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How Gov. Polis plans to keep national parks open during shutdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:40 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – As the clock ticks closer to the looming weekend deadline, a government shutdown was looking increasingly likely Thursday. A federal shutdown could end up being bad news for hundreds of thousands of federal workers, people who rely on government assistance to pay for food, and those with a trip planned to one of the country's 425 national park sites. Since the National Park Service is largely funded through Congressional appropriations, all 63 national parks, plus hundreds of additional monuments and sites, "are at risk of closing Oct. 1" if the government doesn't reach a deal to keep the government funded, writes the National Parks Conservation Association, a group that advocates for protecting the parks.Some national parks could stay open if states decide to use their funding to keep them up and running. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has directed agencies to create plans to continue operations of the state's four national parks and federal lands. “Colorado’s beautiful nati...

Lover of flight realizes dream by learning to fly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:40 GMT

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (KDVR) — There are a few ways for you to soar like a bird — you can hang glide, you can skydive (although that’s more like falling) or you can learn to fly an airplane.FOX31 took a ride with Jonathan Prichard, who's been doing just that since he was knee-high to a Piper Cub. The volunteers vital to Colorado’s state parks “When I was a little kid, I’ll say maybe 6 or 7 years old, my dad, he flew and he’d take me up when I was little. I got the bug really early," Prichard said.Starting out, Prichard put in a lot of simulator flight time in the comfort of his own home."For me, I feel I picked it up fairly quickly. Maybe because of all the flight simulation I did at home when I was little," he said.At Centennial Airport, Prichard is enrolled in Independence Aviation Flight School where he is learning to fly without looking out of the cockpit. They call it IFR: instrument flight rules.“VFR stands for visual flight rules. That means I have to maintain separation from t...

Trump fraud trial in NY remains on track to start Monday after appeals court ruling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:40 GMT

(CNN) — The trial in the New York attorney general’s civil fraud lawsuit against Donald Trump, his eldest sons, their companies and several executives, remains on track to begin Monday after a state appellate court denied Trump’s motion to stay the trial.The denial comes in the wake of state Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling Tuesday that Trump and his co-defendants are liable for fraud for grossly inflating asset valuations on financial statements.The attorney general’s office said, “we are ready for trial and look forward to presenting the rest of our case.”At the same time, increased security has been put in place ahead of the trial, a spokesperson for the New York State Unified Court System confirmed to CNN.The increased security measures will continue for the duration of the trial, which could last through December.“Our judicial threat unit constantly monitors all forms of media and maintains a high level of situational awareness regarding secu...

Boston police seek public’s help ID’ing person in connection with stolen $70,000 viola

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:40 GMT

Boston police asked for the public’s help Thursday in efforts to identify a person in connection with the theft of a $70,000 viola in Brighton earlier this year. Police said the theft happened between 2:50 a.m. and 3:50 p.m. on Aug. 27 in the area of 120 Glenville Avenue. The stolen viola is 16.5 inches long and was stored inside a black case valued at $1,300, according to police. Police said the case was decorated with two Boston University stickers and a Vivant Vintage sticker.Police announced the theft and asked for help in their investigation back in August. In their update this week, police shared photos of a suspect described as a white male, about 30 to 40 years old, standing between 5’9” and 6’0” with a stocky build, a light mustache and a beard. Police said the man has dark colored curly hair and dark blue tattoos on his forearms. He was last seen on Sept. 15 in the area of Harvard Avenue in Allston wearing hoop earrings, a black t-shirt, dark blue short...

Fans pay $1 to bid farewell to the ‘just horrible, a disaster of a season’ White Sox

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:40 GMT

Sharing in the collective misery of a nightmare season may have cost White Sox fans sleep, joy and even dignity.But at the team’s fourth-to-last home game Thursday, it at least didn’t cost much money.The ballclub offered tickets for 89 cents — $1 with taxes — for its matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks. And for the thousands of fans who came to cheer and grieve, the opportunity to bid farewell at a bargain was much needed.The year started with high expectations, Chuck Binelli, 61, said as he drank a Miller High Life leaning on his white Chevrolet SUV before the game. “Just horrible. A disaster of a season,” the Orland Park resident said.But at least the parking was free for the day, he added.The lifelong fan feared an apparently impending rebuild. He also wants owner Jerry Reinsdorf to sell the team. And miraculously, he even wanted his beloved Sox to lose.“I want the D-Backs to win so they screw the Cubs,” Binelli said. T...

