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B.C. lifts health-care mask rules with province ’emerging’ from pandemic, Henry says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:36:36 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia has lifted pandemic restrictions including mandatory mask-wearing in health-care settings, and proof of vaccination and COVID test results for visitors in care homes.Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Thursday that the requirement for health-care workers to be fully vaccinated would remain, but the steady decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations indicated the province was “emerging” from the pandemic.Henry said that despite the continued presence of COVID-19 infections in the next few months, authorities were likely to be able to say that B.C. was no longer in a pandemic.The lifting of restrictions took effect immediately, but Henry said it did not mean such restrictions would not return in the fall, as experts were still studying the seasonality of COVID.B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix said the province would start its spring booster vaccine program on April 11, targeting people with the highest risk of severe COVID infections such a...

Officials: Eight people rescued at Florida Panhandle beach

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:36:36 GMT

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Eight people were rescued Thursday at a Florida Panhandle beach as weather forecasters predicted a high chance for rip currents in the area, officials said.Escambia County Fire Rescue responded to Johnson Beach in Perdido Key twice, the Pensacola News Journal reported. The area is on the Gulf of Mexico just southwest of Pensacola.Rescue workers pulled three adults and four children from the water shortly before 2 p.m., officials said. Two children and one adult were taken by LifeFlight to a nearby hospital, and another child was taken by ambulance. Their conditions weren’t immediately known.About two hours later, rescue workers responded to another call about a person in distress in the water. Officials said that person was helped out of the water by another beachgoer and then taken by LifeFlight to an area hospital.It wasn’t immediately known whether rip currents were to blame for either of the incidents, but the National Weather Service in Mobile...

Suspect shoots 2 hostages, officer in California, officials say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:36:36 GMT

ROSEVILLE, Calif. (KTXL) — A shooting in Placer County, California, on Thursday afternoon left one person dead and two people with gunshot wounds, including a California Highway Patrol officer, according to law enforcement. One suspect is now in custody.According to Roseville Police Captain Kelby Newton, a CHP officer was shot at around 12:30 p.m. while attempting to serve an arrest warrant near Roseville's Woodcreek High School and a local park. These are the non-emergency phone numbers for law enforcement agencies in the Sacramento area Police say the suspect began shooting at responding officers while running from the scene. It was at this time that the suspect took two hostages, according to authorities. Both hostages were hit by the suspect's gunfire, resulting in one of their deaths, according to Newton. During the shootout, nearby Woodcreek High School, the Riley Library and the Mahany Athletic Center were placed on lockdown, RPD says. A kid'...

Austin Police seeking help solving 2019 cold case murder

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:36:36 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Thursday, Austin Police asked for help solving a cold case murder that happened in 2019. APD said investigators have followed up on all available information during the ongoing investigation. According to police, on April 9, 2019, at approximately 10:44 p.m., APD officers responded to a shooting at Givens Park in east Austin.APD said when officers arrived, 47-year-old Andre Lanier Davis Jr. was found face down in the parking lot. Police said Davis had been shot, and he died on the scene.Witnesses told police that Davis was playing dominoes at the park that night when one or more individuals robbed him and shot him after complying with their demands. The Travis County Medical Examiner's Office conducted an autopsy and ruled the death a homicide.A person was previously arrested for Davis’ death, but the charges were later dismissed "pending further investigation."APD asked for anyone with information about this incident to contact the APD Cold Case Unit at (512...

3rd generation officer among St. Paul’s newest on patrol as recruitment efforts ramp up

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:36:36 GMT

Kevin Reinke, right, a retired St. Paul police officer who was the department’s historian, pins the a police badge on his son, Braden Reinke, during a police academy graduation ceremony Thursday, April 6, 2023, at Harding High School in St. Paul. Kevin Reinke’s father pinned a police badge on him 37 years ago. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, far left, looks on.(Andy Rathbun / Pioneer Press)As Kevin Reinke pinned a police badge on his son, it mirrored what his father did for him 37 years ago. Braden Reinke became one of St. Paul’s newest officers Thursday and the third generation in his family to join the department’s ranks.Kevin Reinke, now retired, remembers asking his father why he never encouraged him to be an officer when he was a kid.“He looked at me and said, ‘Being a police officer, you have to have that love in your heart for that job. You can’t do it for somebody else,’ ” Reinke said. “And that is so true.”He t...

