LONDON (AP) — King Charles III cheerfully waved to well-wishers on Sunday as he left church services near his country estate in eastern England, making his first public appearance since his cancer diagnosis was announced last week.
Wearing a tan overcoat against the February chill and carrying a rolled-up umbrella, Charles was joined by Queen Camilla at St. Mary Magdalene Church, just a few hundred yards from Sandringham House where the king is recuperating after his first treatment for an unspecified form of cancer.
The 20,000-acre Sandringham estate, some 110 miles (180 kilometers) north of London, is a favorite refuge of the king’s and offers a place of shelter where he can isolate from the risk of infection.
The appearance came a day after Charles expressed thanks for the messages of support he has received from the public. In a statement issued late Saturday, the monarch said that such thoughts are “the greatest comfort and encouragement.”
“It is equally heartening to hear how sharing my own diagnosis has helped promote public understanding and shine a light on the work of all those organizations which support cancer patients and their families across the U.K. and wider world,” he said in a statement, signed Charles R.
“My lifelong admiration for their tireless care and dedication is all the greater as a result of my own personal experience.”
Buckingham Palace announced the king’s diagnosis on Monday, less than three weeks after he was treated for an enlarged prostate. While palace officials didn’t disclose the type of cancer, they said it wasn’t prostate cancer.
On Sunday, a crowd of about 100 gathered outside the gates of the estate to show their support for the king. Charles and Camilla greeted a priest as they walked into the Anglican church, and waved to the crowd as they left.
St. Mary Magdalene is a medieval stone church that was restored in the 19th century. Protected as a historic building, the church includes memorials to the royal family stretching from Princess Alice in 1879 to King George VI, Charles’ grandfather, in 1952.
Nearby Sandringham House, the private home of the past six British monarchs, sits amid parkland, gardens and working farms. It has been owned by the royal family since 1862.
Charles has visited the estate regularly since he was a child, when he would run through the halls playing tag and hide-and-seek with his mother, according to biographer Jonathan Dimbleby. In later years he has retreated to the estate on the north coast of Norfolk to enjoy hunting and nature walks through the windswept countryside.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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CARACAS – The government of Venezuela accused neighboring Guayana Sunday of granting illegal oil exploration concessions in territory the two nations are disputing. Venezuela said it would reserve the right to take any diplomatic actions necessary.
The comments Sunday came after Guyana said Saturday that it has satellite imagery showing Venezuelan military movements near the South American country’s eastern border with Guyana.
Venezuela’s statement did not deny Guyana’s claim of a military and infrastructure buildup. Rather, it said it was within its rights to beef up its border forces.
Venezuela claimed Guayana had granted “illegal oil concessions … in a maritime area that is indisputably Venezuelan.”
Oil giant ExxonMobil has said it will keep ramping up production in offshore fields off Guyana despite the escalation of the territorial dispute.
The two sides have feuded over border lines for decades. Venezuela has been laying claim to the mineral-rich Essequibo region, which covers about two thirds of Guyana’s surface area.
Under the Argyle Agreement signed on the island of St. Vincent in December, the two countries agreed not to use force or to threaten each other. The talks were brokered by Brazil and Caribbean governments.
The images showed significant infrastructure improvement of roads and other facilities near the two areas, the CSIS said. Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud noted that “Guyana will continue to respect the Argyle Declaration and hopes that Venezuela will do the same.”
Guyana argues that an 1899 international boundary commission settled the border demarcation once and for all.
But for more than 60 years Venezuela has accused the commission of cheating it out of the Essequibo region.
Guyana has taken the issue to the World Court in the Netherlands for a definitive ruling, while Venezuela has said it prefers direct bilateral talks as the way forward.
On Friday, the Venezuelan defense ministry accused Guyana of threatening the St. Vincent agreement by irresponsible actions and media deception, maintaining that the “Essequibo is ours.”
It also said that ExxonMobil, which is producing 645,000 barrels of offshore oil daily from Guyana, is collaborating with the government and the US military to exploit oil and gas resources in waters claimed by Venezuela.
Guyanese President Irfaan Ali is expected to meet his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro in March for a second summit on the border issue.
Several top American administration and military officials have visited Guyana in recent weeks as a show of support.
The U.S. also supplied military overflights monitoring Venezuelan troop and other activities at the height of tensions in December, in the days leading up to a Dec. 3 referendum in Venezuela that had authorized the annexation of the Essequibo.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Singer-songwriter Usher sits down with Tracy Smith to discuss his upcoming Super Bowl halftime performance and his new album, “Coming Home,” out now. Then, Mo Rocca learns about Truman Capote’s renowned Black and White Ball. “Here Comes the Sun” is a closer look at some of the people, places and things we bring you every week on “CBS Sunday Morning.”
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Nineteen priests kicked out of the country, dozens of incidents of harassment and church desecrations, rural areas lacking worship and social services: the situation for Catholic clergy and faithful in Nicaragua is only worsening in 2024, according to exiled priests, laypeople in the Central American country and human rights advocates.
