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Judge dismisses two suits filed by man whose work as informant inspired the movie ‘White Boy Rick’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:00 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Two lawsuits filed by a Detroit-area man whose decades in prison for drug dealing and work as an informant inspired the movie “White Boy Rick” have been dismissed by a federal judge who found he waited too long to file them.U.S. District Court Judge Judge F. Kay Behm on Monday dismissed the pair of lawsuits Richard Wershe Jr., 54, had filed, including one filed in 2021 that sought $100 million and claimed Wershe was coerced into assisting police while just a helpless teenager, The Detroit News reported.Behm’s ruling sided with multiple federal and local government defendants who argued for the dismissal of the cases based on the statute of limitations.“The court has considered all of the arguments presented in the written motions, supplemental briefs, and oral argument, and finds that plaintiff’s claims were untimely and barred by the relevant statutes of limitations,” Behm said in the written ruling. “…Defendants’ motions to dismiss are granted.”Wershe’s ...

Denver 2024 budget: What's Mayor Johnston spending $1.74B on?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- On Sept. 14, Mayor Mike Johnston released a budget letter with his plans for the 2024 budget of $1.74 billion. If you don't want to read through almost 800 pages worth of the Mayor's 2024 Budget, here's what you need to know as outlined in the letter:The 2024 budget increased by 3.7% from 2023's revised budget of $1.68 billion.In the 2024 budget, the mayor said he is focusing on five priorities which include: affordable Denver, safe neighborhoods, a vibrant and revitalized downtown, a greener Denver, and housing for all.Affordable housingJohnston said he wants to make Denver an affordable city to live in. Here's what he plans to spend it on:Develop 3,000 affordable homes in 2024Add 25,000 units of permanently affordable housing over the next eight yearsAllocated amount: Up to $100 millionAdd three full-time inspection positions to the Affordable Housing Review TeamLaunch a reform study of building and zoning codes with procedures that will make the process quickerAl...

Colorado senator undergoes surgery after bike crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Assistant Majority Leader and Democratic Colorado Sen. Faith Winter underwent surgery after crashing while on her bike.According to a post on her X, formerly known as Twitter, account, the crash happened on Tuesday afternoon. Winter was riding her bike to the Capitol when she crashed into a curb while trying to avoid being hit by a large truck.Winter's team said the senator was wearing a helmet but she did sustain injuries to her head. She was taken to UCHealth where she underwent surgery to remove pressure on her brain. Medina Alert: Dodge truck wanted in hit-and-run The surgery was successful and Winter is now recovering with what her team called a "good prognosis.""We can't express enough gratitude to her incredible care team and the hospital staff at UC Health. Please use this as a reminder to always wear a helmet and share the road with bicyclists," said Winter's team on X.Senate President Steve Fenberg released the following statement on behalf of the Colorad...

Man arrested in deadly double shooting on Welton Street

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — One month after two people were killed and two others were injured in a shooting on Welton Street, police have made an arrest.DPD said 24-year-old Tyrell Braxton was arrested and is being held for investigation of first-degree murder and first-degree assault thanks to anonymous tips from the community and the work of investigators.On Aug. 19, Denver police responded to a shooting at 28th and Welton Street just before 4 a.m. According to the arrest warrant, Braxton got into a verbal altercation with 25-year-old Gulian Musiwa. During the altercation, Braxton pulled out a handgun and fired at Musiwa. Two other victims who were around Musiwa were also hit by the gunfire and injured. 4 suspects wanted in deadly carjacking After the altercation, 23-year-old Lumumba Sayers fired his handgun toward Braxton, but Braxton returned fire and injured Sayers, according to the arrest warrant.Musiwa and Sayers were both pronounced dead. The two other victims who were struck were ta...

Speaker McCarthy says there’s still time to prevent a government shutdown as others look at options

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — With no clear strategy, no sure support and not much time left to prevent a government shutdown, Speaker Kevin McCarthy nevertheless vowed on Wednesday he would not give up trying to convince his colleagues to pass a temporary funding bill through the House.But lawmakers watching and waiting for the beleaguered leader to deliver are looking at other options.The Republican speaker insisted as he arrived at the Capitol for another grueling day of negotiations that he still had time to win over hard-line conservatives and keep the government funded before money runs out before the end of the month.“It’s not September 30 — the game is not over,” McCarthy told reporters.But even if McCarthy is able to accomplish the seemingly impossible and unite his all-but-ungovernable House Republican majority around a conservative spending plan, the victory would be short-lived. The hard-right bill, with steep 8% cuts to many services, would be rejected by the Senate, where Democrat...

