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Dozens gather at Miami-Dade School Board building in ‘Teach No Lies’ rally, condemning Florida’s censorship of Black History

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:42 GMT

Dozens gathered outside of Booker T. Washington Senior High School and made their way to the Miami-Dade School Board Administration building to protest the recent curtail on the teaching of black studies in the state of Florida. Dozens of educators, students and community members gather for the “Teach No Lies” march on Wednesday.Organized by a coalition of educators, activists, and community leaders, the march seeks to address their increasing concerns surrounding the regressive censorship of Black history in the state’s curriculum. “It completely destroys what happened to a group of people, the most traumatic experiences in history and it tries to rewrite our curriculum in a way that is unacceptable to us as black people,” said community activist Jonathan Gartrelle. Critics of the curriculum said it dismisses and erases key parts of black history and even teaches slavery as beneficial. “Not only does it offend me, it hurts me,” said the Pre...

Police arrest man involved in battery, robbery after brutally beating man in Coconut Grove

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:42 GMT

Police arrested Marco Roura after he brutally beat Gregory Breidenbach, a man who lives in Coconut Grove, on July 8. The 45-year-old criminal was taken into custody on Wednesday and charged with strong-arm robbery and felony battery.Breidenbach was hospitalized for nearly a week after he suffered severe facial injuries as a result of the attack. He believed he was targeted for being gay. The incident was originally believed to be a hate crime but after an extensive investigation by the police department’s Violent Crimes Unit, officials determined a hate crime did not occur.

Louisiana woman arrested for throwing monitor at KFC employee during altercation at MIA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:42 GMT

A 42-year-old woman was arrested on charges of criminal mischief and battery after a heated altercation at a Kentucky Fried Chicken located within Miami International Airport. Robyn Jackson, of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, allegedly threw a cash register monitor at KFC employee during a dispute, Tuesday.According to the arrest report, the dispute started when Jackson’s credit card was repeatedly declined while attempting to purchase a drink from the restaurant. The situation escalated, resulting in Jackson grabbing the cash register monitor from the counter and throwing it at the employee. The monitor struck the employee on his right arm, leaving him with a minor laceration and swelling.The monitor, valued at $2,000, was damaged during the altercation. Police arrived on the scene and issued a trespass warning to Jackson, prohibiting her from returning to the MIA premises under the threat of arrest for trespassing after warning.Following her arrest, Jackson was taken into custody an...

Sanna Marin says Finns Party racism scandals ‘no surprise’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:42 GMT

Former Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin criticized her successor for forming a coalition with the far-right Finns Party, which has been hit by three racism scandals since taking office.“It is no surprise that the Finns are a racist party,” Marin said during her Social Democrat party’s summer press conference on Wednesday.She added that investigations of members of Cabinet from the Finns Party reveal “the darkest racist and dehumanizing views,” highlighting “shocking language about the value system and human image of the government’s politicians,” as Finnish media reported.Marin — who stepped down after losing an election in April — added that her party cannot accept how the Finns Party and Prime Minister Petteri Orpo are undermining the basic values of a democratic society. She said Orpo — leader of the conservative National Coalition Party — had accepted racism in the ranks in exchange for being able to govern. The Finnish gove...

NATO backpedals as Ukraine fumes over land for membership gaffe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:42 GMT

BRUSSELS — NATO was in cleanup mode Wednesday after a senior official sparked a dust-up over his suggestion that Ukraine could cede territory to Russia in exchange for NATO membership. The controversy started Tuesday when Stian Jenssen, director of NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg’s private office, said one solution to the ongoing war could be for Ukraine to offer Russia land in return for a spot in the NATO military alliance. The comments, made during a panel debate in southern Norway and picked up by the Norwegian newspaper VG, were striking as Western allies have long emphasized the importance of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and said Kyiv should decide when and how to negotiate with Moscow. Within hours, Ukraine was expressing outrage, diplomats were doing double takes and Moscow was putting it all through the Kremlin’s spin machine. “Trading territory for a NATO umbrella? It is ridiculous,” tweeted Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian Pre...

