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Millions stolen from funds meant to feed children in need; Missouri exec charged

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:09 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A Missouri nonprofit executive is accused of stealing millions of dollars from a program intended to feed low-income Missouri children, including some funds acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic. Connie Bobo, 44, of St. Charles, serves as the executive director of the New Heights Community Resource Center, a nonprofit designed to provide meals to low-income, school-age children after school and during the summer.A federal indictment revealed Wednesday accuses Bobo and New Heights of falsely claiming to have served at least three million meals to children between February 2019 and March 2022. The indictment alleges these were meals that New Heights neither actually purchased nor supplied. ‘Basketball Wives’ star Brittish Cierrah Williams sentenced to prison The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) paid Bobo around $11 million. The indictment claims she spent around $4.3 million on personal expenses, including a $1 million home for herself, other ho...

Coffee shops along Front Range hit by spate of burglaries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:09 GMT

Thieves have targeted at least six coffee shops across the Front Range over the span of more than a year, according to area law enforcement agencies.One of the latest burglaries was at a Ziggi’s Coffee shop at 7700 W. 67th Ave. in Arvada, owned by Brittany Johnson and her husband Eric, with a safe stolen on Oct. 1.“It’s just super violating,” she said. “I’m like, ‘Are we going to lose our baristas because they don’t feel safe anymore?’ ”According to security camera footage shared with The Denver Post, a male burglar in a hoodie, face mask and black backpack threw a rock through the shop’s drive-thru window around 4:45 a.m. He climbed through, then Johnson said he wheeled the safe out in a trashcan.“He didn’t steal our iPads or anything – just took our safe,” she said.Eric and Brittany Johnson, owners of a Ziggi’s Coffee location in Arvada, provided footage of the suspect who burglarized their s...

Two dead in suspected murder-suicide after multiple shots fired in Severance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:09 GMT

Police found two people killed in a suspected murder-suicide after breaching the walls of a Severance home while responding to a report of gunshots following a disturbance on Wednesday.After police breached the walls of the home in the 800 block of Emerald Lakes Street, they reported finding the body of a minor with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. They also reported finding the body of a female who appeared to have sustained a gunshot before her death.Police block off the 800 block of Emerald Lakes Street in Severance after a 15-year-old apparently took two people hostage on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023. (Jim Rydbom/Staff Photographer)“The team was very methodical and patient and did everything it could. We did numerous callouts anticipating the party may be inside the house,” Severance Police Chief Ken Chavez said. “But it’s a bad outcome, obviously. We have a homicide and suicide, both, and a family tragedy.”Police said they exhausted all options before obtaining a search wa...

Starbucks is selling drinks for half the price: How to redeem the one-day deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:09 GMT

Starbucks rewards members can get their favorite drink for half the cost on Thursday.The coffee giant has declared Thursday to be “Yay Day,” and from noon to 6 p.m., a 50% off coupon can be found in the mobile app. With the coupon, rewards members can get 50% off any handcrafted drink.   Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte turns 20 The offer is exclusively available on the Starbucks app and can’t be used on DoorDash or Uber Eats delivery orders. The discount is limited to one per person and can be redeemed at participating Starbucks locations.The deal also coincides with National Pumpkin Day, so customers can use the coupon to get their favorite pumpkin-flavored drink.

3 Hospitalized after Semi-Truck Accident on Interstate 10 [Chandler, AZ]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:09 GMT

Three Injured in Big-Rig Collision near Mile Post 167CHANDLER, AZ (October 26, 2023) – Friday, three victims, including a child, were hospitalized after a semi-truck accident on Interstate 10.It occurred around 2:00 p.m., in the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 near milepost 167, involving a semi-truck and two vehicles.According to Department of Public Safety Officer Bart Graves, a witness told them that one vehicle crossed all lanes and caused a collision between the two.Furthermore, a vehicle was pinned underneath the semi-truck. As a result, a child and two adults suffered serious injuries. The paramedics rushed all injured occupants to the hospital for treatment.Meanwhile, the authorities blocked all westbound lanes, and it was later reopened just before 6:00 p.m. Police said that the eastbound lanes were not affected by the incident.No additional information was added and the crash is still under investigation.It is the driver’s responsibility to ensure the safety o...

