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Egypt raises interest rates to curb surging inflation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:52 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Central Bank said it raised interest rates on Thursday as the embattled Middle Eastern country continues to battle surging inflation and a depreciating currency. In an online statement, the bank’s monetary policy committee said the most basic lending rate, the overnight deposit rate, has increased from 16.25% to 18.25%. The hike aims to ease spiraling inflation, with the annual figure reaching 32.9% in February, up from 26.5% in January. Nearly a third of Egyptians live in poverty, according to official figures, and are struggling to keep up with rising prices, which have soared since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. The prices of basic items such as grains, meat, poultry, fish and fruit, have risen drastically over recent months.Since the outbreak of the war in Europe, the Egyptian pound has lost more than 50% of its value against the dollar. The currency slide accelerated after Egypt first announced it had reached a $3 billion bailout agreement with the Inter...

Arizona Dairy Queen on the hunt for missing red spoon statue

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:52 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — The owners of a Dairy Queen in Phoenix remain perplexed — and slightly amused — as to why someone would steal the giant red spoon that adorned their restaurant.“We were kind of upset but then more puzzled,” Puja Kalra said Wednesday. “What are they going to do with a spoon?”She and her husband, Raman Kalra, say the spoon-snatching occurred sometime between late Friday and early Saturday. The 15-foot-tall (4.5 meter) spoon stood against the side of the building with the handle nestled in an opening of a roof parapet. Their surveillance camera caught two people appearing to manipulate the screws that held the spoon to a base and then taking off on a “small motorbike.”“They were so precise about it like they had done it before,” Raman Kalra said. “They just wiggled their way through and made sure the spoon was not damaged.”The couple reported the theft to Phoenix police. Sgt. Brian Bower confirmed officers were called and are investigating. No suspects have been identifi...

Man charged in 20-plus calls of false threats in US, Canada

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:52 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — U.S. authorities on Thursday said they arrested a Washington state man who made more than 20 “swatting” calls around the country and in Canada, prompting real emergency responses to his fake reports of bombs, shootings or other threats.Ashton Connor Garcia, 20, of Bremerton, used voice-over-internet technology to conceal his identity as he placed the calls last year — and he treated them as entertainment, broadcasting them on the social media platform Discord, federal prosecutors said.He faces 10 felony counts filed in U.S. District Court in Tacoma, Washington, that could bring up to a decade in prison. Court records did not immediately indicate if Garcia had an attorney who might speak on his behalf.“Every time Mr. Garcia is alleged to have made one of his false reports to law enforcement, he triggered a potentially deadly event — sending heavily armed police officers to an address where they mistakenly believed they would confront someone who was armed and dangerous...

MATCHDAY: Marseille chasing PSG, Frankfurt under pressure

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:52 GMT

A look at what’s happening in Europe on Friday:FRANCESecond-place Marseille can close the gap on French league leader Paris Saint-Germain to four points if it beats Montpellier. Marseille has been impressive on the road but its home form has lacked consistency, with Igor Tudor’s players looking for a first league win at the Velodrome stadium since January. Montpellier is full of confidence ahead of the trip to its southern rival, having won five of their six games since coach Michel Der Zakarian returned last month.GERMANYEintracht Frankfurt is under pressure against Bochum in the Bundesliga. Frankfurt hasn’t won any of its last six games including two losses to Napoli as it exited the Champions League. Its poor form in the Bundesliga is not helping its prospects of returning to Europe’s premier competition next season. Oliver Glasner’s team is now six points behind Freiburg in the last qualification spot and the Frankfurt coach is coming under scrutiny for criticizing his own...

Nebraska to honor Solich 20 years after controversial firing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:52 GMT

Twenty years have passed since Frank Solich’s controversial firing from Nebraska, and he hasn’t publicly appeared at Memorial Stadium since. That’s about to change.The 78-year-old remains a beloved figure among much of the fan base, having been an all-conference fullback for the Cornhuskers in the 1960s, an assistant to Tom Osborne for two decades and the head coach who won 75% of his games over six seasons before his unceremonious dismissal.With the prodding of athletic director Trev Alberts, the urging of Osborne and the invitation of first-year coach Matt Rhule, Solich figured now is the time to return to Lincoln. He and his family will be honored during the Huskers’ spring game April 22 in what he hopes will be the start of a renewed relationship with the program.“I’ve always appreciated the fans of Nebraska and always felt good about them, and the same way about basically most of the coaches I worked with there,” Solich said Thursday in an in...

