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Potential government shutdown could impact vulnerable Americans

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) -- Officials warn that if the government shuts down, the implications will extend far beyond furloughed government employees and could impact some of the most vulnerable Americans.President Joe Biden slammed Republicans for backing out of a previous deal to cut spending and fund the government."We made a deal we shook hands and (said) this is what we're going to do, and now they're reneging on the deal," Biden said.Republican Senator Shelley Moore Capito agrees that House Republicans are to blame if the government shuts down."It's chaos over there quite frankly," she said. "The House just turned down the DOD appropriations bill that was written by Republicans and the Republican conference took it down."A government shutdown means some government employees, like border patrol agents, military members, and other essential employees, would have to work without pay.Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack says a shutdown would impact some of the most vulnerable American...

Girl goes viral after seeing herself in Times Square

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:01 GMT

MOORE, Okla. (KFOR) - A 1-year-old from Moore, Oklahoma, has gone viral on social media after seeing herself in the bright lights of the Big Apple. Olivia Chandler was featured in a Down Syndrome awareness campaign in New York City last month. “It was just amazing,” said Lori Orr, Chandler's mother. Orr told Nexstar's KFOR she was scrolling through Facebook back in April when she stumbled upon an application for the National Down Syndrome Society’s Times Square Video Presentation and decided to enter Olivia. Orr thought her daughter would be a shoo-in because of her irresistible smile. Test of FEMA emergency alert system planned for early October "Everywhere we go, people say, you know, her smile makes me smile,” said Orr. The annual presentation drew in about 2,400 entries from around the world. Those selected get their picture featured in an hour-long big screen presentation in the Big Apple. "I entered her picture and then, you know, we waited and waited and waited,” said ...

Woe-and-3: The Bears' miserable start to the 2023 season

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:01 GMT

KANSAS CITY — It's safe to say that the worst-case scenario for the start of the Bears' season has come to pass. There are some fans who might have even expected the team to lose their first three games of the 2023 season, especially Sunday's contest against the reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs. But to see the team make a number of additions in the offseason and then seem to digress after going 3-14 last year wasn't in the cards. People probably didn't expect a mysterious resignation from their defensive coordinator, either, but that's been part of a miserable first three games of the campaign.Sunday's 41-10 drubbing at the hands of the Chiefs showed the ineptitude of the current Bears' team to a national audience for the second time in three weeks. Outside of stopping the Chiefs on the opening drive, Matt Ebeflus' team was mostly competitive against a Kansas City juggernaut that never let up. The Bears were outgained 456-203, with a few late drives by the visitors making that to...

Police searching for Barton Creek Greenbelt aggravated assault suspect

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:01 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Police Department is seeking the public's help to identifying a man accused of firing shots at a person on the Barton Creek Greenbelt over the weekend, APD said on social media.On Saturday, officers responded to Barton Creek Greenbelt trailhead near Spyglass Drive and Barton Skyway, according to police. Officers found a victim and several witnesses when they arrived on the scene, who said a man in the trail area fired shots in the direction of at least one person.Officers searched the area but did not find anyone, according to police. APD said the public using the greenbelts should "exercise situational awareness and caution."On Monday, police had not yet identified a suspect.Detectives are asking anyone with information or video of the incident to utilize the Crime Stoppers tip line at (512) 472-8477 (TIPS), or the Crime Stoppers app. People may remain anonymous. People can also submit tips by downloading APD’s mobile app, Austin PD, free on iPhone and A...

Dane Mizutani: Brian Flores is learning what Ed Donatell lived. This is a flawed defense for the Vikings.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:01 GMT

The biggest move of this offseason for the Vikings came in the days leading up to Super Bowl LVII. They weren’t playing in the game and still managed to make new that week by somehow convincing Brian Flores to be their new defensive coordinator.The move was viewed as a coup for the Vikings and brought a lot of optimism to Minnesota in the process. Not only did the presence of Flores seem to outshine the arrival of free agents like cornerback Byron Murphy and pass rusher Marcus Davenport, he also seemed to singlehandedly nullify the departures of fan favorites like cornerback Patrick Peterson and linebacker Eric Kendricks.As long as the Vikings had Flores leading the charge, they were bound to succeed, right? He was going to bring a new scheme fully equipped with exotic blitz packages that would instantly improve a unit that ranked near the bottom of the NFL last season.Not quite. The defense hasn’t shown much improvement so far this season with the Vikings sitting at 0-3...

