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Colorado tornadoes disproportionally affect mobile homes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:19 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Colorado's mobile homes bear the brunt of the kind of natural fury unleashed in Highlands Ranch last month.June's tornado in Highlands Ranch has the potential to be one of the most damaging in Colorado history. A tornado touched down in Highlands Ranch on June 22, during the second consecutive day of severe storms south and west of Denver. The night before, dozens of fans at Red Rocks Amphitheatre were hurt by hail before severe storms damaged homes and businesses, primarily in the Highlands Ranch area, the next day. Will tornado-hit areas qualify for a disaster declaration? In Colorado, half of the tornado deaths that have occurred since 1996 have been the residents of mobile homes — despite the fact that only 3.36% of Colorado's housing stock is mobile homes. Historically, tornadoes do far more damage and are far more lethal to mobile homes and their residents than to permanent ones, according to an analysis from the Associated Press."The Associated Press analyz...

Local nonprofit helping seniors paint their homes through Paint-A-Thon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:19 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A local nonprofit is using the summer months to help out seniors in the metro paint their homes. It's part of Brothers Redevelopment's Paint-A-Thon that runs through the spring and summer months, where volunteers get together to paint the homes of seniors who otherwise couldn't get it done physically or financially. Those volunteering on Friday were with Huntington National Bank. This is part of the company's $40 billion Strategic Community Plan which reflects the bank’s commitment to improve the economic vitality, financial security and sustainable future for those it serves.The nonprofit was able to auction off a signed Nuggets basketball shortly after the team took home the championship. Those proceeds were a huge part in making Paint-A-Thon a success thus far. Not to mention, it's all part of the goals of the organization. ‘So much joy and happiness’: Locals create disability-friendly clothing and artwork "For us to give back really in a way that is in our wh...

Street flooding persists after night of heavy downpours across Broward County; flood watch cancelled

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:19 GMT

More rounds of rain fell across South Florida after a night of relentless downpours caused flash floods in parts of Broward County and led to hundreds to flight delays at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.A flood watch was extended for much of mainland South Florida from noon on Friday until 6 p.m., but it was cancelled just before 6 p.m. as weather conditions continued to improve in the late afternoon hours.As of 5 p.m., Miami-Dade and Broward counties were mostly clear, but there was heavy precipitation over Marathon and Big Pine Key, with a light drizzle extending as far south as Naval Air Station Key West.Fort Lauderdale set a new record on Thursday with 6.19 inches of rain, the wettest July day on record. In Hollywood, 7News cameras captured “Caution flooded street” signs along Scott Street, which still had considerable flooding near North 14th Avenue. Drivers maneuvered around the standing water. Off to the side, a water pump was placed by the ci...

Miami-Dade Police and Fire Rescue respond to reported bomb threat at MIA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:19 GMT

Authorities are investigating a reported bomb threat made at Miami International Airport. According to officials with Miami-Dade Police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, around 5:20 p.m., units were dispatched to the airport’s cargo area in the vicinity of 6650 NW 22nd Street referencing the reported threat. No further information has been released by authorities as they continue to assess the situation.Passengers with travel plans through Miami International Airport are advised to check with their respective airlines for potential delays or disruptions resulting from the ongoing response to the reported threat.Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Phoenix’s record heat is killing off cactuses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:19 GMT

(CNN) — At a botanical garden in Phoenix some cactuses can’t take the heat.Record-high temperatures in Arizona, combined with a lack of seasonal monsoons, have caused saguaro cactuses at the Desert Botanical Garden to become “highly stressed,” according to Chief Science Officer Kimberlie McCue. She said a saguaro can appear “fairly normal” or feel somewhat squishy before it suddenly collapses and reveals it has been rotting from the inside out due to heat-related stress.Every February, the Desert Botanical Garden takes inventory of its saguaro cactuses and assesses each one’s condition. McCue said since 2020, when record temperatures caused stress in many of the saguaros, she and her team have seen more of the garden’s cactuses die. Present-day heat records are sending some of those previously affected cactuses over the edge, causing them to lose limbs and even collapse.Wednesday night ended a record streak of 16 days above 90 degrees in Phoenix. The city is forecast to see temperat...

