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Brevard Zoo welcomes adorable, critically endangered grasshopper sparrow chicks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:43 GMT

(CNN) — Florida’s Brevard Zoo has welcomed a clutch of grasshopper sparrows, which the zoo said will help boost the species’ critically endangered population.The two sparrow chicks hatched on April 10 after incubating in their eggs for just 10 days, according to an email from the Brevard Zoo. The babies were born to parents Peg and Eddie, who were matched by a pair of “Florida grasshopper sparrow experts,” the zoo explained in a news release.The newborns will stay with their parents for around 21 days, then move to another behind-the-scenes habitat, where zoo staff will continue to monitor their health, the release said. Finally, they will be released into their native habitat in Central Florida to help bolster the bird’s tiny population.There were just over 100 grasshopper sparrows in their native range as of 2021, the zoo reported. The zoo released 43 captive-born sparrows into the wild last year.The birds, which reach around 5 inches in le...

DeSantis in Japan ahead of expected US presidential bid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:43 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was in Japan on Monday to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other officials as part of his four-nation trade mission seen as an attempt by the expected Republican presidential candidate to improve his diplomatic profile.During their meeting Monday at the Prime Minister’s Office, Kishida told DeSantis that reinforcement of Japan-U.S. ties is key to ensuring the peace, stability and prosperity of the international society, and the two exchanged views on regional issues, according to a Japanese Foreign Ministry statement.DeSantis is considered the biggest challenger to former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential election. He is expected to announce his candidacy in early May.He has already been meeting with Republican officials and aggressively touring battleground states in the U.S.DeSantis’ trip, announced Thursday, also includes South Korea, Israel and the United Kingdom. H...

Disney employee accused of taking videos up park guests’ dresses and skirts for years is fired and arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:43 GMT

(CNN) — A former Disney World theme park employee was arrested and charged in Florida after allegedly recording a video up the skirt of a park guest late last month — and may have been similarly attacking other visitors for years, according to an arrest affidavit.Authorities responded to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on March 31 after an employee was witnessed recording an “up-skirt” video of a female guest at the “Star Wars” retail store, according to the affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.Then-employee Jorge Diaz Vega, 26, allegedly told authorities in an interview that he had “been taking videos up the dresses/skirts of unknown females in the Disney World theme parks for approximately six years,” according to the affidavit.Diaz Vega, who worked at the lightsaber store, told authorities he had what he estimated to be over 500 such videos on his phone and showed “multiple examples of the vi...

DoorDash driver in Tampa is kidnapped and sexually battered by a man before she is rescued by family members, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:43 GMT

(CNN) — A woman delivering for DoorDash in Tampa was attacked and kidnapped before being rescued by her family members, police say, and a male suspect has been arrested.The driver was trying to make a delivery to the Residence Inn in Tampa at night on April 18 when she was approached by an armed man — identified as 38-year-old Joseph Killins — who forced her back into her car at gunpoint and made her drive to another location more than 6 miles away, where he sexually battered her, the Tampa Police Department said in a news release.When the man first confronted the delivery driver, the victim had her AirPods in her ears and was on the phone with her girlfriend, who realized a robbery was taking place, police said in their initial news release. Family members then called police, and officers were dispatched to the hotel.The victim’s family, who had been tracking her phone, arrived at her location and rescued her from the car, authorities said.The susp...

Driver in deadly Hingham Apple store crash pleads not guilty to upgraded charges of assault, second-degree murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:43 GMT

The driver whose SUV crashed into an Apple store in Hingham in November, killing one person and injuring 22 others, pleaded not guilty to new charges at an arraignment Monday morning.Bradley Rein, 53, of Hingham, appeared in Plymouth Superior Court to be arraigned on upgraded charges that included second-degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Rein was arrested after his 2019 Toyota 4Runner crashed into the store’s front window in Hingham. The victim who died was identified as construction worker Kevin Bradley, 65, of New Jersey.7NEWS legal analyst Tom Hoopes said if the case goes to trial, prosecutors will have to prove that Rein acted intentionally, but not necessarily his intent. “The real question I think they’re going to have to deal with is did he just lose control of the car for some reason that you can’t really fault him for,” Hoopes said. Rein told investigators that his foot became stuck on the accelerator and he lost control. Rein’s attorne...

