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Victims’ families walk though Parkland school massacre site, untouched for 5 years as evidence

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:37 GMT

PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — For more than five years, the bloodstained halls and classrooms where 17 people died in the Parkland school shooting has remained locked away and mostly untouched — not even the victims’ families were allowed inside.That changed Wednesday, as heart-wrenching private tours began for relatives of the 14 students and three staff members who died. The 17 wounded and their loved ones will also be able to visit the 1200 building at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, now that it is no longer needed as evidence in the trials of the convicted killer and the deputy who was just acquitted of failing to stop him.The school district plans to demolish the three-story building, likely replacing it with a memorial.Four families were led through the building Wednesday by prosecutors. Others are scheduled in the coming weeks. There might also be a reenactment of the Valentine’s Day shooting for a still-pending civil lawsuit against the deputy.“I needed to see where my s...

Twitter threatens to sue Meta after rival app Threads gains traction

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:37 GMT

(CNN) — Twitter is threatening Meta with a lawsuit after the blockbuster launch of Meta’s new Twitter rival, Threads — in perhaps the clearest sign yet that Twitter views the app as a competitive threat.On Wednesday, an attorney representing Twitter sent Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg a letter that accused the company of trade secret theft through the hiring of former Twitter employees.The letter was first reported by Semafor. A person familiar with the matter confirmed the letter’s authenticity to CNN.The letter by Alex Spiro, an outside lawyer for Twitter owner Elon Musk, alleged that Meta had engaged in “systematic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property.”In response to reports on the letter, Musk tweeted: “Competition is fine, cheating is not.”The letter goes on to say that Meta hired former Twitter employees who “have improperly retained Twitter documents and electronic devices” and that Meta “de...

Legal expert weighs in as jury deliberations continue in trial of man accused of killing Weymouth police officer, bystander

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:37 GMT

After more than 16 hours of deliberations over five court sessions, there is still no verdict in the trial of a man charged with murdering a Weymouth police officer and an elderly woman in 2018.Now-25-year-old Emmanuel Lopes, who is mounting an insanity defense, is waiting to hear if he will be convicted in the murders of Weymouth police Sgt. Michael. Chesna and a longtime Weymouth resident, 77-year-old Vera Adams.The families of the officer Sgt. Michael Chesna and the other victim Vera Adams are on edge as they wait for the decision.Lopes’ legal team admits he pulled the trigger, but they are claiming he was insane and not responsible legally for what he did.“It rarely works, but sometimes it has, and it rarely works especially in murder cases,” 7NEWS Legal Analyst Tom Hoopes said, “and here, it’s not just one homicide, it’s two.”Hoopes said the jury is struggling and may be deadlocked. However, he said a hung jury is not a lock.“Who knows what’s going to happen,” he said. “Sometim...

Britney Spears says Wembanyama’s security struck her in Las Vegas, Spurs rookie says he was grabbed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:37 GMT

By TIM REYNOLDS (AP Basketball Writer)LAS VEGAS (AP) — San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama said Thursday he believes Britney Spears grabbed him from behind as he was walking into a restaurant at a Las Vegas casino, and that the security detail he was with pushed the pop star away.Wembanyama said he wasn’t told that Spears was the person who grabbed him until hours later.Spears filed a police report saying she was struck by a security guard while trying to get the attention of Wembanyama, a person with knowledge of the matter said Thursday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the police report had yet to be released publicly.Spears’ representatives did not respond to a request for comment and police officials did not immediately return a message seeking more details. Wembanyama said security advised him to not stop for anyone as he walked into the restaurant, mindful that pausing could cause a stir and allow a crowd to build.“Something di...

FDA approves Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi; that means Medicare will pay for it

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials granted full approval to a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug on Thursday, clearing the way for Medicare and other insurance plans to begin covering the treatment for people with the brain-robbing disease.The Food and Drug Administration endorsed the IV drug, Leqembi, for patients with mild dementia and other symptoms caused by early Alzheimer’s disease. It’s the first medicine that’s been convincingly shown to modestly slow Alzheimer’s cognitive decline.Japanese drugmaker Eisai received conditional approval from the FDA in January based on early results suggesting Leqembi worked by clearing a sticky brain plaque linked to the disease.The FDA confirmed those results by reviewing data from a larger, 1,800-patient study in which the drug slowed memory and thinking decline by about five months in those who got the treatment, compared to those who got a dummy drug.“This confirmatory study verified that it is a safe and e...

