Planning a trip to RMNP? You won't need cash

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:23:49 GMT

Planning a trip to RMNP? You won't need cash DENVER (KDVR) -- If you are planning your summer adventures, changes are on the way next month to Rocky Mountain National Park.The National Park Service said that starting on June 1, RMNP will transition to a fully cashless fee system. When that happens, the park will only accept mobile or electronic payments for entrance and permit fees. Hiking at Rocky Mountain National Park? There’s a shuttle for that If you are visiting and are only able to pay with cash, you may buy a prepaid pass from the Rocky Mountain Conservancy Nature Store at the Beaver Meadows, Fall River, or Kawuneeche Visitor centers."The move to a cashless system allows parks to be better stewards of visitor dollars by reducing the amount of time park staff spend managing cash, increasing the amount of fee revenue available to support critical projects and visitor services, and improving accountability and reducing risk," RMNP said in a statement.Hiker ShuttleAnother change coming to RMNP is the Hiker Shuttle, which...

Police searching for shooter after man found with gunshot wound in Miami Gardens

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:23:49 GMT

Police searching for shooter after man found with gunshot wound in Miami Gardens The Miami Gardens Police Department is searching for a shooter after they found a man shot in a neighborhood.Officials said the man was found with a gunshot wound in the area of Northwest 38th Avenue and 208th Street, Tuesday night.He was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital, but his condition was unknown.

Kremlin claims Ukraine tried to kill Putin in Moscow drone attack

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:23:49 GMT

Kremlin claims Ukraine tried to kill Putin in Moscow drone attack Russia says it foiled a Ukrainian-backed plot to target President Vladimir Putin’s official residence with overnight drone strikes, the Kremlin’s press service said Wednesday.“We consider these actions to be a planned terrorist attack and attempt on the life of the President,” the statement said, adding that Putin was “not injured [and] the schedule of his work has not changed.”The Kremlin did not give any evidence that Ukraine had carried out the attack and POLITICO was unable to independently verify the claims.“The Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures where and when it sees fit,” Putin’s office said, adding that two drones headed toward the Kremlin had been destroyed by the Russian military and special services.Ukrainian authorities have not publicly reacted to the news.A series of unverified videos has since been published online purporting to show anti-aircraft fire over the Kremlin.In a statement Wedn...

Brussels unveils plan to boost EU defense industry

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:23:49 GMT

Brussels unveils plan to boost EU defense industry BRUSSELS — European Commission industry chief Thierry Breton has urged European defense companies to get into “war economy mode” as he unveiled a new plan to boost weapons manufacturing across the EU.The Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP) agreed Wednesday by the European Commission will pump some €500 million from the EU budget into European shell factories to boost weapons manufacturing — matched with co-financing of around €500 million from member countries and other sources. The aim is to produce 1 million rounds of ammunition within one year.“In Europe, we still have a real production capacity. It’s there,” Breton said in announcing the plan Wednesday. “What we need to do now is to bring up capacity.”The framework would controversially allow dipping into new pots of EU money originally intended for boosting development around the Continent. In visiting a dozen-plus producers across the EU, the French commissioner says that many sites already have the infras...

PMQs scorecard: Sunak and Starmer mark King Charles’ coronation by … fighting about mortgages

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:23:49 GMT

PMQs scorecard: Sunak and Starmer mark King Charles’ coronation by … fighting about mortgages Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from this week’s session in POLITICO U.K.’s weekly run-through.National unity moment: Labour’s Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took the chance to wish King Charles III all the best ahead of the coronation this weekend, which was nice of them. But that was as chummy as it got.What they sparred about: With local elections looming, the two leaders soon stepped it back up. Starmer honed in on Britain’s chronic housing shortage and the woes facing people who have, or are seeking, a mortgage in the U.K. amid rising interest rates. Sunak in turn talked up his plans to give communities more control over house building targets.Back to the future: But it all felt a bit … 2015. Starmer, for the second week in a row, opted to quote former Tory Chancellor George Osborne — who described Liz Truss’ very-short-lived Conservative regime a...

