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Blind barbecue competitor hopes to inspire others

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — According to a survey by the Vacationer, almost 60% of American adults said the activity they are most likely to take part in for Memorial Day weekend is BBQ or grilling. The weekend is also about remembering those who served our country, so why not have one event that does both? The Veterans of Foreign Wars CO BBQ Competition took over the Douglas County Fairgrounds.There were almost 40 competitors representing eight different states, including Wyoming, Texas Missouri, and all corners of Colorado. With an entry fee of $250, groups could fire up the smoker and assemble their pit crew in order to win the $10,000 cash prize. It’s a heated competition where the best of the best pit masters have a flavor face-off.“There's a lot that goes into the preparation. The preparation is huge,” said Mike Case with Holy Smokes BBQ.“It's a tenderness game,” said Brad Leighninger, a competitor. Memorial Day: A time to remember Putting their unique recipe and strate...

Hit-and-run crash leaves 1 man dead on I-595 near Fort Lauderdale

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

A hit-and-run collision on Interstate 595 left one man dead on the scene and led to an hours-long road closure on the highway.On Tuesday, around 5 a.m., Florida Highway Patrol officers were on the scene as a body lay on the westbound lanes of I-595 near Fort Lauderdale. Authorities also found an orange and black 2016 JBLC 8 series scooter on its side on the left shoulder of the interstate.According to officials, the driver of the scooter was on the westbound lanes of I-595 in the middle lane when a vehicle rear-ended him. The male driver was separated from his scooter and ended up on the highway where he was struck by several cars.Multiple cars pulled over and called 911, police said, after the initial impact.The driver who hit the scooter driver fled the scene and remains at large. Police do not have a description of the person at this time.As a result of the crash, the westbound lanes of the interstate were closed for nearly six hours but around 11 a.m., traffic reopened to the pu...

Russia’s Wagner Group uses Twitter and Facebook to hunt new recruits

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

Russia’s paramilitary Wagner Group has been using Twitter and Facebook to recruit medics, drone operators and even psychologists to aid fighting operations, including in Ukraine, according to exclusive research seen by POLITICO. Job ads for Wagner, which has mercenaries operating in several countries, have reached nearly 120,000 views on the two social media platforms over the last ten months, according to Logically, a U.K. disinformation-focused research group. Sixty posts in dozens of languages – including French, Vietnamese and Spanish – shared information about fighting, IT, driving and medical positions apparently available with Wagner. They also included contact phone numbers, Telegram accounts and touted monthly salaries of 240,000 rubles (€‎2,800) with benefits including health care. While the researchers couldn’t directly attribute the messages to Wagner with total certainty, the posts carry the footprint of the militia and its supporters. “We onl...

MIAA state boys volleyball pairings

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

DIVISION 1SEEDS: 1. Needham (22-0); 2. Lowell (19-1) 3. Natick (14-3); 4. Saint John’s (15-4); 5. St. John’s Prep (11-6); 6. Acton-Boxboro (16-1); 7. Newton North (14-6); 8. Cambridge Rindge & Latin (13-6); 9. Lexington (13-5); 10. Winchester (15-5); 11. Brookline (12-6); 12. Haverhill (14-5); 13. North Andover (15-5); 14 Boston College High (12-6); 15. Andover (12-8); 16. Methuen (12-8); 17. Chelmsford (12-8); 18. Lincoln-Sudbury (9-9); 19. New Bedford (13-7); 20. North Middlesex (14-3); 21. Taunton (11-9); 22. Revere (16-4); 23. Durfee (10-10); 24. Arlington (13-7); 25. Springfield Central (11-8); 26. Braintree (8-12); 27. Newton South (5-13); 28. Malden (14-6); 29. Xaverian (7-10); 30. Doherty (16-4); 31. Algonquin (6-12); 32. Quincy (9-11); 33. South Lancaster (13-6); 34. Medford (12-8); 35. Chelsea (10-9)PRELIMINARY ROUND – TBAGAME 1 – South Lancaster at QuincyGAME 2 – Medford at AlgonquinGAME 3 – Chelsea at DohertyFIRST ROUND – TBAGAME 4 – Game 1 winner at Need...

Key test ahead on federal debt deal that could prevent a disastrous default

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

By LISA MASCARO and AAMER MADHANI (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden says he feels good about the debt ceiling and budget deal negotiated with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as the White House and congressional leaders work to ensure its passage this week in time to lift the nation’s borrowing limit and prevent a potentially disastrous U.S. default.Signaling the tough days still ahead, McCarthy urged skeptical colleagues to “look at where the victories are.”The Republican speaker said Tuesday he will be sitting down and talking with lawmakers as they return to Washington from the long Memorial Day weekend.“This is just the first step,” McCarthy said of his agreement with Biden.In an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” he sought to shore up support amid rising opposition from conservatives in his party. Unhelpfully for Biden, he said of the Democrats, “There’s nothing in the bill for them.”A key test...

