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On Easter Sunday, Los Angeles witnessed one of its most significant cash thefts ever, with robbers absconding with up to $30 million during a sophisticated burglary at a money storage facility in the San Fernando Valley, as confirmed by an official from the Los Angeles Police Department.
The heist occurred late Sunday at a Sylmar location where cash collected from various businesses in the area is securely stored, disclosed L.A.
Police Department Commander Elaine Morales.
Successfully penetrating both the exterior defenses and the safe of the facility, the criminals managed to execute what law enforcement officials describe as one of the largest cash thefts in the city’s history, outstripping any previous armored-car robberies in terms of the cash amount involved.
The Mystery Deepens
Insiders familiar with the ongoing investigation shared with The Times that the perpetrators entered the Gardaworld premises on Roxford Street by cutting through the roof to access the vault. The method by which they circumvented the alarm system remains a puzzle.
Gardaworld, the Canada-based firm owning the facility, has yet to make any public comments regarding the incident.
The enormity of the theft was only discovered when the facility’s operators unlocked the vault on Monday. Video footage from a news helicopter operated by ABC-7 TV captured an image of a large hole on the building’s side, hastily covered with plywood.
Upon being notified, detectives from the LAPD’s Mission Division station were dispatched to the scene to collect evidence and investigate further.
A law enforcement insider informed The Times about an attempted breach on the building’s side in addition to the roof entry. During the theft, at least one alarm was set off; however, it failed to alert local police forces. This detail was shared by a source not authorized for public disclosure.
Adding to the case’s complexity is the fact that only a limited number of people knew about the substantial amounts of cash stored within the safe, pointing to the possibility of insider knowledge aiding the burglary.
Described as a highly sophisticated operation, the crime indicates the involvement of a seasoned burglary crew with extensive knowledge on infiltrating secure locations without detection.
Scott Andrew Selby, co-author of “Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History,” remarked on the heist’s professional execution, suggesting the likelihood of insider information being used. Selby mentioned that investigators would be on the lookout for similar crimes globally.
Whether the stolen funds can be traced back to the culprits depends on the existence of serial number records or if the stolen cash was already in circulation. Selby noted the increasing difficulty in concealing and laundering marked bills, emphasizing that technological advancements and forensic methods such as touch DNA could easily compromise the identity of the thieves or their associates.
The FBI has joined the LAPD in the investigation, confirmed by an agency spokeswoman on Wednesday night. A federal informant indicated that this could be the largest cash robbery in Los Angeles history, surpassing the previous record set by a $18.9 million theft from the Dunbar Armored facility in 1997, a case that was eventually solved.
This recent heist follows another major robbery nearly two years prior, involving the theft of up to $100 million in jewels from a Brink’s truck.
Historically, burglaries involving roof entries have been rare in Southern California, with notable exceptions over the past decades, including a series of bank thefts in the San Gabriel Valley and a significant wine theft in Venice.
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Gabriel Vilardi notched his first NHL hat trick to help the Winnipeg Jets clinch a playoff spot with a 5-2 win against the visiting Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and an assist, Tyler Toffoli also scored, Josh Morrissey had two assists and Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves for the Jets, who remain four points behind the Colorado Avalanche for second place in the Central Division with six games left for each.
MacKenzie Weegar had a goal and an assist, Daniil Miromanov also scored and Dustin Wolf made 40 saves for the Flames, who have lost seven of eight and six straight on the road.
Calgary’s Martin Pospisil received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct for elbowing Josh Morrissey with 44 seconds left in the second period.
Kings 2, Sharks 1
Akil Thomas scored his first NHL goal to help visiting Los Angeles beat San Jose.
Adrian Kempe also scored and David Rittich made 15 saves for the Kings, who pulled within a point of the Nashville Predators for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Klim Kostin scored for the second straight game and Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves for the Sharks, who have lost 11 of 12.
Predators 6, Blues 3
Filip Forsberg scored twice in a three-point game to pace host Nashville to a victory over St. Louis that snapped a three-game skid and strengthened the Predators’ playoff chances.
Roman Josi, Anthony Beauvillier, Michael McCarron and Mark Jankowski also scored for the Predators, who hold the Western Conference’s first wild-card spot. Goaltender Juuse Saros sparkled with 44 saves, while Gustav Nyquist collected three assists, including the 300th of his career. Ryan O’Reilly added two assists.
Brandon Saad, Jake Neighbours and Jordan Kyrou scored for the Blues, who are clinging to their flickering playoff hopes with only six games remaining. Jordan Binnington stopped 25 shots and Justin Faulk had two assists.
Panthers 6, Senators 0
Matthew Tkachuk scored a goal and added two assists, Sergei Bobrovsky made 30 saves and visiting Florida blanked Ottawa.
The shutout was the fifth of the season for Bobrovsky, who also shut out the Senators 5-0 on Nov. 27. Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Nick Cousins each logged a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who won for just the third time in 11 outings (3-7-1). Anton Lundell and Dmitry Kulikov also found the back of the net for Florida, while Aleksander Barkov and Eetu Luostarinen had two helpers apiece. Florida has won all three meetings against Ottawa this season, outscoring the Senators 14-2.
Senators starting goaltender Joonas Korpisalo stopped 13 of the 17 shots he faced before being replaced by Anton Forsberg in the second period. Forsberg yielded two goals on 14 shots as Ottawa lost its second game in a row.
Bruins 4, Hurricanes 1
Brad Marchand’s 400th career NHL goal began a first-period offensive onslaught from Boston en route to a big win over Carolina in Raleigh, N.C.
Boston scored its first three goals in the first 10:46 and wound up winning its third straight game. David Pastrnak and Danton Heinen also scored in the opening stanza and added an assist each while Hampus Lindholm sealed the win with a late empty-netter. Pavel Zacha dished out two assists, and Jeremy Swayman earned his third straight win, making 28 saves.
Jake Guentzel scored the lone goal and Frederik Andersen made 24 stops for Carolina, which is 11-3-1 in its past 15 games.
Penguins 4, Capitals 1
Visiting Pittsburgh scored twice in the first period and held on to beat Washington.
Lars Eller had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who extended their point streak to seven games (5-0-2). Ryan Shea, Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Michael Bunting also scored, and Reilly Smith and Kris Letang added two assists apiece.
Pittsburgh goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 30 shots. Alex Ovechkin scored and Charlie Lindgren made 20 saves for the Capitals, who have lost four straight (0-3-1).
Islanders 4, Blue Jackets 2
Noah Dobson scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period for visiting New York, which moved into an Eastern Conference wild-card spot by beating Columbus.
Pierre Engvall and Bo Horvat scored in the first period and Kyle Palmieri added an empty-netter with 38 seconds left for the Islanders, who have won three straight games to move into a playoff position.
Kirill Marchenko had a goal and an assist and Dmitri Voronkov also scored for the Blue Jackets, who had their two-game winning streak snapped. Greaves made 24 saves in relief of Danil Tarasov, who stopped 13 of 15 shots before exiting with an upper-body injury late in the first period.
Lightning 7, Canadiens 4
Steven Stamkos scored two goals and had an assist and Nikita Kucherov added a goal and two assists to lead visiting Tampa Bay over Montreal.
Nicholas Paul also scored twice, Michael Eyssimont had a goal and an assist and Brandon Hagel added another goal for the Lightning, who moved to within two points of third-place Toronto in the Atlantic Division. Anthony Cirelli and Brayden Point each had two assists for Tampa Bay, which improved to 10-1-1 over its past 12 games.
Joel Armia scored twice, Juraj Slafkovsky had a goal and an assist and Cole Caufield also scored for the Canadiens. Alex Newhook and Brendan Gallagher each added two assists and Cayden Primeau finished with 28 saves.
Avalanche 5, Wild 2
Jonathan Drouin scored two goals and dished one assist, and Colorado pulled away to beat Minnesota in St. Paul, Minn.
Nathan MacKinnon also posted a three-point night with one goal and two assists for the Avalanche. Artturi Lehkonen and Mikko Rantanen added one goal apiece.
Vinni Lettieri and Declan Chisholm each scored one goal for the Wild.
MINNEAPOLIS— Truck driver Mike Faricy has nearly seen it all, but then the bosses at Murphy Logistics called him in and asked him to start driving an electric semi as part of a pilot project.
