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How to prepare for the busiest holiday travel period in four years

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

Getting ready to hit the road for the holidays? Prepare to hit the brakes, a lot.AAA expects about 104 million Americans to hop in their cars for the holidays, up 1.8% from last year. This end of year holiday travel period, which runs from Dec. 23 through Jan. 1 is forecast to be the second busiest travel period since 2000.The worst days in D.C. are expected to be Saturday, Dec. 23, and Friday, Dec. 29, when travel times could be up to double the norm. But the next 10 days will be busier than usual on the roads across the board.So, how do you avoid some of that sitting in traffic stress? WTOP Traffic Reporter Reada Kessler said it might be a good idea to “pack your patience” if you are driving somewhere this holiday season.“It might be a good time to take some of the back roads instead of the heavily traveled highways,” Kessler said. “You may think by taking the backroads this is going to make your trip longer. Time wise it may look like its longer but I alwa...

‘It has gotten so much better’: DC mom on electric tricycle talks going carless in the city

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

How safe is it to bike around the District? One mom in Northeast D.C. has gone carless, and despite a recent run-in with a car, she thinks it’s pretty safe.Lelac Almagor’s family stopped driving in 2019.“We own a car, but we literally have to set a reminder to start it once a month and drive it around the block,” Almagor said.Almagor, who is known online as the DC Trike Mom, said that just recently while riding her electric tricycle, a car bumped into her. But it’s the first time that’s happened since she started riding in 2019.She said there’s been a few other incidents along the way during her 17,000 miles on the bike, but this was the first time a car was involved.“I’ve been hit by a cyclist before,” Almagor said. “My husband once had to swerve to avoid a parked scooter and put his knee through a fence … I’ve hit pot holes, we’ve had other incidents, and I’ve had a lot of close calls, (but) this i...

At least 311 unhoused people have died in 2023 alone

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless released hundreds of names of unhoused people who passed away this year -- but the coalition believes the death count could be much larger.The coalition recorded 311 people, but Cathy Alderman at CCH expects there to be more.Deaths of unhoused people are increasingThe increase in deaths has to do with the increasing amount of unhoused people in Colorado. 10 more migrant buses arrive in Denver as Speer encampment grows The overall homeless population increased by 12% this year, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.Data from the Denver Medical Examiner's Office and Colorado Coalition for the Homeless on recorded unhoused people who passed away throughout the years (Courtesy of Colorado Coalition for the Homeless)Now, Alderman estimates that as few as 10,000 and as many as 53,000 unhoused people live in Colorado. The estimation is wide because it's tough to track the amount of unhoused people.In Denv...

DUI arrest leads to large drug bust in Douglas County

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — After deputies in Douglas County pulled over an allegedly impaired driver, they discovered cocaine, methamphetamine, cash and a stolen gun.On Dec. 20 at 3 p.m., the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said a sergeant stopped a vehicle for speeding near South Chambers at West Parker Road. Santos Martinez, 27, was identified as the driver. The sergeant said he appeared to be impaired.DCSO traffic investigators responded to administer a field sobriety test. Martinez was arrested for driving under the influence. 10 more migrant buses arrive in Denver as Speer encampment grows Deputies then searched Martinez's car and discovered several narcotics that were hidden in clothes, along with cash and a gun.Deputies found:111.5 grams of cocaine49.5 grams of methamphetamine$1,300 in cashA firearm that was reported stolen out of a different jurisdiction“This arrest highlights the coordinated effort between our patrol deputies, traffic unit, and investigators. This was great police w...

UK diplomats plant a flag in San Francisco

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

A different sort of influencer has been popping up in California’s policymaking arenas: the British diplomat — and they aren’t just here to share tea and crumpets.The United Kingdom has more than doubled the number of diplomats posted in San Francisco since 2018 and now has 40 in its Northern California consulate — including policy and trade specialists who offer expertise to lawmakers and agency employees writing state policies. It’s comparable to the footprint of an embassy in a medium-sized country.California and the U.K. have always had a close relationship; the country is one of the state’s largest sources of foreign direct investment, rivaled only by Japan. Britain’s attention to California reflects the state’s growing influence in the global economy and partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C., that has made the Golden State a de facto regulator for major industries.“If you influence the state of California, that has significant heft at the federal level, too,” British...

