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FEMA continues damage assessments in hard-hit Fort Lauderdale neighborhood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

In the aftermath of the devastating storms that hit Fort Lauderdale, officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are continuing their damage assessments in the hard-hit Melrose Park neighborhood. The neighborhood suffered significant damage, leaving many residents without homes, power, or other essential services.City inspectors have also been on disaster duty, assessing the damage caused by the storms. The number of damaged homes will factor into FEMA’s determination of whether homeowners qualify for federal assistance.The federal agency’s assessment is crucial for homeowners who have been left reeling from the impact of the storms. Many have lost everything and are struggling to rebuild their lives. FEMA’s assistance can make a significant difference, providing much-needed financial support and resources to help residents get back on their feet.As the recovery effort continues, city officials and residents are grateful for the support they have ...

Police investigate deadly crash on I-95 SB causing traffic delays

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

Police are investigating a deadly crash on the southbound lanes of Interstate 95, causing heavy delays.The collision occurred on Friday morning near Broward Boulevard and currently, three left lanes are blocked.Congestion goes all the way back toward Oakland Park Boulevard.Since the crash involved a death, authorities are expected to keep the area blocked for hours.Drivers are urged to seek alternate routes or give themselves extra time on their morning commute.

Cargo container with $15 million in gold and other valuables stolen from Toronto airport, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

(CNN) — An air cargo container carrying more than $15 million in gold and other valuables disappeared from Toronto’s Pearson International Airport Monday, and police are still trying to find out who is behind the high-value heist.The aircraft was unloaded and cargo was taken to a holding facility early Monday evening, “as per normal procedure,” said Stephen Duivesteyn of Peel Regional Police at a Thursday news conference at the airport.Then, “this high-value container was removed by illegal means from the holding facility,” he said.Police would not say whether security cameras captured the heist, which airline company transported the container or who owns the container.“What I can say is that the container contained a high-value shipment, it did contain gold but was not exclusive to gold and contained other items of monetary value,” said Duivesteyn, estimating the contents are worth about $15 million ($20 million Canadian dollars).Poli...

A story of atonement: Former Heat player Meyers Leonard’s path from anti-Semitic slur to rabbinical embrace as Miami’s playoff opponent

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

This was not how Meyers Leonard envisioned his return.Foremost, because he never wanted to leave.And yet in the wake of the shame of a single unfortunate, hurtful, ignorant moment two years ago, the former Miami Heat center returns with the Milwaukee Bucks for NBA playoff games in Miami as a study of one of the core tenets of the very culture he unwittingly disparaged.As a study in atonement.“Judaism is about second chances,” Rabbi Pinny Andrusier, director of the Chabad of Southwest Broward, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel this week when asked about Leonard. “We have Yom Kippur once a year.”As in the religion’s Day of Atonement.“But our prayers, for those unfamiliar, every single morning we acknowledge that during this day, in the morning since last night, in the afternoon since this morning, we might have done something to offend a fellow person or God,” Andrusier said. “We’re always asking for forgiveness.”As did Leo...

Young core of Orioles’ rotation displaying potential amid scoreless streak: ‘Bright futures ahead’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

Through the first few weeks of the season, the Orioles were being carried by their offense.Long balls by Ryan Mountcastle, consistent production from Adley Rutschman and frozen ropes from Austin Hays and Jorge Mateo were keeping the Orioles afloat as the club’s pitching staff, mostly its rotation, floundered.Not anymore.The Orioles, winners of three straight for the first time this season, haven’t allowed a run in 26 consecutive innings behind their young core of starting pitchers: Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish and Dean Kremer.“I think it’s baseball. You’re not gonna throw a shutout and score 10 runs every game,” Bradish said Wednesday after he pitched six scoreless innings in Baltimore’s 4-0 win over the Washington Nationals. “To be able to pick up the offense, when they’re going through a little lull — or vice versa — I think that just makes for a good team.”The young core, which could even include Tyler Wel...

