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City council to vote on extending emergency declaration for homelessness again

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:30:25 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The Denver City Council will be discussing whether or not to extend the local disaster declaration for the large unhoused population in the Mile High City.The city council will weigh in during Monday's 3:30 p.m. meeting. The disaster declaration is set to expire on Nov. 13. On July 18, Mayor Mike Johnston filed a local emergency declaration over the homeless crisis right after his inauguration. Since then, the declaration has been extended multiple times. However, the number of votes in opposition has grown along the way. Cases of chickenpox reported among children in Denver migrant shelters If it passes again, this would be the fourth extension and would push the date to Dec. 31. That is also the same as the mayor's self-imposed deadline to house 1,000 people. According to the mayor's office's House1000 Progress Dashboard, there have been only 224 people housed so far. It also said there are more than 1,300 units in the pipeline. If it does not pass, the declar...

Nicki Minaj makes US Vogue cover debut

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:30:25 GMT

(CNN) — While she may be promoting her forthcoming studio album “Pink Friday 2,” Nicki Minaj is on the cover of Vogue in cream — a delicately draped Valentino couture gown, that is.Minaj has previously been featured on the covers of the Arabian and Japanese editions of Vogue (in 2018 and 2019, respectively), but the December issue of US Vogue marks her stateside debut. It’s a moment that also marks a milestone: after nearly 15 years of dominance in the rap industry, the performer sat down with Vogue to discuss her new album, the pressures of fame and the challenges and joys of raising her 3-year-old son, who she publicly refers to as “Papa Bear.” (Minaj hasn’t otherwise officially revealed her son’s birth name.)“There’s a freeness that you have around you when you’re at your best, when you’re doing your thing at your peak,” Minaj told the magazine. “But once you start knowing that you’re being judged, there’s no longer that free spirit. People who excel at something make it look eas...

Florida mother demands police action over alleged explicit school library book

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:30:25 GMT

SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) — A concerned mother demanded police intervention after she found an allegedly explicit book in her child’s school library. Jennifer Tapley reported to the sheriff’s office, citing the book “Storm and Fury” as child pornography, seeking enforcement against its distribution in the school. “The governor says, this is child pornography,” said Tapley on a depity’s bodycam footage. “It’s a serious crime — it’s just as serious as if I handed a Playboy to her right now. Right here in front of you. It’s just as serious, according to the law.”Despite Tapley’s concerns, the school district asserts compliance with state law, stating no crime has occurred. Outside of the school, deputies spoke among themselves, stating that this incident isn’t “their thing” and that this matter belongs to the school district.The sheriff’s office said they don’t h...

7 ways David Cameron’s comeback could get awkward for Rishi Sunak

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:30:25 GMT

LONDON — David Cameron is back at the top of British politics. His boss Rishi Sunak might soon regret it.Sunak shocked Westminster on Monday by picking Cameron — who quit as prime minister in the wake of the 2016 Brexit referendum — as his new foreign secretary, amid a wide-ranging government reshuffle aimed at turning around the ailing Conservative Party’s fortunes. Cameron will become a life member of the House of Lords to take on the job.It means one of Britain’s best-known and most-experienced politicians is back in one of the most powerful jobs in the British government. But there are plenty of reasons the grand return could soon get awkward for Sunak and his party.1) Sunak’s defined himself against CameronIn the aftermath of Cameron’s appointment, some in Westminster were reminiscing about Rishi Sunak’s first conference speech as Tory leader.In that speech — made all of five weeks ago — Sunak tried to pitch himself as the change candidate. In doin...

Macron attempts damage control after comments criticizing Israel

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:30:25 GMT

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron went into diplomatic overdrive on Sunday to snuff out a growing row with Israel over comments he made about civilian casualties in Gaza. Israeli top officials slammed Macron after he ramped up his call for a cease-fire, asking Israel to stop its retaliatory bombing campaign, which is leading to the death of women and children. On Friday, Macron said “these babies, these ladies … are bombed and killed” in Gaza, and urged Israel to stop, saying there was “no legitimacy” for the deaths, in an interview with the BBC. The French president’s harshest comments yet on the conflict sparked fury in Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday telling reporters Macron had “made a serious mistake factually and morally,” pointing instead to Hamas’ preventing evacuation of civilians. Later, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said the French head of state’s comments “caused much pain and upset in Israel.”On Sunday, Macron tried to smooth ove...

