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Fatal Arapahoe County apartment fire deliberately set, South Metro Fire Rescue investigators conclude

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:30 GMT

A fatal fire that ravaged the Ivy Crossing Apartments was deliberately set, South Metro Fire Rescue and Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office investigators announced Wednesday.One person died and two were hospitalized in the fire on April 8 and 23 residents were displaced from the apartments at 2380 S. Quebec St. in unincorporated Arapahoe County.“Somebody caused this fire to start. We don’t know why,” or how, South Metro spokesman Eric Hurst said.Ivy Crossing Fire Human Caused and Incendiary in Nature Investigators from South Metro Fire Rescue and Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office have determined the fire that occurred on Saturday, April 8, 2023, at 2380 S. Quebec St. was human-caused and incendiary in nature. The… pic.twitter.com/ekHlK3Kz6S— South Metro Fire Rescue (@SouthMetroPIO) April 12, 2023Responding to a call before dawn, firefighters and Arapahoe County Sheriff deputies arrived and saw flames consuming second and third-floor hallways and stairwells with b...

Inflation coming down in Denver, but not as fast as elsewhere

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:30 GMT

Consumer inflation continues its gradual descent in metro Denver, but it isn’t falling as fast as elsewhere in the country, according to a bi-monthly update from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood area advanced 1.3% between January and March and is running at an annual pace of 5.7%, which is down from the 6.4% annual rate measured in January. Nationally, consumer inflation increased at a 5% annual rate in March, which was down from a 6% annual pace in February.Annual gains of 10% in both rents and food prices helped keep inflation elevated in the region. Metro Denver was also hit with a 12.3% spike in gasoline prices between January and March, which resulted from the closure of the Suncor Refinery in Commerce City to repair equipment damaged by cold temperatures late last year.Gasoline prices were down about 2% in metro Denver compared to March 2022, but nationally, they were down 17.3%.Michael Hi...

Colorado Democrats set to introduce bill banning “ghost guns”

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:30 GMT

Colorado Democrats hope to ban unserialized firearms — so-called “ghost guns” — with a bill being introduced this week.The bill would be a final piece in a package of new regulations endorsed by Democratic leadership and the governor that has otherwise mostly made their way through the legislature. That package includes proposals to lift the age limit on buying firearms, create a waiting period to buy firearms, add who can invoke the state’s extreme risk protection order law, and remove liability protections for firearm manufacturers.“All of it is designed to regulate and to address gun violence,” said Sen. Rhonda Fields, an Aurora Democrat and sponsor of the unserialized gun bill.Under the ghost gun proposal, it would be a misdemeanor to possess or manufacture firearms that lack serial numbers. A second offense would be a felony. The introduced bill would give owners of firearms that lack serial numbers until Jan. 1 to get them registered. ...

Westminster road-rage shooter claimed out-of-body experience during killing of boy, wounding of 3 others, DA says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:30 GMT

Jeremy Webster (Westminster PD)The man accused of killing a 13-year-old boy and wounding three others in a road-rage shooting spree in Westminster five years ago told police afterward that he’d watched himself carrying out the attack as though he were out of his body, prosecutors said at the start of his jury trial Wednesday.Jeremy Webster, 27, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and related counts in connection with the June 14, 2018, attack in the parking lot of a dentist’s office at the corner of West 80th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard.Prosecutors with the 17th Judicial District Attorney’s Office on Wednesday rejected Webster’s claim that he was insane during the shooting and said he should be held criminally responsible for the crime.“Insanity is just an excuse,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Prince said during opening statements in Adams County District Court.The incident be...

Disneyland announces closure date for Splash Mountain ahead of ‘Princess and the Frog’ re-imagining

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:30 GMT

The Disneyland Resort is saying goodbye to Splash Mountain: the 33-year-old attraction is set to close on May 31 for an extensive reimaging process, Disneyland officials announced on Wednesday. The last day of operation will be on May 30 and the ride will officially close on May 31, Disneyland officials said. While the attraction itself isn’t getting torn down, it will undergo a complete makeover and return re-themed as a “Princess and the Frog” attraction titled “Tiana’s Bayou Adventure,” which is scheduled to open in late 2024 at the U.S. Disney Parks."The ride will feature a new cast of original Disney characters, new music alongside favorite songs from the film, and the "alluring scent of beignets" will fill the attraction's queue." Disneyland officials said. "The enchantment of the bayou will illuminate with a celebration during Mardi Gras season hosted by Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen. Mama Odie will joke with guests during their journey," according to the Disney Parks Blog...

