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Ramsey County awards $2.9 million to 11 affordable housing projects

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:25 GMT

The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners this month awarded $2.9 million to 11 affordable housing projects being undertaken by emerging and diverse developers.The developments, 10 of which are located in St. Paul, will add or preserve 174 units of affordable housing in the county, according to a news release issued Tuesday. The 11th development is located in Falcon Heights.The funds were awarded through the county’s Emerging and Diverse Developers solicitation process, which targets firms and individuals that have owned or developed no more than five Minnesota housing properties in the past decade.The EDD program was launched in August “to address racial barriers in real estate, providing emerging and diverse developers with a fair and equal opportunity to thrive in the early stages of the development process,” the county’s news release said.Participants in the program will receive mentorship from industry experts, education and training, as well as networkin...

Stolen car seen in Central West End belongs to long-time police officer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:25 GMT

ST. LOUIS – FOX 2 has confirmed new information in a case of brazen car crime in the Central West End. Authorities are sharing startling neighborhood surveillance video and boosting a reward in the case.The video shows gunmen with assault-style rifles ditching one stolen car and driving away in another, just before 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10, on Walton near McPherson in the heart of the neighborhood.That second stolen car has been recovered. The suspects may be stunned to hear who owns it.The car left behind was stolen earlier from Ferguson, according to police. It was a black Hyundai Elantra.The suspects left in a black Kia Optima that had just been stolen around the block. According to police, it’s a common tactic for thieves to abandon one stolen car and steal another very similar in color, make, and model.“It tries to throw off law enforcement; keep us on our toes,” Ferguson Police Captain Harry Dilworth said. “At one point in time during our afternoon watch, we had four or five ...

115 million Americans expected to travel this holiday season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:25 GMT

ST. LOUIS – The busy holiday travel season is in full swing at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, as the Transportation Security Administration expects nearly 16,000 people to pass through checkpoints, and Tuesday’s not even one of the busiest days during these last two weeks of December."When we traveled, you could definitely see so many people,” Latrice Walton said.The travel numbers are back up."TSA lines were a lot longer," Linda Williams said.AAA is predicting that 115 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday season. Charges reduced for Bar:PM owner arrested after police crash "The crowds were busy at the airport last Friday, and they certainly were in Vegas," Felisha Bochantin said.While the holiday travel season does not officially start until this Saturday, TSA predicted The busiest travel day during these last two weeks of the year was last Friday, Dec. 15, with close to 20,000 travelers moving through TSA checkpoints at St. Louis Airpor...

Westminster man arrested at Denver airport allegedly planned to fight for Islamic State group

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:25 GMT

An 18-year-old Westminster man was arrested by the FBI at Denver International Airport on Monday as he allegedly began an overseas trip to join the Islamic State group as a fighter.Humzah Mashkoor was arrested at the airport at about 9 a.m. after clearing security but before he reached the terminal trains, according to a complaint filed in federal district court on Monday.Mashkoor is charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.According to a 37-page complaint filed by the FBI, Mashkoor began communicating with agency employees posing as Islamic State group supporters online in September 2022.Over the following 14 months, Mashkoor “repeatedly expressed his intent to travel in order to join ISIS as a fighter, to provide money to ISIS to support their efforts, and to recruit others to also support ISIS through travel and/or financial contributions,” according to the complaint.Mashkoor also told FBI employees that an Islamic State g...

Slim Jim says its custom sports car dubbed 'Fast Meat' was stolen in L.A. area

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:25 GMT

A crime has allegedly been committed in Los Angeles County and the victim is an iconic American meat snack.Slim Jim, the long thin tube of meat that comes wrapped in plastic and is sold in convenience stores across the country, says someone has stolen its custom sports car known as "Fast Meat."The custom Nissan Z is wrapped with Slim Jim branding and was made as part of a partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment. In recent weeks, it's been traveling across the country for WWE events, including making a recent stop in Chicago for the company's "Survivor Series" event. The vehicle has been appearing in commercials with WWE Superstar L.A. Knight, who tells viewers to "Snap into a Slim Jim," taking over the mantle for pro wrestling icon "Macho Man" Randy Savage, who starred in similar commercials in the 1990s.Recently, Fast Meat was routed to Los Angeles for a custom video shoot, according to Conagra Brands, Slim Jim's parent company. While en route, it was apparently stolen — at ...

