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After 2-decade pause for military service, Colorado veteran earns a degree

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:31:30 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — For Solana Stevens Jackson, better late than never.After putting her college studies on hold for nearly two decades, the Colorado military veteran and mother of three graduated Friday from Metropolitan State University of Denver.“Life happened. I was overseas, and that’s why it’s taken so long,” Jackson told FOX31.The Denver East High School graduate first arrived on the MSU Denver campus in 2005, just after joining the Army Reserve. And wouldn’t you know it, she was soon deployed.“I served in Iraq for a little over a year,” she said. Denver father loses his life saving daughter from oncoming driver After Iraq, she spent a few years in Bahrain and Japan with her husband, who was also in the military. Military service is in her blood. Her dad served in Vietnam, and her mom served in the Army from 1980 to 1991. When Jackson finally moved back to Colorado during the pandemic, it was time to go back to school. Juggling three kids and a heavy class load was not an easy ...

Arvada nursery donating Christmas trees to families in need

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:31:30 GMT

ARVADA, Colo. (KDVR) — A family-owned business in Arvada is giving out free Christmas trees and toys to those who can’t afford to buy their own this year.  For the past four years, Julie Echter, with Echter’s Nursery and Garden Center, said they’ve given away more than 350 trees to families in need. "This year we’ll have trees, stands, ornaments, lights, decorations and new toys for kids,” Echter said. It all started back in 2018 when Echter said they had more than 100 trees they weren’t going to sell in time for Christmas."It was such a moving experience for all of us to realize how many people in our community don’t really have the means to get a Christmas tree, and just being able to provide them that for the holidays was really special,” Echter said. “We’ve turned it into a tradition here, and every year we do this Christmas tree giveaway.” Denver father loses his life saving daughter from oncoming driver It’s not just trees. Thanks to community donations, Echter said the...

Has to pay someone else’s water bill?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:31:30 GMT

He is a landlord. One of his tenants didn’t pay their water bill for two years. Now, the City of Hialeah is saying if the landlord doesn’t pay his old renters bill, they will slap a lien on his property.It’s why he turned to Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.When you see a landlord with a couple of properties, you might wonder how they were able to afford it. Takes years, Miguel says.Miguel Marrero: “And you have to stop yourself from going to vacation to save that money to become a landlord.”And when you become a landlord you get something else. Headaches.Miguel Marrero: “They should punish the person that is responsible for it, not me.”After a tenant left Miguel’s rental property, his son went to the Hialeah Water Department to put the account in his name and was told, “Your father has a past due bill.” Miguel Marrero: “That property had a debt of $2,136 under the name of a renter person that was there before.̶...

Fire spreads at Hialeah gas station after motorcycle engulfed by flames

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:31:30 GMT

What started as a motorcycle fire became an intense inferno at a gas station in Hialeah.The flames engulfed the gas station near West 4th Avenue and 19th Street on early Monday morning.Firefighters worked quickly to put out the blaze before it could reach nearby propane tanks.Nobody was hurt as investigators now look to figure out how the motorcycle that started all of this first caught fire.

Newly released video shows fatal encounter outside condo in Aventura

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:31:30 GMT

A killer crime was caught on camera outside the Turnberry on the Green condominium in Aventura on Halloween. “Aventura, 911 what’s your emergency”, dispatcher said. “I live in Turnberry on the green and I heard a couple of gunshots,” the caller replies. New surveillance video, obtained exclusively by 7News, showed what police called a premeditated effort to lure the victim to a vulnerable location in order to kill him, just steps from Aventura Mall. It all started when the victim, Anthony Antoine, met Nicolas Singleton and Kevina Ferguson. Police described the victim as wanting to pick up a package from his potential killers.Shortly after, a vehicle circled the front driveway and the victim was seen standing and holding his phone at the passenger side door as he talked to those inside.According to the arrest report, the victim had sent his girlfriend a message that morning, which turned out to be chilling and prophetic. He felt as if his potential kille...