The fear of the ongoing crackdown by President Daniel Ortega – on the Catholic Church in particular but not sparing evangelicals – has become so pervasive that it is silencing criticism of the authoritarian government and even mentions of the repression from the pulpit.
“All the time the silence gets deeper,” said Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan lawyer who fled to the United States. Her work recording hundreds of instances of church persecution recently won her an International Religious Freedom Award from the U.S. State Department.
“If it’s dangerous to pray the rosary in the street, it is exceedingly so to report attacks,” Molina said.
“Many priests believe that if they make reports, there will be more reprisals against the communities. We as laypeople would like for them to speak, but the only alternatives are cemetery, prison or exile.”
She counted 30 church desecrations in the past year, only a few reported to authorities. Recently, she heard of a priest who went to the police after a theft in his church – only to be cursed at and told he was a suspect.
“Life in Nicaragua is hell, because surveillance is brutal. You can’t say anything that’s against the government,” said an exiled priest. Like him, most exiles interviewed for this story spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity out of fear of retribution against their families or communities in Nicaragua.
“People now keep their heads down, as they wonder, ‘If they do this to the priests, what will they do with us?’” the clergyman added. He was barred from returning to Nicaragua, where he, like many priests and nuns, drew the government’s ire for providing shelter and first aid to those injured when the Ortega government violently repressed massive civic protests in 2018.
The unrest then, which started against proposed social security cuts, broadened to demand early elections and to accuse Ortega of authoritarian measures after hundreds of demonstrators were killed by security forces and allied civilian groups.
Like several Latin American governments tracing their roots back to socialist revolutions, Nicaragua’s has had an uneven relationship with faith leaders for decades. But those protests triggered an escalating and systematic targeting of the church in what the U.S. government’s Commission on International Religious Freedom calls a “campaign of harassment and severe persecution.”
Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, who also is the vice president, blame “terrorist” clergy for supporting the civil unrest they claim amounts to plotting a coup against them. Clergy and lay observers say the government is trying to quash the church because it remains the rare critic in Nicaragua that dares to oppose state violence and whose voice is respected by many citizens.
The “unprecedented exiling of critical voices” – from religious leaders to journalists and artists – in Nicaragua amounts to a “total censorship plan,” said Alicia Quiñones, who leads the freedom of expression organization PEN International in the Americas.
It’s become nearly impossible to do independent reporting in Nicaragua, she added, citing last year’s imprisonment of a journalist on the charge of “fake information” after he covered an Easter celebration when public Catholic feasts have largely been barred.
“The pressure is becoming unsufferable,” said one priest now in the United States. Like others, he says Mass-goers have started noticing people in the pews they have never seen before and fear they’re there to report on any whiff of opposition to the government, even if only a prayer for the safety of clergy imprisoned in often dangerous conditions.
In a country where more than 80% of the population is Christian – about 50% Catholic and more than 30% evangelicals, according to the U.S. religious freedom commission – the repression cuts deep both spiritually and materially.
It has hit not only clergy and religious orders but college students, minority and marginalized populations, even tiny businesses in rural towns that relied on now often prohibited or indoors-only religious processions and patron saints’ feasts for their income.
In November, Molina said many priests were even prevented from celebrating traditional Masses in cemeteries for the Day of the Dead, an important holiday across Latin America.
Nicaragua’s congress, dominated by Ortega’s Sandinista National Liberation Front, has shuttered more than 3,000 nongovernmental organizations, including Mother Teresa’s charity, creating a major gap in social services especially in rural areas. In addition to many diocesan assets, the government confiscated the prestigious University of Central America, whose Jesuit leaders had opened the doors to student protestors fleeing police and paramilitary attacks.
Despite the growing fear, many faithful continue to attend church services – where they remain available. Especially in rural areas, parishes and chapels are left without priests, though the seminaries still have students so some faithful hope they will be able to eventually replace those exiled or forced to flee.
Many of the senior leaders of the Catholic Church, including Bishop Rolando Álvarez who was jailed for more than a year, were released from prison and sent overseas in negotiations with the Vatican last month. A dozen jailed priests had similarly been sent to the Vatican in October.
The Holy See has offered little public comment on the situation other than calling for dialogue. The Vatican spokesman didn’t respond when asked by the AP if Nicaragua’s highest-ranking cleric, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, is in Rome, as some Nicaraguan sources reported.
Managua’s Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Báez has been one of the most outspoken critics of Nicaragua’s repression from the Miami area, where he is based after the pope asked him to leave his country to avoid violent threats. In late January, he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was at the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis, who had “shown his interest and love for Nicaragua.”
Many exiles argue that while negotiating to release priests and other political prisoners marks progress, sending them into exile cannot become an acceptable practice.
“Exile cannot be normalized,” said Dolly Mora, who was forced to flee to the United States, where she’s helping campaign against the practice alongside other Nicaraguan activists. “It’s as unjust as prison. The international community cannot say it’s okay that they’re expelled.”
