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Custom made by Tulane students, mobility chairs help special needs toddlers get moving

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:00:18 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — At 19 months old, Elijah Jack, born with no femur bone in one leg and a short femur in the other, is unable to walk on his own like most toddlers his age. Another 19-month-old, Freya Baudoin, born prematurely at 28 weeks and delayed in her mobility, has finally taken her first step. Special needs children like these often take longer than most to become independently mobile, which can be a hardship for parents and others who care for them. Elijah is often carried because of his limb difference and clubfeet, meaning that instead of being straight, his feet are twisted inward and his toes point downward. As a result, getting around on his own is a challenge. That was until this past Spring. Elijah was one of the first recipients of a specially designed rolling chair built by a team of biomedical engineering students at Tulane University. Today, Elijah has mastered getting around on wheels – turning, stopping and steering all on his own.“He loves his chair,” said Cry...

Meet the Russian professor who became mayor of a Colombian city

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:00:18 GMT

TUNJA, Colombia (AP) — Mikhail Krasnov walks along the steep streets of the Colombian city of Tunja just like any other resident — except he’s no longer just another neighbor.Now people greet the newly elected mayor as he makes his way around town and stop him for pictures. One woman hugs the man known here as the “Russian professor” and poses for a selfie.Krasnov, a 45-year-old university professor from Russia, was one of the unexpected winners in Colombia ’s regional elections in October. He prevailed by promising to stamp out corruption and embrace more meritocracy in the city government, where jobs often go to those with political connections.He’s also trying to reduce the city’s debt.“We are not here to promote my face,” said Krasnov, who has been interviewed by dozens of national media outlets and also a Russian network, since he won the election. “We want to send the message that Tunja exists, that we are competitive and want to attract investors.”The blond and green-eyed pro...

Biden needs a new approach to Black voters based on Georgia and Michigan, group of strategists says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:00:18 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Some top Democrats are worried that a dip in Black voter turnout, along with other challenges, could doom President Joe Biden and his party in 2024.A group of Democrats is offering a new analysis of the most recent campaigns in Georgia and Michigan, pitching those battlegrounds as models for drawing in more Black voters next year and beyond. They argue that Democratic power players need to think — and spend money — in new ways, going beyond efforts that can be last-minute or superficial as they try to reassemble Biden’s 2020 coalition.“The days of the symbolic fish fry and one-time church visit are over,” wrote the authors of the analysis by strategists widely credited for helping flip Georgia and Michigan to Biden. “Black voters have always required an approach to voter engagement as diverse as the Black voting coalition.”Biden has long depended on Black voters — first as a Delaware senator and most notably in the 2020 South Carolina primary, which delivered him a de...

Pompeii’s ancient art of textile dyeing is revived to show another side of life before eruption

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:00:18 GMT

POMPEII, Italy (AP) — A new project inside the Pompeii archaeological site is reviving ancient textile dyeing techniques to show another side of daily life before the city was destroyed by a volcano in 79 A.D.The inspiration comes from frescoes unearthed inside the archaeological site that show winged cupids dying cloth, gathering grapes for wine and making perfumes.“It is very close to the actual reality,” the archaeological site’s director, Gabriel Zuchtriegel, said of the images.For the project, Zuchtriegel tapped a master dyer based in Umbria, Claudio Cutuli, who uses dyes he makes from plants in his own clothing line.Cutuli uses the root of “rubia tinctorum,” or rose madder, for the famous Pompeiian red. He uses walnut husks for brown, elderberries for black and grey and cardamom for the amber, yellow and shades of green.With the Pompeiian color palette, Cutuli is dying scarves with motifs taken from the House of Vetti frescoes, which include the cupids. The rich home, like the...

A deal on US border policy is closer than it seems. Here’s how it is shaping up and what’s at stake

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:00:18 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid grueling negotiations, the contours of a bipartisan border security and immigration deal are beginning to take shape, emerging even as Congress leaves town having failed to publicly unveil any details of the package that’s central to unlocking stalled aid for Ukraine.Talks between the White House and key senators have not veered widely from three main areas of discussion: toughening asylum protocols for migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border; bolstering border enforcement with more personnel and high-tech systems; and deterring migrants from making the journey in the first place.As the Senate broke for the holidays, due back Jan. 8, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell in a rare joint statement indicated negotiations are progressing. They also met Wednesday to discuss how to advance the border policy alongside President Joe Biden’s$110 billion package of wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel and other nat...

