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Swans in Florida that date to Queen Elizabeth II gift are rounded up for their annual physicals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:44 GMT

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — A flock of swans that grew from a gift nearly 70 years ago from Queen Elizabeth II has been rounded up in Florida to ensure they are all healthy.On Tuesday, there were 50 swans collected in Lakeland, which is east of Tampa. Park supervisor Steve Williams said the birds are a cherished part of the city.“I mean, they are a city icon. They are. And we take very good care of them,” he said.The roundup each fall enables veterinarians to conduct health examinations of the city-owned swans, with those scheduled for Wednesday morning. Lakeland’s swans are descended from a pair of mute swans given by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1957.The goal is to keep them all in good shape, said veterinarian Price Dickson.“Tomorrow we will be taking all of these swans one by one and giving each of them a physical exam, weighing them, checking for any infections, any wounds, any problems that would need to be addressed,” Dixon said.The city has conducted the annual wellness ch...

BSO seeks help from public in locating missing 29-year-old

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:44 GMT

Detectives from the Broward Sheriff’s Office Missing Persons Unit are asking the public for assistance in locating 29-year-old Chaslin Sherrica Oneal, who went missing from unincorporated Central Broward near Fort Lauderdale.According to investigators, Oneal was last seen around 3 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 2, in the vicinity of the 2500 block of Northwest 22nd Road in Fort Lauderdale. Oneal is described as 5 feet 3 inches tall, weighing approximately 156 pounds, with short black hair and brown eyes. Oneal was last seen wearing a red hoodie and has a lower lip piercing. Additionally, Oneal has several distinctive tattoos, including a spider on the right arm, a music symbol on the left arm and a bowtie just below the neck.Anyone with information about Oneal’s whereabouts is urged to contact BSO Missing Persons Detective Leonard Charla at 954-321-4274 or the BSO non-emergency number at 954-764-HELP (4357).

Holding Pattern

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:44 GMT

We’re in a stagnant weather pattern which means little change this week. Temperatures will fluctuate a few degrees up and down and we’ll gradually add more sunshine. Other than that it’s pretty much just continue as is through Friday. Tonight and tomorrow we’ll have a decent amount of clouds, but temperatures will be a bit warmer tomorrow than today.Our average high is now 64° and we’ll bounce around that the next few days and gradually add more sun. Mostly cloudy Wednesday, partly cloudy Thursday, and mostly sunny on Friday. The cool air surges in for the weekend along with our next round of rain. Now, there’s some promise from 24 hours ago, but admittedly we’re still pretty far out for fine details. Our storm for the weekend still has not made “landfall” in the Pacific Northwest. Since it’s still over the ocean, there’s not a lot of data for the models to use to predict the storm track. As the storm spends more time...

A bear in Massachusetts reportedly killed a goat: ‘If you have small domestic animals please take steps to protect them’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:44 GMT

A bear roaming the South Shore reportedly killed a goat behind a home on Tuesday, as state wildlife officials gave out tips to protect livestock from black bears.The bear — which has been spotted several times in the region during the last few months — was seen about 60 yards behind a Hanson residence Tuesday morning. After the bear left the area, a Massachusetts Environmental Police officer found a dead goat in the woods behind the home.While bear attacks on chickens is “happening constantly now” in the Bay State, these bear attacks on larger animals like goats are “far less common,” according to black bear expert Dave Wattles.“Every single bear in the state has been trained to go into backyards due to bird feeders, so it’s important that residents don’t have any accessible food sources on their property to draw bears in, so no bird feeders,” Wattles, a black bear and furbearer biologist with MassWildlife, told the Herald ...

‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ will be a blockbuster — and might shake up the movie business

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:44 GMT

By JAKE COYLE (AP Film Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Greg Marcus has been in the movie business for years but he never expected to be urging moviegoers to take out their phones during a film — let alone to be crafting friendship bracelets in preparation for an opening weekend.But there the chief executive and chair of the Marcus Corporation is in a promotion for his theater chain headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, stringing beads together while humming “Shake It Off.”Movie theaters are readying for an onslaught like they’ve never seen before, beginning Friday when “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” debuts. The concert film, compiled from several Swift shows at Southern California’s SoFi Stadium, is expected to launch with $100 million, or possibly more. Advance ticket sales worldwide have already surpassed $100 million. Swifties will descend. Dancing will be encouraged.“This is different,” says Marcus. “Take your p...

