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‘So much joy’: Forever families celebrate National Adoption Day in Boston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:52 GMT

As 2-year-old Kinslee waited inside Boston Juvenile Court to hear her name called, she rolled around on the ground and ran up a flight of stairs until her soon-to-be mother picked her up.Excitement flowed throughout the courthouse on National Adoption Day, with little Kinslee, decked out in a plaid red dress, white stockings and black shoes, as evidence.With the strike of the gavel, Kinslee officially became part of the Roper family, from Quincy. And though she looked a bit tired after the grand court appearance, her smile still shined.“My heart is bursting,” Kinslee’s mother Jodie Roper, told the Herald. “We are forever family now. We are a party of four. She has made our family complete, and our family has expanded because of her. We just have so much joy. I am overwhelmed with emotion right now.”Roper and her husband Michael started the journey to adopting Kinslee, who will be turning 3 on Nov. 28, more than two years ago. Foster children that the couple has had in the past...

Colorado judge keeps Trump on ballot, rejecting challenge under Constitution’s insurrection clause

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:52 GMT

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI (Associated Press)DENVER (AP) — A Colorado judge on Friday rejected an effort to keep former President Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s primary ballot, the latest blow to groups seeking to block his run for another term using a Civil War-era Constitutional amendment that prevents anyone who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.The lawsuit, brought by a left-leaning group on behalf of a group of Republican and independent Colorado voters, contended that Trump’s actions related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol ran afoul of the 14th Amendment.The decision by District Judge Sarah B. Wallace is the third ruling in a little over a week against lawsuits seeking to knock Trump off the ballot by citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The Minnesota Supreme Court last week said Trump could remain on the primary ballot because political parties have sole choice over who appears, while a Michigan judge ruled th...

Professor’s lawyer says video footage will clear his client charged in death of pro-Israel protester

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:52 GMT

By JOHN ANTCZAK and JULIE WATSON (Associated Press)LOS ANGELES (AP) — California authorities said Friday they have not ruled out that a hate crime was committed in the death of a pro-Israel demonstrator following a confrontation with a college professor, whose lawyer says video footage will clear his client. Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said his office charged Loay Abdelfattah Alnaji, 50, with involuntary manslaughter and battery in the death of Paul Kessler, 69, after reviewing over 600 pieces of evidence and interviewing more than 60 witnesses. “We were not pre-committed to any specific outcome or even criminal culpability, and we never treated the fact that criminal charges would be a forgone conclusion,” he said.Alnaji pleaded not guilty Friday to the charges, each of which is accompanied by a special allegation that he personally inflicted great bodily injury, which means he could be eligible for prison if convicted. The two men got into a p...

Bill Cosby accuser files new lawsuit under expiring New York survivors law

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:52 GMT

A woman who said Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her when she was a young comedy writer more than 50 years ago filed a lawsuit against the actor Thursday under a soon-to-expire New York law that gave victims of sexual abuse a one-year “window” for claims that would otherwise be barred by time limits.Joan Tarshis initially came forward with allegations against Cosby in 2014 that are repeated in the new lawsuit. Tarshis said Cosby drugged her and forced her to perform oral sex on him in 1969 or 1970, and then drugged and raped her during another encounter a year or two later.The New York resident was living in California at the time of the first assault and had met Cosby through a mutual friend while he was starring in “The Bill Cosby Show,” according to the lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court in New York City.A spokesperson for Cosby did not address the specifics of Tarshis’s claims. “Diddy, LA Reid, Steven Tyler, and now they circle back to this,” spokesperso...

Blue Jays to non-tender Adam Cimber, reliever will become free agent

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:52 GMT

The Toronto Blue Jays are expected to non-tender reliever Adam Cimber before Friday’s 8 p.m. ET deadline, which will make him a free agent, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith.Major league teams have the option to non-tender arbitration-eligible players instead of agreeing on a salary for the new season. Cimber was projected to earn around $3.2 million for 2024.Once the move becomes official, the 33-year-old will be a free agent for the first time in his career. Cimber was acquired from the Miami Marlins in June 2021 along with outfielder Corey Dickerson for a prospect and infielder Joe Panik. He settled in as one of the Blue Jays’ most consistent relievers, pitching to a 1.69 ERA across 39 games.He followed up the success in 2022, appearing in a major-league-high 77 games out of the bullpen for Toronto and finishing with a 2.80 ERA and 58 strikeouts across 70 2/3 innings.Injuries greatly impacted Cimber this past season. He was limited to 22 games and str...

