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Kidney voucher program could help 100,00 in need, while giving priority to loved ones

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:29 GMT

April is National Donate Life Month, which is aimed at encouraging people to become organ donors. That doesn’t necessarily mean waiting until a loved one needs an organ.“There’s almost 100,000 people out there that need a kidney,” said Dr. Jennifer Verbesey, director of the Living Donor Transplant program at MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute.So, there’s a big push to get people to donate kidneys now, but many people are hesitant, Verbesey said.More Health & Fitness News“One thing we used to hear a lot is, ‘Well, I worry, what if my kids or someone in my family needs a kidney later,'” Verbesey said.The Family Voucher Program through the National Kidney Registry aims to ease that concern. As part of the program, anyone who donates a kidney now gets a voucher for a kidney for a family member later.“They come forward, and their kidney goes to someone who needs it. And that might start up a whole chain reaction of kidney transplants,” V...

Israel military says it launched strikes in Lebanon, and Lebanese TV station reports explosions in southern city of Tyre

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:29 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel military says it launched strikes in Lebanon, and Lebanese TV station reports explosions in southern city of Tyre.Source

Above-normal snowpack helps drought conditions in Colorado

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:29 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — It has been a dry start to the month of April, and with fire season a year-round concern in Colorado, dry conditions are always a concern. However, this week's drought monitor update shows that most of Colorado is still drought-free, and snowpack is playing a big role in helping out. Colorado's snowpack is 140% of normal. The whole state is either around or above 100% of normal snowpack levels. San Juan is at 180% of normal snowpack, while to the southeast, the Arkansas River Basin is just below normal at 92% of average. The high snowpack has helped to keep the western half of Colorado out of drought concerns through the winter and early spring. However, the latest drought monitor, released on April 6, revealed much drier conditions in Southeast Colorado.So far, Denver has only picked up 0.2 inches of snowfall in April. It is only 6 days into the month, but that leaves a long way to go before Denver hits the monthly average of 8.8 inches of snow. Tribe, US offici...

19-year-old charged over school shooting manifesto

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:29 GMT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KDVR) — The 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office filed formal charges against a 19-year-old who allegedly planned shootings at multiple schools within Academy School District 20.Courtesy of 18th Judicial District Attorney’s OfficeOn Thursday, April 6, William Whitworth, who identifies as “Lilly Whitworth,” was formally charged with the following offenses: Criminal attempt to commit first-degree murder (two counts)Criminal mischiefMenacingInterference with staff, faculty or students of educational institutionsThe defendant's preliminary hearing is slated for May 5 at 2:30 p.m. Her bond is set at $75,000. Prosecutors to argue that accused King Soopers shooter is competent A statement from an ASD20 spokesperson explained Whitworth attended three ASD20 schools over two years, but only for nine months:August 2014 - February 2015: Prairie Hills ElementaryJanuary 2016 - February 2016: Home School AcademyAugust 2016 - October 2016: Timberview Middle Schoo...

Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro help Heat rout 76ers 129-101

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:29 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro each scored 24 points and the Miami Heat kept alive their hopes of avoiding the NBA’s play-in tournament with a 129-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.Max Strus and Bam Adebayo both added 14 points. Miami started fast, leading 41-31 after a quarter.The Heat (43-37) would have to win both of their remaining games (at Washington and home against Orlando) and have Brooklyn lose both home games this weekend (to Orlando and Philadelphia) to move into the No. 6 spot and avoid the play-in round. Miami took the Southeast Division title with the win.Butler had five assists and four rebounds.Philadelphia (52-27) has already secured the third spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs. A win Thursday night would have sealed a first-round matchup against Brooklyn. Joel Embiid scored 21 points despite not playing in the fourth quarter. James Harden chipped in 14 in limited minutes.SCORING RACE WATCHWith Embiid’s 21 p...

