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Parkland victims' parents go to Capitol Hill, advocate for school safety bills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The parents of students killed in the Parkland school shooting joined lawmakers on Capitol Hill Thursday in support of a bipartisan school safety effort. The plan includes requirements for silent panic alarms and funding for school resource officers. With a picture of the child she lost hanging in a heart around her neck, Lori Alhadeff came to Capitol Hill to fight for change. "I love you, Alyssa. And in your honor, you will be saving lives with this legislation," Alhadeff said.  Lawmakers fight over solutions to post-pandemic learning loss Lori's daughter Alyssa was one of the students killed at the school shooting in Parkland five years ago. Max Schacter also lost his son Alex in that shooting. "The failures of that day, it makes you angry. I became more focused and clear about what needs to happen to prevent the next Parkland," Schacter said. Both parents are advocating for two school safety bills. The first, Alyssa's Act, would r...

'Out of control': Video shows ride at New York park malfunctioning

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:19 GMT

NEW YORK (PIX11) – A Bronx man was almost one of the people trapped on a malfunctioning ride at Playland Park in Rye, New York on Sunday night. Giovanni Martinez said he and his family were at the Westchester County amusement park when the Music Express ride appeared to suddenly lose control. There were about 20 people on the ride when it went haywire at around 8:30 p.m., he said. ‘I will never stop:’ EMT attacked in ambulance refuses to change life plans "I had some family members on the ride and they were panicking," Martinez told Nexstar's WPIX Thursday. "Thank God I skipped it."The operators were unable to stop the ride from spinning for about five minutes, causing several riders to get dizzy, he said. "It was out of control. It was going faster than it should have been," Martinez said. "Kids were crying. They didn't know when it was going to stop."The park's maintenance crew was eventually able to stop the Music Express before it was shut down for the rest of the evening, ac...

Physically unable to dance, choreographer finds joy in movement still by teaching others

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:19 GMT

CHICAGO — Imagine having the one thing that makes you the most alive taken away.That is exactly what happened to local dance legend Kirby Reed.But he wasn't about to let the sun go down on him without choreographing his best number to date.As a professional dancer and choreographer, steps always came easy for Reed."As a dancer you always think maybe I'm going to twist my ankle or hurt my knee,” he said. “You never think you're going to be paralyzed."But after a sudden series of strokes and two heart attacks, a life full of music and movement came to an abrupt halt in 2009 when Reed's entire left lower side was left unable to feel or move. "I should have been over and done,” he said.Instead he’s dancing once again — this time, through his own students at the Gus Giordano Dance School and he teaches up and coming dancers far more than just technique.    "I'm a living testament of my journey,” he said. More from Erin: Camp provides Chicago kids refuge from violenc...

Chicago Fire FC taking part in another soccer tournament this July, August

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:19 GMT

CHICAGO — While the biggest tournament in the world of women's soccer is taking place in Australia and New Zealand, another is being played out in North America.That one involves Chicago Fire FC and is in its third year of being staged, only this year in a much bigger way.The 2023 Leagues Cup is taking place in United States and Canada, featuring teams from Major League Soccer and Mexico's Liga MX. For the first time this year, every team from both leagues will participate in the tournament that started on July 21 and will run through August 19. To accommodate the added teams, MLS will take a break from their season until after the final is played. "I think it's good to play in this tournament, and I think the pause from MLS is good, just to focus solely on this tournament and put everything we can do to get as faras possible in the tournament," said Fire midfielder and defender Mauricio Pineda of the Leagues Cup. "I think that's the good thing about being off from MLS for so long. ...

Benefits of newborn cord blood cells for adult health — and more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:19 GMT

Medical Watch Digest for July 27The benefits of newborn cord blood cells for adult healthSingapore General Hospital scientists discovered white blood cells retrieved at birth from the umbilical cord have anti-tumor properties.They developed a platform to enhance the innate ability of the cells to treat solid tumors and blood cancers.Doctors call the umbilical cord cells young warriors that are underutilized.They believe by coaxing the cells to grow they can prevent or delay cancer relapses. Med Watch Digest: Increase your step count for better health — and more Another warning about illicit drugsIllicit drugs cause one in three heart deaths among young adults.A new study in Heart Rhythm examines the link between substance abuse and fatal cardiac arrest.Data shows higher levels of illicit drug use than has been reported and a greater prevalence of multiple substance use.While there are many health complications for drug users, doctors were surprised at the frequency of fatal heart ...

