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‘Operation Reindeer’: Hollywood Police patrol busy malls on lookout for potential holiday thieves

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

Police are taking extra steps to help keep shoppers safe at a time in the holiday season when, they say, criminals go to crowded malls looking to turn the holiday cheer into a holiday scare.As a way to combat thefts, Hollywood Police are doing their annual initiative, known as “Operation Reindeer,” where officers are sent out across busy shopping centers in the area to deter thieves. The operation starts before the holidays and continues after them. Police said thieves know last-minute shoppers can be easy targets, which is why they launched this program in an effort to keep the community safe. “It is a time where we want to remind people, you know, there are certain things they can do to protect themselves during this time of year,” said a Hollywood Police Deanna Bettineschi. Police have already made one successful arrest. Investigators said 21-year-old Rishon Louis was seen walking with a ski mask around the parking lot of the Target located at 3251 Hollywo...

Homeowner speaks out after house explodes in West Park; family of 4 injured identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

Days after a house in West Park exploded, injuring a family of four, the owner of that home is speaking out. Speaking with 7News on Thursday, homeowner, Renes Ledix said he can’t believe his family members survived the violent blast.“When you look at the video – all the people are sending me the video, they’re telling me they can’t believe that in that situation the people are still alive,” he said.The explosion happened just after 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday night at the house, located along the 5200 block of Southwest 20th Street. The intense home explosion was felt blocks away, and according to fire officials, gas likely played a role.But Ledix said gas wasn’t being used in the home.“There’s nothing we use with the gas,” he said. “I went out by the house, I see the gas tank in the back, but it wasn’t connected.”Video from across the street of the home showed a different angle of the blast.Rescue crews transported t...

Man who rented room at home daycare in West Bridgewater faces child porn charge, investigators say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

A 23-year-old West Bridgewater man who rented a room inside a home daycare was arrested Wednesday on a charge of receiving child pornography, officials announced. The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts in a statement said Juan Levano was charged by criminal complaint and appeared in court in Boston following his arrest. Levano remained in custody as of Thursday afternoon, officials said. Back in West Bridgewater, 7NEWS learned the daycare where Levano lived has been temporarily closed while the investigation into this case continues.The US Attorney’s Office outlined allegations against Levano, saying “an investigation into an internet-based communications application used for the trafficking of child pornography identified Levano as a likely user of the platform.”Officials said investigators executed search warrants at Levano’s residence on Wednesday morning, seizing “various electronic devices.”Though officials said the residence where Levano rented a ...

Groton PD searching for driver who struck K9 near police department

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

Police in Groton are asking for the public’s help as they work to identify a driver who struck a K9 near the department’s headquarters, seriously injuring the police dog.Officials with Groton PD said a search for a suspect was launched after K9 Bane was struck on Pleasant Street Wednesday afternoon around 4:50 p.m.According to police, the motorist who struck Bane continued driving while several other people, including the person who reported the hit and run, stopped and rendered aid to the dog.Authorities said Bane ended up suffering injuries that included a broken femur, dislocated hip, broken ribs and punctured lungs. As of Thursday afternoon, the K9 was in stable but serious condition at Tufts Animal Hospital.“We also would like to extend our gratitude and thanks to the 4 citizens who stopped and helped our K9 who suffered serious injuries,” the police department stated.Groton police are now asking anyone who has cameras in the area or had been traveling o...

Patriots running back Kevin Harris ready for bigger opportunity on 53-man roster

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

FOXBORO — After toiling on the practice squad all season, running back Kevin Harris was rewarded with a 53-man roster spot after scoring on an 18-yard touchdown in Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs.Harris was signed Tuesday when a spot opened up after the Patriots signed cornerback J.C. Jackson to the practice squad. Harris had been on the 53-man roster last season but spent the first 15 weeks this year on the practice squad. He had been elevated twice before getting signed.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | QB Nathan Rourke unsure of Patriots plan but excited for opportunity New England Patriots | Callahan: How much of this Patriots season can be blamed on injuries? New England Patriots | Wahlberg: Hold your fire Patriots Nation, Belichick’s still the GOAT New England Patriots | Patriots’ cornerback depth has been tested by everything in 2023 New England Patriots | Patriots-Broncos inju...