It’s made by Volvo and gets up to 275 miles on a single charge. Six batteries help run the semi.
“We definitely want to make sure these trucks will be a more viable solution for traditional freight,” Jian Li said.
They’re testing the trucks in Minnesota and Texas to improve the technology. They wanted to see how the vehicles would run in the extreme heat and cold.
Li says they’ve delivered 1,000 of the semis in North America since their launch in 2020.
If this tech takes off, there’s a lot to gain.
An EPA report found medium and heavy-duty vehicles emitted more than 455 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2019. That’s about one-fourth of the emissions from the entire U.S. transportation sector, our country’s largest greenhouse gas contributor.
The EPA says traditional trucks also release other air toxins that contribute to “poor air quality and health across the country, especially in overburdened and underserved communities.”
Faricy thinks the transition is inevitable.
“It’s just part of our future if we can learn to make them in a cost-effective way that’s feasible for driving,” Faricy said.
Just like with passenger EVs, one of the bug challenges is figuring out the charging infrastructure.
WCCO
“Fleet companies like Murphy here really need to have certainty with regards to whether they can make it to their destination,” said Will Northrop, a University of Minnesota mechanical engineering professor.
Right now, Murphy has a powerful in-house charger and another in Waseca to run its routes.
Northrup and his team are developing intelligent energy management software. It’ll help companies plan efficient routes and save energy so trucks can go further.
“Our algorithms could predict how much they need to get so they can complete the routes so they don’t need to spend too much time charging,” Northrup said.
A big X factor with EV freight is how the weight impacts a truck’s range. That means drivers like Faricy don’t know exactly how far they can take the trucks on a daily basis.
Faricy tells WCCO he drove 178 miles making three trips to Shakopee the other day. His truck’s range is supposed to be up to 275 miles, but he decided not to make a fourth trip on the same charge.
He says they don’t baby the truck and haul all the usual stuff like heavy paper rolls and sugar, but they do stick to the metro for now. Though Faricy hopes we can figure out this transition down the road.
“It’s the future, I guess, just gotta work out the kinks,” he said.
Just this week, the Minnesota Department of Transportation joined other Midwestern states in requesting $40 million from the EPA for an electric truck charging network.
Erin is back home in the Twin Cities after stops in South Korea and Omaha. The Jefferson High School grad (Go Jags!) is excited to get back to storytelling in the community that raised her.
Open Streets events in Minneapolis were already set to scale back this summer, with the city pitching only five events, down from eight last year — but now it’s not clear there will be even that many.
Instead, Minneapolis posted a request for proposals for vendors to run one or two Open Streets events out of five, with the city reimbursing up to $50,000 in expenses and providing services. As of Thursday, according to a city spokesperson, there were organizers locked in for Open Streets events on Nicollet, West Broadway and Lyndale avenues.,
The City Council is set to vote on those contracts, but two proposed events — for Franklin Avenue and Northeast’s Central Avenue — did not have organizers as of Thursday. City spokesperson Greta Bergstrom said no one bid for the Northeast event, and that an organization bid for Franklin, but then pulled out.
Our Streets Executive Director Jose Zayas Cabán said his group applied and was awarded the Franklin event. But then they asked for more money for planning efforts than was in the contract. The city said no, Zayas Cabán said, so Our Streets did not take the contract.
Bergstrom said Minneapolis will put out a new request for proposals in hopes of reviving the Open Streets events on Franklin and Central avenues.
The city did not propose Open Streets for Cedar-Riverside, East Lake Street or Glenwood, where Our Streets held events last summer.
Zayas Cabán said his group wonders if there’s enough time for organizers to set up Open Streets events at all.
“They are really, really behind, based on our experience,” he said.
Last year, OurStreets announced the schedule for its events in February, with the first Open Streets held in June.
This year, Bergstrom said, the events will be in August and September: Lyndale on Aug. 24, West Broadway on Sept. 21, and Nicollet on Sept. 28, pending the council’s approval.
The West Broadway event will be put on by the West Broadway Business Coalition, which has partnered with Our Streets in recent years.
The coalition’s executive director, Kristel Porter, said it’s going to be tough to pull off a big event with relatively little time. Her group will need to recruit volunteers and vendors and pull in enough sponsors to cover what she anticipates will be more than $100,000 in costs.
“It’s going to take a long time and that’s a problem,” she said. And because the coalition has experience co-hosting Open Streets events, Porter said it’s going to be easier for her group than for others new to holding big events.
“I don’t know how it’s going to work for others, to be honest,” she said.
But Porter is hopeful. The neighborhood groups that will now be responsible for Open Streets could find ways to partner with smaller groups in their areas, and deepen local partnerships.
“This is actually an opportunity for community to come together and make something better than it was before.”
Staff writer Dave Orrick contributed to this story.
Minneapolis has kicked off a $30 million renovation project designed to transform a half-mile stretch of 1st Avenue N. into a pedestrian priority corridor from Washington Avenue and 8th Street N.
The goal is to enhance safety, comfort and accessibility for downtown residents and visitors, while creating a state-of-the-art entertainment and nightlife destination, city officials said.
The project envisions wider and accessible sidewalks, enhanced lighting, green spaces with trees and plantings, as well as green stormwater infrastructure. Other features include new curbs and gutters, utilities, traffic signals and new pavement markings and signage.
“Last time First Avenue N. was reconstructed was in 1994, so it is kind of reaching the end of its design and useful life,” said Jasna Hadžić-Stanek,a city transportation planner. “So everything is going to get upgraded — from the underground utilities all the way to the above ground.”
Revitalizing the popular corridor is part of a citywide effort to breathe life into urban neighborhoods, with a focus on creating safe and walkable environments that prioritize accessibility and community vibrancy. In recent years, Minneapolis has undertaken similar high-profile corridor reconstructions, such as the Nicollet Mall and Hennepin Avenue redevelopments.
The city labels the cramped corridor in the iconic Warehouse Historic District as a high-injury street. Officials said the outdated design is inadequate to safely and efficiently handle the large crowds attending sporting events, live music events and hospitality venues, and the various modes of transportation moving through the corridor.
“We have done multiple downtown projects,” project manager Menbere Wodajo said. “There will be some inconvenience, but we will be transparent and communicate with the people.”
The city recently held an open house, the first of four phases of public engagement to gather feedback and identify specific improvements needed for First Avenue N. The majority of residents in the blocks surrounding the project area are low-income, people of color and renters, according to the city.
Hadžić-Stanek said people want to see a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly 1st Avenue N. that attracts diverse visitors to fill vacant downtown buildings — and creates a sense of identity and connectivity with neighboring districts such as the bustling North Loop.
The Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association’s Land Use Committee saw the city’s reconstruction project plans for the first time at its meeting Tuesday. Association members said the changes are needed to improve safety for corridor users. They expressed the need for cohesive efforts among diverse downtown revitalization groups to boost occupancy rates and resolve parking challenges.
“This is badly needed, and certainly a welcome initiative to see this going on,” member Laurie Rice said. “There’ll be a lot of interest in this, both from the perspective of all of us that walk and drive through that area, as well as people in [the association], who are residents and who live nearby.”
City planners said they will bring a concept plan to the City Council and mayor for approval at the end of 2025. The following phase would be design and engineering, with construction slated to start in 2028.
Among the project’s local, regional and federal funding is a $2 million federal grant for pedestrian improvements.
The Philadelphia Eagles re-signed free agent cornerback Avonte Maddox to a one-year contract on Thursday.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed for Maddox, who was cut by the Eagles at the start of the new league year.
Maddox, 28, missed 13 games last season due to a pectoral injury he sustained in Philadelphia’s 34-28 victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sept. 14. He finished with 12 tackles and a forced fumble in four games (two starts).
Maddox has recorded 250 tackles, eight forced fumbles and four interceptions in 64 games (38 starts) since being selected by the Eagles in the fourth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
HUDSON, Wis. — Day four of Nicolae Miu’s trial for the deadly stabbing on the Apple River in Wisconsin resumes Thursday morning. Miu, of Prior Lake, Minnesota, is accused of killing 17-year-old Isaac Schuman and injuring four others on July 30, 2022.
The prosecution aims to prove that Miu, 54, was the aggressor. The defense is arguing Miu stabbed the five people in self-defense.
