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Bill could enforce 'substance-free seating' at Colorado entertainment venues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:49:26 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A new bill is being considered in the Senate, and if passed it would require "substance-free seating" at large Colorado concert, sports and entertainment venues. SB23-171 is also known as the "Large Entertainment Facility Substance-free Seating Requirement" bill and was introduced by Democratic Sen. Kevin Priola and Democratic Rep. Chris deGruy Kennedy on Feb. 27. According to the bill, if passed it would require an entertainment facility with a seating capacity of 7,000 or more to designate and enforce at least 4% of that seating as a substance-free area. The area cannot be limited to seats that are either higher or farther away from the activity. New bill could ban landlords from charging pet rent This means that places like Ball Arena, Coors Field and Red Rocks would have to make 4% of their seating substance-free.The bill defines substance-free as a seating area where the use of alcohol, electronic smoking, marijuana, tobacco and prohibited substances are ban...

Aventura PD issues traffic alert following pedestrian struck by Brightline train

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:49:26 GMT

A pedestrian was struck by a Brightline train near Biscayne Boulevard in Aventura, resulting in the closure of a section of the road. The Aventura Police Department has issued a traffic alert, urging motorists to use alternate routes until further notice.According to the authorities, the incident is affecting the southbound lanes of Biscayne Boulevard, between 199th Street and 195th Street. The collision between the pedestrian and the train led to a serious traffic hazard, prompting law enforcement officials to reduce the southbound lanes to a single lane.As a result of the incident, commuters in the area are advised to use alternate routes until the situation is resolved. The police have not yet released any details about the cause of the accident, and an investigation is currently underway.

‘Very traumatizing’: Loose pet monkey attacks woman outside of her home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:49:26 GMT

(CNN) – An Oklahoma woman says she is traumatized after she was attacked by someone’s pet monkey, on her own front porch.Brittany Parker said she was sitting in her house when she saw the monkey on her front porch. “I was sitting here in this exact spot and I looked at the window and there was a monkey looking at me,” Parker said. “And I said oh my god, there is a monkey, and I took a second take and I said, there is a monkey on the front porch.”Parker said she was stunned. “He was trying to get into my house. The little button you push in on the screen door, he had broken it off. I was literally hanging onto my door trying to hold the door closed,” Parker said. Parker said she called the police and went outside when the officers got there. That’s when she was attacked. “He jumped up my back and landed on my head, got on my head and grabbed handfuls of hair and just ripped it out and then ripped my ear almost completely off...

DUP seeks changes to UK-EU deal on making Brexit work in Northern Ireland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:49:26 GMT

DUBLIN — Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson sharpened his criticism of the U.K.-EU agreement on making post-Brexit trade rules work in Northern Ireland — but stopped short of an outright rejection.Tuesday’s statement came as Donaldson began four days of difficult diplomacy in Washington, where the DUP has few if any allies, in the run-up to St. Patrick’s Day festivities at the White House. The Biden administration has emphasized it wants Donaldson to end his party’s obstruction of power-sharing, the core goal of Northern Ireland’s U.S.-brokered peace deal achieved on Good Friday a quarter-century ago.But speaking before a series of meetings with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill, Donaldson said the Windsor Framework — jointly unveiled last month by U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen — “does not deal with some of the fundamental problems” and will “require further clarification, re-working and change.”While teete...

UK and Canada ‘break impasse’ on Indo-Pacific trade pact

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:49:26 GMT

LONDON — Britain’s trade chief Kemi Badenoch and her Canadian counterpart Mary Ng settled differences during a crunch lunch Tuesday in a move that bodes well for the U.K.’s post-Brexit hopes of joining a key Indo-Pacific trade bloc.Ng and Badenoch “tackled some of the remaining issues” and are “now wrapping up final negotiations” on market access, a senior Canadian official told POLITICO. This, they said, “breaks [an] impasse with the U.K. on CPTPP negotiations.”The details of the settlement between Canada and the U.K. are being closely held. The U.K. government declined to comment on live negotiations.But the crunch talks come after the U.K.’s negotiations to join the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc soured in Vietnam earlier this month amid a row over agricultural market access.Canada blocked an agreement in principle on Britain’s accession over the issue, four people confirme...

