Story

04

Jan

By Dorothy Brand

Story

Nebraska and Kansas Brace for Weekend Winter Storm with Up to 12 Inches of Snow

Hastings, NE – A powerful winter storm is set to blanket south-central Nebraska and north-central Kansas with heavy snow and freezing drizzle this weekend. Residents are advised to prepare for hazardous travel and near-blizzard conditions. According to the National Weather Service, the storm will begin Saturday morning with freezing drizzle before transitioning to snow overnight. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 8 inches are expected, with localized areas seeing up to a foot. Wind gusts reaching 35 mph could cause blowing snow and reduced visibility to less than a quarter mile in some areas. The Winter Storm Warning remains in…

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01

Jan

By Dorothy Brand

Story

FBI makes its largest bomb bust on Virginia farm

The FBI uncovered more than 150 homemade bombs on a farm in Virginia in what is thought to be the largest such seizure in the agency's history, according to court documents filed this week. Agents found the explosives while searching the family home of 36-year-old Brad Spafford after being tipped off by a neighbor that he was stockpiling weapons and homemade ammunition. A court document filed Monday said Spafford, who works at a machine shop, had used pictures of President Joe Biden for shooting target practice and expressed support for political assassinations. Some explosives assessed as pipe bombs were found…

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11

Dec

By Dorothy Brand

Story

Firefighters struggle to contain fast-moving Malibu wildfire, prompting evacuation orders

A raging wildfire in Malibu, California, is 0% contained as of Tuesday evening after destroying at least seven structures and prompting mandatory evacuation orders for tens of thousands, according to officials in Los Angeles County. Known as the Franklin Fire, the flames have torched more than 3,000 acres in about 24 hours and placed nearly 20,000 people under evacuation orders and warnings. Seven zones within city limits from the Pacific coastline to the outskirts of the fire's inception in Malibu Canyon are under an evacuation order, which is a lawful order to leave immediately due to life-threatening conditions. "Over 1,000…

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23

Nov

By Dorothy Brand

Story

No. 10 North Carolina breezes to victory at Hawaii

RJ Davis scored 18 points, Elliot Cadeau notched 12 of his 17 points in the second half and No. 10 North Carolina began its week on the Hawaiian islands with an 87-69 win over Hawaii on Friday in Honolulu. The Tar Heels (3-1) went on an 11-0 run in early in the second half to create separation against the Rainbow Warriors (4-1). The quick burst put a halt to a gradual chipping away at a first-half deficit of as many as 11 points for Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors pulled within three points just before halftime, and they were down by…

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22

Nov

By Dorothy Brand

Story

2nd grade students find fossil under school playground while ‘digging for rocks and fun’

TALCOTT, W. Va. (WVVA/Gray News) - While many kids might dig on the playground for buried treasure, very few find anything of note. However, two kids in West Virginia are the exception after digging up a prehistoric find. At Talcott Elementary School in Summers County, one second-grade teacher shares his love of local geology with his students, encouraging them to find cool rocks so they can learn to identify them. One day, John Ramsey discovered that two of his students, Liam and Wade, had found something a little more unusual than typical gravel. “I came in my classroom and found…

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22

Nov

By Dorothy Brand

Story

Wheeling YMCA breaks ground on transformative expansion

WHEELING — The Wheeling YMCA broke ground Monday morning on a long-awaited expansion project that will remodel the lobby and entrance, improve locker rooms and childcare facilities, and expand fitness spaces. Construction on the building, which is the third and final phase of the $7 million Capital Campaign, is set to last until late 2025. The demand for the expansion has been growing, with the YMCA citing all-time membership highs, increased need for childcare programs, and rising popularity of group fitness classes. The YMCA sees an influx of people using the spaces every day of the week and has a…

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21

Nov

By Dorothy Brand

Story

Teen sentenced to up to six years in prison for stabbing, BB gun attack in Lancaster County

LANCASTER, Pa. — A Caernarvon Township teenager has been sentenced to three to six years in state prison after pleading guilty to aggravated assault and related charges for shooting a man with a BB gun and stabbing him with a knife during a violent altercation last year. Nicholas Martin, 17, was sentenced by Judge Merrill Spahn on Oct. 28 and will also be required to pay $226,000 in restitution for the victim’s medical expenses. The charges stem from an incident on Oct. 11, 2023, when Martin, then 16, used an AR-style BB gun to shoot the man inside their home…

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21

Nov

By Dorothy Brand

Story

Timeline projected for Market Street Bridge replacement

STEUBENVILLE — The leader of the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission said funds for a replacement for the Market Street Bridge must be expended by 2032 under the conditions of a $87.5 million federal grant awarded for the project. On Wednesday, BHJ Executive Director Mike Paprocki told the commission’s executive board the West Virginia Department of Transportation has committed $52.5 million from the state’s usual allotment of federal transportation funds and $35 million of its funds to meet the 100 percent match required of the grant. Paprocki said money from the federal grant, awarded through the Federal Highway Administration’s Bridge Investment…

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21

Nov

By Dorothy Brand

Story

Australia’s parliament considers legislation banning social media for under 16s

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s communications minister introduced a world-first law into Parliament on Thursday that would ban children under 16 from social media, saying online safety was one of parents’ toughest challenges. Michelle Rowland said TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, and Instagram were among the platforms that would face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts. “This bill seeks to set a new normative value in society that accessing social media is not the defining feature of growing up in Australia,” Rowland told Parliament. “There is…

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12

Nov

By Dorothy Brand

Politics, Story

Virginia supports expanding property tax exemption for select military spouses

Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury - A majority of Virginians supported a referendum expanding the state Constitution to provide real estate tax relief to surviving spouses of service members who died in the line of duty. The Constitution only applied to 100% disabled veterans and surviving spouses of soldiers killed in action as determined by the U.S. Department of Defense. Virginia’s unofficial election results show that 93% of Virginians supported the amendment through a referendum that was on the ballot last week. “It’s humbling to see the overwhelming support and to be able to help just over a hundred or so families,”…

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