Without stronger protests from the Vatican and foreign governments, many exiles fear that any church representatives left in Nicaragua will be cowed into accommodating the Ortega government, which now only a minority of clergy supporters.
So they hope that continuing to call out the repression and to document each beaten-up priest, each desecrated tabernacle will eventually lead to justice.
“The dictatorship, what it wants is to completely eliminate the Catholic faith, because they haven’t succeeded in making the church kneel before them,” Molina said. “And they will not succeed.”
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Associated Press correspondent Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this story.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Players on the Miami women’s basketball team celebrate after defeating Clemson on Thursday, Feb. 8 at the Watsco Center Photo credit: Miami Athletics
It’s hard to imagine anyone other than 18-year Miami Hurricanes’ head coach Katie Meier could’ve seen it coming when she did.
“We found it towards the end of the first half,” Meier said, referring to the ‘Canes offense which overcame a 17-point halftime deficit for a 75-72 overtime win over the Clemson Tigers (11-13, 4-8 ACC) on Thursday.
It was the third-largest halftime comeback in program history.
Miami (15-7, 5-6 ACC) trailed by as much as 18 and looked flustered at times. Many would have doubts before their belief, naturally. But in Meier’s case, believing was never in question.
“At the end of the first half our offense was not bad, we just did not hit good, ‘Miami,’ shots,” elaborated Meier.
However, Miami wasn’t just dealing with cold shooting. In the second quarter, transfer guard Lemyah Hylton went down with an apparent knee injury. The ‘Canes were going to need another gear.
As the second half developed, Miami shrugged off a cold 20 minutes and improved its shooting in field goal, three-point and free-throw percentage in the final frames. In the third quarter alone, UM went 5-of-9 from three, a stark contrast to their 0-for-11 start.
Behind the charge was Miami’s offensive rebounding, catalyzed by sophomore forward Lazaria “Zee” Spearman. Aside from finishing with the highest plus-minus of plus-13, Spearman grabbed seven rebounds, four of which were offensive, to go along with 14 points.
“Zee was very calm, she wasn’t as rough,” Meier said.
It was this even-keeled-ness, which reverberated throughout the ‘Canes demeanor and ultimately won them the contest. There may have been no overtime, however, without the poise of junior guard Ja’Leah Williams.
With a minute to go, Williams made the tying free throw, knotting the game at 61. With under 10 seconds to play, the junior stole the ball off a bad pass from the Tigers’ Harris. Williams finished with 11 points and 9 rebounds.
The x-factor, however, was forward Latasha Lattimore. The junior collected four offensive rebounds of her own. When she shared the court with Spearman, UM’s size proved formidable. Spearman spoke about the on-court dynamic between her and Lattimore.
“We got the same mindset, we both want to go out there and win or compete every time we get on the court,” the sophomore said. “I feel like just combining that really turned us into a different beast tonight.”’
It was Meier, of course, who elected to play them on the floor together for the majority of the second half. She did so for good reason.
“I thought Zee and [Latasha] really started to talk and compete,” Meier said. “When those two are talking, our defense is a lot better.”
Clemson was led by its graduate tandem of Amari Robinson and Dayshanette Harris, who had 24 and 22 points respectively, to lead all scorers. Shayeann Day-Wilson scored 17 for the ‘Canes.
UM heads to Georgia Tech, where it will take on the Yellow Jackets on Sunday. Tip-off is at 2 p.m.
PLANTATION, FLA. (WSVN) – A martial arts academy in Plantation is ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year.
A Chinese New Year festival is underway Saturday at John Wai Martial Arts, located along South University Drive. Performers donned dragon and lion costumes and danced to live music.
The holiday marks the beginning of the new year, according to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar.
Head instructor John Wai described what he believes this year has in store.
“It’s the year of opportunity. You have to go after what you want,” he said, “so, if you have goals, have financial goals, you have relationship goals, business goals, go out, get after it, don’t sit around, and really make 2024 the best year yet.”
2024 is the Year of the Dragon. Next year will celebrate the Snake.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Five people were onboard the jet when it crashed, according to the Florida Aviation Administration.
The two victims who died were pilot Edward Daniel Murphy, 50, of Oakland Park, along with second in command Ian Frederick Hofmann, 65, of Pompano Beach, CCSO officials announced on social media Saturday.
The people who survived are crew member Sydney Ann Bosmans, 23, of Jupiter, as well as passengers Aaron Baker, 35, and Audra Green, 23, both of Columbus, Ohio, authorities confirmed.
Five people were in The Bombardier Challenger 604 when it departed from Ohio State University’s airport in Columbus for Naples, according to the FAA.
Murphy was trying to land at the Naples airport when there was an emergency, according to a recording of his communication with an airport controller.
“Hop-A-Jet 823, lost both engines, emergency. I’m making an emergency landing. We’re clear to land but we’re not going to make the runway. We’ve lost both engines,” the pilot told the controller before the crash at about 3:15 p.m., on the southbound lanes of I-75.