CONTENT WARNING: This post contains an image and descriptions of the stabbing that some may find disturbing.
Janell Duxbury testifies
Thursday’s testimony began with Janell Duxbury, who said she saw Miu stab one of her friends, Ryhley Mattison, on the river.
Janell Duxbury
WCCO
“I thought it was a little punch towards her ribs and until he had removed his hand, I saw the knife come out of my friend’s side,” Duxbury said.
Duxbury says she didn’t pay too much attention to Miu after that because she was preoccupied with helping her friend. She said she also helped others drag A.J. Martin, who had been disemboweled in the stabbings, to the riverbank.
Duxbury was part of the Carlson group, which was one of three groups of people involved in the stabbings.
Duxbury said that in the moments before the stabbings, Miu didn’t look aggressive, but he looked “very expressionless” and “hollow.”
“Almost like a demonic look in his face,” she said. “I don’t know how else to describe it other than his eyes did not look human — very daunting.”
Both Mattison and Martin testified on Wednesday.
Andrea Baldazo testifies
The second witness of the day was Andrea Baldazos. She was on the river that day with her husband, her three teenage children, a group of friends and her husband’s cousin.
Baldazo, a nurse who has worked in an emergency room, said her group was tubing down the river when her husband pointed out the commotion on the river. When she looked, she saw a person lying down on the river’s edge and another person further down.
“People were, what I thought was laughing, turned into screaming, yelling,” she said.
At that point, she said she knew someone was hurt so she got out of her tube and rushed to Schuman, who was lying on his back on the riverbank.
“He was not breathing, so I started chest compressions right away and continued that for a long time,” she said.
Andrea Baldazo
WCCO
Baldazo said at first she thought Schuman might have been impaled by the set of roots and branches that were hanging down just prior to his location on the riverbank, but then noticed a “slash mark” on his left upper chest.
“It felt like forever that we were doing compressions,” she said.
Meanwhile, Baldazo said she kept asking why the ambulance hadn’t arrived yet. At one point, when she was relieved by another person doing compressions, she checked on the others who were stabbed but saw that they were “up and speaking and conscious,” so she went back to Schuman.
Baldazo stayed with Schuman until the ambulance arrived.
911 recordings
Terry Andersen, emergency communications manager for St. Croix County in Wisconsin, took the stand as the third witness on Thursday.
Andersen said the first 911 call for the stabbings came in at 3:47 p.m. on July 30. Gabriella Khazraeinazmpour, who testified Wednesday, was the first of many to call 911.
Terry Andersen
WCCO
Recordings of the 911 calls were played in court. In one recording, a person can be heard saying “somebody pulled a knife on our friend.” Much of the audio is tough to decipher, due to the commotion in the background.
Andersen said, due to the amount of 911 calls coming in, dispatchers had to work to get as much information as they could from each caller and move on to the next.
There were 11 separate 911 calls concerning the stabbing.
John Ferrell testifies
John Ferrell, a sergeant with the Somerset Police Department and licensed emergency medical responder, took to the stand as the fourth witness on Thursday.
Ferrell said he responded to the scene and when he arrived, he observed multiple stabbing victims. He had his body camera activated.
Footage of the body cam was shown in court, beginning with Ferrell driving to the scene. It showed that he arrived at 3:54 p.m., which was seven minutes after the first 911 call.
John Ferrell
WCCO
In the footage, people are seen walking up the riverbank, some crying and others yelling that people have been stabbed.
Ferrell said he assisted in carrying Mattison up the riverbank. He then grabbed his medical equipment from his squad car and provided it to the officers treating Mattison and another stabbing victim. At that point, Ferrell said he went back to the river to look for more victims.
Only audio can be heard for much of the body camera footage, since the court camera was not trained on the video.
One person can be heard saying that one of the victims “is probably already dead” and that the suspect still has the knife and was walking up the river.
After walking up the river, Ferrell said he began assisting with CPR on Schuman. Later, a backboard was placed on inner tubes and they moved Schuman down the river to get him to an ambulance.
Day 3 recap
On Wednesday, a few of those hurt in the stabbing took the stand, including Martin, who suffered the most serious injuries of the four survivors. Martin said when he approached the chaos on the river, he sought to stop the altercation, citing his experience breaking up fights while working at elementary schools.
He said he was trying to keep Miu down in the water before Miu reached up and “got me with the knife.” Martin showed the court the significant scar on his abdomen.
“The most apparent thing obviously was that my stomach was open and my intestines were in my hands,” Martin said.
A.J. Martin
WCCO
Martin told Anderson he remembered waking up in the hospital with a breathing tube installed and his parents looking at him. He said he spent 27 days in hospital, losing 50 pounds during his stay.
Miu’s ex-wife, Sondra, also testified on Wednesday. She testified that she was on the water that day with her then-husband and friends. She said that Miu went out to look for a missing cell phone. She looked up from her tube and “all of a sudden I saw him on his hands and knees in the water and somebody was hitting him,” she said.
Since the stabbing, she testified that Nicolae Miu had expressed frustration towards her for not hearing his calls for help. Sandi Miu said she wears hearing aids, and wasn’t wearing them on the water that day. The water was loud and she couldn’t hear him.
She said she’d seen him use his utility knife back at home. Nicolae Miu also wasn’t a frequent drinker, and she wasn’t concerned about his intoxication level on the day of the stabbing.
A second video of the stabbing was also introduced when Larrion Davis, 24, took the stand. He was on the river that day with his friends. He was taking a video of himself and managed to capture some moments of the stabbing.
The video itself, he said, was blurry because it was a Snapchat video, and he transferred it from his iPhone to a police officer’s Android. His phone was damaged by the water that day, and was unable to retrieve the entirety of the video.
“I saw him stab the light-skinned dude before and slice his whole stomach open, and you could see him like push the next person in that video, but it’s real blurry, that’s pretty much it,” he said.
After the stabbing, Davis said his group helped a girl who was stabbed, and another man who was stabbed in his arm.
The defense has been keen to point out that a number of the victims who were tubing and were involved in the incident were intoxicated and some were also high on marijuana, which is going to be an important point for the jury to consider in the credibility of the witnesses and their ability to recall accurate facts.
The prosecution is expected to call to the stand 44 witnesses over the course of the trial.
WCCO will have live coverage throughout the trial which you can watch in the video player above, via CBS News Minnesota, Pluto TV or the CBS News app on your phone or connected TV.
Cole Premo is a web producer at WCCO.com. For more than a decade, he’s been covering breaking news and weather, daily topics, stories from the Native community and more in Minnesota.
A series of violent storms caused tornadoes and damaging weather conditions, stretching from the South to the Ohio Valley, resulting in at least three fatalities and numerous injuries.
In Pennsylvania, two individuals lost their lives due to falling trees amid the storms on Wednesday, as per a report by CNN affiliate WPVI. A tree falling on their vehicles while they were driving resulted in the death of an 82-year-old woman in Collegeville and a 70-year-old man in Aston Township, officials informed WPVI.
Kentucky witnessed the death of at least one person due to the harsh storms on Tuesday, as announced by Governor Andy Beshear. The victim died in a vehicle crash in Campbell County amid severe weather conditions. Governor Beshear declared a state of emergency statewide on Tuesday following significant storm damage, especially in the Lexington area, although no other deaths or serious injuries were reported in the state.
Injuries in Indiana, State of Emergency in West Virginia
The storms also injured at least 10 individuals in Jeffersonville, Indiana, located just north of Louisville, according to the town’s mayor speaking to CNN affiliate WLKY.
West Virginia’s Governor, Jim Justice, declared a state of emergency Tuesday for multiple counties, including Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, and Nicholas, due to the storms causing “flooding, downed trees, power outages, and road blockages”. Kevin Walker, the director of Fayette County, West Virginia’s Office of Emergency Management, reported that at least 13 homes suffered damage and some residents were injured, though the injuries were not life-threatening.
Tornadoes and Damages Across Multiple States
Between Tuesday and Wednesday morning, 16 tornadoes were reported across Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia, along with numerous reports of damaging winds, some reaching over 100 mph in Kentucky.
