batting averages are up just a couple of weeks in. Is it good for the game? Is it bad? Is it just a thing? What are your thoughts?— Marshall, ParkerMarshall, I think it’s been tremendous. Sure, there have been some hiccups and I think the umpires are still struggling with some of the logistics, but the games have not only been faster, but they’ve also been crisper and entertaining.From a purely selfish point, it’s sure great for my deadlines for the old-fashioned print newspaper. A number of players have told me that although the pace of the game takes some getting used to, they like it.Through their first eight games, the Rockies’ average game time of 2 hours, 33 minutes was five minutes below the league ...

Broncos draft preview: Crowded WR room doesn’t scream draft need, but what if a trade materializes?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:40 GMT

Editor’s note: Third of a series of NFL draft previews as it relates to the Broncos. Monday: Quarterbacks. Tuesday: Running backs. Today: Wide receiversBroncos’ in-house offseason moves: Signed Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Marquez Callaway to one-year deals.Under contract: Jerry Jeudy (2023 plus 2024 fifth-year option), Courtland Sutton (three years), Tim Patrick (two years), KJ Hamler (one year), Montrell Washington (three years), Kendall Hinton (one year), Jalen Virgil (two years), Brandon Johnson (two years), Humphrey, Callaway.Need scale (1-10): 5. This number could trend upward quickly if Denver ends up trading Jeudy or Sutton in the next couple of weeks or on draft weekend. Outside of that, the Broncos return their top five from a year ago – Hamler’s health is a question mark – and have a pair of interesting second-year guys in Johnson and Virgil to go along with the new additions.Top Five1. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State: After several loaded receiver classes in recent years...

Police investigating Monterey drug overdose discover more than $30,000 worth of fentanyl

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:40 GMT

SEASIDE – A 31-year-old man was arrested in Monterey for allegedly selling fentanyl that led to an overdose death, police said.On March 24, the Seaside Police Department responded to a medical call of a man who overdosed and ultimately died from fentanyl use at his home. After investigating the matter, Seaside detectives determined that Justin Born, 31 of Monterey, had sold the drugs to that man.Seaside detectives set out Friday for Monterey to serve an arrest and search warrant for Born at his home on Ocean Avenue. During the trip, however, a driver struck a police vehicle. There were no injuries. The incident was unrelated to warrants being served and a woman was subsequently arrested, Seaside police said.Seaside and Monterey detectives later tracked down Born. He was arrested and charged with manslaughter, as well as numerous drug trafficking felonies. A search warrant of Born’s home revealed over six ounces of fentanyl, a ghost gun and more than $16,000 in cash.Seaside Chief of ...

Opinion: Excess deaths in the U.S. are rising at a shocking rate

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:40 GMT

The current COVID-19 situation in the U.S. is both good and bad. The good news is that COVID-19 deaths are at the lowest levels of the three-year pandemic. Given current trends, projections indicate roughly 100,000 COVID-19 deaths for 2023 — less than half of any of the three previous years.The bad news is that the number of overall excess U.S. deaths — the difference between expected numbers of deaths from all causes and the actual number of deaths observed — is rising at a shocking rate. COVID-19 is a factor, but the main causes of excess deaths are more social than medical, and the worst aspect is that they are occurring in the younger demographic in which homicides, suicides, vehicular deaths and drugs are taking a disproportionate toll on what should be the healthiest sector of the population.Since the pandemic began, excess deaths are up by more than 1.25 million in the U.S., about 15% higher than in the pre-pandemic years. This pattern is not limited to the U.S.; excess pande...

