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Environmental groups sue FAA over SpaceX Texas rocket launch

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:11 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Wildlife and environmental groups sued the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday over SpaceX’s launch last month of its giant rocket from Texas. SpaceX’s Starship soared 24 miles (39 kilometers) high before exploding over the Gulf of Mexico on April 20. The rocket’s self-destruct system caused the nearly 400-foot (120-meter) rocket to blow up, as it spun out of control just minutes into the test flight. An attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the plaintiffs, said the groups are suing over what they consider to be the FAA’s failure to fully consider the environmental impacts of the Starship program near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. They asked the court to throw out the five-year license the FAA granted to SpaceX.The FAA declined comment, noting it doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation. The agency is overseeing the accident investigation and has ordered all SpaceX Starships grounded until it’s certain that public safe...

JJ Watt and wife Kealia invest in English club Burnley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:11 GMT

BURNLEY, England (AP) — Former NFL star J.J. Watt and his wife, Kealia, have announced an investment in the English soccer club Burnley, which recently earned promotion to the Premier League.The recently retired Watt is a three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year while Kealia is an accomplished soccer player who has played for the United States and for several years in the National Women’s Soccer League.The two announced their investment Monday, with J.J. joking that he’s “officially retiring from retirement.”“When you invest in a club that’s been around since 1882, you must have great respect for its history and tradition,” said J.J. Watt in a statement released by the club on Monday. “We understand that not only are we investing in the squad and manager, we’re investing in the town and its people. We take that responsibility very seriously and intend to work hard in earning their trust and support.”The statement said Kealia Watt will be instrumental in helping develop the B...

Firm that hired kids to clean meat plants keeps losing work

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:11 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The slaughterhouse cleaning company that was found to be employing more than 100 children to help sanitize dangerous razor-sharp cutting equipment like bone saws has continued to lose contracts with the major meat producers since the investigation became public last fall.For its part, Packers Sanitation Services Inc., or PSSI as it is known, said it has taken a number of steps to tighten up its hiring practices but it says the rising number of child labor cases nationwide is likely related to the increase in the number of minors crossing the U.S. border alone in recent years.The scandal that followed the February announcement that PSSI would pay a $1.5 million fine and reform its hiring practices as part of an agreement with investigators also prompted the Biden administration to urge the entire meat processing industry to take steps to ensure no kids are working in these plants either for the meat companies or at contractors like PSSI.Federal investigators confir...

Bride dies at beach when speeding DUI driver slams golf cart

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:11 GMT

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (AP) — A bride who had just got married was killed when a woman driving under the influence and well over twice the speed limit slammed into the back of a golf cart on a South Carolina beach road, authorities said.Data retrieved from Jamie Lee Komoroski’s rental car indicated she was driving 65 mph (105 kph) and only briefly hit the brakes before she hit the golf cart around 10 p.m. Friday on Folly Beach, investigators said.The speed limit on the island near Charleston is 25 mph (40 kph).Samantha Miller, 34, of Charlotte, North Carolina, died in the wreck, according to the Charleston County Coroner’s Office.Miller had just got married, Folly Beach Public Safety Department Director Andrew Gilreath said.Three others on the golf cart were injured. Gilreath said the golf cart had lights and was legal to drive at night.Komoroski, 25, is charged with reckless vehicular homicide and three counts of driving under the influence causing death. She faces one to 25...

Colorado motorcycle fatalities reached record high in 2022

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:11 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Colorado's sunny climate has a downside, as walkers, motorcyclists and scooter riders are seeing record fatalities on the road. Is lane splitting legal in Colorado? The Centennial State had a record number of motorcycle crash fatalities last year, part of a three-year trend in rising crash numbers that began during the COVID pandemic and has yet to abate. Between 2019 and 2022, crash fatalities of all kinds have risen by 27%, with a record number of fatalities in 2022.The increase was particularly pronounced with two-wheeled and two-legged transport, though it rose across most categories of vehicle type. There were 149 motorcycle crash fatalities in 2022, the highest ever and about twice as many as ten years ago. Pedestrian fatalities also reached a record high last year, with 111 across the state, up from 94 in 2021. Motorcycle crashes happen mainly in highly populated counties along the Front Range, including El Paso County with 25, Jefferson County with 19, Ad...

14-year-old missing from Denver found

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:11 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Denver Police have confirmed a 14-year-old girl reported missing has been found.DPD first reported that she was missing Sunday.

Surveillance video captures 2 porch pirates stealing packages from Northwest Miami-Dade home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:11 GMT

A pair of porch pirates struck a home in Miami.“This makes me feel very upset that they think it’s OK to just walk on your property,” said Kiana Jackson.Surveillance footage showed two women getting out of a car Sunday night, intent on an Amazon heist.This happened in Northwest Miami-Dade on the corner of Northwest 46th Street and Eighth Avenue.One by one, the women walked on to the porch and made their way with two large packages worth hundreds of dollars.“You know, we spend our money, we work hard for our money everyday,” Jackson said.Jackson, the owner of the stolen items, was at work at the time. She even called home earlier to prevent any package thefts.“I told my kids to get my packages from outside,” she said.Jackson said when she came home from work, she was shocked to find that only one of her three packages made it inside.Curious to know what happened to the others, she checked her surveillance cameras for answers, and what she saw...

US to lift most federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates next week

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:11 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will end most of the last remaining federal COVID-19 vaccine requirements next week when the national public health emergency for the coronavirus ends, the White House said Monday.Vaccine requirements for federal workers and federal contractors, as well as foreign air travelers to the U.S., will end May 11. The government is also beginning the process of lifting shot requirements for Head Start educators, healthcare workers, and noncitizens at U.S. land borders.The requirements are among the last vestiges of some of the more coercive measures taken by the federal government to promote vaccination as the deadly virus raged, and their end marks the latest display of how President Joe Biden’s administration is moving to treat COVID-19 as a routine, endemic illness.“While I believe that these vaccine mandates had a tremendous beneficial impact, we are now at a point where we think that it makes a lot of sense to pull these requirements do...

Police search for 30-year-old woman missing from Miramar

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:11 GMT

Miramar Police need your help locating 30-year-old Courtney Babb.Last week was her birthday and her family has not heard from her, which is rare as her birthday as come and gone. Family and friends said they haven’t seen or heard from her since April 10.She stands 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds.If you have any information please call police at 954-602-4000.

Crews respond to serious crash in Concord

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:11 GMT

One person was flown to a Boston area hospital Monday after a vehicle crashed off Lowell Road in town into a nearby river, officials said. SKY7-HD showed rescue crews surrounding a red Jeep in a wooded area near the road between its intersections with Barretts Mill Road and Liberty Street. Lowell Road was closed Monday and is expected to remain closed until further noticed, officials said.“We apologize for the inconvenience and will give an update when [the] road is reopened,” Concord police said in a statement around 3:15 p.m.In a separate joint statement Concord Police Chief Thomas Mulcahey and Fire Chief Judge said crews responded around 2:30 p.m. after officials received multiple calls reporting that a vehicle had crashed into the Assabet River near Lowell Road. Officials said an off-duty police officer and another bystander tried to help the driver but couldn’t get the person out of the vehicle, which came to a stop in about three feet of water. Fire crews were later able ...