Why airlines are delaying flights for hours rather than canceling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

Alexandra Skores | The Dallas Morning News (TNS)DALLAS — If you’ve felt like your flights have been delayed rather than canceled altogether this year, you’re not alone.This year, airlines heavily improved network reliability. According to travel tracker site Hopper, this October saw the lowest cancellation rate among U.S. departures since 2019. In October, 15% of flights were delayed on departure, down 25% during July.Passenger delays and cancellations came under intense pressure from consumer watchdogs and politicians after a bumpy ramp-up for airlines after the downturn of the COVID-19 pandemic. Airlines in the U.S. canceled almost 140,000 flights in 2022, the highest number in recent history — except the pandemic-induced cancellations of 2020. A bumpy 2022 came to a crescendo last December, when snowstorms in Denver and Chicago caused thousands of cancellations, a problem so bad that Southwest’s network completely fell apart and resulted in nearly 17,000 nixed flights around the ...

Top US officials to visit Mexico for border talks as immigration negotiations with Congress continue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and MARK STEVENSON (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — A delegation of top U.S. officials is expected to visit Mexico soon as negotiations over how to enforce immigration rules at the two countries’ shared border continue on Capitol Hill.Republican and Democratic lawmakers are debating border policy changes as part of a larger conversation over U.S. assistance for Ukraine and Israel, which are top foreign policy priorities for the White House. The upcoming visit to Mexico comes amid controversy over the closure of two rail crossings in Texas earlier this week. U.S. officials said the personnel needed to be redeployed to handle high numbers of migrants illegally crossing the border. Mexican businesses warn that the closings are hampering trade. President Joe Biden spoke with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Thursday and agreed that additional border enforcement was needed so the crossings can be reopened, according to White Hous...

QB Nathan Rourke unsure of Patriots plan but excited for opportunity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

FOXBORO — New Patriots quarterback Nathan Rourke is trying to learn what the rest of his teammates have digested over the last five months in just three weeks.It’s a tough task for the former CFL quarterback, but he’s also just happy to be on an NFL roster. Rourke went undrafted out of Ohio in 2020 and spent three seasons in the CFL before landing with the Jaguars this season. He started the season on the practice squad before signing to the 53-man roster in October. When the Jaguars waived him on Saturday, the Patriots jumped at the opportunity to claim him Monday.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Callahan: How much of this Patriots season can be blamed on injuries? New England Patriots | Wahlberg: Hold your fire Patriots Nation, Belichick’s still the GOAT New England Patriots | Patriots’ cornerback depth has been tested by everything in 2023 New England Patriots | Patriots-Broncos injury ...

‘The Boys in the Boat’ review: Clooney navigates mostly gentle waters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

Perhaps George Clooney had no interest in adding to your holiday stress.A Christmas Day release, the Clooney-directed “The Boys in the Boat” tells the tale of the 1936 University of Washington rowing team, which competed at the Summer Olympics in Berlin.It does so in an old-fashioned, relatively low-conflict approach, resulting in a movie-viewing experience that is both easy to digest and at least a little underwhelming.Based on Daniel James Brown’s 2013 bestselling book of the same name, “The Boys in the Boat” begins by introducing us to the mild-mannered and generally quiet Joe Rantz (Callum Turner), who years ago was abandoned by his father and stepmother and now, during the Great Depression, lives in a shanty town in Seattle. He attends UW, aiming for a career as an engineer, but he’s struggling to pay tuition.Joe’s pal Roger Morris (Sam Strike, “American Outlaw”) suggests they try out for the rowing team, as a place on the unit would come with food, lodging and enough money to ...

Traveling for the holidays? Here’s how to check flu and COVID levels at your destination

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:25 GMT

When you get ready to travel for the holidays, you may want to know how sick people are in destination where you are going.As of Friday, 17 states are reporting “high” or “very high” levels of respiratory illness activity, federal health data shows. The states where illness activity is highest are scattered throughout the U.S. but most of the Southeastern states are seeing high levels, along with Western states like California, Nevada and Colorado. New Jersey and New York City also are seeing high levels, based on percentage of visits to outpatient healthcare providers or emergency departments for fever and cough or sore throat.States with the lowest levels of respiratory illness are Minnesota and West Virginia. To check the level of respiratory activity in the area where you are traveling, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention respiratory illness dashboard.“Every individual has a different risk tolerance and a different medical history,” said Alicia Budd, lead of dom...