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The Illinois Caverns are now open for visitors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

MONROE COUNTY, Ill.—The Illinois Caverns are open again for the season. The cavern season is from Sunday, April 23 to the end of October. The hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cave is located in Monroe County. It is home to cave animals and is free to enter.Visitors must sign a permit and bring gear, including a helmet, three battery-powered light sources per person, and closed-toe shoes. For more information about the caves, check out the information page.

O'Fallon firefighters rescue ducklings from a sewer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

O'FALLON, Mo. -- Firefighters got a call from a concerned citizen Thursday about a duck hanging out by a sewer gate. They found baby ducks in the sewer.The first responders were able to save the ducklings. Pictures of the family reunion and rescue were posted to the O'Fallon Fire Protection District's Facebook page Friday.

Evan Rodrigues’ highlight hit showed Avalanche can swing back at Kraken: “We can make it a real tough series on them.”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

Evan Rodrigues is flying around the ice and sending opponents flying.The Avalanche winger is known more for his elusive puck play than packing a punch, but he brought a showmanship to Game 2 of the playoffs that Ball Arena desperately needed.“Everything ramps up a little bit in the playoffs,” said Rodrigues, who had postseason experience with Pittsburgh but has never made it past the first round. “You try to do whatever you can to get the team going. And I tried my best to just get the crowd into it a little bit, too.”Rodrigues thought the Avs were gripping their sticks too tight in a dreadful first period of Game 2 against the Seattle Kraken. By the halfway point of the second period, they finally had the crowd in the palm of their sweaty hands. Goals 48 seconds apart were to thank, but Rodrigues did his part in a 3-2 series-knotting win by supplying the highlight of the first-round series so far.And the moment this became a legit playoff series.“I think we ...

Change to Colorado bill capping cost of EpiPens would let drugmakers offer alternative to state program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

A bill capping the out-of-pocket cost of EpiPens in Colorado could allow drugmakers to substitute their own programs under certain circumstances, a move some advocates say could reduce access to the life-saving medication.House Bill 23-1002 would create a program allowing residents to access epinephrine for no more than $60 for a pack of two auto-injectors, starting in January. It would operate similarly to the state’s $50 cap on the out-of-pocket cost of insulin, with drugmakers directed to reimburse pharmacies for the difference between the capped amount and the cost of replacing the product.An amendment added in the Senate’s Health and Human Services Committee would allow manufacturers to instead offer their own affordability program, provided it limited out-of-pocket costs to $60 and was available to anyone who isn’t covered by a government insurance program.A two-pack of EpiPens costs $650 to $700 if you’re paying cash, according to Drugs.com. A generic ...

Erie King Soopers closed due to bomb threat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

Erie police shut down a King Soopers Friday morning and deployed a bomb squad and bomb dog to investigate “a pipe bomb threat.”The bomb team and bomb dog were en route to the King Soopers at 1891 Colorado 7 near the highway’s intersection with Sheridan Parkway shortly before 9 a.m., Erie police announced in a posting on Twitter.Happening Now: Investigating Pipe Bomb Threat at King Soopers at 1891 State Highway 7.Bomb dog enroute. No entry into store.Updates to be posted here. pic.twitter.com/dl6ZvJO8bL— Erie CO Police (@ErieCOPolice) April 21, 2023This is a developing story.

‘The Champagne of Beers’ leaves French producers frothing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN (Associated Press)BRUSSELS (AP) — The guardians of Champagne will let no one take the name of the bubbly beverage in vain, not even a U.S. beer behemoth.For years, Miller High Life has used the “Champagne of Beers” slogan. This week, that appropriation became impossible to swallow.At the request of the trade body defending the interests of houses and growers of the northeastern French sparkling wine, Belgian customs crushed more than 2,000 cans of Miller High Life advertised as such.The Comité Champagne asked for the destruction of a shipment of 2,352 cans on the grounds that the century-old motto used by the American brewery infringes the protected designation of origin “Champagne.”The consignment was intercepted in the Belgian port of Antwerp in early February, a spokesperson at the Belgian Customs Administration said on Friday, and was destined for Germany. Molson Coors Beverage Co., which owns the Miller High Life brand, doe...

