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Ask Amy: 14 picks for end-of-year charitable giving

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:24 GMT

Dear Readers: As I offer my 20th annual year-end “charity roundup,” I’d like to remind readers that while charity truly does begin at home, it need not stay there.Those who can afford to share their material wealth should give abundantly, donating locally to the local library, after-school program, hospice center, arts organizations, historical society and animal shelter.Acts of kindness and compassion are always worth their weight in gold: Shoveling a walk for a neighbor, writing a letter to an elder and volunteering at the local food bank are all ways to express your generosity.All of the organizations I recommend have the highest rating by Charity Navigator, a trusted source. Always do your own research before donating, and choose organizations that align with your own values.Supplying shelter:Habitat for Humanity: In 2023 Habitat for Humanity helped 13.4 million people build or improve a place to call home. You can honor the humanitarian generosity of President Jimmy Carter and ...

Major winter storm brings blizzard conditions, making travel dangerous during busy holiday across US Plains and upper Midwest

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:24 GMT

(CNN) — A major blizzard-fueling winter storm is sweeping across the Plains and upper Midwest with heavy snow, freezing rain and strong winds, making for dangerous travel conditions during the busy holiday week.Blizzards with wind gusts up to 75 mph Tuesday could topple trees and power lines, and bring whiteout conditions that make travel “difficult to near impossible,” the National Weather Service said. Blizzards happen when blowing snow and sustained strong winds combine for at least three hours and reduce visibility to a quarter-mile or less.“Widespread travel disruptions are likely across the region,” the weather service warned, adding that the storm will continue to impact a large swath of the north-central US through Tuesday.Parts of Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming are under blizzard warnings Tuesday.Residents were cautioned to avoid travel, but if they must be on the road, to bring survival kits and stay in their vehicles in case they get stranded.The sto...

The first southern white rhinoceros born in Atlanta’s zoo arrives on Christmas Eve

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:24 GMT

(CNN) — Zoo Atlanta just welcomed the cutest Christmas miracle: a baby rhino.The southern white rhinoceros – the first to be born at that zoo – arrived on December 24, the park said. The calf, whose species is near threatened, is healthy and strong and receiving “appropriate maternal care” from its mother, park officials said in a Monday news release.This also is only the second rhino to be born at the zoo – the other being an eastern black rhino in 2013, the release said.While the zoo did not share further information about the calf, it said white rhino newborns can weigh between 100 to 150 pounds at birth, making them one of the “animal kingdom’s largest terrestrial mammal babies.”The newborn’s parents – 22-year-old mother Kiazi and 12-year-old father Mumbles – met at the zoo in early 2022, and park staff detected the pregnancy in spring 2023. The calf and its mother will continue to bond before entering the rhino habitat, the zoo said.“The Zoo Atlanta family is beyond excite...

Fatal shooting in Pompano Beach under investigation

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:24 GMT

A festive Christmas celebration took a devastating turn when gunfire erupted in Pompano Beach. Around 7:21 p.m. on Monday in the 400 block of Northwest 27th Avenue, Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) deputies responded to the scene, discovering two adult males with gunshot wounds.Paramedics from Pompano Beach Fire Rescue rushed the victims to a nearby hospital, where one of the individuals was tragically pronounced deceased. The shooting has prompted an intensive investigation by BSO’s Homicide and Crime Scene units to uncover the circumstances that led to this heartbreaking incident.Details surrounding the motive or potential suspects are yet to be disclosed as authorities work to piece together the events that tainted what should have been a joyful occasion. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Powerball jackpot climbs to $685 million after no top-prize winners in Christmas drawing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:24 GMT

(CNN) — The Powerball jackpot climbed to an estimated $685 million after no ticket matched all six numbers to nab the grand prize during Monday night’s Christmas drawing.The top prize up for grabs during the next drawing on Wednesday has a lump-sum option of an estimated $344.7 million, according to Powerball’s website.No one has won the Powerball jackpot on Christmas Day since 2013, when a ticket in Missouri won a $71.5 million jackpot, according to a Powerball news release.The numbers drawn Monday were 5, 12, 20, 24, 29 and Powerball 4.While no one won the jackpot Monday, several tickets matched the first five numbers to win big prizes.Tickets in New Hampshire and Pennsylvania won $1 million each. A similar ticket in California won about $2.08 million, that state’s lottery system said. Non-jackpot prizes in California depend on number of winners and ticket sales, and will differ from fixed prizes shown on Powerball’s site.Two tickets sold in Colorado and Georgia, won $2 million pr...

