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Court: Records of Florida grand jury’s Jeffrey Epstein investigation can be made public

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:23 GMT

A Florida appeals court has opened the door for the possible release of transcripts of the grand jury investigation into notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein nearly 20 years ago that ended with prosecutors negotiating a plea deal that critics have called questionably lenient.Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeals unanimously agreed that Circuit Judge Donald W. Hafele had erred when he ruled he had no authority to release the normally secret transcripts of the 2006 Palm Beach County proceedings. The court cited a state law provision that says grand jury records can be made public if that is a “furtherance of justice.”The court in Wednesday’s decision ordered Hafele to review the transcripts and to release those he deems would further justice, redacting the names of victims, witnesses and those who have not been criminally charged. There is a public interest in knowing whether the wealthy and politically connected Epstein, who lived in a Palm Beach mansion, was giv...

Crews put out garbage truck fire in Fort Lauderdale

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:23 GMT

A garbage truck went up in flames in Fort Lauderdale.Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue units responded to the scene of the fire along Northeast 26th Street, west of Federal Highway, Thursday afternoon.Officials said the flames sparked in the load of the truck and damaged the hydraulic system, which prevented it from being able to dump its trash.Video provided by FLFR showed firefighters dousing the flames from a crane and on the ground.No one was hurt.

Burlington firefighter, former dog training facility owner faces animal cruelty charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:23 GMT

A Burlington firefighter who also used to run a dog training facility is now facing possible prison time after customers said their dogs were abused at “Falco K9” in South Boston.After a recent move by prosecutors to charge Tyler Falconer, 30, in this case, 7NEWS spoke with Lindsay Foster, whose dog is one of the animals cited in charging documents. “He could barely pick his head up because he was so hungry and so exhausted,” she said. “He looked at me and was like ‘Oh mom, thank you, thank you’ but he was almost scared to get up.”Foster said she brought her 5-month-old Rhodesian ridgeback named “Watch” to get “house trained” at Falconer’s kennel in February. She shared photos from when she picked “Watch” up two weeks later, showing the emaciated dog with his ribs visible through his coat. When she took her dog home, Foster said she noticed scrapes and cuts all over his body and a puncture wound on his foot. She immediately took “Watch” to a vet where said the doctor ...

WGA to protest BU commencement speaker as part of Hollywood writers’ strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:23 GMT

Pomp and circumstance will meet picket signs and strike chants next weekend at Boston University’s graduation ceremony. The Writers Guild of America announced Thursday that its members will be protesting this year’s commencement speaker David Zaslav. Its members will be outside BU’s Nickerson Field to be seen and heard by the Warner Brothers Discovery CEO Zaslav who’s recently came under fire for his $250 million pay package while more than 11,000 writers have been on strike for more than a week, whose main issue is payment for shows on streaming services.In the heart of BU, student reactions were mixed.“It’s really hard to get one commencement speaker that’s just a clean slate,” Ariel Shao, a junior said, “Like you’re all good. There’s no controversial thing about you, and I think it’s really about the people surviving the 4 years of college and making it out into the world.”Some graduating students are thinking twice about attending next weekend.“I definitely thought about it,” gr...

Trump appealing $5 million judgment in E. Jean Carroll civil suit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:23 GMT

(CNN) — Former President Donald Trump is appealing the $5 million judgment awarded by the Manhattan federal jury that found he sexually abused and defamed former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll.Trump’s lawyers filed the notice of appeal in the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday, hours after federal Judge Lewis Kaplan filed a written ruling endorsing the jury verdict and ordering Trump to pay Carroll the full sum. Kaplan presided over the civil trial in New York.Trump had previously indicated he planned to appeal.Carroll alleged Trump raped her in a Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York in the spring of 1996 and then defamed her when he denied her claim, said she wasn’t his type and suggested she made up the story to boost sales of her book.The jury found him liable for battery based on the sexual assault claim, that he should pay about $2 million in damages to Carroll for the civil battery claim and that he should pay her nea...

