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Surprise ambulance bills put these families in debt. A new California law bans the practice.

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:08:53 GMT

By Kristen Hwang | CalMattersThe COVID-19 pandemic took a brutal toll on Danielle Miele’s family. But after two exorbitant ambulance bills, she’s afraid to call 911.Her teenage son attempted suicide in 2022, Miele said. His mental health deteriorated during the pandemic, and he needed an ambulance transfer from the Roseville emergency room, where Miele took him, to a treatment center in San Mateo. The ambulance company hit Miele with a $9,000 out-of-network charge, which was sent to collections “almost immediately,” she said.The virus also left Miele with seizures that mimic the symptoms of a heart attack, she said. Miele called 911 the first time a seizure happened. The 15-minute ride to the hospital cost $4,000 without help from insurance.“The last time I had one of my seizures, I basically said, ‘I’m going to die here at home…I’m not getting another ambulance,’” Miele said. “I’d maybe rather die at home than have more medical debt.”A new California law taking effect Jan. 1 target...

4 injured in Denver shooting

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:08:53 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Denver police were on the scene of a shooting that injured four people early Saturday morning.The extent of the injuries was unknown as of 8:30 a.m.The shooting happened in the 4800 block of West Colfax Avenue around 1:30 a.m.The investigation was ongoing.

1 killed in pedestrian crash in Aurora

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:08:53 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Police in Aurora investigated a deadly pedestrian crash that occurred late Friday night. The crash happened in the area of Alameda Avenue and South Frazier Court.The victim, an adult woman, died on the scene, according to police. The investigation was ongoing, and police did not have vehicle information.

Denver weather: Mild Saturday, more seasonal Sunday with mountain snow

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:08:53 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The Pinpoint Weather Team is forecasting high temperatures on Saturday that will yet again be above average for the final days of December.High temperatures will be around 10-15 degrees above normal due to a high-pressure system and increased sunshine. With that being said, Colorado’s Most Accurate Forecast is tracking slightly cooler temperatures to arrive by the end of the weekend.Weather today: One last mild dayHigh temperatures will be in the middle to lower 50s under mostly sunny skies. Winds will be out of the southwest anywhere between 5-10 mph. Weather tonight: Increasing clouds, chillyClouds build overnight as temperatures are forecasted to drop down into the middle to lower 20s under mostly cloudy skies. There will be a few single-digit overnight lows in Colorado mountain towns, especially areas along the I-70 corridor and across the Northern Mountains. Look for temperatures to sink into the teens across the eastern plains. Looking ahead: More seasonal temp...

Fire rescue extinguishes flames engulfing South Miami home

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:08:53 GMT

Fire crews battled a blaze in the city of South Miami.At around 5:46 a.m. on Saturday, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue was sent out to reports of a fire in a home off 62nd Avenue and Southwest 64th Street.Firefighters used an axe at one point to break through the charred remains of the home.“The smell was really bad, so I figured something was on fire,” said resident Augusto Ramos. “So I got out of the studio and I saw the door of the unit was black. So we just ran and woke up everyone.”At least 6 units were damaged during the incident.Fire officials went door to door, ensuring everyone got out safely and no injuries were reported.Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

10 killed in Ukrainian strikes on border regions, Russian officials say

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:08:53 GMT

Ukraine launched a series of drone and missile attacks on Russia over the past 24 hours, killing at least 10 people, Russian officials said on Saturday. The Russian emergency ministry said one child was among those killed in Belgorod, a city less than 50 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. Another 45 people, including four children, were injured, according to the ministry. On Saturday morning, the Russian defense ministry said that it had shot down 32 Ukrainian drones over border areas as well as the regions of Oryol and Moscow further north. The Ukrainian strikes come after large-scale Russian air attacks on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that the death toll from Friday’s airstrikes had risen to 39. Russian local officials had said earlier on Saturday that Ukrainian strikes on border regions had killed one man and two children in Belgorod and another child in the Bryansk region. “The Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the center of Belgor...

Police shoot, kill former New Bedford deputy fire chief in bar interaction

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:08:53 GMT

The former New Bedford deputy fire chief was shot and killed by police outside a Fair Haven bar in an interaction that also left one officer wounded by a gunshot.Fairhaven Police responded at around 4:30 p.m. to the Bayside Lounge on Sconticut Neck Road Friday after receiving a call that a drunk patron of the bar was physically fighting someone who was trying to prevent him from driving. When police arrived, that man had a gun on him, according to the Bristol District Attorney’s office.“Unfortunately the individual who was reported to be intoxicated fired his weapon, fire was returned as a result of that and he was killed,” Bristol DA Thomas Quinn III summarized during a press conference near the scene of the incident.Police identified the man as Paul Coderre, 55, of Dartmouth. Quinn confirmed to the media that Coderre was the former interim deputy New Bedford Fire Chief.Quinn said that Coderre bad been drinking for hours in the Lounge with friends when “there was an altercation ins...

Venice is limiting tourist groups to 25 people starting in June to protect the popular lagoon city

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:08:53 GMT

MILAN (AP) — The Italian city of Venice announced new limits Saturday on the size of tourist groups, the latest move to reduce the pressure of mass tourism on the famed canal city.Starting in June, groups will be limited to 25 people, or roughly half the capacity of a tourist bus, and the use of loudspeakers, “which can generate confusion and disturbances,” will be banned, the city said in a statement.The city official charged with security, Elisabetta Pesce, said the policies were aimed at improving the movement of groups through Venice’s historic center as well as the heavily visited islands of Murano, Burano and Torcello.The city previously announced plans to test a new day-tripper fee this year. The 5 euros ($5.45) per person fee will be applied on 29 peak days between April and mid-July, including most weekends. It is intended to regulate crowds, encourage longer visits and improve the quality of life for Venice residents. The U.N. cultural agency cited tourism’s impact o...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith set to launch sweeping health-delivery changes in 2024

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:08:53 GMT

EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith is set to take scalpel and bone saw to Alberta’s $17-billion health-delivery system in 2024, while simultaneously scrambling to keep and find more family doctors.One goal can’t wait on the other, Smith said in a recent year-end interview.“We won’t be able to solve the front-line problems without doing a massive reorganization,” said Smith.“Our nurses are getting burnt out after two years and leaving our system. Paramedics last about five years on average. Doctors have reduced their private practice andnot enough are going into primary care.“That’s a management problem … decisions that either don’t get made or get pushed off, or bad decisions get made. And that has a huge impact on morale.”Smith’s United Conservative Party government is expected in the spring sitting to begin passing laws to make good on her plan to dismantle Alberta Health Services, the centralized body that oversees ...

Expert says number of police shootings in Canada ‘spectacularly unrelenting’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 00:08:53 GMT

The family of a woman shot by an officer in Edmonton during a wellness check says her death was unnecessary, as the number of police shootings across Canada show little sign of relenting over the past four years. “I see my daughter’s death as being a result of a complete mishandling of the tools available to law enforcement in the application of dealing with mental health issues,” the family of the woman, who has not been publicly identified, says in a statement from their lawyer, Tom Engel.Edmonton police have said officers were called for a welfare check earlier this month. There were risks the woman may harm herself, so police say officers entered the apartment, there was a confrontation and the woman was shot. Family says that had the police approach been gradual and gentle, she would have understood the nature of the visit and would still be alive. A tally compiled by The Canadian Press found police shot at 85 people in Canada between Jan. 1 and...