The Chicago White Sox are off to a slow start — and the schedule only gets tougher: ‘It’s definitely a challenge’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

The upcoming schedule does not provide much relief for the Chicago White Sox., who have limped to a 7-12 start.First is the Tampa Bay Rays, who at 16-3 have the best record in baseball. Their season-opening winning streak ended at 13 on April 14 with a 6-3 loss to Toronto. The Blue Jays, who took two of three in that series, are 11-8 and trail the Rays by five games in the loaded American League East.The Rays and Blue Jays are up next for the Sox.“It’s definitely a challenge,” Sox manager Pedro Grifol said after Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. “But we’ve got to play baseball. It doesn’t matter who we are playingagainst. A Major League Baseball game is a Major League Baseball game. We just have to go out there and prepare and compete.”The six-game trip begins Friday with the first of three against the Rays at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.“They’re good teams but we’ve faced other good teams,...

Calling beer Champagne leaves French producers frothing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The guardians of Champagne will let no one take the name of the bubbly beverage in vain, not even a U.S. beer behemoth.For years, Miller High Life used the “Champagne of beers” slogan. This week, that appropriation became impossible to swallow.At the request of the trade body defending the interests of houses and growers of the northeastern French sparkling wine, Belgian customs crushed more than 2,000 cans of Miller High Life advertised as such.The Comité Champagne asked for the destruction of a shipment of 2,352 cans on the grounds that the century-old motto used by the American brewery infringes the protected designation of origin “Champagne.”The consignment was intercepted in the Belgian port of Antwerp in early February, a spokesperson at the Belgian Customs Administration said on Friday, and was destined for Germany. Belgian customs declined to say who had ordered the beers.The buyer in Germany “was informed and did not contest the decision,” the trade organiza...

Weekend need to know: Cherry blossoms, Earth Day, Leafs Game 3; TTC/road closures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

Parts of the city will be dressed in light pink and white as cherry blossoms are in peak bloom this weekend.Several Earth Day events are also happening throughout the weekend to demonstrate support for environmental conservation.It’s also Game 3 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning.There are some subway closures and late openings this scheduled, as well as ongoing road closures. Scroll below for those details.Here’s what’s happening this weekend:Cherry BlossomsIt’s that time of year where groups of people flock to High Park to take photos of the cherry blossoms, also known as Sakura trees.Many of High Park’s Sakura trees are roughly 60 years old. They were gifted to the people of Toronto in 1959 by the Japanese ambassador to Canada on behalf of Tokyo, in appreciation of Toronto accepting relocated Japanese Canadians following the Second World War.Something to keep in mind when visiting the blossoms are the signs at the park, urging people n...

Man who drove into pedestrians in Berlin convicted of murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A German court has convicted a 30-year-old man who drove into groups of pedestrians in Berlin last year of one count of murder and 16 counts of attempted murder, ordering him to be permanently held in a psychiatric hospital.The Berlin regional court concluded that the driver, a German citizen born in Armenia, was in a psychotic state when he drove onto the sidewalk in a popular shopping district in the west of the capital in June, killing a teacher and injuring eleven students on a school trip. A pregnant woman, a teenage girl and two men were also injured.The driver was detained by passers-by before being arrested by police.The court also banned the man from driving for life.The Associated Press

Credit Suisse investors sue after facing billions in losses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:55 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A group of Credit Suisse investors have sued Swiss financial regulators after a government-engineered takeover of the struggling bank by rival UBS left them with billions in losses.The investors are contesting an order by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, or FINMA, that wiped out about 16 billion Swiss francs ($17.3 billion) in higher-risk Credit Suisse bonds as part of an emergency rescue last month, lawyers said Friday.The hastily arranged, $3.25 billion deal prevented the downfall of Switzerland’s second-largest bank after its stock plunged and customers rushed to pull out their money amid fears about long-running troubles at Credit Suisse and upheaval in the global financial system after the collapse of two U.S. banks.“FINMA’s decision undermines international confidence in the legal certainty and reliability of the Swiss financial center,” said Thomas Werlen, managing partner in Switzerland for law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sull...