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Iconic St. Louis destinations transform for the holiday season

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:57:10 GMT

ST. LOUIS - With the Halloween season now in the rearview mirror, St. Louis staples are getting ready for a new holiday season. From the St. Louis Zoo to the Missouri Botanical Garden to Grant’s Farm, preparations are underway for the November and December events.At the Saint Louis Zoo, crews are working quickly to take down the ‘Boo at the Zoo’ Halloween decor and replace it with the "Wild Lights" Christmas Lightshow. School bus driver on leave after Halloween candy cannabis scare At the second-largest garden in North America, staff from the Missouri Botanical Garden are staying busy. They are also working diligently to prepare for the Garden Glow this holiday season.And at Grant's Farm, general manager Steve Byrd tells FOX 2 there are many preparations for their fantastic holiday lights. While most of their Christmas displays are still in the works, all three locations will be on display by mid-to-late November.Want to get a head start on purchasing tickets? The links to each lo...

Live updates | Hundreds evacuate Gaza Strip as more pressure placed on Israel to pause fighting

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:57:10 GMT

Israeli troops advanced further toward Gaza City on Thursday, battling with Hamas militants as the Palestinian death toll surged above 9,000. In the nearly four weeks since Hamas launched its deadly attack on Israel, U.S. and Arab leaders are ramping up pressure on Israel to at least briefly pause its attacks in order to aid civilians.Israel has allowed more than 260 trucks carrying food and medicine through the crossing, but aid workers say it’s not nearly enough.Roughly 800 people — including hundreds of Palestinians with foreign passports and dozens of injured — have been allowed to leave the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing under an apparent agreement among the U.S., Egypt, Israel and Qatar, which mediates with Hamas.The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 9,061, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. In the occupied West Bank, more than 130 Palestinians have been killed in violence and Israeli raids.More than 1,400 people in Israel have been...

Spirit Airlines will pull out of Denver airport in early 2024

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:57:10 GMT

Spirit Airlines is departing Denver International Airport early next year as the budget carrier faces concerns over the engines in its fleet of Airbus 320 jets.Spirit will no longer fly in and out of Denver as of Jan. 9, DIA spokeswoman Stephanie Figuero told The Denver Post in an email. Spirit, which started flying out of Denver in May 2012, operated out of just one gate on Concourse C, she said.In an emailed statement, Spirit spokesman Thomas Fletcher said the airline was forced to make some tough choices as it continued to learn more about how Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engine availability impacts its fleet and operations.“After considering those constraints and the underperformance of our routes through Denver International Airport (DEN), we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue service at the airport, effective Jan. 9, 2024,” Fletcher wrote in the email.Spirit will refund customers who have ticket reservations after Jan. 9, the email said.Pratt & Wh...

San Bernardino residents arrested for catalytic convertor thefts, vehicle burglary

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:57:10 GMT

Five San Bernardino residents were arrested in connection to catalytic convertor thefts and a vehicle burglary, authorities with the Laguna Beach Police Department announced Thursday.The residents, whose identities weren’t released, were arrested and taken into custody for vehicle burglary, possession of a controlled substance, violation of parole, vandalism, possession of burglary tools, and conspiracy, a news release said.On Oct. 29, personnel with the Laguna Beach Police Department responded to calls of a vehicle burglary at the 100 block of Mountain Street in Laguna Beach. Upon arrival, officers searched the area and found the suspect’s vehicle near Canyon Acres Drive and Laguna Canyon Road. Catalytic converter thefts on the decline, insurance data suggests Authorities searched the vehicle and found stolen mail, catalytic converters and other contraband items.“This was an outstanding team effort by our dispatchers and patrol team resulting in the arrest of five suspects trying...

No charges in crash involving 'Ferris Bueller,' 'Succession' actor Alan Ruck

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:57:10 GMT

No charges will be filed as a result of the multi-car crash in Hollywood involving "Ferris Bueller" and "Succession" actor Alan Ruck, Los Angeles Police told KTLA on Thursday.The collision happened around 9 p.m. on Halloween night at the busy intersection of La Brea Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard.In two surveillance videos obtained by KTLA, Ruck's Rivian electric pickup truck is seen stopped behind another car at a red light as pedestrians cross in the crosswalk.For reasons still unclear, the truck suddenly lunges forward and rear-ends the other car, and then careens across lanes of traffic, hitting another vehicle before crashing through the wall of Raffallo's Pizza. No one inside the restaurant was hurt.Actor Alan Ruck is seen at the crash scene. Oct. 31, 2023. (KTLA)At least one person is hospitalized after a three-vehicle collision sent a truck crashing through a pizza shop in Hollywood on Oct. 31, 2023. (KTLA)At least one person is hospitalized after a three-vehicle collision s...

