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Florida education commissioner skips local forum on criticized Black history standards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:22 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Hundreds of lawmakers, teachers, school board members and parents crowded into a South Florida church Thursday evening for a forum on Florida’s new standards for teaching Black history, which have drawn harsh criticism for requiring teachers to instruct middle-school students that enslaved people “developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”But one person who wasn’t in attendance was Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz — the man responsible for overseeing the standards.The former area high school teacher had previously agreed to attend, according to organizers. His participation was advertised on fliers publicizing the event, which was sponsored by Democratic Florida Sen. Shevrin Jones. A chair even was set up on the podium for him with a placard bearing his name.Diaz, a former Florida lawmaker who was appointed commissioner last year by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, said on social med...

Gal Gadot stars as spy engaged in cat-and-mouse chase — with world’s fate at stake — in Netflix’s ‘Heart of Stone’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:22 GMT

I am an international superspy — in my head, and definitely on Facebook and Instagram when I’m stalking people — but Gal Gadot is playing the real kind in a new action movie. She has to save the world, and no, it’s not a new “Wonder Woman” sequel.The flick is called “Heart of Stone.” Like my heart: cold, hard and lifeless.This job probably doesn’t come with pizza parties.Jamie Dornan (as Parker): “You know what you signed up for.”Sophie Okonedo (as Nomad): “No friends, no relationships. What we do is too important.”What could be more important than Jamie Dornan? Well, in “Heart of Stone,” turns out, it’s something like world peace.Jamie Dornan (as Parker): “What’s happening?”Matthias Schweighöfer (as Jack of Hearts): “All our systems are offline. We’ve lost the Heart.”International intelligence agent Rachel Stone, played by Gal Gadot, embarks on a dange...

‘Rust’ movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed pleads not guilty, trial set for December 6

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:22 GMT

(CNN) — “Rust” film armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed pleaded not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and tampering with evidence in relation to the fatal shooting of the movie’s cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, court documents filed Wednesday and obtained by CNN show.Gutierrez Reed was charged with tampering with evidence in June, in addition to two counts of involuntary manslaughter filed earlier this year.CNN has reached out to Gutierrez Reed’s attorney for comment.The trial is scheduled to start December 6 and last through December 15 with jury selection to occur on December 5, an amended trial scheduling order filed Wednesday says.The trial date being set comes after a New Mexico judge denied a motion to dismiss the involuntary manslaughter charge filed by Jason Bowles, Gutierrez Reed’s attorney, earlier this month.Production on the western, starring Alec Baldwin, came to a halt in 2021 when Hutchins was fatally shot after a prop gun Baldwin was h...

Anxious relatives search for signs that loved ones escaped Maui wildfires. Follow live updates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:22 GMT

By REBECCA BOONE (Associated Press)Follow live updates about wildfires racing across part of Maui in Hawaii, destroying a historic town and forcing evacuations. The National Weather Service says Hurricane Dora, which is passing south of the island chain at a safe distance, was partly to blame for strong winds that initially drove the flames, knocking out power and grounding firefighting helicopters.Palmdale, California, resident Kimberly Buen said she can’t reach her father, Maurice “Shadow” Buen, a 79-year-old retired sport fisherman who can’t see or walk well.Her dad has two friends who drive him to the pharmacy and help read his mail, she said, but neither can get back to Lahaina, the historic town where her father lives that is now reduced to charred vehicles and ash.“He has no way out,” Buen said. “I’ve been checking all the lists, all the social media and following all the people at the shelters. I already called the Red Cross. A...

Maui wildfire death toll climbs to 53 [+gallery]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:22 GMT

The death toll from devastating wildfires in Maui climbed to 53 Thursday, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said.“We’re talking about the largest natural disaster of this generation in Hawaii,” Green said. “We are heart-sick that there are more than the original 36 who have passed.”He expects the number to increase as crews continue to search for survivors.Green said it looks like there have been more than 1,000 structures destroyed.“Lahaina, with a few rare exceptions, has been burned down,” Green said after walking the town Thursday morning with Maui Mayor Richard Bissen. “Without a doubt, it feel like a bomb was dropped on Lahaina.”Philanthropy experts recommend that people seeking to donate to Maui’s wildfire victims wait to do so.Regine Webster, vice president of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, says the full scope of need may not be known for up to a week as firefighters finish up their response.She also urged potential donors to support organizations with deep local ties and commun...

