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Ex-Florida QB Jalen Kitna agrees to plea deal that drops 5 felony child porn charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:21 GMT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Ex-Florida quarterback Jalen Kitna, the son of retired NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, accepted a plea deal Wednesday that dismissed five felony child pornography charges stemming from his arrest last November.Kitna instead pleaded guilty to two counts of disorderly conduct, second-degree misdemeanors.Eighth Judicial Circuit Judge Susan Miller-Jones placed Kitna on six months’ probation for each count but did not levy a fine or require the 20-year-old to register as a sex offender.Kitna, with his mother and father sitting behind him, read a statement of contrition.“I want to start off by apologizing to my family, my friends and those that care about me,” Kitna said. “Their support through this whole ordeal has meant a lot to me. The hardest thing about this whole process has been seeing how it’s affected them.“The valuable lessons that I’ve learned through this whole deal have been very helpful. I’m looking forward to applying those things and moving forwar...

Police investigate fatal three-vehicle crash in Southwest Miami-Dade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:21 GMT

A fatal traffic crash involving three vehicles occurred in Southwest Miami-Dade, shutting down a street for hours. The incident occurred at approximately 10:37 a.m. near SW 147th Avenue and 288th Street. According to authorities, the passenger of one of the vehicles involved died at the scene as a result of their injuries. The driver of the same vehicle was transported to Jackson South Medical Center, where they are currently reported to be in stable condition.The drivers of the remaining two vehicles, who were the sole occupants, sustained injuries and received on-site treatment. Their injuries were not severe, and they were subsequently released.Details regarding the cause of the crash and the identities of those involved have not yet been disclosed. The Miami-Dade Police Department is actively investigating the incident to gather further information and determine the circumstances surrounding the crash.As of 3:30 p.m., the surrounding area remains closed. Drivers are urged to avo...

Police arrest 3 people after shooting at Fourth of July party leaves 5 injured in Mattapan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:21 GMT

Three people have now been arrested and charged in connection with a shooting in Mattapan that sent five people to local hospitals early Wednesday morning, police said. Boston police said officers first responded around 2 a.m. following a report of multiple people shot in the area of Edgewater Drive and River Street. Police said three people were later taken to hospitals by ambulance while two others took themselves to hospitals. Each of the victims suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. In a statement Wednesday afternoon, police said officers “observed a motor vehicle attempting to leave the scene and spoke with the occupants to ensure there were no injured victims in the motor vehicle.”While speaking with the vehicle’s occupants, police said officers found and recovered a loaded gun. Police said officers also arrested a suspect after they saw the suspect discard a gun in the area.Police identified those arrested in this case as Hakeem Rame...

One person killed, two others wounded after shooting at large gathering in Brockton overnight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:21 GMT

Authorities say one person was killed and at least two others were wounded after an overnight shooting in Brockton.The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office said shots were fired in the area of 46 Tremont Street Wednesday morning, where a large group of people had gathered and were lighting off fireworks. Three shooting victims, a man and two women, were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital where the male, identified as Thomas Andrade Jr., 31, was pronounced dead, according to a spokesperson for the DA’s office. The two other shooting victims were treated for non-life-threatening injuries, The DA’s office noted that preliminary evidence found the shooting did “not appear to be a random act of violence.” As state and local police continue to investigate, authorities ask that anyone with information call either Brockton Police Detectives or the Massachusetts State Police Unit at 508-941-0200.

Beacon Hill punts Boston’s rent regulation bill until fall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:21 GMT

When it comes to rent control, the Massachusetts Legislature is testing Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s patience.It’s been nearly four months since the Boston City Council approved Wu’s proposal to revive local rent control, and it’ll be several more months before lawmakers even begin their formal review of the idea that Wu made a hallmark of her 2021 campaign.The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Housing is in no rush to consider Boston’s plan, which aims to tackle a housing affordability crisis that is afflicting cities and towns throughout the state.House and Senate Democrats did not include the measure (H 3744) on the docket of a June 26 hearing that featured several other home rule petitions. They also left it and several broader rent control bills off the agenda for a July 11 hearing focused on legislation about housing “affordability.”“Although there are a few exceptions, the vast majority of home rule petitions are sl...