City of Cambridge to combat income inequality by giving $500 per month to low-income families

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:23:49 GMT

City of Cambridge to combat income inequality by giving $500 per month to low-income families The City of Cambridge is combatting income inequality by giving money to low-income families.Certain households will receive $500 per month for 18 months.Qualifying families must have at least one child under the age of 21. Families of two must have a qualifying income of below $49,300 and families of five must earn below $87,850.Applications will be available starting June 1.

Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Kate Bush, George Michael among Rock Hall inductees

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:23:49 GMT

Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Kate Bush, George Michael among Rock Hall inductees NEW YORK (AP) — Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Chaka Khan, “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius and the late George Michael have all been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, with Kate Bush also finally reaching the top of that hill.The Cleveland-based institution announced Wednesday the artists and groups entering the hall as the class of 2023, a list that includes The Spinners, Rage Against the Machine, DJ Kool Herc, Link Wray, Al Kooper and Elton John’s longtime co-songwriter Bernie Taupin.“When you can go from Link Wray, who was one of the early influencers, to Missy Elliott and Kate Bush and The Spinners and Rage Against the Machine and Willie Nelson, you have a very diverse body of work. What we are always trying to show is that rock ‘n’ roll is a big tent and a lot of people belong,” said Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation ahead of the unveiling.Elliott, the first femal...

Police: Serbia school shooter had list of students to target

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:23:49 GMT

Police: Serbia school shooter had list of students to target By JOVANA GEC and DUSAN STOJANOVIC (Associated Press)BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — A teenager who opened fire Wednesday at a school in Serbia’s capital drew sketches of classrooms and wrote a list of people he intended to target in a meticulously planned attack, police said. He killed eight fellow students and a school guard before being arrested.The shooter first killed a guard at the school in central Belgrade and then three students in a hallway, according to senior police official Veselin Milic. He then entered a classroom — apparently choosing it simply because it was close to the entrance — and opened fire again, Milic said. The assailant called police himself when the attack was over, though authorities had already been alerted to the shooting.A father of a student said the shooter entered his daughter’s classroom, firing at her teacher and then her classmates as they ducked under their desks. Most students were able to flee through a back door, accord...

Sheriff: Wife of suspected Texas gunman has been arrested

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:23:49 GMT

Sheriff: Wife of suspected Texas gunman has been arrested By JUAN A. LOZANO and NOMAAN MERCHANT (Associated Press)CLEVELAND, Texas (AP) — A Texas sheriff tells The Associated Press the wife of the man suspected of killing five of his neighbors, including a 9-year-old, has also been taken into custody.The news comes a day after authorities arrested Francisco Oropeza, following a days-long manhunt.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.CLEVELAND, Texas (AP) — A four-day manhunt in Texas for a gunman accused of killing five neighbors ended Tuesday when authorities, acting on a tip, said they found the suspect hiding underneath a pile of laundry in the closet of a house.Francisco Oropeza, 38, was captured without incident near the community of Conroe, north of Houston and about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from his home in the rural town of Cleveland. That’s where authorities say he went next door and shot his neighbors with an AR-style rifle shortly before midnight Friday.Oropeza had been shooting...

Gone 20 years, New Hampshire’s Old Man of Mountain lives on

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 07:23:49 GMT

Gone 20 years, New Hampshire’s Old Man of Mountain lives on By KATHY McCORMACK (Associated Press)CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Two decades after New Hampshire’s famous Old Man of the Mountain crumbled to pieces, the state is paying tribute to the granite profile that symbolizes its independence with new geological research, poetry, a song, and a scavenger hunt.The 40-foot-tall (12-meter-tall) natural rock formation — a series of ledges that resembled an old man’s face — was suspended 1,200 feet (366 meters) above Franconia Notch, held in place by turnbuckles and rods to fight erosion. It collapsed, and the rubble was discovered the morning of May 3, 2003.“When he was up there, he represented a kind of reliantly steady, reassuring presence in a world that was otherwise changing really rapidly,” said Brian Fowler, a geologist and president of the Old Man of the Mountain Legacy Fund that plans to lead an online tribute Wednesday, with shared stories, poetry, and a new song. His departure was a stunning and shocking event, Fowler said.The Old Man was cre...