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Day 2 of trial for ex-Hialeah PD officer accused of beating up homeless man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:52 GMT

The trial of a former Hiaeah officer accused of kidnapping and beating a homeless man enters day two of testimony, where a responding officer took the stand. Hialeah Police Officer Rafael Otano is accused of kidnapping and beating a homeless man along with former Officer Lorenzo Orfila on December 2022. Witnesses who found the man were heard for the first time on Monday.The officers were dispatched to the shopping center on the afternoon of Dec. 17 regarding a homeless man who was known to frequent the area.Instead of taking him into custody, they handcuffed the man, put him in a patrol car and drove him to a remote location several miles away.The victim alleges he was taken out of the marked car and while handcuffed, he was beaten and thrown to the ground by the officers. The victim, Jose Ortega Gutierrez, told investigators that he was left there, unconscious and unhandcuffed. He began walking and was spotted by an off-duty Hialeah police officer who was walking his dog,...

An Ohio school bus overturns after crash with minivan, leaving 1 child dead and 23 injured

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:52 GMT

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ohio (AP) — A school bus full of children overturned after a crash with a minivan in Ohio, killing one child and injuring 23 others, one seriously, authorities said.Trooper Tyler Ross of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said there were 52 children from Northwestern Local Schools and a driver on the bus at the time of the crash shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday on Route 41 in Lawrenceville.He said an eastbound minivan went into the lane of the westbound bus, which veered onto the shoulder but was unable to avoid contact with the minivan and overturned. One student ejected from the bus was pronounced dead at the scene, he said.Thirteen children were taken to hospitals by emergency medical personnel and 10 others were brought to hospitals by family members or other personal means. Of the 23 total injuries among those on the bus, 22 were described as non-life-threatening and one child was seriously injured and was taken to Children’s Hospital.The minivan driver and a passen...

American dentist sentenced to life in prison for murder of wife while on African safari

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:52 GMT

(CNN) — An American dentist has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his wife of 30 years while the couple was on a safari in Zambia, the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado said in a news release.A jury last year found Lawrence Rudolph guilty of murdering his wife, Bianca, while they were on a hunting trip in the southern African country. Rudolph shot his wife through the heart with a 12-gauge shotgun on the last day of their hunt, scheming to make the murder look like an accident, Monday’s release said.Rudolph then filed over $4 million in fraudulent life insurance claims after returning to the US, the release said.“The defendant in this case thought he could murder his wife overseas and get away with it. He was wrong and will now be held accountable for his actions thanks to the relentless pursuit of justice by the dedicated men and women of the FBI, DOJ, and the family of Bianca Rudolph, who never lost faith in the judicial system,...

Column: Would the Chicago Cubs be in the playoff hunt had they re-signed Javier Báez?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:52 GMT

When the Chicago Cubs dealt Javier Báez to the New York Mets during the great summer sell-off of 2021, many fans hoped they’d bring him back as a free agent that offseason.While President Jed Hoyer reportedly spoke with Báez’s agent about a return, the Cubs had no intention of paying the kind of money the Detroit Tigers did when they reeled him in with a six-year, $140 million deal.As Báez faced his old team Monday at Comerica Park, the Cubs were in the middle of a playoff hunt while the Tigers remained in their usual mode — perpetually rebuilding. The Cubs took the first game of the series, 7-6.So would the Cubs be in the same place had Hoyer re-signed Báez?The obvious answer is “no chance.”Báez’s .592 OPS going into Monday’s game was second-worst in the majors among qualified hitters, ahead of only White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson (.568). He’s hit a combined .231 with a .637 OPS in his two seasons in Detroit,...

Two years after catching COVID, patients still risk getting sick

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:52 GMT

Jason Gale | (TNS) Bloomberg NewsThe risk of new disease, disability and death remains elevated in some patients as long as two years after catching COVID-19, according to a large study showing the infection’s prolonged heath impact.People who were never sick enough to be hospitalized for acute COVID still had a higher risk than uninfected people of developing long COVID-related disorders such as dangerous blood clots, diabetes and lung, gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal disease two years later, according to the study published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.Some 65 million people globally are estimated to be living with so-called post-COVID-19 condition — a number reported to be steadily increasing in the absence of approved treatments and continuing viral spread. The research from the Clinical Epidemiology Center of the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System in Missouri shows how longterm ailments that afflict COVID survivors add to the disease burden of the pande...