Bruce Yandle: Are Americans in a funk? It’s time for ‘The Little Engine that Could’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:01 GMT

Trust in institutions is declining, expectations for small business outcomes are diminishing and real household incomes are sinking; it is fair to say that Americans seem to be in a funk.The University of Michigan’s September Consumer Sentiment Index is sitting at 71.6 points, which is well above the June 2022 all-time low of 50 but well below the 101 achieved in February 2020. While the index is mired at pandemic levels, the economy has marched ahead. According to a related Economist magazine study, for the first time in more than 40 years, the sentiment index no longer tracks traditional measures of economic activity such as employment, income and GDP growth. Instead, the index seems to be locked in a cellar.The consumer funk is deep and difficult to understand. Could it be worry about inflation? Is it falling personal income? Or lost trust in government and other institutions that help people cope in times of trouble and that are celebrated in better times? Perhaps we need ...

For Twins pitcher Sonny Gray, success this season stems back to work this offseason

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:01 GMT

As he did one extra rep, one extra sprint in April and May, strength and conditioning coaches Aaron Rhodes and Chuck Bradway had a message for him.“This one is for September. This one is September. Go do one more,’” they told Twins starting pitcher Sonny Gray. “’Do one more for October. Do one more for October.’”Their urging and insistence — as well as the work Gray started last year as soon as the offseason began — paid off: Gray, who went on the injured list three separate times last season, hasn’t missed a start this season, and his performance this year has put him in conversation for the Cy Young Award.The talk in February, when players first report to spring training, is always brimming with optimism. But Gray, 33, who showed up well ahead of schedule after seeing how last year went down, was able to spin that into performance and carry it through the entire season.“Going into the offseason, and toward the end of last season, it was like, ‘You know what? I know how to go out a...

Minneapolis fitness instructor Leslie Fhima to compete on ‘The Golden Bachelor’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:01 GMT

Minneapolis fitness instructor Leslie Fhima is one of the 22 women competing for the hand of 72-year-old retired restaurateur Gerry Turner on the new reality show “The Golden Bachelor,” which debuts at 7 p.m. Thursday on ABC.“The Golden Bachelor,” a spin-off of the reality TV warhorse “The Bachelor,” boasts a cast of boomers ages 60 and older, including the 64-year-old Fhima.A former professional figure skater, Fhima was previously married to local restaurateur David Fhima. According to her ABC biography, Fhima has run 10 marathons and is the mother to three kids and “glama” to three grandchildren: “She also loves spending time with her mini Aussiedoodle, Billie. Leslie is looking for a real man who will enhance her life, and she’s ready to put it all on the line to pursue love.”Turner lives in Indiana and has two daughters and two granddaughters. He married his high school sweetheart Toni in 1974 and stayed with her until she died in 2017.According to one popular online spoiler, Fh...

As student mental health needs leap, Minn. schools seek a next generation of counselors

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:01 GMT

School counselors and psychologists have been in short supply throughout Jen Voge’s 25-year career, but she says the need seems greater now than ever.Student mental health problems have become chronic in the COVID-19 era, with school disruptions and family illnesses taking a toll. It’s not possible to reach all the kids who need help.At Bemidji High School, Voge handles a caseload of 600 students — more than twice the recommended ratio but about average for Minnesota.“Just this morning, I had two students, they were tearful, knocking on the door trying to get in that we had to turn away. That’s a daily occurrence,” Voge said recently. “Kids are saying, ‘Hey, help me, I’m anxious. I’m crying in class, I don’t know what to do. I need to talk about this.’ And we don’t have the resources to talk to them.”Hoping to ease some of those pressures, the Bemidji school district and 17 others across Minnesota and North Dakota are working with Minnesota State University Moorhead to get more coun...

Monarch butterflies pass through St. Louis on migration to Mexico

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:01:01 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Migratory monarch butterflies recently passed one year on the endangered species list and, with their numbers decreasing, seasonal monarch migration could become a rare sight.Cooling temperatures and shortening days are the environmental cues that trigger monarchs to migrate ahead of the freezing weather. They’ll travel from Canada to Central Mexico, where they’ll spend the winter.Chris Hartley, the science education coordinator at the Butterfly House, says we’ll be seeing an increase of monarchs over the next few weeks but the North American population is threatened.“There are monarchs in Central America, in Southeast Asia. Same species of butterfly, but the North American population right here, where we live in Missouri, is the one that migrates. That is a unique behavior. And that population of monarchs we have seen decline in numbers over the past several decades,” Hartley said.The reason for the decline is broadly due to habitat loss both here and in Mexico. Close...