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Upset with lack of progress, Md. lawmakers propose new authority to spur improvements at horse tracks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:20 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.In an effort to spur stalled plans for improving the Pimlico Race Course and Laurel Park tracks, the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee is weighing extensive amendments to a routine bill to establish a new state authority with sweeping powers over Maryland horse racing.Sen. Guy J. Guzzone (D-Howard), chair of Budget and Taxation, circulated a 10-page reprint of the bill to committee members Monday, but the panel did not have time to hear an explanation or fully discuss the amendments before an evening Senate floor session. The committee plans on taking the matter up again Tuesday.“All I want right now is to … just get an initial look at the race track bill that’s before us and the amendments that have come in, which are significant from what it was,” Guzzone told the committee.The original bill, Senate Bill 720, was a s...

Chiefs’ Travis Kelce to host music festival in Kansas City

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:20 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Travis Kelce is living his best life: On the heels of winning the Super Bowl and hosting “Saturday Night Live,” the Kansas City Chiefs superstar tight end will cap his successful string with a music festival this month. The two-time Super Bowl winner announced Tuesday that he’ll host his first-ever festival called “Kelce Jam” during NFL Draft weekend. The inaugural event will be held April 28 at the Azura Amphitheater in Bonner Springs, Kansas — a metropolitan area of Kansas City. The event will feature performances by Machine Gun Kelly, Rick Ross, DJ duo Loud Luxury and Kansas City rap legend Tech N9ne.“With the draft coming to KC, I think it’s perfect timing for me to throw the biggest music festival that’s ever come here,” said Kelce, who believes the festival could lure around 15,000 attendees. “We’ll have some unreal stage productions, Kansas City’s best food, tons of attractions and football-related games. This will be a whole lot of fun.”Kelce said he’s tak...

RFK Stadium kicks off final burgundy and gold seat sale

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:20 GMT

The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium has served as an iconic piece of D.C. history, and now fans will be able to take home one last souvenir before it’s demolished later this year.This week marks the kick off of the final seat sale. Fans can now purchase upper level burgundy and gold seats at prices ranging from $300 to $500.Those seats will also come with a certificate of authenticity.More Local NewsMore DC NewsSo far, almost 1,000 stadium seats have been sold. Other memorabilia is still available online or for pick up and includes turnstiles to section site maps.The iconic orange seats at RFK Stadium. (WTOP/Jack Moore)RFK stadium opened in 1961 and has served as an epicenter for sporting events and entertainment.So far, much of the inside of the stadium has been removed and Events DC is now going through the permitting process to finish the job.The venue is expected to be demolished by the end of the year.Source

Denver metro housing is getting denser and denser

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:20 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Fewer housing structures are being permitted around Denver now than in the last two years, and a smaller share of them are single-family homes than ever before. The Denver metro home construction market boomed through the 2010s following a rapid drop-off after the Great Recession. There were an average of 2,400 new units of all sizes permitted in the summer of 2001, which sank to 200 by the spring of 2009. Colorado cities rank highest for DUI arrests per capita That rebounded to over 1,900 by 2017. After the COVID pandemic triggered a house-buying spree in Colorado, even more building permits came through. By February 2022, there were an average of 2,640 permits a month - the most at any point since at least 1990. The number of housing permits around Denver has taken a nosedive since last year though, according to data from the St. Louis Fed.There are still more housing permits being issued than at most points in Colorado's history, but that number has crashed in ...

Police investigation underway after woman jumps off roof in Miami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:20 GMT

Police responded to a theft in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood at around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, but it quickly turned into a tense situation after a woman jumped off the roof of a building. Officers set up a small perimeter on Northeast Seventh Avenue between 29th Terrace and 31st Street while they attempted to de-escalate the situation and get the woman, who was believed to have been a suspect in the theft, down from the roof.The woman ultimately jumped from the roof of the building, which was about seven or eight stories high. She was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in critical condition she later succumbed to her injuries on Monday morning.Despite the efforts of the police to bring the situation under control, witnesses said they heard screams and saw the woman jump off the building.Neighbors reported hearing two gunshots, but police confirmed that they did not open fire during the incident. “I was walking my dog with my wife here in the park and then we heard a...

