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Rep. Nikki Budzinkski touring Belleville Shoe Manufacturing facility today

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:25:04 GMT

BELLEVILLE, Ill. - Congresswoman Nikki Budzinkski of Illinois will be in Belleville on Wednesday. She's touring the Belleville Shoe Manufacturing Company to learn more about their operation.The Rentchler and Weidmann families founded the business in 1904 to produce shoes; it is now the oldest and largest private manufacturer of military boots. It began with their first combat boot order in World War I. Missouri appeals court rules against ballot summary language that described ‘dangerous’ abortions Budzinski recently announced that a $7.8 million contract was awarded to the manufacturer to create new temperate-weather combat boots for the U.S. Army over the next two years.

Another state park considers banning motorized boats one day a week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:25:04 GMT

Paonia State Park is closed for the season now, but when it reopens on May 1, 2024, kayakers, paddleboarders and canoers may have more reason to show up, at least on Tuesdays.Colorado Parks and Wildlife is considering closing the boat ramp in the park once a week to motorized vessels in future summers, something it has also done at Highline State Park. Both Paonia and Highline state parks are located on Colorado’s Western Slope.Related: 5 serene Colorado lakes to explore with your paddleboard“The closure would allow us to focus our staff on other activities and increase the user experience across the park,” said Jed Potter, senior ranger with the agency, in a statement.The goal of going “wakeless” is so that “non-motorized boaters can feel a bit safer out in the open water,” added park manager Scott Rist in the same statement.And Tuesdays are a good day for it as CPW reports that Paonia State Park has had “two or fewer motorized boats launched on 92% of...

Rockies Mailbag: Brendan Rodgers trade chatter, Dick Monfort’s role

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:25:04 GMT

Denver Post sports writer Patrick Saunders with the latest installment of his Rockies Mailbag.Pose a Rockies — or MLB — related question for the Rockies Mailbag.With Adael Amador, Sterlin Thompson, Ryan Ritter, Dyan Jorge, etc. coming up the pipeline, what is the situation with Brendan Rodgers? Will he get traded for arms? Will some of the prospects get traded? What other clogged positions could be alleviated through trade?— Jackson Esplin, WestminsterJackson, I touched on this topic in a previous mailbag, but I’ll revisit it here.Rodgers, the 2022 National League Gold Glove second baseman, was the subject of serious trade discussions last winter when the Rockies negotiated with the Marlins and Mariners. The Rockies targeted Edward Cabrera, the Marlins’ 25-year-old right-hander. They liked his skill set and the ability to control him through the 2028 season. But in the end, the deal fizzled.Make no mistake, the Rockies like Rodgers. He’s popular i...

Commission approves €66 million Finnish state aid scheme to support the production of renewable methane and methanol to foster the transition to a net-zero economy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:25:04 GMT

The European Commission has approved a €66 million Finnish scheme to support the production of renewable methane and methanol to foster the transition towards a net-zero economy. The scheme was approved under the state aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework, adopted by the Commission on 9 March 2023 to support measures in sectors which are key to accelerate the green transition and reduce fuel dependencies. The new Framework amends and prolongs in part the Temporary Crisis Framework, adopted on 23 March 2022 to enable member states to support the economy in the context of the current geopolitical crisis, already amended on 20 July 2022 and on 28 October 2022.Under the scheme, which will be fully financed under the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the aid will take form of direct grants covering investment costs. The purpose of the scheme is to support the development of renewable methane and methanol production, with the aim to foster the transition to a net-zero economy.The...

Man in custody for allegedly pulling assault rifle-style gun on kids 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:25:04 GMT

A man was arrested after allegedly pointing an assault rifle-style gun at a group of children in Riverside County. Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the area of Columbia Street and Collegian Way in Hemet around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday night after a call came in reporting a man with a gun, authorities said.  1 hospitalized after truck crashes into Hollywood pizza shop According to witnesses, the man had come out of his home to confront a group of children who were reportedly being loud. Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the area of Columbia Street and Collegian Way in Hemet around 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. (OnSceneTV) By the time deputies arrived on scene, the man had barricaded himself inside his home. After just a few minutes, the man surrendered and was taken into custody, RCSD said. No injuries were reported.

