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Sheriff: Miami man charged with murder in Monroe County overdose death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:30 GMT

MONROE COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) – A 56-year-old Miami man who was arrested in April for leading an extensive fentanyl distribution ring in Monroe County has been charged with murder for his involvement in an overdose death, officials said.According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, a grand jury has charged Melvin Anthony Howard with first-degree murder for supplying the fentanyl that led to the overdose death of 53-year-old Amanda Roberts of Grassy Key on Sept. 2, 2022.In a related case, Alexis Joy Sather, 23, of Marathon, Florida, was arrested for murder in March 2023, allegedly connected to Roberts’ death. Authorities said Sather had purchased fentanyl from Howard and subsequently sold it to Roberts.Alexis Sather (Courtesy Monroe County Sheriff’s Office)Howard is also facing charges of trafficking fentanyl, conspiracy to traffic fentanyl and the unlawful use of a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.Howard’s initial arrest in April foll...

BSO search for subject caught on surveillance video punching elderly man outside Walmart in Lauderdale Lakes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:30 GMT

Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies are searching for a man who was caught on camera punching an elderly man as he was exiting a Walmart in Lauderdale Lakes. According to detectives with BSO’s Violent Crimes Unit, the attack happened on Oct. 11, just before 10 a.m. at the store located at 3001 N. State Road 7.“This is awful to witness. Nobody wants to see this in our society,” said BSO spokesperson Carey Codd. “To have someone walk up unprovoked, punch an elderly man in the face, that is completely uncalled for. It is cruel and it is unacceptable.”Surveillance footage shows the elderly man was seen leaving the store with a shopping bag in his hand. As the victim was getting past the sliding doors, walked in and punching the victim twice in the face.“An elderly gentleman was exiting a Walmart store, he had a bag in his left hand, and as he got past the first set of double doors and into the entryway of the store, a tall, thin man just walks up ...

Healey’s climate chief calls for more specifics ahead of Massachusetts 2050 goals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:30 GMT

The Healey administration released a set climate-related recommendations Wednesday that highlight the need to find money for decarbonization strategies as climate-related impacts and northward migration patterns put more and more pressure on the region.The report, authored by Climate Chief Melissa Hoffer’s Office of Climate Innovation and Resilience, outlines 39 actions to deal with rising global temperatures, which have reached 1.1 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and more extreme weather events across the world, including the Bay State.“Massachusetts, like other state and local governments, must play a leading role in climate policy and implementation, spurring innovation in technology, climate finance, and resilience,” the report said.State law requires Massachusetts to hit net zero carbon emissions by 2050, an effort that will require “substantial” investments, the report said. The costs of not making those investments “will be even greater.”But the state, the ...

Abortions in the US rose slightly overall after post-Roe restrictions were put in place, study finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:30 GMT

By GEOFF MULVIHILL (Associated Press)The total number of abortions provided in the U.S. rose slightly in the 12 months after states began implementing bans on them throughout pregnancy, a new survey finds.The report out this week from the Society of Family Planning, which advocates for abortion access, shows the number fell to nearly zero in states with the strictest bans — but rose elsewhere, especially in states close to those with the bans. The monthly averages overall from July 2022 through June 2023 were about 200 higher than in May and June 2022.The changes reflect major shifts after the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022 handed down its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that had made abortion legal nationally. Since last year, most Republican-controlled states have enacted restrictions, while most Democrat-controlled states have extended protections for those from out of state seeking abortion.“The Dobbs decision turned...

U.S. Appeals Court rules student acquitted in Yale sex assault case can proceed with defamation suit against accuser, school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:30 GMT

A federal appeals court said Wednesday that a former Yale University student expelled as the result of a since dismissed rape accusation can proceed with suits for defamation and other claims against his accuser and the school based on an analysis by the state Supreme Court.In a decision released Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed a district court decision dismissing expelled student Saifullah Khan’s defamation suit against his accuser, a former schoolmate identified as Jane Doe, and related claims against the university based on his expulsion.Khan denied the rape allegation but was suspended and ultimately expelled after the charge was upheld by Yale’s University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct.Khan also was charged with four sexual assault crimes in state court based on the accusation. Two and one-half years after the alleged attack, a state jury acquitted him of all charges after less than a day of deliberation.Based on the acquittals, Khan su...

