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Good Samaritans rescue group of divers from sinking boat off Fort Lauderdale

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:30:57 GMT

Several good Samaritans with a water sports company came to the rescue of a group of divers that found themselves stranded off the coast of Fort Lauderdale. Anthony Burg with Aqua Flight said he, along with his captain and crew, rushed to the aid to the divers, who were taking advantage of the Lobster Sport mini-season, early Wednesday morning. “I was standing on the boat, and I looked to my left, and there’s this guy, like, waving his arms like, freaking out,” said Burg, “and you just see the boat angled like this, and immediately, I got – I grabbed my phone and I called the police.” Burg immediately shot a flare and alerted Sea Tow Fort Lauderdale. “So, the boat was anchored and it just – the bilge pump failed, and they just started taking out water, and it seemed like I saw them, like, pumping pockets and putting life vests on,” said Burg. “I was like, ‘OK, like, this is serious.'” Burg said the Aqua Flight ...

72-year-old Ipswich man drowns in Plum Island Sound, police investigating

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:30:57 GMT

A 72-year-old Ipswich man drowned in Plum Island Sound on Wednesday afternoon, according to police who are investigating the man’s death.Ipswich Police received a report at around 3 p.m. that Ipswich Bay Yacht Club workers had spotted a person in the water around the Yacht Club’s mooring area just offshore.Police then launched their marine unit and found a man in the water, who was brought to shore at the Yacht Club’s dock.Ipswich first responders performed CPR and other lifesaving measures before the man was taken to Beverly Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.The man is a 72-year-old Ipswich resident from the Great Neck section of town.Police said in a statement, “The death appears to be an accidental drowning, but remains under investigation by the Ipswich Police Department and Massachusetts State Police detectives attached to the Essex District Attorney’s Office.”

Sinead O’Connor’s death brings tributes from Chuck D, Bryan Adams, Billy Corgan and Ice T

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:30:57 GMT

Brian Niemietz | New York Daily NewsThe death of Irish singer Sinead O’Connor at age 56 was met with sorrow by fans, politicians, athletes and musical contemporaries on both sides of the pond.In remembrance of the international star, Public Enemy rapper Chuck D from Flushing Queens cited his band’s 1987 single “Bring the Noise.”“Rest In Beats and PowEr Sinead O Connor who always Brought The Noise,” Chuck D posted on social media Wednesday.NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 23: Musician Sinead O’Connor performs at the Highline Ballroom on February 23, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)His bandmate Flavor Flav called O’Connor “a legend that’s gone too soon.”Newark, N.J. rapper Ice T also brought local flavor to a long list of online tributes to the politically active Dublin native.“Respect to Sinead….. She stood for something… Unlike most people…,” he tweeted.“Cuts Like a Knife” Canadian singer Bryan Adams burst onto the international music scene along with O...

Senate passes $513M supplemental budget, still no spending plan for fiscal 2024

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:30:57 GMT

It seems the state will apparently see another supplemental budget, as the Legislature continues to drag its feet putting together a spending plan for Fiscal 2024 despite being almost a full month late.On Wednesday the state Senate passed its version of a half-a-billion dollar spending plan to cover costs which were not included in the original 2023 budget, while the wider more than $55 billion spending plan ostensibly due on July 1 remains mired in conference committee between the House and Senate.“This budget invests in the services that people around the Commonwealth use every day – the hospitals where people receive critical care, the special education programs in our schools, and programs that improve quality of life for individuals and families who are low-income, among other state priorities,” Senate President Karen Spilka said in a statement.Coming in a full $180 million under the House’s proposal, the $513 million supplemental budget will now head to conference committee ai...

Former senator, MP and journalist Pat Carney is dead at the age of 88

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:30:57 GMT

VANCOUVER — Pat Carney, who pioneered roles for women in Canadian politics and journalism, has died at the age of 88. Her niece, Jill Carney, confirmed in a statement that the former MP and senator passed away Tuesday. Pat Carney was the first female Conservative member of Parliament elected in B.C. and the first female Conservative appointed from the province to the Senate. Born in Shanghai, China, in May 1935, Carney was educated in Canada and worked as a journalist and economic consultant in the Northwest Territories and Yukon before entering politics. She was first elected to the House of Commons in February 1980 in the riding of Vancouver Centre.Her website says she began her journalism career in the 1960s and was the first female business columnist writing for daily newspapers, including the Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Province. It says Carney was also the first woman in every government portfolio she held, serving as the minister of energy, minister of international trade and...

