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North Carolina amusement park closes ride after discovering crack in support beam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:31 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina amusement park closed one of its roller coasters Friday after a crack was found on a support beam. According to news reports, Carowinds shut down Fury 325. The park’s website advertises the ride as the “tallest, fastest, longest giga coaster in North America” that crosses into both North Carolina and South Carolina.Video of the ride showed the beam bending, the top of it visibly detached, as cars with passengers whirled by.“Safety is our top priority and we appreciate the patience and understanding of our valued guests during this process,” Carowinds officials said in a statement. “As part of our comprehensive safety protocols, all rides, including Fury 325, undergo daily inspections to ensure their proper functioning and structural integrity.”Fury 325 first opened to the public in 2015 and cost approximately $30 million to build, according to news reports. Carowinds did not say how long repairing the ride would take. The res...

Thousands in Serbian capital protest pro-government TV station after 2 mass shootings in May

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:31 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of people in Serbia’s capital rallied Saturday outside a pro-government TV station that protesters say promotes a culture of violence and should be stripped of its broadcasting license after two mass shootings stunned the Balkan nation.The protest started outside the Serbian parliament building before thousands marched toward the Pink TV building located in a residential area of Belgrade that also hosts foreign embassies and residences. The protesters booed loudly in front of the station’s offices, chanted slogans against populist leader Aleksandar Vucic and his government, and threw toilet paper rolls at the building.“This is a factory of evil that has been spewing poison for years,” said opposition politician Radomir Lazovic. Serbia’s populist authorities have rejected any responsibility for the May attacks. The president’s opponents, however, say hate speech and intolerance fueled by pro-government media and officials have helped foster vio...

West Hollywood minimum hourly wage tops $19, highest of any US city

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:31 GMT

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The swanky, celebrity-studded city of West Hollywood officially has the highest minimum wage of any U.S. city after pay zoomed to $19.08 an hour Saturday.Workers in West Hollywood welcomed the increase amid rising rent, gas and food prices, although employers grumbled about growing labor costs that they say could drive them out of business. Lucian Tudor, chief executive of upscale restaurant La Boheme, told the Los Angeles Times he has cut staff from 120 to 80 to trim costs. The city’s minimum wage climbed $1 in January to $17.50 an hour for businesses with at least 50 employees. “These pay increases are about superficiality and about opportunistic politicians who are just trying to make a name for themselves,” Tudor, who would prefer a minimum wage that accounts for tips like what New York City has, told the news outlet.West Hollywood, tucked between the cities of Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, has about 35,000 people. The minimum wage also went ...

Australia is the first country to let patients with depression or PTSD be prescribed psychedelics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:31 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia is now the first country to allow psychiatrists to prescribe certain psychedelic substances to patients with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.Beginning Saturday, Australian physicians can prescribe doses of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, for PTSD. Psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, can be given to people who have hard-to-treat depression. The country put the two drugs on the list of approved medicines by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Scientists in Australia were surprised by the move, which was announced in February but took effect July 1. One scientist said it puts Australia “at the forefront of research in this field.”Chris Langmead, deputy director of the Neuromedicines Discovery Centre at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, said there have been very few advancements on treatment of persistent mental health issues in the last 50 years. The growing cultural acceptance has led two U.S. states to a...

Bears QB Justin Fields named Grand Marshal for Sunday's NASCAR Street Race

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:31 GMT

CHICAGO — No stranger to the limelight on Sundays, Bears quarterback Justin Fields has been named the Grand Marshal for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series event.Temporarily trading the pigskin for a checkered flag, Fields will lead the kickoff to NASCAR's Grant Park 220 as the Inaugural Chicago Street Race weekend continues. How NASCAR drivers prepared before the Chicago Street Race Grand marshals are responsible for ordering drivers to their cars before the start of the race.The announcement is the latest in the star-studded affair that will host Chicago-based hip-hop artist Twista as an Honorary Event Official for the pre-race ceremonies ahead of Sunday's race. Racing on the 2.2-mile street course for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series event begins at 4:30 p.m. How important are the Chicago Street Races to NASCAR? Chicago natives Larenz, Lahmard, and Larron Tate served as Grand Marshals for Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race, The Loop 121.

