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Tennessee Supreme Court blocks decision to redraw state’s Senate redistricting maps

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:03:16 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s highest court on Friday temporarily blocked a lower court’s decision that lawmakers must redraw the state’s Senate maps in a ruling that means the current legislative districts will likely remain in place for the 2024 elections.Late last month, a panel of judges ruled that the Republican-drawn map violated the state Constitution because lawmakers incorrectly numbered the seats in left-leaning Nashville. The numbers are important because they determine the years those seats are on the ballot. The same trial judges ruled to temporarily block the Senate map in 2022, but the Supreme Court reinstated the districts then as well, reasoning that it was too close to the election.In response to the November ruling, the state’s attorneys quickly moved to seek a pause of the decision, arguing that the plaintiffs had no standing to sue and that the state wanted to exhaust all of its appeals options before having to reconfigure district ...

This year’s Heisman finalists are an ode to college football’s portal/NIL era with 3 transfer QBs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:03:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — This year’s Heisman Trophy ceremony will be an ode to the new era of college sports, transformed by the transfer portal and NIL.Three of the four Heisman finalists are quarterbacks who blossomed into stars at their second schools and were having so much fun in college that they decided to stick around an extra year — or two.“It’s different for everybody. It depends on how they want their life to go,” LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels said Friday. “We decided to transfer, and to start fresh, and to stay an extra year because we felt like we had something more to prove.”Whether it is Daniels, Oregon’s Bo Nix or Washington’s Michael Penix Jr., the Heisman Trophy winner is likely to be a transfer quarterback for the fifth time in the last seven years.The 89th Heisman will be handed out Saturday night in midtown Manhattan. Those three quarterbacks and Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. are the finalists. Daniels is the favorite to take home...

Increíble: nace raro caimán blanco en parque de Florida, ahora buscan qué nombre ponerle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:03:16 GMT

Florida tiene un caimán más, pero esta vez se trata de uno extremadamente raro.Un caimán leucístico nació en el popular parque de reptiles de Gatorland, en Orlando, que ahora está pidiendo ayuda del público para ponerle nombre.Se trata de una hembra de 19.2 pulgadas y apenas el séptimo caimán de este tipo que se conoce, según el parque. Tres de los otros 7 caimanes leucísticos están en este mismo recinto. Sorpresa: las autoridades entran a una casa y se encuentran con dos caimanes Se aparece con su caimán de apoyo emocional en un partido y no lo dejan entrar “Por primera vez desde que se descubrió un nido de caimanes leucísticos en los pantanos de Louisiana hace 36 años, tenemos el primer nacimiento de un caimán blanco sólido jamás registrado a partir de esos caimanes originales. Esto es más que “raro”, ¡es absolutamente extraordinario!”, dijo en un comunicado Mark McHugh, presidente y director ejecutivo de Gatorland.El leucismo ...

Sean McDermott says he feels support from team as he again addresses 9/11 hijacker comments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:03:16 GMT

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott said Friday he recognizes his mistakes while also noting he still has the support of the team in light of a questionable comparison he made four years ago in crediting the 9/11 hijackers for their coordination. “It was important for me to address the players that are new to us since 2019 and may not have been around that day,” said McDermott, who met with players Thursday to discuss the comments. ”So they understood that situation and how it unfolded, and that, based on who I am and what they’ve seen, my hope and how I try and do things and how I handled that situation. So it went well. Their support was clear and much appreciated.”The 49-year-old McDermott, in his seventh season coaching the Bills, said he owes it to his players to focus on beating the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. But he also wanted to address the situation. “I think in any of our lives if this came up for any of us, something like this, it definitely ge...

23 accused of organized crime in thefts of over 40 marijuana dispensaries around Denver

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:03:16 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Nearly two dozen people face accusations of organized crime in the burglaries of more than 40 marijuana dispensaries around Denver, resulting in the theft of approximately $780,000 in cash and property. Following multi-agency investigations conducted by city, state and nationwide agencies, 23 people accused of being part of two separate organized crime groups will be charged with stealing or carjacking vehicles and using them to burglarize marijuana dispensaries, federal firearms licensees and other businesses in the Denver metro area between September 2022 and November 2023, according to Denver District Attorney Beth McCann. Suspected DUI driver crashes into 2 police officers, 2 firefighters on I-76 The defendants will face other charges including aggravated robbery, carjacking, kidnapping, illegal possession of firearms (including a firearm linked to an open murder investigation) and violations of the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, the DA's office announce...

