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Parkland victim’s family launches ‘Guac’s Magical Tour’ to combat gun violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:41 GMT

The family of Joaquin Oliver, who lost his life in the Parkland school shooting, is hitting the road to demand action on gun violence. In honor of their son’s memory and with a determination to effect change, Manuel and Patricia Oliver have embarked on a nationwide tour called “Guac’s Magical Tour.” The gunman responsible for Joaquin’s death and the deaths of 16 others now faces a lifetime behind bars. However, after the Parkland massacre, there continues to be numerous shootings nationwide.Manuel Oliver, Joaquin’s father, reflects on the devastating aftermath of the Parkland tragedy and subsequent shootings, highlighting the lack of political action to address the pervasive issue of gun violence.“After Parkland, we learned our lesson, and then Santa Fe came, and they learned a lesson, and then many other shootings happened, and a lot of people who are not here learned a lesson, but the political inaction was still there,” said Manuel ...

Murder suspect who escaped from California medical center recaptured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:41 GMT

(CNN) — A murder suspect who escaped police custody in the Sacramento area over the weekend has been found and taken into custody, according to the Placer County Sheriff, who shared the update via social media.Eric J. Abril, who escaped Sutter Roseville Medical Center in Placer County early Sunday morning, was discovered after a homeowner walking his dog alerted deputies when he noticed his dog barked at some movements in a nearby brush area, Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said Monday.“When he was taken into custody, he was clothed in only his jail boxers and he still had the belly chains around his waist, although his hands were no longer affixed in the handcuffs,” Woo said. Abril also had numerous abrasions on his body, Woo added.California authorities had launched a manhunt after the 35-year-old escaped early Sunday morning.Abril was facing numerous charges, including “murder, kidnapping causing bodily harm, and attempted murder of a police officer,” related to a shooting in Apr...

Germany on track to bin 200 million COVID-19 vaccine doses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:41 GMT

Germany has thrown out 83 million doses of coronavirus vaccines at a rough cost of €1.6 billion and has 120 million more doses sitting unused in stock, even as it is set to receive more jabs at a time when vaccination has flatlined.According to data provided by the country’s health ministry, Germany scrapped 54 million COVID-19 vaccine doses by the end of 2022 and another 29 million in the first quarter of 2023. However, the real tally is likely to be higher. The ministry didn’t provide waste figures for the second quarter of this year and also stressed that federal states and health care providers aren’t required to report vaccine waste. “Accordingly, a total volume of total disposed COVID-19 vaccine doses acquired by the Federal Republic of Germany cannot be quantified,” it said in an email to POLITICO. Meanwhile, another 120 million doses are still in stock as the number of people getting vaccines has plummeted. The EU’s disease control a...

Ex-UConn football player Dennis Hernandez ordered re-arrested on brick-throwing charges at ESPN

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:41 GMT

A judge has ordered the re-arrest of former UConn football player Dennis Hernandez after he failed to appear in court last week on charges related to throwing a brick at the ESPN campus in Bristol, Connecticut.The 37-year-old, who was known as DJ Hernandez when he played quarterback and wide receiver at UConn in the mid-2000s, was originally arrested in March. Police said he went to ESPN in a car, possibly an Uber, and threw a bag containing a brick and a note over a fence and onto the property before leaving.The note said: “To all media outlets, It’s about time you all realeyes the affect media has on all family members. Since you’re a world wide leader maybe you could lead how media and messages are delivered brick by brick. Clean it up! Yours truly, Dennis J. Hernandez,” according to police.Hernandez, the older brother of the late New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, was scheduled to enter a plea on July 7 to a misdemeanor charge of breach of peace. He did not s...

First hearing on classified documents will be July 18 after special counsel accuses Trump co-defendant of seeking ‘unnecessary’ delay

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:41 GMT

(CNN) — The first hearing before US District Judge Aileen Cannon in the federal criminal case against Donald Trump will be on July 18, according to a court order.The hearing will be about handling classified information in the case – the first of likely many proceedings on this topic – and may not be fully conducted in public because of the sensitivity around the issues.The date was set after a fight on Monday where special counsel Jack Smith suggested Trump and co-defendant Walt Nauta were trying to create an “unnecessary” delay by moving it from this coming Friday.The spat highlights how even the most incremental, procedural developments in the historic federal criminal case against Trump and Nauta could become mired in disputes – especially when it comes to scheduling as prosecutors want to go to trial in less than six months and Trump lawyers have been adept at delaying other legal fights he’s facing.In Nauta’s filing requesting the delay, the Trump aide. Nauta cited a...

