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Power outages follow Friday's severe storms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:53 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The latest severe storm brought lightning, heavy rain and damaging winds around the region. Heavy rainfall also led to some scattered flooding in north St. Louis County, St. Charles County, and the Metro East.People in north St. Louis County, especially in Spanish Lake were hit hard by Friday night's storms. A falling tree hit a gas meter connected to a house. crews from Spire went out there after first responders secured the area. They told people who live there to stay at least 350 feet away as a precaution.As flood advisories still persist, there could be potentially some serious risks to streets and property. If a flood warning is issued in your area, find an area where you can move to higher ground immediately. St. Louis radar: See a map of current weather here Per Ameren's county breakdown, thousands of customers are dealing with power outages Saturday.Some people are waking up without power across the bi-state. Ameren reports around 20,000 people have no...

5th annual Heroes for Autism 5k in Queeny Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:53 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. -- The 5th annual Heroes for Autism 5k is Saturday morning. This is the flagship event organized by the Freddie Ford Family Foundation.The mission of the Freddie Ford Family Foundation is to support under-served families impacted by autism and to raise awareness and acceptance of autism.The 5k race and mile run-walk encourages people of all ages and abilities. This year more than 160 people are signed up.Foundation representatives say Queeny Park will provide the perfect backdrop for a memorable day filled with camaraderie, determination, and inspiration. At the event there will be family-friendly activities as well including a bounce house, vendors and entertainment.Proceeds go the Freddie Ford Family Foundation.

Storms possible Saturday with highs around 90 degrees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:53 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- A few showers or thundershowers will be possible this morning, especially south and east, as a cold front continues to move through the area. Gradual clearing today and while an isolated shower or storm can't be completely ruled out this afternoon, chances of that are quite slight. Highs around 90 and northwest winds will help to bring our dew points down a few degrees. Mostly clear overnight and lows around 70. St. Louis radar: See a map of current weather here Sunday starts off dry but storm chances do increase later in the day, especially along and north of I-70. Hotter again on Sunday with highs approaching the mid-90s. Storm chances continue Monday and Tuesday.

Broncos Journal: Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson still charting new territory in long kinship

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:53 GMT

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson can communicate quickly and then spring into action.That’s been their job on the football field over the past four seasons playing next to each other and they’ve formed a tight bond doing it at a high level.They realized recently they perhaps missed an assignment off the field, or at least an opportunity, and set about rectifying it quickly.The result came together last weekend when the pair co-hosted a youth football camp at Aurora Central High School.“For me, just getting the chance to team up with Justin and his foundation to do something in the city that supports us on a daily basis, we know how loved we are here in the Denver community,” Jackson said. “So to be able to bring a camp here through our foundations, it’s probably something that we should have been doing.”Simmons said that realization meant a very short conversation before planning began.“Literally, that was the convo,” he said. “Maybe...

FIFA Women’s World Cup viewers’ guide: Contenders, players to watch and Colorado connections

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:53 GMT

While Coloradans are well aware of Lindsey Horan and Sophia Smith’s influence on the United States Women’s National Team, there’s plenty of other reasons to watch the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.Here’s your watch guide as all games will air on Fox or Fox Sports 1.Players to watchSam Kerr, F, Australia: The Chelsea FC striker, who’s lethal in the box, is looking to have a few iconic moments as the captain of one of the host nations. As the saying goes, a rising tide lifts all boats. But can her Matilda teammates also deliver?Debinha, F, Brazil: A paragon of Brazilian creativity, the 26-year-old striker sets the tone. When partnered with 37-year-old Marta, who will be playing at her sixth World Cup, the queens of “Joga Bonito” are back.Katie McCabe, MF, Ireland: For a debutant team, Ireland exemplifies spirit and tenacity, two elements that are essential if the Girls in Green are to sneak out of a tricky Grou...

