Author: Maria Monroe

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Manatee deaths dropped in 2022 from a record high the year before, but Florida wildlife officials said Wednesday that chronic starvation caused by water pollution remains a major concern.Preliminary statistics show 800 recorded manatee deaths last year in Florida, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That compares with more than 1,100 in 2021. Both numbers are higher than the average annual deaths of the marine mammals.The new numbers come as state and federal officials are feeding thousands of pounds of romaine lettuce to manatees at a warm-water power plant on Florida’s east coast…

NEW YORK – Free speech groups have condemned the abrupt cancellation by Florida administrators of a high school student production of Paula Vogel’s play “Indecent,” which explores a flashpoint in Jewish and queer theatrical history.The National Coalition Against Censorship, PEN America, and the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund urged school officials to rescind their decision and work with students to stage the play as planned in March. Administration at Douglas Anderson School of Performing Arts in Duval County, Florida, this month pulled it from production — a few weeks after casting had been decided. It was swapped out for “The Seagull,”…

Five Connecticut police officers pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges accusing them of cruelly mistreating a Black man after he was partially paralyzed in a police van with no seat belts when the driver braked hard.The New Haven officers entered the pleas during their second appearances in state court since being arrested in November in connection with the injuries suffered by Richard “Randy” Cox, who is paralyzed from the chest down. All five remained free on bail and on leave from their jobs.The officers — Oscar Diaz, Betsy Segui, Ronald Pressley, Jocelyn Lavandier and Luis Rivera — are charged with…

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma prison officials said Wednesday that they will allow an anti-death penalty minister with a history of protest-related arrests inside the execution chamber for Thursday’s lethal injection of death row inmate Scott Eizember.Department of Corrections Director Steven Harpe said he reversed his earlier decision not to allow the Rev. Jeffrey Hood into the chamber after consulting with the family members of Eizember’s victims. They were concerned that a lawsuit Eizember had filed over the matter could further delay the execution, he said.“The family members of the victims in this case are ready for closure, and they understand…

BRUNSWICK, Ga. – Federal authorities announced a blitz of arrests and indictments Wednesday against more than 100 people charged with gun and drug crimes in three U.S. states.The flurry of charges from the Justice Department in Georgia, West Virginia and New York comes as federal officials work to combat an uptick in violent crime, particularly involving guns. The Biden administration has tried to showcase federal, state and local efforts to get guns and repeat shooters off the streets.Federal prosecutors and FBI agents were particularly busy in southern Georgia, where an indictment was unsealed charging 76 people with involvement in what…

FRISCO, Texas – Universal Parks & Resorts is bringing a theme park to Texas that will focus on entertaining young children, officials announced Wednesday.The “one-of-a-kind” park in the Dallas suburb of Frisco will include attractions, interactive shows and opportunities for meet-and-greets with characters, the company said in a news release.It is expected to be about a quarter of the size of the company’s large Orlando theme parks, according to Page Thompson, the company’s president of new ventures. “Even though it may be smaller in terms of acreage than our other parks, the quality of it, the level, worthy of the…

Members of a Northeast D.C. community gathered to demand answers following the death of 13-year-old Karon Blake, who was shot and killed by a man who said he caught the boy breaking into a car. Hundreds gather at the Turkey Thicket Recreation Center in Northeast D.C. following the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy. (WTOP/Mike Murillo) WTOP/Mike Murillo A man shot and killed 13-year-old Karon Blake in the District’s Brookland neighborhood on Jan. 7, 2023. (Courtesy Sean Long) Courtesy Sean Long Community members attend a meeting following the death of a 13-year-old boy in Northeast D.C. (WTOP/Mike Murillo) WTOP/Mike Murillo…

A Maryland man who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl in D.C. has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. A Maryland man who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl in D.C. has been sentenced to 14 years in prison. Sean Cortez Moses, 31, of Suitland, Maryland, was also ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden to pay $100,000 in restitution to the victim, serve 10 years of supervision upon his release from prison and register as a sex offender for life. The sentence was announced Tuesday in a news release from the U.S.…

The husband of a Massachusetts woman missing since New Year’s Day was seen on surveillance video buying $450 worth of cleaning supplies at a home improvement store the day after his wife was last seen, a prosecutor said Monday at his arraignment on a charge of misleading investigators. QUINCY, Mass. (AP) — The husband of a Massachusetts woman missing since New Year’s Day was seen on surveillance video buying $450 worth of cleaning supplies at a home improvement store the day after his wife was last seen, a prosecutor said Monday at his arraignment on a charge of misleading investigators.…

In the moments before a 6-year-old Virginia boy shot his teacher, there was no fight, no physical struggle and no warning, authorities said Monday. NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — In the moments before a 6-year-old Virginia boy shot his teacher, there was no fight, no physical struggle and no warning, authorities said Monday. “What we know today is that she was providing instruction. He displayed a firearm, he pointed it and he fired one round,” Newport News police Chief Steve Drew said. Drew, who spoke during a news conference, offered the first detailed description of a shooting that shocked the…