Mayor Mike Johnston moves to keep Denver sheriff, fire chief in his administration

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:03:16 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston has moved to keep the city's current sheriff and fire chief in his administration.Sheriff Elias Diggins and Fire Chief Desmond G. Fulton would continue in their roles if the city council approves the mayor's nominations."These are leaders who have grown up in this community, have served this community, and share our vision for bringing public safety to every neighborhood in Denver,” Johnston said in a statement. "I look forward to working with them shoulder to shoulder to deliver a safer Denver."The mayor's office said both Diggins and Fulton were born and raised in Denver. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Diggins has been sheriff since July 2020 and has worked with the department since 1994, according to the mayor's office. Fulton was appointed fire chief in October 2020 and has been with the Denver Fire Department for more than 25 years.Johnston also moved last month to keep the city's police chief, Ron...

EU negotiators strike political deal on AI Act

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:03:16 GMT

BRUSSELS — Members of the European Parliament, EU member countries represented by the Council, and experts from the European Commission have clinched a political deal on the Artificial Intelligence Act, the EU’s pioneering attempt at regulating the emerging technology.Following over 36 hours of negotiations over three days, representatives of the bloc’s three institutions have managed to reach an agreement on divisive topics such as predictive policing, facial recognition and the use of AI by law enforcement. It is expected that more technical work on the law’s text will be needed to refine tonight’s political agreement.“The EU becomes the very first continent to set clear rules for the use of AI,” Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton posted on X. “The [AI Act] is much more than a rulebook — it’s a launchpad for EU startups and researchers to lead the global AI race.”Lawmaker Dragoș Tudorache, one of the AI Act’s co-...

Growing memorial as community continues to mourn officer, worker killed in Waltham crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:03:16 GMT

A moving memorial outside the Waltham Police Department continued to grow Friday as community members continue to mourn the police officer and National Grid worker who were killed in a worksite crash that led to criminal charges against the driver.Residents continued to stop and lay flowers on a growing memorial outside the station, one day after Peter Simon, 54, of Woodsville, New Hampshire, was arraigned on charges including two counts of manslaughter in connection with the fatal crash and pursuit after stealing a police cruiser.Residents who spoke with 7NEWS expressed grief and anger over the senseless situation.“It’s so sad and I feel so sad for his wife and his children,” one resident said of the death of officer Paul Tracey, 58.According to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Simon was driving a pickup truck eastbound on Totten Pond Road near 4 p.m. when he began to make a U-turn. District Attorney Marian Ryan said Simon struck a vehicle while tryi...

2 deaf people robbed outside South Boston Burger King

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:03:16 GMT

A man is charged with robbing two deaf people at knifepoint in a Southie Burger King parking lot last month, and scaring them so badly that one of them suffered a fear-induced stroke.Christopher Jimenez-Nunez, 19, of Framingham — who already has a pending robbery case from October — was charged Wednesday in municipal court in South Boston with armed robbery with a firearm, armed robbery with a knife, and two counts of assault and battery in relation to the Nov. 15 incident.Judge John McDonald Jr. released Jimenez-Nunez on personal recognizance but ordered that the defendant be monitored by GPS tracking and be confined to his home except for work. Jimenez-Nunez is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 9.The victims, a man and woman, told police through a sign language interpreter that they had been walking by the restaurant when two men walked out of the restaurant and came at them with a knife and a gun, according to the Suffolk District Attorney’s office.They say the men violently r...

Harvard body parts trafficking case: Scandal plaintiffs disappointed with report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:03:16 GMT

Harvard’s commissioned report on how to improve its Anatomical Gifts Program that is at the heart of an alleged national human body parts trafficking ring has drawn more flack from plaintiffs in the lawsuit over the grisly ordeal.The university on Thursday released a summary report with 19 pages of substantive content in which a panel of three experts made a series of recommendations from operating procedure, enhanced bookkeeping and more robust security protocols. As the introduction to the report noted, they were working under directions not to look into the specifics of the alleged criminal matter but just how to fix the program itself.The lead attorney, Kathryn Barnett, in the class-action suit lodged against the university in Suffolk Superior Court expressed dissatisfaction when she spoke with the Herald Thursday, summarizing that “this entire situation is absolutely devastating for the families involved and they want some answers,” which she said the report didn’t include.On F...