Polish court finds activist guilty of facilitating abortion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:49:26 GMT

WARSAW — A court in Warsaw has found Justyna Wydrzyńska, a Polish abortion rights activist, guilty of facilitating abortion, sentencing her Tuesday afternoon to eight months of community service at 30 hours a month. The verdict is a setback for the Polish and international abortion rights movement, which is being forced increasingly underground following the abolition of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court last year.Wydrzyńska, one of the leaders of Abortion Dream Team, an abortion rights NGO, was charged with helping a woman known as Ania with an at-home abortion using medication. It is not illegal for a woman in Poland to terminate her own pregnancy. But it is illegal to provide help, which is what Wydrzyńska did, sending Ania — who was in an abusive relationship at the time — her own abortion pills via post.Ania had previously tried to travel to Germany for the procedure but was prevented from doing so by her husband. She ordered tablets but worried they might not be delivered ...

George Santos files paperwork formally declaring 2024 candidacy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:49:26 GMT

(CNN) — Scandal-plagued Rep. George Santos filed paperwork Tuesday with federal regulators formally declaring his 2024 candidacy.The formal declaration does not mean that the embattled congressman has to pursue reelection. His action follows a demand last month from the Federal Election Commission that he declare his intentions after the Long Island Republican crossed a fundraising threshold that required him to file a statement of candidacy.Last week, when asked by CNN’s Melanie Zanona whether he’d run for office again, Santos answered, “Maybe,” and acknowledged that some of his fellow Republicans had urged him not to seek reelection. But he said he was focused on his current job in Congress.Santos, who has lied extensively about his resume, education and family background, faces federal and local investigations into his finances and a House ethics committee probe into whether he may have engaged in unlawful activity ...

Hundreds of flights canceled as winter storm moves into Northeast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:49:26 GMT

(CNN) — Hundreds of flights were canceled in the United States Tuesday and thousands more delayed as a winter storm bringing heavy snow, winds and coastal flooding moved into the Northeast.As of 1:30 p.m. ET, more than 900 flights within, into or out of the US had been canceled, according to flight tracking site FlightAware. More than 2,700 flights were delayed.There were about 300 cancellations at Boston Logan International Airport and about 230 at New York’s LaGuardia. Newark Liberty International Airport had about 140 cancellations as of 1:30 p.m.Boston Logan advised travelers to check with their airlines on flight status before coming to the airport.Newark Liberty International Airport also urged travelers to check with their airlines before heading to the airport and to allow extra travel time.“Today, a wintry mix of snow and rain is expected in the NJ/NY metro area. These conditions, and anticipated wind gusts, may cause hazardous travel conditions,...

Novo Nordisk becomes latest to announce it is cutting insulin prices by up to 75%

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:49:26 GMT

(CNN) — Novo Nordisk said Tuesday it will slash the list prices of several of its popular pre-filled insulin pens and vials by up to 75%, becoming the latest drugmaker to reduce the cost of the critical medicine for diabetes patients. The change will take effect January 1.However, the company did not announce an expansion of its programs that cut patients’ out-of-pocket costs, which has been a focus of President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats.Novo Nordisk’s move comes two weeks after Eli Lilly announced a series of price cuts that would lower the price of the most commonly used forms of its insulin by 70%. Eli Lilly also said it will automatically cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 for people who have private insurance and use participating pharmacies, as well as expand its Insulin Value Program, which caps out-of-pocket costs at $35 or less per month for people who are uninsured.After the reductions, Novo Nordisk’s NovoLog and ...

Russian fighter jet forces down US drone over Black Sea after intercept

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:49:26 GMT

(CNN) — A Russian fighter jet forced down a US Air Force drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday after damaging the propeller of the American MQ-9 Reaper drone, according to a US official familiar with the incident.The Reaper drone and two SU-27 Flanker jets were operating over international waters over the Black Sea when one of the Russian jets intentionally flew in front of and dumped fuel in front of the unmanned drone, according to the official. One of the jets then damaged the propeller of the Reaper, which is mounted on the rear of the drone, the official said. The damage to the propeller forced the US to bring down the Reaper in international waters in the Black Sea.The US Air Force issued a statement accusing the Russian aircraft of acting in a “reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner.”“At approximately 7:03 AM (CET), one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down ...