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Inflation is even taking a bite out of Coloradans' Big Macs

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:40:38 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — This one hurts. With inflation still running rampant across a fiscally exhausted U.S., there are few breaks to catch. There is some small reprieve as rents and housing prices have ceased their upward march early in 2023, but the pandemic has still raised costs of living across the board faster in the last two years than at any point in the last 40 years. McDonald's famed Big Mac isn't immune. Denver metro 4th in nation for inflation since 2020 Global financial magazine The Economist has analyzed worldwide Big Mac prices since 1986 as a gauge for consumer buying power. This year has seen the iconic double-pattie bite of Americana rise in price faster than any of the last 10 years. The average price of a Big Mac in the United States was $5.36 as of December 2022, the highest it's ever been. In 2000, the burger cost less than half the current price - $2.24. Between December 2021 and December 2022, the Big Mac rose 6.35% in price. The last time it jumped that much in ...

Miami Dolphins officially exercise quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:40:38 GMT

(CNN) — The Miami Dolphins officially exercised quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option on his rookie contract on Monday.The 24-year-old is now contracted with the team through the 2024 season. He will be guaranteed $23.2 million for the 2024 season, according to the NFL.Tagovailoa was the NFL’s highest-rated passer last season with a 105.5 rating, becoming the youngest player to lead the league in passer rating since former Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino did so in 1984.However, despite showing flashes of the promise the Dolphins saw in him coming out of Alabama, Tagovailoa had a tumultuous season last year, particularly down to his battles with head injuries.Tagovailoa suffered three concussions throughout the year, raising scrutiny about the NFL’s concussion protocols.His health scares started September 25 in a game against the Buffalo Bills, when Tagovailoa stumbled backward and fell during a play, hitting his head on the turf. Though he initially ...

Inspired by a trip to Indonesia, Snoop Dogg launches new coffee line

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:40:38 GMT

(CNN) — Rapper and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg is expanding his business empire yet again, this time branching out into a line of premium coffee products with beans sourced locally from Indonesia.He has partnered with Indonesian coffee entrepreneur Michael Riady to launch INDOxyz: “a premium lifestyle coffee brand created for and inspired by the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators,” according to a press release sent to CNN.“My relationship with coffee goes way back,” Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, said in the statement. “The many long nights in the studio making hit after hit, coffee provided the fuel which kept us going. Today marks the launch of a new company I created along with my partner Michael, who introduced me to the best tasting Indonesian coffee,” he said. “All it took was one sip and Snoop was hooked.”Snoop added: “Indo is going to change the industry, I can promise you that,” refer...

Politics gets a bad rap: Orbán aide tangles with MEP via ChatGPT

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:40:38 GMT

ChatGPT is at it again.This time the responsive artificial intelligence has angered the Hungarian government.Asked by Green MEP Daniel Freund on Monday to “write a rap song about Orbán’s corruption,” the popular chatbot slammed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.While it’s unlikely to win a Grammy, the chatbot touched a nerve in Budapest with its verses:He’s been stacking the courts, packing the pressMaking sure his critics are silenced, no lessUsing public funds to line his own pockets(…) From football clubs to luxury castlesOrbán’s empire is built on scams and hustles.The chatbot’s attack prompted an angry response from Orbán’s government’s spokesperson.Zoltán Kovács fired back, saying the chatbot was “nothing more than a bullshit generator” — and went on to ask the AI software to create a rap song about Freund.But the chatbot actually praised the German MEP, labeling him a “fighter for democracy,R...

Beyond TikTok, Dutch tell government staff to uninstall Chinese, Russian apps

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:40:38 GMT

The Dutch government has issued new guidance Tuesday for its officials to uninstall apps from countries that wage a “offensive cyber program” against the Netherlands, including China, Russia, North Korea and Iran. The move is a response to questions by Dutch lawmakers about whether the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok should be banned from work phones. Government officials were told already in November not to use TikTok for government work, but formal restrictions on the app — like the ban that EU institutions issued in February — was not in place yet. In their new guidance the Dutch are going beyond TikTok. “The first step is to immediately dissuade officials of the national government to install or use apps on mobile work devices from companies originating from countries with an offensive cyber program against the Netherlands and/or against Dutch interests,” Minister of Digitization Alexandra van Huffelen wrote in a letter to lawmakers, seen by POLITI...

