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One of the most notorious I-95 bottlenecks will soon get an extra lane

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:50 GMT

Drivers who inch through a twice-daily bottleneck on Interstate 95 near Occoquan, Virginia, will soon get some relief, with the addition of an extra travel lane.Thursday marked the ribbon-cutting for the I-95 Southbound Auxiliary Lane project, which converts a mile-and-a-half of the existing shoulder to a travel lane. The project will provide a new lane of travel, between Va. Route 123 and Prince William Parkway.The Virginia Department of Transportation estimates southbound I-95 averages approximately 80,000 vehicles a day in the area.“This piece of road has been tormenting people on both sides of the Occoquan for almost two decades,” said State Sen. Scott Surovell, whose district encompasses portions of Fairfax, Prince William and Stafford counties.While Surovell joked he’s been called “Senator Bottleneck,” he says the backups on I-95 are debilitating.“It backs up in the morning; backs up at night; backs up Monday through Friday; backs up Saturda...

US sanctions Mexican resort timeshare fraud linked to cartel

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:50 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions Thursday against members or associates of the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel who apparently went into a side business of timeshare fraud that allegedly targeted elderly Americans. Ryan Donner, a real estate broker in the Pacific coast resort city of Puerto Vallarta, said the fraud was infrequent but very sophisticated. The Jalisco cartel is better known for producing millions of doses of deadly fentanyl and smuggling them into the United States disguised to look like Xanax, Percocet or oxycodone. Such pills cause about 70,000 overdose deaths per year in the United States.But cartel members and associates apparently decided to branch out into scamming millions of dollars from people looking to sell their timeshares in Mexico. The scam focused on Puerto Vallarta, in Jalisco state, an area dominated by the cartel, known by its initials as the CJNG. The gang inspires so much fear in Mexico it is often simply referre...

Indiana bill could make book banning in schools easier

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:50 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana lawmakers on Thursday gave their final approval to a bill that could make it easier to ban books from public school libraries.The bill would require school libraries to publicly post a list of books they offer and provide a complaints process for community members. Schools and librarians could also no longer argue, as a legal defense, that the texts in their libraries have “educational” value. The law would still allow them to argue the text has literary, artistic, political or scientific value.“That’s how I would describe educational, by the way,” GOP Rep. Martin Carbaugh said before the House voted 70-27 in favor of it.Those who supported the legislation expressed concern that sexually inappropriate or “pornographic” materials are available to children in school libraries. Critics, however, said the legislation could open the door to banning books simply because some people don’t like the topics, as well as criminal prosecutions of educators for providi...

Supporters of Israel’s judicial overhaul rally in Jerusalem

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:50 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Tens of thousands of right-wing Israelis who support a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judiciary flocked to Jerusalem on Thursday to rally for the proposal, which has prompted some of the biggest protests in Israel’s history. After 16 weeks of protests against the overhaul that brought parts of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to a standstill, Thursday marked a rare mobilization of massive public support for the divisive plan. Crowds of Israelis transformed a major Jerusalem thoroughfare into a sea of blue and white national flags. Some protesters stomped on a carpet displaying the faces of Israel’s Supreme Court president and former attorney general. “We will not give up,” ultranationalist Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told the rally. “We have the people, they have the media,” he said, referring to the government’s critics that he accuses of exerting undue influence over the news media. The masses snaki...

Rihanna, Martin Scorsese hype Paramount movies at CinemaCon

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:50 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Paramount Pictures, still riding high on the success of “Top Gun: Maverick’s” nearly $1.5 billion in worldwide ticket sales, brought a slew of stars from Rihanna to Martin Scorsese to CinemaCon for its presentation to theater owners Thursday. Paramount has fewer releases than the other big studios, but they have several big, IP-driven titles like “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,” (Aug. 4) “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” (June 9) and “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” (Sept. 29). It is also handling the theatrical release of Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” which debuts at Cannes next month and opens in theaters on Oct. 6. And, of course, Paramount has “Mission: Impossible.”The studio showed an extended clip of a comedic and exciting chase sequence with Tom Cruise and Hayley Atwell from the seventh installment in the series, “Dead Reckoning Part I.” The film will now open in theaters two days earlier than planned, now on Wednesday, Ju...

