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Minnesota postal carriers deliver concerns on workload, conditions as holiday packages pile up

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:03:55 GMT

Like many postal workers, a mail carrier in northern Minnesota makes his way through his route in a small truck with balding tires.It’s almost three decades old and was designed to carry letters and magazines along with some parcels. But the capacity is nothing on the scale of today’s mounds of packages from Amazon, Target and other retailers.This mail carrier offered MPR News a look into his job provided his name won’t be made public.“There is retribution out there,” he said, expressing fear management would make his job even more difficult if they knew he was speaking out.He’s been a letter carrier for several years. Like others who have gone to lawmakers, the media or post office brass to raise concerns about delivery volume and working conditions, he’s fed up with the U.S. Postal Service for letting things get to this point.“Most of my concerns are just prioritization of parcels over mail. The mail is second rate,” said the letter carrier, who maintains management has taken on t...

Family of teen killed in violent hit-and-run speaks out

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:03:55 GMT

A 22-year-old man has been arrested for murder in connection with a fatal hit-and-run crash that killed a 15-year-old father-to-be over the weekend in the San Fernando Valley, leaving his family devastated. The deadly crash occurred on Dec. 16 around 11:15 p.m. at Strathern Street east of Craner Avenue in Sun Valley, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department.  Authorities said North Hills residents Joseph Delgado was driving recklessly at a high rate of speed in a silver 2007 Cadillac SUV when he lost control and hit several parked vehicles and a victim walking in the roadway.  Debris from the violent crash also struck a pedestrian who was walking on the sidewalk.  “The driver and sole occupant of the Cadillac exited his vehicle momentarily then fled the scene on foot eastbound on Strathern Street, failing to identify himself or render aid as required by law,” the release noted.  Family members identified the victim struck in the roadway ...

Richmond bridge closed temporarily Sunday evening after fatal crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:03:55 GMT

Authorities urged people to find alternative routes on Sunday evening when a fatal accident closed all westbound lanes of I-580 on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, starting around 8:00 p.m.Officer Darrel Horner of the California Highway Patrol’s Marin office said the crash involved two vehicles, a sedan and an SUV. “The passenger in the sedan unfortunately did not survive the crash, and the driver was transported to the hospital,” he said.The California Highway Patrol said via social media that the accident happened around the midspan of the bridge and that there was no estimated time for the lanes to reopen. Horner said they were waiting for the coroner to arrive on scene, and that they were still conducting an active investigation into the cause of the crash. 

Nor’easter bringing rain, winds, chilly temps to DC area

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:03:55 GMT

Sunday overnight rains are expected to continue through early Monday morning before Mother Nature gives D.C., Maryland and Virginia an early Christmas present of gusty winds and chilly weather. Here’s what you need to know.A Flood Warning is in effect through at least 4 a.m. for portions of Montgomery, Baltimore and Howard County in Maryland, the District, and Culpeper, Fairfax, Prince William, Fauquier, Loudoun, Arlington and Stafford Counties in Virginia.A Wind Advisory has been issued from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes the District, most of Maryland and northern Virginia.Rain is expected to continue impacting the D.C. metro area throughout the early Monday morning hours, with an inch to 1.5 inches of rain already on the ground, according to WTOP meteorologist Chad Merrill.11:19 PM Radar Update: A band of moderate rainfall will continue to move northward across the area. This is all in response to a potent coastal low near eastern NC. 3-hour rainfall totals have been around ...

Study bolsters evidence that severe obesity increasing in young US kids

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:03:55 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A new study adds to evidence that severe obesity is becoming more common in young U.S. children.There was some hope that children in a government food program might be bucking a trend in obesity rates — earlier research found rates were dropping a little about a decade ago for those kids. But an update released Monday in the journal Pediatrics shows the rate bounced back up a bit by 2020.The increase echoes other national data, which suggests around 2.5% of all preschool-aged children were severely obese during the same period.“We were doing well and now we see this upward trend,” said one of the study’s authors, Heidi Blanck of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We are dismayed at seeing these findings.”The study looked at children ages 2 to 4 enrolled in the Women, Infants and Children program, which provides healthy foods and other services to preschool-aged children in low-income families. The children were weighed and measured.The resear...