Local 10 News obtained video from good Samaritan Kyle Cavaliere showing the aftermath of the fiery crash that sent plumes of black smoke into the sky as three survivors walked away claiming both pilots were still inside.
NTSB reported an investigator arrived at the site on Friday and several more were going to arrive on Saturday to “document the scene and examine the aircraft. The aircraft will then be recovered to a secure facility for further evaluation.”
The plane is registered to Fort Lauderdale-based East Shore Aviation LLC, according to the FAA. Fort Lauderdale-based Hop-a-Jet lists it as part of the charter company’s fleet.
A Local 10 News was at the crash scene Saturday evening where the charred jet suspended in the air as crews worked to remove the aircraft from the highway.
Debris remained scattered as charred marks could be seen along the barrier wall of the highway.
Federal authorities said a preliminary report about the cause of the crash can be expected in 30 days.
Chris Hoffman, Frederick Hoffman’s son, created a GoFundMe account to honor his father’s memory.
He wrote on the GoFundMe page that his father was “the ultimate professional pilot with over 40 years and 25,000 hours of experience at Piedmont, USAirways, Virgin America and Hopajet.”
For nearly two decades, the Baltimore-based Future Islands have wowed audiences around the world with their heartfelt anthems and bold live performances. The group just released their seventh album and announced a new tour, bringing their music to a whole new audience. From their new album “People Who Aren’t There Anymore,” here is Future Islands with “The Tower.”
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Retail store clerks are not trained or qualified to detain people suspected of shoplifting. That’s something that criminals, both petty and organized, have long exploited.
In many cases, stores have actually instructed workers to not interfere in minor instances of theft. Instead, they ask the employee to report it to store safety personnel who then build a case against the thief.
If shoplifting is accidental, it generally does not happen repeatedly. Many retailers check to see if certain customers have a pattern of not scanning expensive items at self-checkout or leaving a few items on the bottom of their cart.
It’s a challenge even for large retailers like Walmart (WMT) and Target because even though they have loss prevention departments, they don’t have their own police force. Neither retailer fully shares the steps it takes to prevent shoplifting and retail theft, but in some cases, store employees get the police involved.
A new program being tested by smaller retailers in the Bronx, N.Y., may actually have a solution to at least some of the retail theft problem plaguing both chains.
Target has scaled back self-checkout at select locations. Image source: Joe Raedle/Getty Image source: Joe Raedle/Getty
Small retailers try a basic tech solution
Sometimes, the old-school way of doing business does not work all that well. If, for example, you’re having a problem with a store, an airline, or any other big brand, it actually makes more sense to either call out your problem on X, the former Twitter, or direct message the company.
When you hashtag a company on social media highlighting something it has done wrong, that usually leads to a quick response. Brands don’t want their dirty laundry in public, so they will also generally respond quickly to customer service complaints made via direct message.
That’s similar to a new program being tested in the Bronx where small retailers are using WhatsApp instead of calling 911 to communicate with the police.
“NYPD detectives at the precinct also have set up new WhatsApp chat group where retailers can upload photos and videos of shoplifters swiping merchandise in real-time,” the New York Post reported. “While the pilot is only weeks old, Bronx business owners say that having direct access to officers has already resulted in arrests.”
That pilot program was put into place after stores had better luck stopping crimes by contacting officers directly who had given their contact info to store owners.
Police can use the channel to identify theft patterns and find people who are exceeding the standard from a misdemeanor to a felony. It’s a simple solution that could easily be applied at Target and Walmart locations.
Retail theft has grown
While there has been a lot of debate as to whether retailers have overstated how big a problem theft has become. shrink rate — which includes more than just stolen items — has gone up, according to the National Retail Security Survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF).
“This year’s study found that the average shrink rate in 2022 increased to 1.6%, up from 1.4% in 2021 and in line with shrink rates seen in 2020 and 2019. When taken as a percentage of total retail sales, that represents $112.1 billion in losses in 2022, up from $93.9 billion in 2021,” the trade association reported.
Shrink also includes damaged items and items lost in other ways, but theft is a core part of it.
“While retail shrink encompasses many types of loss, it is primarily driven by theft, including organized retail crime. Theft – both internal and external – accounts for nearly two-thirds (65%) of shrink overall and up to 70% in some retail sectors,” the report shared.
Target closed nine stores last year in order to prioritize the safety of its staff members and customers.
“In this case, we cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance. We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all,” the chain shared on its website.
For more Miami community news, look no further than Miami Community Newspapers. This Miami online group of newspapers covers a variety of topics about the local community and beyond. Miami’s Community Newspapers offers daily news, online resources, podcasts and other multimedia content to keep readers informed. With topics ranging from local news to community events, Miami’s Community Newspapers is the ideal source for staying up to date with the latest news and happenings in the area.