How married actors Jazmyn Simon and Dulé Hill were inspired to write a children’s book

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:21 GMT

When her daughter Kennedy was young, Jazmyn Simon would say affirmations with the child each day in hopes it would help develop her confidence and self-esteem.“I thought, ‘Well, this seems like it would be great for a young woman to know all the wonderful things about herself,” Simon says. “So let’s start now. And so every single day, before she got out of my car at school, we would do this set of affirmations.”A decade later in the tumultuous summer of 2020, the pandemic and protests for racial justice were inescapable. Simon was now married to fellow actor Dulé Hill, who had adopted Kennedy, 15 at that time, and together they had 1-year-old son Levi.Actors Dulé Hill and Jazmyn Simon recently published a children’s picture book inspired by affirmations they used with their children Kennedy and Levi Hill. Seen here, left to right, are Hill, Simon, Kennedy Hill, and Levi Dulé Hill at Disney On Ice at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Dec. 18, 2021. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty I...

They’re called ‘100-year floods.’ But they’re likely becoming more frequent, study says.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:21 GMT

A new study released last week shows that some “100-year flood” estimates may not reflect a changing climate.First Street Foundation, a research and technology nonprofit that studies and collects data on climate risks, released its eighth National Risk Assessment: “The Precipitation Problem.”Many climate and weather groups gauge extreme rain events as a “100-year flood” or a “1-in-100-year-flood.” Also known as a “100-year recurrence interval,” this means that a flood of that magnitude has a 1% chance of happening in any year.According to the new study, roughly 21% of the country can now expect their “1-in-100 year flood” to happen every 25 years. In the most extreme cases, over 20 counties are expected to experience the current “1-in-100 year flood” severe event at least once every 8-10 years.The study says many Americans, more than half, live in an area that is twice as likely to experience such a rain event than is predicted by Atlas 14 — is a peer-reviewed record of precipitatio...

Decades after shelving NBA dream to care for family, Harvey’s James Lewis to be spotlighted at National Senior Games

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:21 GMT

James Lewis made a big decision after graduating from Thornwood High in 1974.He had a chance to play basketball and continue his education at Bradley University or stay close to home and attend a technical school and give up competitive basketball. He was living with his grandparents at the time and they needed him close by.Lewis chose to stay and attended Greer Technical Institute in Chicago.Lewis, now 67, never got to pursue his dream of playing college ball and eventually the NBA.Given that he is one of the top senior players in the country right now and a Masters Basketball Association Hall of Famer, he could be forgiven for regretting his decision back in the bell-bottoms era.But he doesn’t.“I don’t know if I would have been good enough to play in the NBA,” Lewis said. “Maybe overseas. Probably so. But I’m not really sure of the NBA. That’s hindsight.”What’s not hindsight are his achievements on and off the basketball court ...

What to stream: Your mission, should you choose to accept it …

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:21 GMT

Katie Walsh | Tribune News ServiceYour mission, should you choose to accept it: Rewatch all the “Mission: Impossible” movies before the highly-anticipated release of “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” on Wednesday, July 12. This is the seventh installment of the series that started back in 1996, with Tom Cruise playing super-spy Ethan Hunt of the top-secret Impossible Mission Force.“Dead Reckoning Part One” is also the third “Mission: Impossible” film written and directed by his close collaborator Christopher McQuarrie, who also wrote last year’s massive hit “Top Gun: Maverick.” McQuarrie came in around the fourth “M:I” installment, “Ghost Protocol,” for an uncredited rewrite, and saved the series by saving Ethan Hunt. The plan was to hand the franchise over to Jeremy Renner, but McQuarrie corrected that near-mistake, and with “Rogue Nation,” “Fallout” and now “Dead Reckoning,” he and Cruise have created one the greatest action movie franchises of all time.It’s ea...

A new law is supposed to protect pregnant workers — but what if we don’t know how?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:21 GMT

Gina Jiménez | Kaiser Health News (TNS)Vanessa Langness had always been a bit worried about the chemicals she worked with as a biomedical researcher, but when she got pregnant in October, her concerns grew. The 34-year-old based in Santa Maria, California, suspected the ethidium bromide she was using in the lab for molecular cloning could put her and her baby at risk.She wasn’t sure what to do; she was only a few weeks into her pregnancy and didn’t know how it would affect her career.“Women are taught: You aren’t supposed to tell people until after the first trimester,” she said. “But that’s actually a really delicate stage for the formation of the baby.”Langness did some research online but couldn’t find much information on what kind of extra precautions she should take because of her pregnancy. Without realizing it, she had stumbled upon an often overlooked area of science and medicine: the occupational health of pregnant workers. Those who are pregnant often face hazardous circum...