Patio Bar & Pizza in Flagler Village invites you to hop into Easter Sunday fun for grown-ups

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:29 GMT

Forget what the kids said in the ball pit; you are not too old to have fun. In fact, you are the perfect age for this craziness we’re about to talk about. It’s an adult Easter egg hunt: the eggs are filled with prizes … and you’re filled with booze. It’s a win-win.Adults need some bunny action, too. At a new pizza joint in Fort Lauderdale’s Flagler Village, it’s all about to go down.Brian Parenteau: “Patio Bar & Pizza is a trendy indoor/outdoor venue with live music, live DJs, craft cocktails and amazing artisan pizza. Sunday’s event, we’re doing an amazing Easter brunch. The Easter Egg Hunt is an adult-only Easter egg [hunt].”And, on this “egg-citing” day, they’re whisking up something special on the menu.Brian Parenteau: “We’re serving two awesome pizzas. One is an Egg-Cellent Pizza with bacon, egg and sausage, and our other pizza is a Truffle Mushroom Pizza with an amazing truffle sauce and some great grated ch...

Playboy and erotica in Emmanuel Macron’s Cabinet of sin

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:29 GMT

Welcome to Declassified, a weekly humor column.You’ve got to hand it to Emmanuel Macron, he’s a master at the diversionary tactic. Faced with mounting anger from citizens who have been asked to work 14 hours a week (or something), the French president gathered his Cabinet and asked that time-honored question: “Who is prepared to get naked and distract people from the trash-filled, rat-infested, burning tire-fire that is Paris?”Step forward Marlène Schiappa, the junior social affairs minister, who is appearing on the cover of the Playboy magazine out on April 8. Now, it should be pointed out at this stage that Schiappa is not naked in the magazine (great news for those people who buy Playboy only for the articles) but appears on the cover wearing a low-cut white dress. Inside is a 12-page interview in which she talks about topics such as women’s rights and feminism.But a lot of people are unhappy, reportedly including Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who ...

Russia is waging a disinformation war in the Middle East

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:29 GMT

H.A. Hellyer, a Carnegie Endowment scholar, is a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute and Cambridge University.The concept of a Russian disinformation campaign — saturating social media with Kremlin talking points and undermining opposition figures — might sound familiar.Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, the United States, United Kingdom and European Union all took quick and decisive action to counteract Russian propaganda, banning its state-sponsored television channels — Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik — from the airwaves, with YouTube also blocking their channels.In the Arabic-speaking world, however, Russian disinformation still hasn’t received the same attention — and as a result, Russia is doing a lot better on that front in the wider Middle East.Kick the hornets’ nest of Russian propaganda, and one will find familiar narratives working overtime to warp public perception.Just scanning social media sites like Twitter will throw up numer...

I am a political prisoner in Georgia, and I am dying

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:29 GMT

Mikheil Saakashvili served as president of the Republic of Georgia from 2004 to 2007 and from to 2008 to2013. Since February marked the one-year anniversary of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s maniacal and unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine, Georgia and other countries in the region have continued sliding toward the Kremlin. Georgia’s democratic regression was again highlighted with the release of the United States State Department’s Human Rights Report, while the global threat to democracy was showcased during a meeting between Putin and President Xi Jinping of China last month.  At the same time, however, people of Georgia confirmed their commitment to democracy and the fight against such tyranny by protesting in the streets in front of the parliament building in downtown Tbilisi.  The people of Georgia — who overwhelmingly want to join the European Union and NATO — were protesting against a newly promulgated “foreign agents” law, which...

Tony Blair urges DUP to show ‘leadership’ and restore power-sharing at Stormont

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:49:29 GMT

Tony Blair has urged DUP chief Jeffrey Donaldson to show “political leadership” and bring his party back to Stormont to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland.Speaking to POLITICO’s Westminster Insider podcast, Blair described the decision over whether to return to power-sharing with Sinn Féin as “a test” for Donaldson, but said he believes the DUP chief can show the leadership required. In a special episode to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which brought peace to Northern Ireland after decades of violent conflict, the former U.K. prime minister said there were lessons for today’s crop of Stormont leaders to draw from the fraught 1998 negotiations.“There is a lesson — and it’s a lesson in political leadership,” Blair said. “In the end, politics only makes progress when political leaders lead, and that usually means persuading your own support of something they don’t want to be persuaded of. And instead of playing...