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Alabama Republicans, despite Supreme Court ruling, reject call for second majority Black district

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:15 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama Republicans, under orders of the U.S. Supreme Court to redraw congressional districts to give minority voters a greater voice in elections, rejected calls Monday to craft a second majority-Black district and proposed a map testing the judges’ directive. Lawmakers must adopt a new map by Friday after the high court in June affirmed a three-judge panel’s ruling that Alabama’s existing congressional map — with a single Black district out of seven statewide — likely violated the Voting Rights Act. In a state where more than one in four residents is Black, the lower court panel had ruled in 2022 that Alabama should have another majority-Black congressional district or something “close to it” so Black voters have the opportunity to “elect a representative of their choice.”Republicans, long resistant to creating a second Democratic-leaning district, proposed a map that would increase the percentage of Black voters in the 2nd congressional d...

US sending fighter jets, warship to Gulf region to protect ships from Iranian seizures

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is sending additional fighter jets and a warship to the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman to increase security in the wake of Iranian attempts to seize commercial ships there.The Pentagon said Monday that the USS Thomas Hudner, a destroyer, and a number of F-35 fighter jets will be heading to the area. The Hudner had been in the Red Sea.Defense officials last week announced the deployment of F-16s to the area over the past weekend, and there have been A-10 attack aircraft there for nearly two weeks in response to the Iranian activity.The latest deployments come after Iran tried to seize two oil tankers near the strait early this month, opening fire on one of them. The aircraft are intended to give air cover for the commercial ships moving through the waterway and increase the military’s visibility in the area, as a deterrent to Iran.The U.S. Navy said in both instances the Iranian naval vessels backed off when the USS McFaul, a guided-missile destroyer, ar...

Tree climbing brought to a new level for kids in Silver Spring

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:15 GMT

Kids climbing trees is a common summer activity, but in Silver Spring, Maryland, they’ve stepped it up a notch and brought out some equipment that professional arborists use.Dozens of kids put on harnesses and hooked up to rigs to climb a tall old oak tree at Long Branch-Arliss Neighborhood Park on Monday, as arborists guided them up pre-installed footholds and then lowered them back down while excited parents watched.“I just like how hard it is. Yeah, we have to figure out how to go around the hump of a tree and figure out the correct path,” said 11-year-old Eli Sondak.Eight-year-old Leslie Pineda-Castro also made it to the top, and said she’s now considering a career as a professional tree climber.“I was proud of myself,” Pineda-Castro told WTOP, on how she felt when looking down from the top.The event was part of Latino Conservation Week for Montgomery County Parks, a celebration that the department has participated in for a decade.Latino Conse...

Does your landlord have to provide AC in Colorado?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:15 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Temperatures don't always push the triple digits in the Front Range in the summer, but when they do, you might be thankful for air conditioning.But if you don't have access to one -- or your unit is broken -- you might be the exact opposite of thankful.If you're a renter, you might wonder if your landlord has to give you access to air conditioning.Are Colorado landlords required to provide AC?Technically, no. There's nothing in the law that requires rental units in Colorado to have air conditioning. However, if there was air conditioning when you started your lease, they likely have to fix it. Denver offers public cooling centers during extreme heat This is because Colorado has a habitability law that essentially spells out what is and isn't acceptable in rental units.In Denver, appliances that were working when you started your lease need to be maintained, so if your AC stops working suddenly, your landlord will need to fix it.What are rentals required to have?Yo...

1 hospitalized after vehicle collision in NW Miami-Dade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:15 GMT

One person was hospitalized after two vehicles collided in Northwest Miami-Dade. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue arrived at the scene, located near railroad tracks at Northwest 125th Street and Northwest 32nd Avenue, Monday afternoon. According to officials, upon arrival, fire crews found a train signal device that had been hit by a vehicle as a result of the collision. A train was not actually involved in this incident.7Skyforce hovered over the scene where a blue car was seen damaged in the crash. Fire Rescue crews put out a small fire that broke out at the scene. The victim was extricated from their vehicle and was transported to Ryder Trauma at Jackson Memorial Hospital as a trauma patient. No other injuries were reported. Due to the crash, traffic at 32nd Avenue has been closed off as officials continue their investigation. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Worker killed in industrial accident at Swampscott Quarry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:15 GMT

