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Business Highlights: Spicy food challenge; Google’s antitrust trial; Monday Night Football

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

___Spicy food challenges have a long history. Have they become too extreme?NEW YORK (AP) — A tortilla chip maker’s decision to pull its extremely spicy product sold as a “One Chip Challenge” from store shelves following the death of a Massachusetts teen has renewed attention on the popularity — and risks — of similar dares marketed by brands and spread widely online. Spicy food challenges have been around for years. From local chile pepper eating contests to restaurant walls of fame for those who finished extra hot dishes, people around the world have been daring each other to eat especially fiery foods. But extremely spicy products created and marketed solely for the challenges — and possible internet fame — is a more recent phenomenon, and teens are particularly exposed to them because of social media.___Google’s search engine dominance is at the center of the biggest US antitrust trial in decadesThe U.S. government is taking aim at what has been an indomitable empire: Google’s ub...

Morocco earthquake takes terrible toll on Aurora family

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) — An Aurora family who is from Morocco said they lost 13 family members in the powerful earthquake there on Friday.Hanane Ghiwane lives in Aurora with her husband and children, but her parents, siblings and other family members still live in Morocco. Her cousins sent her pictures and video of the family's damaged and destroyed homes."My grandparents' house just disappeared," she said. Ghiwane's parents live in Casablanca, and they were all right. But her mother's family lives in southern villages near Taroudant, in the Atlas Mountains. Ghiwane said 13 of them died in the quake."Thirteen is not a small number that we lost in one day," she said. "One of them, she was pregnant with a child. Another one, she just got married," Ghiwane said.Residents flee their homes after an earthquake in Moulay Brahim village, near the epicenter of the earthquake, outside Marrakech, Morocco, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. A rare, powerful earthquake struck Morocco late Friday night, kill...

Prisoner had drugs 4 days before he escaped, sources tell FOX31

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

LITTLETON, Colo. (KDVR) — A prison inmate who walked away from a federal prison in Colorado last Tuesday was found to have meth in his locker four days earlier, according to law enforcement sources who spoke to the Problem Solvers on the condition of anonymity. Edward Verdugo was discovered missing around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 5, from the Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood. It's near the intersection of South Kipling Street and Quincy Avenue in unincorporated Jefferson County. Aurora family denied $30K claim after pothole totals car Sources told FOX31 that Verdugo wasn't moved to the secure housing unit, or SHU, after staff found meth in his locker on Friday, Sept. 1.Instead, he remained at the minimum security satellite camp, where he was able to access a golf cart last Tuesday and drive to the edge of the prison grounds near the Foothills Golf Course and simply walk away.After his escape, sources told the Problem Solvers, prison staff searched Verdugo's room and ...

Photos: Before and during the 2013 Colorado floods

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- From Sept. 9-16, 2013, hundreds of homes were destroyed and two people were killed during widespread flooding across Boulder and Larimer counties in northern Colorado.As part of FOX31's look back at this historic week, Maxar Technologies shared satellite photos that show the flood-damaged areas in the months before the flooding and then on the two days of peak flooding, Sept. 13-14, 2013. Remembering one of Colorado’s deadliest floods While the photos aren't all-encompassing, they do show some of the hardest-hit areas, including the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont, U.S. 36 in Lyons, the South Platte River in Milliken and St. Vrain Creek in Platteville.Scroll down to see eight pairs of photos showing the extent of the flooding. On each set, use the slider to move between the before and during photos. Airport Road – LongmontBoston Avenue – LongmontBoulder County Fairgrounds – LongmontU.S. 36 – LyonsBoulder Creek – ErieBig Thompson River – LovelandSt. Vrain Cr...

Google search dominance at center of biggest US antitrust trial in decades

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

The U.S. government is taking aim at what has been an indomitable empire: Google’s ubiquitous search engine that has become the internet’s main gateway.The legal attack will swing into full force Tuesday in a Washington D.C. federal courtroom that will serve as the battleground for the biggest U.S. antitrust trial since regulators went after Microsoft and its dominance of personal computer software a quarter century ago. Photos: Remembering one of Colorado’s deadliest floods Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and 37 other bipartisan attorneys general are involved in the lawsuit."We will continue to evaluate how to best press forward and establish Google’s pattern of illegal conduct that harms consumers and competition," Weiser has said in a past statement.Google's 10-week federal antitrust trialThe 10-week trial before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta is expected to include potentially revelatory testimony from top executives at Google and its corporate parent Alphabet, as well a...