Opinion: U.S. tech firms must rethink their relationships with China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:25:04 GMT

Microsoft’s disclosure over the summer of a Chinese espionage campaign that used forged credentials to break into U.S. government agencies and businesses is a reminder that China has sophisticated cyber capabilities and is willing to use them. But this is more than just having a product with vulnerable code.If companies have business operations in China — as many of America’s largest and most influential tech companies do — they may be unwitting accomplices to China’s surveillance operations, according to a new report published by the American Security Project. Yet this remains absent from discussions of risk in many technology firms’ public financial statements.It is a curious omission, because the risks are high: Chinese law requires that companies located there provide the Chinese Communist Party’s security services with access to source code and other sensitive data if demanded. Chinese law also requires that security researchers — including those working for t...

A California pilot has been indicted for allegedly threatening to shoot the captain if the flight was diverted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:25:04 GMT

By DAVID KOENIG | AP Airlines WriterA pilot has been indicted for allegedly threatening to shoot the plane’s captain if the captain diverted the flight because of a passenger who needed medical attention.A grand jury in Utah issued the indictment against Jonathan J. Dunn on Oct. 18 over an incident that happened in August 2022, charging him with interference with a flight crew, according to federal court records.The Transportation Department’s inspector general’s office said in an email sent Tuesday that Dunn was the first officer, or co-pilot, on the flight and was authorized to carry a gun under a program run by the Transportation Security Administration.“After a disagreement about a potential flight diversion due to a passenger medical event, Dunn told the Captain they would be shot multiple times if the Captain diverted the flight,” the inspector general’s office said.The inspector general described Dunn as a California pilot. It did not identify the airline on which the inciden...

Northern California rice farmer and meteorologist accurately predicts winter weather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:25:04 GMT

CHICO — Chico rice farmer and meteorologist Rob Doornbos kept getting asked what the winter weather was going to be like.He founded his company, Weather Tools, Inc., to let farmers and others know just that. Users can buy a subscription to the service at www.weathertools.org.“I was in a combine and entering the rice harvest, and I started thinking ‘what is it that growers ask me that I can’t answer?” Doornbos said.Doornbos Doornbos’ California Annual Precipitation report reveals how much precipitation California will get in the coming water year and has been correct every year for the last several years years. Doornbos joined forces with international weather company Baron Weather to distribute the CAP report, which comes out Nov. 1.“The Department of Water Resources and partners said we were still in a drought and then in March of 2023 we had three weeks of atmospheric rivers. It was a very wet spring and that was the most gratifying experience of my 30 years,” he said.Doornbo...

High mobile phone use may impact sperm count, study says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:25:04 GMT

By Sandee LaMotte | CNNMale sperm count has fallen by more than 50% globally in the last 50 years, leaving researchers scrambling to understand why. Could it be pollution, PFAS and other potential toxins in our food and water, an increase in obesity and chronic disease, or even the ever-present mobile phone?A new study explored the role of cell phones and found men between the ages of 18 and 22 who said they used their phones more than 20 times a day had a 21% higher risk for a low overall sperm count. The men also had a 30% higher risk for a low sperm concentration, a less important measure of sperm count in a milliliter of semen. The study did not specify whether the men called or texted or used their phones to do both.On the positive side, researchers found that as phone technology improved over the 13 years of the study, the impact on sperm count began to ease.“I am intrigued by the observation that the biggest effect was apparently seen with older 2G and 3G phones compared to m...

Krugman: U.S. autoworkers strike a blow for economic equality

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:25:04 GMT

It’s not officially over yet, but the United Auto Workers appear to have won a significant victory. The union, which began rolling strikes on Sept. 15, now has tentative agreements with Ford, Stellantis (which I still think of as Chrysler) and, finally, General Motors.All three agreements involve a roughly 25% wage increase over the next 4 1/2 years, plus other significant concessions. Autoworkers are a much smaller share of the workforce than they were in Detroit’s heyday, but they’re still a significant part of the economy.Furthermore, this apparent union victory follows on significant organized-labor wins in other industries in recent months, notably a big settlement with United Parcel Service, where the Teamsters represent more than 300,000 employees.And maybe, just maybe, union victories in 2023 will prove to be a milestone on the way back to a less unequal nation.Historical contextSome history you should know: Baby boomers like me grew up in a nation that was far less polarize...