Fed keeps rates unchanged but signals likelihood of another hike this year to fight inflation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday for the second time in its past three meetings, a sign that it’s moderating its fight against inflation as price pressures have eased. But Fed officials also signaled that they expect to raise rates once more this year.Consumer inflation has dropped from a year-over-year peak of 9.1% in June 2022 to 3.7%. Yet it’s still well above the Fed’s 2% target, and its policymakers made clear Wednesday that they aren’t close to declaring victory over the worst bout of inflation in 40 years. The Fed’s latest decision left its benchmark rate at about 5.4%, the result of 11 rate hikes it unleashed beginning in March 2022.The Fed’s hikes have significantly raised the costs of consumer and business loans. In fine-tuning its rate policies, the central bank is trying to guide the U.S. economy toward a tricky “soft landing” of cooling inflation without triggering a deep recession.Besides forecasting another hik...

MDPD Director Alfredo Ramirez announces he will not run for Miami-Dade Sheriff weeks after shooting himself near Tampa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:00 GMT

Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez announced that he will not run for Miami-Dade Sheriff in 2024.In a statement released Wednesday, Ramirez said the following, “My commitment to run for sheriff has always been about public safety and continuing my life’s work to keep families safe. Earlier this year, I filed to run for sheriff to support and guide a successful transition to a sheriff’s office and ensure the mission and work ethic of the department was unchanged.”His statement continued, reading in part, “That commitment and mission is stronger than ever, and while I will not be a candidate for Sheriff in 2024, I look forward to working with the Mayor and stakeholders on a successful and smooth transition that puts public safety at the forefront of every decision. I appreciate the community’s well wishes and support over the past few months and will remain focused over the coming weeks on my continued recovery.”Ramirez on Sept. 15 returned to Sou...

UN chief wants rich countries to hasten climate efforts and close ‘gates to hell’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:00 GMT

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday demanded that wealthy nations take the lead in the fight against climate change — launching his one-day Climate Ambition Summit held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.“Humanity has opened the gates to hell,” the U.N. chief said in his opening remarks, calling on world leaders to “make up time lost to foot-dragging, arm-twisting and the naked greed of entrenched interests raking in billions from fossil fuels.”Guterres made a point in hosting a summit attended by what he described as the “first movers and doers from governments, business, finance, local authorities and civil society,” hoping this would spur momentum ahead of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai at the end of November. He urged deep-pocketed countries to join a Climate Solidarity Pact — where nations that have contributed the most to the climate emergency should “hit fast forward” in curbing their emissions and help struggling econo...

US government to relaunch free Covid-19 home test program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:00 GMT

(CNN) — The US government will relaunch a program to provide free Covid-19 home tests to Americans, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Wednesday.“We will once again begin our program to provide Americans with an opportunity to request tests,” Becerra said during an event at a Washington, D.C., CVS Pharmacy, where he was vaccinated against Covid-19 and flu. More information on the Covid-19 testing program is coming soon, he said.Becerra said HHS’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response “has been resupplying our stockpile” and some of those tests would be made available for the respiratory virus season.Previously, the US government has offered multiple rounds of free Covid-19 tests to people who requested them through Covidtests.gov. The program was suspended at the end of May, after the end of the Covid-19 public health emergency, to preserve supply.Covid-19 hospitalizations have been on the rise in the United States...

Stellantis and GM furlough dozens of workers, warns hundreds more could come as strike continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:41:00 GMT

(CNN) — Stellantis is immediately laying off 68 employees at the Toledo Machining Plant in Perrysburg, Ohio, due to the impact from the United Auto Workers union’s targeted strike at the Toledo Assembly Complex, the company said Wednesday.The layoffs will be temporary and are due to storage constraints, Stellantis said in a statement, adding that it had run out of space to store the parts made at the plant. Production at the rest of the facility will continue. More layoffs are anticipated at Kokomo Transmission and Kokomo Casting in Kokomo, Indiana, impacting an additional 300 employees there, the company said.This is the first layoff announcement by Stellantis. Ford and General Motors already laid off or warned of idling employees at two of their plants because of the targeted strikes.About 600 employees at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant’s body construction department and south sub-assembly area of integrated stamping were laid off in Wayne, Michigan on Friday. The p...