Orioles reach 30-year lease agreement to keep team at Camden Yards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:40 GMT

Thursday’s game at Camden Yards featured the Orioles having the chance to clinch the American League East. During the matchup with the Boston Red Sox, the club made an announcement that means the venue could host celebrations for years to come.After the third inning, the Orioles put on the video board at Oriole Park that the team and Maryland Stadium Authority have agreed to a new 30-year lease to keep the team in Baltimore. The deal was set to expire Dec. 31.“Earlier today, the Orioles, Governor Wes Moore and the State of Maryland, and the Maryland Stadium Authority agreed to a deal that will keep the Orioles in Baltimore and at Camden Yards for at least the next 30 years!!” the announcement read, shortly before Moore and Orioles CEO and Chairman John Angelos were shown together on the video board.This story will be updated. ()

Utah and Arizona will pay to keep national parks open if federal government shutdown occurs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:40 GMT

By ANITA SNOW (Associated Press)PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona and Utah will keep iconic national parks in those states open if a shutdown of the federal government threatens access to Arizona’s orange-striped Grand Canyon and the sheer red cliffs of Utah’s Zion Valley.Most importantly for state budgets, visitors can keep spending their money near the parks.A cutoff could come Sunday. The economic impact of the national parks is so important that Arizona’s Democratic governor and Utah’s Republican governor have decided to invest state funds in keeping Grand Canyon, Zion, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef and Canyonlands national parks open.For Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, it’s a simple question of economics. The nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association says that every $1 invested in the National Park Service annually supports more than $15 in economic activity. The association says that every day of a shutdown could mea...

Biden offers dire warnings about Trump, accuses mainstream GOP of ‘deafening’ silence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:40 GMT

TEMPE, Arizona (AP) — President Joe Biden issued one of his most dire warnings yet that Donald Trump and his allies are a menace to American democracy, declaring Thursday that the former president is more interested in personal power than upholding the nation’s core values and suggesting even mainstream Republicans are complicit.“The silence is deafening,” he said.During a speech in Arizona celebrating a library to be built honoring his friend and fierce Trump critic, the late Republican Sen. John McCain, Biden repeated one of his key campaign themes, branding the “Make America Great Again” movement as an existential threat to the U.S. political system. He’s reviving that idea ahead of next year’s presidential race after it buoyed Democrats during last fall’s midterm election, laying out the threat in especially stark terms: “There’s something dangerous happening in America right now.” “We should all remember, democracies don’t have to die at the end of a rif...

What to know and what’s next for Travis King, the American soldier who ran into North Korea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:40 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — An American soldier who sprinted into North Korea and was held there for two months before being returned to the U.S. is set to undergo medical testing and extensive questioning about his time in the isolated country before potentially facing charges under the military justice system. Pvt. Travis King ran across the heavily fortified border from South Korea in July and became the first American detained in North Korea in nearly five years. Pyongyang abruptly announced Wednesday that it would expel King, and he was flown to an Air Force base in Texas on Thursday. Here’s what we know about King, his mysterious entry into North Korea and what’s happened in similar cases.WHO IS HE, AND WHAT HAPPENED?King, 23, joined the Army in January 2021 and was in South Korea as a cavalry scout with the 1st Armored Division, according to military officials. On July 10 he was released from a South Korean prison after serving nearly two months on assault charges. He was set t...

Analysis: It looks like it’ll take all 162 games to decide MLB’s postseason races

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:40 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — It might take all 162 games to decide the playoff races in both the National League and American League.The epicenter of the wild-card chase this weekend is in Arizona at Chase Field. Thanks to some fortuitous interleague scheduling, the AL’s Houston Astros face the NL’s Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game set crucial to races in both leagues.Defending champion Houston is fighting for a berth after a September swoon. The Diamondbacks — who have played better lately after their own second-half slide — are trying to make the postseason for the first time since 2017.“We know it’s right in front of us,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said after his team beat the White Sox on Wednesday. “We control our own destiny in this particular situation.”Here’s a look at some of the other series this weekend that will decide the postseason field:Rangers at Mariners: This is a big four-game set that actually began Thursday night, with both teams fighting for po...