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Philadelphia journalist and advocate Josh Kruger shot and killed at home

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:22 GMT

(CNN) — Philadelphia journalist and advocate Josh Kruger was shot and killed at his home early Monday morning, according to police.No weapons were recovered and there have been no arrests, a statement from police says.Kruger, 39, was shot seven times in the chest and abdomen at his Point Breeze home at around 1:28 a.m., police said. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.Most recently, Kruger had worked as a journalist covering issues like LGBTQ+ rights, homelessness, HIV and addiction in publications like The Philadelphia Citizen and The Philadelphia Inquirer. One of his most recent stories was a tribute to JoAnne Epps, the president of Temple University, who died in September.“We are shocked and saddened by Josh’s death,” said Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney in a statement provided to CNN.“Josh cared deeply about our city and its residents, which was evident both in his public service and in his writing,” said the mayor. “His intelligence, cre...

Why everyone’s phone will alarm at 2:20 pm ET on Wednesday

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:22 GMT

(CNN) — If you hear a screeching alert go off on your cell phone – and everyone else’s cell phone – this Wednesday at 2:20 pm ET, don’t panic.The federal government said it will conduct on Wednesday afternoon a nationwide test of its Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts. The EAS portion of the test will send an emergency alert to all radios and televisions, while the WEA portion of the test will direct alerts to all consumer cell phones.“The purpose of the Oct. 4 test is to ensure that the systems continue to be effective means of warning the public about emergencies, particularly those on the national level,” the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is conducting the test in coordination with the Federal Communication Commission, said in a statement.Here’s what to know.How does this impact me?Beginning at approximately 2:20 pm ET this Wednesday, all wireless phones should receive an alert and an accompanying text message that reads: “THIS IS A TEST o...

Boston firefighter injured in Mattapan blaze, 13 residents displaced after fire spread from vacant building

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:22 GMT

A firefighter was injured and 13 residents were displaced after a blaze spread from a vacant Mattapan building under construction early Monday morning, according to officials.Boston firefighters battled the heavy blaze that started in the rear of 52 Woolson St., after 5 a.m. on Monday.The fire from the vacant three-family house then spread to an adjacent building at 56 Woolson St.“The fire has burned through the rear porches & across the roof all companies are working,” the Boston Fire Department posted on X at 5:46 a.m. on Monday.“An aggressive interior and exterior attack helped to stop the fire from spreading to third building, but the extreme heat melted the siding at 20 Sutton Mattapan,” Boston Fire posted about 10 minutes later.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Boston firefighters battle 4-alarm blaze in Dorchester, 35 residents displaced and one firefighter injured One firefighter ended up being transported to the hospital...

All Onewheel electric skateboards are under recall after 4 deaths and serious injury reports

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:22 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — All models of Onewheel self-balancing electric skateboards are under recall after at least four deaths and multiple injuries were reported in recent years, federal regulators said last week.The 300,000 now-recalled skateboards, manufactured by the California-based Future Motion, can stop balancing a rider if the boards’ limits are exceeded — which risks serious crashes, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said.Future Motion has received dozens of incident reports involving these skateboards, the CPSC said Friday — including four deaths between 2019 and 2021 and serious injuries like paralysis, traumatic brain injury, fractures and ligament damage.The deaths resulted from head trauma, the CPSC added. In at least three of the reports, the riders were not wearing helmets.People who own an impacted Onewheel skateboard should stop using it immediately, regulators said. The recall impacts all Onewheel electric skateboards — includi...

Karikó and Weissman win Nobel Prize in medicine for work that enabled mRNA vaccines against COVID-19

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:22 GMT

By DAVID KEYTON, MIKE CORDER and MADDIE BURAKOFF (Associated Press)STOCKHOLM (AP) — Two scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discoveries that enabled the creation of mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 that were critical in slowing the pandemic — technology that’s also being studied to fight cancer and other diseases. Hungarian-American Katalin Karikó and American Drew Weissman were cited for contributing “to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health,” according to the panel that awarded the prize in Stockholm.The panel said the pair’s “groundbreaking findings … fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system.”Traditionally, making vaccines required growing viruses or pieces of viruses and then purifying them before next steps. The messenger RNA approach starts with a snippet of genetic code carrying instructions f...

