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Israel battles Hamas for a second day, trades fire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:22:45 GMT

Israeli soldiers battled Hamas fighters in the streets of southern Israel on Sunday and launched retaliation strikes that leveled buildings in Gaza, while in northern Israel a brief exchange of strikes with Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group raised fears of a broader conflict.There was still some fighting underway more than 24 hours after an unprecedented surprise attack from Gaza, in which Hamas militants, backed by a volley of thousands of rockets, broke through Israel’s security barrier and rampaged through nearby communities. They took captives back into the coastal Gaza enclave, including women, children and the elderly, who they will likely try to trade for thousands of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Hundreds have been killed on both sides.The high death toll, multiple captives and a slow response to the onslaught pointed to a major intelligence failure and undermined the long-held perception that Israel has eyes and ears everywhere in the small, densely pop...

Earthquakes kill over 2,000 in Afghanistan

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:22:45 GMT

Powerful earthquakes killed at least 2,000 people in western Afghanistan, a Taliban government spokesman said Sunday. It’s one of the deadliest earthquakes to strike the country in two decades.The figures couldn’t be independently verified, but if correct, the toll would eclipse that of an earthquake that hit eastern Afghanistan in June 2022, striking a rugged, mountainous region, flattening stone and mud-brick homes and killing at least 1,000 people.Saturday’s magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit a far more densely populated area, near Afghanistan’s fourth largest city, Herat. It was followed by strong aftershocks.The United States Geological Survey said the quake’s epicenter was about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Herat city. It was followed by three very strong aftershocks, measuring magnitude 6.3, 5.9 and 5.5, as well as lesser shocks.On Sunday, people attempted to dig out the dead and injured with their hands in Herat, clambering over rocks and debris. Survivors and victi...

TTC improving, adjusting a number of routes as of Sunday

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:22:45 GMT

The TTC is increasing service on a number of its bus routes to meet increasing demand.Starting Sunday, service will be increased on 14 routes and the transit agency says it will improve the timing on 11 other routes.Among the many changes will see streetcar service return to the 503 Kingston Road route while service on the 510 Spadina will see streetcards arrive every 10 minutes or sooner between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Monday to Friday to match ridership demand.Among the notable service changes:Frequency of 39 Finch East buses will improve by one minute to every nine minutes seven days a week, between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m.44 Kipling South buses will arrive every 10 minutes or sooner in all time periods, seven days a week.The 54D bus is being added to the 54 Lawrence East route Monday to Friday between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. to address travel demand.102 Markham Road buses will now arrive every 10 minutes or sooner seven days a week in all time periods.112 The West Mall bus service will increase ...

Canadian municipalities looking to become ‘spongier’ to build climate resilience

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:22:45 GMT

MONTREAL — From green roofs in Toronto to Vancouver’s rain city strategy, Canadian cities are looking to become “sponges” in order to help mitigate some of the effects of extreme rainfall events. In Montreal, Mayor Valérie Plante announced last week that the city plans to develop some 30 additional “sponge parks” designed to catch and absorb rainwater and keep it from flowing into overburdened sewers during extreme rain events.Those, combined with an additional 400 “sponge sidewalks,” featuring added vegetation squares, will help the city retain the equivalent of three Olympic swimming pools in water at “half the cost of underground works,” the city said in a news release.Melanie Glorieux, a sustainable landscape planner with the firm Rousseau Lefebvre said that while the concept of building a “sponge city” isn’t new, it’s an idea that more and more municipalities are embracing as they cope with extreme we...

Patchy frost clears for a warmer Sunday in St. Louis

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:22:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Patchy frost is around this morning, but Sunday will be a warmer day. More clouds are around, with highs near 70. Another cold front slides through this evening, bringing with it another shot of cooler air and maybe a spot of snow northeast of St. Louis. Clearing skies towards morning, wake-up temps in the mid-40s. Sunny and highs in the low to mid-60s on Monday. Another shot at some patchy frost Tuesday morning, out-of-door temperatures in the upper 30s to low 40s.Our next rainmaking system will arrive in the middle of the week. We are watching for a couple of days of rain, from Wednesday through Friday.

