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Ohio: Charity settles false claims to help those impacted by train derailment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:18 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Thousands of dollars raised by a charity that falsely claimed it would help residents affected by a train derailment on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border earlier this year will be turned over to a food bank serving the area, Ohio’s attorney general announced Wednesday.The Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine spilled hazardous chemicals into nearby creeks and rivers. It led to the evacuation of half of the 5,000 residents when responders intentionally burned toxic chemicals in some of the derailed cars from the Norfolk Southern train to prevent an uncontrolled explosion.Following the accident, authorities say the Ohio Clean Water Fund sent text messages to solicit contributions, claiming it had partnered with the Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley to collect donations for bottled water. The charity raised $141,000 from roughly 3,200 donors, but eventually spent more than $100,000 on fees and gave just $10,000 to the food bank.Ohio Attorney General D...

Browns QB Deshaun Watson feeling confident, less burdened a year after NFL suspension

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:18 GMT

Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam talks with quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) at the NFL football team's practice facility Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Berea, Ohio. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)(AP/Ron Schwane) Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam talks with quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) at the NFL football team's practice facility Wednesday, June 7, 2023, in Berea, Ohio. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)(AP/Ron Schwane) The uncertainty shrouding Deshaun Watson has lifted along with the intense scrutiny about his personal life.There’s a tightness and velocity to his passes these days, and a noticeable change in his demeanor — on and off the field. There’s an ease about him.Nearly one year removed from his NFL suspension,...

Nurse testifies against plastic surgeon in patient's death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:18 GMT

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (KDVR) — A nurse anesthetist once charged in connection to the death of a 19-year-old patient took the stand Wednesday as the prosecution's star witness against his former co-worker, Dr. Geoffrey Kim.Rex Meeker is the nurse anesthetist who administered anesthesia that the Arapahoe County coroner said eventually killed Emmalyn Nguyen.The 19-year-old died on Oct. 4, 2020, about 14 months after she slipped into a coma. Nguyen had gone to Kim's plastic surgery center on Aug. 1, 2019, and lost consciousness after receiving sedatives administered by Meeker. Econo Lodge sued for giving room key to man charged with attempted murder Kim is accused of ordering his staff not to call 911 for more than five hours after Nguyen lost consciousness while undergoing a breast enhancement procedure.Kim is charged with reckless manslaughter, negligent homicide and obstructing telephone services.Dr. Geoffrey Kim in the Arapahoe County courthouse as trial begins in the death of his pat...

Local Heat fans predict Game 3 score, sip Butler’s coffee as team prepares to face Nuggets at Kaseya Center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:18 GMT

A certain kind of anticipation and energy is happening in downtown Miami ahead of Game 3 at the Kaseya Center in Downtown Miami. Game 3 of the NBA Finals, set to take place Wednesday night, is back in Heat territory.The team’s fans are hoping this is going to be their second win against the Denver Nuggets, but that do they think the final score will be?“We are going to win by 10,” said fan Caio Teixeira. “I think the energy of the fans are gonna like push them to continue that streak, and I think they are going to play well.The series is currently tied 1-1.“I am gonna guess, 118 to 107,” said Naomi Rose, who is visiting from the Cayman Islands. Fans of the Nuggets made their own predictions.“I am going to take Denver by three,” said Nuggets fan Erika Lopez.Visitors who came from Denver also have Miami Heat fans in their city. “We are just happy to be in Miami and bring you to help each other out,” said Lopez. “We see ...

City Hall Plaza hosts new outdoor beer garden featuring two local breweries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:18 GMT

A local collaboration is on tap this summer. Two local breweries are creating a beer garden right next to City Hall.The D&D Beer Garden is located on City Hall Plaza and officially opened Wednesday afternoon. It’s part of an effort to revitalize Downtown Boston with social and economic opportunities. “Being outside and being a part of Faneuil Hall and the history of Boston,” said Michael Belley, Director of Operations Democracy Brewing. “It’s a great location and having a great spot to hang in the summer, whether you’re a local or a tourist.”The two local breweries featured are Distraction Brewing in Roslindale and Democracy Brewing in Downtown Crossing.“We’re two, independent, small breweries. We both opened not too soon before COVID and both really dealt with COVID,” said Lora Estey, co-owner Distraction Brewing “It’s been rough”“There’s a lot of big names around here, so it’s nice to have some small guys that can show what we can do and have fun with it,” Belley said.Bot...

