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Virginia attorney general drops remaining charge against former Loudoun Co. schools superintendent

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:15:40 GMT

A remaining charge against former Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler has been dropped, according to a court filing from the Virginia Attorney General’s office obtained by WTOP.Ziegler was charged with falsely publishing in relation to a statement he made during a livestreamed school board meeting on June 22, 2021. The charge stemmed from Ziegler’s comment, “To my knowledge we don’t have any record of assaults occurring in our bathrooms.”The statement was related to the school system’s handling of two in-person sexual assaults by the same student in 2021. In September, a jury found Ziegler guilty of using his position to retaliate when he fired a special education teacher.That jury also found Ziegler not guilty of punishing an employee for attending court.The remaining charge has been dropped, the filing said, in part because of the previous conviction. Ziegler is facing a maximum punishment of a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.Other evidence,...

Florida announces the hiring of Tulane’s Gerald Chatman as the team’s defensive line coach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:15:40 GMT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida announced the hiring of Gerald Chatman as the team’s defensive line coach on Friday.Chatman joins the Gators after serving as Tulane’s D-line coach in 2023. The Green Wave ranked eighth nationally in run defense, giving up 93.5 yards a game, and tied for 22nd in the country with 34 sacks. Chatman replaces Sean Spencer, who was fired days after Florida ended its season with a fifth consecutive loss that secured a third straight losing season.Coach Billy Napier also fired defensive backs coach Corey Raymond and lost linebackers coach Jay Bateman to Texas A&M earlier this week. Bateman was hired as the Aggies’ defensive coordinator.Losing Bateman, Spencer and Raymond leaves Napier with one defensive coach from his initial staff hired before the 2022 season: former Florida standout Mike Peterson.Chatman’s resume also includes stints at LSU, Colorado, the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals, Tennessee State and Elon.Napier said more changes could be coming. He p...

AC Milan late goal rescues draw at bottom club Salernitana. Fiorentina, Lazio, Genoa win

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:15:40 GMT

ROME (AP) — Fiorentina moved up to fourth in Serie A after winning at Monza 1-0, while Lazio climbed into the top half of the table with a comfortable 2-0 victory at struggling Empoli on Friday.AC Milan needed a late goal to salvage a point at bottom club Salernitana and Genoa came from behind to beat Sassuolo 2-1.AC Milan, three points ahead of Fiorentina. Lazio jumped two places into ninth.A major shock was averted at Salernitana, where the home side led 2-1 with a minute left and looked like recording only its second win of the season.Fikayo Tomori put Milan 1-0 up with a header after 17 minutes but Salernitana grew into the game and got the equalizer it deserved shortly before halftime when veteran Argentine defender Federico Fazio headed home from a corner.Antonio Candreva put Salernitana ahead in the second half, but Milan substitute Luka Jovic scored in the last minute to secure a point.Fiorentina’s match-winner was Lucas Beltrán but Monza goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio will ...

2 paramedics found guilty of criminally negligent homicide in Elijah McClain's death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:15:40 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- A verdict has been reached by an Adams County jury tasked with determining guilt or innocence for two Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics accused in the death of Elijah McClain.Jeremy Cooper and Lt. Peter Cichuniec were both found guilty of criminally negligent homicide. Cichuniec was also found guilty of second-degree assault related to the administration of drugs.Cooper was found not guilty of two counts of second-degree assault. Cichuniec was found not guilty of one second-degree assault charge.Previous story:DENVER (KDVR) -- A verdict has been reached by an Adams County jury tasked with determining guilt or innocence for two Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics accused in the death of Elijah McClain.Paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Lt. Peter Cichuniec are accused of reckless manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and assault. The charges stem from actions taken by the first responders on the night of Aug. 24, 2019, while responding to a 911 call for a suspicious person. F...

Paramedics found guilty in death of Elijah McClain, who they injected with an overdose of ketamine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:15:40 GMT

BRIGHTON, Colo. (AP) — Two Denver-area paramedics were convicted Friday in the 2019 killing of Elijah McClain, who they injected with an overdose of the sedative ketamine after police put him in a neck hold.It was the last trial against police and paramedics charged in the death of McClain, a 23-year-old Black man whose case received little attention until protests over the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. An Aurora police officer was convicted of homicide and third degree assault earlier this year while two officers were acquitted. This case stands out because it was the first of several recent criminal prosecutions in the U.S. against medical first responders to reach trial, potentially setting the bar for prosecutors in future cases.The jury found Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec guilty of criminally negligent homicide following a weekslong trial in state district court. Cichuniec was also found guilty of second degree assault. They coul...