New Hampshire man accused of shooting his own mother to death arrested in Revere, waives extradition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:22 GMT

A 20-year-old New Hampshire man accused of shooting his own mother to death was arrested in Revere and will soon return to the Granite State to face murder charges.James Coe, 20, of Danville, was arrested in Revere Wednesday and arraigned as a fugitive from justice in Chelsea District Court on Thursday. He waived an extradition hearing and was ordered held without bail until New Hampshire authorities retrieve him.Danville Police officers responded to a 911 call for help to 48 Back Road the evening of Aug. 3 and found the body of Denise Damato-Coe, 59, with visible gunshot wounds, according to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office.Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jennie Duval conducted an autopsy of Damato-Coe the next day and determined the woman’s cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds and the manner of death was homicide.By Wednesday, Rockingham Superior Court in New Hampshire issued a warrant for Damato-Coe’s son, James Coe, charging him with second-degree murder and falsifyi...

Battle of the (Long Island) bridge: Boston, Quincy at odds again after latest permit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:22 GMT

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said a new state permit will allow the city to move forward with its years-long plan to tackle the opioid epidemic by building a bridge out to a future 35-acre addiction-recovery campus on Long Island.The latest approval, however, has reignited a five-year battle with the mayor on the other side of that prospective bridge, Quincy’s Thomas Koch, who says recreating that access point to Long Island will exacerbate traffic and safety issues. His legal team is preparing an appeal.“I have said from day one that the city of Quincy was going to do everything in its power to keep the city of Boston from building that bridge,” Koch told the Herald on Thursday.While Wu said she was expecting an appeal, she didn’t seem fazed by the prospect on a Thursday morning call with reporters. The mayor is on vacation until Saturday, but convened a virtual press conference to announce the “major state approval.”“We are now taking this as a sign that the city will move ahead with ...

Justice Department drops inquiry into claims of discrimination in Everett

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:22 GMT

The U.S. Attorney’s office for Massachusetts has dropped its inquiry into the City of Everett, which had lasted more than a year.“On June 2, 2022, the United States Attorney’s Office opened a preliminary inquiry of the City of Everett in response to multiple allegations of racial discrimination, gender discrimination, and sexual harassment by City employees. As was discussed … we are closing that preliminary inquiry,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Annapurna Balakrishna and Anuj Khetarpal wrote.“The closure of our inquiry has no impact on any claims that have been or may be filed with any state or federal court or administrative agency,” the letter continued in its sole remaining paragraph.The inquiry compelled city information that the U.S. Attorney’s office under then-U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins alleged Title VII violations related to potential discrimination, harassment, hostile environment, or retaliation by city employees or officials.In response to the closing of the inquiry...

Local restaurant collecting donations for Maui fire victims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:22 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- “It's very devastating. It's really heartbreaking with what's happening," said Andy Mangiduyos, who is closely following the Maui fires which have swept through his hometown of Lahaina.The owner and chef at Kalei’s Kitchenette in Rancho Peñasquitos, Mangiduyos has juggled running his business while trying to get updates from home.He says when the fires first broke out, he was unable to reach anyone. How San Diegans can help those affected by Maui wildfires “So basically, no power, no cell phone towers, no Wi-Fi or anything," he said.But Wednesday, Mangiduyos got a call from his siblings who had to evacuate, saying the family’s home had burned down.“They said, 'we're OK, we're fine, the kids are fine -- but the house is not there anymore,'" said Mangiduyos.He then had to break the news to his parents, who are on vacation in the Philippines. PHOTOS: Fires wreak havoc on Maui, historic Lahaina in flames “Calling them up and saying that, 'hey, you guys gotta extend vaca...

Cases against 146 Fairy Creek logging protesters are dropped after high court ruling

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:05:22 GMT

OTTAWA — The BC Prosecution Service says it’s dropping 146 cases against old-growth logging protesters after Canada’s highest court refused to hear an appeal against the acquittal of a demonstrator who had been cleared of criminal contempt. The Supreme Court of Canada dismissed the appeal application from the B.C. Crown and awarded costs to protester Ryan Henderson. In light of that decision, the cases against other people who took part in the Fairy Creek blockade on southern Vancouver Island have been withdrawn. Prosecution service spokesman Dan McLaughlin says there was no substantial likelihood of convicting the other protesters accused of violating a court injunction at Fairy Creek, and the matters are now concluded. Henderson was cleared of contempt in February when B.C. Supreme Court Justice Douglas Thompson found RCMP officers only read a shortened version of the injunction to hundreds of protesters, including Henderson, who were arrested at the Fairy Creek blocka...