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No Christmas tree shortage, but with supply tight, shop early

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:51 GMT

In a season of traditions, with Thanksgiving completed, and many looking to buy a farm-grown Christmas tree, rumors of a tree shortage have become an annual thing.Jill Sidebottom, spokeswoman for the National Christmas Tree Association, told WTOP to not panic — there’s plenty of trees for everyone.“We don’t have an oversupply of real Christmas trees, certainly, but there is enough to meet consumer demands,” Sidebottom said in an email. “We have heard reports that some people wanting to buy Christmas trees wholesale to sell at tree lots or as fundraisers are having issues finding trees.”Sidebottom said for a Christmas tree grower — a tractor trailer holds around 600 trees — so if their customer only needs a few hundred, they will have to split the load with other retailers, making shipment difficult and costly.“Since most can sell their trees to larger retailers, the smaller retailer has found it harder to find what they want,” she said...

Stock market today: Wall Street edges lower after the Thanksgiving holiday as winning streak cools

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:51 GMT

Stocks edged lower in morning trading on Wall Street Monday as markets look ahead to updates on inflation and how American consumers are feeling about the economy. The S&P 500 fell 0.2%. The benchmark index is coming off a holiday-shortened week in the U.S. and its fourth straight winning week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 73 points, or 0.2%, to 35,318 as of 11:16 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq fell 0.1%.Treasury yields slipped. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.43% from 4.47%.Stocks were mostly lower in Asia and mixed in Europe.Investors have grown cautiously optimistic that inflation has cooled enough for the Federal Reserve to put a definitive end to its aggressive interest rate hikes. Meanwhile, the broader economy has remained strong enough in the face of rising interest rates and inflation to avoid a recession.Markets have been rallying on that sentiment and the S&P 500 remains on track to close out November as its best month of the year. Investors will ge...

Rosalynn Carter tributes highlight her reach as first lady, humanitarian and small-town Baptist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:51 GMT

AMERICUS, Ga. (AP) — Rosalynn Carter embarked on her final journey Monday to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Center as her family began three days of memorials for the former first lady and global humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at the age of 96.Family including Rosalynn Carter’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren watched as her casket was placed in a hearse Monday morning outside Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in the Carters’ native Sumter County in south Georgia. Onlookers huddled beside the road on a breezy, chilly morning.The motorcade made its first stop at Rosalynn Carter’s alma mater, the nearby Georgia Southwestern State University. The Carters’ four children — Jack, Chip, Jeff and Amy — watched as wreaths of white flowers were placed beside a statue of their mother on the campus.From there, the family motorcade began its trip of more than 140 miles (225 kilometers) to Atlanta, where Rosalynn Carter will lie in repose at The Jimmy Carter Presidential...

Woman, man found dead after barricade situation in Jefferson County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A man and a woman were found dead at a Jefferson County home in an apparent murder-suicide, the sheriff's office said. The incident began as a barricade situation Monday morning.After 12:15 a.m., Jefferson County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to a home in the 4300 block of South Holland Way due to a reported domestic violence incident. A family member called 911 saying their father had a gun and was shooting at their mother. Man accused of killing 73-year-old near Park Meadows Mall arrested in Wyoming The sheriff's office said all three children inside the home were able to escape.Once deputies arrived at the house, the suspect allegedly fired shots at the children and the deputies. According to the sheriff's office, one child was shot in the leg and taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office also said a bullet grazed the pant leg of a deputy and hit the cellphone in his pocket...

Will the Broncos make it to the playoffs?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Even though the Denver Broncos weren't off to a good start at the beginning of football season, after big wins against the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs, the orange and blue are within reach of a playoff spot. Back in 2020, the National Football League expanded the playoffs to 14 teams. Seven teams from the National Football Conference and seven teams from the American Football Conference will qualify for the playoffs. The winning teams from both conferences compete for the Super Bowl title. A Broncos love story decades in the making Each division conference winner earns a spot. While the season isn't over yet, each division has a solid leader and isn't likely to change. This includes the Miami Dolphins, the Baltimore Ravens, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Chiefs.As of late November, the Broncos are in second place in the AFC West, right behind the Chiefs. But the team isn't completely out of luck. The Broncos started out as a 1-5 team. Now, they're on...

