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Russian forces simulate nuclear strike as upper house rescinds ratification of test ban treaty

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:33:51 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s military conducted a simulated nuclear strike in a drill Wednesday overseen by President Vladimir Putin, hours after the upper house of parliament voted to rescind the country’s ratification of a global nuclear test ban. The bill to end ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, approved in the lower house last week, will now be sent to Putin for final approval. Putin has said that revoking Russia’s 2000 ratification would “mirror” the stance of the U.S., which signed but did not ratify the nuclear test ban.State television showed Putin directing the exercise via video call with top military officials.Russia’s Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu said the purpose of the drills is to practice “dealing a massive nuclear strike with strategic offensive forces in response to a nuclear strike by the enemy.” While similar drills are held every autumn, Shoigu’s pointed comments came amid soaring tensions between Russia and the West ove...

At least 16 dead in Maine shooting and dozens injured: officials

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:33:51 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — At least 16 people have been killed and dozens of others injured in shootings in Lewiston, Maine, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.The shootings happened Wednesday evening at a bar and bowling alley.The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.Lewiston Police said in an earlier Facebook post that they were dealing with an active shooter incident at Schemengees Bar and Grille and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley.“Please stay off the roads to allow emergency responders access to the hospitals,” police said.On its website, Central Maine Medical Center said staff were “reacting to a mass casualty, mass shooter event” and were coordinating with area hospitals to take in patients.The Androscoggin County Sheriff's Office shared photos of a possible suspect, seen here, involved in "two active shooter events" in Lewiston, Maine, on Oct. 25, 2023. (Androsc...

Loveland voters to vote on ending grocery sales tax

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:33:51 GMT

LOVELAND, Colo. (KDVR) — Loveland voters will soon decide whether or not they want to get rid of taxes on grocery sales.Proposition 300 is on the November ballot. If passed, it would remove food for home consumption from the sales tax base for the city of Loveland. What is Prop HH? Voters to decide on property taxes and TABOR dollars The 3% sales tax might sound good for residents' household budgets, but the city is looking at the cost that would have for Loveland’s general fund.“That would be a $10.5 million reduction in 2024, and that would persist every year after that,” Loveland Chief Financial Officer Brian Waldes said.As a whole, Waldes told FOX31 the general funds budget is about $130 million, including capital.“If you take $10.5 million out of that equation, we would have to seek to reduce expenses or change our programs or service levels in some way to make that up,” Waldes said. “The general fund is used for everything from public safety to plowing the streets, the recre...

Aurora Fire Rescue launches 'tiered response' to emergency calls

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:33:51 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — Aurora Fire Rescue is changing the way it responds to certain calls as part of a new effort to better use resources.As of Wednesday, the department is now operating on a "tiered response approach," allowing the department to dispatch units based on the severity of the incident they're responding to. Aurora ranks as deadliest DUI city in Colorado so far this year Fire Chief Alec Oughton said it's a major shift from the traditional response of sending the closest units with lights and sirens to most calls.“There are calls where minutes matter, and there are calls where minutes don’t impact the outcome,” Oughton said. “So what we’ve done with this change in our response model is really adjust our response to better match the risk that’s associated with the call that’s coming in.”Chief: More engines will be available for firesOn Wednesday, the first day under the new program, Oughton said the department saw a roughly 20% decline in large fire apparatus respondin...

Papa Roach donates $155K for suicide prevention at Denver show

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:33:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Rock band Papa Roach wrapped up their recent tour Friday night in Denver, announcing a special gift for a cause the band said is important to them.Since the tour began in September, the band has been pledging a portion of its ticket sales to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in support of the Talk Away the Dark campaign. Mental health resources available in Colorado The campaign strives to teach people about the warning signs of suicide, and how to have a conversation that could save a life.The band's frontman, Jacoby Shaddix, told FOX31 that the message of the campaign aligns with the band's values."We always talk about that out of the darkness into the light experience, that evolution, and what the AFSP is doing is exactly that, it's like they are extending a hand out to people that need help," Shaddix said. Shaddix said it's important to remind people that there is help out there, more than playing a song to feel better, but real professional help ...