In Georgia, a tornado significantly damaged Conyers, southeast of Atlanta, early Wednesday morning. The storm caused a tree to fall on a teen’s car, who was then rescued and hospitalized. The National Weather Service office in Peachtree City classified the tornado as EF2, with a path length of approximately 9.5 miles and a width of 800 yards, featuring winds up to 115 mph.
An elementary school in Ohio was severely damaged by a storm, with Fairland West Elementary in Proctorville facing destruction. Fortunately, students were on spring break at the time. Over in West Virginia, more than 53,000 utility customers were left without power after strong winds swept through the state.
In Tennessee, a funeral home and several homes suffered damage in Sunbright due to the storm system, which included two tornadoes on Tuesday. A tornado in Sunbright was rated EF1 by the National Weather Service after a damage assessment.
Oklahoma experienced structural damage in Barnsdall from four tornadoes on Monday. Homes, garages, and roofs suffered damage, according to Barnsdall Police. Missouri also saw three tornadoes on Monday, as reported by the Storm Prediction Center.
In southern Indiana, high winds or a possible tornado caused several vehicles to flip over on Interstate 265, resulting in minor injuries, according to Indiana State Police in Sellersburg.
The storm system continues to pose a threat of tornadoes, strong winds, and large hail across the Southeast and East Coast, from Florida to the mid-Atlantic, affecting over 30 million people.
A must see film at the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival is No One Asked You, a documentary by Ruth Leitman, which highlights the efforts of Abortion Access Front and Lizz Winstead to support abortion clinic staff across the U.S. We talked to Leitman about the inspiration for the documentary and how everyone can play a part in supporting abortion rights.
Director Leitman and Winstead will both be at the film’s two showings and there’s also a fundraiser party with a silent auction, karaoke and DJ Tricky Miki spinning classic funk and disco. Get your tickets here.
Q: What inspired you to contact the Abortion Access Front in 2016, which led to the brilliant documentary No One Asked You?
Ruth LeitmanA: Thank you for calling the film brilliant. I’m blushing, but your readers can’t see that in print. I think our subjects are brilliant, and even more important is that combination with a deep empathy and kind heart. I had met Lizz at Netroots Nation in 2012 during her Lizz Free or Die book tour while I was there screening my immigration documentary Tony & Janina’s American Wedding.
Then cut to 4 years later when Trump was elected. I was devastated and knew that things around many issues were about to get much worse, but especially abortion access. The next day I was watching MSNBC and of course there was Lizz as I so often saw her having to argue down the generalists who were naysaying that Trump would try to overturn Roe. I had the idea in that moment that this was the way I would maintain my sanity – making a film following Lizz and AAF through their work around abortion access using comedy and outrage to destigmatize abortion and provide support to independent clinics across the U.S. Fortunately for me and our team, Abortion Access Front was planning the Vagical Mystery Tour, a 16 city USO meets Habitat for Humanity tour across the US that summer.
Q: What do you hope viewers will take away from watching No One Asked You?
A: Too many folks have sat this one out, thought this would never happen. But it’s been clear for a while our democracy is being dismantled in front of our eyes and in this case that has never been clearer than in the erosion of bodily autonomy. So, what we want folks to take away is that it will take all of us to turn the tide. There’s a crisis that affects all of us and it’s going to take everyone doing whatever they can to commit to changing this erosion. In watching the film, Lizz and AAF show folks what they can do to get involved.
Q: I think one theme from your documentary that every person can do something is extremely important in the constant fight for abortion access. How do you envision the film being used throughout the country to inspire action?
A: Thanks, the film shows measurable things large and small that each person can do as they get involved in the abortion access activism fight. It was important to me to show folks watching that they can do something. Folks want to do something especially now, but to many, it just all seems impossible. We want folks to know that they are part of the solution! We are living at a time where we need all hands on deck in activism around this issue. We are also living in a time where the film industry and distribution is more fractured than ever. Companies base decisions on corporate interpretations of algorithms rather that audience enthusiasm. More times than not, they miss the mark. People are really loving and responding to the film. They are ready for it and empowered by it. We know that Americans support abortion. And we know there’s activism fatigue in this country. The film we have made and the approach we are taking in the impact engagement and distribution will be used galvanize folks around the issue of bodily autonomy. We are committed to getting this film out there where it is needed most and following the by any means necessary approach that No One Asked You was created with and in the spirit of the subjects of our film.
Q: How do you see the role of storytelling, particularly through film, in influencing public opinion and policy regarding reproductive rights?
A: I love being a documentary filmmaker. I think we have a critical role in the media landscape, that is grossly under resourced. We follow stories for long periods of time often without compensation. These are the stories we cannot leave on the table waiting for a film gatekeeper’s green light. That wasn’t going to happen. Especially since the film industry didn’t even think it was possible that Roe would fall.
In regard to changing public opinion, I’m not sure that we need to. The vast majority of Americans are pro-choice. But many of them don’t understand that they are needed to help restore access through being outspoken and active. But we also have many folks in this country who are pro-choice without the understanding that to fully be pro-choice, one must also be pro-abortion. When screening this film for many who considered themselves the former, we have come far in changing hearts and minds to say the word abortion, because that’s the word and procedure that allows women and people with a uterus to make their own life decisions. Let’s take away the stigma and call it what it is without apology.
I also think it’s important for folks to see themselves in the people represented in the film in order to engage. We are seeing this happen at each screening of the film, folks who are educated and thought they were up on all the news. But the news failed to report on abortion access for decades and in large part this is why we are where we are in this moment. The media is complicit in where we are now. This is an issue that is vast. It is not a singular story. It is nuanced. There are many abortion stories to tell. Many of the audience members see themselves or someone they know in these stories. But also, abortion stories are unique to each person and each pregnancy. Doc filmmakers have had to step in to tell these stories because the media was not covering them unless they were extreme.
Q: Will we see you at the MSPFF? Will you speak?
A: Lizz and I will be at both screenings for a Q&A – April 20 at 6pm & April 21 at 2pm at The Main Cinema. Lizz is also hosting a big party as a fundraiser for Abortion Access Front after the April 20 screening. People who buy tickets to either screening can purchase tickets to the party as well. We’ll have some special guests and a special announcement for new ways that folks can help us support the film – our rad and ambitious impact campaign, volunteer opportunities and ways to help Abortion Access Front. We are here to make a difference and we have the film about the people and the new approach to activism that can do just that!
Q: How may we follow your news as a documentary filmmaker?
With just seven games remaining in the regular season, the Houston Rockets have to act fast if they want to land in the play-in tournament.
Houston is three games back of the final play-in spot in the Western Conference, but it will have a great chance to make up some ground Thursday when hostingthe Golden State Warriors.
Just last month, it looked like the Rockets (38-37) were destined for the postseason when they rattled off 11 straight wins from March 8-29 to pull within one game of Golden State for the final play-in spot.
But Houston has since slipped, dropping back-to-back games against the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves to fall further out of the playoff picture.
“I wouldn’t say any more (important) than these last few games,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said of Thursday’s matchup. “It’s the team in front of us, but these games (against Dallas and Minnesota) were just as important honestly, in my opinion.
“To get Dallas, to get Minnesota, continue to put pressure on the person in front of you, then it can really mean something.”
Jalen Green paced Houston with 26 points in Tuesday’s 113-106 loss to the Timberwolves. Fred VanVleet finished with 22 points and Jabari Smith Jr. added 18 to go along with eight rebounds.
As the Rockets struggle to stay afloat, things have been looking up for the Warriors (41-34).
Golden State is riding a five-game winning streak, most recently edging the Mavericks 104-100 on Tuesday. Andrew Wiggins had 23 points as one of six scorers in double figures for the Warriors, who also received 14 points apiece from Klay Thompson and Chris Paul.
Defense has been the key to Golden State’s recent success, with the Warriors holding opponents to 100 points or fewer in four of the five victories.
“It’s funny, all season, we sort of just, we didn’t know where to be. Just, sometimes guys not there,” Paul said. “I think we’re starting to understand that defense is what we’ve got to be able to hang our hat on.
“You know the offense, we got some amazing shooters and scorers and whatnot, but if we defend, that opens everything else up.”
Even with the tight play-in race, Paul isn’t worried about the standings.