Police have arrested and charged seven Virginia men as part of a sting operation targeting online predators. Police have arrested and charged seven Virginia men as part of a sting operation targeting online predators. The Fairfax County-led operation was carried out in December and involved law enforcement officers posing as children online. Police said the seven men initiated explicit conversations and solicited sex from the officers. When the suspects arrived at an agreed-upon location, detectives were waiting to take them into custody. The men, ranging in age from 26 to 52, were charged with a total of 49 felony offenses,…

Hours before a scheduled community meeting, the head of D.C. police gave an impassioned statement to address what he called the “spreading of inaccurate information” surrounding the shooting death of a 13-year-old boy accused of breaking into a car. A man shoot and killed 13-year-old Karon Blake in the District’s Brookland neighborhood on Saturday morning. (Courtesy NBC Washington) Hours before a scheduled community meeting, the head of D.C. police gave an impassioned statement to address what he called the “spreading of inaccurate information” surrounding the shooting death of a 13-year-old boy accused of breaking into a car. “There has been…

Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 earlier in January, after the D.C. Council unanimously passed the bill last November. Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the overhaul of D.C.’s criminal code, and now there’s a move in the council to override her veto. Bowser vetoed the Revised Criminal Code Act of 2022 earlier in January, after the D.C. Council unanimously passed the bill last November. The revisions were shaped by the D.C. Criminal Code Reform Commission, and it underwent numerous public hearings. But Bowser and D.C. police Chief Robert Contee opposed parts of the measure. Ward 2…

What are the odds you win the lottery? What are the odds you win the lottery? You’re more likely to be struck by lightning. The Mega Millions jackpot has soared to an estimated $1.1 billion — now the third-largest jackpot in the game’s history — ahead of Tuesday night’s drawing.  The grand prize also comes with a $568.7 million cash option after no ticket matched all six numbers that were drawn on Friday night. The only Mega Millions jackpots larger than Tuesday’s estimated $1.1 billion are the game’s record of $1.537 billion, won in South Carolina in October 2018, and…

article Dramatic photo shows the moment lightning struck Sutro Tower in San Francisco on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (Twitter @sanandreafault) SAN FRANCISCO – The severe weather to slam the Bay Area in recent weeks have resulted in torrential rains, flooding, mudslides, and powerful lashing winds that have knocked out power and brought down once-towering trees. On Tuesday, there was also hail, thunder, and lightning. Among the dramatic images from these events, was one that showed a lightning strike Sutro Tower in San Francisco. A massive Y-shaped spark connected with the top of one of the tower’s prongs, with the backdrop…

FAA reports nationwide system outage, impacting flights The Federal Aviation Administration reported a nationwide outage impacting NOTAM, appearing to impact several flights across the United States, on Jan. 11, 2023. The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday reported a system failure nationwide, temporarily grounding all domestic flight departures as it works to resolve the issue. A statement from the FAA noted an issue with NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions), a system that sends out critical information to pilots and other flight operations personnel about potential hazards along a route. The alerts span from mundane information about construction at airports to urgent…

article Lilliana Nardlini was taken by her non-custodial father Eric, police said. (FOX 2) – Update: 9:40 p.m.: Port Huron police have posted that 4-year-old Lilliana Nardlini has been recovered and is now safe. “We wanted to let everyone know that Lillianna has been located, she is safe, and members of the Port Huron Police Department Major Crimes Unit are on their way to bring her back,” the department wrote on Facebook.  “Thank you to everyone that shared the posts and sent in all the tips. We will release more information as it becomes available.” At 9 p.m. the Ohio…

BOSTON – Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s attorney urged a federal appeals court Tuesday to throw out the 29-year-old’s death sentence because of juror misconduct claims just months after it was revived by the nation’s highest court.Tsarnaev is making a renewed push to avoid execution after the Supreme Court last year reinstated the death sentence imposed on him for his role in the bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds near the finish line of the marathon in 2013. His lawyers are now challenging issues that weren’t considered by the Supreme Court, including whether the trial judge wrongly denied…

California has experienced a devastating, multi-year drought that’s depleted reservoirs, forced officials to plead with residents to conserve water and constrained supplies to vital farmland.Suddenly, the state has been hit by a severe series of storms, with more expected in the coming days. The rain is soaking a state that desperately needs water, even as it takes a devastating human toll. Experts say it will help drought conditions, but it isn’t yet clear exactly how much. And the rain and snow won’t be enough to fix some of California’s long-term water problems that climate change is making worse.“We are transitioning…

SALEM, Ore. – Oregon’s newly sworn-in Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek signed three executive orders intended to combat homelessness on her first full day in office Tuesday, a sign of how critical the shortage of affordable housing has become in the state and across the nation.The orders call for boosting construction and marshaling resources to help the nearly 18,000 people living outside in Oregon. Advocates welcomed the measures. But they said that shoring up mental health and addiction services must also occur in order to help people move off the street.Just last year, Oregon lawmakers passed a spending package that included…