West Marin residents create craft distillery that pays homage to their roots

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:40 GMT

The Elk Fence Distillery was conceived in West Marin. It’s run by two people who live there and its name is a reference to the Tomales Point “elk fence” bordering a field where they once grew barley. It’s about as West Marin as you can get, except for one thing: It’s in Santa Rosa.When co-founders and co-distillers Gail Coppinger and Scott Woodson originally went to the Marin Civic Center and asked about what it would take to open a distillery in Marin County, they were met with blank stares. Although it wasn’t able to work out in Marin, they were still able to make their dreams come true.The two met working in the trades — Coppinger is a shingler, and Woodson is a painter — and bonded over his love of homebrewing and her love of cooking (she’s a former professional cook). One summer night in 2014, they got together in Woodson’s garage in Inverness.“We made a mash together,” says Coppinger, of Point Reyes Station. “I loved the smell and the chemistry.”“What is going on here?” she as...

Krugman: Speed of America’s recovery from the pandemic is incredible

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:40 GMT

Americans, they said, just don’t want to work. Socialism has made them lazy. They’d rather play video games. They don’t have the skills required by a 21st-century economy. High unemployment is “structural” and can’t be solved with monetary and fiscal stimulus.All of these stories received wide circulation during the long employment slump that followed the 2008 financial crisis and again in the aftermath of the pandemic recession. They were pushed by billionaires, captains of industry and prominent economists.And none of them were true.It may be hard for normal human beings — I’m sorry, I mean non-economists — to appreciate the awesomeness, the historic nature of last Friday’s employment report. But the speed and extent of America’s recovery from the pandemic shock have been incredible.After the 2008 financial crisis, it took 12 years for employment rates to get back to precrisis levels. But only three years after COVID struck, employment is fully back for almost every age and demogr...

Connor Bedard sweepstakes: Gaming out the Sharks’ various scenarios with three days left

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:40 GMT

The San Jose Sharks will not have the best odds of winning next month’s NHL Draft Lottery and selecting superstar-in-waiting Connor Bedard.The Anaheim Ducks lost to the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in regulation time Tuesday night and with only one game left, will not be able to catch the Sharks in the NHL’s overall standings.Anaheim can now reach a maximum of 60 points and 14 regulation-time wins, the NHL’s first tie-breaker. The Sharks already have 60 points with 16 regulation-time wins.The team that finishes last in the NHL’s overall standings will have a 25.5 percent chance of winning the May 8 draft lottery and picking No. 1 overall on the first day of the NHL Draft on June 28 in Nashville.The Sharks entered Wednesday 29th in the league’s overall standings, but there remains a possibility – however remote – for them to fall to 30th or 31st behind both or one or both of the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets.The Sharks close the regular season with games in Calgary and ...

Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin launches run for 3rd term

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:40 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who spearheaded legislation to protect same-sex and interracial marriages last year, announced on Wednesday that she is seeking a third term in battleground Wisconsin.Baldwin, 60, said in a statement that she intends to continue fighting for the working class and families struggling with inflation, as well as opposing Wisconsin’s abortion ban.No Republicans have announced they are running for Baldwin’s seat, which will be critical for Democrats to hold if they want to maintain control of the Senate.Baldwin won her first local race at age 24 and in 1998 won a seat in the U.S. House to became the first woman whom Wisconsin voters sent to Congress. She was elected to the Senate in 2012, handing former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson his first defeat in a statewide race, in a year when Barack Obama was also on the ballot. Baldwin will be seeking a third term in a presidential election year when turnout on both sides is ...

Russia: Bill to allow electronic conscription notices passes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:40 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — The upper house of Russia’s parliament has approved a bill that would allow authorities to issue electronic summons to draftees and reservists amid the fighting in Ukraine.The Federation Council’s vote was the last step needed before the bill goes to President Vladimir Putin, who is now expected to sign it into law. Lawmakers in Russia’s lower house, the State Duma, passed the measure on Tuesday. The legislation was put on fast track as the Russian military is preparing for an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, which Ukraine and its Western allies say could start within weeks.Russia’s current military service rules require the in-person delivery of notices to conscripts and reservists who are called up for duty. In the past, many Russians avoided the draft in the past by staying away from their address of record and the proposed bill would close that loophole. Under the new bill, the notices issued by local military conscription offices will continu...