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Pakistani shopping mall blaze kills at least 10 people and injures 22 others

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:42:44 GMT

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — A fire tore through a shopping mall in the southwestern Pakistani city of Karachi, killing at least 10 people and injuring 22 others, police and local officials said Saturday.The multi-story RJ Mall is in a commercial high-rise that also houses call centers and software firms. The fire department dispatched eight fire trucks to the scene after being alerted at 6:30 a.m, local time. Chief fire officer, Ishtiaq Ahmed Khan, said the fourth floor of the building was the most affected.Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the fire had been extinguished and a cooling process was underway.He said that five of the 22 injured were in critical condition. “We are trying our best to do whatever it takes to save their lives and to provide them with whatever treatment that is required for saving their lives,” Siddiqui, who was at the scene, told reporters. The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.Karachi is the capita...

Light rain and wet snow expected, chilly conditions ahead

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:42:44 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- A quick system rolls through tonight into Sunday morning, bringing light rain and some wet snow (to the north). The split for wintry precipitation will be along the I-70 corridor, mostly with wet snow to the north and cold rain to the south. Along I-70, we could see a mix of rain and wet snow. Precipitation stays light in our area, with heavier snow and accumulations expected across northern Missouri. In our northern counties, we could see some light accumulations, mainly on grassy surfaces. In the metro, road temperatures still appear too warm for any snow we may see to stick, but travel to northern MO or west central IL could be a bit slick, especially during the morning hours. Most of the precipitation should be out of here by about 10 a.m., and then we'll be left with a cloudy, cold, and breezy day. Highs on Sunday will struggle to reach the low 40s. Sunday night lows fall into the 20s. We'll start the workweek cold and dry, with highs near 40 and a gradual warm-up ...

St. Louis celebrates excellence at the 4th Annual Give Black Ball

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:42:44 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- In the heart of Downtown St. Louis, notable individuals gathered for the 4th Annual Give Black Ball, an event dedicated to recognizing and honoring impactful organizations that have significantly contributed to the city. The spotlight shone on two outstanding black-owned entities.The honorees, Dr. Marty Casey's Show Me Arts Academy and Morgan Casey's Date Ideas and Things to Do, were celebrated for their exceptional contributions to the St. Louis community.Founder of Give Black Ball, Jordan "Shorty, aka Reggie Son," Johnson, expressed the significance of the event: "This is the fourth year of the Give Black Ball. It gives us an opportunity around the holidays to give back but we also give to a black-owned organization or initiative here in Saint Louis. Everybody knows Shorty shows love, so this is a way people around the city, the community that I admire, are doing good in the city."The festive night included networking, live entertainment, and indulgence in food and dr...

LIST: some of the brightest holiday light shows

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:42:44 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis is a major Midwest draw for holiday lights. Several local light displays draw people from hundreds of miles away. So, what are some of the most spectacular ones in our area?Here's a look at seven that stand out to us, when they're open, and how long you have to enjoy them:U.S. Bank Wild Lights:Saint Louis Zoo, Forest Park, November 24 to December 30.Explore a 40-foot walk-through lighted tree for a photo opportunity and see the Meet Me in St. Louis display, showcasing a 15-foot arch and a 17-foot steamboat silhouette backdrop. Other displays include the Frosted Forest, Butterfly Grove, Toy Town, Holly Jolly Hangout, Arctic Alley, Twinkling Tunnel, Peppermint Pathway, and Gingerbread Lane.2. Anheuser-Busch Brewery Lights:Downtown St. Louis, November 18 to December 30.At this event, there are over a million twinkling lights at the 38th annual Brewery Lights at the Anheuser-Busch St. Louis Brewery.3. Garden Glow:Missouri Botanical Garden, November 18 to January 6...

Watch the skies! Your soup is here.

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:42:44 GMT

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Exactly a decade ago, Amazon revealed a program that aimed to revolutionize shopping and shipping. Drones launched from a central hub would waft through the skies delivering just about everything anyone could need. They would be fast, innovative, ubiquitous — all the Amazon hallmarks.The buzzy announcement, made by Jeff Bezos on “60 Minutes” as part of a Cyber Monday promotional package, drew global attention. “I know this looks like science fiction. It’s not,” said Bezos, Amazon’s founder and the CEO at the time. The drones would be “ready to enter commercial operations as soon as the necessary regulations are in place,” probably in 2015, the company said.Eight additional years later, drone delivery is a reality — kind of — on the outskirts of College Station, Texas, northwest of Houston. That is a major achievement for a program that has waxed and waned over the years and lost many of its early leaders to newer and more urgent projects.Yet the ...