Former Arizona governor pressured by Trump to overturn 2020 results: reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:31 GMT

(The Hill) — Former President Trump called then-Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) to pressure him to overturn the 2020 election results in that state, according to reports from The Washington Post.Trump encouraged Ducey, a tepid ally, to find votes to overcome his narrow loss in the state in multiple calls after the 2020 election and asked Vice President Mike Pence call him and ask the same, according to the outlet.Ducey told a donor about the calls earlier this year, saying that he was under “pressure” from Trump to overturn the election. He also said he was surprised special counsel Jack Smith did not request information on the calls for his federal investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the election. Ducey did not record the call, the donor told The Post. He left office in January being term limited.State investigations into Trump’s claims of mass voter fraud in Arizona did not discover any fraud. Trump lost Arizona by less than 10,000 votes in 2020, a margin of about 0.3 ...

New blood donation rules leave room for LGBTQ stigma

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:31 GMT

(The Hill) — The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) updated blood donation guidelines were issued last month with the aim of being more inclusive of the LGBTQ community, but community members say the agency has left the door open for stigma and discrimination.Under the new guidelines, all donors will answer a series of “individual risk-based questions” regardless of sexual orientation, sex or gender. But people who are on PrEP, the antiretroviral medicine used to prevent HIV infection, are explicitly deferred from being allowed to donate blood. Twitter limits how many tweets users can see a day Kendall Martinez-Wright is a policy associate at the Treatment Action Group (TAG), an advocacy organization with the goal of ending diseases like HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis. She said the policy excluding those on PrEP creates a “basis of discrimination.”In its final guidance, the FDA cited concerns about “transfusion transmission of HIV” due to medications like PrEP resulting in fals...

Teen with disability missing from Bexar County, Sheriff says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:31 GMT

BEXAR COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- The Bexar County Sheriff's Office is searching for a missing teen who was last seen Friday, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.Julissa Barron, 13, was last seen on foot at 3:15 p.m. Thursday in the 900 block of Cozumel Emerald in San Antonio, officials said.Image provided by the Texas Department of Public SafetyJulissa is described as 5 feet 2 inches, weighs 212 pounds, has brown hair, brown eyes and was last seen wearing a Rugrat's crop top shirt, red and white jolly pants and black Crocs, officials said. She has curly medium length hair and beauty marks on her face, according to officials.Law enforcement officials believe Julissa's disappearance poses a credible threat to her own health and safety.If anyone has any information on Julissa's whereabouts, they are urged to contact BCSO at (210) 335-6000.

Wild sign Lou Nanne’s grandson Vinni Lettieri to two-year, two-way contract

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:31 GMT

With not a lot cap space to work with, the Wild knew they couldn’t go big on Saturday’s first day of NHL free agency. That played out as the Wild were forced to sit on their hands while other teams handed out big money for impact players.In the end, the Wild were able to add some depth to the organization, signing winger Vinni Lettieri to a two-year, two-way contract and winger Jake Lucchini to a one-year, two-way contract.The addition of Lettieri is the highlight largely because he is the grandson of Minnesota hockey legend Lou Nanne. The two-way contract will pay Lettieri a salary of $750,000 for time in the NHL and $550,000 in the American Hockey League.As a minor-league player for most of his professional career, the 28-year-old Lettieri spent most of last season with the Providence Bruins of the AHL, recording 49 points (23 goals, 26 assists) in 48 games. He got called up for one game with the Boston Bruins.Lettieri has 18 career points (7 goals, 11 assists) in 83 N...

Satellite photos, reports suggest Belarus is building an army camp for Wagner fighters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:31 GMT

By The Associated PressSatellite images analyzed by The Associated Press on Saturday showed what appeared to be a newly built military-style camp in Belarus, with statements from a Belarusian guerrilla group and officials suggesting it may be used to house fighters from the Wagner mercenary group.The images provided by Planet Labs PLC suggest that dozens of tents were erected within the past two weeks at a former military base outside Osipovichi, a town 230 kilometers (142 miles) north of the Ukrainian border. A satellite photo taken on Jun. 15 shows no sign of the rows of white and green structures that are clearly visible in a later image, dated Jun. 30.Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and his fighters escaped prosecution and were offered refuge in Belarus last week after Minsk helped broker a deal to end what appeared to be an armed insurrection by the mercenary group. The abortive revolt saw Wagner troops who had fought alongside Russia forces in Ukraine capture a military headqua...