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Miami-Dade Police director out of surgery after critical injury in Tampa as Florida police investigate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:59 GMT

MIAMI (AP/WSVN) — The director of the Miami-Dade Police Department was in stable condition after surgery in a Tampa area hospital, the Miami-Dade mayor said Monday.“Following a critical injury in Tampa yesterday, Chief Ramirez is hospitalized and in critical but stable condition,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez, 52, was in Tampa for a law enforcement conference, officials said.Amid speculation over what caused Ramirez’s injury, the mayor said that “All that matters right now is Chief Ramirez’s wellbeing,” and state Florida law enforcement officials said they were investigating an ‘incident.’“We have been advised by local law enforcement agencies that our Director, Alfredo ‘Freddy’ Ramirez, has suffered a critical injury in the Tampa area. We understand he is currently undergoing surgery,” a statement from the Miami-Dade Police Department. “We ask you to please keep him in your prayers.”The statement said the inciden...

North Korea fires ballistic missile after US submarine arrives in South Korea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:59 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile into its eastern sea, South Korea’s military said Tuesday, adding to a recent streak in weapons testing that is apparently in protest of the U.S. sending major naval assets to South Korea in a show of force.South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff did not immediately say where the weapon was launched from and how far it flew.The launch came hours after South Korea’s navy said a nuclear-propelled U.S. submarine – the USS Annapolis — arrived at a port on Jeju Island. The arrival of the USS Annapolis adds to the allies’ show of force to counter North Korean nuclear threats.Last week, the USS Kentucky became the first U.S. nuclear-armed submarine to come to South Korea since the 1980s. North Korea reacted to its arrival by test-firing ballistic and cruise missiles in apparent demonstrations that it could make nuclear strikes against South Korea and deployed U.S. naval vessels.Also on Monday, the American-led U.N. Comm...

Fort Lauderdale Police locate parent of wandering child found with French bulldog

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:59 GMT

Fort Lauderdale Police said the parent of the child found wandering alone with a French bulldog Monday morning has been located and reunited with the child. At around 8 a.m., police found the young child wandering alone in the 800 block of E Evanston Circle, accompanied by a female French bulldog. Officers are currently attending to the child, who is a black female, approximately 5 years old, dressed in a yellow dress, white socks and no shoes. She may respond to the name “Crystal,” but her inability to provide significant information has left authorities seeking the public’s assistance in identifying her and locating her parents or guardians.https://twitter.com/ftlauderdalepd/status/1683482283301371912?s=20The child was discovered in the company of a black/brindle French bulldog, which appears to have recently had puppies. Police are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding the child’s appearance and her association with the dog.

Weymouth resident arrested, charged with driving while intoxicated following deadly New Hampshire crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:59 GMT

Authorities say a 33 year old from Weymouth, Mass., was placed under arrest and faces multiple charges, including Aggravated DWI, after a deadly weekend crash in Sanbornton, NH.New Hampshire State Police announced the arrest of Casey W. Kirsch on Monday morning, less than 24 hours after troopers were first called to a crash on I-93 in Sanbornton.Authorities arrived on scene sometime after 1:30 p.m. to find a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado that had gone off the highway and rolled over. State police went on to determine the vehicle had been traveling southbound when it appeared to leave the left side of the road and headed into the interstate’s soft shoulder.“The vehicle then reentered the highway and rolled over,” state police said in a news release. “As a result of the crash, the passenger was ejected and sustained fatal injuries. The operator of the Chevrolet was transported to Franklin Hospital to be evaluated.”State police later identified the passenger ki...

Yankees great Andy Pettitte joining team as an adviser

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:59 GMT

The Yankees are calling on pitching great Andy Pettitte to help them in the present.The five-time World Series champion is joining the Yankees as an adviser — a move manager Aaron Boone says he wanted to make happen “for a long time.”“The more he can be here, the better,” Boone said Sunday. “He’s such a great sounding board, resource, smart. Not only for the pitchers. The position players as well.”Boone says he speaks frequently with Pettitte, whom he played with on the 2003 Yankees. Pettitte’s role will be to impact players wherever possible, the manager said.“He communicates with different pitchers throughout the season via phone,” Boone said. “He does that with position players, too. I just want him breathing into our guys. Excited to have him in the mix.”Pettitte, 51, pitched 15 of his 18 MLB seasons with the Yankees and posted a 256-153 record with a 3.85 ERA for his career. The left-hander, who retir...

