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See it, smell it: Smoke makes for poor air quality in DC region

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:18:37 GMT

Air quality won’t be up to par on Wednesday and sensitive groups in the D.C. region are being warned to limit time outdoors.Smoke from wildfires in Canada is adding to levels of fine particle pollution and some area residents have already noticed the effects.Air quality is expected to be poor throughout the D.C. region on Wednesday. Air could be unhealthy for kids, the elderly and those with respiratory or heart ailments, according to the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.The forecast calls for the air quality to get worse Thursday. Here’s what you need to know.What should residents do when air quality is down?Most of the region is bouncing between code orange or code red alerts. 7News First Alert Meteorologist Brian van de Graaff said “the bottom line is to limit your time outdoors.”On days with poor air quality, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments recommends kids and older adults reduce their time outdoors.People with respiratory or ...

Officer shot, suspect killed in Denver shootout

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:18:37 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A Denver Police officer was injured and a suspect was killed in a shootout in the Jefferson Park neighborhood.The Denver Police Department tweeted about the shooting just around 4 a.m. Wednesday. The officer-involved shooting happened in the 2600 block of North Zuni Street between the Quality Inn and the Shell gas station.Police Chief Ron Thomas said the incident began when an on-duty officer was parked in front of the Quality Inn and noticed the suspect enter the hotel. A short time later, Thomas said the suspect exited the hotel, walked up to the patrol car, and fired several shots through the passenger window. Mike Johnston elected Denver’s next mayor The officer was struck multiple times, but he was able to exit the car and exchange fire with the suspect. Thomas said the incident seemed like a random act of violence toward a police officer. The officer and the suspect were both taken to a local hospital. The officer is being treated for a non-life-threatening g...

Where to watch the Nuggets away game on Wednesday

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:18:37 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — It’s expected to be a busy Wednesday night in the Mile High City with tons of Denver Nuggets watch parties happening throughout the state. Family-friendly optionFor families looking to watch the finals game with their kids, the Basketball Social House in Centennial has something for everyone. Co-Founder Matt Barnett said people describe it as the Top Golf of basketball.   “We have a large dining room area where all the families can hang out. We have board games for the kids and we have the famous wall of hoops,” Barnett said. “We also have suite rentals where you can rent out one of the suites for just your own private party.”   Tix for trade: Nuggets fans get creative to get to the NBA Finals Barnett said they have themed nights for each game and giveaways.  "We wanted to have a sense of community. We wanted to have a gathering place for everyone to come and enjoy this great game of basketball,” Barnett said. Basketball Social House also o...

The double-decker airplane seat is back. Here’s what it looks like now

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:18:37 GMT

Hamburg, Germany (CNN) — Would you sit directly below another airplane passenger?It might not sound particularly appealing on paper, but 23-year-old airplane seat designer Alejandro Núñez Vicente believes double-level seating is the future of economy flying.You may have seen a photo of Núñez Vicente’s Chaise Longue Airplane Seat prototype floating around the internet. Following a CNN Travel exclusive last year, Núñez Vicente’s concept went viral – igniting furious debate and prompting a flurry of reactions from would-be passengers – some outraged, some bemused, some intrigued, some all of the above.“To be honest, there’s no such thing as bad publicity,” Núñez Vicente tells CNN Travel today. Proving this sentiment, he’s back at the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, Germany – showcasing a new iteration of his controversial Chaise Longue.“People can talk and they always hate innovation in some ways,” he says. “Most of the times when they show you something new, everyone hates i...

New study reveals 45% of Americans neglect soap when washing hands

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:18:37 GMT

According to a recently conducted study, an overwhelming majority of Americans acknowledge the importance of handwashing for maintaining good health but fail to use a crucial substance to stay hygienic. The Healthy Handwashing Survey asked a diverse sample of individuals across the nation and found that an astonishing 93% of respondents believed that handwashing plays a crucial role in staying healthy.Despite this widespread understanding, the study also uncovered a troubling revelation: a significant portion of those surveyed admitted to neglecting the use of soap while washing their hands. The research results showed that 45% of respondents confessed to solely rinsing their hands with water, completely omitting the use of soap during the handwashing process.Health experts and medical professionals strongly emphasize the importance of using warm water and soap for effective hand hygiene. The combination of warm water and soap is scientifically proven to significantly reduce the tra...

