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Communications blackout, spiraling hunger compound misery in Gaza Strip as war enters 11th week

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:18 GMT

A prolonged communications blackout that severed telephone and internet connections compounded the misery Saturday in the besieged Gaza Strip, where a United Nations agency said hunger levels had spiraled in recent days.Internet and telephone lines went down Thursday evening and were still inaccessible Saturday morning, according to internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org, hampering aid deliveries and rescue efforts as Israel’s war against Gaza’s ruling militant group Hamas stretched into the 11th week.The blackout is the longest in the over-two-month war, said Alp Toker, the group’s director. The United Nations’ humanitarian affairs department said communications with Gaza were “severely disrupted” due to damage to telecommunications lines in the south.“I cannot stress enough the dire consequences of this communications blackout on our ability to provide essential humanitarian aid,” Fikr Shalltoot, director of the Medical Aid for Palestinians group in Gaza, told Th...

Fentanyl child exposure deaths demand urgent attention

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:18 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - A 500% surge in child fentanyl exposure deaths has a child safety panel demanding your attention.The warning comes from the St. Louis County Child Fatality Review Panel, a first-of-its-kind panel in the nation that gathers dozens of health professionals along with police and prosecutors. Panel members meet every month to look at trends and search for solutions to dangers that are killing our children. This week, a staggering trend involving children exposed to fentanyl shook even the most seasoned professionals.North County Cooperative Major Ron Martin called it “sickening,” while St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell added that it’s “100% preventable.” Two St. Louis-area highways among ‘America’s most loathed,’ report says The safety panel, this week, reviewed the report from the Missouri Department of Social Services which warned that the scourge of fentanyl is impacting children who don’t even know what’s happening.Take it from a 40-year veteran cop, w...

University City resident strikes lottery gold with $77,777 scratchers win

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:18 GMT

UNIVERSITY CITY – A Missouri lottery player found themselves in disbelief upon discovering a $77,777 prize from a scratcher’s ticket purchased in University City.She bought two lottery tickets and got to work. She said that as soon as she realized she had won, she started crying.  “I scratched it off, and I saw a 7, and then I saw another 7, then another 7, and I thought, ‘Oh, my God! Is this really saying $77,777?’” she said. “I can’t believe this. I really can’t believe this.”  Two St. Louis-area highways among ‘America’s most loathed,’ report says With plans to use the winnings to buy a new car, the ticket was purchased at QuikTrip, located at 7579 Olive Blvd. in University City. The scratcher’s ticket purchased was the “Triple Red 777” scratcher's ticket.To participate in this game, match any of your chosen numbers to the winning numbers to secure the corresponding prize displayed. Uncover the black "7" symbol to instantly claim the revealed prize. If you reveal a red "77" sym...

Chilly start to the work week: gusty winds and cooler conditions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:18 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Waves of rain continue through the morning hours, becoming less widespread through the afternoon. Temperatures hold pretty steady in the upper 40s to around 50. Spot showers and drizzle continue this evening into tonight, tapering off from west to east. Overnight lows in the low 40s. Gradually decreasing clouds are expected for Sunday, with highs in the upper 40s to near 50. It'll be a cold start to the work week, with temperatures only near 40 on Monday along with gusty winds. A warming trend back to the mid-50s by mid-week. Rain chances return Thursday night into Friday.

NFL Picks: Christian McCaffrey’s MVP case in San Francisco, Joe Flacco’s reborn and the Seahawks primed for an upset

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:18 GMT

Around the AFCHerbert’s fading star. Oh, how the world has turned on Justin Herbert. A year ago, the Chargers quarterback received MVP votes after leading his team to the playoffs. Seven months later, he signed the richest contract in NFL history in terms of average salary ($52.5 million). Now, he’s the chic pick as the league’s most overrated QB, with critics pointing to his admittedly so-so record (30-32) as an NFL starter. Of course, the Chargers took the field without him Thursday night, and it was hard not to come away from that debacle — hello, 63-21 loss in Las Vegas — feeling like Herbert is the least of that franchise’s problems. At the top of that laundry list? How about since-fired head coach Brandon Staley, who never saw a fourth down he didn’t want to go for?Anyone wanna win this? Don’t look now, but the AFC is completely up for grabs. The defending champion Chiefs can no longer catch footballs (or line up onside). Miami just choked a...