London’s Met Police facing ‘long road to recovery’ after damning report on its culture

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:40:38 GMT

LONDON — The Metropolitan Police is riddled with “institutional” racism, misogyny and homophobia, a blistering report on the U.K.’s largest police force concluded.The official review — conducted over twelve months by former top civil servant Louise Casey in the wake of a host of high-profile crimes involving Met officers — warns that the London force has lost the faith of the British public.The findings come in the wake of serving Met officer Wayne Couzens’ conviction for the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard. Just last month, former Met officer David Carrick — similarly trusted to guard parliament and diplomatic sites as part of an elite team — was sentenced to life in jail for abusing multiple women while on the force.The review identifies a number of cases where female, gay or minority ethnic officers were mistreated or abused by colleagues, and derides a bullying “boys’ club” culture in which predators had “too many places to hide.”Speaking in the House of Commons Wednesd...

Home belonging to son of Sen. Elizabeth Warren destroyed in Medford fire

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:40:38 GMT

Senator Elizabeth Warren arrived at the scene of a massive fire at her son Alexander’s home in Medford Tuesday morning. Medford Fire Chief John Freedman says no one was injured, as the home was under construction and vacant, but nearby homes were evacuated. Firefighters from multiple communities responded to the scene off of Governor’s Avenue around 1 a.m. and remain on scene as of 9 a.m. to monitor hot spots. Flames and heavy smoke took over the two and a half-story home and the windows were blown out. Warren was seen surveying the damage of the home on Terrace Road. According to city records, the house is worth $1.3 million“I deeply appreciate the efforts of the firefighters who worked through the night to put out a fire at our son’s house,” Warren said in a statement. “I am grateful that everyone is safe and request privacy for our family.”A family member who was with Warren told 7NEWS that it had been “a really bad morning.”Crews said the elev...

Car slams into Winchester home, causing porch to collapse

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:40:38 GMT

A car slammed into a home on Harvard Street in Winchester Tuesday morning. Firefighters responded to the scene around 8 a.m. and worked to get the car out. The impact of the crash caused the front porch to collapse onto the car. The porch has since been demolished. Homeowner Mike McGoff says he was shocked to go outside and see the damage. “I heard it, but I thought it was the dumpster because he comes out here every morning,” McGoff said. “The house is pretty old and pretty solid,” he added. “It rattled a little bit, not as much as you’d think. I didn’t really feel it.”The driver was not hurt and says he thinks the gas pedal got stuck while he was in reverse.

Wall Street opens higher as regional banks bounce back

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:40:38 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rallying in early trading on Wall Street on hopes for more help for banks from the U.S. government. Even the banks most beaten down by the industry’s crisis, like First Republic, were higher. The S&P 500 rose 1% early Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq composite were also higher. Markets around the world have pinballed this month on worries the banking system may be cracking under the pressure of the fastest set of hikes to interest rates in decades. If the S&P 500 squeezes out a gain, it would mark its first back-to-back rise in two weeks.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street is poised to open higher Tuesday ahead of a decision by the Federal Reserve this week on whether to raise interest rates again despite heightened anxiety over the stability of the global banking system.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and futures for the S&P 500 each rose 0.8%.Wall Street’s ben...

Hearings begin before Supreme Court on federal environmental impact assessment law

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:40:38 GMT

OTTAWA — Arguments are underway before the Supreme Court of Canada in a long-awaited case over the federal Impact Assessment Act.The court is expected to hear from legal experts and environmental groups that support the law.Nine of 10 provinces, led by Alberta, argue that the law intrudes on provincial jurisdiction.Alberta is particularly concerned about the effect the law might have on its ability to export its oil through pipelines.Last May, the Alberta Appeal Court ruled the law was outside federal jurisdiction.This week’s hearings are an appeal of that decision.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2023.The Canadian Press