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A former Trump supporter who got caught up in a January 6 conspiracy theory sues Fox News

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:58 GMT

DOVER, Del. (AP) — A former Donald Trump supporter who became the center of a conspiracy theory about Jan. 6, 2021, filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News on Wednesday, saying the network made him a scapegoat for the U.S. Capitol insurrection.Raymond Epps, a former Marine who said he was forced from his Arizona home due to threats, is asking for unspecified damages and a jury trial.He filed his lawsuit in Superior Court in Delaware, the same court where Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox for lies broadcast following the 2020 presidential election. Shortly before a trial was to begin this spring, Fox agreed to pay Dominion $787 million to settle the charges.Fox had no immediate comment on Epps’ lawsuit.Epps, who had traveled to Washington for the Jan. 6 demonstration, was falsely accused by Fox of being a government agent who was whipping up trouble that would be blamed on Trump supporters, the lawsuit claims.“In the aftermath of the events of January 6th, Fox News searched ...

Mayor Michael Hancock delivers farewell address

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:58 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver's longtime mayor delivered his farewell address on Wednesday city as he prepares to pass the torch to new leadership.Mayor Michael Hancock has served as Denver's mayor for three terms. That's 12 years of leading Colorado's capital city through a period of major population growth in the metro area and the change that comes with it, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Denver-area inflation among nation’s highest Voters last month traded one Michael for another, with former state senator Mike Johnston voted into office as the city's 46th mayor. He will be sworn in next Monday, on July 17.Denver Mayor Michael Hancock announces that bars and restaurants have been ordered to close for the next two months to fend off the spread of coronavirus, Monday, March 16, 2020, in Denver. The announcement marked the earliest stages of the years-long response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Colorado. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)How to watch Hancock's farewell addressHancock's address...

Climate change is making our oceans change color, new research finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:58 GMT

(CNN) — The color of the ocean has changed significantly over the last 20 years and human-caused climate change is likely responsible, according to a new study.More than 56% of the world’s oceans have changed color to an extent that cannot be explained by natural variability, said a team of researchers, led by scientists from the National Oceanography Center in the UK and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, in a statement.Tropical oceans close to the equator in particular have become greener in the past two decades, reflecting changes in their ecosystems, according to the study published Wednesday in the journal Nature.The color of the ocean is derived from the materials found in its upper layers. For example, a deep blue sea will have very little life in it, whereas a green color means there are ecosystems there, based on phytoplankton, plant-like microbes which contain chlorophyll. The phytoplankton form the basis of a food web which suppo...

6 arrested, charged with running oxycodone from Texas to Massachusetts and Rhode Island

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:58 GMT

You may not mess with Texas, but apparently its oxycodone supply messes with New England.In April of last year, a cooperating source — a person who gives law enforcement information in exchange for “consideration” on the person’s own pending drug charges — told a federal investigator that John Campbell, 40, was a distributor of cocaine and oxycodone in his home area of Taunton.So investigators with the U.S. Postal Service and the Internal Revenue Service set up surveillance on Campbell and soon arranged a series of controlled buys first by their cooperating witness and then four by an undercover agent, the affidavit filed with the federal complaint states.“Yo, I’m back, can I see you tomorrow, looking 4 white and blues,” the undercover agent texted Campbell just before 5 p.m. on Aug. 8, the day before the agent would allegedly purchase 200 oxycodone pills from him. The “white,” which Campbell allegedly responded that he was out of, means cocaine, according to the affidavit, whereas ...

Boston Police Department commits to hiring 30% women officers by 2030

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:58 GMT

The Boston Police Department has joined more than 300 other departments across the country in signing a commitment for 30% of its officers to be women by 2030.“With our current class recruit at around 24%, currently, we’ve made significant progress in increasing the number of women to serve in the City Boston. I’m proud about that,” Commissioner Michael Cox said at BPD headquarters Wednesday morning. “But we still have ways to go and this commitment should … make sure that we are obligated, or intentional, about making sure we bring women on our job.”The pledge is called “30×30,” an initiative inspired by the July 2019 National Institute of Justice special report “Women in Policing: Breaking Barriers and Blazing a Path,” which found that “the percentage of women in law enforcement has remained relatively stagnant for the past few decades.”Statistically, according to the report, women represent less than 13% of officers and merely 3% of police leadership. That’s comp...