Eric Braeden, Victor Newman on ‘Young and the Restless,’ reveals cancer diagnosis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:43 GMT

(CNN) — Eric Braeden, one of the most famous actors in daytime television, is sharing about his cancer diagnosis.The 82-year-old actor, who for decades has portrayed mogul Victor Newman on “The Young and the Restless,” recently opened up about his health in a video on social media.According to Braeden, he began to notice an issue with his prostate while recovering from knee replacement.“I hate to be this personal, but I think this may be good for some older guys who may or may not listen to this,” he said. “It will happen to them.”Braeden said his frequent urge to urinate sent him to a doctor, and he was given a catheter and a plan for a new bladder treatment procedure.But after having the original catheter removed, Braeden said he ended up at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles because he was unable to urinate. The doctor who treated him there, according to Braeden, told him he had learned to speak English after moving to the US from ...

Supreme Court to decide if First Amendment stops government officials from blocking social media critics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:43 GMT

(CNN) — The Supreme Court said Monday that it will consider whether the First Amendment protects social media users from being blocked from commenting on the personal pages that government officials use to communicate actions related to their duties.The justices said they were taking up two cases concerning the question: one lawsuit brought against local school district officials in California and another lawsuit against a city manager in Michigan.Appeals courts have set forth different tests for determining whether blocking a social media user from commenting on a government official’s personal social media page amounts to an unconstitutional state action restricting speech in a public forum.The court will be weighing in on the question after previously dismissing as moot a case concerning former President Donald Trump’s move to block Twitter users who were criticizing him and his policies.The case will be heard next term.A circuit split on when a government offic...

Ray Romano underwent heart surgery after major blockage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:43 GMT

(CNN) — Ray Romano regrets not taking his doctor’s advice years ago.The “Everybody Loves Raymond” star said he recently has a heart stent installed after doctors found a 90 percent blockage in a major artery.“I had high cholesterol 20 years ago and my guy always told me, ‘Why don’t we start going on the statin,'” Romano said during a conversation on the “WTF Podcast with Marc Maron.”“And every time I would say let me do it myself,” he recalled. “I would go home and eat a little healthier, get it down a couple ticks. It was 280 and now its 220. He’d go, ‘You gotta get it down even more.'”The 65-year-old actor said he regrets not going on the medication earlier, though he said he’s now pre-diabetic.“I’m on the meds, and it’s got me all down now, so I figured, ‘Oh, now I can enjoy and eat some food.'” Romano said. “My sugar level’s up now....

Richard Lewis ‘finished with standup’ amid Parkinson’s disease

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:43 GMT

(CNN) — For those wondering where he has been for the last few years, Richard Lewis has an answer.The comedian, actor and writer posted a video Sunday on social media to celebrate his completion of filming the 12th season Larry David’s hit series, “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which Lewis described as “an amazing season.”Lewis said for more than three years, people have been wondering where he’s been. The actor said it’s been a “rocky” time for him. He’s undergone surgeries for his shoulder, back and hips, and has been dealing with another health challenge.“Two years ago I started walking a little stiffly, I was shuffling my feet and I went to a neurologist and they gave me a brain scan and I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease,” Lewis, 75, said in his video. “Luckily, I got it late in life. And they say you progress very slowly, if at all. And I’m on the right meds, so I’m c...

Healey names transportation safety chief

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:12:43 GMT

A transportation exec with experience at systems around the country was named the new Chief Safety Officer in Massachusetts, a post that will have him overseeing safety and operations for the MBTA, highway, rail and paratransit operations.Governor Maura Healey named Patrick J. Lavin to the post created when she took office earlier this year.Lavin has previously worked as Chief Safety Officer for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, and as Senior Director of Operations for system safety at the New York City Transit.“Pat Lavin is a dedicated public transportation expert who shares our administration’s commitment to improving safety and reliability across our transportation system, including the MBTA,” said Healey in a statement accompanying the announcement of Lavin’s appointment.. “We created this position to ensure we had a senior official coordinating efforts across all modes of transportation and driving strategies across the system to improve safety for rider...