South Florida students teach tech to seniors in initiative to bridge generational ‘digital divide’ 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:15:40 GMT

Many elderly people say they have trouble navigating technology, but some seniors are getting help from South Florida high school students helping to bridge the digital divide. Karen Hensel shines the 7 Spotlight.On a Sunday afternoon, inside a senior living community in Parkland, a few residents played Rummikub and poker.Elderly man: “Ooh. Somebody’s going to have a full house.”But the tables soon turned to a more tech-minded mission centered around teaching and learning.Noah Smith, CLEO: “You go to Library, then you go to Albums again.”And although here together, those in this room are generations apart.Noah Smith: “I think it’s just great to build relationships with these residents.”High school sophomores Noah Smith and Jack Rostock recently started the first Southeast Florida chapter of CLEO, which stands for Computer Literacy Education Outreach.”Saint Andrew’s School student: “You can go to the top and you hit Fi...

Florida man comes home after being detained in Venezuela for more than a year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:15:40 GMT

A man from Florida will be able to celebrate Christmas with his family after he was released from Venezuela along with several other Americans, bringing a long and difficult journey of hope and despair to an end.Joseph Cristella was one of six U.S. citizens who stepped off a plane in Texas on Wednesday as part of a prisoner swap deal this week between the U.S. and VenezuelaHis cousin, Stephanie Cristella, spoke to 7News to recount the toll the ordeal took on him.“We were doing whatever we could to bring him home. So, finally, that’s happened. He is home,” she said. Stephanie said she is excited to see her cousin, whom she hasn’t seen since he was detained in Venezuela in September of last year. “He has a fiancée who was down – she had to go to Venezuela for a surgery, and her and her family live in Colombia, so he went there to try to be closer to her, from what I’m told, and then got detained,” she said. “They had conspiracy cha...

2 in custody, 1 at large after authorities track suspected robbers to Family Dollar in Pembroke Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:15:40 GMT

Authorities have apprehended two people in Pembroke Park and are searching for a third, allegedly in connection to a pair of robberies in Miami-Dade County.7Skyforce hovered above a Family Dollar store along Hallandale Beach Boulevard, near Southwest 40th Avenue, just after 6 p.m., Friday.A Miami-Dade Police cruiser and a Broward Sheriff’s Office cruiser were seen near the subjects’ silver Honda, which is parked feet away from the entrance to the store.The people inside the Honda are allegedly wanted in connection to two robberies. One of them allegedly occurred outside of a bank in Sunny Isles Beach, and the second allegedly took place at a TD Bank along Northeast 183rd Street and 15th Avenue in Northeast Miami-Dade.Authorities were able to track the subject through a tracking device that may have been put in a bag.After realizing they were being followed along Interstate 95, the subjects pulled into the Family Dollar, ran inside the store and exited through a back door...

Police investigating armed robbery at South End store

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:15:40 GMT

An investigation got underway Thursday night after an armed robbery in the South End that was caught on camera. A police spokesperson said officers responded to the Richdale Food Shops on Dartmouth Street after receiving an initial call around 10 p.m. Surveillance video later shared with 7NEWS showed the incident unfold, with a man in a black jacket with a fur-lined hood entering and going toward a refrigerator. The man appears to wait until another customer leaves. When he stepped up to pay, employees said, the robber pretended to buy a bottle of water. When the cashier opened the register to make change, though, he said the man flashed a gun hidden in his coat.The cashier is seen in video jumping back with his hands up. The robber, in turn, is seen reaching over the counter and taking cash. Boston police said the robber stole about $3,000 from the register. While surveillance cameras captured this incident, they did not catch the robber’s face, which was c...

Charlie Sheen’s neighbor arrested after being accused of assaulting actor in Malibu home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:15:40 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charlie Sheen’s neighbor was arrested after being accused of assaulting the actor in a Malibu home this week, authorities said.Electra Schrock was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement Friday. She was also taken into custody for force likely to create bodily injury and burglary.Authorities arrived at the residence Wednesday afternoon after receiving a battery-disturbance call.Schrock, 47, was expected to appear in court Friday.Representatives for Sheen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Sheen, 58, is known for his role on “Two and a Half Men.” He starred in films including “Wall Street,” “The Three Musketeers” and “Major League.”