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DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg tells Metro leaders: We’ve got your back

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:02:22 GMT

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is telling the leadership of the D.C. Metro and other transit agencies struggling financially due to a deep drop in ridership during the pandemic that the federal government is ready to help.Metro General Manager Randy Clarke recently sounded the alarm in an interview with WTOP, warning of possible deep service cuts next summer if the D.C. transit agency does not close its $700 million dollar budget shortfall.Clarke said instead of trains running at eight-minute intervals, the schedule would be cut to intervals of up to 30 minutes between trains, and the agency would lay off numerous workers.Buttigieg said he wants to help.While on the one hand saying the Department of Transportation does not want to make decisions that abridge local leaders, Buttigieg told WTOP that the federal government would have money in the upcoming year’s DOT budget to assist mass transit agencies.“There are flexibilities in the budget that we’re putting forw...

Jury finds Trump liable for sexual abuse, awards accuser $5M

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:02:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A jury found Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House.The verdict was announced in a federal courtroom in New York City on the first day of jury deliberations. Jurors rejected Carroll’s claims that she was raped, but found Trump liable for sexual abuse and for defaming Carroll after she made her allegations public.Trump chose not to attend the civil trial and was absent when the verdict was read.Carroll nodded as the verdict was read. Afterward, her lawyers put their arms around her, and she hugged supporters in the gallery, smiling through tears.Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, shook hands with Carroll and hugged her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan. As the courtroom cleared, Carroll could be heard laughing and crying. Utah mom accused of killing husband with fentanyl wrote grief book following death Trump im...

Florida substitute teacher arrested for allegedly letting 7th grader use her vape

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:02:22 GMT

EUSTIS, Florida (WESH) — A substitute teacher in Lake County is facing child abuse charges after investigators say she let a seventh grader take a hit off her vape pen.Jennifer Hale was arrested after it happened last week at Eustis Middle School. According to the police report, it happened in the last period of the day. It says the substitute teacher heard the seventh grader talking about his friend wanting to vape and gave him hers to take a hit.Jennifer Hunter is a mom to an eighth grader at Eustis Middle School.“Teachers. It’s scary now,” Hunter said. “I never thought that a substitute teacher would give my child that or someone else’s child any of that stuff. Just other students.”According to a Eustis police report, a seventh grader said a substitute teacher named Jennifer heard his friend say he wanted to vape, and that she said, “I have one,” and pulled it out.The seventh grader says she then asked if he wanted a hit and t...

Iowa family vacationing in Florida searching for son’s missing ashes

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:02:22 GMT

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (WESH) — An Iowa couple who was visiting Florida last month is asking for help finding a special stuffed animal.Liz Atkinson says she was on a trip to Florida with her husband and son, Sebastyan, visiting the beaches and theme parks when they lost the stuffed animal named Bruce somewhere along the way.“I remember Sebastyan holding him, but my husband got off the boat with him first and he’s the one that buckled him,” Atkinson said. “Part of me just wonders, did it fall out in the parking lot at the orange ramp at Disney Springs and we just didn’t know?”The family had to return home but posted on Facebook asking for the public’s help finding Bruce. The task is close to their hearts—not because of Bruce’s cute and cuddly appearance, but because of where he’s been and what’s inside him.“Bruce has been at every hospitalization. There’s far too many to count. He’s been with my son at every procedure,” Atkinson said. “My son th...

Florida law takes aim at teachers union that defied DeSantis

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:02:22 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Teachers and other government employees will have to write monthly checks if they want to stay in their union after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Tuesday banning automatic dues deductions from public employees’ paychecks,The anti-union bill also gives employees the right to immediately quit a union for no reason and requires unions to recertify if the number of dues-paying members drops below 60% of those eligible to join.“If you want to join, you can, but you write a check and you hand it over. That is gonna lead to more take-home pay for teachers,” DeSantis said at the bill-signing ceremony.It was one of several bills that DeSantis signed that affect education, including new term limits for school board members, restrictions on student social media use and protections for teachers who report administrators they believe are violating state education policies.While DeSantis touted the bills as giving more freedom to teachers, the Florida E...