“Once upon a time probably,” Paul said of when he would keep up to date with other teams’ records. “But now I just try to worry about what we are doing. That’s the only thing you can control. Ain’t nothing going to happen in the standings unless you win.”
If Houston can find a way to reach the play-in tournament, it will have a chance to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2020. The Rockets had reached the postseason eight years in a row prior to their current drought.
Thursday marks the finale of the three-game season series between the teams. Golden State won at Houston 106-95 on Oct. 29 before prevailing in San Francisco 121-116 on Nov. 20.
MINNEAPOLIS — An incredible blend of acting, artwork and engineering is bringing the stage to life at a Minneapolis theater.
Disney’s “The Lion King” is amid a five-week stint at the Orpheum Theatre. The story is iconic, but the performance has become legendary. WCCO got an exclusive backstage look to see how the magic happens.
For more than 25 years, “The Lion King” has set a standard for pushing the limits of the audience’s imagination as actors and their puppets turn into life-like characters made famous from the film.
It’s a visual spectacle that Michael Reilly proudly helps orchestrate as the show’s puppet supervisor for more than two decades.
In the basement of the Orpheum, he gave us a tour of his workspace. Several puppets, many of them masks and headpieces, were displayed. Simba’s mask was done in a Roman style he said, with the jowl cut out where it meets the actor’s head, and took 120 hours to make. Mufasa’s mask is much larger and sits fully stop the actor’s head in a Grecian style. It took 50 hours to make. Both have markings and designs inspired by the Maasai people of Africa.
“I put so much work and love and patience into the puppets, they feel like they’re real,” said Reilly.
The captivated audience would agree. The actors must juggle lines and animal-like movements, then project them through their puppets.
“You don’t want to treat the puppet-like it’s a hat. So, even if it’s just a mask you’re wearing on your head, you really have to embody that,” said Reilly.
There’s a team of six people that not only create the puppets but work with the actors on how to embody them. A dance supervisor helps teach the movements for each puppet, some of which completely drape the actors like a costume. Other directors ensure the actors know where to stand on stage and how to make their puppet properly interact with other puppets, like making eye contact.
The movements of the puppet worn by Scar have kept fans guessing as to how it works. The mask starts above the actor’s head, then lunges down in front of his face for dramatic effect, hiding the actor and allowing the villainous lion’s face to steal the scene.
“I hear bungee system. I hear gravity. I hear some kind of lock that releases, but it’s none of those things,” said Reilly. The mask is controlled by a motor. A cable runs to a switch that the actor can hide in his hand. A quick flip of his thumb across the switch and the mask darts down to scowl at other characters on stage.
If you’re thinking their necks must be sore, the masks and headpieces are made of carbon fiber. Scar’s mask weighs only nine ounces.
While some puppets need a motor, others require good old-fashioned handiwork, like Mufasa’s ornery sidekick Zazu, a red-billed hornbill. The actor must control the bird with both hands. One hand holds a trigger mechanism that controls Zazu’s eyelids and beak, the other hand keeps the bird level and flaps the wings.
There’s 230 puppets in the show, all with intricate and highly detailed designs that take dozens of hours to create.
They also aren’t immune from the occasional snap, break, and tear. That means Reilly and his crew must be repair-ready with glue, zip ties and tape. That’s on top of drawers upon drawers on tools.
“We’re on radio, so anything that happens we run to where the puppet is and figure out what’s wrong with it, do that triage and then fix it, all before that next scene. So, there’s some pressure there,” he said.
The payoff is worth the pressure to ensure the show must go on.
The puppets’ organic look, made to appear like wood and marble, while honoring African cultures are one of a kind. Much like the experience on stage wowing audiences for years to come.
“I just hope that we stand the test of time. I hope that this show is as magnificent as it was (over) 25 years ago when it was here,” he said.
The Lion King’s run at the Orpheum goes until April 28.
There are shows Tuesday through Sunday with two performances on each weekend day.
Tickets start around $39 dollars. To buy tickets, click here.
Jeff Wagner joined the WCCO-TV team in November 2016 as a general assignment reporter, and now anchors WCCO’s Saturday evening newscasts. Although he’s new to Minnesota, he’s called the Midwest home his entire life.
On a hunch, Marion Collins took a giant tape measure last December and calculated the distance between light-rail and freight-rail tracks installed near her Minneapolis home for the Southwest light-rail line. Her hunch proved correct — and it turned into the latest problem dogging construction of the $2.9 billion transit project.
Collins knew the distance between the center of one set of tracks to the middle of the other was designed to be 25 feet to separate light-rail and freight trains along a narrow stretch of the route. But her measurement found the distance was nearly 11 inches short of the mark.
That means the 200 light-rail trains traveling through the Kenilworth corridor every day will be nearly a foot closer to nearby freight trains, which often carry hazardous materials such as ethanol. The project, about 80% complete, is slated to begin service in 2027.
“When there’s a collision, our neighborhood will become a big black hole,” Collins said in a recent interview. Other neighbors, donning tape measures and a healthy sense of skepticism, came up with similar measurements as well.
Video (00:37) Minneapolis resident Marion Collins measures the distance between freight and light rail tracks in the Kenilworth corridor.
In an interview with the Star Tribune, Southwest Project Director Jim Alexander said, “we have to figure out what happened and see what we can do about it.” He told members of the Metropolitan Council last month, after KSTP first reported the problem, that the fix could happen later this spring or early summer and it won’t affect the project’s overall price tag.
Alexander said his staff took their own measurements near the W. 21st Street station and found the tracks are seven inches short of 25 feet. Either way, the tracks were installed too close to one another.
The co-location of light-rail and freight trains in the narrow corridor of Minneapolis has long been a challenge for the 14.5-mile extension of the Green Line, which will link downtown Minneapolis with Eden Prairie. An early design of the route called for freight trains, operated by Twin Cities & Western Railroad (TC&W), to be routed through St. Louis Park, leaving the Kenilworth corridor with just light-rail trains, and a bike and pedestrian path.
But St. Louis Park residents fended off the proposed alignment a decade ago, leaving transit planners to figure out how to squeeze freight, light rail and the bike and pedestrian path in Minneapolis. This led to a tunnel being added on part of the route for light-rail trains, a complex option that caused the project’s budget to more than double since 2011, making it the most-expensive public works project in Minnesota history.
Alexander said about 100 feet of track, which was installed around a year ago, is affected. The segment of the project in Minneapolis, he added, hasn’t been formally turned over by the contractor to the Met Council, which is overseeing Southwest’s construction. When that happens, then the project’s engineers check to see if it was built to specification.
“We’re talking to our engineer to see what happened to see what we can do about it,” Alexander said. “I don’t consider this a big issue, but we have to take a look at it and see what we can do to fix it.”
The project’s general contractor, Lunda/C.S. McCrossan Joint Venture (LMJV), declined to comment on the track issue.
The Southwest project is currently being investigated by the state’s Office of the Legislative Auditor in an attempt to figure out what went wrong with its ballooning budget and timeline. One of the reports issued by the auditor last year took the Met Council to task failing to enforce the $799 million construction contract, but LMJV later criticized the state auditor for lacking the necessary expertise to review such a complicated project.
The Federal Transit Administration, which regulates light rail and is paying nearly $1 billion to build Southwest, referred questions to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). A spokesman for the FRA said there is no “specific guidance” on track spacing, crash walls or barriers in this kind of scenario.
Alexander said anything less than 25 feet between freight and light-rail tracks would require a crash wall, according to the project’s design. The project’s design calls for several crash walls, including one just west of Target Field that was built at the behest of rail giant BNSF Railway to separate its trains from Southwest’s. The mile-long wall cost $93 million.
Mark Wegner, CEO of TC&W Railroad, said the discovery about the track spacing “isn’t a concern, they can rectify it.” If tracks were closer than 25 feet, it would make it more difficult and expensive for maintenance workers to do their job safely, he said.
“I would characterize this as a potential annoyance,” Wegner said. “It’s not a safety concern.”
Alexander said the current design calls for “intrusion protection” — bolsters separating freight and light-rail trains along this segment that send a signal to a rail control center and alerting train operators if there’s a problem.
Even at 25 feet, Collins says it’s too close for comfort. “I really don’t feel they’re invested in safety,” she said of the Met Council.
