Author: Maria Monroe

DES MOINES, Iowa – Thinking of lining up at the mini-mart for a shot at a $1.35 billion Mega Millions jackpot?Maybe you should first dig into your coat pockets or your car’s glove box to make sure you don’t already have a winning ticket from an earlier drawing.As players buy Mega Millions tickets ahead of Friday night’s drawing, lottery officials throughout the country say that every year players miss out on millions of dollars in prizes they either don’t realize they have won or decline to cash in, figuring the trouble isn’t worth a small payoff. People nearly always show…

NEW YORK – Vaccination rates for U.S. kindergarteners dropped again last year, and federal officials are starting a new campaign to try to bring them up.Usually, 94% to 95% of kindergarteners are vaccinated against measles, tetanus and certain other diseases. The vaccination rates dropped below 94% in the 2020-2021 school year, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Thursday found rates dropped again in the 2021-2022 school year, to about 93%.The pandemic disrupted vaccinations and other routine health care for children, and also taxed the ability of school administrators and…

DENVER – Exxon Mobil’s scientists were remarkably accurate in their predictions about global warming, even as the company made public statements that contradicted its own scientists’ conclusions, a new study says.The study in the journal Science Thursday looked at research that Exxon funded that didn’t just confirm what climate scientists were saying, but used more than a dozen different computer models that forecast the coming warming with precision equal to or better than government and academic scientists. This was during the same time that the oil giant publicly doubted that warming was real and dismissed climate models’ accuracy. Exxon said…

NEW YORK – Steve Bannon’s lawyers want out of his border-wall fraud case, telling a judge Thursday that he is unwilling to speak with them directly and that they have “irreconcilable” differences about how to proceed.Bannon, a conservative rabble-rouser and longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, has until a Feb. 28 hearing to find new counsel, Judge Juan Manuel Merchan said. His current lawyers, David Schoen and John Mitchell, must stay on the case until then, the judge said.“We just have a different view about strategy in the case and recognized that our differences about the approach to the…

MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin and North Carolina on Thursday became the latest states to ban the use of TikTok on state phones and other devices, a move that comes after nearly half of the states nationwide have blocked the popular social media app owned by a Chinese company.Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers ordered the ban, which also includes WeChat, after he said he consulted with the FBI and emergency management officials. He cited potential risks to privacy, safety and security. Evers’ order applies to most state agencies, with some exceptions like criminal investigators who may be using the app to…

WASHINGTON – The appointment of a special counsel to oversee the Justice Department probes into the discovery of classified documents at the home and former office of President Joe Biden has focused renewed attention on the role such prosecutors have played in modern American history.On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland tapped Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney in Maryland, to oversee the department’s investigation into how several batches of documents marked as classified ended up at Biden’s Delaware home and at the offices of the president’s Washington think tank.Two months ago, Garland appointed former Justice Department public corruption prosecutor Jack…

MIAMI – The Coast Guard returned another 177 Cuban migrants who were caught at sea to the island on Thursday.The migrants were all intercepted separately off Florida’s coast earlier this month, according to a Coast Guard news release. They were repatriated by two Coast Guard cutters.Since Oct. 1, 2022, the Coast Guard has interdicted more than 4,900 Cuban migrants at sea as they attempted the risky Florida Straits crossing to illegally enter the Keys island chain and other parts of the state. That compares with more than 6,100 Cubans intercepted during all of fiscal 2022, which ended Sept. 30, according…

Members of a Northeast D.C. community are still demanding the name of a man who shot and killed a 13-year-old boy accused of breaking into cars. Mayor Muriel Bowser revealed Wednesday that man works for the D.C. government. A man shot and killed 13-year-old Karon Blake in the District’s Brookland neighborhood on Jan. 7, 2023. (Courtesy Sean Long) Members of a Northeast D.C. community are still demanding the name of a man who shot and killed a 13-year-old boy accused of breaking into cars. Mayor Muriel Bowser revealed Wednesday that the man works for the D.C. government. Bowser weighed in…

The shooting of a first-grade teacher by a 6-year-old boy has plunged the nation into uncharted waters of school violence, with many in the Virginia shipbuilding city where it happened demanding metal detectors in every school. NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — The shooting of a first-grade teacher by a 6-year-old boy has plunged the nation into uncharted waters of school violence, with many in the Virginia shipbuilding city where it happened demanding metal detectors in every school. But experts warn there are no easy solutions when it comes to preventing gun violence in schools. “This is a real game changer,”…

Police in D.C. have released photos of two suspects in a shooting that wounded three people, including two young children, outside a Metrobus in Northwest D.C. Wednesday afternoon. A man who was also wounded in the gunfire is also now under arrest after police say he boarded the bus armed with knife and sparked the confrontation that led to the shooting. The shooting happened shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday near 14th Street and Fort Stevens Drive, after a fight broke out on a 54 bus heading north in the Brightwood neighborhood. The fight eventually spilled out on the sidewalk outside…

