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Stephanie Beatriz of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ to serve as Indy 500 grand marshal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:31 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Stephanie Beatriz, who starred as Detective Rosa Diaz on the TV show “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and voiced Madrigal on the Academy Award-winning film “Encanto,” will serve as the grand marshal for the Indianapolis 500 later this month.The track announced Tuesday the award-winning actress, who will star in the upcoming show “Twisted Metal,” will walk the Indy 500 red carpet on May 28 before giving the command for drivers to report to their cars.“Stephanie brings a fresh energy and excitement to pre-race ceremonies that both spectators at the track and everyone watching on NBC and Peacock will appreciate,” Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J. Douglas Boles said.Practice for the race began Tuesday and continues throughout the week, with qualifying on Saturday and Sunday. The annual Carb Day festivities include a final practice and concerts by Bryan Adams and Soul Asylum before the race-day events culminate with the 107th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”C...

Youngkin endorses 6 candidates in contested Republican primaries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:31 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Gov. Glenn Youngkin is set to issue a third round of endorsements Thursday in Virginia legislative races, backing 19 more Republican candidates, including six who are in contested primaries. Among those set to receive the governor’s nod are Emily Brewer and Tara Durant, both members of the House of Delegates facing spirited challenges for the GOP nomination in state Senate races. Youngkin is also backing Senate candidate Bill Woolf and House of Delegates candidates John Stirrup, Lee Peters and Buddy Fowler, an incumbent, over other GOP opponents, according to details provided to The Associated Press ahead of a formal announcement.“I know this group of candidates – which includes experienced legislators, law enforcement officials, small business leaders and business executives – are committed to making Virginia the best place in America to live, work, and raise a family. Together, we will strengthen the spirit of Virginia and deliver results,” Youngki...

‘Drag is something to celebrate’: San Francisco to name 1st-in-nation drag laureate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:31 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Anti-trans legislation is roiling the nation. Bills prohibiting drag performances are cropping up in statehouses. Violence and vitriol are turning children’s drag story hour events into headline-news protests.San Francisco is fighting back Thursday by naming the nation’s first drag laureate, an ambassador-style position designed to represent the city’s famous LGBTQ+ community at a time when rights are under attack.In a city known for its support of LGBTQ+ rights, San Francisco Mayor London Breed says it was a natural step to create a position that not only embraces drag culture but puts government resources toward it. D’Arcy Drollinger, a well-known drag performer and nightclub owner, will receive a $55,000 stipend in her 18-month role as the city’s inaugural drag laureate.“My goals are to make San Francisco sparkle. I think drag performers bring a lot of sparkle and humor and glamor and silliness to the world. I think that is part of why drag is so ...

PGA Live Updates | PGA Championship underway after frost delay

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:31 GMT

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — The PGA Championship is officially underway at Oak Hill.Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA champion, kicked off golf’s second major of the year with the opening tee shot following a frost delay of nearly two hours.The delay likely means the groups in the 156-player field teeing off later in the day may have trouble finishing their rounds on the East Course before darkness.Defending champion Justin Thomas begins his bid for a third PGA championship a little after 10 a.m. EDT. Thomas is playing with two-time PGA champion Rory McIlroy and 2020 PGA champion Collin Morikawa.Masters champion and No. 1 Jon Rahm is playing with British Open champion Cameron Smith and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick. Scottie Scheffler, the world’s second-ranked player, is in a group that includes two-time PGA champion Brooks Koepka.Thick rough and chilly temps in the morning will make the par-70 layout even more difficult for the early starters. Temperatures are expected to ri...

Latino history largely ignored in U.S. textbooks, study finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:31 GMT

Though the percentage of Latino students is on the rise in the U.S., high school textbooks used across the country largely ignore Latino history, a new study has found.Researchers with Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and UnidosUS, a national Latino advocacy and research organization, developed a list of 222 important Latino history topics, but found only 12% of those were covered well.The study, released Tuesday, comes amid a rise in the number of Hispanic students in U.S. public schools. Between the fall of 2009 and fall of 2020, the percentage of Hispanic public school students increased from 22% to 28%, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.Recent growth in the U.S. Hispanic population has been largely driven by births rather than by immigration, the Pew Research Center said in 2022.Hispanic students are currently projected to become 30% of the U.S. student population by 2030, according to federal education data.More inclusion in textbooks wonR...