Discount wireless plans catch up as worthy rivals to the big carriers

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:42:44 GMT

Americans have long been conditioned to believe that when they buy a cellphone, the next step is to pick a wireless plan from one of the big carriers: Verizon, AT&T or T-Mobile. With their plans ranging from $60 to $200 a month for individuals and families, the price of a phone is soon eclipsed by the recurring service bills.What if I told you that it no longer had to be this way?Your phone bill could shrink to as little as $25 a month if you picked a wireless plan from a lesser-known service provider known as a discount carrier. The cheaper plans, based on my tests, offer sufficiently fast internet speeds and reliable phone service. It takes some courage and technological know-how to make the switch, but the potential savings outweigh the downsides.On the surface, these budget carriers, which include Cricket Wireless, Straight Talk, Boost Mobile, Mint Mobile and Visible, lack a cool factor. They do not operate their own cell networks; instead, they lease wireless services from ...

Grading The Week: Down goes LSU! Down goes Creighton! CU Buffs, CSU Rams proving Colorado’s still a college hoops state

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:42:44 GMT

If the state of FBS football — what the heck happened, Air Force? — around here has got you down, the Grading The Week crew’s got three words:Buck up, buttercup!Colorado is still a college hoops state. And the biggest four programs in the metro — CU men and women, CSU men and women — have spent the first three weeks of a long season planting flags. Oh, and taking names. Big names, too.Colorado = College Hoops State, baby! — AWhile Tad Boyle’s Buffs (4-1) are coming off a frustrating overtime loss to Florida State in Daytona Beach, Fla., CU’s got a great chance to right the ship against Iona (2-3) on Sunday, a game that’ll also serve as a tune-up for one of the more interesting Rocky Mountain Showdowns on the hardwood in years on Wednesday night.And not just because CU is flashing a future lottery pick in Cody Williams. Or because the Rams are riding on the rainbow fumes of a colossal 21-point win over No. 8 Creighton in Kansas City on ...

Roosevelt girls basketball returns entire starting lineup as Riders aim to build long-term championship culture

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:42:44 GMT

After pressing and trapping its way to the first state title in program history last season, Roosevelt girls basketball is capable of a Class 5A repeat this season.But Rough Riders head coach Enoch Miller said his team is thinking longer-term than just another ring. The bigger question he’s pondering: How can Roosevelt build itself into a perennial championship contender?That’s the question his five returning starters are intent on addressing this year, in addition to making another deep run at Denver Coliseum in March.“We’re focusing on our culture,” Miller explained. “We’re trying to push the seniors and our other upperclassmen to mold the 16 freshmen in our program. Every day is a bunch of wide eyes — we’re trying to slow it down a bit for them, teach them, help them.“Of course we’re focused on trying to win, but we’re also focused on being great teammates and building a culture that’s sustainable even when t...

Elias: Transgender students California’s latest state-local conflict

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:42:44 GMT

For the last several years, the dominant sentiment among Gov. Gavin Newsom and other top state officials and legislators has been that one size fits all of California when it comes to housing.Related ArticlesLocal News | Elias: Here are the signs Newsom is setting self up for ’28 presidential run Local News | Elias: California towns’ battle for local control still very much in play Local News | Elias: California should try same test on homelessness as addiction The conviction that the state can and should dictate virtually all policy on land use and development — an area that was previously the purview of local government as long as California has been a state — underlies all the major new housing laws California has adopted over the last three years.These measures make denials of building permits almost impossible in most places, even when proposed projects far exceed local plans approved by city councils, county boards an...

Stephens: The fallacy of the Mideast war “Cease-Fire Now” crowd

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:42:44 GMT

Of all that’s been said and written about the war between Israel and Hamas, nothing has cut through the mental fog quite so brightly as a remark this month from Hillary Clinton on “The View.”“Remember,” the former secretary of state said, “there was a cease-fire on Oct. 6 that Hamas broke by their barbaric assault on peaceful civilians and their kidnapping, their killing, their beheading, their terrible, inhumane savagery.”Those three words — that Hamas broke — aren’t trivial. They give the lie to the “Cease-Fire Now” mirage, or imposture, that has become a rallying cry at pro-Palestinian demonstrations. They are at the heart of what the war is about, and the key to how it can end. And they are the bright dividing line between those who would allow Hamas to get away with murder, and those who would refuse.Why should it matter that it was Hamas that broke the cease-fire when Palestinian civilians are being killed in large numbers by Israeli bombs and bullets? Those saying...