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DeSantis cuts a third of his presidential campaign staff as he mounts urgent reset

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential contender Ron DeSantis is cutting far more campaign staff than previously thought as he works to reset his stumbling campaign amid unexpected financial trouble.DeSantis, long considered former President Donald Trump’s chief rival in the GOP’s 2024 primary contest, has cut a third of his campaign staff — or 38 people, according to campaign aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal campaign strategy.The dramatic staffing cuts include the “less than 10” employees that the DeSantis team revealed letting go earlier in the month just as federal filings showed that his campaign was burning through cash at an unsustainable rate, even before launching a substantial paid advertising campaign.“Following a top-to-bottom review of our organization, we have taken additional, aggressive steps to streamline operations and put Ron DeSantis in the strongest position to win this primary and defeat Joe Biden,” DeSantis ...

BSO arrest 2 accused of leaving 3-month-old baby in hot car in Lauderdale Lakes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:47 GMT

The Broward Sheriff’s Office on Monday arrested two people accused of leaving a 3-month-old baby in their car. Rose Belony, 40, and John Polidor, 43, were both charged with one count of child neglect without great harm. The two appeared in court Tuesday where a judge ordered that they’d be held on a $15,000 bond. According to reports, the incident happened at 11:30 a.m. at an Enterprise Rent-a-Car, located at 2200 N. State Road 7. The baby was in the vehicle for about 30 minutes with the windows rolled up when employees at the Enterprise noticed her and attempted to get her out.Once the baby was taken out of the car, it took 12 minutes for her body temperature to return to normal. She has since been reunited with her mother. It is not known what connection the baby had with the two that were arrested.

8 men found guilty of 2016 Brussels terrorist attacks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:47 GMT

BRUSSELS — A Brussels court on Tuesday found eight people guilty of murder and attempted murder in the 2016 Brussels terror attacks that killed 32 and injured more than 300.One of the eight is Salah Abdeslam, who is already serving a life sentence for his role in the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. (He was arrested four days before the Brussels attack.)Another of those found guilty, Mohamed Abrini, was identified on CCTV fleeing Zaventem airport when his explosives did not go off. He became known as the “man in the hat.” The bombers carried out attacks at the Maelbeek (Maalbeek) metro station in the EU Quarter and at Brussels airport in March 2016.The jury’s verdict closes the first part of the trial, which started in November 2022. Under Belgian law, sentences will be determined in a second part of the trial, which will start on September 4.

Moviegoers have spotted a blooper in ‘Oppenheimer’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:47 GMT

(CNN) — Christopher Nolan’s latest film, “Oppenheimer,” has become one half of the box office and pop culture phenomenon “Barbenheimer,” sweeping up glowing reviews along the way.But eagle-eyed fans have spotted a mistake in a scene set in 1945, as Cillian Murphy’s J. Robert Oppenheimer stands among a crowd waving American flags – bearing the wrong number of stars.“It was good and all, but I’ll be that guy and complain they used 50-star flags in a scene set in 1945,” Twitter user Andy Craig wrote on Friday.In 1945, the American flag featured 48 stars, as Alaska and Hawaii hadn’t yet become US states.It wasn’t until July 4, 1960 that a 50-star flag was first flown in the US.But in another scene set in the same year, the correct American flag flies behind Oppenheimer.One Twitter user had a theory: “I can argue that this is done intentionally as the colored scenes were from Oppenheimer’s perspective, while the black and white scenes were from another. This woul...

Boston police identify suspect wanted for stealing truck with infant still inside

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:47 GMT

The Boston Police Department has identified a man wanted for larceny and recklessly endangering a child, after he allegedly stole a truck in Dorchester while an infant child was inside of it.Authorities are seeking Cristofanes Mendes, 33, of Boston, who stands accused of stealing a pickup truck in the area of Geneva Avenue and Westville Street on July 14, all while an infant was in the vehicle, still seated in a car seat, with the child’s family right on the adjacent sidewalk.Surveillance video obtained by 7NEWS showed the truck return to the area shortly afterwards and leave the infant on a street curb. About an hour later, officers located the stolen truck on Columbia Road.In a news release, the department described Mendes as being an Hispanic male with a height of 5’10” and weight of 230 pounds, black hair, and brown eyes.Anyone with who comes into contact with Mendes is advised to call 911 immediately. Those who may have information on his whereabouts are asked...