New study shows Colorado does not have the worst drivers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:31 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- While Colorado drivers rank in the bottom half of drivers in other states, they aren't the worst in the United States.A new study by Forbes shows that Colorado actually ranks number 19 when it comes to worst drivers across the country. Deputy in El Paso County catches driver going 113 mph The study compared all states on six metrics:Number of drunk drivers involved in fatal car accidents per 100,000 licensed driversNumber of fatal car accidents involving a distracted driver per 100,000 licensed driversNumber of fatal car accidents involving a drowsy driver per 100,000 licensed driversNumber of fatal car accidents involving a driver who was driving the wrong way on a one-way street or on the wrong side of the road per 100,000 licensed driversNumber of fatal car accidents involving a driver who failed to obey traffic signs, traffic signals or a traffic officer per 100,000 licensed driversNumber of drivers who looked at a phone per mileWhich states have the worst dri...

Denver cracks into top 10 for wettest May on record

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:31 GMT

 DENVER (KDVR) — It has been a wet start to spring and now Denver is officially on the list for the top 10 wettest Mays on record.As of May 17, 4.70 inches of rainfall has been recorded at Denver International Airport for the month. This amount is enough to put May 2023 on the list as the tenth wettest May on record for Denver. How dandelions benefit lawns, gardens and critters This beats the 4.67 inches of rainfall in May of 1995 and is still behind the ninth-place spot, which is 4.77 inches in May of 1967. All it will take is another quarter of an inch of rainfall to tie the number five spot of wettest Mays in Denver, set in 1935. The wettest May on record was 8.57 inches back in 1876, which is still the wettest month ever recorded for Denver. There is still another two weeks left in May, and more showers are in the forecast. The Denver area is on track for another 0.4 inches of rainfall. Climate outlook shows rain in forecast through end of May If that amount of rainfall i...

Colombian government official ‘confident’ four children were found alive days after jungle crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:31 GMT

(CNN) — A Colombian government official is “very confident” four children were found alive 17 days after their plane crashed in the Amazon jungle but is awaiting further proof.The Director of Colombia’s Family Affairs Institute, Astrid Caceres, said her team received second hand confirmation that search teams rescued and identified the children missing following the crash of a small airplane in southern Colombia.Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro tweeted that the group were found alive but what would be an extraordinary survival story is yet to be confirmed, with government officials battling poor communications and yet to make direct contact with the children.The children, aged between 11 months old and 13, were found after the Colombian Armed Forces followed a trail of small objects such as hair scrunchies, plastic wrappings and baby bottles that led them to the missing group, authorities said.Asked why the police and military were continuing search efforts despite reports that th...

EU commissioner resigns — Bulgaria’s breaking point — European elections 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:31 GMT

Listen on Spotify Apple Music Google Play EN_Google_Podcasts_Badge Created with Sketch. Stitcher .st0{fill:#EB8A23;} .st1{fill:#FAC617;} .st2{fill:#612368;} .st3{fill:#3792C4;} .st4{fill:#C33727;} Acast This week, we dive into the political upheaval in Bulgaria and the resignation of the country’s EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel. And we begin our spotlight series on the European Parliament, as the dat...

I’ll kick all refugees out of Turkey, Erdoğan rival vows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:45:31 GMT

The leader of Turkey’s opposition has pledged to repatriate millions of refugees to their home countries, toughening his rhetoric ahead of a hotly contested runoff election next week.In a speech Thursday, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu claimed that his rival, longtime President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has “deliberately allowed ten million refugees into Turkey,” saying the incumbent has put “Turkish citizenship on sale to get imported votes.”“I am announcing here: I will send all refugees back home once I am elected as president, period,” he declared, according to Turkish media.Turkey is home to the largest number of refugees anywhere in the world, hosting an estimated four million displaced people, many from Syria and other Arab countries.In 2016, as the Continent grappled with a growing refugee crisis, the EU signed a deal with Ankara “aimed at stopping the flow of irregular migration via Turkey to Europe.” The country has received around €10...