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Collection of DNA samples to aid police postponed over ACLU objections

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:19 GMT

NEWTON, Mass. (AP) — The public collection of DNA samples to help law enforcement solve crimes and identify human remains was postponed Saturday following objections of the American Civil Liberties Union.Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said in a statement that she postponed “DNA Drive Day” because of concerns raised by the local branch of the ACLU, as well as inclement weather.It was billed as the first such event in Massachusetts in which people could voluntarily submit DNA samples to aid law enforcement investigators. DNA samples provided to genealogy databases already have helped law enforcement solve cold cases and resolve missing person cases.Ryan said her office will work with the ACLU chapter to resolve any concerns. “We believe that the community will best be served by further conversation,” she said.Saturday’s outdoor event at Newton City Hall would have allowed people to provide a sample to FamilyTree DNA. The DNA submissions would be uploaded free of charge to a p...

Denver weather: Saturday storms before drying out

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:19 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver’s weather will stay wet and cooler than normal Saturday before warming up and drying out Sunday. There is a severe thunderstorm chance on Saturday amid warmer temperatures June 17. Colorado farmers markets near you Weather tomorrow: Rain and afternoon stormsSaturday will be mild in the 70s thanks to a mixture of sunshine and clouds. This will be followed by the chance for rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon and early evening hours.Brief downpours could lead to localized flooding on June 17.The biggest concerns with the thunderstorms will be brief heavy downpours that could lead to localized flooding, especially south of the Palmer Divide.Portions of the state are under a severe threat with flooding as the main concern on June 17. Easy hikes near the Front Range, Denver metro area Portions of the state are under a severe threat with flooding as the main concern. A flood watch is still in effect until 7 p.m. Saturday. During this time, widely scattered r...

Police: Suspect in overnight home invasion at Doral apartment complex shot dead by officer

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:19 GMT

The suspect in what police described as an overnight home invasion at an apartment complex in Doral was shot and killed by a responding officer, investigators said.Doral Police units arrived at the scene of the incident at AMLI Doral Apartment Homes, located in the area of Northwest 41st Street and 115th Avenue, about three minutes after receiving a call about a break-in, at around 4:20 a.m. on Saturday.Detectives said the victims are an elderly couple and a middle-aged man with no serious injuries.Police said the perpetrator returned to the scene approximately one hour later. Officers then entered the residence. Investigators said the suspect was shot by an officer after confronting the police, then collapsed outside of the residence. The subject was pronounced dead at the scene.Officers shut down part of part of Northwest 41st Street while they investigated.

Former head of Legal Sea Foods supporting Massachusetts lobstermen in battle against California aquarium that told people to stop eating lobster

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:19 GMT

The former head of Legal Sea Foods is calling out organizations that say people shouldn’t eat certain fish because of the dangers fishing may pose to aquatic animals.Roger Berkowitz, the previous president and CEO of the regional seafood restaurant chain, is supporting the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association during its months-long dispute with groups that say lobster fishing is killing too many North American right whales.Because of what they say are risks to the endangered species, California’s Monterey Bay Aquarium and the international Marine Stewardship Council last September made a plea for people to stop eating lobster.A group of four Bay State lobstermen in early March filed a class action lawsuit against the groups, seeking $75,000 in damages for disparagement of their product and interference with their proprietary rights.“Sometimes I think people misconstrue if there is a problem here, it must translate all the way over when that’s not the case,” Berkowitz told the Hera...

Ticker: A decade after outcry, SeaWorld launches orca-free park in UAE, its first venture outside the US

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:19 GMT

U.S. theme park chain SeaWorld, which has been mired in controversy in recent years over its treatment of killer whales and other marine mammals, has opened a massive new aquatic life park in the United Arab Emirates. It’s the company’s first venture outside the United States.The $1.2 billion project with state-owned developer Miral features the world’s largest aquarium and a cylindrical LED screen. The park does not feature orcas but houses animals like dolphins and seals, whose captivity and training for profit and entertainment purposes are also often criticized as unethical by animal rights advocacy groups.The new facility gives the Orlando, Fla.-based company a foothold in a fast-growing international tourism destination and the opportunity to continue its rebranding after years of criticism and allegations of animal cruelty.UN steps up criticism of IMF and World Bank, the other pillars of the post-World War II global orderFrom the ashes of World War II, three insti...

