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Johnston, city council go to work following inauguration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:10 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The city of Denver now has a new mayor. After 12 years in office, Mayor Michael Hancock handed over the reins to new Mayor Mike Johnston.Johnston got sworn in a little before 11 a.m. Monday. He and the city council members wasted no time getting to work.Before an excited crowd of spectators, the newly minted mayor was sworn in, along with the city auditor, clerk and recorder, and members of city council; including six newcomers, breaking barriers in the process. Watch: Mike Johnston sworn in as Denver mayor "We prepare to swear in a city council with six Latinas," said District 3 City Councilwoman Jamie Torres. "We will swear in the first two, out, Black LGBTQ council members, and we will swear in a supermajority of women -- nine thank you very much. Which coincidentally is the number needed to override a mayoral veto. FYI," she continued.Johnston told reporters afterward, he is already rolling up his sleeves."We will have some announcements coming tomorrow," John...

Thornton mayor seeks protection order against political satirist

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:10 GMT

THORNTON, Colo. (KDVR) — Thornton Mayor Jan Kulmann is seeking a permanent protection order against a man who claims to be one of her biggest supporters."Until Jan Kulmann is re-elected mayor, until we make Thornton the most MAGA city in Colorado, I'm not going to stop (supporting her)," Danny Kulmann said in an interview with the Problem Solvers outside the Adams County Justice Center. No punishment for detective after teenage son uses duty weapon to shoot homes "Danny Kulmann" is a Make American Great Again character created by Thornton resident Dariush Namazi.Thornton satirist dons MAGA cap in characterSince June 3, Namazi has been attending Thornton city events dressed up in a red T-shirt that says "#JANK" while donning a red MAGA baseball cap as he records selfies of himself attempting to talk with the mayor and other city officials.At a June 9 Pride event in Thornton, Namazi recorded himself as "Danny Kullman" asking the mayor, "How are we making Thornton great today? Jan, h...

Portable bathrooms blown up, other restrooms vandalized at Denver parks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:10 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- FOX31 has learned about a problem with bathrooms and portable restrooms at Denver city parks.Photos shared to FOX31 from the city, capture part of the reason restrooms are solely open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.Officials with the parks department said over the last month, its lost 10 portable toilets to vandalism. It has also had damage to permanent restrooms on an ongoing basis. This year all the copper tubing was stolen out of the Ruby Hill restroom. The toilets in the restroom on the Diagonal at Washington Park have been blown up four times over the last 16 months, including the first week of July this year.  TikTokker calls out Denver for lack of drinking water at city parks “This is a very nice park, a very nice community, so I don't know why somebody would come over here and blow these bathrooms up,” Washington Park goer Trey Blash said. The city shared the following additional statements with FOX31:We try our best to manage for this, but it is incredi...

Bullets fly into residential home after shots fired at Pembroke Park gas station

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:10 GMT

A man was shot at the Racetrac gas station located at 3996 Pembroke Rd in Pembroke Park.Some of the bullets that were fired went right into a woman’s home in SW 40th Ave, Monday night. Pembroke Park Police Department said an adult male was shot and self-transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.A witness saw a blue car and heard 20 shots of gunfire. A few bullet shots found their way and hit the windows of the house across the gas station. A woman said she was surprised and scared after the bullets started to come inside her house. “I thought I was gonna die because I thought it was a roach or something but no it was a shot that came in the house,” she said. “My husband told me its shoot they’re shooting, they’re shooting, get down, get down that was scary, scary, scary, I don’t want to live here anymore, it’s a very dangerous place to live”There was one other person who was shot during this incident.Plea...

Police identify 2 missing children swept away in the Pennsylvania flood that killed their mother

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:10 GMT

(CNN) — Authorities have identified the two children still missing nearly two days after they were swept away by turbulent floodwaters that killed their mother.Matilda “Mattie” Sheils, 2, and her 9-month-old brother, Conrad Sheils, vanished after intense flooding engulfed parts of southeast Pennsylvania on Saturday evening.The body of their mother, 32-year-old Katie Seley, was found late Saturday.A family member acting as a spokesperson expressed the family’s gratitude to the searchers at a news conference Monday afternoon.“Their compassion, kindness and bravery have given us strengthen in this unspeakably difficult time,” said Scott Ellis, brother-in-law of Jim Sheils, Seley’s fiancé.Seley was among five people who died after storms pummeled Bucks County over the weekend, according to Upper Makefield Fire Company Chief Tim Brewer.The Bucks County coroner identified the other victims as Enzo Depiero, 78, and Linda Depiero, 74, of Newtown Township; Susan Barnhart, 53, of Titusville, ...