This family-owned media company publishes more than a dozen neighborhood publications, magazines, special sections on their websites, newsletters, as well as distributing them in print throughout Miami Dade County from Aventura, Sunny Isles Beach, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest, South Miami, Kendall, Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Homestead. Each online publication and print editions provide comprehensive coverage of local news, events, business updates, lifestyle features, and local initiatives within its respective community.
Additionally, the newspaper has exclusive Miami community podcasts, providing listeners with an in-depth look into Miami’s culture. Whether you’re looking for local Miami news, or podcasts, Miami’s Community Newspapers has you covered. For more information, be sure to check out: https://communitynewspapers.com.
Speaker Alan Dershowitz discusses topics of the Israel-Palestine conflict during his talk at the Shalala Student Center on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. Photo credit: Alexandra Fisher
By: Jenny Jacoby and Caroline Val
The University of Miami became a platform for free-speech and Israel when Alan Dershowitz took the stage on Wednesday night at the Shalala Student Center to lead students in a “Conversation about Israel.”
The prominent and controversial Harvard Law professor emeritus, best-selling author and pro-Israel advocate was invited to campus by Students Supporting Israel (SSI). While the crowd was mostly supportive, some protestors disrupted the event with shouts of genocide and demands for a ceasefire.
As the 150 evening attendees trickled in, they found on each seat a printed copy of an op-ed written by Dershowitz the day before. Dershowitz requested the op-ed, titled “To Stop My Pro-Israel Speech, I’m Falsely Accused Again,” to be placed on every chair.
It was written in response to an article published by The Miami Hurricane on Feb. 4 that previewed Wednesday’s event and referenced the allegations raised in an Instagram post by Canes for Palestine, an unofficial student group, calling Dershowitz a “known pedophile.”
Dershowitz has not faced any criminal charges of sexual misconduct or pedophilia and forcefully denied the allegations of pedophilia brought about by ‘Canes for Palestine, adding that he would sue whoever posted the claims for defamation.
“Let’s be absolutely clear about one conclusion,” Dershowitz wrote in the article. “Were I not invited to speak in defense of Israel, none of these issues would have been raised.”
Dershowitz became a household name for his career as a criminal lawyer for high-profile clients including OJ Simpson, Donald Trump and Harvey Weinstein in addition to Epstein.
He has also been a significant pro-Israel voice in the media, advocating for Israel and commenting on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing military operation against the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, following the Oct. 7, 2024 attack on Israel. Dershowitz was even mentioned as a candidate to represent Israel in South Africa’s 2024 International Court of Justice case against the country. During the event, he promoted his most recent book on the subject entitled “War Against the Jews: How to End Hamas Barbarism.”
University of Miami student asks a question to speaker Alan Dershowitz during his talk at the Shalala Student Center on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. Photo credit: Alexandra Fisher
Despite the controversy ahead of his arrival on campus, Dershowitz began the conversation by emphasizing his desire to still discuss varying viewpoints on the Israel-Palestine conflict, telling the audience: “I even appreciate ‘Canes for Palestine for asking me hard questions.”
He went on to offer his views on the Israel-Hamas war, whether there would be a future for the Netanyahu administration and the potential for a two-state solution.
“The only two-state solution that’s possible is to have a state without an army, without an air force and with security controlled by Israel for maybe 50 years, maybe 100 years,” he said.
“You can have a full blown [Palestinian] state, but the idea of allowing the state – which would have elements of Hamas in it – to have an air force, an army, to be able to be armed by Iran, would be a suicide pact.”
Most of the audience nodded and clapped in agreement.
He later addressed antisemitism on college campuses – which has risen significantly according to a report by the FBI since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October – and praised the leadership of UM President Julio Frenk throughout the conflict as an aspirational model for other universities.
“Miami seems to have a policy of equality, not a double standard, and that’s why I was willing and anxious to speak here and to lend support to President Frenk’s administration and his policies of allowing free speech on an equal basis for everybody – not picking and choosing,” Dershowitz explained in a later interview with The Hurricane.
Antisemitism, he continued to explain, is “the new McCarthyism.”
“The new McCarthyism is if you’re a Jew, people won’t listen to you,” Dershowitz said to The Hurricane. “It lumps people together based on identity politics, and it divides the world into two: the oppressors and the oppressed.”
But Dershowitz gave the primarily pro-Israel crowd encouragement that evening to continue advocating for Israel.
“We have nothing to fear,” he said. “We are on the right side of these issues morally, historically, in every possible way.”
University of Miami student debates a topic with speaker Alan Dershowitz during his talk at the Shalala Student Center on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. Photo credit: Alexandra Fisher
About half-an-hour into the evening, two student protestors affiliated with ‘Canes for Palestine stood and disrupted the event, shouting that “genocide” is unfolding in Gaza.
“Thousands of parents and children are dead in the West Bank,” they added amid boos from the crowd, before being quickly escorted out by Dean Steven Priepke, who oversees student conduct, as well as several officers.
The pair faced no legal punishment after showing their ‘Cane Cards that identified them as students. The Hurricane does not know if the University took any other disciplinary action against the students.