L.A. County hospital searching for patient’s loved ones

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:25 GMT

A Los Angeles County hospital is asking for help identifying a patient who was found earlier this week.The woman is currently at the St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood and has been there since Dec. 15 after she was found near 68th Street and Converse Avenue in the Florence-Graham area.She does not have any information or belongings to help identify her, hospital staff said.She is described as a Black woman in her 20s who stands around 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 132 pounds. She has brown eyes and black hair and has upper and lower metal braces on her teeth.An unidentified female patient hospitalized at the St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood since Dec. 15, 2023. (St. Francis Medical Center)“We hope to connect her to her loved ones soon,” hospital staff said.Anyone who recognizes this woman or has additional information is asked to call St. Francis Medical Center at 310-728-0714. 

‘Breach of trust’: Santa Clara County supervisor calls for overhaul of child welfare system at hearing over baby Phoenix

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:25 GMT

SAN JOSE — In a packed and passion-fueled special hearing Tuesday over the fentanyl death of a 3-month-old, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Susan Ellenberg made one thing clear from the start: There is “no doubt that our system failed baby Phoenix.”Over the next four hours, the county’s child welfare leaders and social workers, public health nurses and doctors, nonprofit leaders and parents, the district attorney and a juvenile dependency judge clashed over what’s best for vulnerable children: Keeping families together despite reports of child abuse or neglect or removing them, even temporarily, from their homes.But Supervisor Sylvia Arenas saved the most dramatic confrontation of Tuesday’s special hearing for the end.Citing what she called “a breach of trust” with the county’s child welfare leaders, Arenas called for a restructuring of the system, stripping the Social Services Agency of its role in overseeing the county’s child protection agency and mo...

Rodgers’ return will come next season, with Jets out of 2023 playoff hunt and QB not 100% healthy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:25 GMT

Aaron Rodgers’ quest to make an improbable return this season for the New York Jets appears over.The 40-year-old quarterback said during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Tuesday he’s not yet 100% healthy in his recovery from a torn left Achilles tendon and is still a few weeks away.“I’m not going to slow my rehab down,” Rodgers said. “I’m going to keep attacking it every single day. But now without a timetable to come back, obviously we can be as smart as we need to be.”Rodgers said if the Jets had won last Sunday at Miami and remained in the playoff hunt, he “would have pushed it as far as I could this week” even at less than fully healthy to be ready to play against Washington on Sunday. But the Jets were routed 30-0 and eliminated from postseason contention for the 13th straight year.“If I was 100% today, I’d be definitely pushing to play,” Rodgers said. “But the fact is I’m not.”Rodgers never firmly said he won’t play th...

Rangers snap Maple Leafs’ 9-game point streak with 5-2 win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:25 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — Mika Zibanejad scored twice and Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves as the New York Rangers defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-2 on Tuesday night.Braden Schneider, Alexis Lafreniere and Artemi Panarin also scored for New York (22-7-1), which owns the best record in the Eastern Conference. Former Leafs defenseman Erik Gustafsson and Blake Wheeler both had three assists.The red-hot Auston Matthews replied with two for Toronto (16-7-6). William Nylander picked up an assist to stretch his point streak to nine games.Martin Jones stopped 31 shots for the Leafs, who saw a nine-game point streak (6-0-3) that included a 7-3 victory over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 12 come to an end.Jones suffered his first loss of 2023-24 after going 3-0-0 with a .949 save percentage since being recalled from the minors with Joseph Woll (high ankle sprain) out with an injury.Down 2-1 through 40 minutes, Matthews got Toronto back even 1:16 into the third period when he pinged his sec...

‘It’s a journey’: Montgomery Co. Police sergeant remains positive on road to recovery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:25 GMT

Patrick Kepp knows his life is different now — he’s already experienced things he’s only read about or seen on TV. However, the veteran Montgomery County, Maryland, police sergeant never expected he would require a form of “critical care” or need to learn how to walk again.Early on the morning of Oct. 18, the 36-year-old experienced what most law enforcement personnel would consider a devastating crash, which resulted in both of his legs being amputated.Today, 10 surgical procedures later, he’s finally on a positive but lengthy path to recovery and rehabilitation. He was able to wheel himself out of the hospital on Dec. 7.“It’s just been different,” Kepp told WTOP from a workout room at Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. “It’s been difficult and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t difficult. It’s a journey, and I have to accept every part of it and … roll with it for now.”It’s been two months since that fateful day on Interstate 270, when 19-year-old Ra...