The Southwest project has been controversial in Minneapolis for more than a decade, and in 2014, neighbors sued to stop the line from being built, saying it violated federal environmental laws. The suit was unsuccessful, but bitter feelings continue to fester.
Not far from the track blunder, residents of the Cedar Isles Condominiums are locked in mediation with the Met Council over cracks in the building and flooding in its parking garage that occurred during construction of the nearby Kenilworth tunnel.
When asked why it took residents donning a measuring tape to discover the latest problem, Alexander said “I know this has caused another ripple with the neighbors, but we still feel very highly about this project, it will be a transformational line for the region.”
Collins says she’s glad she acted on her hunch: “I don’t trust them, that’s why I measured.”
A 59-year-old Minneapolis man set off a bomb at a hair salon in the city in 2022 and returned a year later to lob a brick through its window, according to federal charges unsealed this week.
The FBI arrested Michael Allen Francisco on charges of using an explosive to “maliciously damage or destroy” a business after a multi-year investigation that included forensic analysis and an eventual alleged admission during a search of the man’s home March 28.
According to a sworn affidavit from a special agent assigned to the FBI’s joint terrorism task force, video footage from a Ring device showed a man allegedly identified as Francisco placing an explosive device on the window of the Studio 411 salon, 411 Cedar Lake Road S., and fleeing in a vehicle before it detonated at about 2:49 a.m. on Nov. 20, 2022.
Francisco was also identified in video footage recorded a year later in which he threw a landscaping brick through a window at the salon around 1:25 a.m. on Nov. 6, 2023.
Last week, on March 28, the FBI and Minneapolis police searched Francisco’s home and seized a black jacket suspected to be worn by Francisco during the rock-throwing incident. Agents also found multiple explosive components included suspected “energetic powders and fuses,” a .32 caliber Iver Johnson Cade revolver with ammunition, and suspected methamphetamine. Francisco has a prior federal bank robbery conviction from 2001 for which he was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in federal prison, thus making him prohibited from possessing a firearm.
In interviews with law enforcement during the search, Francisco later confessed both verbally and in writing to lighting the fuse on the explosive device that damaged Studio 411 and throwing the landscaping brick at the salon’s window a year later.
Francisco made a brief initial appearance in federal court in Minneapolis, in which he was ordered temporarily detained pending a detention and preliminary hearing next week. Francisco does not yet have an attorney assigned to represent him.
Analysts from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) collected a mixture of DNA found on the rock tossed through the salon window last year and reported in January that Francisco could not be ruled out as a possible contributor.
The FBI reviewed police records and found that Francisco was linked to another case of possessing an explosive device: In March 2023, Minneapolis police found Francisco trespassing near an abandoned lumber yard in northeast Minneapolis. He left the area on foot but officers noticed a Ford F-150 pickup truck nearby running, unlocked and abandoned. Before towing the truck, they found an explosive device inside the center console area that the department’s bomb squad recovered and inventoried.
According to the complaint, fragments of the device found at Studio 411 included paper or cardboard material with a red, white and blue color pattern that matched the device found in the truck.
The Boston Celtics can secure the No. 1 overall seed and home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs by beating the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.
The Celtics (59-16), who already have clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, wrapped up a six-game trip with a118-104 victory over Charlotte on Monday. Boston will play six of its final seven games at home, where it is 32-3 this season.
The Celtics were 19 of 53 from 3-point range against the Hornets in winning for the 11th time in the past 13 games.
“Usually, we take good ones,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Those types of shots that we get, especially the corner ones, I think our corner 3s have increased a little bit, but it’s a shot that we have to be able to take, that teams are willing to give, but if you make a couple, it forces the defense to guard you differently. So again, our goal is not to necessarily shoot 3s, but to get the best shots.”
No Celtic has been better from 3-point distance lately than Sam Hauser, who made 7 of 11 attempts from beyond the arc against Charlotte and scored 25 points in 24 minutes. It was the third time in the last seven games that Hauser has made at least seven 3-pointers.
“If I can get my feet down underneath me and explode up, I think it has a good chance of going in,” Hauser said.
Hauser is shooting 43.9 percent from 3-point territory this season.
“I think the layers of our offense is what unleashes him, and the guys understand that he’s a weapon in different ways,” Mazzulla said. “When we get to the second and third layer of our offense, especially when teams are guarding us a certain way, it really unleashes guys like Sam.”
Oklahoma City (52-23) was without leading scorer Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (quad bruise) for Tuesday night’s 109-105 loss at Philadelphia. Gilgeous-Alexander, who is averaging 30.3 points per game this season, has not played in three of the Thunder’s last four contests.
The Thunder also played without Jalen Williams, who is nursing a sprained ankle. Chet Holmgren scored a team-high 22 points for Oklahoma City, which is battling Minnesota and Denver for the top spot in the Western Conference.
“Obviously we want those guys back as soon as possible, but it is an opportunity when they’re out to stretch guys’ minutes, stretch guys’ role a little bit,” Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault said. “We learn a lot about our team in these situations.
“We’re always going to be conservative with our guys. We’re not going to put them out there if there’s any harm, but we also want them to play. … We want them out there, but not at the expense of any sort of risk.”
Oklahoma City has qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Wednesday’s matchup will be the second between the teams this season. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 36 points to help Oklahoma City earn a 127-123 home victory on Jan. 2. Boston received 34 points from Kristaps Porzingis and 30 from Jayson Tatum in the loss.
Selecting the perfect flower bouquet can be challenging for those new to the process, as each flower carries its own color, scent, and meaning.
To create a meaningful bouquet, you should consider the recipient’s preferences, the specific occasion, and the seasonality of flowers to ensure freshness and sustainability.
Different flowers can communicate various messages; for example, roses symbolize love, daisies represent friendship, and sunflowers offer encouragement.
Crafting a bouquet presents a chance to create a personalized and meaningful gift.
This guide will provide beginners with the essential knowledge to create a bouquet that is visually appealing and emotionally significant, including tips on color theory, texture, and flower care.
For those looking to craft their perfect bouquet, MyGlobalFlowers.com offers a wide selection of flowers for any occasion.
Flower Meanings
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Color Psychology
Red: conveys deep emotions such as love and desire.
Yellow: associated with joy, friendship, and new beginnings.
White: stands for purity, innocence, and sympathy.
Purple: symbolizes dignity, pride, and success.
How to Compose the Best Bouquet
1. Choosing Flowers
2. Considering Fragrances
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3. Balancing Shapes and Sizes
Flowers for Occasions
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1. Ideal Way to Say Thank You
Wondering if your colleague is more into red than white wine? Or maybe you’re second-guessing sending chocolates to your mother-in-law in case she’s given up dairy.
When you’re looking to express gratitude, whether it’s for a job well done or for support during a hard time, flowers are a sure bet.
Choosing a thank-you gift can be simple: go for a bouquet that you’d be thrilled to receive.
If you’re aiming to make a memorable impression, consider something like a luxurious orchid bouquet.
This stunning mix includes orchids, lisianthus, spray roses, and stocks, all beautifully wrapped and tied with a silky ribbon, standing out as an elegant token of appreciation.
2. Blooming Birthday Surprise
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Is there anyone who doesn’t light up at the sight of birthday flowers?
They’re the kind of gift that’s always a hit, never to be returned, and they also serve as a fantastic last-minute lifesaver.
Picture this: it’s almost your sister’s birthday and that card you meant to send? Still sitting on your desk.
For those you know inside and out, pick a bouquet that’s a riot of their most loved colors. And for those you’re less familiar with?
Opting for flowers that correspond with their birth month adds a thoughtful touch – like carnations for January, daffodils for April, and roses for June.
As you’re browsing through options, don’t forget to consider their sense of humor too. Maybe a bouquet of flowers paired with a humorous t-shirt could be just the right combination to bring a smile to their face on their special day!
3. Sympathy and Support
In moments when words aren’t enough, flowers offer a poignant way to let someone know you’re thinking of them during tough times.
While white flowers and lilies are traditional choices for expressing sympathy, honoring the deceased’s favorite flower in your bouquet can also be a deeply personal way to commemorate their life, much like families sometimes request bright clothing at funerals to celebrate the individual’s vibrant life.
Choosing either a classic all-white arrangement or one with more color, it’s a thoughtful gesture to schedule the delivery for a few weeks after the funeral.