Driver slams into sign pole, killed in I-15 crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:59 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A driver was killed Sunday on a major San Diego freeway when his car struck a large sign pole, law enforcement said.The crash occurred around 6:56 a.m. on Interstate 15 southbound, located north of State Route 52, Jesse Matias with the California Highway Patrol said in a news release.Authorities say a white Honda sedan, driven by a 28-year-old man of Moreno Valley, was traveling on I-15 southbound when his vehicle veered to the left and traveled off the roadway, striking a large freeway sign pole. 3 officers hurt in La Jolla UTV rollover crash The driver was ejected from the Honda and died at the scene, Matias confirmed.Officers closed the number one lane for about two hours due to the investigation.The cause of the collision is unknown at this time.

Why is Israel’s judicial overhaul so divisive?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:59 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — For seven months, tens of thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul the judiciary and weaken the Supreme Court.On Monday, the first piece of that legislative package passed: Lawmakers approved a measure that prevents judges from striking down government decisions on the basis that they are “unreasonable.”Here’s a look at what the overhaul is — and why it has drawn the most sustained and intense demonstrations the country has ever seen.WHAT’S IN THE OVERHAUL?The overhaul calls for sweeping changes aimed at curbing the powers of the judiciary.The proposals include a bill that would allow a simple majority in parliament to overturn Supreme Court decisions. Another would give parliament the final say in selecting judges.Netanyahu’s ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox religious allies say the package is meant to restore power to elected officials — and reduce the powers of unel...

Excavator seen digging in backyard of man charged in Gilgo Beach killings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:59 GMT

MASSAPEQUA PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Investigators have been digging in the yard at the Long Island home of Rex Heuermann, who was charged earlier this month with killing at least three women and burying their remains on a remote stretch of beach highway.A yellow excavator that had been seen scooping dirt in the backyard Sunday was still at the house Monday morning. In Associated Press drone footage, a man could also be seen operating a piece of equipment that can be used to scan for buried objects.Over the weekend, police dismantled a wooden deck at the house. “They yelled ‘lift’ and brought it up in one big piece, as if it was a cover,” a neighbor, Barry Auslander told the AP.The porch has been replaced by a white tent, with a state medical examiner’s truck parked nearby.Investigators with shovels could be seen scraping through the freshly upturned earth in Heuermann’s yard.Investigators are trying to determine whether any of the killings happened inside the Massapequa Park ho...

Flooding in Nova Scotia washes out CN Rail track, disrupting train traffic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:59 GMT

MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway Co. says a major washout has halted traffic along part of its main line in Nova Scotia after torrential rain and flooding struck the province over the weekend.A washed-out culvert left a stretch of track sagging unsupported over a massive ditch some 90 kilometres north of Halifax on the key rail connection for freight and passengers between the city and the rest of the country.Via Rail has also issued a travel warning, with no bookings available until Friday between Halifax and Moncton, N.B., after three months’ worth of rain deluged Nova Scotia in 24 hours.CN says crews have restored other damaged infrastructure around the province, but some repairs will be delayed until the floodwaters recede.The provincewide state of emergency declared by Nova Scotia on Saturday is set to remain in effect until Aug. 5.Yesterday, federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair approved a request from the province for continued assistance.This report by...

Abortion messaging roils debate over Ohio ballot initiative. Backers said it wasn’t about that

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:59 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The fraught politics of abortion have helped turn an August ballot question in Ohio that would make it harder to change the state constitution into a cauldron of misinformation and fear-mongering. State Issue 1, the sole question on the ballot, calls for raising the threshold for passing future changes to the Ohio Constitution from a simple majority to 60%. Starting next year, it also would double the number of counties where signatures must be gathered, from 44 to all 88, and do away with the 10-day grace period for closing gaps in the total valid signatures submitted.Republican state lawmakers and the GOP elections chief who urgently advanced the measure said it had nothing to do with thwarting an abortion rights questionworking toward the ballot this fall. However, early summer messaging on social media and in churches has consistently urged a yes vote on the August amendment “to protect life” — and that’s just one example of the loaded messages confro...