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Former Aurora officer sentenced for standing by when man was strangled

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:15 GMT

ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — A former Aurora police officer broke down in tears in a courtroom Friday as she was sentenced for failing to intervene and help a man in trouble.A judge admonished her, saying she should have stopped another officer from using excessive force.During much of the sentencing hearing, former Aurora Police Officer Francine Martinez cried as a judge considered her fate after being convicted of failing to intervene. Ghost guns banned under new Colorado law Two years ago, police body camera video showed her at a scene where another officer used excessive force. The man seen in the video, Kyle Vinson, was wanted on a warrant.The video shows an officer holding a gun to Vinson’s head and strangling him for 39 seconds. Martinez was sentenced to six months under house arrest.“I do not see that this rises to the level that you actually need be physically incarcerated in the Arapahoe County detention facility," Judge Cheryl Rowles-Stokes said.Law makes it a crime ...

Things go bumping in the night in new horror film ‘The Boogeyman’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:15 GMT

Back in the day, kids were scared of the Boogeyman. Now, the mysterious menace is having a frightening resurgence.Stephen King’s short story, “The Boogeyman” comes to life on the big screen.We caught up with the cast and crew to see if they’re afraid of the dark after working on this film.The Harper family is dealing with a tough loss in “The Boogeyman.” That’s when a mysterious monster decides the kids are its next victims.Chris Messina plays Will Harper, a widowed dad struggling to handle life without his wife while raising two daughters. And he has his theories about what the Boogeyman really represents. Chris Messina: “The Boogeyman, which is a really scary monster in this movie, is also all of the stuff that’s lurking inside of these people, and grief being the main component, how do they deal with grief? How do they not deal with grief?”Vivien Lyra Blair takes on the role of Will’s youngest daughter, Sawyer, an...

Biden celebrates bipartisanship, ‘crisis averted’ in Oval Office address on debt ceiling deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden celebrated a “crisis averted” in his inaugural speech to the nation from the Oval Office Friday evening, ready to sign a budget agreement that eliminates the potential for a first-ever government default that would have sent shock waves through the U.S. and global economies.The bipartisan measure was approved by the Senate late Thursday night after passing the House in yet another late session the night before. Biden is set to sign it at the White House on Saturday with just two days to spare until the Treasury Department has warned the U.S. wouldn’t be able to meet its obligations.The agreement was hashed out by Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, giving Republicans some of their demanded federal spending cuts but holding the line on major Democratic priorities. It raises the debt limit until 2025 — after the 2024 presidential election — and giv...

Biden celebrates a ‘crisis averted’ in Oval Office address on bipartisan debt ceiling deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:15 GMT

By ZEKE MILLER and CHRIS MEGERIAN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden celebrated a “crisis averted” in his first speech to the nation from the Oval Office Friday evening, ready to sign a budget agreement that eliminates the potential for an unprecedented government default that he said would have been catastrophic for the U.S. and global economies.The bipartisan measure was approved by the Senate late Thursday night after passing the House in yet another late session the night before. Biden is set to sign it at the White House on Saturday with just two days to spare until the Treasury Department has warned the U.S. wouldn’t be able to meet its obligations.“Passing this budget agreement was critical. The stakes could not have been higher,” Biden said. “Nothing would have been more catastrophic,” he said, than defaulting on the country’s debt. The agreement was hashed out by Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarth...

More than 200 killed and 800 hurt after 2 trains derail in India

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:15 GMT

By ASHOK SHARMA (Associated Press)NEW DELHI (AP) — Two passenger trains derailed Friday in India, killing more than 200 people and trapping hundreds of others inside more than a dozen damaged rail cars, officials said.The accident that happened about 220 kilometers (137 miles) southwest of Kolkata created a chaotic scene of twisted wreckage and desperate rescuers as teams tried to free passengers and recover bodies. The cause was under investigation.Fire Services Chief Sudhanshu Sarangi told the Press Trust of India that more than 800 people were hurt.Ten to 12 coaches of one train derailed, and debris from some of the mangled coaches fell onto a nearby track, said Amitabh Sharma, a railroad ministry spokesperson.The debris was hit by another passenger train coming from the opposite direction, and up to three coaches of the second train also derailed, Sharma said.The Press Trust reported that a third train carrying freight was also involved, but there was no immediate confirma...