Bryan Kohberger’s attorneys suggest they’ll present evidence that he was elsewhere during the killings of 4 Idaho students

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:47 GMT

(CNN) — Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students last fall, was not at the location where the crimes took place, his defense attorneys suggested Tuesday, though they have yet to provide evidence or details about his whereabouts.Kohberger is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the November 13 deaths of 21-year-olds Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen; and 20-year-olds Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, who were fatally stabbed in their off-campus home in Moscow. A not guilty plea has been entered on his behalf, and his trial is set for October.“Evidence corroborating Mr. Kohberger being at a location other than the King Road address will be disclosed pursuant to discovery and evidentiary rules as well as statutory requirements,” attorney Anne Taylor wrote in a Tuesday court filing.The document stops short of saying where Kohberger was at the time of the killings.The killings and lengthy investigation rattled the comm...

Mikal Bridges: ‘Big confidence, big faith’ in Ben Simmons’ return from back injury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:47 GMT

Mikal Bridges believes a Ben Simmons comeback arc is in store.In an appearance on the Podcast P show hosted by Los Angeles Clippers All-Star Paul George, Bridges said he’s “got big confidence, big faith” in Simmons, who has spent this summer rehabbing after missing the majority of his games in Brooklyn due to ongoing back issues.Simmons underwent a microdiscectomy for a herniated L-4 disk in May of 2022, a procedure known to have a recovery timeline in excess of a full calendar year. Bridges said on the Podcast P show he believes confirmation of an actual back injury was good for Simmons, who had become a punching bag for fans on social media angered by his decision to sit out an entire season with the Philadelphia 76ers.“I think his back was messed up, and him actually going through, getting X-rays and them telling him you had to get surgery, I think it felt good for him because I think people didn’t believe him,” Bridges said. “Because may...

Gretchen’s table: Summer fruit galette brings bright summer flavor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:47 GMT

Gretchen McKay | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (TNS)Summer desserts should look and taste exactly like the season: bursting with color and full of fresh, sunny flavor. The best ones are also super easy to make, with ingredients that are easy to find in either the supermarket or farmers market, and not wickedly expensive.My go-to when it’s warm outside is always a galette, a rustic, free-form pie that’s basically just pastry dough folded over a filling of fresh fruit mixed with sugar and a little cornstarch to thicken it. Not only is it a beautiful dessert, with the colorful filling peaking through the golden, buttery crust, but it’s super-forgiving for folks who wouldn’t normally attempt a double-crust pie, yet want something more elegant than a crumble.I used last-of-the-season strawberries and new-to-the-season peaches for this first galette of summer, along with fresh blueberries. But you can pretty much use any fruit that strikes your fancy — stone fruits like plums, cherries, nectari...

Twitter turning into X is set to kill billions in brand value

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:47 GMT

Aisha Counts and Jesse Levine | Bloomberg News (TNS)It’s rare for corporate brands to become so intertwined with everyday conversation that they become verbs. It’s rarer still for the owner of such a brand to announce plans to intentionally destroy it.On Sunday, in the middle of a quiet summer weekend, Elon Musk decreed that Twitter’s product name would be changed to “X,” and that he is getting rid of the bird logo and all the associated words, including “tweet.” Musk’s move wiped out anywhere between $4 billion and $20 billion in value, according to analysts and brand agencies.“It took 15-plus years to earn that much equity worldwide, so losing Twitter as a brand name is a significant financial hit,” said Steve Susi, director of brand communication at Siegel & Gale.Musk, whose company has already declined significantly in value since he purchased it for $44 billion in October, announced the change on Saturday night. By Monday morning a new black “X” logo, designed by a fan over...

New Biden rule would make government websites and apps more accessible to people with disabilities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration proposed new regulations Tuesday to make state and local government websites and apps for services like libraries, parking, transit and court records more accessible for people with disabilities. The new Justice Department rule would establish certain accessibility standards for websites and app-based services maintained by state and local governments, the White House announced. Those could include providing text descriptions for photos for the visually impaired who use screen readers, and captioning for government videos.Administration officials say such websites and government services have not been as accessible as they should be for people with disabilities, and that President Joe Biden was aiming to change that. Wednesday is the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.“President Biden has been completely clear that everyone in America has to be able to share in the benefits of technology,” said Arati P...