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Banner plane crashes, bursts into flames near Memorial Regional Hospital; pilot dead, hailed as hero

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:49 GMT

One person has died after a banner-towing plane crashed on a road adjacent to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood and burst into flames.Video from 7Skyforce showed the aircraft flying low to the ground, at around 12:30 p.m., Wednesday.Moments later, the plane plummeted and crashed on South Park Road, just north of Hollywood Boulevard, and ignited. “It was pretty crazy to see,” said witness Maddie Bracy.The aircraft, a yellow Piper PA-25 Pawnee that was headed toward the beach from North Perry Airport, was owned by Aerial Banners, Inc.In a distress call to air traffic control, the pilot reported encountering difficulties shortly after takeoff and expressed the need to release the banner being towed.“Yeah, I’m gonna have to drop this banner. I’m not climbing,” he said.Moments later, he made the decision to release the banner.“I’m at 400 [feet], I’ve got to drop this over a lake,” he said.But the pilot was unable to regain...

Shooting in Miami leaves 1 dead, 1 hospitalized; gunman at large

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:49 GMT

One person is dead and another was rushed to the hospital after a shooting left Miami Police officers scrambling for answers as the shooter remains at large.City of Miami Police officers responded to reports of shots fired in the area of Southwest 28th Street and 13th Street, at around 9 p.m., Tuesday.When units arrived, they found two men suffering from apparent gunshot wounds.Speaking through a translator, area resident Tania Pineda said she heard about six to seven gunshots. Her Ring camera didn’t capture the shooting, but pleas for help could be heard. “I’ve been shot! Come help me!” the victim was heard saying.Pineda said the people who were shot were not her neighbors but people who were visiting them.When she stepped outside, Pineda said, first responders were performing CPR on the victims in an attempt to keep them alive. Pineda said her neighbors never cause issues, so this came as a shock to her and her children. On Wednesday morning, the neighborho...

Off-duty deputy rescues struggling dolphin off Clearwater

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:49 GMT

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WSVN) — A young dolphin was saved at sea off the coast of Clearwater.An off-duty Pasco County Sheriff’s Office deputy was out fishing on May 10 when he saw the calf by itself, swimming in circles and struggling to get above the water to breathe.The sheriff’s office brought it aboard. From there, the marine mammal was taken the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.Specialists from SeaWorld took over from there and took the dolphin to their facility.Veterinarians said it is showing signs of improvement and started swimming on his own.

How to not get crushed when you hire a mover

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:49 GMT

His dying mother wanted him to have her precious furniture, but when he moved it from California to South Florida, it arrived in pieces. If you have ever battled a mover, you know why he needed Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.On his Harley, with his ponytail and sleeveless T-shirt, Anthony looks like a rough, tough biker.Anthony Beck: “Most bikers dress that way for shock value. They’re not bad people.”The proof? Get Anthony back home talking about the last few months of his life.Anthony Beck: “I’m sorry.”Anthony had been living in California, taking care of his mother, whose health was failing, and who had made him promise to take care of something else she cared about.Anthony Beck: “And this was my mother’s furniture she gave to me.”Anthony packed up all his mother’s belongings and hired a mover.Anthony Beck: “I paid them almost $6,000.”He then returned to South Florida, rented an apartment and waited for t...

The West may have to learn how to live with Erdoğan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:49 GMT

Nathalie Tocci is director of the Istituto Affari Internazionali, Europe’s futures fellow at IWM, Vienna and a part-time professor at the European University Institute. Her latest book, “A Green and Global Europe,” is out with Polity.An 89 percent voter turnout in a close to 90 million-strong country is an electoral outcome that puts most liberal democracies to shame.Turkey, of course, is not a liberal democracy. Violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, an eroded rule of law and a destroyed separation of powers leave no room for doubt.Yet, paradoxically, this is precisely what makes Turkey’s first electoral round so remarkable: In a political system where rights and checks and balances have been quashed, elections cannot be fair. Notwithstanding, no candidate got an absolute majority, leading Turkey into a second round of voting on May 28.But one can hardly imagine a second round of elections in Vladimir Putin’s Russia, Xi Jinping’s China or Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s Egypt....