James Harden fined $100K after calling 76ers’ Daryl Morey a ‘liar’ and demanding trade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:52 GMT

James Harden has been fined $100,000 for publicly demanding to be traded through comments that included ripping the Philadelphia 76ers’ Daryl Morey as “a liar,” the NBA announced Tuesday.The 10-time All-Star asked for a trade in June, the same month he picked up his $35.6 million option for the 2023-24 season. But a deal never happened, and ESPN reported this month that the 76ers were ending trade discussions for the 33-year-old guard.Harden then expressed his displeasure with Morey, the 76ers’ president of basketball operations, during an Aug. 14 event for Adidas in China.“Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of,” Harden said at the time. “Let me say that again. Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.”Harden shared a similar sentiment in an interview that Houston’s KHOU 11 published Aug. 17, saying “I think so”...

Shooting death of California shop owner over pride flag still under investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:52 GMT

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has identified the man who shot and killed a business owner after a confrontation over her hanging a pride flag outside her shop.According to the department, on Friday, Aug. 18, Travis Ikeguchi, 27, of Cedar Glen, California, tore down a pride flag and shouted homophobic slurs before shooting and killing Laura Ann “Lauri” Carleton, 66, outside her Mag.Pi clothing store in Cedar Glen.San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus called Carleton’s killing “senseless” at a Monday afternoon news conference.According to witnesses, Carleton confronted Ikeguchi in the street outside of her Hook Creek Road shop. Ikeguchi reportedly shouted homophobic slurs at Carleton before shooting and killing her.According to Carleton’s family, pride flags hanging outside her Cedar Glen store — she owned another store in Studio City — had previously been torn down and she had responded by hanging up even larger flags.San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies ar...

Biden to attend next month’s G-20 summit in New Delhi, while Harris will head to Jakarta for ASEAN

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House announced Tuesday that President Joe Biden will attend next month’s Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, India.White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that meetings—and Biden’s talks with leaders on the sidelines of the summit—will focus on climate change, Russia’s war in Ukraine and more. The White House has not said which leaders the president will hold individual meetings with but China’s President Xi Jinping and Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, are among officials from leading global economies who have been invited to attend the leaders’ meeting“He’ll discuss a range of joint efforts to tackle global issues from the clean energy transition and combating climate change to mitigating the economic and social impacts of Russia’s war in Ukraine to increasing the capacity of multilateral development banks, including the World Bank, to better fight poverty and take on the significant tran...

Dangerous fungus is becoming more prevalent. Scientists believe climate change could be to blame

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:52 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — In 2016, hospitals in New York state identified a rare and dangerous fungal infection never before found in the United States. Research laboratories quickly mobilized to review historical specimens and found the fungus had been present in the country since at least 2013. In the years since, New York City has emerged as ground zero for Candida auris infections. And until 2021, the state recorded the most confirmed cases in the country year after year, even as the illness has spread to other places, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data analyzed by The Associated Press.Candida auris is a globally emerging public health threat that can cause severe illness, including bloodstream, wound and respiratory infections. In a small group of patients in the United States, its mortality rate was estimated at 30% to 60%, according to the CDC, and many of those patients had other underlying conditions. Candida auris is a particular risk in healthcare set...

California mountain and desert towns dig out of the mud from 1st tropical storm in 84 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:52 GMT

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. (AP) — Crews in mountain and desert towns worked to clear away mud and debris Tuesday in the aftermath of the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years.The system was dissipating as it moved over the Rocky Mountains.Hilary dumped record rainfall over California’s deserts, including in the stark Death Valley that experienced its single-rainiest day on record on Sunday. As Hilary moved northeast into the neighboring state of Nevada, flooding was reported, power was out and a boil-water order was issued for about 400 households in the Mount Charleston area, where the only road in and out was washed out. The area is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Las Vegas.Hilary first slammed into Mexico’s arid Baja California Peninsula as a hurricane, causing one death and widespread flooding before becoming a tropical storm. So far, no deaths, serious injuries or extreme damages have been reported in California, though officials warned that risks...