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No verdict reached in fourth day of Loudoun Co. superintendent trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

No verdict was reached in court Thursday as the jury trial of former Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott carried on for a fourth day.Around 8:30 p.m., word was given that no more deliberations would be made for the night and jurors will reconvene for a fifth day on Friday.The jury deliberated over two misdemeanors related to Ziegler allegedly retaliating against special education teacher Erin Brooks and unlawfully discharging her from her position at Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School in May 2022.One of the charges has never been tried in a Virginia court — notion of retaliation from a public figure — which may be contributing to the lengthy timeline of the trial.NBC Washington reporter Drew Wilder joined WTOP on Thursday night to discuss the trial as it happened.“So this trial was expected to last two days — Monday, Tuesday. Here we are at about 7:30 on Thursday, and we’re still going,” Wilder said. “So this trial’s got delayed for a coup...

Kyle Schwarber homers, Bryce Harper ejected but Phillies fall to Pirates 3-2

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber went deep, Bryce Harper went off on an umpire and was ejected and Trea Turner went from second to home on a stolen base in the Philadelphia Phillies’ 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night.Schwarber launched his 46th homer, matching last year’s NL-leading total, with a first-inning drive into the second deck. Turner stole third base in the eighth and came around to score on a wild throw by catcher Jason Delay that made it 3-2. But the fireworks in the regular-season home finale came when Harper seemingly held his swing on a full count against Luis L. Ortiz in the fourth inning. Harper started to remove his shin guard when third base umpire Ángel Hernández called out the slugger. Harper became enraged and pointed and shouted at Hernandez as he walked down the baseline. Harper pointed his finger in Hernández’s face and had to be separated by manager Rob Thomson, then stormed back to the dugout and tossed his helmet over the ...

Braves clinch home-field throughout playoffs with sweep of slumping Cubs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Max Olson hit his major league-leading 54th homer, and the Atlanta Braves clinched home-field advantage throughout the postseason with a 5-3 win over the slumping Chicago Cubs on Thursday night.Austin Riley had three hits and scored two runs as the Braves (103-56) won for the sixth time in seven games. The NL East champions can match the franchise record for wins with a season-ending sweep of the Nationals.Chicago has dropped 13 of 19 to fall out of position for an NL wild card. With the three-game sweep by the Braves, the Cubs (82-77) fell a half-game back of Miami for the third wild card, pending the result of the Marlins’ rain-delayed game against the New York Mets.Atlanta rookie A.J. Smith-Shawver allowed a run in 3 2/3 hitless innings. Kyle Wright (1-3) then came in and pitched 2 1/3 innings of one-run ball. Raisel Iglesias picked up his 32nd save with a perfect ninth inning.Chicago right-hander Marcus Stroman (10-9) was charged with four runs, two earned, ...

Parole officer killed, another hurt in hit-and-run crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Police said a hit-and-run driver crashed into two pedestrians who turned out to be parole officers on Thursday, and one of them died. The incident launched a "Blue Alert" manhunt that ended with the suspect's arrest hours later. Justin Andrew Kula, 41, was taken into custody in the crash, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department.A community parole officer died in the crash, said Andre Stancil, executive director of the Colorado Department of Corrections. Stancil said the officer will not be identified at this time, as the family is still being notified.A second parole officer also was transported to the hospital in the crash. Photos released of 2 people of interest in deadly carjacking FOX31's Shaul Turner was in Colorado Springs on Thursday night, where dozens of police vehicles were lined up outside of UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central in Colorado Springs. A procession was set to begin shortly after 9:30 p.m. to escort the officer from the hospital to...

16-year-old shot inside McDonald's in Commerce City

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The Commerce City Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred inside the McDonald’s near 60th Avenue and Parkway Drive on Thursday. Commerce City PD tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that one teen was transported to the hospital with unknown injuries.FOX31's Greg Nieto learned a 16-year-old was shot inside the bathroom at the fast-food restaurant. The shooter fled the scene. Troopers find 290 pounds of cocaine during traffic stop Police said they do not believe the shooting was random. They said the teen's injuries were non-life-threatening.The restaurant was closed for the investigation.