People in Haverhill return to their homes after sinkhole forced evacuations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:42 GMT

People in Haverhill returned to their homes Wednesday after a massive sinkhole forced evacuations last week. The sinkhole opened near a multi-family home off Washington and Ford streets on Tuesday, Aug. 8 after recent torrential rain in the area damaged an underground pipe and caused flooding. Multiple properties were damaged around Haverhill and city’s mayor declared a state of emergency.The sinkhole, the mayor’s office said in a statement, was roughly 20 feet deep and 20 feet wide, causing upward of $1 million in damage. A total of 22 people were temporarily displaced after the sinkhole opened, according to the mayor’s office, with residents staying in an area hotel while they waited for crews to give them the all-clear to return home. Days later, state, federal and local officials were back at the scene of the sinkhole on Wednesday after the sinkhole itself was filled. One woman later speaking with 7NEWS described a scary situation as the sinkhole opened, say...

Maui public schools begin to reopen, enroll students from fire-affected areas. Follow live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:42 GMT

By The Associated PressFollow live updates about wildfires that have devastated parts of Maui in Hawaii, killing dozens of people and destroying the historic town of Lahaina. The wildfires are the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Videos showing downed power lines apparently sparking some of the early blazes have become key evidence in the search for a cause.Most public schools on Hawaii’s second-largest island have begun to reopen this week, starting with staff reporting for duty, according to the state’s department of education. But several schools are still being assessed to make sure they are safe for students and teachers, with crews cleaning debris and testing both air and water quality. Hawaii Department of Education superintendent Keith Hayashi visited three campuses in Lahaina on Monday, which remain closed after sustaining wind damage. Officials will determine reopening dates for those schools once they are confirmed safe. “There’s still...

How the FAFSA simplification can impact your financial aid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:42 GMT

By Trea Branch | NerdWalletFor the first time in 40 years, students will see a completely revamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). These changes are part of the FAFSA Simplification Act and should benefit most families, but some households could see their eligible aid decrease significantly, experts say.“Overall, I think there are a lot more winners,” says MorraLee Keller, senior director of strategic programming at the National College Attainment Network, a nonprofit organization supporting college affordability. On the other hand, Keller says she doesn’t want to underestimate the negative impact those changes may have on some families.The FAFSA Simplification Act aims to streamline the application process, remove barriers for key student populations and expand federal aid eligibility. Notable changes to the FAFSA include:Replacing the Expected Family Contribution with the Student Aid Index.Expanding Federal Pell Grant eligibility.Automatically p...

With coronavirus uptick, should I get a COVID shot? When are new vaccines available?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:42 GMT

By Rong-Gong Lin II, Los Angeles TimesThe fall vaccination season is just around the corner, and officials are set to roll out another updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as new tools to protect against RSV.Here’s a rundown of the three types of vaccines that will available in the coming months.A new COVID-19 vaccine could roll out by late SeptemberA fall 2023 version of the COVID vaccine will likely be reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the latter part of September, officials say.Guidance on who is recommended to get that shot will come around that time.The newest shot eventually will supersede the 2022 version. Introduced 11 months ago, the booster was designed against the BA.5 and BA.4 sublineages of the Omicron variant. It was called a bivalent shot because it was designed to protect against both the latest sublineages as well as the ancestral strain.The 2023 version of the vaccine also will ...

A timeline of Trump election plot alleged in Georgia indictment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:42 GMT

By David Voreacos and Erik Larson, Bloomberg NewsDonald Trump and 18 codefendants have fewer than 10 days to turn themselves in for arraignment in Atlanta on charges they engaged in a sweeping criminal operation to keep the former president in office after he lost the 2020 election.In a 41-count indictment issued this week, 161 specific acts are stitched together under the umbrella of a racketeering statute that spanned remarkable months in U.S. history after President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Georgia.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis uses Georgia’s racketeering statute to tell the story of a criminal organization, allegedly led by Trump, that gave false testimony to Georgia lawmakers, empaneled a phony slate of electors, intimidated poll workers, stole election machine data and beseeched state officials to toss out votes.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks at a news conference at the Fulton County Government building on August 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgi...