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Florida man riding human-sized hamster wheel in Atlantic Ocean faces federal charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:00 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — A Florida man who was attempting to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a man-made hamster wheel is facing federal charges after it took the U.S. Coast Guard five days to bring him ashore, according to a criminal complaint filed in Miami.The Coast Guard spotted Reza Baluchi, 51, some 70 miles (112 kilometers) off the coast of Tybee Island, Georgia, on Aug. 26, while making preparations for Hurricane Franklin, the complaint, filed in federal court, said. Baluchi was charged Tuesday with obstruction of boarding and violation of a captain of the port order.Baluchi told the Coast Guard crew that he was attempting to ride the “hydro-pod” vessel to England, and that he had a Florida registration, which he unable to locate for them, onboard.The officers said the vessel was “afloat as a result of wiring and buoys” and determined that Baluchi was conducting “a manifestly unsafe voyage,” the complaint said.When they attempted to get him to leave the vessel, Baluchi told them he had a kni...

Miami mother arrested after allegedly keeping child confined at home for five years, denying basic necessities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:00 GMT

A 42-year-old Miami woman faces charges of child neglect after it was discovered that she had confined her nine-year-old daughter to their home for five years. During this time, the child was denied an education, proper medical care and had to beg for food.According to the arrest report, Kelli McGriff-Williams prevented her daughter from leaving their home and kept her mostly confined to a bedroom. The child would have to beg to eat, and at times, food was not provided. McGriff-Williams also never enrolled her daughter in school, resulting in the child being unable to read or write.Even when the child fell seriously ill, McGriff-Williams did not seek medical attention for her. The situation came to light on Aug. 26, when a Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD) officer responded to a Department of Children and Families (DCF) investigation. McGriff-Williams was subsequently involuntarily admitted to Jackson South Hospital due to her altered mental state.On Aug. 30, an officer made conta...

Human skull found in box donated to Goodwill, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:00 GMT

GOODYEAR, Arizona (KPHO) — Goodyear police are investigating what led up to a human skull being put in a box of donated items at Goodwill.Officers responded on Tuesday to the location near Sarival Avenue and Yuma Road. When police arrived, they found “what appears to be an actual human skull,” authorities said. After being taken to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office for further evaluation, authorities say it appears that it is a “historic” skull and bears no “forensic significance,” and that at this time, it seems like no crime was committed. However, the investigation remains ongoing.

MCAS Critics Ready To “Sprint” Toward 2024 Ballot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:00 GMT

Attorney General Andrea Campbell ruled Wednesday that two proposed ballot questions related to the role of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam are legally sound, keeping open the possibility that Bay State voters could decide next fall whether passing the standardized test should remain a requirement to graduate high school here.The attorney general said both proposed questions — one filed by a Lexington mother and another offered by the Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA) — met constitutional muster, but sponsors of both questions have decided to combine forces behind the teachers’ union-backed proposal.The initiative would eliminate the requirement that a student pass the MCAS to graduate high school and instead would require that students complete coursework certified by their district “as demonstrating mastery of the competencies contained in the state academic standards in mathematics, science and technology, and ...

Boston Marathon purse to break $1 million with boost in para athlete divisions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:00 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Marathon will add two more para athlete divisions and boost prize money that will put the total Patriots’ Day purse above $1 million for the first time, organizers said Thursday.The Boston Athletic Association said its flagship race will welcome athletes classified with coordination impairments and intellectual impairments. Previous divisions for upper and lower limb impairment will be more inclusive, race organizers said.“We are always looking at ways to celebrate and reward athletic excellence,” BAA President and CEO Jack Fleming said in a statement. “Boston is a running city, and we’ve made it our goal to elevate Para athletes as they train and compete for the podium at our events, from the 5K through to the marathon.”In the first year after Bank of America replaced John Hancock as the main sponsor, first prize for its men’s and women’s wheelchair winners will rise to $40,000 from $25,000, with a $50,000 bonus for a course re...

Massachusetts ‘heat advisory’ peaks with near 100-degree heat index values, Boston faces ‘heat emergency’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:00 GMT

The hot and humid weather is expected to persist into Friday, with the peak of the Massachusetts “heat advisory” Thursday afternoon as heat index values approach 100 degrees and as Boston faces a “heat emergency” on the first day of school.National Weather Service meteorologists were warning residents about the risk of heat exhaustion and heat illnesses amid this early September blast of brutally hot weather. The “heat advisory” remains in effect through Friday evening.“Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors,” the National Weather Service wrote in its advisory. “Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances.“Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside,” NWS added. “When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat ex...

District attorney in Georgia election case against Trump and others seeks protections for jurors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:00 GMT

By KATE BRUMBACK (Associated Press)ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia prosecutor who has brought charges accusing former President Donald Trump and others of illegally trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state is asking the judge in the case to take steps to protect jurors.The preemptory step by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis comes after the grand jurors who returned the 41-count indictment against Trump and 18 others were subjected to harassment when their information was posted online. It’s a reflection of the highly polarized feelings surrounding the criminal cases against the former president.Willis wrote in a motion filed Wednesday that the grand jurors’ information was posted “with the intent to harass and intimidate them.” Additionally, the motion said, the personal information of Willis, a Black woman, and that of her family and staff have been posted online ”intertwined with derogatory and racist remarks.”...

In Southeast Asia, Kamala Harris is at the center of White House efforts to counterbalance China

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:00 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — It took more than a day of flying, including two refueling stops, for Vice President Kamala Harris to reach this year’s summit of Southeast Asian countries. And once she arrived, she had less than eight minutes of public speaking time during two meetings. But in Jakarta’s cavernous convention center, adorned with billowing flowers and tropical plants for the occasion, Harris saw an opportunity to shape the future of United States foreign policy. In an interview with The Associated Press, the vice president said that Washington must “pay attention to 10, 20, 30 years down the line, and what we are developing now that will be to the benefit of our country then.”For her, that means working in Southeast Asia. Two-thirds of its population is under 35 years old. It’s the fourth-largest market for U.S. exports. One-third of global shipping travels through the South China Sea.“Think about it,” Harris said. This was her third trip to Southeast Asia since...

Convicted of embezzlement, former Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon is running again

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:00 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — More than a decade after being convicted of embezzling donated gift cards, a former Baltimore mayor has announced she’s again running for office.Sheila Dixon, who resigned as part of a 2010 plea agreement in the corruption case, penned an op-ed in The Baltimore Sun on Thursday apologizing for her past digressions and announcing her candidacy in the city’s 2024 mayoral race. This marks her third bid for mayor following two unsuccessful attempts since her own tenure ended in scandal.Dixon will go up against current Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott in the city’s Democratic primary. Scott is running for a second term.In December 2009, a jury found Dixon guilty of embezzlement for misusing gift cards that had been donated to City Hall for charity. Instead of using them to serve the poor, Dixon spent about $500 at Target and Best Buy to purchase things for her family and staff.Additional perjury charges against her were later dropped. Dixon served four years probation and co...

‘There’s no one to fill his shoes’: Journalist and author Peter C. Newman dies at 94

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:50:00 GMT

Veteran journalist and author Peter C. Newman, who held a mirror up to Canada, has died at the age of 94. He died in hospital in Belleville, Ont., Thursday morning from complications related to a stroke he had last year, which caused him to develop Parkinson’s disease, his wife Alvy Newman said by phone. “It’s a big loss for Canada,” she said. “He has no peers. There’s no one to fill his shoes. Who is there that’s an author and a journalist that can show Canada to themselves?”In his decades-long career, Newman served as editor-in-chief of the Toronto Star and Maclean’s, covering Canadian politics and business.Often recognized by his trademark sailor’s cap, Newman also wrote two dozen books and earned the informal title of Canada’s “most cussed and discussed commentator,” said HarperCollins, one of his publishers, in an author note.Newman was born in Vienna in 1929 and came to Canada in 1940 as a Jewish ref...