Former federal prison guard sent to prison for violating civil rights of injured inmate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:41 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A former guard at a federal prison in Massachusetts who prosecutors say caused serious head injuries to a handcuffed inmate with severe mental health disorders has been sentenced to a year in prison.Seth Bourget, 42, of Woodstock, Connecticut, was also sentenced in federal court in Boston on Monday to two years of probation, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office. He was convicted by a jury in December of deprivation of civil rights under color of law.“Corrections officers are placed in a position of public trust and the overwhelming majority of correctional officers do their jobs with professionalism, respect and dedication to protect and serve,” acting Boston U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said. “In this case, a jury unanimously found that Mr. Bourget abused his position of authority when he violently struck a mentally ill and defenseless inmate.”The inmate at the Federal Medical Center in Devens had been acting out in June 2019 and had been spraye...

Court sides with Amish families in case that pits septic tank rules against religious beliefs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:41 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Members of a deeply conservative Amish community in Minnesota don’t need to install septic systems to dispose of their “gray water,” the state Court of Appeals ruled Monday in a long-running religious freedom case that went all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.A three-judge panel ruled that the government “failed to demonstrate a compelling state interest” to justify overriding the religious freedom of the Amish families that challenged state regulations governing the disposal of gray water, which is water that’s been used for dishwashing, laundry, and bathing, but not toilet waste.The Swartzentruber Amish in southeastern Minnesota are among the most traditional Amish groups in the country, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch noted in a 2021 ruling. It sent the case back to Minnesota courts for reconsideration in light of a high court decision a month earlier in a different religious freedom case. That ruling went in favor of a Philadelphia-bas...

Vote to oust RoseAnne Archibald ‘not taken lightly,’ AFN interim chief tells leaders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:41 GMT

HALIFAX — The dramatic vote to remove RoseAnne Archibald as the first female leader of the largest First Nations advocacy organization in Canada “was not taken lightly,” its interim chief told a gathering Tuesday. Joanna Bernard, a regional chief from New Brunswick who was recently tapped to serve in the role temporarily, addressed the Assembly of First Nations during its annual gathering in Halifax for the first time since Archibald’s dramatic removal. Archibald, who was elected in 2021, was voted out during a recent special chiefs assembly held to address the findings of an investigation into five staff members’ complaints about her conduct.She released a statement before the gathering saying she would attend the first day virtually but may travel to Halifax for the rest of the meeting, which runs through Thursday. Bernard told chiefs in her speech Tuesday that Archibald’s removal puts the organization in a period of transition, but said it has overco...

Owners of some 2003 Ram pickups urged to not drive them after another Takata air bag inflator death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:41 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Stellantis and the U.S. government are urging the owners of some 2003 Dodge Ram pickups to stop driving them after a passenger was killed by an exploding Takata air bag inflator.The company says owners of the pickups should contact a dealer or the company to find out if their trucks are part of a 2015 Takata recall. Stellantis says the trucks shouldn’t be driven until repairs are made. The company says the person was killed in a May 13 crash that caused the air bags to inflate. Neither Stellantis nor the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration would say where the crash happened or identify the victim. The person ”succumbed to a serious injury consistent with those observed in previous Takata inflator failures,” Stellantis said in a prepared statement Tuesday.The death is the 26th in the U.S. since May of 2009, and more than 30 people have been killed worldwide. NHTSA said the death was the first due to an exploding front passenger air bag inflator. ...

Feds offer additional money to disaster response groups as climate change worsens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:41 GMT

OTTAWA — Canadian humanitarian groups that need to deploy on a moment’s notice when disasters strike will receive new funding from Ottawa to ensure they are ready when they are needed.The Canadian Red Cross, St. John Ambulance, the Salvation Army and the Search and Rescue Volunteer Association will share $82 million over the next three years.The money is topping up a fund for humanitarian groups created in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair says the funds will help them recruit and maintain the skilled volunteer emergency responders they need to be able to respond when disasters hit communities.The funds can also be used for equipment and supplies and to upgrade their management practices and policies.Climate change is causing more extreme weather like wildfires and hurricanes, resulting in higher demand for the services of humanitarian aid groups in Canada.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 11, 2023.The Canadia...