Outside the venue, a few students affiliated with ‘Canes for Palestine, such as junior Miranda Rodriguez, came to morally support those who caused the event’s disruption.
“Coming out here is very important, for me especially as I know many people who are in SSI who are boldly proud of their stance, so I will be proud of my stance that I think that we need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez also addressed Dershowitz’s op-ed written in response to ‘Canes for Palestine’s inflammatory Instagram post.
“It’s off-putting and kind of scary to have someone of such a high position call out our group without any understanding of what we’re truly for and no compassion for the fight we’re trying to fight.”
Other attendees arrived with some hesitance. When sophomore political science major and chair for Jewish Life at Hillel Jonathan Amaral first heard about the SSI event he asked himself, “Why him?”
“I could name 50 people off the top of my head that could have said relatively similar things,” Amaral said. Just the week before, Amaral attended an event with the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, an organization dedicated to combating antisemitism, Jonathan Greenblatt.
However, Amaral walked away “pleasantly surprised,” noting that he did not think Dershowitz crossed any major lines, was “fair” and agreed, for the most part, with Dershowitz’s description of Israel.
Speaker Alan Dershowitz discusses topics of the Israel-Palestine conflict during his talk at the Shalala Student Center on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. Photo credit: Alexandra Fisher
Towards the end of the conversation, Dershowitz shifted his focus to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives on college campuses, a pillar of higher education he believes needs to be “completely dismantled and abolished.”
“DEI is a disaster,” Dershowitz said at the event. “Diversity explicitly excludes Jews, no matter how diversified you are, no matter how different you are. Diversity means only more people of color, more people of minorities. That’s what it means. It’s nothing to do with intellectual academic diversity, or even ethnic diversity. It’s only more blacks and more people of color.”
Dershowitz further explained in the interview with The Hurricane that colleges “should go back to meritocracy, equality and real inclusion.” Instead, he argues universities should uphold affirmative action on “an individual basis” and have specialized offices that combat discrimination.
He also made the point that universities should not have specialized departments (including Judaic studies) and alternatively incorporate subjects like indigenous, women’s and African history into all curriculums.
In a statement to The Hurricane, SSI organizers said they were thankful to attendees and police who were on hand to deal with any possible security threats. “Supporters and opposition alike, we believe that this was a very productive evening in which free speech and ideals were respectfully exchanged between both parties,” SSI said, adding, “Whether or not we as a club or as a campus community agree with everything Dershowitz said, we cherish the exchange of ideals.”
(CNN) — It’s National Pizza Day – so let’s wrap ourselves in the warm, gooey embrace of cheese, settle into a heavenly array of toppings and chomp down on some delectable crust.
The celebration comes every February 9, but it’s hardly the only pizza-positive spot on the calendar. Still to come: National Cheese Pizza Day (September 5), National Pepperoni Pizza Day (September 20), National Pizza Month (October) and National Sausage Pizza Day (October 11).
There’s no doubt about it — folks do love their pizza in all its forms.
Here are some absurd pizza facts, helpful tips and strong opinions to fuel your munching:
Italy divided over new pineapple pizza
2024 might be the year that pineapple pizza cracks Italy, thanks to Gino Sorbillo.
He’s a renowned Naples pizzaiolo (pizza maestro) who has added the dreaded ananas to his menu in Via dei Tribunali, the best known pizza street in the world capital of pizza. Not everyone is happy about this, though.
Do you crave pizza? There’s a reason
Pizza was ranked as the food most associated with addiction-like eating behaviors, according to a study that used the Yale Food Addiction Scale.
Its delicious combination of fat and carbohydrates, along with its texture, color and complimentary taste profile are among the traits that make it so appealing.
Best pizza city in the USA
If you’re thinking Chicago or New York, you’re wrong. At least that’s the somewhat recent opinion of the authors of the encyclopedic “Modernist Pizza.” Learn which West Coast city trumps the old pizza standbys.
Best pizza in Europe
Sorpresa! 50 Top Pizza, an international guide run by Italians, created some waves in 2023 when it pronounced that the best pizza in Europe was in fact not to be found in Italy. This is the country that usurped that honor.
Pizza as a tool of military intelligence
In the late 1960s, the US Army’s 113th Military Intelligence Unit used the tastiest trick in their book — making pizza deliveries — to spy on reporters and politicians, according to The New Yorker magazine.
People love setting pizza records
Guinness World Records has recorded a seemingly endless list of pizza records. Here are just a few:
World’s largest pizza: In Los Angeles, Pizza Hut and YouTube star Airrack set a new record for the world’s largest pizza, coming in at 13,990 square feet.
Longest pizza delivery: In 2006, Paul Fenech traveled 12,346.6 miles (19,780 kilometers) from Madrid to Wellington, New Zealand, to hand-deliver a pizza to Niko Apostolakis. CNN could not find any record of whether the pizza was freezing cold by the time it got there or whether Apostolakis actually ate that thing.