Alex Jones, Ronna McDaniel potential witnesses in Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro’s Georgia trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:44 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia prosecutor who has accused former President Donald Trump and others of trying to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state is seeking to call Republican Party Chair Ronna McDaniel and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones as witnesses in a trial for two of the defendants scheduled to begin later this month.Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro were indicted by a Fulton County grand jury in August along with Trump and 16 others, accused under the state’s anti-racketeering law of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. The two attorneys are being tried separately from the others because they invoked their right to have a speedy trial. A group of 450 potential jurors has been instructed to show up on Oct. 20 to begin the process of seating a jury.All 19 defendants initially pleaded not guilty, but one pleaded guilty to lesser charges last month after reaching a deal with prosecutor...

Rep. Santos faces new charges he stole donor IDs, made unauthorized charges to their credit cards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A new indictment unsealed Tuesday charged U.S. Rep. George Santos with stealing the identities of donors to his campaign and then using their credit cards to ring up tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges.Prosecutors said some of that stolen money money ended up in his own bank account.The 23-count indictment replaces one filed earlier against the New York Republican charging him with embezzling money from his campaign and lying to Congress about his wealth, among other offenses.The new charges include allegations that he charged more than $44,000 to his campaign over a period of months using cards belonging to contributors without their knowledge. In one case, he charged $12,000 to a contributor’s credit card and transferred the “vast majority” of that money into his personal bank account, prosecutors said.Santos did not immediately return a text and a phone message seeking comment.Jake Offenhartz, The Associated Press

Walgreens pharmacy staffers stage walkouts over work conditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Some Walgreens pharmacy staff walked off the job this week over concerns that working conditions are putting employees and patients at risk.The exact scale of the protest was unclear. Organizers on Tuesday estimated that more than 300 Walgreens locations — out of nearly 9,000 nationwide — were affected by walkouts planned for Monday through Wednesday. A company spokesperson said “no more than a dozen” pharmacies experienced disruptions.A Walgreens pharmacy manager who helped organize the walkouts told The Associated Press that teams were short-staffed and overworked, especially with the additional demands from the COVID-19 pandemic.“It’s led to upset customers,” said the organizer, who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity for fear of being punished by the company. “It’s led to medication errors, vaccination errors, needle sticks.”Many Walgreens workers aren’t unionized and the employees who walked out are organizing online. They shared three main reque...

Brendan Malone, former Detroit ‘Bad Boys’ assistant and father of Nuggets coach, dies at 81

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:44 GMT

Brendan Malone, father of Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone and a driving force behind the Detroit Pistons “Bad Boys” defenses in the late 1980s and early ’90s, has died at age 81.A Nuggets representative told The Associated Press on Tuesday that a family member confirmed his death.“It is with tremendous sadness that we share the passing of longtime NBA coach Brendan Malone, who holds a special place amongst the organization and will be a Denver Nugget forever,” the team wrote on social media.Malone spent three decades as an assistant or head coach in the NBA, working for the Knicks, Pacers, Cavaliers, Magic, Raptors and Pistons. He also served as the lead assistant for his son with the Kings.It was during his time as Chuck Daly’s assistant in Detroit from 1988-95 that the elder Malone championed “The Jordan Rules,” a set of defensive principles designed to curtail Michael Jordan’s offensive prowess.Although Jordan eventually found ways for the Bulls to surpass t...

Jamaican politician charged with abducting and raping a 16-year-old girl

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:52:44 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A government official in Jamaica was arrested and charged with abducting and raping a 16-year-old girl, police said Tuesday.Tyrone Guthrie, 45, is councilor of the Truro division in the parish of Westmoreland and was charged after turning himself into police on Monday.Authorities said the girl went to Guthrie’s home in June to help do his hair and was allegedly raped after she was prevented from leaving upon finishing the job.Guthrie could not be immediately reached for comment.The People’s National Party has removed Guthrie from his position.The Associated Press