This timing ensures that your recipient receives a fresh and beautiful reminder of support and memories, just as the initial arrangements begin to fade.
4. Christmas Gift
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On the holiday season, the trend is towards more thoughtful gifting – choosing fewer items, but of higher quality, and ensuring each gift is truly meaningful.
Flowers are a perfect fit for this approach, offering the added bonus of serving as a beautiful, festive table decoration for holiday gatherings.
Incorporating elements like birch twigs, berries, and pine cones can transform any bouquet into a piece of Christmas decor.
As for colors, the traditional palette of reds, golds, and whites always brings a classic holiday feel to any arrangement.
However, this year, consider adding a dash of elegance to your or a loved one’s home with an arrangement in rich jewel tones, creating a luxurious and festive atmosphere.
Final Words
Remember, each flower has its own story, and combining them thoughtfully can create a narrative as unique as the person receiving them. From the warmth of red roses to the comfort of lilies, and the joy of sunflowers, your bouquet can carry a world of emotions.
As you select flowers, consider not just their beauty, but the message they convey, the scents they share, and the moments they’ll create. And for those times when you’re not sure where to start.
Nine individuals lost their lives and over 800 were injured in a devastating earthquake in Taiwan on Wednesday, which also caused significant damage to numerous buildings. This event led to tsunami alerts being issued across Japan and the Philippines, though these were later retracted.
Authorities have described this earthquake as the most severe to impact the island in many years, with expectations of further seismic activity to follow.
Thanks to rigorous construction standards and a general awareness of disaster preparedness, a greater disaster was likely averted on the island, which is prone to seismic events due to its location near the convergence of two tectonic plates.
This quake, with a magnitude of 7.4, is noted as the most significant since a 7.6 magnitude quake in September 1999, which resulted in approximately 2,400 fatalities, marking it as the most tragic natural disaster in the island’s recent history.
The quake struck just before 8:00 am local time (0000 GMT), with the US Geological Survey (USGS) identifying the epicenter 18 kilometers south of Hualien City, at a depth of 34.8 kilometers.
Among the casualties were three hikers, part of a group of seven, who were fatally struck by falling rocks during an early morning trek in the surrounding hills of the city. Additionally, falling rocks caused the deaths of the drivers of a truck and a car, and one individual perished at a mining site.
While specific details on the other three fatalities were not immediately provided, the National Fire Agency confirmed that all deaths occurred in Hualien county and reported 882 injuries, without detailing their severity.
Footage and images circulating on social media depicted the country’s buildings swaying during the quake.
“There was intense shaking; things were falling off the walls, my TV, and my liquor cabinet,”
Local television displayed images of buildings in Hualien and other locations leaning post-quake, and footage of a warehouse in New Taipei City collapsing.
More than 50 individuals were rescued from the debris of the collapsed structure, as reported by the mayor of the city.
Efforts were underway to clear debris and rocks blocking the primary route to Hualien, a coastal city encircled by mountains, which had been isolated due to landslides.
With the main access roads running through a series of robust tunnels, officials estimated up to 120 individuals could be trapped in vehicles within these tunnels.
“We need to ascertain the number of individuals trapped and ensure their swift rescue.”
Stated Lai Ching-te, the president-elect and current Vice-President, in Hualien.
Efforts were also being made to restore the primary railway line along the east coast, which had been disrupted in several locations.
President Tsai Ing-wen urged for collaboration between local and central government agencies and announced military support.
Regional Impact
Following the earthquake, tsunami warnings were issued in Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines but were withdrawn by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center by 10 am (0200 GMT), stating the threat had largely subsided.
In Taipei, the metro service was temporarily suspended but resumed after an hour, and residents received advisories to check for gas leaks.
Situated near the junction of two tectonic plates, Taiwan frequently experiences earthquakes, as does Japan, which records about 1,500 seismic events annually.
In China’s Fujian province and elsewhere, social media users reported feeling the quake’s tremors.
Hong Kong residents also felt the earthquake, with China expressing readiness to offer disaster relief to Taiwan, which it views as a part of its territory.
Operations at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, the leading chip manufacturer globally, were momentarily disrupted, and construction activities at new sites were paused for the day.
While the region often experiences mild quakes, their impact varies based on the depth and location of the epicenter beneath the Earth’s surface.
Children’s Theatre Company (CTC) recently announced their 2024-2025 Season of six productions featuring a world premiere play, Drawing Lessons; a rolling world premiere musical, Milo Imagines the World; the thrilling spectacle, MOYA by Zip Zap Circus from Cape Town, South Africa; the return of the smash hit holiday favorite Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!; the Minnesota premiere of Manual Cinema’s Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster based on the beloved books by Mo Willems; and a CTC original production of Disney’s 3-time Tony Award®-nominated musical phenomenon Frozen.
The season begins with MOYA by Zip Zap Circus, featuring an original soundtrack composed by Josh Hawks. Audiences will soar into the visual spectacle of this pulsating acrobatic performance set against the Cape Town skyline! Comic jugglers, unicycle dancers, and an authentic gumboot dance will take you on a freewheeling journey that explores the spirit and vitality of township life. Watch as a simple city bench becomes a sidesplitting spark for a newfound friendship, and feel the energetic beat of South African pop music. You’ll relish this thrilling feat of acrobatics and rhythmic movement that celebrates the joy of sharing community with one another. Best for all ages, MOYA by Zip Zap Circus runs September 12-October 20, 2024, on the UnitedHealth Group Stage.
Next, experience the energy of a graphic novelist’s imagination at work in the world premiere of Drawing Lessonsby Michi Barall! Dynamic, jump-off-the-page animation shows Kate’s manhwa storyboards coming together, even as she deals with school, friends, and how her Korean heritage fits into her American lifestyle. Will her contentious friendship with Paul help or hinder her progress? Will either of them ever find their true artistic voices? Get drawn into this innovative story that magically takes place both on stage and on screen! Drawing Lessons is a co-commission with Ma-Yi Theater Company in New York, and marks the first full production of a show developed through the landmark Generation Now partnership between five theatres (Latino Theater Company, Ma-Yi Theater Company, Native Voices, Penumbra, and Children’s Theatre Company). Directed by Jack Tamburri, Drawing Lessons runs from October 8-November 10, 2024 on the Cargill Stage. This production is recommended for middle grade school students and up.
CTC’s beloved holiday smash-hit Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!returns this holiday season after last year’s sold out run. A miserly and miserable, ever-so-cantankerous Grinch has observed the despicable Christmas joy of the Whos with disdain, from a distance, for decades. Enough! In this holiday favorite filled with music and Seussian rhymes, he plots the greatest heist imaginable—stealing the very thing they love the most! Until, that is, the smallest of the Whos, tiny Cindy Lou, extends a hand. Through the combination of kindness and community, we witness not only a change in the course of Who-History, but the size and capacity of the old green guy’s heart. Directed by Dean Holt, this musical favorite runs November 5, 2024-January 5, 2025, on the UnitedHealth Group Stage.
In the new year, nationally acclaimed theatre company Manual Cinema comes to CTC with the Minnesota premiere of Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monsterbased on the books by Mo Willems. Monsters have one job and it’s to be SCARY! “Booga booga booga!” But as hard as he tries, Leonardo can’t scare even a mouse. When the other monsters laugh and make fun of him, Leonardo goes in search of the most scaredy-cat kid in the whole world to try and scare the tuna salad out of him! Manual Cinema breathes innovative life into this beloved story (and its doubly charming sequel), using hundreds of puppets to magically create a movie before your very eyes. Will Leonardo finally become the scary monster he dreams of being? Or will he discover something even better to be? Inspired by the Books Leonardo, The Terrible Monster and Sam, The Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World by Mo Willems, Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster was commissioned by The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts with additional commissioning support from Utah Presents. Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster is best for younger audiences and runs from January 8-March 9, 2025, on the Cargill Stage.
