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Iowa family vacationing in Florida searching for son’s missing ashes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:41 GMT

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (WESH) — An Iowa couple who was visiting Florida last month is asking for help finding a special stuffed animal.Liz Atkinson says she was on a trip to Florida with her husband and son, Sebastyan, visiting the beaches and theme parks when they lost the stuffed animal named Bruce somewhere along the way.“I remember Sebastyan holding him, but my husband got off the boat with him first and he’s the one that buckled him,” Atkinson said. “Part of me just wonders, did it fall out in the parking lot at the orange ramp at Disney Springs and we just didn’t know?”The family had to return home but posted on Facebook asking for the public’s help finding Bruce. The task is close to their hearts—not because of Bruce’s cute and cuddly appearance, but because of where he’s been and what’s inside him.“Bruce has been at every hospitalization. There’s far too many to count. He’s been with my son at every procedure,” Atkinson said. “My son th...

Florida law takes aim at teachers union that defied DeSantis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:41 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Teachers and other government employees will have to write monthly checks if they want to stay in their union after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday banning automatic dues deductions from public employees’ paychecks,The anti-union bill also gives employees the right to immediately quit a union for no reason and requires unions to recertify if the number of dues-paying members drops below 60% of those eligible to join.“If you want to join, you can, but you write a check and you hand it over. That is gonna lead to more take-home pay for teachers,” DeSantis said at the bill-signing ceremony.It was one of several bills that DeSantis signed that affect education, including new term limits for school board members, restrictions on student social media use and protections for teachers who report administrators they believe are violating state education policies.While DeSantis touted the bills as giving more freedom to teachers, the Florida E...

Official: Officer saved ‘countless lives’ ending mall attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:41 GMT

ALLEN, Texas (AP) — The mass shooting at a suburban Dallas shopping mall lasted three to four minutes before a local police officer shot and killed the gunman, authorities said Tuesday.The Allen police officer who shot and killed 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia acted heroically and saved “countless lives” through his quick action, Hank Sibley, the regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at a news conference. He said the officer is still processing what happened and isn’t ready to have his name made public.The investigation into Garcia’s motive is ongoing, but he expressed “neo-Nazi” beliefs, Sibley said. Garcia had no criminal history before he opened fire at Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday, he said.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.ALLEN, Texas (AP) — The gunman who killed eight people and wounded seven others at a suburban Dallas shopping mall had no prior criminal record but had “neo-Nazi ideation,” authorities sai...

Jury finds Donald Trump liable for battery in 1996 attack on writer, rejects rape claim

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:41 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A jury found Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House.The verdict was announced in a federal courtroom in New York City on the first day of jury deliberations. Jurors rejected Carroll’s claims that she was raped, but found Trump liable for sexual abuse and for defaming Carroll after she made her allegations public.Trump chose not to attend the civil trial and was absent when the verdict was read.Carroll nodded as the verdict was read. Afterward, her lawyers put their arms around her, and she hugged supporters in the gallery, smiling through tears.Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, shook hands with Carroll and hugged her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan. As the courtroom cleared, Carroll could be heard laughing and crying.Trump immediately lashed out with a statement on his social media site, claiming again that he...

Jonathan Majors appears in court for domestic violence case that his attorney calls a ‘witch hunt’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:41 GMT

(CNN) — Actor Jonathan Majors appeared in court virtually on Tuesday for a hearing related to the assault and harassment charges brought against him in March by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.During the morning status conference, the DA provided more information regarding an incident that took place on March 25 between Majors and a female accuser. Previously, the complaint stated that Majors had allegedly struck the woman in her face with an open hand, causing a laceration behind her ear. The complaint now states that the woman also sustained injuries to her arm and hand and that she was allegedly pushed into the side of a vehicle by Majors.He has denied the allegations.In a statement to CNN following the hearing, Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudhry accused prosecutors of racial bias in the case and reiterated that her team has provided investigators video evidence that allegedly exonerates Majors.“This is a witch hunt against Jonathan Majors,...

