By MELISSA GOLDIN – Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — A taxi driver whose car hit six pedestrians when he jumped a curb in a Manhattan shopping district on Christmas Day was having a medical episode at the time, New York City police said Thursday. Two of those hurt are Australians, according to that country’s
Continue ReadingBy The Manhattan Mercury, Kan. (TNS) Dec. 26—A cyber attack targeting Ascension Via Christi hospitals, including the one in Manhattan, in May impacted about 5.6 million people, the company reported to federal regulators. Ascension officials said they’re working with third-party experts to investigate the personal information that may have been compromised and, over the next
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By COLLEEN SLEVIN – Associated Press DENVER (AP) — A 7-year-old boy who died in a shooting that left 24 bullet holes in a home on a tribal reservation in Colorado was lying next to his father in bed when he was hit, according to court documents unsealed Thursday. Zackieus Lang told investigators that his
Continue ReadingBy Christopher Braunschweig – Newton Daily News, Iowa (TNS) Dec. 26—Disagreements over the allocation of funding for various partner agencies have reared their ugly head once again at the City of Newton’s budget workshops. While city staff has recommended the bare minimum of assign funds for HIRTA and the Des Moines Airport’s expansion project, the
Continue ReadingBy Cheyenne Roche – The Creston News Advertiser, Iowa (TNS) Dec. 26—”Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” — Allen Saunders Well life hit us pretty hard these past few months. For weeks, it felt like every sign in the universe was pointing us toward moving to Dubuque — a
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By DEEPA BHARATH and JESSIE WARDARSKI – Associated Press The Native American Church is considered the most widespread religious movement among the Indigenous people of North America. It holds sacred the peyote cactus, which grows naturally only in some parts of southern Texas and northern Mexico. Peyote has been used spiritually in ceremonies, and as
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By AP ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Large fossil fuel companies would have to pay fees to help New York fight the effects of climate change under a bill signed Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul. The new law requires companies responsible for substantial greenhouse gas emissions to pay into a state fund for infrastructure projects meant
Continue ReadingBy Globe Gazette, Mason City, Iowa (TNS) The Clear Lake Fire Department extinguished a blaze on Christmas Eve afternoon at a 2 1/2 story detached garage at 1019 S. Eighth St. Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly before 2 p.m. and found the garage was fully involved in flames, according to a press release from
Continue ReadingBy MARY PIEPER – Globe Gazette, Mason City, Iowa (TNS) Cerro Gordo County Sheriff Kevin Pals, who is retiring Dec. 31 after more than 45 years in law enforcement, first became involved in that career field as a teen. When he was a senior at Clear Lake High School, the town’s police department started a
Continue ReadingBy JIM SALTER – Associated Press A Nebraska man is getting title to his home back, years after losing it over a $588 tax debt, one of his lawyers said Thursday. Kevin Fair of Scottsbluff has been involved in a legal dispute since 2018, when he lost title to the home he had owned for
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By DEEPA BHARATH and JESSIE WARDARSKI – Associated Press HEBBRONVILLE, Texas (AP) — In this corner of southern Texas, the plump cacti seem to pop out of arid dust and cracked earth, like magic dumplings. It’s only here and in northern Mexico that the bluish-green peyote plant can be found growing naturally, nestled under thorny
Continue ReadingBy AP KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — A pizza deliverer in central Florida has been charged with pushing her way into a motel room with an accomplice and stabbing a pregnant woman after a dispute over a tip, authorities said. Brianna Alvelo was charged with stabbing a woman in her motel room in Kissimmee, Florida, a
Continue ReadingBy Monica Faram – Clinton Herald, Iowa (TNS) One Burleson family has received the best Christmas presents imaginable this year. On Dec. 11, they received the news that their 5-year-old is cancer free. Carolynn Quaranta was diagnosed with pineoblastoma, a rare, aggressive cancer deep in the central area of the brain where the two hemispheres
Continue ReadingBy The Manhattan Mercury, Kan. (TNS) Dec. 26—The percentage of people without jobs in Riley County dipped slightly last month. The Kansas Department of Labor a 3.1% unemployment rate in Riley County in November, down from 3.4% in October. That number matches the 3.1% jobless rate seen in September, which was a 0.7% decrease from
Continue ReadingBy The Manhattan Mercury, Kan. (TNS) Dec. 26—Riley County police officials say New Year’s is one of the top holidays for producing crashes in which at least one of the drivers involved is drunk or high, so they’ll be on the lookout over the next week In a release Thursday, an RCPD spokeswoman said the
Continue ReadingBy Dion Lefler – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 26—OPINION AND COMMENTARY — Editorials and other Opinion content offer perspectives on issues important to our community and are independent from the work of our newsroom reporters. Have you ever noticed how those who proclaim their reverence for the Constitution the loudest are always the first
Continue ReadingBy Eduardo Castillo – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 25—A 22-year-old Kansas woman died after a head on-crash Christmas Day in northeast Kansas. The incident was reported at 8:41 a.m. along Kansas Highway 7 in Doniphan County. The crash victim was identified as Katlyn Folsom of Troy, according to a Kansas Highway Patrol crash log.