Dec. 25, 2022Updated: Dec. 25, 2022 5:15 p.m. Investigators do not know how many fake tickets the man put on cars or how many victims may have paid the bogus fines.Jacom Stephens/Getty Images SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — A 19-year-old man designed fake parking tickets and put them on cars near the beach in Northern California last week in the hopes of collecting real payments, authorities said. The man put the false citations — which included a QR code linking potential victims to a website to pay a fine — on cars late Wednesday night, said Santa Cruz police. Investigators do…

Middle schoolers were targeted for extortion by suspects who made convincing threats using images of the student’s homes taken from Google Maps. Police in Prince George’s County, Maryland, say they’re investigating threats made over social media extorting middle schoolers who may have been targeted. A Prince George’s police spokesperson told WTOP that four students received messages on Instagram and TikTok this week telling them that they would be harmed if they failed to pay a thousand dollars each. The students ignored the messages at first, but police said they were later sent photos of their homes that the suspect took…

Three people, including two children, were shot in Northwest D.C., following a fight on a Metrobus that spilled on to the street. Police are on the scene of a shooting in Northwest D.C. on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. (WTOP/Dick Uliano) WTOP/Dick Uliano Two children were shot while exiting a bus in Northwest D.C. Wednesday afternoon, Metro Transit Police said. (Courtesy NBC Washington) Courtesy NBC Washington D.C. police Chief Robert Contee speaks during a news conference following a shooting in Northwest D.C. on Wednesday, Jan. 11. 2023. (WTOP/Dick Uliano) WTOP/Dick Uliano D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks during a news conference following…

Chipotle unveils recipe and ingredients for its guacamole With some avocados, lime juice and other ingredients, you can make Chipotle guac at home. NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Chipotle launched a new customer rewards park called “Freepotle” this week, and to celebrate, it’s giving 3,100 fans the chance to win free food for a year at all U.S. restaurants.  The new Chipotle Rewards perk “Freepotle” gives members up to ten free food drops throughout 2023, the chain said. Existing Chipotle Rewards members will be automatically enrolled in the new program, and non-members can enroll here by March 6.  Chipotle said current…

What causes inflation? There are three factors that could lead to inflation which include demand-pull inflation, cost-push inflation and built-in inflation. WASHINGTON – The U.S. inflation report for December being released Thursday morning could provide another welcome sign that the worst bout of spiking prices in four decades is slowly weakening. Or it could suggest that inflation remains persistent enough to require tougher action by the Federal Reserve. Most economists foresee the more optimistic scenario: They think December marked another month in which inflation, though still uncomfortably high, continued to cool. According to a survey by the data provider FactSet,…

For the third time in just two weeks, the Richmond School District is working its way through a threat that was made against the education system. Because neither the school nor the police could get in touch with the individual who made the threat, class was canceled Thursday.

Third threat cancels class again for Richmond School District For the third time in just two weeks, the Richmond School District is working its way through a threat that was made against the education system. Because neither the school nor the police could get in touch with the individual who made the threat, class was canceled Thursday. RICHMOND, Mich. (FOX 2) – All three schools within the Richmond School District will be closed Thursday after another threat directed toward the middle school was reported to officials and the police.  A student had planned to “come to school with a gun…

article Reservations are required for White Castle’s Valentine’s Day experience in 2023. (Credit: Provided / White Castle) COLUMBUS, Ohio – White Castle is again transforming its fast-food dining rooms into “fine dining establishments” for couples looking to celebrate their love over candlelight and sliders. The fast-food chain announced the return of its Valentine’s Day experience for 2023 after a two-year break during the pandemic. On the evening of Feb. 14, participating White Castle restaurants offer hostess seating, tableside service, and festive holiday decor. White Castle also offers special menu items as part of the romantic experience, including a “Love Cube”…

article Loaed 9mm handgun found during traffic stop in Inkster. (Photo courtesy of Michigan State Police. ) INKSTER, Mich. (FOX 2) – A loaded firearm was found during a search of a vehicle following a traffic stop in Inkster late Wednesday evening.  The discovery came after a routine stop, according to Michigan State Police. Around 10:10 p.m. last night, state troopers working in conjunction with the Inkster Secure Cities Partnership stopped a Chrysler 300 for a window tint violation. The stop happened on Walnut Street near Chestnut Street.  Troopers proceeded to search the vehicle before finding a 9mm semi-automatic pistol under…

article FILE IMAGE – A gas stove lets off a blue flame inside a household kitchen. (Photo by Davide Bonaldo/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) WASHINGTON – The White House does not support a ban on gas stoves, an official said Wednesday, as concerns surrounding indoor air pollutants from the appliances have made headlines.  Bloomberg reported earlier that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission was considering a ban on gas stoves because the appliances can emit pollutants that cause respiratory and health issues.  Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr., a Biden appointee, told Bloomberg that “any option is on the table” as the…