Restaurateur honors 9/11 victims with yearly fundraiser

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

CENTENNIAL (KDVR) — Twenty-two years ago on 9/11, Bill Ficke was so affected by the horrific events of the day that he had to act. He needed to do something immediately to help the victims and their families.“That day, I walked into the store. We were loaded with people just from New York. They all live around the area. All they wanted to do was tell their story and hear other people’s story," Ficke said. Morocco earthquake takes terrible toll on Aurora family Ficke owns Big Bill’s New York Pizza in Centennial and, within days of the attack, went into action.“A week later, we did it. We gave all the proceeds and donations to the New York Fireman’s Fund. We raised $35,000," Ficke said.Remembering 9/11 with givingThat was 22 years ago, but time has not faded Ficke’s desire to continue his fundraising every year to do right by his home state of New York.The 22nd anniversary of the day that shook the world finds Ficke at his Italian restaurant preparing for yet another year of what he...

Police detain gunman at NW Miami-Dade hotel; 1 reportedly injured

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

A shooter triggered trouble in South Florida Monday morning.Police surrounded the area, saying the subject took refuge inside the Estancia Hotel in Northwest Miami-dade.Initial reports said one victim was shot in the foot and treated right there.Officers said they have detained two people, but have not arrested anyone at this time.Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

American researcher has been rescued from deep Turkish cave more than a week after he fell ill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

TASELI PLATEAU, Turkey (AP) — Rescuers pulled an American researcher out of a Turkish cave on Monday, more than a week after he became seriously ill 1,000 meters (more than 3,000 feet) below its entrance, said the Speleological Federation of Turkey.Teams from across Europe had rushed to Morca cave in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains to aid Mark Dickey, a 40-year-old experienced caver who became seriously ill on Sept. 2 with stomach bleeding. He was on an expedition to map the cave, which is the country’s third deepest.Dickey was too frail to climb out himself, so rescuers carried him with the help of a stretcher, making frequent stops at temporary camps set up along the way.The American was first treated inside the cave by a Hungarian doctor who went down the cave on Sept. 3. Doctors and rescuers then took turns caring for him. The cause of Dickey’s illness was not clear.THIS IS BREAKING NEWS. Previous version of story is below:Rescue teams on Sunday in Turkey successfully carried...

Astronaut Frank Rubio sets new US record for longest trip in space

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

(CNN) — Astronaut Frank Rubio has now been in low-Earth orbit for more than 355 days, breaking the record for the longest space mission by a US astronaut.Rubio — who has been on the International Space Station since September 2022 — bested the previous record, held by retired NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, at 1:40 p.m. ET on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the space agency.What’s more, Rubio is on track to reach another significant milestone in a few weeks’ time. A Russian Soyuz capsule is not expected to return him and his two fellow crewmates — cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin — to Earth before September 27.That means Rubio will have spent at least 371 days in orbit once he completes his mission. He is on the cusp of becoming the first American to spend more than one calendar year in microgravity.Yet Rubio’s mission was not originally designed to break records.When Rubio left for the space station aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule on September 21, 2022, he and h...

Teen facing attempted murder charge in connection with incident in Chatham appears in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:30 GMT

Fourteen year old Jack Sheeran IV appeared in court Monday and was later released from juvenile detention as he faces allegations that he attacked a 15-year-old Black boy after he and a friend invited the boy to go swimming at Goose Pond in Chatham in July. The incident happened on July 19. On Monday, Sheeran and his father made a speedy exit from court. “I don’t want to speak right now,” Sheeran said when asked for comment. According to a police report, Sheehan and his friend used the N-word and threw rocks at the victim in this incident, who can’t swim and wore a life preserver in the water. The police report said Sheehan and his friend also allegedly tried to hold the victim underwater several times. When he said he couldn’t breathe, the police report said, one of the pair laughed at the victim and called him “George Floyd.”In the victim’s handwritten statement, he told police “Jack asked me if I like my life to which (the other boy) responded I won’t once I’m drowning....