Max Scherzer scratched from Tuesday’s start against Reds due to neck spasms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:41 GMT

When it rains, it pours.Max Scherzer has been scratched from Tuesday’s start against the Cincinnati Reds due to neck spasms. David Peterson has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse and will take the ball for the Amazins in Cincinnati.Scherzer has struggled mightily this season posting a 5.56 ERA in five starts this season.The right-hander has a bit of an injury history in his career with the Mets as he missed a month and a half from May-July last season with an oblique injury. The three-time Cy Young award winner already missed some time this season, however, that was due to a sticky-stuff 10-game suspension for breaking MLB’s foreign substance policy.Buck Showalter’s squad has endured a number of injuries to his staff this season. Justin Verlander just returned in Thursday’s loss to the Tigers — tossing five innings and allowing two runs — Carlos Carrasco remains on the injured list due to right elbow inflammation and Jose Quintana has yet to tak...

New Patriots free-agent addition explains team ‘really wanted’ him

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:41 GMT

FOXBORO — Of all the Patriots’ free-agent signings and draft picks, only one has “no weaknesses,” according to Bill Belichick.That player is ex-Lions linebacker Chris Board, whom Belichick called the best special teams player on the Pats’ schedule last October. After the Patriots finished with the league’s worst special teams — posting the lowest net yards per punt and allowing three kick return touchdowns — it was no surprise Belichick pursued Board in free agency.The Pats separated themselves from Board’s other suitors by how aggressive they were, the 27-year-old linebacker said Tuesday.“In free agency, there were a lot of teams that wouldn’t mind having me, but there was definitely an emphasis and a priority (from the Patriots) to get me here, which I really appreciated,” Board said. “So that kind of went into the process of me deciding to sign here. I appreciate just the respect that I’ve had here so far.”Board ad...

Trump slams verdict, calls it a ‘disgrace’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:41 GMT

Former President Donald Trump fired back at a jury awarding $5 million in a judgment against him saying that he doesn’t even know his accuser.In all caps he wrote on the Truth Social platform: “I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE — A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!”That lone post had thousands of replies and shares after just minutes of being posted.It came soon after a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House, as the Associated Press wrote.  

Mets ink former Yankee catcher Gary Sanchez to minor league deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:41 GMT

The Kraken is making his way back to New York.Gary Sanchez signed a minor league contract with the Mets on Tuesday. The 30-year-old former Yankees catcher exercised his May 1 opt-out with the San Francisco Giants after they elected not to add him to their 40-man roster. He had signed a minor league deal with the Giants at the end of March and slashed .164/.319/.182 in 16 games at Triple-A Sacramento this season.The two-time All-Star has veered far off the track he was on during his early days with the Yankees.The Dominican native owned a career .230/.318/.487 slashline during his rocky seven-year career in pinstripes including his spectacular debut in 2016 where he set the world on fire hitting 20 homers in 53 games.The backstop is an original ‘Baby Bomber’ as he was a key contributor during their 2017 and 2019 runs to the ALCS — which resulted in losses to the Houston Astros. Both of the two aforementioned seasons were his All-Star years. In 2017 he posted .278/.3...

PLUG AND PLAY: Lakers and Heat on track to run it back

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:41 GMT

Death, taxes, and both LeBron James and Jimmy Butler on a playoff tear.Those tend to be the three NBA inevitabilities this time of the year, as both James and Butler have reminded the basketball world, each now one victory in their respective second-round playoff series shy of advancing to the conference finals.It was only three seasons ago that these two teams met in the self-isolated Orlando bubble with the 2020 NBA championship on the line. Now, there’s a very real chance at an encore. Only 4.7% of teams in NBA history to go down 3-1 in a playoff series ever come back to win, meanwhile both the Sixers-Celtics and Nuggets-Suns series are tied at two games apiece.James, of course, won the title in six games the first go-round, simply over-powering an exhausted Heat team with Anthony Davis’ star power on full display in the series. The Lakers then spent two seasons outside of the championship hunt finding the right pieces for a second run out West. Butler was swept out o...