Security tight for Vegas Golden Knights victory parade, amid echoes of deadly 2017 shooting

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:19 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Tens of thousands of Vegas Golden Knights fans, maybe more, were expected at the heart of the Las Vegas Strip on Saturday for a Stanley Cup victory parade and a rally to mark the team’s first-ever NHL championship.For the team that played its first game as an expansion franchise in October 2017 and for tourists in hotel rooms with windows overlooking the parade route in 2023, the event bore echoes of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history five years ago. Guests in high-rises with views of the strip were awakened by security guards asking to check around windows for guns or other weapons.Las Vegas police said they prepared for upwards of 100,000 people to cram street-level viewing areas along Las Vegas Boulevard for a celebration that planners compared with annual New Year’s Eve fireworks shows that in past years have drawn estimates of 400,000 people. Unlike a winter midnight, evening temperatures on Saturday were expected to be in the 90s.Hotel security...

At least 15 injured as Baltimore bus crashes into 2 cars, building

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:19 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — At least 15 people were injured Saturday when a mass transit bus crashed with two cars before hitting a building in Baltimore, authorities said.Baltimore police said officers in the city’s central district responded to a Maryland Transit Administration bus crash at about 10:20 a.m. A preliminary investigation showed that the bus crashed with a Lexus and a Nissan before coming to rest in a building. The Baltimore Sun reported that it was an apartment building.Police said in a news release that 15 people were injured, with two people suffering possible life-threatening injuries. Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright told the newspaper that 17 people were injured, with none of the injuries being life-threatening. Witnesses said the Lexus was speeding and ran a stop light when it struck the bus.“There were bystander, spectator reports that there were vehicles speeding through this and the MTA bus, in an effort to avoid being a part of that, collided ...

Sudan officials say airstrike killed 17 people, including 5 children, in capital Khartoum

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:19 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — An airstrike in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Saturday killed at least 17 people, including five children, health officials said, as fighting continued between rival generals seeking to control the country.The attack was one of the deadliest of the clashes in urban areas of Khartoum and elsewhere in Sudan between the military and a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.There was no immediate comment Saturday from either side of the conflict on the strike, and it was not clear whether the attack was by warplanes or a drone. The military’s aircraft have repeatedly targeted RSF troops and the RSF has reportedly used drones and anti-aircraft weapons against the military.The fighting broke out in mid-April, capping months of increasing tensions between the leaders of the military and the RSF. The clashes have killed more than 3,000 people and wounded over 6,000 others, said Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim in an interview late Saturday with the ...

Official says Yemeni pilgrims depart Sanaa on first direct flight to Saudi Arabia since 2016

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:19 GMT

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A commercial flight carrying more than 270 Yemeni Muslim pilgrims left the rebel-held capital of Sanaa on Saturday to Saudi Arabia, an official said, the first such flight in about seven years.The flight by Yemen’s national carrier Yemenia — also known as Yemen Airways — took off from Sanaa’s international airport at 8 p.m. local time, heading to the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah, Khalid al-Shayyef, head of the Yemeni airport, said.He told The Associated Press the flight was the first of five that would transfer this year’s Muslim pilgrims from Sanaa to Saudi Arabia for hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca required once in a lifetime of every Muslim who can afford it and is physically able to make it.Along with Saturday’s flight, two more have been scheduled for Monday and Wednesday, while Houthi and Saudi officials were working on scheduling two additional flights, he said.Yemen’s capital has been under the control of the Iran-backed Houthis since they desce...

Judge gives Enbridge 3 years to close oil pipeline on tribal land in Wisconsin

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:19 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge has given Enbridge three years to shut down parts of an oil pipeline that crosses reservation land and ordered the energy company to pay a Native American tribe more than $5 million for trespassing.Friday’s order from U.S. District Judge William Conley came after members of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa told him during a hearing in Madison that the Enbrige Line 5 pipeline is at immediate risk of being exposed by erosion and rupturing on their land.The tribe argued that an emergency exists because large sections of nearby riverbank have washed away this year, leaving less than 15 feet (4.6 meters) of land between Line 5 and the Bad River as it meanders on the reservation.Experts and environmental advocates have warned in court that exposed pipelines would be weakened and could rupture at any time, causing massive oil spills.The judge’s order said a rupture on tribal land “would unquestionably be a public nuisance” but de...