Official: Officer saved ‘countless lives’ ending mall attack

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:02:22 GMT

ALLEN, Texas (AP) — The mass shooting at a suburban Dallas shopping mall lasted three to four minutes before a local police officer shot and killed the gunman, authorities said Tuesday.The Allen police officer who shot and killed 33-year-old Mauricio Garcia acted heroically and saved “countless lives” through his quick action, Hank Sibley, the regional director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, said at a news conference. He said the officer is still processing what happened and isn’t ready to have his name made public.The investigation into Garcia’s motive is ongoing, but he expressed “neo-Nazi” beliefs, Sibley said. Garcia had no criminal history before he opened fire at Allen Premium Outlets on Saturday, he said.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.ALLEN, Texas (AP) — The gunman who killed eight people and wounded seven others at a suburban Dallas shopping mall had no prior criminal record but had “neo-Nazi ideation,” authorities sai...

Jury finds Donald Trump liable for battery in 1996 attack on writer, rejects rape claim

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:02:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A jury found Donald Trump liable Tuesday for sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996, awarding her $5 million in a judgment that could haunt the former president as he campaigns to regain the White House.The verdict was announced in a federal courtroom in New York City on the first day of jury deliberations. Jurors rejected Carroll’s claims that she was raped, but found Trump liable for sexual abuse and for defaming Carroll after she made her allegations public.Trump chose not to attend the civil trial and was absent when the verdict was read.Carroll nodded as the verdict was read. Afterward, her lawyers put their arms around her, and she hugged supporters in the gallery, smiling through tears.Trump’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, shook hands with Carroll and hugged her lawyer, Roberta Kaplan. As the courtroom cleared, Carroll could be heard laughing and crying.Trump immediately lashed out with a statement on his social media site, claiming again that he...

Jonathan Majors appears in court for domestic violence case that his attorney calls a ‘witch hunt’

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:02:22 GMT

(CNN) — Actor Jonathan Majors appeared in court virtually on Tuesday for a hearing related to the assault and harassment charges brought against him in March by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.During the morning status conference, the DA provided more information regarding an incident that took place on March 25 between Majors and a female accuser. Previously, the complaint stated that Majors had allegedly struck the woman in her face with an open hand, causing a laceration behind her ear. The complaint now states that the woman also sustained injuries to her arm and hand and that she was allegedly pushed into the side of a vehicle by Majors.He has denied the allegations.In a statement to CNN following the hearing, Majors’ attorney Priya Chaudhry accused prosecutors of racial bias in the case and reiterated that her team has provided investigators video evidence that allegedly exonerates Majors.“This is a witch hunt against Jonathan Majors,...

Max Scherzer scratched from Tuesday’s start against Reds due to neck spasms

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:02:22 GMT

When it rains, it pours.Max Scherzer has been scratched from Tuesday’s start against the Cincinnati Reds due to neck spasms. David Peterson has been recalled from Triple-A Syracuse and will take the ball for the Amazins in Cincinnati.Scherzer has struggled mightily this season posting a 5.56 ERA in five starts this season.The right-hander has a bit of an injury history in his career with the Mets as he missed a month and a half from May-July last season with an oblique injury. The three-time Cy Young award winner already missed some time this season, however, that was due to a sticky-stuff 10-game suspension for breaking MLB’s foreign substance policy.Buck Showalter’s squad has endured a number of injuries to his staff this season. Justin Verlander just returned in Thursday’s loss to the Tigers — tossing five innings and allowing two runs — Carlos Carrasco remains on the injured list due to right elbow inflammation and Jose Quintana has yet to tak...

New Patriots free-agent addition explains team ‘really wanted’ him

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 21:02:22 GMT

FOXBORO — Of all the Patriots’ free-agent signings and draft picks, only one has “no weaknesses,” according to Bill Belichick.That player is ex-Lions linebacker Chris Board, whom Belichick called the best special teams player on the Pats’ schedule last October. After the Patriots finished with the league’s worst special teams — posting the lowest net yards per punt and allowing three kick return touchdowns — it was no surprise Belichick pursued Board in free agency.The Pats separated themselves from Board’s other suitors by how aggressive they were, the 27-year-old linebacker said Tuesday.“In free agency, there were a lot of teams that wouldn’t mind having me, but there was definitely an emphasis and a priority (from the Patriots) to get me here, which I really appreciated,” Board said. “So that kind of went into the process of me deciding to sign here. I appreciate just the respect that I’ve had here so far.”Board ad...