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Over 2,000 migrants kidnapped in Mexico last year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:13 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s government said Friday over 2,000 migrants were kidnapped by smuggling gangs and drug cartels last year, as authorities started a search for ten Colombians abducted in northern Mexico this week.Mexico’s national immigration agency said authorities had freed 2,115 migrants of all nationalities kidnapped by gangs in 2022.Gangs and cartels appear to be increasingly charging migrants fees to cross Mexico, and then kidnapping them for ransom.A relative of one of the missing Colombians said kidnappers have called to demand thousands of dollars from relatives in the United States. It was the latest in a string of recent mass migrant abductions in Mexico.Reached by telephone in Bogotá, Colombia, Johan Morales — the son of a couple who went missing Tuesday — said his parents and other relatives had been in the northern border state of Sonora when he lost contact with them.Morales said his relatives had been planning to reach the Arizona border and turn themselves ...

FAA leader warns of summer travel ‘havoc’ if GOP cuts pass

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:13 GMT

The acting head of the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that budget cuts approved by House Republicans would cause the agency to furlough thousands of workers and stop hiring new air traffic controllers, making summer air travel worse.The FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen said in a letter to lawmakers that spending cuts also would slow efforts to modernize technology, including an alert system that failed in January and briefly grounded planes around the country.Nolen issued the warning in a required report to Congress about a shortage of air traffic controllers. He said the FAA is on pace to hit its goal of hiring 1,500 controllers by the end of September and is chipping away at a shortage that was made worse by the pandemic, when the agency suspended training new controllers.“Despite these efforts, the spending cuts recently passed by the House of Representatives would wreak havoc on summer air travel,” Nolen told lawmakers. Last month, the House approved legislation...

Limited Front Range floods forecasted, despite large snowpack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:13 GMT

BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) -- A flood warning has been issued Friday afternoon for portions of Routt County in northwest Colorado, where historic snowfall continues to melt. That above-average snowpack has already produced flooding in towns like Hayden, where property damage is being reported.But could that snow produce problems in Denver this spring? National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Heavener said probably not. "It’s been a relatively slow melt-off, so it’s causing some heightened conditions, some increased flows, maybe some streams that haven’t run in a few years are running this year, some ditches as well. But for the most part, we’re not really forecasting any impacts with the snow melt off this year,” he said. Heavener said forecasters are paying close attention this year, knowing the right conditions could create dangerous situations.  Denver weather: Mild temperatures with a few spring showers Specifically, they're watching for a quick warm-up over areas where snow is ...

'Know before you go': I-76 to close over the weekend for paving

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:13 GMT

ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) -- A stretch of Interstate 76 will be completely closed this weekend for a repaving project.Westbound I-76 will be closed between Federal Boulevard and Sheridan Boulevard while the Colorado Department of Transportation repaves starting Friday at 9 p.m. What to know about Cinco de Mayo closures, festivities CDOT advises drivers to "know before you go" and plan for extra travel time during the day. They expect delays to be minimal at night. It is expected to re-open Sunday at 9 p.m., though CDOT said that the schedule is weather-dependent and drivers should check on the latest closure information.Westbound I-76 travelers can use a detour: exit at Federal Blvd and turn right. Turn left on 64th Avenue to Sheridan Blvd., then turn left on Sheridan Blvd. to get back on Interstate 76.

Avalanche victim's family seeks donations for search and rescue group

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:13 GMT

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — The family of a man killed in an avalanche last week is hoping to honor his memory through donations to the search and rescue team that recovered his remains.According to Summit County officials, 31-year-old Benjamin Ryan died while backcountry skiing on Bald Mountain on Saturday. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center said he was caught and buried in a small avalanche.Summit County Rescue Group was called and dispatched to respond. “We are an all-volunteer team of about 70 people, and our responsibility is to rescue people in the backcountry,” member Charles Pitman said. "All year long, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day … If you’re in distress, we’re the team that will find you and get you out of trouble." Cold case: Who murdered Sioux Feather Nightwalker in 2015? He said it took the team almost 12 hours to locate and recover the skier.“We don’t get a lot of fatalities,” he said. “Some of them affect me more than others. This one did. You read ...

