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Florida education commissioner skips forum on criticized Black history standards

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:01:32 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 media that “t...

Buenos Aires protester dies of heart attack apparently suffered while being detained by police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:01:32 GMT

A left-wing political activist taking part in a protest days before national primary elections in Argentina died of a heart attack that he suffered while being detained by police Thursday, authorities said.Video posted on social media shows Buenos Aires city police pinning the man face down on the pavement when the person filming starts yelling: “He’s purple! He’s purple! He’s going to suffer an attack. He’s purple!”The video shows officers then turning the unresponsive man over and performing CPR on him before he was taken to a hospital. He later died, the city government said in a statement.“The causes of the death are related to a cardiac arrest resulting from risk factors,” the statement said. It described the man as being “between 40 and 45 years old” but did not name him because he did not have a document on him.Police detained the man and several others around the capital’s iconic Obelisk as they tried to disperse the protest that had been called by several left-wing groups.T...

Investigators say miscommunication between pilots caused United plane to drop near ocean’s surface

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:01:32 GMT

Federal investigators said Thursday that miscommunication between pilots led to a United Airlines jet diving within 748 feet (228 meters) of the ocean’s surface shortly after takeoff from Hawaii in December.The National Transportation Safety Board said in a final report that the crew failed to manage the plane’s vertical path, airspeed and nose direction after the mix-up between the captain and co-pilot.After a normal takeoff during heavy rain at Kahului Airport on the island of Maui, the captain asked the co-pilot, or first officer, to reset the wing flaps, but the co-pilot heard “15” instead of “five,” according to the NTSB. Soon the pilots realized that the plane was pitched downward and accelerating. “At this point I knew the captain was having difficulty with airspeed control … I couldn’t be certain what the captain was dealing with,” the co-pilot later told investigators. The plane’s nose continued to pitch down, and the co-pilot saw through the w...

Chinese-Australian journalist jailed in China on spying charges describes harsh conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:01:32 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese-Australian journalist who worked for China’s state broadcaster and was convicted on murky espionage charges has spoken out about the harsh conditions of her detention. Cheng Lei has been held for three years, and although found guilty on national security charges at a closed-door trial last year, has yet to be sentenced. She is allowed to stand in the sunlight for only 10 hours a year, hasn’t seen a tree since she was detained, and deeply misses her daughter and son, now entering high school, Cheng said in a statement conveyed to an Australian diplomat and released to local media. “I relive every bushwalk, river, lake, beach with swims and picnics and psychedelic sunsets, sky that is lit up with stars, and the silent and secret symphony of the bush,” Cheng said in the statement read by her partner Nick Coyle on the Australian Broadcasting Corp.“I secretly mouth the names of places I’ve visited and driven through,” Cheng said. “It is the Chinese in me t...

Sentence is cut for trans youth’s father who discussed treatment against court order

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:01:32 GMT

VANCOUVER — The British Columbia Court of Appeal has struck down a six-month prison sentence for a trans youth’s father who was convicted of contempt for publicly discussing his child’s private medical details in breach of a court order.Instead, the appeal court sentenced the man to time served, effectively amounting to 45 days, according to the ruling released on Wednesday.The youth had taken his father to court to stop him from giving media interviews in which he identified his child and discussed their medical treatment for gender dysphoria, as well as the father’s objections to the process.The father pleaded guilty to contempt, but his lawyer advised him to reject an offer to make a deal with the Crown for 45 days of imprisonment, and he was instead sentenced to six months.The three-judge appeal panel found the man’s lawyer provided ineffective assistance by not recognizing the prosecutors’ deal would have seen his client released upon his guilty pl...

Toronto police investigating homicide after man, 67, found dead in apartment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:01:32 GMT

Toronto police are investigating a homicide after a man was found dead inside his York apartment.Investigators were notified of a deceased person inside a unit located in the Bellevue Crescent and Weston Road area around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday.Police located a deceased male.The victim has been identified as 67-year-old Ahmed Hassan of Toronto.The Homicide and Missing Persons Unit has taken over the investigation.No other information was provided.

Great run for Elmhurst Youth Baseball comes to an end

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:01:32 GMT

WHITESTOWN, Ind. — A great run for a Chicago area little league baseball team came to an end on Thursday afternoon just short of a berth in the Little League World Series. Elmhurst Youth Baseball lost to New Albany, Ohio 4-0 in the regional championship in Whitestown, Indiana in a game to decide the representative for the Great Lakes at the world baseball tournament in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania later this month. After picking up an 8-4 victory over the Ohio team on Monday, the group from New Albany rallied to beat Kentucky in an elimination game and then knock off Elmhurst with a strong pitching performance. The team from the west suburbs managed just two hits as their great season came to an end. It was still a great run for the Elmhurst 12U team that advanced out of Illinois' little league tournament with a strong run in July. They advanced out of the district, sectional, and state rounds, defeating Hinsdale 6-1 to capture the Illinois title on July 25. After arriving in Wh...

$100K reward offered for information on USPS mail carrier shooting suspect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:01:32 GMT

CHICAGO -- The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the suspect or suspects involved in two armed robberies and one shooting of mail carriers last week.The armed robbery and shooting took place on the 3200 block of North Kildare Avenue in Chicago's Kilbourn neighborhood around 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 1. PREVIOUS: USPS offering $50K reward for information after mail carrier shot Another armed robbery of a USPS mail carrier took place just before 3:45 p.m. on the 1800 block of North Sawyer Avenue in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood.Postal inspectors are seeking to identify a person of interest who may be involved in the letter carrier robberies and shooting.Anyone with information regarding this incident are asked to contact the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 877-876-2455. When connected, say "law enforcement" and reference case number 4088796.

Scoreboard omission is the latest topic in an eventful White Sox week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:01:32 GMT

CHICAGO — For a team that won't be a factor in Major League Baseball's postseason picture in 2023, they are certainly finding themselves in the middle of a lot of controversy.From a fight to accusations of bad culture to even a reported locker room spat, the White Sox are providing storylines that no one wants at the moment. Another one happened on Wednesday night at Guaranteed Rate Field, when observers at the game, including Twitter user @SouthsideIvan, noticed that Yankees reliever Keynan Middleton's name wasn't on the main center field scoreboard or those located above home plate when he took the mound.The former White Sox pitcher caused a stir late in the week when he told Jesse Rogers from ESPN about issues with the culture within the team's locker room, describing it as one having "no rules." When asked about Middleton's name not being on the scoreboard, the White Sox had this statement. “The omission was not intentional but resulted because of duplicate players listed under ...

Here's which back-to-school prices are up (and down)

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:01:32 GMT

(NewsNation) — After 12 straight months of declines, inflation in the U.S. rose in July, and data suggests many back-to-school prices have risen faster than others.Last month, consumer prices jumped 3.2% compared to the year prior, according to new data released Thursday. But over the same period, prices for stationery supplies like notebooks, binders, pens and pencils rose 9.3%. The Children’s Place recalls jeans for choking hazard Americans are expected to spend a record amount on back-to-school items this year.Families with children in elementary through high school are projected to spend an average of $890 on back-to-school shopping in 2023, up $25 from last year's all-time high, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). In total, consumers are projected to spend a record $41 billion on back-to-school this year. Meanwhile, the NRF expects back-to-college spending to be more than double that amount, reaching $94 billion at $1,367 per household. Here's what costs more,...