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30-day closure of Hwy 12 at Hooker Creek Bridge begins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:44 GMT

(BCN) -- A portion of state Highway 12 will be closed for a month beginning Tuesday while crews demolish and rebuild a bridge in Sonoma County, Caltrans said. As part of the Sonoma and Hooker Creek bridge replacement project, Highway 12 between Madrone Road and Agua Caliente Road will be closed to take down and the rebuild Hooker Creek Bridge. The bridge is located northwest of the city of Sonoma. Caltrans estimates that the project will take 30 days. Through traffic will be diverted around the closed bridge via Madrone Road, Arnold Drive, and Agua Caliente Road, Caltrans said. Map: CaltransLocal traffic will be permitted as far as the closed bridge. According to Caltrans, the Hooker Creek Bridge is made of concrete and is too brittle to be demolished in stages; therefore it is not safe to keep it open as crews take it down, unlike the Sonoma Creek Bridge, which is made of steel and strong enough to accommodate one lane of open traffic during construction. Sho...

America’s Car-Mart: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:44 GMT

ROGERS, Ark. (AP) — ROGERS, Ark. (AP) — America’s Car-Mart Inc. (CRMT) on Tuesday reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $4.2 million.The Rogers, Arkansas-based company said it had profit of 63 cents per share.The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 98 cents per share.The auto retailer posted revenue of $368 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on CRMT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/CRMTSource

Former Md. official charged with soliciting sex from agent posing as 13-year-old

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:44 GMT

A former Maryland official has been charged with soliciting sex from an undercover agent posing as a 13-year-old girl.Luis Esteban Borunda, 65, was charged with one count of sexual solicitation of a minor, Maryland State Police said in a news release.Borunda — the former Maryland Deputy Director of State under the Larry Hogan administration — engaged in an inappropriate text chat on a smartphone app, with who he believed was a 13-year-old girl on Aug. 22, according to state police. It turned out that he was chatting with a special agent with the Fort Meade Army Criminal Investigation Office, posing as an underage girl.Borunda sent a filtered photo of himself, and suggested meeting with her on Aug. 30, at a location in Anne Arundel County, police said. Upon arrival, he was arrested by state police with members of the Maryland Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.#ARREST @mdsp arrested a man Wednesday on charges he solicited sex from an undercover law enforcement officer who wa...

India’s government replaces ‘India’ with ancient name ‘Bharat’ in dinner invitation to G20 guests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:44 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has replaced the name India with a Sanskrit word in dinner invitations sent to guests attending this week’s Group of 20 summit, in a move that reflects his Hindu nationalist party’s efforts to eliminate what it sees as colonial-era names.Indian President Droupadi Murmu is referred to as “President of Bharat” instead of “President of India” in the invitation sent to G20 attendees. The nation of more than 1.4 billion people is officially known by two names, India and Bharat, but the former is most commonly used, both domestically and internationally.Bharat is an ancient Sanskrit word which many historians believe dates back to early Hindu texts. The word also means India in Hindi.The change in nomenclature is backed by officials of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. They argue that the name India was introduced by British colonials and is a “symbol of slavery.” The British ruled India for about 200 years until the country ga...

Denver named one of the best cities to retire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:44 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Start loading up your 401(k). Out of almost 200 cities in the U.S., Denver ranks seventh among the best places to retire, depending on if you can afford it. WalletHub released a new data set that looks at the "retiree-friendliness" of 182 cities in the country. It compared the affordability, quality of life, activities, health care and around 40 other metrics. Study: Most workers would make these sacrifices for flexible schedules Here's what the study shows: Highest-ranked cities:Denver doesn't rank among the top five best cities to retire, but it's also going up against four cities in Florida, which is the home of most retirees.Tampa, FloridaScottsdale, ArizonaFort Lauderdale, FloridaOrlando, FloridaMiami, FloridaCasper, WyomingDenver, ColoradoCincinnati, OhioCharleston, South CarolinaAtlanta, GeorgiaDenver's health care, quality of life and affordability rank fairly low on the list of best retirement places. While it's not the worst, it certainly isn't in the t...