Damian Lillard abandoning loyalty for South Beach: ‘Truthfully, he wants to play for Miami’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:37 GMT

The Portland Trail Blazers owe Damian Lillard over $175 million. But apparently, Lillard believes their obligation extends to something else:Making sure he goes to South Beach.The point guard’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, has taken the trade demand to the next level by warning potential suitors that Lillard would become disgruntled if acquired by a team other than the Heat.“I do what I should for my client,” Goodwin told the Miami Herald. “Some teams I did call. Other teams have called me. It’s a respectful relationship with most teams.“Truthfully, he wants to play for Miami. Period.”The circumstances are troubling for a number of reasons. Mainly for the Blazers. On one hand, Lillard represents arguably the greatest player in franchise history and a symbol of commitment to a team that largely mismanaged the roster during his tenure.On the other hand, Lillard’s Miami-or-bust stance places the Blazers at a terrible disadvantage in negotiations...

A Texas man reported missing as a teen in 2015 was only missing for 1 day, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:37 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — The case of a Texas man who was reported missing as a teenager in 2015 and found alive last week at a church took an unexpected turn Thursday when police revealed it all was a hoax — the man was only gone for a day, but he and his mother maintained the ruse for eight years by using false names.Prosecutors did not file any charges against Janie Santana and her son, Rudolph “Rudy” Farias IV, but the investigation is continuing, Houston police detectives said. They gave few other details about where they believe the case could lead.Santana’s family said they suspected Farias was not missing and blamed Santana for keeping him away from them all these years.“We’re upset that (authorities) are not going to do anything,” Pauline Sanchez Rodriguez, Farias’ aunt, said as she and other family members stood outside Houston police headquarters.Santana did not return a telephone call seeking comment Thursday.The announcement came a week after police said they found Farias after re...

Quebec only outlier on Ottawa health deal as Nunavut, Yukon and N.W.T. sign on

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:37 GMT

OTTAWA — All three territories signed on to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s health funding offer Thursday, leaving Quebec as the only holdout on the new accords.Trudeau presented his offer at a meeting with provincial and territorial premiers in Ottawa in February as local politicians, doctors, nurses and health advocates raised concerns about a national health-care crisis.The agreement would see the federal government shift $196 billion to the provinces and territories over the next 10 years in exchange for commitments to massively upgrade health-care data collection and digital medical records. The offer includes $17 billion in new spending over and above existing federal health transfers and $25 billion for agreements tailed to the specific needs of individual provinces. Following the meeting premiers signalled that they would agree, though the prime minister’s offer fell well short of what they had hoped for.The governments of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut...

Electricity being restored to Montreal after nearly 200K customers lost power

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:37 GMT

MONTREAL — Quebec’s hydro utility was working to restore electricity to clients in Montreal after a problem with a transmission line knocked out power to nearly 200,000 customers on Thursday.Montréal—Trudeau International Airport said some of its operations were disrupted due to what it called a major electrical failure. By Thursday evening several flights were still listed as delayed or cancelled, but it was unclear whether those problems were caused by the blackout.By 5:30 p.m. Hydro-Québec said about 20,000 customers in Montreal were still without power.Spokesperson Caroline Des Rosiers said authorities were investigating what happened and weren’t ruling out high temperatures in southern Quebec as the cause.She said affected clients would have power back by early evening.This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2023.The Canadian Press

Twitter threatens to sue Meta over Threads: report

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:56:37 GMT

Twitter is threatening to sue Meta, with the app’s legal team accusing the social media giant of “systemic, willful, and unlawful misappropriation of Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property.”The letter penned by Twitter’s lawyer Alex Spiro, first shared by news outlet Semafor, says Meta hired Twitter employees with the express knowledge that the employees “continue to have access to Twitter’s trade secrets and other highly confidential information.”Spiro says they have obligations to Twitter, adding they have “highly confidential information” improperly retained documents and electronic devices from Twitter.“With that knowledge, Meta deliberately assigned these employees to develop, in a matter of months, Meta’s copycat ‘Threads’ app with the specific intent that they use Twitter’s trade secrets and other intellectual property in order to accelerate the development of Meta’...