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Metallica buys vinyl record factory in Alexandria

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

Eric Astor, president and founder of Furnace Record Pressing, says 1,700 units is considered an average run for his presses. (WTOP/Tiffany Arnold)The iconic heavy metal band Metallica has purchased the Furnace Record Pressing factory in Alexandria, Virginia, according to a statement from shop founder and CEO Eric Astor.With purchases of vinyl well surpassing CDs over the past few years, Metallica had already drafted the pressing company to provide thousands of vinyls. Since 2014, Furnace has produced more than 5 million vinyl LPs for the Grammy Award-winning band.See WTOP’s photo gallery of the Furnace Record Pressing factory in Alexandria, Va.The announcement came as the Metallica shared plans to release their new album, “72 Seasons,” this April.According to Billboard magazine, Metallica sold over 900,000 vinyl records in 2022 alone. Roughly half of those sales were in the United States.Astor, who has run the shop for over 26 years, said the new ownership wouldn&#...

Michigan RB Blake Corum says he’ll be back by fall camp

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan All-America running back Blake Corum said his surgically repaired left knee has gotten strong enough that he’s been cleared to run on an anti-gravity treadmill next week.Corum said Thursday that he is “100%” sure he will play in the season-opening game on Sept. 2 against East CarolinaCorum tore a meniscus and sprained a ligament in his left knee against Illinois on Nov. 19. After playing sparingly against Ohio State, he sat out when the Wolverines won the Big Ten title and advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals.Instead of entering the NFL draft, Corum decided to stay in school for his senior year.“Feeling great all-around mentally, physically spiritually,” Corum told The Associated Press on Thursday.The 5-foot-8, 210-pound Corum ran for 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and had 952 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore in 2021.“I’ll be back definitely by fall camp,” he said. “I plan on doing everything in the summe...

Kansas’ Self, recovering from heart procedure, to miss game

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self will miss the defending national champion Jayhawks’ NCAA Tournament first-round game against Howard on Thursday, the school announced two hours before tipoff.Assistant coach Norm Roberts will serve as acting head coach while Self continues to recover from a heart procedure performed last week.Self traveled to Des Moines with the Jayhawks and led the team’s practice on Wednesday. He did not attend the team’s media availability. Roberts said Self had returned to the hotel to rest.Self’s status for a possible second-round game Saturday was unknown.Self went to the emergency room the night of March 8, shortly after watching the Jayhawks hold a final shootaround ahead of their Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal. He was complaining of chest tightness and concerns with his balance.Dr. Mark Wiley, the chief of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Kansas Health System, said the 60-year-old Self underwent a standard heart ca...

Uber launches new safety feature in Denver metro

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A ride-sharing company is now offering an added safety feature for riders and drivers in the Denver metro area.Uber announced its implementation of the audio recording option in the app. Denver is one of several new cities the company launched the new feature. Riders and drivers can add the safety feature in the app's Safety Toolkit section. After it's enabled, the option to "record audio" can be initiated by hitting "start." Both parties can begin or end a recording at any time during a trip. The feature automatically shuts off after a trip is completed.“We’re committed to investing in innovative technology to enhance safety on the platform. We hope that by expanding this tool, we can continue to help give riders and drivers peace of mind and encourage more comfortable interactions while on trips,” Andi Pimentel Dunn, product manager at Uber, said in a release. ‘Just cause’ eviction bill passes Colorado House The company said the technology protects both parties...

Police arrest 18-year-old homicide suspect, find guns, cash

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

ARVADA, Colo. (KDVR) — Northglenn and Arvada police arrested an 18-year-old in connection to a deadly shooting and discovered multiple weapons and a large amount of cash. According to the Northglenn Police Department, on Tuesday, with the assistance of the Arvada Police Department, 18-year-old Camron Enrique Acosta was taken into custody for first-degree murder in connection to a deadly shooting.Camron Enrique Acosta was arrested on charges of first-degree murder following a deadly shooting back in January. (Northglenn Police Department) NPD said the shooting happened on Jan. 7 at 11: 20 p.m. in the 1300 block of Regina Lane. When officers arrived on scene, they located 21-year-old Leon Lorenzo Dean Guerra with a gunshot wound. He was taken to the hospital where he later died. Wheelchair amputee left in the cold by hospital security guards NPD and APD located Acosta at around 1:54 p.m. Tuesday after they attempted a traffic stop at 50th Avenue and Kipling Street. Officers said Ac...