Movie review: ‘Air’ tells the compelling tale of Nike’s game-changing Air Jordan shoe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:36:36 GMT

Ben Affleck’s new film “Air” is about a lot of things, including basketball, the sneaker industry and the power of trusting your instincts, even if no one else does.It’s not, however, about Michael Jordan – not really, anyway. The man considered by many to be the greatest athlete of all time is barely shown on screen in the affable sports drama, which follows the efforts of Nike employee Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) to sign Jordan and create what would become the iconic Air Jordan sneakers. It’s more about Michael Jordan as a power of nature rather than a mere mortal.Jordan himself was not involved in the film, but he did meet with Affleck and suggested casting Viola Davis as his mother, which proved to be a savvy move. The 57-year-old actress – who recently became the 18th person ever to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony – serves as the heart and soul of the film, which is otherwise mostly populated with broken weirdos.Chief among them is Vaccaro, a man obsessed w...

Remembering lost loved ones on NYS Missing Persons Day

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:36:36 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- April 6 is Missing Persons Day in New York state. It's also Suzanne Lyall's birthday. The Ballston Spa woman went missing 25 years ago when she was a 19-year-old student at the University of Albany.Lyall was last seen getting off a bus at UAlbany when she returned from her job at Crossgates Mall. Her family established the Center for Hope, which supports families whose loved ones have gone missing. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Missing Persons Day is meant to help people continue to remember their lost loved ones even after they've returned to their own lives."It's a very difficult time," state Sen. Jim Tedisco said. "It's a time when people remember their lost loved ones, but it's a time when they talk to each other, how they can cope with these tragedies. And that's so important to be able to cope with it and stand up and get on with your daily life."The New York State Missing Persons Remembran...

Albany street renamed in honor of Black entrepreneurs

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:36:36 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A street in Albany was renamed Thursday in honor of two Black entrepreneurs who helped revitalize downtown Albany. Steuben Street was officially renamed Blake Way in honor of Catherine and Adam Blake. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! The Blakes opened the Kenmore Hotel on North Pearl Street in 1878. Catherine expanded the business after her husband's death. Both were well respected business owners and fought to end segregation. Organizers said the street renaming is an important way to keep the Blakes' story and legacy alive."Realize that we are really, truly all working toward the same goal, and our goal is truly for a more inclusive, more equitable, and more diverse Capital Region community where all of us can thrive," The Blake Annex Dir. of Community Animation Angelique Powell said.The Blake Annex, a nonprofit organization run by the United Way, also seeks to keep the Blakes' legacy alive by offe...

Suspect caught after violent gas station robbery in Fenton

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:36:36 GMT

FENTON, Mo. - A man who robbed a gas station and whom police believe is armed and dangerous has now been found and taken into custody in Jefferson County, Thursday evening.A store clerk in Fenton spoke out about the brutal attack by the suspect during an armed robbery and said she is lucky to be alive.Amy Anderson, 35, suffered from a head injury, a broken arm, and multiple stitches to her head, lip, and eye. She said it was hard for her to walk.Anderson worked at Phillips 66 on South Highway Drive in Fenton, where the suspect robbed her at gunpoint last Saturday. Top Story: Five people in one trailer died when a tornado sucked it away “All I could see is a pool of blood on my head. I kept screaming," Anderson said. "He asks for some headphones. I got the key and went down to get them, and the next thing I knew, I got hit really hard on the head about four or five times. All I remember is screaming."When the officers from the St. Louis County Police Department arrived to investiga...

Colorado legislature poised to create “last resort” property insurance plan as crisis looms

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:36:36 GMT

Colorado wildfires are making it harder for homeowners and businesses to buy property insurance, and now the General Assembly is poised to create a public insurance plan to serve as a last resort for those who can’t find policies on the open market.A bill introduced Thursday would create an insurance-of-last-resort plan — what’s being called a “fair plan” — that would protect Colorado property owners from losses due to wildfires, floods, hail, theft, vandalism and civil disturbances when no other options exist.The bill is necessary because destructive wildfires, floods and hailstorms are increasing amid global climate change and the risks that come with those disasters are making property insurance companies skittish about doing business in Colorado, according to the state’s insurance commissioner and the bill’s sponsors.In the 15 months since the Marshall fire caused $2 billion in damages in Boulder County, the Colorado Division of In...