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Gunmen abducted 14 police officers in the Mexican state of Chiapas

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:49 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A commando of armed men abducted 14 state police officers in southern Mexico on Tuesday, prompting a heavy deployment of federal and local forces, authorities said.The Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection in Chiapas state said in a statement the 14 officers were all men and an air and ground operation was underway to locate them. An official with the state police force, who asked not to be quoted because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said the agents were traveling to the capital of Chiapas in a personnel transport truck when they were intercepted by several trucks with gunmen.The women in the vehicle were released while the men were taken away, the official said.The abduction occurred on the highway between Ocozocoautla and Tuxtla Gutiérrez.Violence in the Mexican border region with Guatemala has escalated in recent months amid a territorial dispute between the Sinaloa Cartel – which has dominated the area – and the Jalisco New G...

Florida issues health advisory after 4 locally contract malaria in first spread in US in 20 years

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:49 GMT

TERRA CEIA ISLAND, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Department of Health has issued a statewide mosquito-borne illness advisory after four locally contracted cases of malaria were reported along the Gulf Coast south of Tampa.On Monday, a health alert issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also noted that another case has been detected in Texas, marking the first time there has been a local spread of malaria in the United States in 20 years.The four residents in Sarasota County received treatment and have recovered, according to the state’s Department of Health advisory. Malaria, caused by a parasite that spreads through bites from Anopheles mosquitoes, causes fever, chills, sweats, nausea and vomiting, and headaches. It is not spread person to person.It’s the threat of the mosquito-borne illness that concerns Kathleen Gibson-Dee, who lives on Terra Ceia Island, which is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Sarasota County. Even though no malaria cases have be...

Sisters tell Australia court that abuse by Jewish school principal broke trust, painful to remember

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:49 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Two sisters told an Australian court Wednesday that being sexually abused by their Jewish school’s principal broke their ability to trust forever and was painful to remember. Malka Leifer was convicted of rape and other crimes in the Victoria state County Court in April after years of fighting her extradition from Israel. She watched intently on a video link from prison but didn’t visibly react as the two sisters read victim impact statements at her sentencing hearing. Dassi Erlich, 35, was positioned in the courtroom specifically so she and Leifer could see other as she spoke about the impact of the abuse, as both Erlich and Leifer had requested.Erlich said she was 16 when Leifer told her: “I love you like a mother.”“I trusted her completely,” Erlich said.“The insidious nature of her sexual abuse has fractured my ability to trust forever,” Erlich added.Elly Sapper, 34, later told the court she had questioned whether she wanted to relive the trauma t...

Napheesa Collier’s 33 points, Diamond Miller’s energetic return spark Lynx to 104-93 win over Storm

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:49 GMT

Diamond Miller provided an energetic lift for the Minnesota Lynx. Napheesa Collier was her usual calm, dominant self.Collier scored 24 of a career-high 33 points in the second half and had 10 rebounds, and Miller made up for missing eight games with a contagious liveliness that permeated the Lynx lineup in a 104-93 win over Seattle Tuesday at Target Center.Winners in four of its past six, Minnesota set season highs in points and field-goal percentage (53.2%) while committing a season-low eight turnovers.Collier scored 12 of Minnesota’s first 14 points in the final quarter as the Lynx (5-9) opened up a 15-point lead. Collier netted points in seemingly every way possible during the game to top 20 points for the sixth time in seven games.“I worked really hard in the offseason to come back and be better than when I left the game in 2021,” said Collier, who missed most of 2022 after giving birth. “You work on things so hard you want to be able to use them in the game. Sometimes it’...

Daycare director accused of exposing children to meth asks for mercy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:49 GMT

MANCHESTER, Mo. - Kidsplay Child Care in Manchester was suddenly a police scene on June 16 when investigators reported finding methamphetamine in the director’s purse and in an infant room.The center said that the director was fired on the spot and that it was a childcare employee who called the police, along with a childcare licensing inspector who happened to be on-site during the discovery.A Manchester police officer wrote in a charging document, “Defendant is director of daycare and has drugs on her. She admitted being on meth and carrying meth. Open bag of meth found on floor in baby’s room.” Expired tags ‘nightmare’: Woman gets car back as neighbor’s truck gets towed away “What if that child would have gotten ahold of that?” Randi Briggs, a mom, said.She said she did not have children at the facility but said she once had to pull her child from a questionable center.“It’s sickening, the world that we’re in. You put trust and faith in somebody to care for your child," Biggs s...