Serbia cracks down on protests amid ‘election fraud’ outcry

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:24 GMT

Dozens of people have been detained during mass protests in Serbia amid claims that elections earlier this month were rigged in favor of the ruling party.Thousands gathered outside a police station in the capital, Belgrade, on Monday evening demanding the release of at least 38 demonstrators believed to have been arrested. Authorities fired tear gas into a crowd that attempted to storm the city hall the day before, while the opposition called on the West to investigate the vote.Activists blocked traffic as part of the eighth consecutive day of protests since parliamentary and local elections on December 17, which saw the governing coalition win a majority in the national assembly. President Aleksandar Vučić’s populist Serbian Progressive Party, which has held power since 2012, declared victory despite concerns from an international observer mission that the vote “was marred by harsh rhetoric, bias in the media, pressure on public sector employees and misuse of public resources...

Fireball over Crimea as Ukraine hits large Russian navy ship

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:24 GMT

The Ukrainian military on Tuesday said it blew up the Russian landing vessel Novocherkassk stationed in the occupied Crimean port of Feodosia.Russian authorities later confirmed that the warship had been severely damaged, and that one person was killed, two wounded and six people evacuated from their homes, Sergey Aksyonov, the head of the regional authority of Russian-controlled Crimea, was quoted as saying by Russia’s TASS news agency.“The fleet in Russia is getting smaller and smaller!” Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of Ukraine’s air force, said on Telegram, thanking “the pilots of the Air Force and everyone involved for the skillful work!”He called on Russian soldiers to “put on your pants and leave our Crimea ‘home’ before it’s too late!”The attack using cruise missiles is the latest of a series of Ukrainian hits in Crimea where the Russian Black Sea fleet is stationed. Over the last months, Ukraine has managed ...

Trump augurs divisive year in angry Christmas rant

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:24 GMT

(CNN) — Most global political, spiritual and national leaders mark Christmas with a plea for peace, or by stressing the virtues of family and unity.That’s not Donald Trump’s style.The ex-president unleashed an online torrent of fury and bitterness, largely over his legal plights, spanning Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, previewing the discord and personal obsessions he will inflict on the nation in a pivotal election year in 2024.Trump raged at President Joe Biden and special counsel Jack Smith, making expansive and false claims that his attempts to stay in power after losing the 2020 election represented a vital defense of American democracy and were thus perfectly legal. In a tide of invective in block capitals on his Truth Social network, Trump escalated extreme rhetoric on immigration that has drawn comparisons to Nazi demagoguery in the 1940s and reprised his view of unlimited presidential power that ha...

Dense fog this morning

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:24 GMT

It’s a foggy start! This morning the fog is thicker and stretches all the way to the coast and Cape. The low beams will be your friend this morning as we have a Dense Fog Advisory that runs through 10 am. We’ll see clouds and sun today, and temperatures are mild once again with light wind. High temperatures will be in the upper 40s/low 50s. Tonight, fog redevelops and temperatures will be in the upper 30s/low 40s.Showers return tomorrow as an area of low pressure over the Southeast travels up the coast. A spot shower is possible in the morning. We’ll see mainly clouds through the day. Expect showers for the evening (commute if you’re back at work) turning to rain late and lingering into Thursday morning.The unsettled pattern continues through Saturday with rain and show showers possible. Temperatures will feel chillier this weekend in the upper 30s/near 40. Luckily it’s dry for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day plans!-Meteorologist Melanie B...

From neon hot dogs to wagyu beef, Chicago-based Levy cooks up Vegas-style menu for Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:54:24 GMT

As Bears fans are once again left cheering for a top draft pick in the waning weeks of a losing NFL season, another local team is busy gearing up for its sixth Super Bowl since the dawn of the new millennium.Chicago-based Levy will be back in the Big Game in February as the food and beverage provider for Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The company is planning a glitzy Vegas-style menu with everything from carved lobster tail and wagyu tenderloin to neon hot dogs, hoping to sate 65,000 football fans and score points in the competitive hospitality industry.With seats selling for between $10,000 and $45,000 each on the official NFL Ticket Exchange, attendees are expecting a lot more than a warm hot dog and a cold beer.“The Super Bowl is the NFL’s biggest stage,” said Andy Lansing, 63, president and chief executive of Levy. “And so the Super Bowl for us is our biggest stage.”Launched as a Chicago restaurant group more than 45 years ago, ...