Former Compass Medical patient sues company, alleges ‘patient abandonment’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:15 GMT

An Abington man filed a class action lawsuit Friday against now-shuttered Compass Medical, accusing the Quincy-based organization of leaving tens of thousands of patients scrambling to find medical care.Compass Medical announced its decision to shut down in a statement posted to its website on Wednesday, leaving many patients scratching their heads as to the sudden loss of primary care options.The move came after Compass Medical was convicted on 10 counts of fraud in October 2022 and ordered to pay a Dallas-based medical group $16.4 million. An attorney for the Dallas group was surprised to hear of the closure and left wondering how the settlement would be paid.And now, John Callanan of Abington, a former patient of Compass Medical, said the Quincy medical group abruptly closed all of its patient care facilities in Massachusetts “without any prior notice” to Callanan or others involved in his class action lawsuit. Callanan’s lawyers said the closure amounted to “patient abandonment....

Top of the day for Engine 17

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:15 GMT

Dorchester’s $24.7 million Engine 17 project was topped off Friday. The original firehouse dates back to 1928 but will now be modernized.Boston Firefighter Kyle Tobin sits with his daughters Harper, 4, and Deliha,3, at the Engine 17 topping-off ceremony. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald) 

Thunderstorms move through Toronto and GTA, humidity to break this weekend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:15 GMT

Thunderstorms are beginning to pop up across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), accompanied by large hail moving through the city, leading to a much-needed cool down this weekend.Environment Canada has issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Halton-Peel, which covers Burlington and Oakville. Canada’s weather agency cautions for large hail and heavy rain.This is absolutely nuts! Rain and hail with wind so strong it's making the hail basically float in the air! #onstorm@CityNewsTO @citynews680 pic.twitter.com/j8gSjED5lh— Andrew Osmond (@AndyOzzy) June 2, 2023#onstorm @markrobinsonNC a hail system is hitting Toronto in 20 min (the footage is from Scarborough pic.twitter.com/kFHDEPEK51— Mariana Hernandez (@Mariana_ArtsTO) June 2, 2023It poured rain here in Mississauga for about 5-10 minutes. Now the sun is coming back out. The humidity is already starting to break, too. #onstorm pic.twitter.com/twzerI0PM3— LC (@LucasCasaletto) June 2, 2023“Severe thunders...

Man cleared in hunters’ killings after 21 years in prison seeks $1M from Michigan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:15 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — A man who spent nearly 21 years in prison for the deaths of two Michigan hunters filed a lawsuit Friday seeking $1.02 million for wrongful convictions, just a day after a prosecutor dropped murder charges and ruled out a second trial.“Jeff Titus is 71 years old. He was robbed of 21 years of his prime,” attorney Wolf Mueller said. “Who knows how long he will live? He doesn’t have a day to waste.”Titus’ convictions were thrown out in February based on newly discovered evidence, Mueller said, a key threshold to get compensation from the state.Titus has long declared his innocence in the fatal shootings of Doug Estes and Jim Bennett near his Kalamazoo County land in 1990.He was released from prison — and a life sentence — earlier this year when authorities acknowledged that Titus’ trial lawyer in 2002 was never given a police file with details about another suspect. Thomas Dillon was an Ohio serial killer whose five victims between 1989 and 1992 were hun...

Alabama governor signs legislation naming Yellowhammer Cookie as official state cookie

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:32:15 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama now has an official state cookie: The Yellowhammer Cookie.Gov. Kay Ivey on Friday signed legislation naming the confection created by a Montgomery fourth-grader as the official state cookie. Students at Montgomery’s Trinity Presbyterian School came up with the idea of a state cookie. Fourth-grader Mary Claire Cook submitted the winning recipe, which includes pecans, peanut butter and honey, WSFA-TV reported.Cook brought a batch of the cookies to Ivey for the bill-signing ceremony. Alabama has a long list of official state emblems and symbols, including a state vegetable, nut, amphibian and spirit. The Associated Press