Snow B Wan Kenobi, Sleetwood Mac, Fast and Flurryous: 12 state snow plows get creative new names thanks to MA students

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

A dozen Massachusetts snow plows have been christened with new names thanks to the creative minds of state elementary and middle school students. The state Department of Transportation recently announced the winners of the second annual “Name a Snowplow Contest”, which invites public school classrooms from across the commonwealth to submit names to be used for the 2023/2024 winter season. Organizers said the purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to help recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during the winter season.The winning names are: Flower Plower, Edward Blizzardhands, Glacier Gobbler, Polar Pathmaker, Snow B Wan Kenobi, The Snolar Express, Sleetwood Mac, Snow Place Like Home, Snow-hemian Rhapsody, The Mayplower, Snow Monstah, Fast and Flurryous. “Keeping our roads across Massachusetts clear and safe every winter is a tough job,” said Transportation Secretary and CEO Monica Tibbits-N...

Tape reveals Donald Trump pressured Michigan officials not to certify 2020 vote, a new report says

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

Donald Trump pressured two election officials not to certify 2020 vote totals in a key Michigan county, according to a recording of a post-election phone call disclosed in a new report by The Detroit News.The former president ‘s 2024 campaign neither confirmed nor denied the recording’s legitimacy, insisting in a statement that all of Trump’s actions after his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden were taken to uphold his oath of office and ensure fair elections.Trump has consistently repeated falsehoods about the 2020 election as he runs again for the White House. No evidence has emerged in a litany of federal, state and outside investigations of voter fraud that could have changed the outcome of the election.The Nov. 17, 2020, telephone call included then-President Trump, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and Wayne County elections authorities Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, both of them Republicans, The Detroit News reported....

FDA says fake Ozempic shots are being sold through some legitimate sources

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it has seized “thousands of units” of counterfeit Ozempic, the diabetes drug widely used for weight loss, that had been distributed through legitimate drug supply sources. The FDA and the drug’s maker, Novo Nordisk, are testing the shots. They do not yet have information about the drugs’ identity, quality or safety, according to a statement. Five illnesses have been linked to the fake shots, but none have been serious, the FDA said Thursday. Some of the fake 1 milligram semaglutide shots may still be for sale, FDA said. In addition to the drug itself, the needles, pen labels, carton and accompanying health care information are also counterfeit, the agency said. It said the counterfeits were labeled with the lot number NAR0074 and serial number 430834149057. FDA advised retail pharmacies to buy authentic Ozempic only through authorized distributors and for patients to get it only through state-licensed pharmacies. Consumers can report ...

Police launch probe into alleged abduction of British teen Alex Batty who went missing 6 years ago

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A criminal investigation was launched into the alleged abduction of British teenager Alex Batty, who was found last week in France six years after his mother and grandfather took him on a vacation and never returned home, Greater Manchester police said Friday. Batty, 17, returned to Oldham, near Manchester, on Saturday and was reunited with his grandmother — the legal guardian who had made frantic and emotional appeals over the years for his return. A delivery driver found Batty walking along a road in southern France in the middle of the night Dec. 13. The boy told police he had been living a nomadic lifestyle in Spain, Morocco and France with his mother and grandfather as part of a “spiritual community” and decided to leave when his mother talked about going to Finland.Authorities in France said last week that they thought his mother, Melanie Batty, could be in Finland and that his grandfather, David Batty, appeared to have died, but neither of those details seemed c...

What to stream this week: ‘America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League,’ Barbenheimer and ‘Night Court’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:47 GMT

The return of “Night Court” and new music from the K-pop act TVXQ are some of the new television, movies and music headed to a device near you.Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as selected by The Associated Press’ entertainment journalists are a true crime story on Max, a new version of “America’s Got Talent” and a streaming guide to the year’s best films.NEW MOVIES TO STREAM— As the year winds down, most of the movie action is in cinemas. But if you’re not heading out to see “The Color Purple,” “Poor Things” or “Ferrari,” there’s no better time to catch up on some of the year’s best movies. Many of the films that made the top 10 lists of myself and AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr are available in various places to stream.If you haven’t caught up to “Barbie” or “Oppenheimer” yet, you can digitally rent Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster biopic, while Greta Gerwig’s pink-hued phenomenon is streaming on Max. Alexander Pay...