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Biden bringing on ex-labor secretary and DNC chair Tom Perez to help with implementation push

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:26 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has named Tom Perez, a former labor secretary and Democratic National Committee chairman, to be a senior adviser and his liaison to state and local governments as the White House turns its focus toward implementing Biden’s infrastructure and climate legislation.Perez will lead the office of intergovernmental affairs, replacing Julie Rodriguez whom Biden tapped to be the manager for his reelection campaign. The White House emphasized that he brings experience working at the local, state and federal levels, which prepares him to meet the needs of officials across government. He will also advise Biden on immigration and labor issues, and work on other projects as assigned. Perez’s selection reflects the administration’s view that the successful implementation of massive infrastructure, technology and climate legislation passed in Biden’s first two years in office — and with it Biden’s own legacy — will rise and fall on...

Oregon jury finds PacifiCorp utility responsible for causing devastating 2020 wildfires in civil lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:26 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon jury finds PacifiCorp utility responsible for causing devastating 2020 wildfires in civil lawsuit.Source

Top teams not worried when NASCAR Cup Series takes only break in grinding schedule

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:26 GMT

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) — The relentless grind of the NASCAR Cup Series pauses this week, and just about everybody involved with the cars is looking to take advantage.Martin Truex Jr. plans to go fishing after claiming his second victory of the season on Sunday at Sonoma Raceway. Aric Almirola’s wife and children were in wine country to watch his surprising Xfinity Series victory at Sonoma on Saturday because they’re all spending the next 10 days in California, surfing and hiking and going to a Dodgers game on Father’s Day.NASCAR’s schedule in its top flight is famously busy: This is the teams’ sole weekend without a race between the Daytona 500 on Feb. 19 and the Cup Series championship at Phoenix on Nov. 5.But for the teams and drivers doing their best work now, it’s natural to wonder whether the break could slow their momentum right before the start of the 10-race sprint to the eight-race Cup playoffs.Kyle Busch is the hottest driver on the grid, with fo...

What is causing the recent sinkholes in Colorado?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:26 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- With the rainfall that the Front Range saw in May and the first part of June, you may expect there to be some consequences.Vegetation is greener, rivers and creeks are fuller, and, in some places, the earth -- or, in many cases, the road -- crumbles and creates a giant crater. Road gives way to create sinkhole in Parker Colorado has seen a number of road collapses from sinkholes lately. Most recently, in Parker, when a road had to be closed due to a sinkhole.What is a sinkhole?A sinkhole is an area with no natural external surface drainage, according to the United States Geological Survey. Because of this, when it rains, water has nowhere else to go and will stay inside the sinkhole and typically drain into the rock below.What is likely causing these recent sinkholes?Not all sinkholes are caused by the same thing, but the recent sinkholes seen in Colorado have been likely caused by rain and water in general.According to USGS, rainfall moves down through the soil a...

History greatly favors the Denver Nuggets for Game 5

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:26 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- There's a chance the Miami Heat can recover from their 3-1 game deficit in tonight's National Basketball Association Finals game against the Denver Nuggets. It's a very small 35-1 chance, though. Game 5 of the NBA Finals is Monday night, and with the Denver Nuggets up 3-1 against the Miami Heat, there’s a chance this game could cinch the series and give the Nuggets their first-ever NBA Championship. How can you watch the Nuggets play in Game 5 of NBA Finals? The odds are long for the Denver Nuggets to lose, but if one team has them it's the Heat. There have been 36 instances in which an NBA team faced a 3-1 deficit in the finals. Only one of those teams managed to come back from behind. In 2016, the Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from a 3-1 trail to win. There have been 12 other comebacks from a 3-1 in NBA playoffs, however. This includes the Miami Heat's victory over the New York Knicks in the 1997 Eastern Conference semifinals. The Nuggets are heavil...