Four people found dead near a hotel in Cancun

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:20 GMT

(CNN) — Four people were found dead on Monday near a hotel in Cancun, according to Mexican officials, in the latest bout of violence in the popular tourist destination.Two people have been arrested for their possible participation in the deaths of four people, according to the Attorney General of the state of Quintana Roo.All the deceased are Mexicans, said José Pablo Mathey Cruz, the Secretary of Public Security of Benito Juárez, the municipality where Cancun is located.He said the suspects are allegedly engaged in the sale and distribution of narcotics, adding that footage from local security cameras and the joint work of local authorities helped lead to their arrest.The Prosecutor’s Office confirmed earlier on Monday that three people had been found dead and an investigation was opened. Later, the office said they found a fourth body.In 2021, the Mexican government said the National Guard would permanently deploy to Cancun and its surrounding area following a rise in ...

Former top aide to Maryland governor dead after manhunt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:20 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — A one-time chief of staff for former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan died Monday after being shot when FBI agents confronted him in a manhunt launched when he failed to show up for trial on corruption charges, his lawyer said.Attorney Joseph Murtha said the FBI confirmed Roy McGrath’s death to him. He added that it was not immediately clear if McGrath’s wound was self-inflicted or came during an exchange of gunfire with agents.William Brennan, an attorney for McGrath’s wife, Laura Bruner, also confirmed the death and said she was “absolutely distraught.”According to an earlier email from FBI Supervisory Special Agent Shayne Buchwald in Maryland, McGrath was wounded during “an agent-involved shooting” about 6:30 p.m. in a commercial area on the southwestern outskirts of Knoxville, Tennessee. Buchwald said McGrath was taken to a hospital but did not elaborate.Further details, including how McGrath was wounded and what led up to it, were not immediately released....

Von der Leyen speaks with Zelenskyy ahead of China visit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:20 GMT

BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday ahead of her visit to China later this week.“Ukraine will be an important topic of my meetings with President Xi and Premier Li,” von der Leyen tweeted after the call, referencing her upcoming meetings with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Li Qiang, the country’s premier.Von der Leyen’s sitdown with Xi is slated for Thursday. At the get-together, the EU leader is expected to broach the topic of China’s role in Russia’s war on Ukraine.“The EU wants a just peace that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” von der Leyen added.In a speech last week, von der Leyen rejected China’s peace proposal for Ukraine — which recognizes seized Ukrainian territory as Russian — as “simply not a viable plan” and expressed concerns that the country may be siding with Russia in the ongoing conflict.The remar...

Suspect charged with terrorism offenses over killing of Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:20 GMT

(CNN) — Russian authorities have formally charged Daria Trepova with terrorism offenses over the killing of Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky.Trepova, 26, was charged under the criminal code pertaining to a “terrorist act committed by an organized group that resulted in the deliberate infliction of death on a person” and the “illegal carrying of explosive devices committed by an organized group,” according to a court statement published Tuesday.Tatarsky died in an explosion at a cafe in the center of St. Petersburg on Sunday, where he was appearing as a guest of a pro-war group.Investigators allege that Trepova, acting at the behest of Ukraine, brought a “statuette filled with explosives” to the venue and handed it to Tatarsky.It subsequently exploded, killing him and injuring more than 30 other people. The Russian investigative committee has requested that Trepova remain in detention until June 2.In Russia, it is stan...

Finland joins NATO, doubling military alliance’s border with Russia in a blow for Putin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:15:20 GMT

(CNN) — Finland officially became the 31st member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Tuesday, marking a major shift in the security landscape in northeastern Europe that adds some 1,300 kilometers (830 miles) to the alliance’s frontier with Russia.The Nordic nation’s accession was sealed during a formal ceremony at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Tuesday.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg were on hand as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pekka Haavisto, established Finland’s accession.“Finland has today become a member of the defense alliance NATO. The era of military non-alignment in our history has come to an end. A new era begins,” the Finnish presidency said in a statement.“Each country maximizes its own security. So does Finland. At the same time, NATO membership strengthens our international position and room for maneuver. As a partner, we have long...