A worker was killed in Swampscott on Monday in what authorities are calling an industrial accident at a local quarry.State and local investigators were called to the Swampscott Quarry in the early afternoon after what started as a report of a crane collapse turned into an effort to recover the body of an employee.What exactly happened remained under investigation as of 4 p.m., as efforts to recover the victim continued, with a technical rescue team and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner called in to assist.“We got [the call] as a crane collapse – that’s not the case,” said Swampscott Fire Chief Graham Archer. “Honestly, we haven’t pieced together exactly happened yet.”“It’s a really tragic call – it’s just a worker that got up and went out to work today and he expected to get back home at the end of the day and it didn’t happen,” Archer added.Throughout the afternoon, authorities could be seen enteri...

Former social worker Shelby Hewitt arraigned for posing as BPS student

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:15 GMT

Shelby Hewitt, a 32-year-old former social worker, was arraigned in West Roxbury Court Monday afternoon after fraudulently posing as a BPS student for nearly an entire school year.Hewitt was charged on counts of identity fraud, forgery and uttering false writing related to her year-long stint in Jeremiah Burke, Brighton and English high schools and released on $5,000 cash bail with a $50,000 surety.Judge Albertson Treseler ordered Hewitt to stay away from all schools, the two adults who allegedly posed as her foster parents, BPS employees, children and Walden Behavioral Health employees, not practice social work and report for booking within 24 hours. Hewitt was released Monday on $5,000 cash bail and a $50,000 surety.The alleged fraudster was caught in early June after a suspicious transfer request sent up red flags for administrators at English High School. An administrator then found errors in her paperwork, which listed a non-existent social worker, and contacted the police.BPS ...

A worker was killed in a Swampscott construction accident, police investigating

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:15 GMT

A worker was killed in an apparent construction accident in Swampscott on Monday after a problem was reported in a rock crusher, according to police who are investigating.Swampscott Police received a 911 call at about 1 p.m., for a report of an issue in a rock crusher suspended above a quarry in the Aggregate Industries facility at 30 Danvers Road.The worker was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim’s identification is being withheld, pending notification of next of kin.The death is being investigated by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office State Police Detective Unit, Swampscott Police and the Mine Safety and Health Administration.Such accidents are also investigated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and, often, the state Department of Industrial Accidents.

Ticker: Teamsters head tells White House, stay out; Maine eyes mobile sports betting by November

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:15 GMT

The head of the Teamsters said that he has asked the White House not to intervene if unionized UPS workers end up going on strike.Negotiations between the delivery company and the union representing 340,000 of its workers have been at a standstill for more than a week with a July 31 deadline for a new contract approaching fast.The union has threatened a strike if a deal is not reached by the time the collective bargaining agreement expires. Asked during a webcast with members Sunday on whether the White House could force a contract on the union, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said he has asked the White House on numerous occasions to stay away.“My neighborhood where I grew up in Boston, if two people had a disagreement and you had nothing to do with it – you just kept walking,” O’Brien said.Maine eyes mobile sports betting by NovemberTemporary licenses for sports betting in Maine could be issued by November, allowing the long-awaited launch of mobile and on...

1 found dead after East County house fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:15 GMT

JULIAN, Calif. — One person was found dead Monday inside a house that caught fire in rural East County, Cal Fire San Diego said.Around 4:50 a.m., crews responded to a fully-involved structure fire at 35450 Great Southern Overland Stage Route, near Julian.The fire posed no threat to the surrounding vegetation and crews were able to achieve a full knockdown of the blaze after about an hour, Cal Fire said. Garage destroyed, power lines damaged by fire in Pacific Beach One person was found dead inside the home, officials said. No further information regarding their identity was immediately available.Only the home and a nearby dumpster suffered damage from the blaze, according to Cal Fire.The San Diego Sheriff's Department Bomb Arson Unit was called out to the scene to handle the investigation.No further information was immediately released regarding the circumstances that led to the fire.