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Miami Beach park ranger praised for spotting stolen car, leading to arrest of armed robbery suspect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:02 GMT

Police said an armed and dangerous suspect was stopped in Miami Beach, thanks to an alert park ranger.Body camera footage obtained by 7News captured the moment Miami Beach Police officers took a man into custody in a parking lot near Ocean Drive and First Street, at around 8 a.m., Sept. 22.“Let me see your hands. Let me see your hands,” an officer said in the video.Officers credit a City of Miami Beach park ranger who alerted them about a suspicious vehicle.Over the police radio frequency, which park rangers can also hear, an announcement was made that a license plate reader detected a stolen car that had just entered the city.The ranger, who 7News is not identifying for safety reasons, said he saw the vehicle and its license plate moments later.“I basically kept my eyes on him from a safe distance,” said the ranger. “I advised that I needed assistance.”Miami Beach Police Sgt. Alex Torres arrived in seconds.“When I hear it, I see him, a park...

Emergency crews responding to crash with multiple injuries on Mass. Pike in Southboro

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:02 GMT

Emergency crews responded to a crash with multiple injuries and entrapment on the Mass. Pike westbound in Southboro on Friday night, officials said.The crash near mile marker 109.3 resulted in the turnpike being closed, according to the Westboro Fire Department.No additional information was immediately available.https://twitter.com/WestboroughFire/status/1707900171848134813This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Police investigating after 2 people shot in Lexington

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:02 GMT

An investigation is underway after two people were shot in Lexington on Friday evening, officials said.Officers responded to a report of two people shot on Keeler Farm Way and put up crime scene tape around a home.Police could be seen going in and out of the home. No other details were immediately available. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Boston City Council split on police intel funding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:02 GMT

The Boston City Council is split on releasing $3.4 million in grant funding to the investigative arm of the city’s police department.Six of 13 councilors indicated they would vote in favor of funding the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC), but the same number cited concerns with its gang database, which the state’s attorney general is investigating for possible racial bias.“Public safety is paramount for our city,” said Councilor Michael Flaherty, who chaired a Friday committee hearing on the matter. “I know the important role BRIC plays in each and every homicide in the city of Boston. They don’t go around tooting their own horn. It’s a team effort.”Acknowledging the concerns from his colleagues, most of which came from councilors of color, and testimony from community members who said they have been unfairly targeted by the BRIC’s gang database, Flaherty urged police to purge the names of people who “shouldn’t be on there.”“I think we’re all in agreement, if there’s someon...

Group of homeless people sues Portland, Oregon, over new daytime camping ban

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:02 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A group of homeless people in Portland, Oregon, filed a class action lawsuit on Friday challenging new restrictions the city placed on daytime camping in an attempt to address safety issues stemming from a crisis of people living on the streets.The lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court alleges the restrictions violate Oregon law and the state constitution because they subject people who are involuntarily without permanent shelter to unreasonable punishments for unavoidable activities including sleeping and staying dry, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Violators could face jail time and/or fines of up to $100.Lawyers at the Oregon Law Center, which is representing the plaintiffs, are seeking a temporary restraining order from the court to stop the city from enforcing the restrictions until the lawsuit is resolved.“The ordinance subjects the approximately 10,000 Portlanders living outside every night to 30 days in jail for violating a law that is impo...

Epic Games, maker of ‘Fortnite’ video game, begins $2.75M settlement payout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:02 GMT

The maker of the popular video game “Fortnite” has begun compensating claims in a $2.75-million settlement to a Canadian class-action lawsuit over the inclusion of controversial “loot boxes.”Epic Games says on its website that compensations began on Thursday and noted in legal documents that the settlement “is a compromise of disputed claims and is not an admission of liability, wrongdoing or fault” in the case.The class action was certified by the Supreme Court of British Columbia and the settlement also resolves claims in a separate, similar lawsuit in Quebec.The lawsuit originally alleged that Epic’s placement of loot boxes in games like “Fortnite” and “Rocket League” — where players pay real money to acquire a digital roll-of-the-dice opportunity to win an in-game item — constituted unlicensed gambling.In a statement, Epic says it removed such loot boxes from those games in 2019, and players “should know upf...

Chow optimistic in push for federal funding to deal with massive budget shortfall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:02 GMT

A spark of optimism from Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow in her quest to secure desperately needed federal funding for things like the growing housing crisis, transit and the massive budget deficit following a series of meetings in Ottawa.Chow spent the last two days in the nation’s capital, painting a grim picture of the city’s crippling finances and the desperate need for funding when it comes to an overflowing shelter system, a refugee crisis, a lack of transit and affordable housing, along with a $1.5 billion budget gap. Chow says she believes momentum is building and that Ottawa understands the city’s dire situation.“There were a lot of nodding of heads, there were a lot of listening,” said Chow. “I tried to capture what the tenants are going through now in the city of Toronto and said we need immediate help now. The positive thing is that they didn’t say no. They are thinking about it.”City council recently approved new revenue tools, ...

Mississippi sees spike in child care enrollment after abortion ban and child support policy change

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:02 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi has seen a consistent rise in the number of families accepting public assistance for child care since lawmakers banned abortion in almost all circumstances, with the sharpest increase coming after a child support policy change in May, the state human services director said Friday. Speaking at a legislative hearing on funding requests for the upcoming budget cycle, Bob Anderson, who leads the Mississippi Department of Human Services, said the upward trend in voucher enrollment means the agency might “hit a wall with state and federal money,” forcing parents to undergo a waiting period for child care assistance.The department counted 31,532 families receiving those vouchers as of this month, up from 24,500 last October. “That is on track with what we were told to expect when Dobbs happened,” Anderson said, referring to Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Mississippi case in which the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the five-decade-old prot...

2 Indianapolis officers indicted for shooting Black man who was sleeping in his car, prosecutor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:02 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A grand jury has indicted two Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers for shooting a Black man who was sleeping in a car parked outside his grandmother’s house, a prosecutor said Friday.Officers Carl Chandler and Alexander Gregory were indicted on battery and criminal recklessness charges in connection with the Dec. 31 predawn shooting of Anthony Maclin on the city’s north side, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said.Maclin’s attorney, Stephen Wagner, said the officers fired at least 30 shots, hitting his client three times and leaving him hospitalized for 17 days for six surgeries.Police had found Maclin asleep with a gun next to him in the driver’s seat before officers knocked on a car window and said, “Police. Hands up,” the police department said in a news release at the time. “While Anthony had a firearm in the car — and a license to carry the firearm — he never reached for the gun,” Wagner said in a statement. “He never had ...

Astros, Rockets acquire AT&T SportsNet Southwest, form new network

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:49:02 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros and the NBA’s Houston Rockets announced on Friday that they acquired AT&T SportsNet Southwest from Warner Bros. Discovery and will form their own network.Space City Home Network launches on Tuesday and will be a joint venture of the two franchises. The teams say the move will be seamless for fans, who will be able to watch games on the same channels they used previously.The Astros and the Rockets are the latest franchises to seek alternatives for the struggling regional sports network model.The first live game broadcast on the network will be a Rockets preseason opener against Indiana on Oct. 10. The new network expects to broadcast about 220 games per season, along with regional high school and college content.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlbThe Associated Press