NH soldier among 5 killed in training exercise in Mediterranean Sea

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:30:25 GMT

A staff sergeant from New Hampshire was among five U.S. Army Special Operations soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in the Mediterranean Sea late last week, the Department of Defense announced. The crash happened on Friday. In an update Monday, the DOD said the MH-60 Blackhawk had been conducting aerial refueling training when it “experienced an in-flight emergency resulting in the crash.” Tanner Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire was killed in the crash. Citing service details shared by Army Special Operations Command, officials said Grone enlisted in the Army in 2017 as a Blackhawk repairer. From there, Grone served as a flight instructor and as an MH-60M Blackhawk crew chief. Officials said Grone deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan, with “several no-notice deployments and exercises” during his career. He also received multiple awards and commendations. The DOD identified other soldiers killed in Friday’s crash as follows:Chief Warrant Offic...

The Pentagon identifies the 5 US troops killed in a military helicopter crash over the Mediterranean

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:30:25 GMT

By TARA COPP (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon on Monday identified the five Army aviation special operations forces killed when their UH-60 helicopter crashed in the Eastern Mediterranean.The military’s European Command said the helicopter went down over the weekend during an air refueling mission as part of military training.The five service members who died were Chief Warrant Officer 3 Stephen R. Dwyer, 38, of Clarksville, Tennessee; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Shane M. Barnes, 34, of Sacramento, California; Staff Sgt. Tanner W. Grone, 26, of Gorham, New Hampshire; Sgt. Andrew P. Southard, 27, of Apache Junction, Arizona; and Sgt. Cade M. Wolfe, 24, of Mankato, Minnesota.The U.S. has built up its force presence in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel. There are two carrier strike groups operating in the region, U.S. Air Force squadrons have received additional crews and warplanes, and U.S. special operations forces...

Jon Batiste announces first North American headlining tour, celebrating ‘World Music Radio’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:30:25 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jon Batiste, the Grammy- and Oscar-winning musician and former bandleader for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” will embark on his first North American headlining tour in support of his latest album. The expansive “World Music Radio,” featuring his signature rich blend of R&B, hip-hop, swing, jazz and pop, was released earlier this summer.The tour news arrived Monday, on the heels of the 2024 Grammy nominations announcement: Batiste is up for six Grammys, including album, song, and record of the year.The “Uneasy Tour: Purifying the Airwaves for the People” will kick off Feb. 16 in Portland, Oregon, and take Batiste across the U.S. and Canada. The tour wraps in Miramar Beach, Florida, on April 27.Along the way, he’ll hit numerous cities including Seattle, San Francisco, Detroit, Philadelphia, New York and Atlanta. “I’m into numbers, so: 20 theaters and 24 performances to bless the pivotal year 2024. For my first solo run I wanted to play in smaller ve...

Book Review: Mitch Albom spins moving Holocaust tale in ’The Little Liar’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:30:25 GMT

Mitch Albom’s books often capture the zeitgeist, but his new novel about the fate of Greek Jews during World War II packs a particular punch in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7.“The Little Liar” tells the story of four interconnected characters, three of them Jews living in Salonika, Greece, at the onset of Germany’s invasion, and the other a Third Reich devotee carrying out Hitler’s orders on the Mediterranean island. Nico Krispis is the title character and it’s his journey from a beautiful boy who has never told a lie to a Nazi pawn that drives the novel. Nico and his brother, Sebastian, are just boys when the story begins and by the end they’re middle-aged men who have lived lives defined by the choices they made during the war. Between them is their childhood friend Fannie, who both boys crushed on when they were growing up, and who Sebastian throws off a train bound for Auschwitz at the start of the novel.The book’s narrator presents as the definition of re...

In crowded field of psychedelic startups, Filament CEO makes case for ‘natural’ drugs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:30:25 GMT

A recent boom in psychedelic research has given way to a bumper crop of startups seeking to harness the potential of mind-altering drugs for treating depression, addiction and other conditions.In this crowded field, Vancouver-based Filament Health has a unique approach: extracting drugs like psilocybin and mescaline from natural sources, including mushrooms and cacti, rather than synthesizing the ingredients in a laboratory.Filament is studying its mushroom-based psilocybin as a treatment for opioid and stimulant use disorder. And more than a dozen other companies and academic centers are using the company’s drugs in trials of depression, chronic pain and other disorders.Filament CEO Benjamin Lightburn spoke with The Associated Press about the ethical, therapeutic and medical case for using naturally derived psychedelics. The answers have been edited for length and clarity.Q: What do you mean by “natural psychedelics” and how are they produced?A: It means we’re deriving them f...