Up next is the CTC-commissioned, rolling world premiere of the new musical Milo Imagines the World, based on the book by Matt de la Peña and Christian Robinson and brought to life by book writer Terry Guest and composers and lyricists Christian Albright and Christian Magby. On a crowded subway, Milo passes the time imagining the lives of the other passengers. See his illustrations brought to spirited life, featuring dynamic new songs ranging from hip hop and pop to country. Ride along with Milo from stop to stop as he begins to understand that first impressions aren’t always accurate, that his bossy older sister ReRe isn’t always an annoying diva, and that real life can sometimes be even more incredible than an imaginary one. Milo Imagines the World is a joint commission by The Rose Theater (Omaha, Nebraska), Chicago Children’s Theatre (Chicago, Illinois), and Children’s Theatre Company (Minneapolis, Minnesota). Directed by Mikael Burke, Milo Imagines the World runs from February 4-March 9, 2025, on the United Health Group Stage and is best for all ages.
For the season finale, Disney’s hit Broadway musical Frozensweeps into Minnesota as Children’s Theatre Company premieres its original production of the hit Broadway musical. Sing along with Elsa, Anna, and the whole cast as they encounter magic that’s out of control, weather that’s fearsome, and Olaf, a snowman who melts your heart. Will Elsa be able to restore the balance between summer and winter? Will she and Anna ever be close again? Settle in for some hygge, a little bit of joiking, and a whole lot of letting go! Nominated for three Tony Awards® including “Best Musical,” Disney’s Frozen is directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene and runs April 15-June 15, 2025, on the UnitedHealth Group Stage. Best for all ages!
Full season subscriptions and renewals for the 2024-2025 Season are now on sale and can be purchased online or by calling the ticket office at 612.874.0400.
5-Play Full Season Subscriptions range from $185 – $244 for adults and $145 – $206 for kids and seniors. 5- Play Preview Subscriptions are $125 for adults and $75 for kids. Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas! can be added on to any 5-Play subscription for $37-$59 ($15-$25 for Preview.) These prices reflect a 25% discount off of the regular ticket price—one of the benefits of subscription at CTC.
CTC’s 2025-2025 Season of artistic and educational programming is supported by The Shubert Foundation, Inc. and the Minnesota State Arts Board.
MINNEAPOLIS— The pandemic took a real toll on our healthcare workers. But right now, another public health crisis has become just as crushing.
Last year alone, Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis treated more than 1,500 shooting victims. That averages out to four a day. Eighty-five percent of them are now survivors.
“All you see is young, previously healthy people in pain and suffering and scared,” Dr. Jim Miner said.
“There’s not one kid that doesn’t make it that doesn’t impact you,” Dr. Ashley Bjorklund said.
“It can be devastating and heartbreaking,” Dr. Kofi Fosu said.
“I feel like the general public doesn’t have any idea how bad it is,” nurse Daniela Morales said.
“To me, it’s a public health emergency crisis,” nurse Evan Trewyn said.
These healthcare workers see the cost of gunfire regularly.
It’s lights and sirens when there’s a call for a person who’s been shot.
“They are super quick. They are fast-paced, fast action,” Hennepin Emergency Medical Services paramedic Angela said.
Hennepin EMS transports a victim right to Hennepin Healthcare, the state’s busiest level-one trauma center.
“They have a team waiting for us. It’s a quick hand-off,” Angela said.
The care starts right through the main doors in what’s called the stabilization, or stab room. It’s where doctors and nurses treat hundreds of gunshot wound patients.
“Most days we see someone who’s been a victim of gun violence. And it ranges from non-lethal, glancing wounds to multiple gunshot wounds to the head and chest. And it’s tragic. It’s preventable. It’s death and destruction of young, healthy people who don’t need to be dying,” Miner, who is chief of emergency medicine, said.
They work to stabilize the patient.
“If somebody is shot in their torso or head or even an upper extremity, the surgeons are on their way the moment it happens and we’re there trying to get IV access, to figure out what’s going on, to figure out where they’re bleeding,” Miner said.
“What does full speed look like?” Investigative Reporter Jennifer Mayerle asked.
“It’s really, really fast. Our idea of right away is multiple people with a lot of skills going as fast as they can and doing everything all at the same time. Seconds make a huge difference,” Miner said.
That’s when a trauma surgeon, like Fosu, enters the picture.
“Bullets are unique in that the injuries, their cause can be so unexpected. High-impact gunshot wounds — they can be unpredictable,” Fosu said.
He rushes a patient to the operating room.
“In the OR is where we do the crucial part of our job. Really our goal is to see what’s injured. To stop the bleeding. To stop any contamination. Ultimately we want to save a life,” Fosu said.
Trewyn, an emergency department nurse, is in the midst of continual trauma care.
“It’s mind-numbing for people that wouldn’t usually see that. Mind-numbing for me who’s seen it for the last 20 years and I have to put it aside because I don’t know what’s coming in next,” Trewyn said.
He’s found parenthood has changed when he needs to pause.
“I do have to step away when children come in close to my children. I know that circumstances could just be flipped and I could be in their situation with my children,” Trewyn said.
It’s a stark reality of who’s being impacted in the community.
“There is something different about caring for children that have been impacted by firearms. That fact that I even have to say a statement like that,” Bjorklund said.
Bjorklund is the medical director of the pediatric ICU.
“Some of these kids are on ventilators and certainly there’s kids where we think, they survive initially and progress to need support for end-of-life care,” Bjorklund said.
It takes a toll.
“We’re trained to work through it but in pediatrics, I think we’re pretty intentional to take time to reflect upon the care that’s being provided and how it’s impacting us,” Bjorklund said.
And how it changes how they manage at work and at home.
“More stress, right? More emotional time I need to spend to recover from the care I provide to patients daily. And a lack of feeling safety for my own children. I text parents before they go to the house, ‘Do you have firearms, are they stored properly?’ That’s a common text,” Bjokrlund said.
Pediatric nurse Daniela Morales says she creates firmer boundaries with family and friends.
“If there’s any sort of unneeded stress or drama, I have to draw the line. I feel like I can’t tolerate as much anymore,” Morales said.
The hard comes with this lifesaving work.
“It’s hard to see people hurt so frequently and it’s hard to constantly be processing all of the loss of lives that are just senselessly destroyed,” Miner said.
“You see this violence day in and day out and sometimes you just have to remember why you’re doing what you’re doing,” Fosu said.
These days there is always another call, another patient with a gunshot wound to help, another run for a paramedic.
“You can be frustrated with society, just the recklessness of what people are capable of doing to other people. It affects everybody. If you’re not coping with it in a healthy way, it will eat you and you won’t be in this field at all,” paramedic Angela said.
Hennepin Healthcare has what’s called a critical incident support team. It provides immediate emotional support after a traumatic experience and holds drop-in support hours after a stressful event. Plus, there are regular meetings for units that experience a higher number of events, like the emergency department and pediatric intensive care unit.
Jennifer Mayerle happily returned to Minnesota and WCCO, where she began her career as an intern. The Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist joined WCCO as a reporter in May 2014. She also anchors “WCCO Saturday Morning” from 8-9 a.m.
The plastics industry is releasing illegal pollution but rarely faces discipline for environmental permit violations, according to a new report by the Environmental Integrity Project.
Companies producing plastics emitted nearly 63 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, about as much as 15 coal-fired power plants.
Alexandra Shaykevich, research manager for the Environmental Integrity Project, pointed out while many people and industries are now trying to minimize their use of fossil fuels, the plastics industry is moving in the opposite direction. She said people may not be aware plastic is produced primarily from oil and natural gas.
“It’s been expanding at an exponential rate and causing a cascade of environmental problems, not just greenhouse gas pollution, but also litter,” Shaykevich explained. “A lot of these products, they can’t be recycled and so essentially, they wind up littering our oceans and our waterways.”
The toxic chemicals emitted during plastics production have been linked to asthma, bronchitis and cancer. Nationwide, more than two-thirds of those living within three miles of the factories manufacturing the main ingredients in plastic products are people of color.
Shaykevich noted many plastic plants built or expanded over the last decade have received tax breaks or subsidies from state and local governments worth nearly $9 billion. She added data show the trend is likely to continue.
“Our report identified at least 10 new plants and 23 expansion projects that existing facilities have proposed,” Shaykevich outlined. “They could add an additional 35 million tons of greenhouse gases per year, if those plants move forward.”
One of the expanded plants is located in Ohio. According to the report, the new projects would produce ethylene or polyethylene but the industry is also planning to increase production of “PET,” the type of plastic primarily used for packaging.
Reporting by Ohio News Connection in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.
