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Mexico’s homicide rate dropped in 2022, but appears to flatline in 2023, official figures show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:14 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The most reliable count shows that homicides in Mexico declined significantly for the first time in several years in 2022, Mexico’s National Statistics Institute said Tuesday.Mexico’s National Statistics Institute said there were 32,223 killings in 2022, 9.7% less than in 2021. The country’s homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants dropped from about 28 in 2021 to 25 in 2022.President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who has struggled persistently with high homicide rates since he took office in December 2018, said the decline represented the results of his “hugs not bullets” policy of avoiding open confrontation with drug cartels, while funding training and scholarship programs for youths.“The strategy of addressing the root causes of violence is beginning to show results,” López Obrador said.However, the number of killings nationwide appears to have essentially flatlined in the first half of 2023, when there were 15,122 killings, compared to 15,381 in the same period o...

UEFA punishes Croatia for offensive fan chants and disorder at Nations League Finals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:14 GMT

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Croatia’s soccer federation was fined 150,000 euros ($165,000) by UEFA on Tuesday for offensive chants and disorder by fans at the Nations League Finals last month.In a further punishment, UEFA said Croatia fans cannot be sold tickets for the team’s next competitive away game — a European Championship qualifier in Armenia on Sept. 11.A provisional sanction of playing a competitive home game in an empty stadium was deferred for a two-year probationary period.UEFA said its disciplinary panel combined incidents at Croatia’s games at the Nations League mini-tournament in the Netherlands against the host and in the final against Spain, which won on a penalty shootout.A 70,000 euros ($77,000) fine was for “discriminatory behavior” by fans, and other fines were for throwing objects and lighting fireworks.“Racist behavior” by fans of men’s Under-21 Euros co-host Romania at a game against Ukraine last month was among charges brought by UEFA that added up to fin...

Police try to contact possibly armed man on roof of Boulder business

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:14 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Police were working Tuesday to contact a possibly armed suspect who climbed atop a Firestone.According to the Boulder Police Department, officers were in the area of 30th and Iris working to contact a suspect. The area is in north Boulder, south of the Pleasant View Fields Sports Complex.Police said around noon they were still working to take him into custody without anyone getting hurt. The suspect allegedly stole a car and then climbed on top of a business. The man claimed he had a gun.A shelter-in-place was initially issued for those living in the Glenwood Grove - North Iris neighborhood, but that was lifted around 10:30 a.m. Officers were still asking drivers to avoid the area.

Creator of Breckenridge troll to add another sculpture in this Colorado town

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:14 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — If you have ever wandered the trails of Breckenridge, you may have come across Isak Heartstone, a 15-foot-tall wooden troll sculpture. The troll is a fan favorite among visitors, and now the creator of the sculpture is planning to build another one in Colorado.Danish artist Thomas Dambo created the sculpture back in 2018 out of recycled and local material. His troll sculptures have gained recognition worldwide, and now Dambo is heading out on a road trip across the U.S. to build 10 more trolls in a tour he is calling "Way of the Bird King." These are the only venomous snakes in Colorado, according to CPW His second Colorado build will be in the Cripple Creek, Victor area.As part of his dream road trip, Dambo will be in Cripple Creek from July 27 through Aug. 4. He described the trip as a "massive project," and will need lots of help."It's a massive project and me, the crew, my two boys and wife, will probably need a lot of help, so write me if you want to volunteer...

You will soon be able to buy marijuana online in Colorado, but there's a catch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:14 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Starting Aug. 7, you'll legally be able to go online and purchase pot from a Colorado dispensary instead of having to order it in person.Previous law prohibited any marijuana sales except for those in-person at a dispensary. There is a catch, however.The new law and the catchThe change comes from HB23-1279, which was passed in April and signed into law by Gov. Polis in June.The law won't let just anyone order and have marijuana delivered to their doorstep, however. You still have to be over 21 to purchase. Marijuana-related ER visits among younger children spiked in 2020 Also, you will still have to go to the dispensary to pick it up, and the store will have to verify that your information matches what you provided online.This information includes name, date of birth and whatever else the licensing authority and store requires. You'll have to put this information in before you purchase the marijuana.Additionally, the dispensaries that decide to allow online sales ...