Greater Miami Jewish Federation leader looks back on decades-long tenure ahead of retirement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

A well-known leader in South Florida’s Jewish community says he is ready to retire, and it comes in the midst of some challenging times.Jacob Solomon, president and CEO of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, sat down with 7News on Thursday on reflect on his decades-long tenure.“Being Jewish is a miracle. The fact that there are Jews anywhere in the world in 2023 is a miracle,” he said. “To me, it’s evidence of God’s existence. It is so improbable that a people would continue to flourish.”But Solomon said the faith alone is not the sole driver of his tenure.“We should try to emulate God in our behavior, and that means feeding the hungry and clothing the naked and sheltering the poor,” he said, “because those are all things that God did for us.”Solomon joined the federation in 1981. In 2024, he will retire, wrapping up four decades as the group’s leader.During his tenure, Solomon brought groups to Israel and orga...

Fire officials: Vandals repeatedly opened sprinkler valves in Lighthouse Point

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

Vandals have created a wet mess in Lighthouse Point.According to Lighthouse Point Fire Rescue, someone is opening the valves to a pipe that supplies a sprinkler system, and every time crews come out to shut it off, they have to go back and shut it off again.The situation unfolded at least three times on Thursday night along North Federal Highway, near Northeast 36th Street.

MEP Maria Arena and her son: A joint passion for cannabis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

BRUSSELS — The Belgian member of the European Parliament Maria Arena and her businessman son share a common interest: cannabis.The socialist EU lawmaker, whose properties police raided in connection with the Qatargate corruption scandal this summer, has taken a prominent role in efforts to harmonize EU cannabis laws in the European Parliament.Her son, Ugo Lemaire, co-founded a company called BRC & Co that sells CBD products, made from an extract of cannabis that does not cause a high and that are legal in most EU countries including Belgium. Lemaire’s cannabis business was already in the spotlight for conflict-of-interest concerns in June when it emerged that he co-founded and co-ran BRC & Co with the son of Michel Claise, the judge leading the Qatargate investigation. Claise recused himself shortly after. Then, in July, police raids targeting Arena discovered €280,000 in cash at Lemaire’s home next door to hers.The mother and son’s interests have sometimes overlapped,...

Putting hearts first when it comes to aging healthily

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

In 2021, approximately 20.5 million people died from a heart-related condition, far outnumbering the death toll from COVID-19 or any other disease.1,2 With an aging population (the number of people aged 60-plus is expected to double by 2050 to 2.1 billion),3 health care systems are set to face an influx of age-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension, putting people at higher risk of heart failure.To ensure that heart health is maintained as people age, we need to increase people’s understanding and recognition of heart failure symptoms.Collectively called cardiometabolic diseases, they are a huge threat to our collective health and the strength of our global health ecosystems. The economic burden of heart failure is estimated to cost €282 billion per year in Europe.4 In recognizing the scale of the problem, the U.N.’s Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021-2030) is a global collaboration aimed at ‘adding life to our years’ and aligns with the final 10 years o...

Why we need to improve heart health in Europe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:24 GMT

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number one killer in Europe. They cost the EU an estimated €282 billion in 2021, larger than the entire EU budget itself.[1] Sixty million people live with CVDs in the EU, while 13 million new cases are diagnosed annually.[2]Behind this data are individual stories of suffering and loss, of lives limited and horizons lowered by, for example, heart attack and stroke. These diseases directly affect every community in every country. And they strain our health services which must respond to cardiac emergencies as well as the ongoing care needs of chronic CVD patients.Sixty million people live with CVDs in the EU, while 13 million new cases are diagnosed annually.Cardiovascular health is a priority not just because of the scale of its impact, but because of the scope we see for significant advances in outcomes for patients. We should take inspiration from the past: between 2000 and 2012, the death rate from CVDs fell by 37 percent in the five largest...