Highest altitude pizza delivery on land: Good news! If you can make it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, you might be able to persuade Pizza Hut to deliver a victory meal to you. They’ve done it before, after all.
PETA’s preferred pizzas
Even the folks at PETA love digging into pizza as long as the pies are “all friendly to cows, pigs, and chickens and packed with flavor.”
The animal rights advocates have come out with their top vegan favorites from Las Vegas to Philadelphia.
Can anything top this crime caper?
Italian anti-Mafia police tracked down and arrested a suspected mobster in France, where he was working under an alias as a pizzaiolo.
Make your own pizza dough
In this case, we’re not being absurd. It’s perfectly doable to make your own delicious pizza dough at home. If you’re feeling daunted by the idea, Stanley Tucci, the host of CNN’s “Searching for Italy,” guides the way.
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Former football star, actor and acquitted murder defendant O.J. Simpson has been diagnosed with cancer, Local 10 News learned Friday.
According to sources, Simpson, 76, who previously lived in South Florida, was diagnosed with prostate cancer and is currently undergoing chemotherapy in Las Vegas.
Simpson has been reportedly telling his friends and family that he’s been hearing rumors that he’s in hospice care, but announced on X Friday that that is not the case.
He said he plans to host “a ton of friends” for the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Simpson was discharged from parole on Dec. 1, 2021, after his conviction in Las Vegas for armed robbery.
Simpson had told parole officials before his Oct. 1, 2017, release from prison that he planned to move back to Florida.
He instead moved to a gated community in Las Vegas, where he played golf and frequently took to Twitter to offer opinions about college and pro sports, especially football.
Simpson’s saga makes him, in the words of one of his Las Vegas trial lawyers, one of the most famous people on the planet.
He grew up in public housing in San Francisco, attended the University of Southern California and won the Heisman Trophy as college football’s best player in 1968. He became an NFL Hall of Famer and the first running back to gain 2,000 yards in a season with the Buffalo Bills in 1973. He acted in movies and served as a rent-a-car company pitchman and a football commentator.
In what became known as “The Trial of the Century,” he was acquitted in 1995 of the double slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
The trial was the focus of gavel-to-gavel TV coverage, with Simpson represented by a legal “Dream Team” that included the late Johnnie Cochran Jr. and F. Lee Bailey.
In a separate case more than a decade later, Simpson was convicted by a jury in Las Vegas and sentenced to prison for leading five men, including two with guns, in a 2007 confrontation with two sports collectibles dealers in a cramped room at an off-strip Las Vegas casino hotel.
Simpson insisted he only wanted to retrieve personal mementoes and items stolen from him following his acquittal in the double killings.
Simpson served nine years in a Nevada prison for armed robbery.
Copyright 2024 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This morning’s special guest for Miami’s Community Newspapers Coffee & Pastelitos event was Tom C. Nguyen, MD, Cheif Medical Executive at Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute. Dr. Nguyen is also the Barry T. Katzen Endowed Chair and the Director of Minimally Invasive Surgery.
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Finland-based airline Finnair is asking customers for a sensitive piece of personal information before they board flights: their body weight.
The airline said it’s collecting the data anonymously from volunteers, and passengers are not required to step on scales to fly with the airline. Those who do will not have their weights shown publicly; only the customer service agent can view the number.
“We’re collecting anonymous data from volunteers on the average weight of customers and their carry-on baggage at Helsinki Airport in February, April and May. The data will be used for aircraft balance calculations,” Finnair said in a statement this week. Passengers on long-haul European flights will have the opportunity to participate in the survey, should they choose to do so. The airline is hoping for “a good sample of volunteers,” it said in a statement.
Airlines typically calculate total passenger loads based on averages to make sure aircraft loads don’t exceed the plane’s maximum weight limit. But Finnair wants a more precise sense of how much weight passengers add to cabins. The data it collects “will be used for future aircraft balance calculations,” Finnair said.
Airlines collect exact weight measurements for everything else on their planes, including fuel, meal and baggage. But the weights of customers and their personal belongings are typically tallied using average weights.
“Time to collect updated data”
Airlines have the option of using standard weights, defined by the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA), or relying on their own measurements, which must be confirmed by the Civil Aviation Authority. Airlines that use their own measurements must update their data every five years. Finnair last surveyed customers for their weights in 2018.
“It’s now time to collect updated data,” the airline said.
Passengers’ weights are kept confidential and are “not linked in any way to the customer’s personal data,” Finnair head of ground processes Satu Munnukka said in a statement. “We record the total weight and background information of the customer and their carry-on baggage, but we do not ask for the name or booking number, for example. Only the customer service agent working at the measuring point can see the total weight, so you can participate in the study with peace of mind,” Munnukka added.
In May 2023, Air New Zealand began conducting a similar survey of passengers’ weights to comply with the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand’s rules governing aircraft operations. Notably, neither Air New Zealand passengers, nor airline personnel, could see travelers’ weights; the scale fed the number directly into a computer for anonymous recording.