How much would RTD fare cost if the new proposal passes?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:14 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Tuesday, RTD will vote on a new proposal that could reduce fares starting in 2024. If passed, the plan would not only reduce the cost of bus and train rides, but it would also level fares across all destinations. RTD could lower fares, offer an $88 monthly pass “Public transportation is a means of garnering access and opportunity,” Debra Johnson, RTD’s general manager and CEO, said in a statement. “The operative word in what we do is ‘public,’ and RTD’s goal is to ensure all people within the region have access to transportation.”Currently, RTD divides fares into zones. The new proposal would do away with that system.If passed, this proposal would lower RTD fares for all locations except the airport. (Credit: RTD)If the proposal passes, a local three-hour pass to travel around Denver and to nearby cities would drop from $3 to $2.75, and the day pass would drop from $6 to $5.50.A three-hour and day pass to DIA would cost $10. City council votes to extend emergenc...

Auditions for Miami dancers open for new Cirque holiday show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:14 GMT

Attention all Miami-based dancers. Broadway director and Cirque Dreams founder, Neil Goldberg, is holding auditions for his latest extravaganza, “POMP, SNOW & CIRQUEumstance,” set to debut at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach this December. The show will embark on a national tour after its Miami premiere, with the grand vision of a future Broadway engagement.“POMP, SNOW & CIRQUEumstance” promises to be a one-of-a-kind magical and cirque holiday musical, and Goldberg is now seeking an international cast of 30 talented individuals, including acrobats, aerialists, singers, dancers, magicians, and other extraordinarily unique performers.Dancers, in particular, have a chance to shine in this grand spectacle, as Goldberg’s creative team is specifically on the lookout for male and female dancers with outstanding skills in hip-hop and freestyle dance.The auditions offer an exclusive opportunity for Miami’s finest dancers to showcase their exceptional ...

Florida ocean temps surge to 100 degrees as mass coral bleaching event is found in some reefs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:14 GMT

(CNN) — An urgent rescue operation is underway to save Florida coral species from extinction as a mass bleaching event and die-off from unprecedented water temperatures spreads across the Florida Keys.Multiple reefs around the Florida Keys are now completely bleached or dead in a grim escalation that took place in as little as two weeks, coral experts told CNN.Experts now say they expect “complete mortality” of the bleached reefs in just a week, and worry reefs at greater depths could face the same fate if the unprecedented ocean warmth continues to escalate.Extreme heat and a lack of rain and wind pushed water temperatures around Florida to some of the highest levels ever observed anywhere. A buoy in the Florida Bay hit 101.1 degrees Fahrenheit at a depth of 5 feet Monday, in an area where coral is scant. Many other stations in the area topped 96 degrees, including one that hit 99 degrees, according to the National Data Buoy Center.The most significant concentra...

The Crisis in Israel Is Just Getting Started

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:14 GMT

JERUSALEM — It’s a strange experience to observe the place you live in slide from controlled crisis into utter chaos in just under 24 hours.Crisis is a fairly common situation in Israel. There is always something going on. Hamas launches rockets; Israelis enjoy brunch. Hezbollah threatens to annihilate the country; Israelis know their air force will chortle.This may be one of the reasons Israelis developed a “there he goes again” indulgence toward Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, and an eternal bad boy of local politics. Last November, he managed to pull off reelection, barely, while on trial for corruption.Yet this time — with skunk water cannons turned on peaceful protesters, army reservists resigning and global banks and credit ratings agencies downgrading Israel — Israel’s seven-month crisis is past and chaos has taken over. It feels as if the country’s DNA has been transformed. As always, it’s been a long time coming, but the change feels b...

Grain dance: What Poland wants in return for its solidarity with Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:22:14 GMT

Warsaw’s solidarity with Kyiv knows no bounds — well almost. It just comes down to money.More than a year after the EU set up overland “solidarity lanes” to help get millions of tons of stranded agricultural products — Kyiv’s main export — out of Ukraine, Warsaw is threatening to close its own border for the second time unless Brussels extends temporary restrictions and comes up with cash to ensure that none of the stuff gets stuck in Poland.The unilateral move would violate the EU’s common trade rules but Warsaw argues it is necessary because Ukrainian products — now blocked once again by Russia from their traditional Black Sea export route — are undercutting Polish farmers.“The interests of our farmers are paramount for us,” Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus told reporters after a meeting of EU farm ministers in Brussels Tuesday. “Our decisions are not against anyone; they are first and foremost for our farmers.”Followin...