5 takeaways from the Chicago Cubs’ 2023 MLB draft, including an offensive power infusion and an intriguing 16th-round arm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:58 GMT

The Chicago Cubs’ latest draft class is in the books.The organization has until July 25 to sign its 20 picks, led by first-round selection and Maryland shortstop Matt Shaw.“There’s always a chance that there’s some surprises that crop up between now and the signing deadline and potentially a little leakage in certain places,” vice president of scouting Dan Kantrovitz said Tuesday. “But for the most part, I wouldn’t expect the signing process to be too eventful, in a positive way.”1. A balanced but college-heavy class.By the time Kantrovitz and the Cubs completed the 20-round draft Tuesday, 17 of their selections came from the collegiate level.Of the college group, it was a nearly even split with nine pitchers and eight position players (six infielders, one catcher and one outfielder). Kantrovitz said the Cubs didn’t necessarily go into the draft planning for a big emphasis on college players, but he noted their 2023 bonus pool ($...

Sean Casey talks Yankees’ woes, expectations and more during introductory Zoom call

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:58 GMT

Sean Casey made an energetic first impression on Wednesday.The Yankees’ new hitting coach spent about 25 minutes with reporters over Zoom. While doing so, the former first baseman and MLB Network analyst spoke emphatically about hitting, why he’s well-suited for the gig, the Yankees’ offensive struggles, and more. And he did so while sporting what he called the first mustache of his life — a tribute to his childhood idol, Don Mattingly.“The history, the storied franchise, all of the players who’ve had the opportunity to wear the pinstripes; I think it’s a dream for any player in this industry,” Casey said in an opening statement.He went on to say that winning a World Series — and his first-ever ring after 12 seasons in the majors – is “the ultimate goal” before answering questions and talking about his career to this point.CASEY THE CONNECTORCasey said that he’s looking forward to getting to know the Yanke...

Turbulence aboard Allegiant flight injures 2 passengers, 2 flight attendants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:58 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Two passengers and two flight attendants were injured when a plane plunged nearly a mile (1.6 kilometers) during severe turbulence Wednesday while flying from North Carolina to Florida, officials said.The Allegiant flight was traveling from Asheville Regional Airport to St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, where it landed normally and taxied to the gate under its own power, the airline said in a statement. The plane was carrying 179 passengers and six crew members.The Airbus A320 dropped about 5,000 feet (1.5 kilometers), from an elevation of about 18,000 feet (5.5 kilometers) to 13,000 feet (4 kilometers), in less than two minutes, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.Airport paramedics met the plane to assess the four injured people, Allegiant said. They were taken to a nearby hospital, but officials didn’t immediately provide details about their injuries.Allegiant said it was working with the Federal Aviation Administration ...

A story about a deadly TikTok boat-jumping challenge went viral. Then it fell apart

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:58 GMT

As the July 4 holiday approached, a local news report in Alabama warned of a deadly TikTok challenge that involved jumping from a speeding boat.“Last six months, we have had four drownings that were easily avoidable,” Jim Dennis, captain of the Childersburg Rescue Team, told the local ABC affiliate station in Birmingham, Alabama, in a story that aired July 3.“They were doing a TikTok challenge.”National and international news outlets snapped up the report, cautioning about the trend. But Alabama’s main public safety agency says while there have been boating fatalities this year, no such deaths have been reported.A spokesperson for TikTok also says no boat jumping challenge is trending on its platform.A closer look at the factsFour people attempting a viral TikTok challenge have died jumping from moving boats in Alabama recently.The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which oversees the state’s public safety agencies, tweeted on Monday to dispel the vi...

Lawyers cast doubt on phone data linking Ali to alleged scene of B.C. teen’s killing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:10:58 GMT

VANCOUVER — Lawyers for Ibrahim Ali, who’s accused of murdering a 13-year-old girl in a Burnaby, B.C., park six years ago, have been trying to cast doubt on the reliability of cellphone data suggesting his phone was in the vicinity at the time of the killing.The jury in the British Columbia Supreme Court trial has heard testimony over the past two weeks about cellphones associated with Ali and the girl, who cannot be identified because of a publication ban.Don Calpito, an expert in cellular coverage with Telus Communications, says things like tall buildings or capacity issues might degrade a signal and cause a phone to connect through different cell towers.The jury heard earlier this week from a Bell employee that the number police say belonged to a phone Ali was carrying when he was arrested made calls that were connected through a tower near Central Park on the night the girl was found dead there in July 2017. David Mak, a senior investigator with Rogers Communications, mean...