Battle for Colorado's best burger enters round 2: Vote in the Big Burger Bracket

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- After hundreds of people cast more than 9,000 votes across all of the matchups, the Big Burger Bracket is down to 32 spots in the search for Colorado's favorite.>> Vote now: Big Burger BracketSecond round voting runs through Friday at noon, with daily rounds continuing until it's time to vote for a winner on Monday.A handful of places received more than 200 individual votes in the first round, including Crown Burgers, Hamburger Mary's, and My Brother's Bar, all in Denver. Also raking in over 200 votes were Big Al's Burgers and Dogs in Fort Collins, Bob's Atomic Burgers in Golden, Bud's Cafe & Bar in Sedalia and The Cherry Cricket.The initial 64 places were selected through Google reviews in early March. A search was done for the highest rated burgers in each Colorado county. Any location which had at least 4.5 stars and 900 total reviews was included in the bracket. Any restaurants with more than one location were included once on the bracket, using the hi...

Guatemalan artist paints with boots instead of brushes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:52 GMT

LITTLETON, Colo. (KDVR) -- An acrylic paint artist that has been recognized by the Denver Art Museum three times as artist of the month has developed a very unique way of painting. Instead of using brushes, he uses his boots.Born and raised in Guatemala, Rudi Monterroso escaped a civil war in 1992 and started a life in the United States. 82-year-old Colorado man’s dance moves go viral "Almost died a couple times," he said. "And it was probably the hardest experience of my life."He left a dangerous place with no possessions. But he did take with him his desire to create. "I really like doing a lot of different things to keep myself busy and entertained," Monterroso said.When Monterroso paints, he doesn’t use a brush. He uses his boots."I was painting a lot, and started to develop tendinitis and carpal tunnel in my wrist and my elbow to the point that I could not hold brushes anymore," Monterosa said.Monterosso used to be a flamenco dancer, and the idea of boots instead of brushes j...

South Metro Fire prepared for triple response in red flag conditions Thursday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:52 GMT

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (KDVR) -- Low humidity and strong winds are prompting red flag alerts for much of the Front Range Thursday.“Anything that causes heat, spark flame can definitely cause a fire to spread quickly and has a potential to grow faster,” South Metro Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Lauren Ono said.  High fire danger, red flag warning for next 48 hours SMFR Crews are staffed and on high alert given the conditions.“If we do get a fire today, we are actually going to triple our response,” Ono said. “We'll get more crews to the incident faster so we can contain and control the fire as quick as possible.”South Metro Fire is asking Coloradans to download emergency alerts for both where they live and work.National Weather Service's definition of red flag warningWhen it is warm with very low humidity and stronger winds move in, that combination raises the risk of fire danger.  If you are allowed to burn in your area, all burn barrels must be covered with a weight...

Everything you need to know about drinking water-related illnesses

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The odds of being infected from drinking water are small in the U.S., though health authorities do document roughly two drinking water-related illness outbreaks every month on average.Rates of illness or death related to drinking water are low in the U.S. In ten years from 2011 to 2020, there has been one illness related to drinking water per every million people, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveillance data - about 352 people a year total. Mangoes, oranges cause ‘sticky’ situation on I-70 after crash There have been 1,149 outbreaks resulting in 586,145 illnesses, 1,663 hospitalizations and 288 deaths in the U.S. from 1971 to 2020. Legionella and giardia are the two largest sources of infection. The number of drinking waterborne disease outbreaks and hospitalizations lessened since 1971, then grew since the mid-2000s. The most illnesses in a single year came from the 1993 Milwaukee cryptosporidiosis outbreak. This was the largest...

Heavy rains trigger flood advisories across Miami-Dade

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 01:12:52 GMT

Soggy streets across South Florida have sparked flood advisories in some areas of Miami-Dade County.The rainfall has begun to peter out, Thursday afternoon, but not before it dumped inches of rain, like 6.3 inches in Sunrise Harbor, 5 inches in Key Biscayne, 4.1 inches in Coral Gables and 3.5 inches in Coconut Grove.Some downpours continue to batter areas in the southern part of the county, like Cutler Bay and Homestead. Another batch of rain is pushing into Key Biscayne.The heavy precipitation has triggered multiple flood advisories. One extends south to the Florida Turnpike and Southwest 117th Avenue, near Kendale Lakes, all the way north to the Dolphin Expressway near Miami International Airport, until 5:45 p.m.A second advisory near Gables by the Sea, extending south to Pinecrest, was set to expire at 4:15 p.m., as was a third advisory in areas of Coral Gables and South Miami. However, they might be extended.