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Testimony continues in Scot Peterson trial over Parkland school shooting neglect charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

The testimony in the trial of former school resource officer Scot Peterson, who is charged with child neglect for his inactions on the day of the Parkland school shooting, continues Tuesday. Prosecutors have dedicated much of the initial phase of the trial to presenting evidence aiming to establish that Peterson deviated from his training when he remained outside and waited as Nikolas Cruz unleashed gunfire inside one of the school buildings.Peterson, accompanied by his defense attorneys, asserts that it was challenging to ascertain the source of the gunfire amidst the chaotic situation. The trial, which unfolds in the courtroom, has placed Peterson in a precarious position, facing a total of 11 charges, seven of which are felonies.If convicted on any of the felony charges, Peterson could be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison per charge. As the trial progresses, the courtroom remains the stage for the grueling examination of testimonies as the prosecution seeks to establis...

UNSETTLED WEATHER CONTINUES

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

Local WeatherUNSETTLED WEATHER will continue today with scattered to numerous showers & storms expected to form late afternoon and into the early evening hours. Heavy rainfall leading to flooding & strong wind gusts the primary threats.Today in the Tropics: Watching Two Areas Tropical Storm Bret continues moving Westward and expected to strengthen and it could become the first hurricane of the season by Thursday morning. On the forecast track, the center of the storm will be near hurricane strength moving through the islands. Therefore, interests in the Lesser Antilles should monitor its progress. Hurricane hunter missions begin on Wednesday to help gather more information to improve the track and intensity forecast. Tropical wave continuing to show signs of organization. A depression is likely to form as it moves W at 10-15 mph across the Eastern & Central Atlantic in a few days. NHC keeps increasing its chance to form and now giving it a high chance of 80% during the n...

20, including 9 children, displaced after flames engulfs residential building in Davie

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

A fire broke out in a multi-unit residential building located along Southwest 60th Avenue and 36th Court around 6 p.m. Monday, forcing 20 individuals, including nine children, to evacuate their homes.Multiple fire rescue trucks lined up to combat the fierce blaze upon arrival at the scene in the Playland Village neighborhood. Davie Fire Rescue and the Red Cross joined forces to provide assistance and support to those who had no choice but to flee from the raging flames.The cause of the fire remains unknown as authorities have yet to release any information regarding its origin. Fire investigators are diligently working to determine the factors that contributed to the devastating incident.

Estonia legalizes same-sex marriage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

Estonia legalized same-sex marriage on Tuesday, becoming the first Baltic country to give same-sex couples the legal right to wed.With 55 votes in favor of the measure and 34 votes against, Estonia’s parliament overcame objections from the right wing, which attacked the legislation as they say it threatens the traditional family model.“I’m proud of my country. We’re building a society where everyone’s rights are respected and people can love freely,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said, adding that the act will enter into force in 2024.The move comes only two months after the liberal coalition government took office. In March, Kallas started talks with coalition parties pushing for same-sex marriage to become law.Estonia’s acceptance of marriage equality, and LGBTQ+ people, has grown in recent years. According to a survey conducted by the Estonian Human Rights Center, 53 percent of the population supports marriage equality, compared with 34 percent in 2012.In ...

SNP MP cleared of bullying Nadine Dorries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

LONDON — Scottish National Party MP John Nicolson has been cleared of bullying Britain’s ex-culture secretary Nadine Dorries.Nicolson successfully appealed a judgment by parliament’s standards watchdog, which initially upheld a complaint under parliament’s bullying and harassment policy.The two lawmakers clashed over the culture portfolio, which Dorries held during Boris Johnson’s premiership. In his role as SNP culture spokesperson, Nicolson was responsible for scrutinizing Dorries — who pushed for reforms the SNP opposed, including the mooted privatization of broadcaster Channel 4.The complaint was revealed by POLITICO in March and concerned Nicolson’s use of social media. According to correspondence seen by POLITICO at the time, Nicolson was investigated over his Twitter activity in November 2021 following a fiery hearing of the House of Commons culture committee at which Dorries — then still a Cabinet minister — gave evidence.According to ...