Keir Starmer pitches for summit with Joe Biden ahead of 2024 elections

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:31:30 GMT

LONDON — He’s embraced Bidenomics. Now, U.K. Labour leader Keir Starmer wants to meet U.S. President Joe Biden for face-to-face talks before both men head into elections next year.The U.K. opposition leader — on course to become Britain’s next prime minister, if current polling proves correct — is seeking talks with Biden in 2024, two Labour Party officials told POLITICO. They were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.“David Lammy [Starmer’s shadow foreign secretary] has been tasked with making it happen,” one of the officials said. “But it’s tricky because we don’t know when the election is going to be.”The precise date of the U.K. election will be chosen by Starmer’s opponent, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, though it must be called before the end of January 2025. Lammy has emerged as a key figure in Labour’s efforts to deepen its relationship with the Biden administration. He has visited the U.S. five times in his two years as shadow foreign secretary,...

Inside the police force scouring the internet to save abused children

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:31:30 GMT

EUROPOL HEADQUARTERS, THE HAGUE — “Please knock. Do not enter,” said the sign on the door of Europe’s heavily-secured law enforcement headquarters in the Netherlands. Inside, detectives were staring at their computers, examining a video of a newborn girl being molested. A group of international detectives was trying to identify details — a toy, a clothing label, a sound — that would allow them to rescue the girl and arrest those who sexually abused her, recorded it and then shared it on the internet.Even a tiny hint could help track down the country where the baby girl was assaulted, allowing the case to be transferred to the right police authority for further investigation. Such details matter when police are trying to tackle crimes carried out behind closed doors but disseminated online across the world.Finding and stopping child sex offenders is gruesome and frustrating most of the time — yet hugely rewarding sometimes — police officers part of the international task force a...

Time for Ukraine to work with the Russian opposition

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:31:30 GMT

Maxim Mironov is professor of finance at the IE Business School in Madrid.Ever since the war began, Ukraine has relied on the West as its main ally in the fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion. However, after almost two years of conflict, it is becoming clearer that Ukraine and the West have different goals.Ukraine aspires to recover all its territories currently occupied by Russia. Meanwhile, the West prefers to maintain the current situation, gradually weakening Russia and avoiding major direct confrontation. Ultimately, it is a question of how long Ukraine’s resources will last and enable it to continue fighting.When the war broke out, Ukraine’s leaders immediately adopted the mindset that it was at war not with Putin, but with all of Russia and its people. This approach was initially justified, as it mobilized both Ukrainian society and Western public opinion. However, at this stage in the war, it might be reasonable to start viewing part of...

Program in Lynn helping Afghan immigrants and refugees receives national attention with recognition by Prince Harry, Meghan Markle’s foundation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:31:30 GMT

A local program helping Afghan immigrants and refugees is receiving some national attention after it was recognized by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation. The Afghan Women’s Workshop is based in Lynn. With its recognition came thousands of dollars in grant money. “It just fits exactly, smoothly in what we were doing,” said Natasha Soolkin of the New American Association of Massachusetts.The Afghan Women’s Workshop was created by the Office of Refugees and Immigrants and the New American Association of Massachusetts. Both organizations helped families resettle after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021. Through their work, the New American Association helped men find jobs. But they found that the women often felt left behind. “Spouses and children were kind of left behind and they were stuck in these small apartments without any friends, without anybody they know,” Soolkin said. “We started bringing them to the center for this pur...

Holiday Helping: Jadiann Thompson Baked Brie Bites

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:31:30 GMT

7News Holiday Helping is back! In this edition, Jadiann Thompson is making her baked brie bites.Order new 2023 recipes from the 7News team to get all of their favorite holiday recipes! Your donation will help Project Bread feed hungry families right here in Massachusetts.Check out other Holiday Helping recipes from the 7News team.