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The volunteers vital to Colorado's state parks

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:43:49 GMT

BRIGHTON, Colo. (KDVR) — There are people who love the outdoors. There are people who work in the outdoors.And then there are people who love to work in the outdoors — for free. Those are the folks who keep Colorado state parks running. They are the volunteers. Artist gets his inspiration from the Colorado outdoors Pull up to the entrance at Barr Lake State Park and volunteer Linda Reitz will greet you with a smile. She is just one of over a hundred volunteers that you might say has the right stuff. They play a major role in keeping the park just about perfect. Volunteers lead school groups, work at the entrance station, check boats, teach hunter education and teach archery classes, to name just a few of the things that volunteers perform every week. And, yes, they even clean the toilets. The one thing volunteers do not do is perform law-enforcement duties.Barr Lake State Park in Brighton, Colorado (Getty Images)'We could not do it without volunteers'Michelle Seubert, manager at B...

Maui’s emergency services chief resigns after facing criticism for not activating sirens during fire

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:43:49 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — The head of the Maui Emergency Management Agency resigned abruptly Thursday, a day after saying he had no regret about not using sirens to warn residents of wildfires that devastated the seaside community of Lahaina and killed at least 111 people.That decision from the agency directed by Administrator Herman Andaya, coupled with water shortages that hampered firefighters and an escape route that became clogged with vehicles that were overrun by flames, has brought intense criticism from many residents.Mayor Richard Bissen accepted Andaya’s resignation effective immediately, the County of Maui announced on Facebook. Andaya cited unspecified health reasons for leaving his post, with no further details provided.“Given the gravity of the crisis we are facing, my team and I will be placing someone in this key position as quickly as possible and I look forward to making that announcement soon,” Bissen said in the statement.A day earlier, Andaya defended the de...

Police search for suspects after shooting caught on camera in NH

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:43:49 GMT

Authorities are searching for the people who were caught on camera taking part in a shootout in Nashua, New Hampshire on Wednesday night.Witnesses tell 7NEWS the bullets nearly struck a mother who was sitting in her car. Surveillance video from several angles obtained by 7NEWS show two groups arriving in the area at the same time. From one angle, a group pulls up in a white car in front of an auto repair shop. Across the street, another group sneaks up in an alley before one opens fire.The shooting prompts the other group to return fire across the street. The owner of the store that captured the video didn’t want to go on the camera but both said the shooters are regular customers.The owner of the store that captured the video said a woman inside an SUV parked outside with in the car with her children and said a bullet nearly struck her.No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Key dates on the 2023-24 Chicago Bulls schedule, including Victor Wembanyama’s United Center debut and a tough final stretch

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:43:49 GMT

The Chicago Bulls kick off the 2023-24 season with a home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Oct. 25, then host the Toronto Raptors two days later before embarking on their first trip of the year.Last season’s opener took a left turn for the Bulls when Zach LaVine was named a late scratch due to load management — which LaVine and coach Billy Donovan insisted was planned in the preseason — as he eased back from a left knee injury. LaVine went on to record one of the strongest seasons of his career, and he’ll need to improve upon that performance after the Bulls retained the majority of their roster to focus on their maximum-contract star.The focus of the home opener likely will land on who nabbed the starting point guard job — perhaps new signing Jevon Carter, who joined the Bulls from the Milwaukee Bucks. Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu also will be vying for the position.Here are some key dates for the season.Nov. 3: First game of the In-Season Tourn...

Hilary upgraded to Category 3 hurricane

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:43:49 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Hilary strengthened into a major storm Thursday evening off Mexico’s Pacific coast, and it could bring heavy rain to the southwestern U.S. by the weekend.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hilary's maximum sustained winds had risen to 120 mph (195 kph), making it a Category 3 hurricane. The storm was expected to grow into a Category 4 hurricane Friday while on a projected path that threatened landfall on the central Baja California peninsula by Sunday or possibly keep just offshore while heading for Southern California.Hilary was centered about 445 miles (715 kilometers) south of Los Cabos on the southern tip of the Baja peninsula. It was moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph), but was expected to take a more northward heading in the coming days.The hurricane center said that as Hilary moves onto or brushes the Baja pensinsula, it could possibly survive briefly as a tropical storm or tropical depression and cross the U.S. border.No tropical storm ...