Former Marine who held Jordan Neely in fatal chokehold expected to be charged with manslaughter, sources say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:23 GMT

(CNN) — Daniel Penny, the US Marine veteran who held Jordan Neely in a fatal chokehold aboard a New York train, is expected to surrender to police on Friday morning following a decision by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to move ahead with a charge of manslaughter, two sources familiar with the case told CNN.Neely, 30, was restrained May 1 on a Manhattan subway by Penny, 24, after Neely began shouting he was hungry, thirsty and had little to live for. His death has ignited protests while refocusing attention on struggles with homelessness and mental illness across America.The decision regarding the charge came Thursday afternoon after the DA’s office spent the weekend and much of this week going over the accounts of witnesses who were on the train, as well as video of the incident, the sources said.CNN has previously reported that the DA was considering whether to go ahead with charges or present the evidence to a grand jury and let them decide w...

Former Marine faces manslaughter charge, to turn himself in Friday in NYC subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:23 GMT

Rocco Parascandola, Molly Crane-Newman and Emma Seiwell | New York Daily NewsNEW YORK — Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran whose chokehold killed Jordan Neely on a Manhattan subway train, is to be charged with second-degree manslaughter and will turn himself in to police on Friday, sources told the New York Daily News.Penny, 24, is expected to turn himself in at the 5th Precinct stationhouse on Elizabeth Street in Chinatown, a police official said. Manhattan DA’s office spokesman Doug Cohen confirmed the arrest charge.After he turns himself in, Penny is to be arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court, Cohen said.Bystander video shows Penny holding Neely, 30, in a chokehold aboard an F train on May 1. He was taken in for questioning later that day, but was released without charges.The medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide.Last week Penny issued a statement through his lawyers suggesting he acted in self-defense.“When Mr. Neely began aggressively threatening Daniel Penny and the o...

Former Chicago Bears guard James Daniels sells Mundelein home for $325,000

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:23 GMT

Former Chicago Bears guard James Daniels on March 17 sold his three-bedroom, 1,768-square-foot town home in Mundelein for $325,000.An Ohio native, Daniels, 25, was drafted by the Bears in 2018 and played for the team for four years. He signed a three-year, $26.5 million deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers in early 2022, and he was a mainstay for the Steelers last year.In Mundelein, Daniels paid $285,990 in 2018 to homebuilder D.R. Horton for the town home. He first listed it in late February for $319,000, and he found a buyer just three days later.An end unit, the town home has 2-1/2 bathrooms, a kitchen with Frigidaire stainless steel appliances and a breakfast bar, a primary bedroom suite with a dual sink vanity, a lower level with a bonus room and an attached two-car garage.Listing agent Sheryl Engle of RE/MAX Suburban said that Daniels had rented out the unit to a tenant for one final year before placing it on the market.“James was the first owner in there. Those units were ...

Police regulators floating rules for auditing law enforcement agencies in Mass.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:23 GMT

State law enforcement regulators are starting to think about how and to what extent they can audit police departments, including reviewing files on disciplinary matters, use of force, and officers whose credibility has been called into question.A 2020 police reform law requires the Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission to develop regulations on the topic, but largely leaves the substance and timeline for developing the rules up to the agency.The agency needs to keep in mind what kind of records it might want to require police departments to maintain and expect to be covered by a POST Commission audit, the top attorney at the commission said during a Thursday meeting.Another objective of the regulations, Attorney Randall Ravitz said, is developing a structure for the commission to actually perform audits and standardize record-keeping practices at police departments.“In other words, not just looking at the quality of the record-keeping, but looking at the quality and nature...

Peloton recalls 2 million exercise bikes after injury reports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:23 GMT

Peloton recalled more than 2 million of its exercise bikes Thursday following complaints of breaking seat posts, officials said.The workout equipment company recalled 2.2 million bikes with the model number PL01 after receiving 35 reports of the seat post breaking off while being used, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.Those reports included 13 complaints involving injuries such as “a fractured wrist, lacerations and bruises due to falling from the bike,” the commission said.“Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled exercise bikes and contact Peloton for a free repair,” the commission wrote. “Peloton is offering consumers a free seat post that can be self-installed.”Peloton followed up the recall announcement with a statement saying, “As part of our commitment to product safety, we are voluntarily recalling the seat post of affected units to provide a free replacement seat post,” and adding a FAQ to the website.Affected bikes were sold between Janu...