Why don’t the Bulls have any draft picks? Will Zach LaVine remain in Chicago? Seven big questions ahead of the NBA draft.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

The blockbuster 2023 NBA Draft will kick off in New York City on Thursday night — and as of today, the Chicago Bulls will not have a single pick.The Bulls traded away the bulk of their draft stock in recent years, which could lead to an anticlimactic draft night. If the team doesn’t make a move to secure a draft pick, this will be the first time the franchise hasn’t participated in the NBA draft since 2005.Here’s how the Bulls got to this point.Where did the picks go this year?The Bulls could have had three picks in the 2023 draft — one first-rounder and two second-rounders. But all three picks have been ceded — either in trades or as a penalty — leaving the Bulls without a stake in the current action.When the Bulls traded with the Orlando Magic for center Nikola Vučević in 2021, they included a protected first-round draft pick in the package that ultimately fell to this year. The Vučević trade already cost the Bulls a fi...

Convalescing Pope Francis holds talks with Cuba’s president at Vatican

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis, in his first full week back at the Vatican following abdominal surgery, met on Tuesday with Cuba’s president, part of the Holy See’s attention to the communist-led Caribbean island nation. The Holy See’s brief statement of the private meeting with President Miguel Diaz-Canel gave no details of what the pontiff and the Cuban leader discussed. But it mentioned “the importance of the diplomatic relations between the Holy See, evoking among other things the historic visit of St. John Paul II in 1998,” during a subsequent meeting with the Vatican’s secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.The prelate and the Cuban leader also discussed Cuba’s “situation and the contribution that the Church offers, especially in the sphere of charity,” the statement said. Cuba has been struggling through an economic crisis. Francis visited Cuba in 2015, as part of the Vatican’s drive to encourage better international relations. That quest ...

4 dead after fire in e-bike shop spreads to apartments in New York City

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A fire that started in a New York City e-bike shop early Tuesday spread to upper-floor apartments, killing four people and injuring several others, authorities said.City fire officials said the blaze was reported shortly after midnight on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in a six-story building that houses HQ E-Bike Repair. A pile of burned bikes and other debris was seen on the sidewalk outside the building.Two men and two women died and two other women were hospitalized in critical condition, officials said. A firefighter suffered minor injuries, authorities said.The cause of the fire was under investigation.Electric bikes have become popular, non-gasoline-burning ways to make deliveries, commute and zip around a city that has promoted cycling in recent decades. Many run on lithium ion batteries, which have been blamed for numerous fires.In April in the Queens section of New York City, two children were killed in a fire blamed on an electric bicycle.The Associated ...

Romanian prosecutors file rape, trafficking charges against Andrew Tate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Divisive social media personality Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, have been charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women, prosecutors in Romania said Tuesday.Romania’s anti-organized crime agency, DIICOT, said prosecutors filed the charges against the brothers, who are both British-U.S. dual citizens, along with two Romanian women.In a statement, the agency said that the four defendants formed a criminal group in 2021 “in order to commit the crime of human trafficking” in Romania as well as the United States and Britain. It alleged that seven female victims were misled and transported to Romania, where they were sexually exploited and subjected to physical violence by the gang.The Tate brothers and the two Romanian suspects were detained in late December in Romania’s capital Bucharest. The brothers won an appeal on March 31 to be moved from police custody to house arrest.Tate, 36, is a professional kickboxer ...

9 Egyptians appearing in Greek court over deadly migrant shipwreck

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:52 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Nine Egyptian men accused of being members of a human smuggling ring involved in one of the worst migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean are appearing in court in southern Greece on Tuesday for questioning over their alleged role in the disaster.The nine, appearing in court in the southern city of Kalamata, face a string of charges including participation in a criminal organization, manslaughter and causing a shipwreck. More than 500 people are believed to be missing from last week’s sinking off the western coast of Greece of the dilapidated fishing trawler, which some estimates say had been carrying up to 750 people, as it traveled from Libya to Italy. So far 81 bodies have been recovered, and 104 people, all men, have been rescued. A search and rescue operation continues in the area, but chances of locating any further survivors are exceedingly slim.The suspects were reportedly identified as having been involved in sailing the ship by testimonies provided by...