New city plan limits migrants to stay in shelter for 60 days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:52 GMT

CHICAGO -- Chicago leaders are rolling out a plan that will limit the time asylum seekers can stay in a city shelter to 60 days to help new arrivals gain independence quickly.Starting on Friday, about 50 asylum seekers that arrived in Chicago in 2022 and those entering a shelter will have 60 days to secure new housing. Decreasing number of migrants arriving in Chicago, but shelters still remain in question People staying in shelters, who arrived earlier this year will get their notices in December and February.Under certain circumstances, including medical crisis or extreme whether temperatures, new arrivals who need city shelter after 60 days can get extensions. Those not eligible for an extension will have to leave their location, but can request to enter shelter again.On Thursday, Governor JB Pritzker announced $160 million set aside to help asylum seekers, with $65 million slated to partner with the city on a tent camp."We don’t have the location identified (Friday), but we ar...

Ex-payroll manager at Art Institute of Chicago sentenced to 3 years in prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:52 GMT

CHICAGO -- An ex-employee at The Art Institute of Chicago received a three year prison sentence for embezzlement.Michael Maurello, who was a payroll manager at The Art Institute of Chicago, allegedly misappropriated more than $2 million in funds between 2007 and 2020. Police board votes to fire Chicago officer accused of dragging woman by the hair during 2020 unrest He reportedly falsified payments to workers and sent money into his personal bank accounts.Maurello pleaded guilty and apologized in court on Thursday. He was given three years of supervised release and will have to pay the funds back.

Delta pilot returns book lost in Atlanta to Kansas library

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:52 GMT

SHAWNEE, Kan. (WDAF) – It's not unusual for the Johnson County Library to get packages with books in the mail.But there was something unusual about the package the Shawnee branch received on Oct. 30. It was the kindness behind it. Four Kansas City nurses save man having heart attack in Austrian cave The package included not just a book but also a letter written by a Delta Air Lines pilot. The man who has only been identified as Capt. Ben wrote that he found a children's book at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport while he was commuting home to Florida. Ben looked up the library on the barcode and sent the book back in the mail. In his letter, he even offered to pay for any late fees. "I do not feel anybody should ever be penalized for enriching their life with a book," the pilot wrote. "It connects exactly to the kind of thing that we want to help build in our community," branch manager Anna Madrigal told Nexstar's WDAF. "It's just a really cool relationship piece th...

Rep. George Santos faces new expulsion resolution after House Ethics Committee report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) will face another expulsion vote when Congress returns from Thanksgiving break."This is an indication that Congress seems to be ready to move on from Representative Santos," George Washington University's Legislative Affairs Program Director Casey Burgat said.Rep. Michael Guest (R-Miss.), chairman of the House Ethics Committee, introduced the resolution. In a statement, he said the evidence his committee uncovered is "more than sufficient to warrant punishment and the most appropriate punishment is expulsion.""It seems in that case, literally anyone else would be more effective in that position because they can walk into a room on Capitol Hill and not be the first one voted off the island," Burgat said.Burgat said time isn't on Santos' side."The more time that goes on, the more names, the more signatures supporting this motion, the worse news it is for Representative Santos," Burgat said.If Santos is expelled from the House, it woul...

The flu is spiking in 7 states – see where cases are rising

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. flu season is underway, with at least seven states reporting high levels of illnesses and cases rising in other parts of the country, health officials say.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted new flu data on Friday, showing very high activity last week in Louisiana, and high activity in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico and South Carolina. It was also high in the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory where health officials declared an influenza epidemic earlier this month.“We’re off to the races,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University infectious diseases expert.Traditionally, the winter flu season ramps up in December or January. But it took off in October last year, and is making a November entrance this year.Flu activity was moderate but rising in New York City, Arkansas, California, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. And while flu activity has be...