Random shooting leaves 11-year-old boy dead at Dania Beach store

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:13 GMT

DANIA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A gunman fatally shot an 11-year-old boy and wounded a man before turning the gun on himself inside a South Florida convenience store in an apparently random attack, sheriff’s officials said Friday.Broward County Sheriff’s deputies said Darren Rosenthal, 29, shot a man sitting inside a car outside the Dania Beach 7-Eleven at about 11 p.m. Thursday. He then went inside the suburban Fort Lauderdale store and killed the boy. He then killed himself.The names of the boy and the wounded man were not released. The man was taken to the hospital, but his condition was also not released.“Detectives do not believe there is any connection between the gunman and the victims; this does appear to be a random act,” sheriff’s spokesman Carey Codd said at a Friday news conference. “There does not appear to be a connection between the two victims.”Store worker Maximo Limas said Rosenthal gave no warning before he started shooting.The wounded man “was chilling...

Pedestrian hospitalized after crash in Miami Gardens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:13 GMT

Rescue crews took one person to the hospital after they were struck in Miami Gardens.Miami Gardens Police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the crash in the area of Northwest Seventh Avenue and 197th Street, at around 3 a.m., FridayParamedics transported the victim to an area hospital in unknown condition.

Florida representative pulls bill that put historic Miami Beach buildings at risk of demolition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:13 GMT

As the Florida Legislature wound down its session Friday, preservationists in South Florida breathed a sigh of relief in a building battle. At least for now.The sponsor of a measure being considered in the Florida House has withdrawn it.The bill proposed buildings that fail to meet Federal Emergency Management Agency flooding standards could be demolished.The sponsor, Fort Myers Republican Spencer Roach, said he pulled it because of feedback from constituents and fellow lawmakers.Preservationists worried that if the bill became law, it would have given the green light to owners of historic properties, like the Art Deco buildings on South Beach, to allow the structures to fall into disrepair, which would clear the way for them to be torn down and redeveloped.Roach said he will introduce a revised version of the bill next year.

Pembroke elementary school staffer on leave for bringing marijuana edible to school, student rushed to hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:13 GMT

A Pembroke school staffer was placed on leave Friday after school officials said the employee brought a marijuana edible to school. A 9-year-old student got his hands on the edible and was rushed to a hospital, officials said. The student had been released from the hospital as of around 4 p.m. and is okay. As an investigation gets underway, though, 7NEWS spoke with the child’s father, who said this should not have happened.“We’re not a club,” the father said. “It’s a school. My son is only nine-years-old. He shouldn’t know about this stuff at nine-years-old.”The incident happened Friday morning at Hobomock Elementary School after schools superintendent Erin Obey said a paraprofessional took a backpack containing a cannabis product into a classroom. Somehow, the student got the edible, with his dad saying he ate one piece of a marijuana candy bar.“He didn’t feel good, he’s tired. I see his eyes are glossy,” the man said of his son’s condition. Pembroke police and ...

Officials show damage inside Bristol County Jail after April inmate disturbance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:13 GMT

Bristol County Sheriff’s Office officials led a tour of parts of the Bristol County House of Correction Friday, two weeks after a disturbance involving inmates rocked the facility. Speaking outside one of two housing units impacted by this incident, Sheriff Paul Heroux said the situation proves changes need to be made.Inside, furniture and other items could be seen turned over and scattered across the floor alongside broken TVs and wires pulled out of electrical equipment. Lt. Nathan Medeiros said inmates threw out rolls of toilet paper “that were on fire at one point.” Medeiros said inmates also brandished homemade weapons during the hourslong standoff April 21. Jail officials said they had been trying to move inmates out of a housing unit to make it more “suicide resistant,” among other things, when conditions deteriorated. Around 130 law enforcement officials from around the state converged on the jail. When negotiations broke down, officials reentered impacted hou...