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Escaped inmate facing child sex charges in Tennessee captured in Florida

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A man accused of child sex charges who has been on the run for over a month after escaping custody in Tennessee has been captured in Florida, authorities said.Sean Williams, 52, was arrested without incident Tuesday in Pinellas County after being spotted in the area and tracked down by a K-9 officer and his partner, the FBI in Knoxville said on social media.Williams escaped from a transport van on Oct. 18 while being moved from a detention facility in Kentucky to the federal courthouse in Greeneville, Tennessee, according to the FBI.Authorities have said the camera in the transport van wasn’t working and Williams got out through a broken back window, news outlets reported. Williams was being held in Kentucky after a previous escape attempt in Tennessee.The former Johnson City businessman was in custody on three counts of production of child sexual abuse material and one count of distribution of cocaine and is now also facing an escape charge, the FBI said.He ...

Police: 30-year-old reported missing from Pembroke Pines located

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

A 30-year-old woman reported missing from Pembroke Pines has been located safe, police said. April Davis was last seen on Sunday leaving the Egrets Walk community, and her current whereabouts remain unknown. On Wednesday morning, police announced that she was located. https://twitter.com/PPinesPD/status/1727369217022828648Authorities are urging anyone with information about her disappearance to contact Detective Sammarco at 954-431-2200.

Macron’s rift with diplomats deepens after missteps on Israel-Hamas war

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron notoriously hates diplomats. Now, he needs them more than ever.Macron is hoping to re-energize his Middle East policy after several rash initiatives failed to gain traction. The French president needs all the help he can get, particularly from his own diplomatic service, to salvage France’s influence in the region but his relationship with French diplomats has been tumultuous and officials regularly complain of being kept out of the loop. Press leaks have featured diplomats hostile to Macron’s approach to the Middle East.Earlier this month, in an interview with the BBC, Macron called on Israel to halt its retaliatory bombing campaign against Hamas because they were killing “ladies” and “babies.” After an Israeli government backlash, the president was obliged to contact the country’s leaders to clarify his statements. One French diplomat summarized the French position as “one day pro-Israeli̶...

Conservative backlash kills off EU’s Green Deal push to slash pesticide use

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

STRASBOURG — Lawmakers killed off a central pillar of the European Commission’s Green Deal on Wednesday, rejecting a bill to slash the use of pesticides in farming in a vote that stunned environmentalists and delighted conservatives and farming groups.The legislation, the Sustainable Use Regulation (SUR), was already in trouble after competing versions emerged from the committee stage of scrutiny. But most lawmakers had expected it to scrape through a plenary vote and then move to the next legislative stage — agreeing on a final text with EU member countries.In the end, MEPs rejected the bill outright, with 299 votes against, 207 in favor, and 121 abstentions.“This is a very dark day for the society as a whole and for the environment — and also for farmers,” said Austrian Green MEP Sarah Wiener, Parliament’s lead on the file from the environment committee.The bill, proposed by the EU executive in July 2022, aimed to halve the use and risk of chemical pesticides in the EU,...

Mac Jones’ plan is to be Patriots’ starting quarterback vs. Giants

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

FOXBORO — Patriots quarterback Mac Jones didn’t provide a clear answer when asked point blank Wednesday if he’s going to start Week 12 against the Giants.“Hope so,” Jones said. “That’s the plan, I think.”“I always work really hard for that,” he added. “Really put a lot of attention to detail into the week like I talked about. A lot of that decision making is things I can’t control, but I can control my attitude and my effort like I talked about. I’m really thankful overall just to be in the NFL and to be playing quarterback on Thanksgiving, right? It’s a great week to be grateful for a lot of things. To play this game, the game we love, together, I think that means a lot to me regardless of the situation.Jones was then asked a follow-up whether that’s his plan or what he understands is the team’s plan.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Callahan: The Patriots can beat the Gi...