Continue ReadingBy Lindsay Smith – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 26—Greg Kalkwarf was jogging on a rural Sedgwick County road in November 2023 when he came across a saw blade laying on the ground. Concerned that the blade could lead to someone getting a flat tire, he picked it up and tossed it in the grass.
Continue ReadingBy Denise Neil – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 26—Wichita can now get nationally-televised Argentinian empanadas nearly anytime it wants to — without having to track down a food truck. Earlier this month, Carolina Brandan and Chad Freeman opened their first brick-and-mortar version of their Argentina’s Empanadas in the tiny building on the west edge
Continue ReadingBy AP VESTAVIA HILLS, Ala. (AP) — Teenage actor Hudson Meek has died after he fell out of a moving vehicle in Alabama, authorities said. Meek, 16, was hurt on Dec. 19 while on a street in Vestavia Hills, a suburb of Birmingham. He died two days later, according to the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office.
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By TRAVIS LOLLER – Associated Press ERWIN, Tenn. (AP) — Jerry and Sibrina Barrett never spent a day apart over 35 years. They worked long hours, never took vacations, and liked to relax with their son at home. They had no idea that a hurricane could reach them in the mountains of East Tennessee. Living
Continue ReadingBy Elijah Decious – The Gazette, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (TNS) Dec. 26—The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced. MARION — A brand-new bookmobile is opening a new chapter for the Marion Public Library as it hits the streets in December. The new vehicle, which can hold about 3,000
Continue ReadingBy JARED BARTON – Columbus Telegram, Neb. (TNS) Aromatherapy, snowmen, grinch juice and bowling might seem unrelated, but for the group of youngsters making their way downtown on Monday, it was all part of their Christmas plans. The Trax Creative District partnered with several area organizations and businesses for its first Holiday Crafting Tour. Community
Continue ReadingBy The Associated Press Nashville Predators (11-17-7, in the Central Division) vs. St. Louis Blues (16-16-4, in the Central Division) St. Louis; Friday, 8 p.m. EST BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Predators -130, Blues +109; over/under is 5.5 BOTTOM LINE: The St. Louis Blues host the Nashville Predators after Dylan Holloway’s hat trick against the Detroit Red
Continue ReadingBy Eduardo Castillo – The Wichita Eagle (TNS) Dec. 24—A Kansas teen was killed Monday when the SUV he was driving left the roadway and struck a tree. The victim was identified as 17-year-old Nathan Brown of Pittsburg, a Kansas Highway Patrol crash log shows. The incident occurred at 5:45 p.m. near Rouse Street and
Continue ReadingBy AP PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon house cat died after eating pet food that tested positive for bird flu, Oregon authorities said, prompting a recall of raw frozen pet food that was sold nationwide. Northwest Naturals, a pet food company based in Portland, Oregon, said Tuesday it had voluntarily recalled one batch of
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By HANNAH FINGERHUT – Associated Press Annabell Whelan woke up Tuesday and frantically checked on her holiday overnight guest — Nowl the snowy owl, who she rescued from the grille of a car the day before. Whelan was out with her boyfriend’s family Monday in Duluth, Minnesota, when she saw the owl “just hanging out
Continue ReadingBy Christopher Braunschweig – Newton Daily News, Iowa (TNS) Dec. 25—Bonnie Terpstra has seen what happens to old barns in Iowa. Any fortunate enough to withstand a blistering Midwestern tornado or the devastating straight-line winds of a derecho are too often forgotten about and allowed to deteriorate beyond their working use. There was no way
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By SILVIA STELLACCI and COLLEEN BARRY – Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis in his traditional Christmas message on Wednesday urged “all people of all nations” to find courage during this Holy Year “to silence the sounds of arms and overcome divisions” plaguing the world, from the Middle East to Ukraine, Africa to
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By AP NEW YORK (AP) — Blake Lively’s claims that “It Ends With Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni unleashed a smear campaign against her have gained support from a new lawsuit that Baldoni’s former publicist filed against him. The lawsuit was lodged Tuesday in New York state court in Manhattan by Stephanie Jones, who
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