Pasadena grapples with 'exploding' coyote population

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

“The coyote population in our city has just exploded. They are no longer afraid of humans.”That was the warning from Pasadena City Councilmember Tyron Hampton Wednesday evening when city leaders discussed a surge in coyote encounters which, they say, is a growing threat to humans and pets.Interim Public Health Director Manuel Carmona told council members there were 159 coyote issues reported to the Citizen Service Center in 2022. 12 of them were related to injured or killed pets, Pasadena Now reports.No humans were injured.“Collectively we should work together to try to control the population and get coyotes back to being fearful of humans,” said Hampton.A coyote attacking a four-year-old in Woodland Hills, California. Dec. 2, 2022 (Shira and Ariel Eliyahuo)A coyote snuck into a Woodland Hills home using a dog door, as shown in this undated photo provided by homeowner Julie Levine.A coyote was captured inside Mission Middle School in Riverside. Oct. 3, 2022 (Riverside County Animal ...

Weekend temperatures could hit the 90s in parts of metro Los Angeles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

It may only be April, but some parts of the Southland are getting a first look at summer this weekend.Temperatures on Friday and Saturday will be in the 80s and even 90s in some places, marking a sharp change from the chilly weather that's persisted through winter and into spring."Everything is going to be warming up over the next couple of days, and you can expect to have some temperatures above normal for this time of year," KTLA 5 meteorologist Mark Kriski. Southern California weather On Friday, the coastal areas won't see too much of a change; the high is 72 degrees. But downtown Los Angeles is expected to heat up to 86 degrees, and in the San Fernando Valley, temperatures are likely to hit 92.Inland Orange County, the Inland Empire and the high desert will see highs in the mid to upper 80s.If you're headed to the second weekend of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival? Good luck. High temperatures for the weekend in Indio are 93, 98 and 96 degrees.But don't fret too m...

'The Champagne of Beers' leaves French producers frothing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The guardians of Champagne will let no one take the name of the bubbly beverage in vain, not even a U.S. beer behemoth.For years, Miller High Life has used the “Champagne of Beers” slogan. This week, that appropriation became impossible to swallow.At the request of the trade body defending the interests of houses and growers of the northeastern French sparkling wine, Belgian customs crushed more than 2,000 cans of Miller High Life advertised as such.The Comité Champagne asked for the destruction of a shipment of 2,352 cans on the grounds that the century-old motto used by the American brewery infringes the protected designation of origin “Champagne.”The consignment was intercepted in the Belgian port of Antwerp in early February, a spokesperson at the Belgian Customs Administration said on Friday, and was destined for Germany. Molson Coors Beverage Co., which owns the Miller High Life brand, does not currently export it to the EU, and Belgian customs declined to say ...

Elon Musk pays for LeBron James, Stephen King and William Shatner's Twitter check marks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

Twitter CEO Elon Musk is footing the bill for the Twitter Blue subscription for three big names who vocally refused to pay for the service. On Thursday evening, Musk revealed that he's paying for LeBron James, Stephen King and William Shatner's blue check marks himself. Earlier that day, Twitter purged those coveted marks from accounts that opted out of the subscription. King wasn't aware of the move until Musk alerted him of it. "My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t. My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t," tweeted the author. "Just so you know.""You’re welcome namaste," the Tesla CEO responded.Back in October of 2022, when the idea of paying for the check mark was being kicked around, King wasn't for it. “F--- that, they should pay me. If that gets instituted, I’m gone like Enron," he tweeted. “It ain’t the money, it’s the principle of the thing," he continued. Musk then responded, “We need to pay the bills somehow! Twitter cann...