Oakland man convicted of murder in shooting allegedly fueled by jealousy

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:57:10 GMT

OAKLAND — After a brief trial interruption spurred by doubts about his mental competency, an Oakland man was convicted of killing a romantic rival in a 2021 shooting, court records show.Charles Beal, 32, was convicted of first degree murder, enhancements for use of a firearm, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, in the June 25, 2021 death of 33-year-old Ukono Hall. The sentencing date has been set for Nov. 30.Hall was fatally shot outside an apartment on the 5400 block of Bancroft Avenue in East Oakland. Prosecutors say that Beal shot him once in the chest and once in the back, a week after having threatened Hall not to come to the apartment complex to visit a woman they were both dating.At Beal’s June 27 preliminary hearing, Hall’s relative testified that they were together when Hall was killed, and that he’d heard rumors that Hall had a $3,000 bounty placed on his head. He also testified that he went for his own gun and fired back at Beal, but miss...

Pac-12 legal affairs: In latest filing, 10 departing schools suggest WSU, OSU want 2023-24 revenue for themselves

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:57:10 GMT

With Washington as the conduit, the 10 outgoing members of the Pac-12 on Thursday filed a motion opposing the push by Washington State and Oregon State to secure a preliminary injunction that would grant the two remaining schools control of the conference.WSU and OSU believe the 10 outbound schools have relinquished their seats on the governing board by accepting offers from other leagues, thereby leaving the Cougars and Beavers as the only voting members and in control of the assets.The departing schools are fighting to retain their seats. In the latest filing in Whitman County (Washington) Superior Court, they argued that WSU and OSU intend to use revenue generated by the Pac-12 in the current sports year to fund their plans for the future:“If they seize sole control of the Board, they will have control of that revenue earned by all 12 member schools. They have said publicly that they are looking to add schools from conferences that would require the Pac-12 to pay them tens ...

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich brings star power to YWCA event

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:57:10 GMT

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich may have been made famous by the Oscar-winning movie starring Julia Roberts, but she proved she’s got her own star power at the YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley’s Inspire Luncheon on Thursday.She certainly captivated the audience of more than 900 people — double last year’s crowd — at the Santa Clara Convention Center and fit right in with the event’s “The Power of Change” theme.“Every person in this room has the potential to create change in the community,” said Adriana Calderon Boroffice, CEO of the YWCA Golden Gate Silicon Valley. “And who better than the great Erin Brockovich to illustrate how change can be started with one voice?”In an onstage conversation with NBC Bay Area’s Audrey Asistio, Brockovich shared stories about the obstacles she faced growing up, her love and connection to water, and how her “sticktoitiveness” led her to stand with the peop...

‘Make me look sexy,’ Donald Trump Jr. said to courtroom artist

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:57:10 GMT

It’s a matter of opinion whether a courtroom artist complied with a request from Donald Trump Jr. to make him look “sexy” in her illustration of him  — or whether it’s even possible to make the eldest son of former President Donald Trump look alluring, including as he testified Thursday in a civil fraud case that threatens his family’s real estate empire.Nonetheless, Trump Jr. hoped the illustration would make him look attractive,  the artist, Jane Rosenberg, told Insider.“He said, ‘Make me look sexy,'” said Rosenberg, recounting “the lecherous request” Trump Jr. made to her as he “jovially” chatted with her after he testified, Insider and the Daily Mail said. Rosenberg, on assignment for Reuters news agency, is a famed courtroom artist who has drawn all sorts of celebrities who’ve appeared in court due to legal troubles, including Tom Brady and Harvey Weinstein, Insider said.Donald Trump Jr. asks co...

Bloom Energy trims dozens more jobs, Bay Area layoffs now top 100

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:57:10 GMT

SAN JOSE — Bloom Energy has revealed plans to trim dozens more jobs in the Bay Area, cutbacks that have sent the green energy company’s local layoffs past the 100 mark, new official state labor agency filings show.The company has now disclosed its decision to conduct at least two rounds of layoffs, according to WARN notices Bloom filed with the state Employment Development Department.Bloom Energy has decided to chop 72 jobs in a fresh round of layoffs, the EDD WARN notices state.Here are the details for the most recent cutbacks being orchestrated by Bloom Energy:— 54 job cuts at the Bloom Energy headquarters in north San Jose’s Alviso district— 11 layoffs in Sunnyvale— 7 staffing reductions in FremontThese job cuts were slated to become effective on or around Nov. 1, the WARN notices stated.Bloom Energy’s prior layoff disclosures indicated the company had decided to chop 47 positions, affecting workers in Fremont and Sunnyvale. The previous ...