1 Killed in Pedestrian Crash on 16th Street [Phoenix, AZ]

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:30 GMT

Pedestrian vs. Car Crash on 16th Street near Glenrosa Avenue Left One DeadPHOENIX, AZ (April 12, 2023) – Wednesday night, a pedestrian crash on 16th Street left one person killed.The incident happened on April 5th, just before 9:00 p.m., just north of Indian School Road.According to reports, a pedestrian was walking near the intersection of 16th Street and Glenrosa Avenue. There, they were struck by a Ford. The collision left the pedestrian with serious injuries. The involved Ford sustained damage.Emergency crews arrived to the site of the collision shortly after. Medics then pronounced the pedestrian dead at the scene. Meanwhile, the driver of the Ford remained at the scene and police said that he showed no signs of impairment.The identity of the deceased has not yet been released at this time.Following the crash, crews closed down the area around the accident for cleanup and preliminary duties.The team at Sweet James sends their warm and sincerest sympathies out to the frien...

NPR quits Musk’s Twitter over ‘government funded’ label

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:30 GMT

By Matt O’Brien | Associated PressNational Public Radio is quitting Twitter after the social media platform owned by Elon Musk stamped NPR’s account with labels the news organization says undermine its credibility.Twitter labeled NPR’s main account last week as “state-affiliated media, ” a term also used to identify media outlets controlled or heavily influenced by authoritarian governments, such as Russia and China. Twitter later changed the label to “government-funded media” and gave it to a few other organizations, such as the Public Broadcasting Service in the U.S. and the British Broadcasting Corporation in the U.K.NPR said in a statement on Wednesday that it “will no longer be active on Twitter because the platform is taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent.”PBS said Wednesday it has also stopped tweeting from its main account because of its new label and has...

A little taller than a teacup, meet Pearl, the world’s shortest dog

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:30 GMT

By Lianne Kolirin | CNNPearl is no ordinary handbag dog. She’s so tiny, her owner can just slip her into her pocket.The two-year-old chihuahua, who measures around the same length as a dollar bill, has been named the world’s shortest dog by Guinness World Records.Born in Florida on September 1 2020, Pearl is shorter than a Popsicle stick at just 3.59 inches tall. She is 5 inches long — around the same as a dollar bill — and weighs a tiny 1.22 pounds, a huge gain on the less than one ounce that she weighed at birth.Lengthwise, Pearl measures about the same as a dollar bill.(Guinness World Records) Pearl is related to previous record holder Miracle Milly, who measured 3.8 inches tall. She died in 2020, before Pearl was born. Pearl’s mother is one of Milly’s identical sisters, according to Guinness World Records.Her owner Vanesa Semler, who was also the owner of Miracle Milly, told Guinness World Records: “We’re blessed to have her. ...

Elon Musk says he’s cut about 80% of Twitter’s staff

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:30 GMT

By Michelle Toh and Juliana Liu | CNNElon Musk has laid off more than 6,000 people at Twitter since taking over the company, he told the BBC in a rare interview late Tuesday.Musk was quoted as saying in the interview that the social media platform now has only 1,500 employees, down from under 8,000 who were employed at the time of his acquisition. The reduction equates to roughly 80% of the company’s staff.It’s “not fun at all” and can sometimes be “painful,” the billionaire CEO told the British broadcaster at Twitter’s head office in San Francisco.The world’s second richest man said that “drastic action” was needed when he came on board, because the company was facing “a $3 billion negative cash flow situation.” That left Twitter with only “four months to live,” he estimated.“This is not a caring [or] uncaring situation. It’s like, if the whole ship sinks, then nobody’s got a job,&...

Students’ 1976 bicentennial mural on dam being replaced

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:30 GMT

CORONA, Calif. (AP) — A giant mural that students painted on a California dam for the U.S. bicentennial in 1976 is being recreated after years of controversy over a decision to remove the original.Workers following the original design began painting the new mural on the spillway of Prado Dam this month, Southern California News Group reported.The dam is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control project on the Santa Ana River, about 36 miles (58 kilometers) east of downtown Los Angeles. More than 40 years ago, high school students from the nearby city of Corona used the dam to salute the nation’s bicentennial, painting the phrase “200 YEARS OF FREEDOM,” a Liberty Bell silhouette, and the dates “1776-1976.”The mural became a landmark but it suffered from weathering and graffiti, and the Corps announced it would be removed due to lead in the original paint. That led to a lawsuit and a failed effort to have it listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Many of the origi...