Study: Most workers would make these sacrifices for flexible schedules

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:44 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A recent study found that an overwhelming majority of workers in the U.S. prefer a more flexible work schedule, whether it be a four-day workweek with longer hours or the option for remote work.A vast majority of those in favor of a four-day workweek among all generations would even sacrifice something to make it happen, according to a study from Bankrate that used data from YouGov. Zero sugar, two choices: What’s the difference between Coke Zero and Diet Coke? The study said that working-class people know what they want, and it's up to employers to make the next move. Workers want a four-day workweekAmong full-time workers, 81% were in favor of a four-day workweek, and of those, 89% were willing to make a sacrifice to get the four-day workweek. This is what the study found people were willing to sacrifice for a four-day workweek:54% were willing to work longer hours37% were willing to change industries, jobs or companies27% were willing to give up remote work23% w...

79th Street bridge reopened following hours-long investigation after fatal multi-car crash in Miami leaves 1 dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:44 GMT

A multi-vehicle collision in Miami on Monday night claimed the life of one person while they were in the hospital as police investigated the circumstances that led to the deadly crash. Miami Police and fire rescue crews responded to the scene, located at 1200 NE 79th St., where the collision unfolded. Authorities said the incident involved five cars and a motorcycle. According to police, one person was ejected from their vehicle. Emergency responders airlifted them to Jackson Memorial Hospital for urgent medical treatment. The victim succumbed to their injuries and was pronounced deceased at the hospital.A second person was possibly ejected from their car during the crash, but that information has not been confirmed by police. While the eastbound lanes on the 79th Street bridge have since been reopened to traffic Monday night, the westbound lanes remained closed for several hours. Just before 10 a.m. Tuesday, officials reopened all lanes. Officials said several individuals who attem...

Von der Leyen pitches carbon pricing as key climate tool for Africa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:44 GMT

Africa’s transition to a lower-carbon economy would greatly benefit from setting up a carbon pricing scheme that encourages innovation, puts a price tag on pollution and unlocks revenues that can be poured into clean energy technologies, according to the European Commission.Kicking off the Africa Climate Summit, part of the wider U.N. Africa Climate Week taking place in Nairobi, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen Tuesday pitched carbon pricing and “true carbon credits” as vital tools to accelerate the net zero transition in Africa.“I believe … that setting a price on carbon emissions is one of the most efficient and one of the most effective tools in our hands,” she said.Von der Leyen also stressed that bolstering the development of carbon markets would allow Africa to tap into new income streams for its carbon sinks. So far, only South Africa has a carbon tax in place.In a sign that carbon pricing in Africa will be a major theme at this year...

Refugee asylum requests to the EU surge in 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:44 GMT

BRUSSELS — Requests for asylum in the European Union shot up in the first half of 2023, according to an official annual report.The EU agency for asylum (EUAA) detailed how asylum applications were 28 percent higher from January to June in 2023 compared with the same period in 2022.Asylum seekers lodged 519,000 claims in the first half of 2023, marking the highest number since 2016, when applications stood at 633,184. Based on current rates, asylum applications could surpass 1 million by the end of the year.EU member countries are lacking capacity to rapidly process asylum claims. The amount of cases awaiting decisions increased 34 percent in 2023 as EU nations struggled to cope with increasing arrivals of migrants.This comes as the EU aims to introduce new rules to speed up asylum requests ahead of the European election next June.The EU’s flagship migration package — which still needs to win the backing of member countries — is seen as the best chance to overhaul its fract...

Spain’s Pedro Sánchez faces Catalan ultimatum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:49:44 GMT

BRUSSELS — Separatist leader Carles Puigdemont laid down an ultimatum to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday: Pardon all the Catalan independence plotters or face losing power. Spain is in political limbo after elections in July failed to deliver a clear winner. Sánchez is best placed to cling on as prime minister — but he needs the backing of Puigdemont’s Junts party to prop up his Socialist government. Puigdemont fled Spain for Brussels after triggering an illegal referendum on independence for Catalonia, where he was president, in 2017. Spanish authorities hit Puigdemont and his allies with multiple charges in the aftermath of the vote. Many of those behind the referendum are still wanted for disobedience and embezzlement.  On Monday, Puigdemont named his price for supporting Sánchez’s bid to remain in office. “The end of the persecution of the independence movement is a matter of dignity,” he told his supporters in Brussels. Sánchez must order the country’s prose...