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News Streaming to discuss her reporting.
A 32-year-old woman is accused of striking a police officer and driving around the shopping center parking lot with the officer on the hood of the car, Columbus police said.
Getty Images/iStockphoto
A police pursuit of a stolen vehicle turned violent when the driver struck an officer and trapped him on the hood of the car, Ohio authorities said.
On Wednesday, Feb. 7, Columbus police located a Toyota Camry that was reported stolen driving “erratically” in a shopping center parking lot, according to the Columbus Division of Police.
The driver, 32-year-old Holly Graham, put the car in reverse before “abruptly driving forward,” striking a police sergeant standing outside of his vehicle, according to authorities.
“The vehicle continued driving through the parking lot with the sergeant on the hood of the vehicle,” police said.
While still on the hood of the vehicle, “the sergeant discharged their firearm several times, striking the driver,” police said.
“I see the cop flying up in the air, then, next thing I know, you just hear pop pop pop pop,” Sirena Goines, who witnessed the shooting, told Columbus’ WSYX.
Graham was able to exit the parking lot, shaking the officer from the hood of the car, officials said.
While approaching the on-ramp to Interstate 71 North, Graham struck two vehicles head on, at which time officers took her into custody, according to police.
Graham, the only person in the car, was brought to a hospital in serious condition as of Feb. 7, police said.
The sergeant was also brought to the hospital and, as of Feb. 7, was in stable condition, according to authorities.
Graham is charged with felonious assault, police said.
In accordance with Marsy’s Law, the Columbus Division of Police did not identify the sergeant involved.
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating the police-involved shooting by the Columbus Division of Police
Lauren Liebhaber is a National Real-Time Reporter for McClatchy.
LAS VEGAS – The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by casino mogul Steve Wynn against The Associated Press over a story about two women’s accounts to police alleging he engaged in sexual misconduct.
The court cited state anti-SLAPP law in rejecting Wynn’s claim that he was defamed in the February 2018 AP article, which cited police documents. SLAPP, or strategic lawsuits against public participation, refers to court filings made to intimidate or silence critics.
“Nevada’s anti-SLAPP statutes were designed to limit precisely the type of claim at issue here, which involves a news organization publishing an article in a good faith effort to inform their readers regarding an issue of clear public interest,” the three-justice panel said in a unanimous opinion.
Wynn had argued that the documents failed to fully describe elements of a woman’s account that would have cast doubt on her allegation that he raped her in the 1970s in Chicago and that she gave birth to their daughter in a gas station restroom.
Lauren Easton, AP vice president of corporate communications said in a statement that the news organization is pleased with the ruling.
“We believe the Nevada Supreme Court made the right decision,” Easton said.
Attorney Todd Bice, representing Wynn, said he was “surprised that the Court would change Nevada law and disregard the Nevada Legislature in order to extend legal protections to a news report that was determined to be false.”
He said Wynn’s legal team now is “considering all options.”
Wynn, the 82-year-old developer of a decadeslong casino empire, filed the lawsuit in April 2018 against AP, one of its reporters and Halina Kuta, the woman who made the claim. Two months earlier he had resigned as chairman and chief executive of Wynn Resorts.
Wynn has consistently denied sexual misconduct allegations, which were first reported in January 2018 by the Wall Street Journal.
The case went to the state high court twice, after Clark County District Court Judge Ronald Israel first dismissed AP from the case in August 2018 on the grounds that it “fairly reported” information based on an official document, a police complaint by Kuta, even though authorities never investigated the allegation.
Las Vegas police said too much time had elapsed since Kuta said the events occurred in 1973 or 1974.
Neither accuser was identified in the AP report. Their names and other identifying information were blacked out in documents obtained by AP under a public records request. Las Vegas police refused to provide additional details.
The AP typically does not publish names of people who say they are victims of sexual assault, but Kuta agreed to be named in later news reports.
The trial court judge later ruled that Kuta defamed Wynn with her claims, which the judge termed “totally fanciful,” and awarded Wynn a nominal amount of $1 in damages.
Wynn appealed Israel’s ruling to the state Supreme Court, where Bice argued in July 2020 that AP omitted relevant elements of Kuta’s complaint that would lead people to doubt the veracity of her allegation.
The high court reinstated the lawsuit in November 2020, saying Israel erred in dismissing AP from the case on fair report privilege grounds and instructing him to consider AP’s other arguments for dismissing the case under the Nevada anti-SLAPP statute.
Israel then granted AP’s motion to dismiss, and Wynn appealed again. The Supreme Court accepted written briefings but did not hear oral arguments again before issuing Thursday’s ruling.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
A special counsel appointed by the Department of Justice issued a report Thursday on President Biden’s handling of classified documents from his time as vice president, finding that no criminal charges were warranted. Robert Hur’s report did contain significant criticism of Mr. Biden’s handling of classified information, however. Major Garrett anchors a CBS News special report breaking down the report’s findings and the political implications.
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