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US to begin 2024 with smallest military in over 80 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) -- The United States is set to enter the new year with its smallest military in over 80 years.  According to the Department of Defense, the Army, Navy and Air Force missed their recruiting goals in 2023 by a combined 41,000 personnel. “We didn’t get into this problem overnight and it’s not going to be solved overnight,” Pentagon Press Secretary, Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said. “But we are confident that we will continue to see those numbers increase and it’s something that will obviously continue to work very hard at.” Ryder says heading into 2024, the Defense Department’s greatest challenge is recruitment. “We don’t take anything for granted,” Ryder said. “At the end of the day one of the strengths is that we are an all-volunteer military and each of us here takes the oath of office and the oath to protect and defend the constitution by choice, no one is making us do this.” But Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) says Congress is partly to blame for t...

As funding for Ukraine runs out, U.S. leaders still hope to support the war effort

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Aid for Ukraine is about to run out, but U.S. leaders say they aren't abandoning the country. They're still expressing support for the ally's war effort as they continue to pressure Congress to approve more funding. The Pentagon is preparing to send one last round of military aid to Ukraine at the end of December. "Once those funds are obligated, we will have exhausted the funding available for us to provide security assistance to Ukraine," Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said. That leaves the U.S. extremely limited in how it can help."There is no magical pot of money we can draw from," Sec. of State Antony Blinken said. U.S. leaders aren't giving up on supporting the war effort, though. On Friday President Biden signed an executive order targeting financial institutions that help Russia restock its military arsenal. Plus, the Biden Administration is still hoping Congress will approve the supplemental funding request ...

Mothers with high-risk pregnancies more likely to face mental health concerns, specialist says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — This hospital visit is different for Heather Friedman and her husband Dr. Andrew Well. Together, they breathe a sigh of relief as they walk into Dell Children’s Hospital with their 17-month-old son, Alex. It's an exciting reunion between Alex and the trio of people who helped him and his parents settle into family life. It wasn’t too long ago that Heather and Andrew were worried their son may not even make it out of the NICU. KXAN anchor opens up about postpartum complications; how new parents can get help “At our 20-week scan, he was measuring way too small,” Friedman told KXAN’s Britt Moreno. The pregnancy was diagnosed with intrauterine growth restriction. “They said he could make it to term, he could not, he could pass,” Friedman said. Just as the parents were trying to process this devastating news, they were then faced with a traumatic labor and delivery. Alex was born three months early weighing just 1.5 pounds. Feeding and breathing tubes kept Alex alive ea...

What’s at stake for Vikings over the next few weeks? Here’s how they can make the playoffs.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

Technically, the Vikings still control their own destiny as they work toward locking up a playoff spot.Though they can’t win the NFC North without some help, if the Vikings go 3-0 to end the regular season, they have a 100 percent chance of at least making the playoffs.Even if they go 2-1, according to a New York Times simulator, they have a 98 percent chance of making the playoffs as a wild card.Naturally, it gets much murkier if they go 1-2, with the odds evaporating completely if they go 0-3.That sets the stage for the Vikings’ home game against the NFL North-leading Detroit Lions on Christmas Eve at U.S. Bank Stadium.It will be the first matchup between the teams with the second matchup coming in a couple of weeks when the Vikings travel to play the Lions in Detroit in the season finale the first week of January.Sunday is an important game spliced in between with the Vikings playing host to the Green Bay Packers on New Year’s Eve at U.S. Bank Stadium.How are th...

Gophers QB Cole Kramer’s pre-wedding plan takes backseat to first start

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

Before tying the knot, Cole Kramer wants to put a bow on his Gophers football career.The fifth-year senior quarterback will marry Katie Miller in Rochester, Minn., in early February, but first he wants to cap his U career with a win over Bowling Green in Tuesday’s Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit.Kramer’s playing days were set to end in a behind-the-scenes supportive role in late November. The backup QB notified coaches he would hang up his No. 12 jersey after the regular-season finale against Wisconsin. He took part in the pregame Senior Day festivities that day as part of a sendoff.But within days, starting quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and third-stringer Drew Viotto exited the program via the NCAA transfer portal.Gophers coaches had been supportive of Kramer’s decision to retire, but given the circumstances, they soon contacted him about running it back for one more month.Getting in the habit of saying vows, Kramer quickly said yes.“As a kid that grew up in Minnesota, that was my...

