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Florida panther captured in Southwest Florida neighborhood, returned to natural habitat

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:31 GMT

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. (WSVN) – Residents of a Bonita Springs neighborhood had an unexpected visitor on Monday – a 61-pound Florida panther. DJ and Angie Ohl discovered the rare feline in their driveway, leading to a quick response from local authorities and wildlife experts.The Ohls, initially unaware of the panther’s presence, were alerted by neighbors and police, urging them to seek safety indoors.“My wife actually, I think she opened the gate and did not know it was sitting right there,” said DJ Ohl. “She was probably dangerously close to it and didn’t even know it.”A neighbor on a walk first spotted the panther and promptly called 911 and the Florida Wildlife Commission. Wildlife officials successfully tranquilized the panther, which was then safely transported to a nearby preserve.Florida panthers, with fewer than 200 estimated to be alive today, are considered endangered. The FWC notes that the last confirmed sighting in Bonita Springs ...

Las Vegas sheriff says at least 3 victims in university campus shootings, though conditions unknown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:31 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A person opened fire Wednesday on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus, and at least three victims were taken to hospitals, according to police who reported the shooter was found dead.“Right now, we know there are 3 victims, but unknown extent of the injuries,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “That number could change.”McMahill did not say whether any victims had been killed.Police were called about an active shooter on campus at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, said Adam Garcia, a university police official. He said officers found and “engaged” a suspect, who is now dead. It was not immediately clear how the suspect died.The university said on X, formerly Twitter, that the shooter was at the Beam Hall, Frank and Estella Building, home of UNLV’s Lee Business School, and that police were responding to an additional report of shots fired at the nearby student union.Las Vegas police posted on X that a suspect “has been located and is deceased” ...

Police investigate crash in Waltham

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:31 GMT

Emergency crews were on scene in Waltham Wednesday evening after a crash on Totten Pond Road. SKY7-HD over the area near 5 p.m. spotted a pickup truck with its front end smashed. An ambulance was on scene and the area was roped off, with cars not being allowed down what is usually a busy street. A few blocks from the crash site involving the pickup truck, police were seen checking out another car. No further information was immediately available.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

At least 3 people hurt, suspect dead after shooting at University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:31 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A person opened fire Wednesday on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus, and at least three victims were taken to hospitals, according to police who reported the shooter was found dead.“Right now, we know there are 3 victims, but unknown extent of the injuries,” Sheriff Kevin McMahill said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “That number could change.”McMahill did not say whether any victims had been killed.Alerts went out across the campus after callers reported an active shooter to police at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, said Adam Garcia, a university police official. He said officers found and “engaged” a suspect, who is now dead. It was not immediately clear how the suspect died.Students and professors on the campus of 30,000 barricaded themselves inside classrooms and dorm rooms.Student John Harris heard what he later realized was a gunshot as he was getting out of his car in the parking garage of an on-campus apartment complex. In the elevator, Harris he got an eme...

Narrowing Republican presidential field prepares to debate with just six weeks before Iowa caucuses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:31 GMT

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — The shrinking field of Republican presidential hopefuls will gather on a debate stage Wednesday for the fourth time this year, running out of time to shake up a race that’s been dominated by former President Donald Trump.Four candidates will be on stage at the University of Alabama for their last scheduled meeting before the Iowa caucuses kick off the presidential nominating season next month. Trump, the race’s clear front-runner, will not be among them. Trump, who has staged public appearances to compete for attention during the three prior GOP debates, will this time spend the evening at a closed-door fundraiser in Florida.Six weeks before voters in Iowa start making their choices, the debate offers a fresh opportunity for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to assert themselves as the be...

Baker touts proposal to pay top tier NCAA athletes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:31 GMT

LAS VEGAS — NCAA president Charlie Baker said Wednesday his proposal to allow the most highly resourced schools in Division I to pay athletes through a trust fund is just a starting point as he tries to shift the association to be more proactive than reactive.“We need to be able to anticipate where conversations are going and to try to get this big, huge, diverse 180-committee with 2,000 members — like oh, my God! — to a place where they’re talking about stuff that’s common, and not just responding and reacting to other people’s agendas,” Baker said during an appearance at the Sports Business Journal’s Intercollegiate Athletic Forum.On Monday, Baker laid forth an aggressive and potentially groundbreaking vision for a new NCAA subdivision at the very top of college sports in a letter he sent to the more than 350 Division I schools.“Some people are going to say you’re going too far and people will say but you’re not going far enoug...

MIAA: Fall statewide tournament a huge success across the board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:31 GMT

FRANKLIN — Whenever there’s too many cooks in the kitchen, chances are something will go wrong.Be it in the back of a restaurant or the halls of 33 Forge Parkway, organized structure is always needed. That’s what the MIAA preached when its board of directors convened Wednesday.During a meeting that took nearly two hours, the association recapped its fiscal year, and measures to prevent miscommunication between its primary channels from top to bottom.For years, coaches, players and parents have grappled with the questions that come with exclusion and endowment games. Do they count? Why is my rating lower?A key question to be answered: How can the MIAA work with its subcommittees on the topic?“I think what we’re trying to do here, in all of our discussions and with those two topics, is to bring light to the situations that we experience and administer each and every day in the office,” said MIAA Associate Director Richard Pearson. “But who can help us manage the overall ex...

Awareness campaign targets illegal voucher-based housing discrimination

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:31 GMT

A coalition of housing advocates launched a $500,000 state-funded awareness campaign Wednesday that looks to fight back against illegal voucher-based housing discrimination.The Fair Housing Alliance of Massachusetts, an umbrella organization for four non-profit organizations, said it is looking to educate people about on their voucher-related rights, housing laws, and free services available to those facing discrimination.Housing Secretary Ed Augustus said there are more than 100,000 rental assistance vouchers in Massachusetts.“Rental vouchers are not only among the most effective and evidence-based interventions to end family homelessness, rental vouchers keep people housed,” Augustus said. “Vouchers ensure that low income families, seniors and people with disabilities can afford a home in Massachusetts.”A study from Suffolk University Law School and The Boston Foundation found people using a voucher for Section 8 housing had a low chance of touring an apart...

Amazon’s internal plans to advance its interests in California are laid bare in leaked memo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:31 GMT

By HALELUYA HADERO (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — An internal Amazon memo has provided a stark look at the company’s carefully laid out plans to grow its influence in Southern California through a plethora of efforts that include burnishing its reputation through charity work and pushing back against “labor agitation” from the Teamsters and other groups.The eight-page document — titled “community engagement plan” for 2024 — provides a rare glimpse into how one of American’s biggest companies executes on its public relations objectives and attempts to curtail reputational harm stemming from criticisms of its business. It also illustrates how Amazon aims to methodically court local politicians and community groups in order to push its interests in a region where it could be hampered by local moratoriums on warehouse development, and it is facing resistance from environmental and labor activists. The memo was leaked to the nonp...

Nevada grand jury indicts six Republicans who falsely certified that Trump won the state in 2020

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:30:31 GMT

By GABE STERN (Associated Press/Report for America)RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada grand jury on Wednesday indicted six Republicans who submitted certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential election in their state, making Nevada the third to seek charges against so-called “fake electors.”“We cannot allow attacks on democracy to go unchallenged,” Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a statement Wednesday. “Today’s indictments are the product of a long and thorough investigation, and as we pursue this prosecution, I am confident that our judicial system will see justice done.”The fake electors — involved in the state GOP or Clark County GOP — have been charged with offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument. Those two categories of felonies have penalties that range from one year up to either four or five years in prison.In December 2020, the six Re...