Heat waste almost all of 19-point lead, scramble to hold off Pistons 103-102

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:33:51 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — To open a new season, the Miami Heat revisited their go-to move from last season: winning close games.Bam Adebayo scored 22 points, Jimmy Butler finished with 19 points and 13 rebounds and the Heat held off the Detroit Pistons 103-102 on Wednesday night in the season opener for both clubs. The Heat led by 19 with 9:07 left, went scoreless in the final 2:57 and survived when a 30-footer by Detroit’s Cade Cunningham missed as time expired.“I loved it,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “I loved the emotion tonight. I loved the energy. A lot of good things.”Tyler Herro scored 16 points, Duncan Robinson added 15 and Kevin Love had 13 points and 10 rebounds for the reigning Eastern Conference champion Heat. Miami was 14-8 in games decided by three points or less last season, 16-9 when adding in the playoffs — and now, 1-0 this season.“Hopefully, this isn’t the start of another season where we’re going to be playing a clutch game every night,” Herro said. “But it is...

Crews put out fire that ignited in church attic near Fort Lauderdale; no injuries

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:33:51 GMT

NEAR FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) — Flames ripped through a church near Fort Lauderdale after, officials said, a fire broke out in the attic.Broward Sheriff’s Office units, with assistance from Lauderhill Fire Rescue, responded to the scene of the blaze at the National Church of God, located along the 3000 block of Northwest 12th Street, Wednesday night.Officials said members of the congregation called 911 after they smelled smoke during choir practice, just after 7 p.m.“As we got closer to the door, we started smelling it even worse, so that’s when we opened the door and went inside the church,” said church minister Vincent Cartwright. “We went straight to the dining room, because we have a kitchen, so we checked to see if there were any appliances on fire. We didn’t see anything on fire, but we saw a whole bunch of smoke in the dining room.”When firefighters arrived, they found smoke coming from the roof of the church. They were able...

At least 16 dead in Maine shooting and dozens injured, law enforcement officials tell AP

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:33:51 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A man opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar in Lewiston, Maine, on Wednesday night, killing at least 16 people and engulfing the state’s second-largest city in chaos. The suspect remained at large as authorities ordered residents and business owners to stay inside and off the streets.Two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press dozens of people also had been wounded. The officials were not authorized to publicly discuss details of the ongoing investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.Lewiston Police said in an earlier Facebook post that they were dealing with an active shooter incident at Schemengees Bar and Grille and Sparetime Recreation, a bowling alley about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) away. The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office released two photos of the suspect on its Facebook page that showed a shooter walking into an establishment with a weapon raised to their shoulder.“Please stay off the roads to allow emergency resp...

UK summit scales back global AI research ambitions, leaked document shows

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:33:51 GMT

LONDON — Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s hopes of securing international agreement for a new scientific body focused on risks from the most powerful AI systems have been dealt a setback, according to a final summit communiqué obtained by POLITICO.While nations participating in the United Kingdom’s AI safety summit will agree that frontier AI could cause “serious, even catastrophic, harm,” they will be expected to signal that further scientific study of the issue could be carried out by existing collaboration efforts, including the United Nations and Global Partnership on AI.The document, dated October 25, was presented by the General Secretariat of the European Council to EU member states. It is described as the “final version of the communiqué.” A schedule seen by POLITICO stated that Wednesday October 25 was the final deadline for agreeing the communiqué. The reference to a network that “encompasses and complements” existing efforts is a change from an earlier draft of the statement,...

Israel is acting proportionately against a terrorist enemy

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:33:51 GMT

Arsen Ostrovsky is a human rights attorney and CEO of The International Legal Forum.Before the bodies of the 40 Jewish babies massacred by Hamas were even buried, many self-proclaimed experts were already charging Israel with acting disproportionately in response to the attacks on October 7.But what is a “proportionate” response to dozens of infants being shot, burnt and decapitated? Would those preaching “proportionality” expect Israel to go into Gaza and massacre 40 Palestinian babies in return? Of course not.The death toll in Israel of at least 1,400 from this massacre is the single largest number of Jews killed in one day since the Holocaust. And I saw this carnage with my own eyes, standing in Kibbutz Be’eri in southern Israel, where homes were scorched, bullets were strewn and the stench of death was unmistakable.Yet, the pesky Jewish state, which faces such a heinous and savage enemy, remains the only democracy in the world that’s condemned for acting “disproportionately” eac...