Supreme Court OKs Mountain Valley pipeline amid environmental concern

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) – The United States Supreme Court has cleared the way for completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline despite lawsuits against it.The controversial project, which would carry natural gas from West Virginia to southern Virginia, became even more controversial due to how the final deal for it was struck.“I'm elated about this,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) said. “It's exciting to see that that last 5% of the pipeline will be built, the thousands of jobs that will come along with it.”The high court threw out orders from the lower courts that had halted construction of the pipeline, which is facing legal challenges in part due to environmental concerns.The White House approved the pipeline project as part of a deal with West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin to cut out normal environmental and judicial reviews.Virginia Senator Tim Kaine says the pipeline approval process is broken.“The process left much to be desired,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA said). “Discussions about pi...

Subway to give free sandwiches for life to person who changes their name to 'Subway'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:19 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) -- One lucky person will receive free Subway sandwiches for life as part of the restaurant's campaign to find their biggest fan, as long as that person commits to legally changing their name to "Subway." Subway fans can visit SubwayNameChange.com between 9 a.m. August 1 and 11:59 p.m. August 4 to enter the contest. By entering the contest, fans will have to agree that if they are selected as the winner, they'll legally change their first name to "Subway," which also happens to be a plot twist on an episode of the show "Community." Georgia Subway sign draws mixed response The winner will receive $750 to cover the costs of legally changing their name, along with $50,000 in Subway gift cards, according to the rules. A winner will be chosen via a random drawing on August 7, according to the official sweepstakes rules. It's not the only high-stakes promotion the sandwich chain has launched – would you rather change your name or get a footlong tattoo?In July 2022, Sub...

‘Jackasses,’ ‘little s‑‑‑‑’: GOP congressman curses out teenage Senate pages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:19 GMT

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) is in hot water after he cursed out a group of teenage Senate pages in the Capitol rotunda early Thursday morning. According to a transcript written by a page minutes after the incident and obtained by The Hill, Van Orden called the pages “jackasses” and “pieces of s‑‑‑,” and told them he didn’t “give a f‑‑‑ who you are.”The pages are a group of 16- and 17-year-olds who assist Senate operations, and when the Senate works late — as it did Wednesday night on National Defense Authorization Act amendments — pages generally rest nearby in the rotunda. “Wake the f‑‑‑ up you little s‑‑‑‑. … What the f‑‑‑ are you all doing? Get the f‑‑‑ out of here. You are defiling the space you [pieces of s‑‑‑],” Van Orden said, according to the account provided by the page.“Who the f‑‑‑ are you?” Van Orden asked, to which one person said they were Senate pages. “I don’t give a f‑‑‑ who you are, get out.”“You jackasses, get out,” he added.The incident, which occur...

AFD: Southeast Austin fire started as 'disturbance', 1 person in custody

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:19 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN Live’s top headlines for July 27, 2023AUSTIN (KXAN) — One person is in custody after a fire Thursday in southeast Austin, the Austin Fire Department said on social media.Firefighters responded to a home around 3:10 p.m. in the 9100 block of Ipswich Bay Drive, which is near East Slaughter Lane and Onion Creek Metropolitan Park, AFD said.AFD said while Austin Police officers tried to take the person into custody, the person set the two-story house on fire. Police were responding to a family disturbance, AFD said.AFD said police evacuated several houses next door as a precaution. Around 3:50 p.m., AFD said the fire was under control.KXAN reached out to APD for more information.AFD said firefighters responded to a fire in the 9100 block of Ipswich Bay Drive, which is near East Slaughter Lane and Onion Creek Metropolitan Park. Photo: Austin Fire DepartmentAFD said firefighters responded to a fire in the 9100 block of Ipswich Bay Drive, which is n...

Council Member Kelly wants to make zoos, aquariums safer following recent incidents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) –  After hearing from several concerned constituents regarding the Austin Aquarium, Council Member Mackenzie Kelly – who represents District 6 where the business is located – said she is working on a resolution to potentially change relevant city code to make things safer at facilities with wild animals. In the last couple of years, there have been at least a couple of incidents where people were reportedly injured while interacting with lemurs. The Austin Aquarium touts on its website that “the Austin and San Antonio Aquariums are the only facilities in the United States where guests can interact and pet lemurs.” MORE: Woman says lemur attacked her at Austin Aquarium Further, Kelly said constituents have expressed concerns about how animals are treated at the facility. Charmaine Dickerson said a lemur attacked her during an interactive experience at the Austin Aquarium. (KXAN)“[The Austin Aquarium] is in my district. I need to be responsive to people ...