MIAA State rugby tournament pairings

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

   BOYS RUGBY PAIRINGS DIVISION 1SEEDS: 1. Belmont (5-0); 2. St. John’s Prep (3-1-1); 3. Xaverian (4-2); 4. BC High (2-2-1)SEMIFINALS – TBABC High at BelmontXaverian at St. John’s PrepFINAL – TBABCH/Belmont vs. Xaverian/SJPDIVISION 2SEEDS: 1. Algonquin (5-2); 2. Hanover (7-0); 3. Weymouth (6-1); 4. Catholic Memorial (4-3); 5. Blue Hills (4-2); 6. Braintree (5-2); 7. Chelmsford (4-3)QUARTERFINALS – TBABlue Hills at Catholic MemorialBraintree at WeymouthChelmsford at HanoverSEMIFINALS – TBABH/CM at AlgonquinBraintree/Weymouth vs. Chelmsford/HanoverFINAL – TBASemifinal winners   GIRLS RUGBY PAIRINGS DIVISION 1SEEDS: 1. Belmont (7-0); 2. Lincoln-Sudbury (4-3); 3. Brookline (3-4); 4. Weymouth (4-3)SEMIFINALS – TBABrookline at Lincoln-SudburyWeymouth at BelmontFINAL – TBABrookline/L-S vs. Weymouth/Belmont   

Here’s what’s in, what’s out of the debt limit bill to avert US default

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

By KEVIN FREKING, FARNOUSH AMIRI and STEPHEN GROVES (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have been working the phones in an intense push to sell Congress on the 99-page bill that would suspend the nation’s debt limit through 2025 to avoid a federal default while limiting government spending.The Democratic president and Republican speaker have to win their respective parties’ support for the plan in time to avert a default that would shake the global economy. On Tuesday, lawmakers will begin scrutinizing and debating the legislation, which also includes provisions to fund medical care for veterans, change work requirements for some recipients of government aid and streamline environmental reviews for controversial pipelines and other energy projects.The modest deal gives both men wins to tout, with Biden protecting major parts of his agenda from Republican cuts and McCarthy scoring several conservative spending cap...

Kosovo’s NATO-led peacekeepers beef up positions after clashes with ethnic Serbs in north injure 30

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Troops from the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo on Tuesday used metal fences and barbed wire barriers to beef up positions in a northern town following clashes with ethnic Serbs there that left 30 international soldiers wounded. The peacekeepers sealed off the municipality building in Zvecan where unrest on Monday sent tensions soaring, raising fears of instability and flareup in the Balkan hotspot amid increased Western efforts to resolve a long-simmering dispute.Kosovo is a former province of Serbia whose 2008 declaration of independence Belgrade does not recognize. Ethnic Albanians make up most of the population, but Kosovo has a restive Serb minority in the north of the country bordering Serbia.The United States and most European Union nations have recognized Kosovo’s independence from Serbia while Russia and China have sided with Belgrade. China on Tuesday expressed its support for Serbia’s efforts to “safeguard its sovereignty and territoria...

Notre Dame’s fire-ravaged roof rebuilt using medieval techniques

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

SAINT-LAURENT-DE-LA-PLAINE, France (AP) — If time travel was possible, medieval carpenters would surely be amazed to see how woodworking techniques they pioneered in building Notre Dame Cathedral more than 800 years ago are being used again today to rebuild the world-famous monument’s fire-ravaged roof.Certainly the reverse is true for the modern-day carpenters using medieval-era skills. Working with hand axes to fashion hundreds of tons of oak beams for the framework of Notre Dame’s new roof has, for them, been like rewinding time. It’s given them a new appreciation of their predecessors’ handiwork that pushed the architectural envelope back in the 13th century.“It’s a little mind-bending sometimes,” says Peter Henrikson, one of the carpenters. He says there are times when he’s whacking mallet on chisel that he finds himself thinking about medieval counterparts who were cutting “basically the same joint 900 years ago.”“It’s fascinating,” he...

Woman rescued after city pushed to demolish partially collapsed Iowa apartment building

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:00 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A woman was rescued more than a day after a six-story apartment building partially collapsed in Davenport, Iowa, and after city officials ordered that it be demolished, saying there were no known people left inside and it was in “imminent danger” of coming down. Protesters urged a delay, concerned that people could still be trapped.Protesters carried signs Tuesday morning near the building site, saying “Find Them First” and “Who is in the Rubble?” Some used a megaphone to shout out names of building residents. City officials said rescue crews escorted 12 people from the building shortly after a middle section collapsed at about 5 p.m. Sunday, and rescued several others, including one person who was taken to safety overnight Sunday. No fatalities have been reported. By Monday morning, Fire Chief Michael Carlsten told reporters: “No known individuals are trapped in that facility.” Authorities said they would soon shift from a rescue operation to a r...