A riled Trump sounds off outside the New York fraud trial that accuses him of lying about his wealth

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:22 GMT

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, JAKE OFFENHARTZ and JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Aggrieved and defiant, former President Donald Trump sat through hours of sometimes testy opening arguments Monday in a fraud lawsuit that could cost him control of some of his most prized properties. “Disgraceful trial,” he declared during a lunch break, after listening to lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James excoriate him as a habitual liar. The state’s lawsuit accuses the business-mogul-turned-politician and his company of deceiving banks, insurers and others by misstating his wealth for years in financial statements.“They were lying year after year after year,” Kevin Wallace, a lawyer in James’ office, said as Trump sat at the defense table. He looked straight ahead, arms crossed, facing away from a screen that showed details of Wallace’s presentation. Defense lawyers, in response, said the financial statements were legitim...

Melvin, Preller appear to be safe with the big-spending yet underwhelming Padres

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:22 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Manager Bob Melvin and general manager A.J. Preller appear to be safe in their jobs with the big-spending yet underwhelming San Diego Padres after owner Peter Seidler said in a statement Monday morning that the current leadership team “continues to have my full support.”The announcement came less than 24 hours after the Padres finished the most disappointing season in franchise history at 82-80. They were eliminated from playoff contention on Friday night, a bitter result for a team that came into the season with World Series expectations after making a stirring run to the NL Championship Series last fall and then increasing their payroll to around $250 million, the third highest in baseball.There have been reports of a fractured relationship between Melvin, who finished his second season with San Diego and 20th overall as a big league manager, and Preller, who has had just two winning records in a full season since being hired in August 2014. Additionally, multiple...

Man nears settlement with bars he says overserved a driver accused of killing his new bride

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:22 GMT

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Two bars accused of overserving a woman who authorities say drunkenly hit a golf cart carrying a newlywed couple away from their reception, killing the bride, have reached a tentative settlement with the groom, who was seriously injured.The Drop In Bar & Deli and The Crab Shack have agreed to pay “certain sums” to Aric Hutchinson that were described by his lawyer as “reasonable,” according to a Sept. 28 petition for approval in Charleston County Court in South Carolina.The settlement is confidential, and the case will continue against other defendants, Hutchinson’s attorney, Daniel Dalton, said in an email. A judge must approve the settlement.The April 28 crash killed Samantha Miller, 34, and wounded three other occupants of the golf cart. Aric Hutchinson survived with a brain injury and multiple broken bones.An attorney for The Crab Shack did not respond Monday afternoon to an email from AP seeking more details. The AP also sent a request fo...

Multiple people have died in a plane crash near the Utah desert tourist community of Moab

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:22 GMT

MOAB, Utah (AP) — Multiple people died in a plane crash outside the eastern Utah tourist town of Moab, authorities said Monday.The plane crashed Sunday evening shortly after taking off from Canyonlands Airfield about 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of Moab, according to a Grand County Sheriff’s Department statement posted on Facebook. The sheriff’s office said all four people on board the plane were killed, but the Federal Aviation Administration reports that three people died and one person had serious injuries.According to an FAA report on recent crashes, the single-engine Piper plane has the same tail number as a plane registered to North Dakota state Senator Doug Larsen of Mandan. The addresses on the plane registration and the address of the senator match. It was not immediately known if Larsen was on board.The crash was being investigated, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a post on X, the social media website formerly called Twitter.A phone message l...

Plane crash in Lake Placid kills 2, including former NFL player Russ Francis of Patriots, 49ers

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:28:22 GMT

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — Former NFL tight end Russ Francis, a three-time Pro Bowl selection with the New England Patriots who won a Super Bowl with the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, was killed along with another aviation enthusiast when the single-engine plane the two men were in crashed shortly after takeoff from an airport in upstate New York, authorities said Monday.Francis, 70, and Richard McSpadden, 63, had taken off from the Lake Placid Airport shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday in a Cessna 177 plane when the plane had some kind of problem. The New York State Police said it crashed into an embankment at the corner of the airport. Francis was president of Lake Placid Airways, which runs charter and scenic flights. A longtime flying enthusiast, the airline’s website said he had been a pilot for almost 50 years, and had run a charter service in Hawaii. McSpadden was a senior vice president at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which advocates around general aviation. The orga...