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May 11 2026SPORTS

Aurora’s Big Sports Day: A Fresh Look at a Long‑Standing Tradition

Aurora’s 32nd Sports Festival kicked off with a burst of energy at Phillips Park, where middle schoolers from 14 local schools gathered to compete in a wide array of games. The event, organized by the city’s Youth Services Division, draws more than a thousand students and a similar number of volunte

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May 11 2026POLITICS

Alaska Legislature Races to Finish Bills Before May Deadline

The state’s lawmakers are sprinting toward the end of their session, with less than two weeks left to pass a budget and other urgent measures before the constitutional deadline on May 20. Both chambers say a special session could focus on the Alaska LNG pipeline after the regular period ends, but ma

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May 11 2026HEALTH

Steps That Really Keep the Pounds Away

Walking is good for health, but how many steps a day do you really need to keep the weight off? A recent study shows that 8, 500 steps a day is enough to stay lean after dieting. The idea of walking ten thousand steps came from a 1960s ad in Japan, not science. Researchers looked at people

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May 11 2026EDUCATION

Bridging Generations with Tech and Art in Independence

In a sunny afternoon at the Independence Civic Center, high schoolers turned into tech mentors for seniors, showing how simple clicks can bring a new world of connectivity. The event welcomed people of all ages to share their devices, from phones and tablets to laptops and e‑readers. Students patien

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May 11 2026FINANCE

Hedge Funds Jump In as Litigation Deals Take a Hit

When the market for funding lawsuits starts to falter, some of the biggest names in investing see a chance. Hedge funds that usually chase high‑yield opportunities now turn their attention to legal claims that are trading at very low prices. Companies that specialize in buying distressed debt, su

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May 11 2026FINANCE

Digital Asset Startup Secures $300 Million in Funding

A blockchain platform that powers major banks and traders has attracted a hefty investment round. The company, known as Digital Asset Holdings LLC, announced it will raise about $300 million from a group of investors led by Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto arm, a16z crypto. The deal values the firm at r

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May 11 2026POLITICS

South Carolina’s Budget Battles: When College Funding Becomes a Pawn in Politics

Lawmakers in South Carolina aren’t just making headlines—they’re playing a risky game with the state’s money. A group of Republican politicians recently pushed to cut all funding for South Carolina State University, a historically Black college, after the school withdrew an invitation for Lt. Gov. P

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May 11 2026EDUCATION

What Oregon’s education debate misses about the real classroom priorities

When local schools in Oregon grab headlines, the conversation often zooms in on union politics first. Two recent pages worth of reporting dug deep into disputes among teachers’ groups, quoting officials about budgets and contracts. But here’s the odd part—nowhere in those long discussions did anyone

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May 11 2026POLITICS

Grants frozen again: How federal cuts hit Indigenous research at UC Berkeley

Last month, federal officials hit pause on at least 18 research grants at UC Berkeley, despite a judge just months ago telling them to stop canceling grants. One of those frozen was a $1. 4-million project at the Lawrence Hall of Science that trains Ohlone youth to build mixed-reality exhibits about

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May 11 2026LIFESTYLE

A Young Skier’s Legacy Helps Others Hit the Slopes

Nine-year-old Zakaria Bel Qaid spent his last day alive doing something many kids love—playing outside with his sister. But a sudden accident changed everything when a tree collapsed onto the school playground in Melrose, leaving Zakaria critically injured. First responders rushed him and two others

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