Orlando buys Pulse nightclub property for memorial to massacre victims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:30 GMT

Orlando City Commissioners Monday signed off on the $2 million purchase of Pulse nightclub, the site of one of the nation’s deadliest mass shootings that rocked the city and its LGBTQ community in 2016.The vote came after hours of public comment from survivors and family members of victims of the attack, who were divided on whether the sale to the city was the best path forward. The unanimous vote moves the sale forward, which is expected to close on Friday, formally transferring the plot along Orange Avenue to the city.Mayra Alvear, who lost a daughter in the Pulse nightclub mass shooting, holds up a poster of the 49 victims while delivering remarks to the Orlando City Council, Monday, October 23, 2023, regarding the city’s plan to purchase the Pulse nightclub property. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel)Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said the sale sets the stage for the city to develop a process “inclusive to the families of the victims and inclusive of the survivors” to build a permanent me...

Patriots-Dolphins injury report: Tyreek Hill sits out Wednesday, Bill Belichick lists 12 injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:30 GMT

Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill missed practice Wednesday with a hip injury, while the Patriots listed a dozen players on their first injury report of the week.Left tackle Trent Brown (ankle/knee) was a limited participant after getting hurt toward the end of last Sunday’s win over the Bills. Tight end Hunter Henry and linebacker Josh Uche were also limited. Uche returned to practice after missing all of last week with a knee injury.Both teams’ complete injury reports are below.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Source: Patriots re-signing Malik Cunningham to practice squad New England Patriots | Celtics’ Jayson Tatum discusses relationship with Tom Brady: ‘Tom is the best’ New England Patriots | Patriots receive encouraging news at Wednesday practice before Dolphins game New England Patriots | Mac Jones discloses ‘word of the week’ for Patriots after big win over Bills N...

Bob Melvin is coming home to San Francisco as Giants manager after an uneasy time in San Diego

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:30 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — At least once every time Bob Melvin came to San Francisco as a visiting manager, he allowed himself to believe that maybe someday he would wear a Giants uniform again.Running the bleachers before games, Melvin would glance out at iconic McCovey Cove. Admittedly superstitious, he used to take good-luck, head-first plunges down the 60-foot Coca-Cola slide beyond left field until they locked the attraction.On Wednesday, after buttoning up his new No. 6 Giants jersey as the franchise's 39th manager, Melvin called it “surreal” that this moment was actually happening.After 20 years as a big league manager — including a recent, turbulent end to his time guiding the rival San Diego Padres — Melvin is coming home.“I think probably every series I would look in that dugout and look over to the other side and say, ‘Maybe someday, hopefully,’” said Melvin, who turns 62 on Saturday. “There were always times here, I can admit that now, that I was hoping at some point in time I...

‘The war has begun’: Quebec coroner hears of stalking, custody concerns in familicide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:30 GMT

MONTREAL — A former work colleague of a Montreal woman who was killed along with her children by her estranged spouse in December 2019 told an inquiry Wednesday that he was following her despite a court order forbidding contact.“He was stalking her,” Najla Ben Ammar told the inquiry looking into the December 2019 killings of Dahia Khellaf, 42, and her sons, Adam, 4, and Aksil, 2.Police say the three were strangled by Nabil Yssaad, 46, who took his own life by jumping from a hospital window a day before the bodies were found in the couple’s home in eastern Montreal.She said Khellaf had given examples of Yssaad’s presence — her vehicle was cleared of snow every morning, she would see him in the alleyways near her home and he would walk past the glassed bank branch where Khellaf worked to see if she was present.Ben Ammar said the couple had split in the months before the killings, and the fate of the children was top of mind. Khellaf wanted full custody while Ys...

Kansas court system down nearly 2 weeks in `security incident’ that has hallmarks of ransomware

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:14:30 GMT

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials are calling a massive computer outage that’s kept most of the state’s courts offline for two weeks a “security incident” and, while they have provided no explanation, experts say it has all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack.The disruption has left attorneys unable to search online records and forced them to file motions the old fashioned way — on paper. Courts are limping along, although the growing piles of paper are a mess that will have to be sorted and scanned eventually. “It’s really just slowed the whole system down,” said Chris Joseph, a Lawrence-based criminal defense attorney. Since 2019, ransomware groups have targeted 18 state, city or municipal court systems, said analyst Allan Liska of the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. That includes one in Dallas, where some jury trials had to be canceled this year. But state-focused attacks have been much less frequent, and have not yet rivaled what is happening in Kansas. Liska...