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BSO deputy, former Marjory Stoneman Douglas students testify in trial of former school resource officer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:54 GMT

As the trial for a former school resource officer accused of failing to protect students during the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas entered its 10th day, Scot Peterson’s defense team laid out its case. Peterson claimed that he did not know where the shots were coming from during that shooting. Instead of confronting the shooter, Peterson took cover outside the building where the attack took place. On Friday, jurors heard from more former students and law enforcement who testified that they also did not know where the shots were coming from. “I thought a bomb had exploded at the gym,” said Alexander Wind, a former student. “But your words, ‘A bomb,’ correct?” said an attorney.“Yeah,” Wind said. “And could you tell where it was coming from?” an attorney said. “No,” Wind replied.During questioning, prosecutors argued that the students were not trained police officers.“You had no familiarity w...

3 affected after fire burns down mobile home in Dania Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:54 GMT

A mobile home was burnt to the ground after an overnight blaze affected three people in Dania Beach. According to the Red Cross, their disaster team from the Broward County department responded to the incident on Stirling Road and aided the three adults involved, Friday. No injuries were reported but Rd Cross volunteers provided emergency financial assistance, health and mental health services, and additional support to those impacted by the blaze. Anyone interested in donating to the Red Cross, visit redcross.org/donate. Volunteers can apply at redcross.org/sflvolunteer.

Ohio father accused of killing his 3 young sons indicted on murder charges, could face death penalty

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:54 GMT

BATAVIA, Ohio (AP) — A grand jury has indicted an Ohio man accused of fatally shooting his three young sons on murder charges — charges he could face the death penalty for.Chad Doerman, 32, was indicted Thursday on charges of aggravated murder, kidnapping and assault for the June 15 deaths of his sons, according to Clermont County court records.Clayton Doerman, 7, Hunter Doerman, 4, and Chase Doerman, 3, were all killed. Prosecutors say he admitted to planning the shooting, but at a Friday arraignment, Doerman entered a not-guilty plea.“This was the man that everyday they woke up looking to for protection, love and guidance in all things,” Clermont County’s chief prosecutor of Municipal Court, David Gast, said at a previous hearing.“He was their world, he was their guardian and he executed them in cold blood,” Gast said.The sheriff’s office said the 34-year-old mother, who was not identified, was outside the home and was shot in the hand while trying to shield her sons from th...

Paris climate finance summit delivers momentum but few results

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:54 GMT

Developing nations called for a “transformation” of the world’s financial system at French President Emmanuel Macron’s Summit for a New Global Financing Pact. Western countries offered tweaks. However, the two-day summit — which sought to turbocharge reform efforts aimed at unlocking the trillions of dollars required to tackle climate change — did deliver a sense of growing momentum. Yet despite progress on some fronts, the Paris summit ended Friday barely having addressed the underlying problems preventing developing countries from investing in development and climate measures — in particular, their crushing debt levels. In her opening speech on Thursday, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who co-hosted the summit alongside Macron, called on attendees to deliver a path to “transformation, not reform” of the global financial system. A sprinkling of announcements followed: The International Monetary Fund said it reached a target of making $100 billion in special...

Ukraine slams Obama for making ‘excuses’ over his Russia policy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:54 GMT

Former U.S. President Barack Obama should start admitting critical mistakes in his administration’s Russia policy, including Moscow’s illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea, a senior Ukrainian official said Friday.“The current Russian […] regime is a blatant reflection of a specific pre-war ‘Western policy,'” said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office. “Maybe it’s time to start admitting critical mistakes instead of coming up with new excuses?”Podolyak’s comments are in reaction to former U.S. President Barack Obama’s defense of his administration’s reaction to the annexation of Crimea in an interview on CNN. Obama argued the full-scale invasion launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin last February came in a different context.“Both myself but also [then-German Chancellor Angela] Merkel, who I give enormous credit for, had to pull in a lot of other Euro...