US airports on track for ‘busiest ever’ Thanksgiving season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:51 GMT

MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (CNN/WSVN) — US airports are on the verge of setting more travel records as huge numbers of travelers have been taking to the skies over the Thanksgiving holiday.The Transportation Security Administration said Monday it’s nearing its anticipated 30 million passengers total over the holiday period. The Transportation Security Administration said Monday it’s nearing its anticipated 30 million passengers total over the holiday period.The agency said it had screened 24.7 million people in its holiday period – including a single-day record of 2.9 million on Sunday – with two days still to go.As the holiday weekend winds down, airports like Miami International experience heavy foot traffic and occasional delays. Despite nationwide delays and cancellations—over 1,000 flights delayed and 25 cancellations—passengers remain in good spirits, attributing some delays to snowy weather in the central plains.A family at Miami International, prepared for the potential cha...

Students safe following school bus collision with van in Miami

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:51 GMT

Students arrived at school safely after a school bus to Miami Northwestern Senior High was involved in a collision with a van, Monday morning. The crash occurred at Northwest 49th Street and Eighth Avenue in Miami. Fortunately, all 13 students emerged unharmed, and the teens safely made it to school.Details of the crash revealed that the front of the van sustained significant damage and was subsequently towed. The bus driver and the van driver both escaped the incident without injuries. Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the collision.

‘Franks-giving’: Cutler Bay man celebrates 102nd birthday and Thanksgiving with family

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:51 GMT

A Cutler Bay resident and World War II veteran celebrated a unique milestone on Thanksgiving this year as he turned 102, a day he calls “Franks-giving.”Surrounded by family, Frank Koebel marked the special occasion by playing board games and sharing cherished memories. “Every so often, dad’s birthday on the 23rd of November falls on Thanksgiving, and years ago, dad noted that it should really be called, on those occasions, “Franks-giving” because that’s his real first name,” said Frank’s son Dan. “Even though most of his life he went by ‘Chick,’ his nickname. So today is Franks-giving.”Frank Koebel is a former naval officer who served in World War II and participated in the Battle of Normandy.

Poland’s zombie government shuffles into being

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:51 GMT

WARSAW — Polish President Andrzej Duda on Monday swore in a new government headed by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki — whose term in office is likely to be only a maximum of 14 days.That’s because Morawiecki and his Law and Justice (PiS) party lost the October 15 general election to a coalition of opposition parties. Even though PiS is the largest grouping in the new parliament, with 191 MPs, the three opposition parties that have promised to form a government led by former PM Donald Tusk have 248 seats — enough for a solid majority in the 460-member parliament.Still, Duda insisted that Morawiecki get the first chance at trying to form a government. “We are fulfilling a constitutional custom by appointing a government that represents the grouping that won the parliamentary election,” Duda said during Monday’s ceremony.However, despite several weeks of trying to hold talks with opposition MPs, Morawiecki was unable to show that any other parties were willing...

Tesla sues Sweden over blocked license plates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:51 GMT

Tesla has filed a lawsuit against Sweden over blocked access to license plates for new vehicles, the Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri reported on Monday.According to the American electric car company, this seizure of license plates constitutes a discriminatory attack with no legal basis whatsoever against Tesla, the newspaper wrote.The press spokesperson for the agency, Mikael Andersson, told the Associated Press: “We at the Swedish Transport Agency do not share this view that the agency was blocking the distribution of license plates.” He added: “We have not yet seen the lawsuit and it is therefore difficult for us to give any direct comments. We need to look at the lawsuit and Tesla’s reasoning in it.”According to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by AP, Tesla demands that the district court fine the transport agency 1 million kronor ($95,383) to “oblige” the agency to allow Tesla “retrieve license plates” within three days from notification of the district court’s decision.