Pendleton Marine accused of sex assault identified, claims girl lied about her age

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:43:49 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A Marine accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl was in court for the first time Thursday for a preliminary hearing at Camp Pendleton. The Marine, who has been identified as Private First Class Avery Rosario, claims the teen lied about her age several times, and claims he believed she was 21 years old during their alleged consensual sex in the barracks at Camp Pendleton in June. Rosario was brought into the courtroom handcuffed. No cameras or recording devices were allowed inside the courtroom.The government and defense both had a chance to make closing arguments. The government opted to submit theirs in writing, while the defense shared a PowerPoint presentation with facts of the case, and also submitted arguments in writing. The presentation was the only time information was shared, which detailed Rosario’s side of the story.According to the defense’s arguments, Rosario had a Tinder profile, where he met the girl, who went by a fictitious name and identified...

Utilities begin loading radioactive fuel into second new reactor at Georgia nuclear plant

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:43:49 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Workers have begun loading radioactive fuel into a second new nuclear reactor in Georgia, utilities said Thursday, putting the reactor on a path to begin generating electricity in the coming months.Georgia Power Co. says workers will transfer 157 fuel assemblies into the reactor core at Plant Vogtle, southeast of Augusta, in the next few days. There are already three reactors operating at the plant. Two reactors have been operating for decades, while the third reactor entered commercial operation on July 31, becoming the first new nuclear unit built from scratch in the United States in decades.It’s a key step toward completing the two-reactor project, which is seven years late and $17 billion over budget.Once fuel is loaded, operators will conduct tests and begin splitting atoms, which creates the high temperatures that boil steam that drives turbines, which generates electricity. The company says unit 4 is supposed to reach commercial operation by March 2024.Th...

Wildfire evacuations ordered for hundreds more properties in West Kelowna, B.C.

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:43:49 GMT

Hundreds of properties were ordered to evacuate late Thursday under threat from a wildfire near the city of West Kelowna, B.C., which has been placed under a state of emergency.Central Okanagan Emergency Operations ordered the evacuations of 763 more properties, increasing the total to 831, with thousands of others placed on alert and residents warned to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.“Tactical evacuation is already underway,” the operations centre said in a statement, adding that residents subject to the evacuation orders must leave immediately.The expansion involves 143 properties in the Bartley Road area and 620 properties in the Rose Valley area of West Kelowna.About 6,000 other properties were already on evacuation alert due to the out-of-control McDougall Creek wildfire, which began Tuesday and has grown to 11 square kilometres in size.The fire prompted a local state of emergency for the city of West Kelowna and part of the nearby Westbank First Natio...

Georgia school board fires teacher for reading a book to students about gender identity

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:43:49 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia school board voted along party lines Thursday to fire a teacher after officials said she improperly read a book on gender fluidity to her fifth grade class.The Cobb County School Board in suburban Atlanta voted 4-3 to fire Katie Rinderle, overriding the recommendation of a panel of three retired educators. The panel found after a two-day hearing that Rinderle had violated district policies, but said she should not be fired. She had been a teacher for 10 years when she got into trouble in March for reading the picture book “My Shadow Is Purple” by Scott Stuart at Due West Elementary School, after which some parents complained.The case has drawn wide attention as a test of what public school teachers can teach in class, how much a school system can control teachers and whether parents can veto instruction they dislike. It comes amid a nationwide conservative backlash to books and teaching about LGBTQ+ subjects in school.Rinderle declined comment after the vote...

Dominican officials say it may take months to identify all 28 people killed in this week’s explosion

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 18:43:49 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Authorities in the Dominican Republic said on Thursday that it could take months to identify all of the 28 victims who died in a powerful explosion near the country’s capital this week.The announcement came as friends and family keep trying to confirm whether their loved ones died in Monday’s explosion at a bakery in the city of San Cristobal, just west of Santo Domingo. Authorities in the Dominican Republic said a patient in an intensive care unit has died, raising the death toll to 28. Fifty-nine people were injured, with the majority of them still hospitalized.The explosion took place mid-afternoon in a bustling commercial area in the city center, filled with businesses, including a bank and a hardware store. An investigation is still underway as to what caused the explosion, and authorities have said they will hold accountable any business that was not operating properly. It took firefighters three days to extinguish the blaze, which offi...