Russian army is retreating, Wagner boss claims in anti-war tirade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:54 GMT

Ukraine’s counteroffensive is beating back Russia’s armed forces, the head of Russia’s notorious mercenary outfit, Wagner Group, declared in an explosive attack on his own allies.Speaking to the camera in a video uploaded to Telegram on Friday, Yevgeny Prigozhin said “the Russian army is in retreat on the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson fronts,” adding that Kyiv’s troops are “pushing back the Russian army.”At the same time, the outspoken billionaire questioned the Kremlin’s rationale for starting the war, admitting “the Armed Forces of Ukraine were not going to attack Russia with NATO.” President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle have repeatedly claimed they began their offensive to prevent the country from being used as a launchpad for a Western-backed war on Russia itself, without presenting evidence to support the assertions.In reality, Prigozhin went on, “the war was needed for a bunch of scumbags to triumph and show how str...

Driver arrested after travelling down MBTA bus tunnel at Harvard Square, smashing SUV

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:54 GMT

A 33-year-old man is facing charges after taking an SUV down a bus-only tunnel at Harvard Square and crashing it, according to authorities.The MBTA Transit Police Department alleged the driver was intoxicated when he drove a GMC SUV into the lower bus tunnel around 12:30 a.m. and crashed into a pole.According to the department, the suspect, who was later taken into custody, sustained a minor knee injury as a result.No additional details were given.

Experts question decision to vent and burn toxic vinyl chloride from derailed tankers in East Palestine, Ohio

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:54 GMT

(CNN) — Experts called by the US National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, to testify about the February train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, said at a hearing Thursday that tank cars containing vinyl chloride were not undergoing a chemical reaction that would have caused them to explode – calling into question the decision of first responders to vent and burn the hazardous chemical inside.In the aftermath of the derailment, residents of East Palestine have demanded an explanation for the decision to vent and burn toxic vinyl chloride from five derailed tanker cars, which sent a black cloud of smoke drifting ominously over the town and southeast into nearby Pennsylvania on Monday February 6, three days after the train initially derailed.At Thursday’s investigative field hearing convened by the NTSB, representatives from train operator Norfolk Southern and emergency response contractors from two companies it hired to help after the crash testified that they were worrie...

Titan implosion has searchers hunting for clues, officials grappling with complex investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:54 GMT

By PATRICK WHITTLE and JENNIFER McDERMOTT (Associated Press)A day after revelations that the Titan submersible imploded, officials grappled Friday with vexing questions about who is responsible for investigating the international disaster.The U.S. Coast Guard said an official inquiry had not yet been launched because the agencies involved are still looking for clues about what caused the vessel to fall apart.“I know there are also a lot of questions about how, why and when did this happen. Those are questions we will collect as much information as we can about now,” Rear Adm. John Mauger of the First Coast Guard District said Thursday. On Friday, the Coast Guard said all of the agencies involved are trying to determine who has the authority to lead an inquiry, which is sure to be complex because of the international nature of the mission. After the Titan imploded in international waters, the U.S. Coast Guard led the search and rescue mission. OceanGate Expeditions, the c...

2024 GOP candidates call for federal abortion limits ahead of anniversary of Roe reversal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:15:54 GMT

By WILL WEISSERT and MICHELLE L. PRICE (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Top Republican presidential candidates called Friday for imposing federal limits on abortion, declaring at a gathering of some of their party’s most influential evangelical Christian leaders that the year-old Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade didn’t go far enough. Hundreds of attendees of the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual conference believe abortion policy can continue to be a strength for Republicans, even as Democrats insist the issue will buoy them in 2024. “The battle for life is far from over. We’ve not come to the end of our cause,” former Vice President Mike Pence said. “We’ve simply come to the end of the beginning.”Former President Donald Trump, whose three Supreme Court nominees allowed for the reversal of nationwide abortion rights, will give the keynote address Saturday night, the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs v...