Lionel Messi says he’s going to MLS club Inter Miami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:18 GMT

(CNN) — Argentine superstar Lionel Messi said Wednesday he’s going to join the Major League Soccer club Inter Miami.“I made the decision that I am going to Miami. I still haven’t closed it one hundred percent. I’m missing some things but we decided to continue my journey there,” the seven-time world player of the year said in an interview posted by Spanish outlets SPORT and Mundo Deportivo.The blockbuster announcement comes months after Messi was awarded the Golden Ball at the World Cup – the prize given to the best player in the tournament – and catapulted his country to World Cup glory in December. It also followed rumors of a lucrative deal in the Middle East and reports of a move back to his beloved Barcelona.Instead, Messi has chosen the path of other superstar players who moved to the MLS.The move to David Beckham’s Inter Miami isn’t entirely surprising. Beckham is a well-known fan of Messi and, in 2019, teased, “You never know what can happen in football,”...

New study questions renewable policies’ impact on energy costs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:18 GMT

Renewable energy policies in New England are driving up energy costs in the region, according to a report by the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance released Wednesday.“Even if you support 100% renewable energy, this path that we’re going down, where we’re adding more regulations on top of other regulations, is driving up costs,” said Paul Craney, spokesperson for Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, at a virtual press conference announcing the report Wednesday morning.The report found that from 2008 to 2020 the region saw an 11.4% drop in annual energy demand but over the period the average cost per kilowatt hour for residents has risen 20% — a trend, Craney said, “smacks in the face of common sense.”The report attributes this rise to renewable energy regulations, noting the six New England state imposes 26 energy mandate programs on the companies that supply the region. Massachusetts requires compliance with nine energy programs, the report states....

Mayor Brandon Johnson meets with Bears CEO after saying he wants to keep the team ‘shuffling’ in Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:18 GMT

Mayor Brandon Johnson met with the Chicago Bears’ president and CEO Wednesday about their “shared … commitment to Chicago” as the NFL franchise floats interest in potentially moving to a suburb other than Arlington Heights.News of the meeting was announced Wednesday, hours after Johnson again stated he wanted to keep the Bears in Chicago. Johnson spoke at an unrelated news conference when asked about the Bears flirting with a move to Naperville as the franchise’s push for state financial support and property tax breaks has stalled.Johnson and Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren released a joint statement late Wednesday afternoon: “Today we met and discussed our shared values and commitment to the City of Chicago, the importance of deep roots and the need for equitable community investment throughout the city. We are both committed to the idea that the city and its major civic institutions must grow and evolve together to meet the needs of the fut...

Millions breathing hazardous air as smoke from Canadian wildfires streams south over US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:18 GMT

By JENNIFER PELTZ and ROB GILLIES (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Smoke from Canadian wildfires poured into the U.S. East Coast and Midwest on Wednesday, covering the capitals of both nations in an unhealthy haze, holding up flights at major airports, postponing Major League Baseball games and prompting people to fish out pandemic-era face masks.Canadian officials asked other countries for additional help fighting more than 400 blazes nationwide that already have displaced 20,000 people. Air with hazardous levels of pollution extended into the New York metropolitan area, central New York state and parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Massive tongues of unhealthy air extended as far as North Carolina and Indiana, affecting millions of people.“I can taste the air,” Dr. Ken Strumpf said in a Facebook post from Syracuse, New York, which was enveloped in an amber pall. The smoke, he later said by phone, even made him a bit dizzy. The air quality index, a U.S. Environ...

Jaylon Johnson says he ‘100%’ would like a new contract. But that’s not why the Chicago Bears cornerback was absent from OTAs.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:39:18 GMT

Jaylon Johnson would “100%” like to sign a contract extension with the Chicago Bears this offseason, he said after wrapping up practice Wednesday at Halas Hall.But the fourth-year starting cornerback reiterated that his absence during the first two weeks of organized team activities didn’t have anything to do with his contract.Johnson returned to Lake Forest this week for the final stretch of OTAs before veteran minicamp next week, ramping up first in individual drills and now in team drills. He said on an ESPN radio show last week and again Wednesday that he skipped the earlier voluntary sessions because he wanted to spend time with his 3-year-old daughter in their hometown of Fresno, Calif., where he also ran an event for his charity last weekend.“Before I’m a football player, before I’m anything, I’m a dad first,” Johnson said. “I don’t get to spend too much time with her during the season because she’s back at hom...