Miami man wins $1 million from $5 scratch-off ticket

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

A Miami-Dade County man hit the jackpot when he won $1 million off a scratch-off ticket.William Burns, of Miami, claimed a $1 million prize from the FLORIDA 50X THE CASH Holiday Edition scratch-off game at the Lottery’s Miami District Office, the lottery said in a news release. He chose to receive his winnings as a one-time, lump-sum payment of $695,000.00.Burns purchased his winning ticket from Queen Supermarket, located at 3601 Grand Avenue in Miami.The retailer will receive $2,000 for selling the winning scratch-off ticket.The $5 game features a top prize of $25 million. The game’s overall odds of winning are 1-in-4.50.

FedEx delivers hundreds of pairs of sneakers to students at Earlington Heights Elementary School in Northwest Miami-Dade

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

Hundreds of South Florida students got off on the right foot thanks to FedEx. FedEx employees on Thursday were at Earlington Heights Elementary School in Northwest Miami-Dade to give out 200 pairs of free shoes to students. “All throughout the United States, between the months of March and April, we’re going to be at 28 different schools, and we’ll have been delivering 8,400 pairs of shoes for children across the country,” said Stephanie Seberg, FedEx Spokeswoman for Operation Warm. FedEx partnered with the non-profit called Operation Warm, which provides shoes and coats to kids in need across the country. “What we can get, we’re grateful for it and we take it, so as long as we have people on the outside that are willing to come in, the doors of Earlington are always open,” said Jackson Nicolas, principal of the school.The diverse International Baccalaureate school welcomed the volunteers with open arms.The students looked for the perfect fi...

College of Europe to open new campus in Albania

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

The EU’s favorite university is in for a Balkan enlargement.  The Commission’s neighborhood czar Olivér Várhelyi announced that the College of Europe — the training ground for aspiring Eurocrats — will open a new campus in Tirana, Albania, in a sign that the Balkan country is edging closer toward EU membership. This move is seen by regional experts as an attempt by the bloc to increase its soft power in a key geopolitical region.Albania is an EU candidate country and is in the process of aligning with the EU’s rules and carrying out reforms to meet the bloc’s accession criteria.The new campus will be funded by the Commission and applications for students will open in September 2023, according to Várhelyi. He added: “The only thing we need now is a building, a nice site [for the college].”Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama hailed the news as a “great gift” and something “exceptionally important and significant for us” in a joint news conference in Tirana with the EU’s forei...

Chinese companies are shipping rifles, body armor to Russia

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

Chinese companies, including one connected to the government in Beijing, have sent Russian entities 1,000 assault rifles and other equipment that could be used for military purposes, including drone parts and body armor, according to trade and customs data obtained by POLITICO.The shipments took place between June and December 2022, according to the data provided by ImportGenius, a customs data aggregator.China North Industries Group Corporation Limited, one of the country’s largest state-owned defense contractors, sent the rifles in June 2022 to a Russian company called Tekhkrim that also does business with the Russian state and military. The CQ-A rifles, modeled off of the M16 but tagged as “civilian hunting rifles” in the data, have been reported to be in use by paramilitary police in China and by armed forces from the Philippines to South Sudan and Paraguay.Russian entities also received 12 shipments of drone parts by Chines...

Linebacker Elandon Roberts goes from Dolphins to Steelers in free agency

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

Linebacker Elandon Roberts’ time with the Miami Dolphins is up.The seven-year pro who spent the past three seasons in Miami is headed to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a two-year deal, according to NFL Network.Change was likely coming to the Dolphins’ inside linebacker corps when the team reached a deal with David Long, formerly of the Tennessee Titans. Miami is also re-signing linebacker Duke Riley as the defense transitions to being led by Vic Fangio following Josh Boyer’s tenure as defensive coordinator.The sure-tackling Roberts is coming off his first triple-digit tackle season, collecting 107 with a career-high 4 ½ sacks in 2022. Over three years with the Dolphins, he had 251 tackles. Roberts also played his first four seasons with the New England Patriots, where he won two Super Bowls and had former Dolphins coaches Boyer and Brian Flores on the defensive staff.Miami has Long, Jerome Baker, whose contract for 2023 becomes guaranteed on March 19, Riley and 20...