Trump arrives in Florida as history-making court appearance approaches in classified documents case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:26 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump arrived in Florida on Monday ahead of a history-making federal court appearance on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents and thwarting the Justice Department’s efforts to get them back.Trump’s Tuesday afternoon appearance in Miami will mark his second time since April facing a judge on criminal charges. But unlike a New York case some legal analysts derided as relatively trivial, the Justice Department’s first prosecution of a former president concerns conduct that prosecutors say jeopardized national security, with Espionage Act charges carrying the prospect of a significant prison sentence.Ahead of his court date, he and his allies have been escalating efforts to undermine the criminal case against him and drum up protests. He’s ratcheted up the rhetoric against the Justice Department special counsel who filed the case, calling Jack Smith “deranged” as he repeated without any evidence his c...

The Godfather Part IV: US hits back after Orbán mocks Soros handover

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:26 GMT

Hungary’s troubled relationship with the United States took another twist on Monday as the two sides clashed over conspiracy theories featuring competing references to “The Godfather.” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sparked the exchange when he tweeted the words “Soros 2.0” in response to news that Hungarian-American businessman George Soros has decided to hand over his multi-billion dollar foundation to his son, Alexander. The Hungarian leader included a clip from iconic movie “The Godfather” showing fictional mafia boss Vito Corleone kissing his son and heir, Michael. Orbán has for years run campaigns portraying Soros as a puppet master controlling Hungary’s opposition and plotting against the country’s interests, fueling concerns that the Hungarian government is spreading conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic narratives.  In 2017, the Hungarian government plastered the country with billboards depicting Soros smiling, with the...

Utah woman accused of killing husband then writing grief book for kids denied bail

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:26 GMT

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — A Utah mother of three who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death, and was later accused of fatally poisoning him, will remain in jail for the duration of her trial on murder and drug charges, a judge said Monday.Kouri Richins knelt her head and cried as a detective testified about authorities finding her husband dead and “cold to the touch,” and prosecutors argued the evidence against her was strong enough to deny her bail.Her case became a true-crime sensation last month when charges were filed as a transfixed public pored over “Are You With Me?” — the illustrated storybook about an angel wing-clad father watching over his children after passing away — and scrutinized remarks Richins made promoting the book as a tool to help children grieve.Monday’s detention hearing offered both prosecutors and Richins’ attorneys a chance to preview their cases and provide contrasting theories of the case. Prosecutors called to t...

Student loan payments will be due starting in October, Department of Education clarifies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:26 GMT

Washington (CNN) — In October, tens of millions of borrowers will be required to pay their monthly federal student loan bills for the first time since March 2020, the Department of Education clarified Monday.The pandemic-related pause on both payments and interest accumulation has been set to end later this summer, though the exact date payments would be due was a little fuzzy.The Biden administration had previously said that the pause would end either 60 days after June 30 or 60 days after the Supreme Court rules on the separate student loan forgiveness program – whichever comes first.A law passed in early June to address the debt ceiling officially prevented the pandemic-related pause from being extended again. The repayment date has been extended a total of eight times under both the Biden and Trump administrations.“Student loan interest will resume starting on September 1, 2023, and payments will be due starting in October. We will notify borro...

Realtors Take Build-More Approach To Housing Woes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:26 GMT

As renters and would-be homebuyers face an affordability crisis, a leading trade group for the people who facilitate home sales is eyeing new building projects as the solution.“Rent control tries to attack a symptom of our lack of building. And that’s not the way to fix the issue. We need to build more housing,” Justin Davidson told Mass. Association of Realtors members as they prepared to visit House and Senate offices Monday.Elected officials in Boston are among those trying to tackle the affordability issue by capping rent increases, which Davidson, the association’s government affairs director, called a “harmful” policy.“If we build enough housing, if people have the options of where to live and what type of home to live in, we don’t need rent control,” Davidson said.The group also pointed to increased state funding for rental voucher programs as a way to address the problem without invoking rent control, and supports a tax-d...