Catholic Charities Boston opens short-term shelter for migrants, homeless families

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

Catholic Charities Boston opened a short-term, overnight shelter Tuesday evening for families and pregnant people who have applied for emergency assistance but were placed on a waitlist because of capacity limitations imposed by the Healey administration.The nonprofit received funding from United Way of Massachusetts Bay, which is administering a $5 million grant program Gov. Maura Healey announced last week. The Catholic Charities Boston site, located in Greater Boston, can house 27 families or 81 people and includes bedding, meals, staff to assist guests, and security.“It is heartbreaking to see families living with uncertainty of where they will sleep at night – with the arrival of colder weather we are grateful for the governor and her administration’s leadership and our partners at United Way in activating funds quickly to stand up this emergency shelter plan,” Catholic Charities Boston President Kelley Tuthill said in a statement.Applications for United Way of Massachuse...

Ticker: MEMA Getting $37M From FEMA; Mortgage rates slide sharply 

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced it will be sending almost $37 million to Massachusetts to reimburse it for some of the administrative costs associated with managing FEMA grants for COVID vaccinations and testing, non-congregate sheltering, and providing meals to vulnerable populations.Former Rep. Lori Ehrlich announced the funding that the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency will receive through FEMA’s Public Assistance grant program.“FEMA is pleased to be able to assist Massachusetts with these costs,” Erhlich, FEMA’s Region 1 Regional Administrator, said. “Reimbursing state, county, and municipal governments – as well as eligible non-profits and tribal entities – for the costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic is an important part of our nation’s ongoing recovery.”FEMA said it has provided more than $2.5 billion in public assistance grants to Massachusetts to reimburse the state for pandemic-related expenses.Mortgage rates ...

Chicago Bears Q&A: What’s Justin Fields’ future now? What to make of Martellus Bennett’s comments? What would it take to get new ownership?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

As the Chicago Bears pick up the pieces from a late collapse against the Detroit Lions, fans at least can take away some positives from the game — particularly quarterback Justin Fields’ strong all-around performance.So what impact — if any — does Fields’ improved showing have on the team’s plans at QB? Brad Biggs answers that and much, much more in his weekly Bears mailbag.Did this performance by Justin Fields change how the Bears will approach the QB position in the 2024 draft? — @daniel11605Fields played well in Sunday’s 31-26 loss to the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, completing 16 of 23 passes for 169 yards, including a 39-yard dime to DJ Moore for a touchdown after Fields did a nice job of navigating the pocket. He accounted for 273 yards of offense as he also ran 18 times for 104 yards, season highs in both rushing categories. He took only two sacks, one on the final offensive play when Aidan Hutchinson stripped him on a play that...

‘Death sentence to this hobby’: Toy plane operators face new government regulations

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

For the past 30 years, in a wide-open field within the Heber Downs Conservation area east of Toronto, nearly 100 members of the Whitby Aero Modellers R.C. Club would gather to fly toy planes.Pakea Leung is among them.“I’ve been flying radio-controlled toy planes for 50 years,” he said.He even designed his own toy plane with a red maple leaf, which he flew with pride.“I created this,” he told CityNews. “Because I am an immigrant, I like Canada so much – this is the way I designed this one to respect our country.”But due to new Canadian regulations he can’t legally fly it right now at the field his club leases in Whitby, Ont.“I think the government has overstepped.”According to the new regulations, put forth by Transport Canada, those who fly a radio-controlled aircraft that weighs above 25 kilograms must obtain a basic remote piloted aircraft system certification. It requires users to take an online exam and pay a small fee. But the issue for Leung and his fellow cl...

Fighting inflation half-heartedly would be ‘huge mistake,’ BoC’s Macklem warns

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:13:18 GMT

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem warns fighting inflation half-heartedly and living with its consequences would be a huge mistake.The governor is delivering a speech to the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce today, one day after the release of new inflation numbers that show Canada’s inflation rate fell to 3.1 per cent in October.According to his prepared remarks, Macklem contrasts today’s inflation fight with inflation in the 1970s, highlighting similarities and differences between those two periods of time.Macklem says inflation in the 1970s was also set off by global events, but became volatile and long-lasting part because the government and central bank weren’t willing to restrain spending and rise rates enough to quash inflation.The governor says Canada has two advantages today compared to the 1970s: people expect inflation to come back down in the long run and the Bank of Canada responded forcefully this time with aggressive rate hikes.Macklem’...