Heat and dry conditions pose double threat for St. Louis area firefighters  

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:49 GMT

EUREKA, Mo. - The Eureka Fire Protection District was able to contain a brush fire Monday night near the Tyson Research Center. The cause of the fire is unknown, but Deputy Chief William Stamberger said it doesn’t take much for a fire to start in the St. Louis area right now.Even if there is green grass in sight, he said leaf litter and underbrush can be fuel for a fire that leaves behind significant damage.Concerns are heightened with the approaching Fourth of July fireworks. An errant firework can easily trigger a fire that could spread quickly. The potential for triple-digit heat this week is another concern for firefighters. Expired tags ‘nightmare’: Woman gets car back as neighbor’s truck gets towed away “You’re talking about temperatures inside of your gear plus 100, 110, 120 degrees,” Stamberger said. “So, inside your gear, it can be extremely hot.”The St. Louis First Responder Canteen is an all-volunteer organization that supports first responders by providing snacks and d...

NewsNation hosting town hall discussion about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. presidential campaign

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:49 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The first big test for Robert F. Kenney, Jr., and his presidential campaign against fellow Democrat Joe Biden unfolds Wednesday night in a NewsNation town hall.RFK, Jr., 69, will sit down with voters and NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas in Chicago. NewsNation Political Editor Chris Stirewalt spoke with FOX 2 on Tuesday about what’s at stake. “We know from poll after poll that most Democrats, the overwhelming majority of Democrats would like an alternative (to President Biden)," Stirewalt said. "But here’s what happens on stage in Chicago: the theoretical becomes the practical. It’s one thing to say, ‘I’d like something different,’ ok, but who? So, this is when you go from anybody to a ‘somebody’ as voters get to know you. How do you do it when you have somebody of Elizabeth’s caliber on stage with you, making sure you do answer, holding you to account for your answers. That is a different kind of test and one that I don’t think he’s faced so far.”Kennedy, a passio...

Parents relieved after SLPS starts replacing lead contaminated fencing at 27 schools

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:49 GMT

ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis Public School District has begun a more than $2 million project to replace old chain link fences from 27 buildings, all contaminated with lead.With shovel in hand Tuesday morning, The St. Louis Public School District (SLPS) broke ground on an important new project aimed at protecting kids starting at Columbia Elementary School."This is a part of our lead hazardous critical that we established back in 2007, so this is a part of our original plan to address lead in all of our facilities,” said Square Watson, SLPS Deputy Superintendent of Operations.Built-in 1929, buildings like Columbia include an example of old fencing infrastructure that contains poisonous lead. Expired tags ‘nightmare’: Woman gets car back as neighbor’s truck gets towed away This summer, chain-link fencing at 27 St. Louis public schools, 21 of which are operational, will be replaced with safer, vinyl-coated galvanized steel.This comes after a series of wrought iron fences seen at many of...

Clayton Kershaw dominates Rockies at Coors Field in Dodgers’ 5-0 win

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:49 GMT

It was like the Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Louisiana-Monroe. Or Tiger Woods against the field at the 2000 U.S. Open.What it was, was the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw dominating the Rockies on a hot Tuesday night at Coors Field.The three-time National League Cy Young Award winner, a legitimate candidate to win his fourth this season, pitched six scoreless innings, flirted with a no-hitter, gave up one hit, and faced the minimum number of batters.Los Angeles won, 5-0, escaping major trouble in the ninth after Phil Bickford walked the bases full. Evan Phillips came on to bail out Bickford and got Elias Diaz to fly out to deep left-center field. For a moment, it looked as if Diaz had hit his second grand slam in his last three games.“Kershaw got a lot of weak contact,” Colorado third baseman Ryan McMahon said. “I was looking for his slider, and I got it twice but couldn’t do anything with it. It (breaks) really late, and it’s the reason he’s been succ...

Riverside doctor charged with sexual assault; police seek additional victims

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:51:49 GMT

A 52-year-old doctor has been arrested and faces charges of sexual assault against a customer at a local medical spa in Riverside, authorities announced on Tuesday.  Investigators with the Riverside Police Department’s Sexual Assault-Child Abuse Unit began looking into allegations of the assault earlier in June after an adult female alleged she was victimized during a consultation exam at Timeless Skincare Laser Clinic in the 6900 block of Brockton Avenue.  Dr. Sam Sannoufi, a resident of Newport Beach and owner of Timeless Skincare Laser Clinic Primary Care Family Practice in Riverside, was identified as the suspect.  Detectives arrested the 52-year-old on Tuesday and booked him into the Robert Presley Detention Center on charges of sexual assault. Sannoufi has since been released on $1 million bail.  Dr. Sam Sannoufi, 52, of Newport Beach, seen here after his arrest for sexual assault in Riverside on June 27, 2023. (RPD)“Investigators believe there may be other...