The Arctic may be sea ice-free in summer by the 2030s, new study warns

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:18:37 GMT

(CNN) — The Arctic could be free of sea ice roughly a decade earlier than projected, scientists warn – another clear sign the climate crisis is happening faster than expected as the world continues to pump out planet-heating pollution.A new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications found Arctic sea ice could disappear completely during the month of September as early as the 2030s. Even if the world makes significant cuts to planet-heating pollution today, the Arctic could still see summers free of sea ice by the 2050s, scientists reported.The researchers analyzed changes from 1979 to 2019, comparing different satellite data and climate models to assess how Arctic sea ice was changing.They found that declining sea ice was largely the result of human-caused, planet-heating pollution, and previous models had underestimated Arctic sea ice melting trends.“We were surprised to find that an ice-free Arctic will be there in summer irrespective of our effort at reducing em...

Hundreds of zoo animals dead as environmental cost of Ukraine dam blast grows

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:18:37 GMT

Hundreds of animals died in their cages at a zoo in Russian-occupied Ukraine when explosions ripped through the nearby Nova Kakhovka dam on Tuesday, flooding the surrounding area.According to UAnimals, an animal rights NGO that has helped shelter and rescue animals during the Russian invasion, nearly all of the 260 animals in the zoo — dubbed “Fairytale Díbrova” — died. “People were trying to save these animals for months. And then, just in one day because of the actions of Russians, 260 animals died,” Olga Chevganiuk, COO of the organization, told POLITICO, calling the incident “a real catastrophe.”Speaking in Kyiv on Wednesday, Ukraine’s Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets also confirmed that “it was not possible to save the animals in the Kazkova Dibrova zoo,” adding that “only ducks and swans were able to save themselves.”“Prior to the tragedy the zoo was home to monkeys, raccoons, a donkey, ponies, coypus, various birds, porcupines, groundhogs, turtles, and many other species....

Hands off our salaries! Parliament and top EU court resist budget cuts

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:18:37 GMT

BRUSSELS — As inflation bites, EU institutions are privately fighting with the European Commission over how much public money they should be allowed to spend next year. Letters between the EU’s Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn and other EU bodies — seen by POLITICO — reveal that the Commission wants the European Parliament to rein in its 2024 spending plans by some €28 million, and the Court of Justice of the EU to slash almost €6 million.Senior players in the Parliament have pushed back on those demands, arguing that Hahn is deploying a sneaky, never-before-used budgeting trick that could force them to make painful cuts in areas outside of salaries. As Hahn prepares to defend his draft budget proposal in front of MEPs on Wednesday evening, those disagreements are teeing up a bad-tempered negotiation among EU institutions. Metsola’s miffedParliament President Roberta Metsola railed against the Commission’s request in a letter she sent to Commission ...

Kiss star Gene Simmons turns up to UK parliament … but deputy leaders bicker about WhatsApp

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:18:37 GMT

Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from this week’s session in POLITICO’s weekly run-through.Housekeeping: With Rishi Sunak in D.C., it was the deputies’ turn to allegedly shine at this week’s prime minister’s questions.BUT LET’S BE HONEST: The real news here is that Gene Simmons, the iconic co-leader of Kiss, turned up to watch PMQs from the Commons viewing gallery. No, we don’t really know why — although we’re told he was a guest of the DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr, who is taking the rockstar for dinner this evening, as you do.Just to be absolutely clear: Gene Simmons really did turn up to watch half an hour of MPs grilling Britain’s deputy prime minister. And no, he wasn’t wearing make-up and didn’t stick his tongue out (that much).WHAT THEY SPARRED ABOUT: Now onto the matters of real substance. Oh, who are we kidding, it’s PMQs …...

Mike Pence says ‘Different times call for different leadership’ in video launching 2024 presidential bid

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 10:18:37 GMT

By JILL COLVIN and THOMAS BEAUMONT (Associated Press)DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence promised “the best days of the greatest nation on earth are yet to come” in a video released Wednesday formally launching his campaign for the Republican nomination for president.“Different times call for different leadership,” Pence, who served four years alongside then-President Donald Trump, says in the video, released via Fox News and Twitter hours ahead of a kickoff event in Des Moines. “Today our party and our country need a leader that’ll appeal, as Lincoln said, to the better angels of our nature.”While it would be “easy to stay on the sidelines,” he adds, ”that’s not how I was raised. That’s why today, before God and my family, I’m announcing I’m running for president of the United States.”With Pence’s entry into the race, the GOP field is largely set. It includes Trump, who’s leading in early polls, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who remains in second, former United Na...