How do you do, fellow kids? Greek politicians court TikTok generation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:49 GMT

ATHENS — The pissed-off youth have become the focus ahead of Greece’s national election.As the country gets ready to go to the polls on Sunday, May 21, politicians from across the spectrum are racing to learn the language of Gen Z. The (mostly) middle-aged men in suits of Greek politics have been posting on TikTok, agreeing to interviews with YouTubers, and even planning gifts for young people in a bid to secure their votes.That’s because more than 430,000 people, ranging in age from 16 to 21, will be eligible to cast ballots for the first time on Sunday. A key moment in the politicization of many in that demographic was a train crash in February in which 57 people died and which raised questions about the government’s competence. “It was not only the severity of the accident, but also the fact that most of the victims were young students and the youth could easily see themselves, their friends or brothers in their position,” said Angelos Seriatos, head of sci...

Staying human in a time of war

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:49 GMT

Yegor Firsov is a combat paramedic in Avdiivka, Ukraine. He is an activist and a former member of the Ukrainian parliament.AVDIIVKA — On the front lines, there is horror. But there is also great compassion.In the towns now being fought over in Ukraine, there are always a lot of abandoned animals — mostly dogs and cats. And although these animals have already been betrayed, left behind and deserted, they nevertheless seek human company — as well as food.Bakhmut is no exception.When we were stationed there, several stray dogs stuck around our headquarters. We fed them, of course, and as we did, a relationship started to develop: We gave them food and assigned them names, while they give us some reprieve.But when command decided to withdraw our unit from the area, as we packed up and our departure time approached, an unexpected question arose: What shall we do with the dogs?The battalion commander held a meeting on the fate of the pets, and we decided to find them homes. We called our ...

Sweden scrambles to project military strength ahead of NATO bid 

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:49 GMT

KORSÖ, SWEDEN — Inside the landing craft, the banter among the eight Swedish navy conscripts faded, replaced by a tense silence as they approached the Baltic Sea island of Korsö.To the sound of spent blank machine gun rounds rattling off the boat’s roof, the young soldiers charged through a narrow hatch onto the rocky shore shouting “forward” as instructors watched.The drill, in which they tried to seize the island from colleagues role-playing an occupying force, marked the end of the largest military training exercise held in Sweden since the end of the Cold War, testing Swedish forces and 14 allies across the mountains, flatlands and archipelagos of the Nordic nation. Stockholm was signaling to both allies and foes: the Swedish military is back.After decades of cuts, Sweden’s military is recruiting soldiers, opening bases and sourcing modern hardware as the region’s relationship with Russia freezes amid the Ukraine invasion. At a NATO summit in Lithuania this July,...

Justice Department watchdog finds Massachusetts US Attorney Rachael Rollins tried to influence DA election

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The top federal prosecutor in Massachusetts tried to use her position to influence the outcome of a race for Boston’s district attorney by leaking information aimed at sabotaging the campaign of her preferred candidate’s rival, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog said in a report released Wednesday.A separate investigation by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel found multiple violations by U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins of a law that limits political activity by government workers.—READ: The full 161-page Inspector General’s report “An Investigation of Alleged Misconduct by United States Attorney Rachael Rollins”—The findings were disclosed a day after Rollins’ lawyer told The Associated Press she would resign this week, saying she “understands that her presence has become a distraction.”The inspector general’s 161-page report alleges a broad array of misconduct by Rollins, who w...

Reyes helps power Red Sox to 12-3 win over Mariners

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:49 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Pablo Reyes doubled twice for a career-high four RBIs to help the Boston Red Sox beat the Seattle Mariners 12-3 on Wednesday night.Justin Turner had a two-run homer, Rafael Devers and Kiké Hernández also each drove in two runs and right-hander Brayan Bello (3-1) won on his 24th birthday, allowing one run on three hits in five innings with five walks and seven strikeouts.Left-hander Marco Gonzalez (3-1) took the loss, lasting just 1 2/3 innings, He gave up eight runs on eight hits and two walks.The Red Sox took a 9-0 lead after two innings, sending eight batters to the plate in the first inning and 10 in the second.In the first, consecutive one-out singles by Turner, Rob Refsnyder and Devers scored a run, with Reyes’ two-out double adding two more.In the second, Turner’s two-run homer, his fifth homer of the season, scored Alex Verdugo to start the scoring. Refsnyder walked before consecutive two-out singles by Masataka Yoshida and Hernández and another two-...