Possible three-day closure of Walgreens pharmacies, staff concerns

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:22:45 GMT

ST. LOUIS — Some Walgreens pharmacies across the country may close for three days this week as pharmacists and their support staff consider walking off the job from Monday through Wednesday. Employees cite challenging working conditions that make it difficult to safely fill prescriptions.They contend that the requirement to administer shots for the flu and COVID makes staffing issues worse. On the other hand, Walgreens states that it has increased training for new pharmacists but has temporarily paused training for non-critical workers during the immunization season.

Denver Sheriff Department staffing shortage worsens, overtime soars: “It’s never been this bad”

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:22:45 GMT

For nearly three decades, Denver sheriff’s Deputy Mike Jackson has worked at the Denver County Jail on the far northeast side of town.But on a recent overtime shift, he was sent to the city’s Downtown Detention Center — an unfamiliar facility with unfamiliar procedures — and was teamed up with three other deputies who also weren’t regulars at the downtown jail. One deputy usually worked in court, another came from training and the third was a firearms instructor, said Jackson, who is president of the Denver Sheriff Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #27.And while Jackson knew how to supervise inmates, he didn’t know the ins and outs of procedures at the downtown jail — and neither did anyone else on his team that day.“None of us know what is going on,” he said. “We’ve all been put on one floor and everybody is like, ‘Hey, do you know about this? Do you know about this?’ And nobody knows anything. In my 29 years tha...

Denver’s National Western Center, short an equestrian center, faces uncertain path. Will a hotel save it?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:22:45 GMT

Officials leading Denver’s National Western Center campus overhaul have a 17-acre void on their project map — with a glaring funding gap that threatens one of the marquee components of the city-led undertaking, now years delayed and significantly beyond its budget.While a new 357,000-square-foot livestock center is rising around the longtime home of the Stock Show in northern Denver, a second major event facility — a cavernous equestrian center that would sit across a plaza from it — exists only on paper. The city can’t afford both massive buildings, which were supposed to be finished by the end of this year under a 2015 master plan that won city voters’ support for tourism tax extensions.It’s a major setback for a project that’s already marshaled more than $1 billion in city, state and private money. The plan’s aim was to keep the Stock Show in Denver while transforming its dusty outpost into a year-round exhibition, agricultura...

Mixed-use Denargo Market, Denver’s largest infill project, to add “vibrancy” to RiNo

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:22:45 GMT

Denver’s largest infill project, Denargo Market, plans to develop land that has stood empty for years north of downtown, create a stronger connection between the South Platte River and the Brighton Boulevard corridor, and provide the River North Art District neighborhood with its tallest buildings.But rather than throwing up apartments as quickly as possible to generate rents, developers Golub & Co. and Formativ are leading with public improvements, including four acres of open space and other community amenities near the river that are expected to open in the summer of 2025.“Developing 17 acres of prime riverfront space here in Denver is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and the culmination of years of development work in this area for our team,” said Sean Campbell, CEO of Formativ. “This is the largest infill taking shape in Denver right now, and it will be a game changer for inclusivity in our city.”Denargo Market represents a $1.5 billion investment, with about a ...

In a drying West, every drop counts. A new Colorado-created tool could help farmers care for their crops — and themselves.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:22:45 GMT

SAN LUIS — When the water is flowing down from the mountains, Joe Lobato wakes up most mornings and drives from his home in San Luis to his fields spread across the valley where his family has farmed for more than 100 years.During spring and summer runoff, Lobato uses a series of ditches to direct water to the fields where he grows alfalfa, mixed grains and Timothy grass. He strategically opens and closes a series of gates and places tarps in the ditches to direct the water to flood his fields at the right time.But driving all over Costilla County and manually opening and closing gates or placing tarps to direct water is time intensive — especially since Lobato and his family all work other full-time jobs in addition to farming.“You have to work a day job to afford to farm or ranch,” he said.The Lobatos are one of the first farming families in the state to try a new, Colorado-grown technology aimed at reducing farmers’ workload and managing Colorado’s s...