St. Louis man sentenced to 20 years for transporting over 31 pounds of meth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- A 56-year-old man from St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison without parole on December 22. Cregg L. Matthews was caught with over 31 pounds of methamphetamine in his luggage at a Kansas City bus station. He was found guilty on June 6, 2023, for possessing and intending to sell drugs.Back on March 9, 2019, investigators received a tip that Matthews, traveling by bus from California, would arrive in Kansas City with a large amount of meth. The K9 unit detected drugs in Matthews' suitcase and a black bag he was carrying. St. Peters man catches state record fish from Missouri River Matthews, previously convicted for drug offenses and statutory rape, had been released from parole a year before committing this federal offense. He was also involved in a jail fight while in pre-trial custody.

Colorado real estate trends: Lower interest rates not enough to motivate buyers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

A slight drop in interest rates didn’t give home buyers enough incentive to overcome the traditional seasonal slowdown in November.November’s sales volume was down 14% from last year in the Denver metro and 19 percent from October, according to the monthly report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors.The report also showed homes are spending more days on the market, and sellers continue to agree to price concessions as the close-price-to-list-price ratio dropped to 98.6%.At the end of November, the number of active listings hit 6,684, down 11% from October’s 7,482 properties. Average active listings for November are 13,657.The median days on the market climbed to 22 from 16 in October, and the median close price sat at $565,250, down from $581,000 in October.“The opportunity for buyers continues as we look at the close-price-to-list-price ratio,” said Libby Levinson-Katz in prepared comments with the monthly report.“What we know in the ind...

Will new federal payout formula for Tri-State send members to the exits?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

A federal agency has issued an order in the ongoing faceoffs between the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association and its members in Colorado and three other states, clearing the way for a potential reshaping of a significant chunk of the region’s energy landscape.The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission adopted a formula for showing electric cooperatives what it would cost them to end their contracts with the wholesale power provider. The parties are poring over this week’s 247-page order and crunching numbers.Tri-State has until Jan. 19 to submit the amounts for all 42 member cooperatives, 17 of which are in Colorado.United Power, Tri-State’s largest member, didn’t wait to hear its exit fee before deciding to leave. The Brighton-based cooperative gave notice two years ago that it would terminate its contract May 1, 2024. The utility has signed an agreement to buy electricity from Guzman Energy, a wholesale supplier that has contracts with other for...

Broncos scouting report: How Denver matches up against Patriots and predictions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

Patriots (3-11) at Broncos (7-7)When: 6:15 p.m. MT, SundayWhere: Empower Field at Mile HighRadio/TV: 850 AM, 94.1 FM/KMGH-7, NFL NetworkBroncos-Patriots series: The Broncos are 27-22 in 49 regular-season games dating back to 1960; Denver won 18-12 in the last meeting, on Oct. 18, 2020, in New England, but has lost two of the last three matchups to the Patriots.In the spotlightRookie Riley Moss took advantage of the moment.As a gunner for Denver’s punting unit against the Lions, Moss didn’t allow Kalif Raymond to gain a single yard, as the Broncos rookie cornerback bolted down the field before he wrapped up Detroit’s returner by the ankles for a tackle in the first quarter.For Moss, it’s been a grind to get playing time. The Iowa product missed all of training camp with a core muscle injury. He was inactive for the first two games of the season, and when Moss has played, he’s been limited to special teams work (204 snaps) and minimal appearances on defense (13 snaps).But he has impre...

An advocate for Latino students, this teen is being honored as an emerging leader in Colorado

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:19 GMT

When Osvaldo Garcia Barron started high school, he was often the only student of color in his advanced classes. He struggled to speak up and wondered if he had anything to contribute.The start of the pandemic interrupted his freshman year of high school.But instead of coming out of it feeling isolated, Garcia Barron came back to school determined. He followed his older sister Paola’s lead in participating in some leadership programs and continued taking advanced classes.Related ArticlesEducation | Colorado universities grapple with retention of faculty of color amid staff departures, allegations of racism Education | Lucille Ruibal Rivera, health care leader and Chicana artist, was victim in Northglenn murder-suicide When he still struggled to feel a sense of belonging, he realized he probably wasn’t the only one.Read more at Chalkbeat Colorado.Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools.Get more Colorado news by s...