Severe thunderstorms blast southern Michigan, cutting power to more than 140,000

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:30:57 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Severe thunderstorms struck southern Michigan on Wednesday, uprooting trees, downing branches and power lines and cutting electricity to more than 140,000 customers, utilities and others reported.DTE Energy reported nearly 108,000 customers without power as of 5:40 p.m., and Consumers Energy reported more than 32,000 without service.The National Weather Service reported trees and tree limbs had fallen in the Detroit area, Ann Arbor and other locations across southern Michigan.The weather service measured a 67 mph (107.83 kilometer-per-hour) wind gust in the Detroit suburb of Romulus.The Associated Press

Charges filed against members of Southern California gang after killing of 2 police officers

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:30:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ten people linked to a Southern California street gang were charged with federal crimes, a year after a member shot and killed two suburban police officers, authorities announced Wednesday.Members and associates of the Quiet Village gang in the San Gabriel Valley east of Los Angeles were named in four grand jury indictments and a criminal complaint. Two people were arrested on Wednesday, four were already in custody and another four are fugitives, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.The charges include conspiracy, violent crimes in aid of racketeering, and drug and gun charges. However, they don’t include the June 14, 2022 killings of two El Monte police officers. The suspect killed himself after the shootings.Among other allegations, a gang member is charged in a shooting last year that targeted a suspected police informant in a car, instead killing a woman.The gang also ran a “casita” in Whittier that offered illegal gambling and sold ...

WNBA’s Riquna Williams out of Aces activities after felony domestic violence arrest in Las Vegas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:30:57 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Riquna Williams, a veteran WNBA player and member of last year’s championship-winning Las Vegas Aces, has been barred from the team after her arrest on felony domestic violence charges involving a person authorities identified as her wife.A judge on Wednesday allowed Williams, 33, to be freed from jail without bail less than a day after her arrest, but said she can have no contact with her alleged victim and must comply with alcohol monitoring pending another court appearance Aug. 2.The Aces issued a statement acknowledging Williams’ arrest and saying that she is “precluded from participating in team activities.” The Aces were traveling Wednesday and are scheduled to play in Dallas on Sunday. “We condemn domestic violence of any kind,” the team said. “Our thoughts are with the parties involved in this situation.”The league issued a statement saying it was gathering more information.Williams faces five felony charges including multiple counts of dom...

As communities struggle with food insecurity, study shows impacts on youth mental health

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:30:57 GMT

A newly published study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal is showing youth who live in households that have food insecurity are seeing higher reported instances of mental health challenges.“Given the diverse mental health conditions examined, it is unlikely, however, that the mechanism of harm is lack of specific nutrients or poor diet quality,” an article posted on Monday said in part.“Much more likely is that food insecurity contributes to mental distress among those living in difficult circumstances, as has been shown in studies of the relationship between severity of household food insecurity and mental health disorders among adults.”It also said boosting and ensuring access to income support, supported by advocacy from doctors, is needed.Previous research by Valerie Tarasuk, a nutritional sciences professor emeritus at the University of Toronto and the lead investigator with PROOF Food Insecurity Policy Research, was cited in the article. She s...

Explaining the latest heat-associated deaths confirmed amid record highs in Arizona’s largest county

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:30:57 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Another seven heat-associated deaths were confirmed over the last week in America’s hottest big metro, health officials reported Wednesday, amid a blistering heat wave with daytime highs over 110 F (43.3 C) and overnight lows not dropping below 90 F (32.2 C). Maricopa County, the biggest county in Arizona and home to Phoenix, reported that its health department has confirmed 25 heat-associated deaths this year as of Saturday since the first one was recorded in April, with 249 more under investigation.That’s seven more heat-associated deaths for the year since 18 were reported as of July 15, when there were 69 additional deaths under investigation.As of the same time last year, there were 38 heat-associated deaths and 256 more listed as under investigation.The region’s county and city governments, hospitals, schools and non-profit groups that operate several hundred cooling and hydrating stations across the area are closely watching the confirmed death figu...