CDC: consumo de cigarrillos cae a mínimo histórico en EEUU, pero sube el vapeo

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:50 GMT

NUEVA YORK – El consumo de cigarrillos en Estados Unidos cayó a un nuevo mínimo histórico en 2022, con uno de cada nueve adultos que dijeron ser fumadores, según un sondeo del gobierno publicado el jueves. Por otro lado, el consumo de cigarrillos electrónicos subió a 1 de cada 17 adultos.Los hallazgos preliminares de los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC, por sus siglas en inglés) se basan en sondeos realizados a más de 27,000 adultos.Fumar cigarrillos es un factor de riesgo de cáncer de pulmón, enfermedad cardiaca y apoplejía, y hace tiempo que se considera una importante causa de muertes evitables.A mediados de la década de 1960, el 42% de los adultos estadounidenses eran fumadores. La cifra lleva décadas en declive debido a impuestos sobre los cigarrillos, subidas en el precio de los productos de tabaco, prohibiciones a fumar y cambios en la aceptación social de fumar en público. El país que prohibirá la venta de tabaco para jóvenes ...

Big 12 spring wrap: Players to watch from each team

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:50 GMT

A look at football players in the Big 12 Conference this spring who are poised to have standout seasons this fall, when the league will have 14 teams with the additions of BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF:BAYLOR: WR Ketron Jackson Jr. is a former four-star recruit out of Texas who transferred from Arkansas after being a starter for the Razorbacks last season as a sophomore. If several highlight moments during spring drills are any indication, he could become a big part of the Baylor offense.BYU: QB Kedon Slovis is a graduate transfer from Pittsburgh who previously played three seasons at Southern California. With their projected backup a junior college transfer with no major college experience, the Cougars need Slovis to be effective. He threw for 3,502 yards and completed 72% of his passes in 2019, his first season at USC, but has since had injury issues.CINCINNATI: QB Emory Jones is with his third team in as many years. The dual-threat player who spent three seasons at Florida bef...

Mujer cuya acusación condujo al linchamiento de Emmett Till murió a los 88 años, dice forense

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:50 GMT

(CNN) — Carolyn Bryant Donham, la mujer blanca cuya acusación condujo al linchamiento en 1955 del adolescente negro Emmett Till en Mississippi, y cuyo papel en la brutal muerte fue reconsiderado por un jurado investigador el año pasado, murió en Louisiana, confirmó a CNN el forense de la parroquia de Calcasieu.Donham, de 88 años, falleció el martes en Westlake, según un hecho de la carta de defunción del forense.Malik Shabazz, de Black Lawyers for Justice, dijo en un comunicado el jueves que el legado de Donham “será de deshonestidad e injusticia”.“La muerte de Carolyn Bryant pone fin a un capítulo doloroso para la familia Emmett Till y para los pueblos negros de Estados Unidos. La parte trágica de la muerte de Bryant fue que nunca rindió cuentas por su papel en la muerte del joven Emmett Till, quien es el mártir del Movimiento por los Derechos Civiles”, se lee en el comunicado.En agosto de 1955, Emmett, de 14 años, fue golpeado y asesinado a tiros después de que supuestamente...

Denver weather: Rain and snow showers Thursday night into Friday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Another round of rain and snow showers will move into Denver's weather forecast Thursday night into early Friday. This will lead to a slick commute Friday morning in some areas ahead of a nice weekend. Because of this, a Pinpoint Weather Alert Day has been issued for Friday, with a focus on the early morning.Weather tonight: Rain and snow showers, breezyWinter weather advisories are in effect from Thursday evening until Friday morning, mostly for elevations above 6500 feet. Because of accumulating snowfall and strong wind gusts, travel could be very difficult at times. As a cold front moves through the area we will see increasing clouds and wind gusts reaching over 30 mph in the Denver metro. Clouds will be followed by rain showers this evening that will transition to snowfall overnight. Weather tomorrow: Clearing in the morning for DenverWe will wake up to a few morning showers, and a cuple of inches of snowfall, mostly for elevations above 6500'. The chance...

Police investigating shooting around City Park area

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:52:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The Denver Police Department said one person has been shot but the extent of their injuries is unknown. The shooting was reported in the 2300 block of Steele Street which is in the proximity of the Denver Zoo, City Park and City Park Golf Course. Police are working on gathering suspect information. FOX31 has a crew on the way and updates will be posted as soon as they are received.