Unseasonable 50+ degree December "warmth" this weekend and Christmas Day

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:00:18 GMT

Thursday night and Friday rainy spells are forerunners of more significant rains Monday into next weekWGN WEATHER HEADLINESCHECK OUT THE MILD AIR WHICH IS TO PRODUCE THESE HIGH TEMPS AND ABOVE NORMAL TEMP DEPARTURES EACH DAY THROUGH CHRISTMAS DAYChristmas Day temps this coming Monday will be VERY DIFFERENT than the chilly air which occurred a year ago.Current projections have the area of the Lower 48 with high temps at or above 50 degrees are to cover twice the size of last Christmas while nighttime sub-freezing temps will cover half the area than occurred a year ago.Here in Chicago Christmas day is likely to produce mid 50-degree temps, though SE winds will lower shoreline temps along with clouds and rain in the afternoon. A 55-degree high at O'Hare would come in 41 degrees warmer than last Christmas' 14-degree high!Forecast highs ThursdayForecast highs FridayForecast highs SaturdayForecast highs SundayForecast highs Christmas DayHERE'S THE STORM DRENCHING CALIFORNIA AND HEADED FOR...

Bay Area could see more rain next week

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:00:18 GMT

MONTEREY – Another round of rain could be in store next week for the Bay Area, forecasters said Wednesday night.Related ArticlesWeather | Bay Area rainfall chart: Three-day total exceeds 6 inches at wettest sites Weather | Thursday clear-up expected for Bay Area weather as holiday weekend approaches Weather | Real-time map: Where it’s raining in the Bay Area Weather | Bay Area rainfall chart: 48-hour totals exceed 4 inches Weather | More rain coming to Bay Area ahead of the holiday but today may be its grand finale Wet — and possibly windy weather — is expected to return to the region as early as Dec. 26, according to a briefing issued by the National Weather Service forecast office in Monterey.Forecasters noted that it was too early for specifics on timing and amounts, but precipitation is expected to be above average, forecasters said in a precipitation outlook.The rain may last into ...

Pizza delivery man shot dead in his car in Oakley

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:00:18 GMT

(KRON) -- A pizza delivery man was shot dead while sitting in his car in Oakley on Wednesday, the Oakley Police Department said. Police are working to identify a suspect. Officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of Rutherford Lane at about 4:52 p.m. for the report of shots fired. They arrived to find the 24-year-old victim in his car with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at 5:03 p.m. Mother charged, accused of killing daughter in Martinez DUI crash An OPD investigation has uncovered that the man was on his break from delivering pizzas and parked in front of his home when he was shot. A second vehicle pulled up and a passenger shot him at close range, police said. The passenger then got back in the car, which went left on Rutherford Lane and turned north onto Vintage Parkway. OPD Chief Paul Beard said the man's mother watched her son get shot. The shooting happened in what Beard called a "relatively quiet" area of Oakley, right across from Vintage Parkway Elementary School....

Three arrested, accused of stealing $50K worth of items from San Mateo homes

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:00:18 GMT

(KRON) -- The San Mateo Police Department arrested three people accused of breaking into two homes in the area on Tuesday. The suspects allegedly stole property from the homes that totaled more than $50,000 in value.SMPD responded to Mission Drive at 7:22 p.m. after a person who lives on the street called to say he was watching a live feed from his security camera showing two people "ransacking his home," police said. Mother charged, accused of killing daughter in Martinez DUI crash Officers surrounded the neighborhood and found that the suspects had left the home. They conducted a search and learned that there was a third suspect, and the trio had also burglarized another home. Officers saw the suspects jumping over a fence to enter a backyard on the 700 block of West Capistrano Way. SMPD used a drone to locate and surround the suspects. One suspect was arrested hiding in a portable bathroom. Another was located running out of the backyard. The third was found hiding on a roof. ...

Ready, set, travel: The holiday rush to the airports and highways is underway

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:00:18 GMT

It’s beginning to look a lot like a hectic holiday travel season, but it might go relatively smoothly if the weather cooperates.Travel over Christmas and New Year’s tends to spread out over many days, so the peaks in the U.S. are likely to be lower than they were during the Thanksgiving holiday. That is making airlines and federal officials optimistic.But the debacle at Southwest Airlines over Christmas last year should guard against overconfidence. Just this week, the Transportation Department announced a settlement in which Southwest will pay $140 million for that meltdown, which stranded more than 2 million travelers.So far this year, airlines have canceled 1.2% of U.S. flights, down nearly half from 2.1% over the same period last year. Cancellations were well below 1% during Thanksgiving, according to FlightAware.“I don’t want to jinx us, but so far 2023 has seen the lowest cancellation rate in the last five years,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said ...