Fashion designer works with skin from invasive Everglades pythons to create custom designs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:19 GMT

Most of us know pythons as invasive reptiles harming the Everglades’ delicate ecosystem, but for one South Florida fashion designer, these snakes also make for some wild style. Karen Hensel has today’s 7 Spotlight. Plenty of people are scared of snakes. Elle Barbeito is not one of them.Elle Barbeito, fashion designer: “Burmese pythons, they are from Southeast Asia, and they’re a really beautiful snake, they really are. They grow really, really big.”Big snakes that cause big problems ravaging native wildlife in the Everglades.Elle Barbeito: “It’s a really intense environment.”And it’s where Elle discovered her artistic passion back in 2018.Elle Barbeito: “Because now my dad was hunting, so I was just going with him all the time, and just like, sitting in the back of the truck. I loved it. I just was like really obsessed with it.”Elle, a South Florida native who went to fashion school in New York, says she became disill...

Police searching apartment of Chicago man charged in man’s killing find woman dead in refrigerator

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:19 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Officers searching the apartment of a Chicago man accused of fatally stabbing a man on a restaurant’s roof discovered the body of a young woman in his refrigerator earlier this month, authorities said.Brandon Sanders, 33, has not been charged in the death of Iman Al-Sarraj, 18, whose beaten body was found in early July in a refrigerator at his apartment in Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood.But he was arrested June 29 and charged with murder, robbery and burglary in the May killing of Rasim Katanic, a 69-year-old who was a Bosnian War refugee, WLS-TV reported.Prosecutors said surveillance footage shows Sanders climbing a stairwell on May 12 to a rooftop where Katanic was working on a cooler compressor atop Tahoora Sweets & Bakery. Katanic was later found stabbed to death on that roof.At his bail hearing, Sanders’ attorney said, “There are some issues with a mental state.” Sanders remains held without bail.Katanic’s daughter, Aida Sutardio, tol...

Moving Out!

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:19 GMT

Hot out there again this afternoon with most towns around 90 and when you factor in the humidity, it felt like the low to mid 90s. July doing July things. This summer hasn’t featured a lot of heat thus far and after one more hot day tomorrow, that may be it for the next week, possibly two! The reason for the heat exiting the region tomorrow will be a rather potent cool front working its way out of Canada tonight and into New England tomorrow…That front will ram into the afternoon heat and humidity across the region and pop showers and thunderstorms, primarily during the afternoon. Afternoon temps will generally finish between 85 and 90 degrees.Hottest locations are likely across SE MA as they will be farthest from the incoming cool front. In terms of the front and storm placement, here is a futurecast for 3pm Saturday…Storms will be present but isolated-scattered in nature with most of them across New York State and western-central New England. By 6pm here is what ...

Judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit against Disney’s efforts to neutralize governing district takeover

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:19 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A judge in Florida on Friday refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees against Disney’s efforts to neutralize the governor’s takeover of Disney World’s governing district.The judge in state court in Orlando denied Disney’s motion in the lawsuit that says the company wrongly stripped appointees of powers over design and construction at Disney World when it made agreements with predecessors, who were supporters.The case is one of two lawsuits stemming from the takeover, which was retaliation for the company’s public opposition to the so-called Don’t Say Gay legislation championed by DeSantis and Republican lawmakers. In the other lawsuit, in federal court in Tallahassee, Disney says DeSantis violated the company’s free speech rights.The governor has touted his yearlong feud with Disney in his run for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, often accusing the entertainment giant of being too “woke.” Disney has accused the govern...

Home Showcase: New in West Newbury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:19 GMT

West Newbury has a lot going for it. Between easy access to water and a boat launch, miles and miles of trails, and a huge investment into new school buildings, it’s become the go-to homestead for growing families.Fitting right in with the town’s history-meets-modernity vibe, 64 Bridge Street is a modern farmhouse with familiar good looks plus all the bells and whistles of a new construction.Custom built in 2023, the 2,800 square-foot home sits on 1.41 acres, almost completely surrounded by mature trees, offering privacy and room to roam. Taking advantage of its idyllic setting, the window-filled open-concept living space is bright and inviting. From your kitchen vantage point, you can prepare a meal, keep an eye on the game, and serve guests in the dining area or out on the oversized deck.Featuring custom cabinetry, an eat-in island, Thermador appliances, and a dreamy pale blue tile backsplash, the kitchen is not just a total showstopper, it’s designed by someone who understands ho...