What to stream this week: Bradley Cooper conducts, Lidia Bastianich cooks and Percy Jackson quests

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:03:55 GMT

A new Percy Jackson series and a PBS special hosted by cookbook author and restaurateur Lidia Bastianich are some of the new television, movies and music headed to a device near you.Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are a heartwarming CBS holiday special about adoption, a thriller starring John David Washington about artificial intelligence and the return of Marvel’s mind-bending “What If…” series.NEW MOVIES TO STREAM— “Maestro,” Bradley Cooper’s follow-up to “A Star Is Born” takes a loving look at the life of Leonard Bernstein and wife Felicia Montealegre. Cooper co-writes, directs and stars opposite Carey Mulligan in a portrait of the public and private side of the legendary composer and conductor. AP Film Writer Jake Coyle called it a “high wire act of a biopic” in his review, favoring the experimental black-and-white beginning over the later years, which focuses more on the increasingly c...

Today in History: December 18, Donald Trump is impeached for the first time

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:03:55 GMT

Today in HistoryToday is Monday, Dec. 18, the 352nd day of 2023. There are 13 days left in the year.Today’s Highlight in History:On Dec. 18, 2019, the U.S. House impeached President Donald Trump on two charges, sending his case to the Senate for trial; the articles of impeachment accused him of abusing the power of the presidency to investigate rival Joe Biden ahead of the 2020 election and then obstructing Congress’ investigation. (It was the first of two Trump impeachment trials that would end in acquittal by the Senate.)On this date:In 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect by Secretary of State William H. Seward.In 1892, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker” publicly premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia; although now considered a classic, it received a generally negative reception from critics.In 1917, Congress passed the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibiting “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of ...

Klay Thompson scores 28 points to help Warriors hold off Trail Blazers, 118-114

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:03:55 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Klay Thompson scored 28 points on a night Stephen Curry’s 3-pointer streak ended at 268 games and the Golden State Warriors held off the Portland Trail Blazers 118-114 on Sunday for their second straight victory.Curry was 0 for 7 from 3-point range, 2 for 11 overall and scored seven points. He began the streak Dec. 1, 2018, at Detroit.Andrew Wiggins, who was recently taken out of the Golden State’s starting lineup, had 25 points and seven rebounds. Rookie Trayce Jackson-Davis had 14 points and eight rebounds to help the Warriors win consecutive games for the first time since the end of a five-game winning streak in early November.Jerami Grant led Portland with 30 points. Anfernee Simons scored all 21 of his points in the second half.Portland cut it to 113-111 with 39 seconds left. Chris Paul’s jumper with 20.9 seconds left pushed the Warriors’ lead to 115-11, and Simon’s 3-point play made it a 115-114 with 14.7 seconds to go.After Curry ...

Biden está a salvo después de que un coche chocara contra una caravana en la sede de campaña

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:03:55 GMT

(CNN) — Un automóvil chocó involuntariamente contra una camioneta en la caravana del presidente Joe Biden este  domingo por la noche, causando daños a ambos vehículos y pareciendo asustar al presidente cuando salía de su sede de campaña en Wilmington, Delaware.El Servicio Secreto de Estados Unidos confirmó que un vehículo de la caravana fue atropellado por otro automóvil cuando Biden subía a su vehículo. No hubo “ningún interés de protección asociado con este evento”, dijo a CNN el portavoz del Servicio Secreto, Steve Kopek, en un comunicado, lo que significa que el accidente no fue intencional. Había estado lloviendo mucho en Wilmington.“Hoy, aproximadamente a las 8:09 p.m., un vehículo del Servicio Secreto que aseguraba la ruta de la caravana del Presidente fue atropellado por otro vehículo en Wilmington, DE. No hubo ningún interés protector asociado con este evento y la caravana del presidente partió sin incidentes”, dijo Kopek, dirigiendo más preguntas al Departamento de P...

Congo’s elections face enormous logistical problems sparking concerns about the vote’s credibility

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:03:55 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Congo’s president says he has confidence Wednesday’s vote will be rolled out credibly, as tensions mount that a severe lack of electoral preparation could throw the conflict-riddled nation into disarray.“We must stop scaring people,” President Felix Tshisekedi told The Associated Press. “We’ll be going (to the polls) with complete confidence until there’s evidence to the contrary.” Some 44 million people — almost half the population — are expected to vote for Congo’s next president Wednesday in the country’s fourth election since civil and regional wars ended in the early 2000s. Yet the election is facing enormous logistical problems sparking concern it could impact its credibility, say locals and Congo experts. Thousands of polling stations might not have the materials they need upping the chances of contested results. Initial fears of unrest surrounding the elections stemmed from the opposition rejecting the vote because of...