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18 states, including IL, urge recall of Kia, Hyundai cars due to high rate of thefts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Attorneys general in 18 states, including Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, urged the federal government Thursday to recall millions of Kia and Hyundai cars because they are too easy to steal, a response to a sharp increase in thefts fueled by a viral social media challenge.Some Kia and Hyundai cars sold in the United States over the last decade do not have engine immobilizers, a standard feature on most cars that prevents the engine from starting unless the key is present.Videos circulating on the social media service TikTok have shown how people can start Kia and Hyundai models by using only a screwdriver and a USB cable. In Los Angeles, thefts of Hyundai and Kia cars increased by about 85% in 2022, now accounting for 20% of all car thefts in the city, according to the California attorney general's office.These social media-inspired thefts have often ended in tragedy, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration blaming the stolen car tren...

Racial gap in US stroke deaths widened during pandemic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The longstanding racial gap in U.S. stroke death rates widened dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, government researchers said Thursday.Stroke death rates increased for both Black and white adults in 2020 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study. But the difference between the two groups grew about 22%, compared with the five years before the pandemic.“Any health inequity that existed before seems to have been made larger during the pandemic," said Dr. Bart Demaerschalk, a stroke researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix who was not involved in the new study. “This is another example of that.”During a stroke, something blocks or reduces blood flow to part of the brain or a blood vessel in the brain bursts. It can result in brain damage or long-term disability and is the nation's fifth leading cause of death.Until about a decade ago, the U.S. stroke death rate was falling because of improved treatment and reduced smoking r...

Americans bought almost 60 million guns during the pandemic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

One-fifth of U.S. households purchased guns during the pandemic, a national arming that exposed more than 15 million Americans to firearms in the home for the first time, academic studies show. Americans purchased nearly 60 million guns between 2020 and 2022, according to an analysis by The Trace, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that tracks gun violence. Yearly gun sales are running at roughly twice the level of 15 or 20 years ago.  All the new weapons may be fueling a historic surge in gun deaths, which reached record highs during the same period.  “It’s a totally different type of gun ownership now,” said John Roman, a senior fellow in the Economics, Justice and Society Group at NORC, a research organization based at the University of Chicago.  “It’s not a rifle stored away somewhere that you take out twice a year to go hunting. It’s a handgun, probably a semiautomatic handgun, that you keep in your bedside table or in your glove compa...

APD: Woman stabbed on CapMetro bus, man detained

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Police said a man was detained Friday morning after stabbing a woman on a CapMetro bus in downtown Austin. According to police, officers were called to the bus at the corner of 5th Street and North Lamar Boulevard just before 2 a.m. INDEPTH: CapMetro updates plans to develop police force Police say the victim was taken to the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury. The woman and the man did not know each other, according to police.

QUIZ: How many of these native Texas flowers can you name?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Every spring, polychromatic flowers pop up along Texas roads making our commutes just a little more pleasant.While some Texas wildflower's peak has already passed, others are still thriving. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin said people can expect to see many well-known Texas wildflowers from March through May. QUIZ: Do you know Texas’ official state symbols? There are over 5,000 species of wildflowers growing throughout the Lone Star State. Take the quiz below to see if you can accurately name eight of them. Sorry, you are using an unsupported browser. This page will not display correctly. Please click here to upgrade to a newer browser. /**/If you aced this test, try out this Texas-centric quiz.

Inger Burnett-Zeigler: Stress is a silent killer for pregnant Black women

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

“We don’t take walk-ins,” the receptionist at my obstetrician-gynecologist’s office at a large academic medical center told me when I showed up without an appointment on a Friday afternoon and asked to be seen by a nurse.I was close to 28 weeks pregnant. I’d suffered severe headaches throughout my pregnancy. For the past several days, my feet and ankles had been so swollen that I could not lace up my sneakers. The night before, while receiving an award, I was so short of breath that I had trouble speaking.The prior weekend, I phoned the nurse on call and told her my blood pressure had been gradually increasing. She believed my symptoms to be a “normal” part of pregnancy and told me to call back if my blood pressure rose over 140/90. I’d just received a blood pressure reading of 142/94 at a medical appointment that wasn’t pregnancy-related.As a Black woman older than 40 and as a health disparities researcher, I knew that I met sev...

5 things to know this Friday, April 21

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Self-help writer Edmond Mbiaka believes, "Every single day is a good day no matter how bright or dark it is because it always brings an opportunity to start a positive beginning in your life." The weather this afternoon will certainly pave the way for that kind of progress—Meteorologist Jill Szwed went so far as to call it, "a fantastic Friday." Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Hundreds gathered in Fort Hardy Park on Thursday, for a candlelight vigil in memory of Kaylin Gillis. Also, in Colonie, the town board unanimously approved body cameras for the police department. All this and more, in today's five things to know. 1. Silent candlelight vigil for Kaylin GillisHundreds of people gathered in silence at Fort Hardy Park Thursday night to remember Kaylin Gillis, whose life was taken too soon. Silent candlelight vigil for Kaylin Gillis 2. Colonie police to don body cameras in new programThe Colonie ...

NYSP: Man arrested after high-speed chase in Malta

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

MALTA, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A Stillwater man has been cited to court after Troopers say he led them on a high-speed chase down Route 9 in Malta. Around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4, Alexander C. Morgan, 36, was allegedly caught speeding down the road. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Police claim when they tried to stop Morgan, he sped off. A high-speed chase ensued, but only until officers lost sight of the car. Soon after, the car was found unoccupied in a nearby parking lot. Police say Morgan did not own the car or have a valid driver's license at the time of the incident. Rhinebeck man accused of rape Morgan turned himself in on Friday, April 14. He was processed on charges of third-degree unlawful fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, second-degree reckless endangerment, and multiple vehicle and traffic law violations. He is due in Malta Town Court on May 11.

Open house in St. Louis commemorates child abuse prevention month

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- "Children's Advocacy Services" of Greater St. Louis hosts an open house today.It is to commemorate "Child Abuse Prevention Month." Visitors can plant a pinwheel garden outside their offices at U-M St. Louis. Each pinwheel represents one of the 77 thousand calls made to the Missouri Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline last year.

Broncos draft preview: Denver has top-end talent, needs quality depth in secondary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:47 GMT

Editor’s note: This is the ninth and final in a series of NFL draft previews as it relates to the Broncos. Today: Defensive backs April 10: Quarterbacks | April 11: Running backs | April 12: Wide receivers | April 13: Tight ends | April 14: Offensive line | Tuesday: Defensive line | Wednesday: Edge rushers | Thursday: Inside linebackers Broncos’ in-house offseason moves: Signed cornerback Tremon Smith (two years, $5 million), re-signed cornerback Essang Bassey (one year, $1.01 million), re-signed safety P.J. Locke (one year, $1.01 million).Under contract: Cornerbacks Smith, Bassey, Pat Surtain II (two years plus 2025 fifth-year option), Damarri Mathis (three years), K’Waun Williams (one year), Ja’Quan McMillian (two years), Faion Hicks (one year), Delonte Hood (one year). Safeties: Locke, Justin Simmons (two years), Caden Sterns (two years), Delarrin Turner-Yell (three years), Devon Key (one year).Need scale (1-10): 7. Denver’s top-end talent in the secondary is elite with Surtain a...