Colby Greiner Dies in Bicycle Accident on Lake Las Vegas Parkway [Las Vegas, NV]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:09 GMT

40-Year-Old Bicyclist Pronounced Dead after Bicycle Crash near Montelago BoulevardLAS VEGAS, NV (October 26, 2023) – Officers responded to a bicycle crash Tuesday morning, that claimed left Colby Greiner dead. Police responded to the scene at 6:40 a.m., just north of the Village Resort near Montelago Boulevard on October 17th.Officers say a commercial vehicle was making a right turn with the right of way. There, the commercial vehicle struck 40-year-old Greiner, who was heading east on a bicycle. Paramedics arrived and took the cyclist to Sunrise Hospital where he later passed away.In addition, the involved driver remained in the area and cooperated with the investigation. Following preliminary duties, speed or impairment was not suspected as a factor in the incident.Emergency crews shut down a portion of the roadway during cleanup and preliminary duties. Once available, further details will be provided.The team at Sweet James sends out their heartfelt sympathies to the friend...

New House speaker helped try to overturn 2020 election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:09 GMT

By Nicholas Riccardi | Associated PressThe new leader of one of the chambers of Congress that will certify the winner of next year’s presidential election helped spearhead the attempt to overturn the last one, raising alarms that Republicans could try to subvert the will of the voters if they remain in power despite safeguards enacted after the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.Mike Johnson, the Louisiana congressman who was elected speaker of the House of Representatives on Wednesday after a three-week standoff among Republicans, took the lead in filing a brief in a lawsuit that sought to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win. That claim, widely panned by legal scholars of all ideologies, was quickly thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court.After the 2020 election, Johnson also echoed some of the wilder conspiracy theories pushed by then-President Donald Trump to explain away his loss. Then Johnson voted against certifying Biden’s win even after the Jan. 6...

Strongest US economic growth since 2021 puts Fed in tough spot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:09 GMT

Rich Miller and Augusta Saraiva | BloombergThe US economy likely expanded in the third quarter at the fastest clip in nearly two years, a surprising acceleration primarily powered by a consumer reaping the benefits of resilient job growth, rising wealth and easing inflation.Gross domestic product is projected to have grown at an annual rate of 4.5% last quarter, more than double the pace in the prior period, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists ahead of the release of government data on Thursday. That would be the fastest pace since the end of 2021, when the economy was shaking off the effects of the pandemic.“The US consumer has been surprising most predictions, including the Federal Reserve predictions, which is almost looking for the US consumer to soften, and yet they don’t,” Elie Maalouf, chief executive officer at InterContinental Hotels Group, said on the company’s Oct. 20 earnings call.The blowout quarter is good news for President Joe Biden, who’s had trouble convi...

At least 27 dead in Acapulco as Otis batters Mexicio

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:09 GMT

By Mark Stevenson | Associated PressACAPULCO, Mexico — Otis’ stunning transformation into a monster hurricane killed at least 27 people as it devastated Acapulco, officials said Thursday.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador went by road after the hurricane hit the iconic city on Mexico’s Pacific coast, where at least four people remained missing. He said Otis had toppled every power-line pole in the zone where it hit on Wednesday, leaving much of the city of 1 million without electricity.Otis turned from mild to monster in record time, and scientists are struggling to figure out how — and why they didn’t see it coming. With tens of thousands of residents in damaged homes without power, the toll could rise.“The people sheltered, protected themselves and that’s why fortunately there weren’t more tragedies, loss of human life,” López Obrador said.Acapulco’s municipal water system was down and López Obrador, who made it into Acapulco late...

Sale closed in Los Gatos: $6.8 million for a five-bedroom home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:38:09 GMT

103 Kennedy Court – Google Street ViewA 4,500-square-foot house built in 1995 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 100 block of Kennedy Court in Los Gatos was sold on Oct. 12, 2023. The $6,750,000 purchase price works out to $1,500 per square foot. This two-story house offers a capacious living environment with its five bedrooms and four baths. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. Additionally, the house features a three-car garage, providing ample room for vehicles and storage needs. The property’s backyard also includes both a spa and a pool.Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby:On Kennedy Court, Los Gatos, in April 2023, a 3,860-square-foot home was sold for $5,400,000, a price per square foot of $1,399. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.A 5,303-square-foot home on the 16100 block of Kennedy Road in Los Gatos sold in July 2023, for $6,850,000, a price per square foot of $1,292. The home has 5 bedrooms and ...