Nuggets Journal: Denver is near top of West, and schedule is about to get much easier than Minnesota’s

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:18 GMT

Yet again this week, the Nuggets won a road game with Nikola Jokic absent for the second half. They are 3-0 when that happens this season, once in a rest day and twice after he’s been ejected.While coach Michael Malone joked that “I’m starting to think he’s overrated” after their win Wednesday in Chicago, the Nuggets’ record in those situations is more an endorsement of their handling of setbacks and hardships this season than a comment on Jokic’s value.On Jan. 5, 2024, the Nuggets will wrap up their ninth back-to-back in the first 37 games of the season — 48.6% of their games at that point will have been within 24 hours of another game. And in six of those nine back-to-backs, their second-day opponent will have had more rest than them.Then in the last 45 games of the schedule, Denver will play only four back-to-backs.Despite a couple of road slumps early in 2023-24, the Nuggets have more than exceeded expectations under those circumst...

Broncos Journal: Why Denver players say they have two offensive line coaches and a deep bench of up-and-coming players waiting their turn

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:18 GMT

In the midst of answering a question about second-year offensive lineman Luke Wattenberg last week, Broncos coach Sean Payton made an interesting comment.“We feel like we have a really strong, developmental group of offensive linemen,” Payton said. “They’re smart and tough, and they have the traits that we’re looking for.”Denver’s top offensive line combination through the first 13 games this year had been remarkably healthy this year until Quinn Meinerz missed the second half in Los Angeles due to a heart issue. No NFL team is going to complain about avoiding testing its offensive line depth too much during the season. But it’s also clear the Broncos have put resources into bringing the next wave along behind the scenes.One key to that: the coaching duo at the front of the room. That’s offensive line coach Zach Strief, the longtime New Orleans right tackle who played his entire career under Payton, and assistant offensive line coach Austin King.Recently, Strief told The Denver Post...

Opinion: Stop scapegoating CEQA for California’s affordable housing crisis

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:18 GMT

Governor Newsom recently signed a slew of bills eliminating the requirement that government agencies disclose the public health and environmental impacts of most infill housing developments in California. Infill is generally defined as development in urban centers, close to mass transit, jobs and infrastructure.The sponsors of these bills claim that eliminating environmental review will address the current shortage in affordable housing, but lawmakers’ decision to blame environmental regulation for the shortages is misinformed. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the state’s preeminent environmental law, has already been streamlined in multiple ways to spur housing development, yet still not enough affordable housing is being constructed. Our leaders must focus on other, more effective ways to promote affordable housing.Environmental regulation is not a significant barrier to housing. For example, in San Francisco, there are now over 58,000 entitled housing units that r...

Feldman: Supreme Court should make clear Trump is not above the law

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:18 GMT

Should former president Donald Trump be immune from federal criminal prosecution for his conduct in the run-up to Jan. 6? He’s argued both that his position as president should make him immune from prosecution and that because the Senate did not convict him after he was impeached, criminal charges would amount to a kind of double jeopardy.A federal district court has already thrown out those arguments. The special counsel, Jack Smith, has now asked the U.S. Supreme Court to fast track a decision.It would be unusual but not unheard of for the justices to decide the issue before the court of appeals has ruled. But the high court should agree to decide the case now — and rule quickly that no such immunity exists under the Constitution.The legal questions in this case aren’t close calls. The president is not above the law. Impeachment is not a criminal trial that would preclude subsequent prosecution. And Trump isn’t even in office, so there is no risk that his trial would disrupt...

WTOP Book Report: ‘Perfect Little Lives’ mixes murder mystery, romance and social commentary

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:18 GMT

This story was written as part of the WTOP Book Report series authored by Terik King. Read more of that coverage. How far will a person go to find justice and truth?(Courtesy Graydon House / HarperCollins)This and many other questions confront the lead character in twin authors Amber and Danielle Brown’s new mystery/suspense novel, “Perfect Little Lives.”“The working title of this book was called ‘Closure,'” Amber Brown told WTOP.The book’s events swirl around one key theme: Is closure worth it?“Sometimes you might get that closure and not like what you get,” Amber said.In “Perfect Little Lives,” readers follow the journey of Simone, a millennial Black woman raised in New Jersey and living and working in New York City.She doesn’t tell people that she’s from New Jersey, though, “because she has some sordid things about her past that she doesn’t really want to get out there,” Amber said.Simone’s sense of order in her carefully rebuilt life is disrupted wh...