Mathews: Yes, challenge book bans. But also get more people reading

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:53 GMT

Ban this column! Please!It might seem strange to call for the cancellation of one’s own column. Who needs to squelch such a piece when newspaper audiences are declining already?But my request is no stranger than the effort to ban books that children might read in our schools and libraries.Surveys show children and teens are reader less than in decades past. The National Assessment of Educational Progress found the percentages of American 9- and 13-year-olds who read for fun are at their lowest levels since 1984. That’s no surprise, given all the hours kids that spend on their screens.Yet, this is the moment that culture warriors have chosen to launch book bans. They have targeted more than 2,500 titles, according to the American Library Association. Even more gobsmacking are the reasons the book ban supporters cite: preventing kids from learning about the most talked-about issues in our society — including identity, gender or sex.Of course, the true reasons for banning books go beyo...

Opinion: Children with summer birthdays face surprising health risks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:53 GMT

Both of us have kids with summer birthdays. That typically means parties organized around a few key themes: water activities, outdoor grilling and lots of ice cream. But children with summer birthdays share two other things in common: They are more likely to get the flu, and they are more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.For a characteristic we don’t get to choose, our birthdays affect many important parts of our lives. Our research has shown that there are some surprising and important considerations families and health providers alike should address for kids whose birthdays happen to be in the summer.Take, for example, getting the flu. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say all children at least 6 months old should get the vaccine annually, and it typically becomes available in pediatrician’s offices at the end of August or early September. That means young children with September, October or November birthdays can easily get their f...

Brooks: AI brings fears that ‘human beings are soon going to be eclipsed’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:53 GMT

Recently I stumbled across an essay by Douglas Hofstadter that made me happy. Hofstadter is an eminent cognitive scientist and the author of books like “Gödel, Escher, Bach” and “I Am a Strange Loop.” The essay that pleased me so much, called “The Shallowness of Google Translate,” was published in The Atlantic in January of 2018.Back then, Hofstadter argued that AI translation tools might be really good at some pedestrian tasks, but they weren’t close to replicating the creative and subtle abilities of a human translator. “It’s all about ultrarapid processing of pieces of text, not about thinking or imagining or remembering or understanding. It doesn’t even know that words stand for things,” he wrote.The article made me happy because here was a scientist I greatly admire arguing for a point of view I’ve been coming to myself. Over the past few months, I’ve become an AI limitationist. That is, I believe that while AI will be an amazing tool for, say, tutoring children all around the ...

Irate sellers believe business negotiations should be private between agent and client

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:53 GMT

Question: Selling our Bay Area home keeps getting interesting. We accepted a homebuyer’s offer on Tuesday. It was the most substantial offer among many. By Thursday, a buyer’s agent who also submitted an offer knocked on our door. In her company were her homebuying clients. We rejected their purchase offer with several others. They wanted to know why. Since Tuesday, our seller’s agent has shared our home’s sale price with local agents. The buyers and their agent on our doorstep were upset we accepted a lower offer.My husband was furious. After the doorstep confrontation, we called our agent’s supervising sales manager. This realty agency sales manager was unapologetic. The sales manager stated it is common to share pending sale prices, explaining that proclaiming the process helps active homebuyers and their agents write better offers. That is not our concern. Our business negotiations should stay private, especially during the four weeks of the escrow closing process.If the home sa...

Fairfax Co. considering weapons screening pilot program at some high schools

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:40:53 GMT

Weapons detection screeners could be coming to some Fairfax County, Virginia, schools as part of a pilot program that may be paid for with unused funding from fiscal year 2023.At Thursday night’s board meeting, Chief Financial Officer Leigh Burden said $3 million of carried-over funding from the last fiscal year has been allocated for a safety and security screening pilot program. The security scanning technology, according to school board documents, would be installed at select high schools.According to Superintendent Michelle Reid, the county is exploring different technologies, and county staff members have visited surrounding jurisdictions that have implemented similar programs. In May, Prince William County’s school board approved a plan to place Evolv weapons detectors in all middle and high schools.School systems across the D.C. region have turned to screeners as part of their security initiatives. In Prince William County, Superintendent LaTanya McDade emphasized safety in t...