COVID-19: An evolving virus and ongoing presence

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:10 GMT

COVID-19 no longer finds itself at the top of policymakers’ priorities as governments grapple with competing health, economic and geopolitical issues. Nonetheless, we must remain vigilant, as long-term pandemic-related challenges remain to be addressed and solutions will require innovative approaches by policymakers and healthcare systems.  The socioeconomic burden of the pandemic has been considerable, with healthcare systems facing overwhelming pressure due to high hospitalization rates.[i] England’s National Health Service (NHS) has acknowledged the strain COVID-19 has on health services, noting that in 2022, there were never fewer than 3,800 people hospitalized with the virus across the country each day, regardless of the time of year.[ii] Further, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates the global cost to be around $13.8 trillion through 2024.[iii] Even as case rates fluctuate, it is important to remain mindful of these far-reaching impacts of the virus and pl...

Winding corridors, endless votes and ableism: Britain’s disabled politicians speak out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:10 GMT

LONDON — When Marsha de Cordova won her first election, she could count on a helping hand.On the trail to becoming a Labour councilor in 2014, de Cordova — who is blind — made use of the state’s dedicated Access to Elected Office Fund. It allowed her to hire someone to “be her eyes” on the campaign trail.The fund was set up to ensure disabled people in the U.K. have an equal chance of getting into office. But its most recent iteration — the Enable Fund — was quietly scrapped in 2020, to the consternation of disability rights campaigners.Three years on, and the U.K. government is promising to review, once again, help the state offers to disabled people running for office after a three-year absence — but it’s making no firm promises about what might replace it.“Without the funding it would have been really difficult for me to be a candidate,” de Cordova tells POLITICO. Yet even with support in place to reach elected office, British politics can be an unwel...

Dodgers use sixth-inning grand slam to end Orioles’ eight-game winning streak, 6-4

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:10 GMT

Even while playing some of their best baseball, the Orioles hinted at their need for relief help. Their eight-game winning streak was not free of bullpen blemishes, but they managed to cover them up.They were not as capable in Monday’s 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Chris Taylor’s sixth-inning grand slam off right-hander Bryan Baker resulting in Baltimore’s first loss in almost two weeks and exemplifying its need for middle relief help before the approaching trade deadline. With the Tampa Bay Rays’ loss, the Orioles remain one game back in the American League East.“We didn’t pitch our best there in the sixth inning,” manager Brandon Hyde said.The Orioles (57-36) entered the decisive frame with a 4-1 lead as top pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez had pitched effectively in his return to the majors. In his first inning back with Baltimore since a disastrous outing in late May against the Texas Rangers, Rodriguez threw six straight ...

Students demand action to prevent gender-based violence after UWaterloo stabbing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:10 GMT

Student associations demanded Monday that the Ontario government do more to address gender-based violence on post-secondary campuses, saying a triple stabbing at the University of Waterloo has shown further action is needed.A University of Waterloo professor and two students were hospitalized after the late June stabbing at a gender studies class. Police allege it was a planned act motivated by hate related to gender expression and gender identity.At a news conference Monday, leaders of the University of Waterloo’s undergraduate student association and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance said they want the province to order universities to conduct to an annual safety assessment and create a trauma-informed training program for campus security, among other recommendations.“This is vital to cultivating a culture where prevention is the norm and where society as a collective can better look out for one another to mitigate harm in environments where students can feel ...

Alabama inmate asks appeals court to block his execution, citing state’s past problems

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:10 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Attorneys for an Alabama inmate on death row asked a federal appeals court Monday to block his upcoming execution, arguing the state has a history of troubled lethal injections. James Barber, 54, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday as the state seeks to resume executions following a lengthy pause. Gov. Kay Ivey temporarily suspended executions last year after two lethal injections were called off because of difficulties inserting an IV into the veins of the condemned men. Advocacy groups claimed a third execution that was carried out after a lengthy delay was botched.A panel of judges with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Monday but did not indicate when they will rule. “We’re able to see from what happened last year; we have a very strong chance of substantial harm,” Barber attorney Mara Klebaner told the panel. Richard Anderson, an assistant Alabama attorney general, told the court that the state will use a new IV...