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Former Trump aide arrives at Miami courthouse to appear before grand jury in classified documents probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:58 GMT

(CNN) — Taylor Budowich, who has worked as a spokesman for Donald Trump, has arrived at the federal courthouse in Miami to appear before a grand jury as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents.Budowich and his attorney, Stanley Woodward, declined to answer questions as they arrived.Still aligned closely with the former president, Budowich now runs a super PAC backing Trump called MAGA, Inc.The grand jury based in southern Florida has heard testimony from multiple witnesses in recent weeks as part of the federal investigation that has relied for months on grand juries in Washington, DC, to help gather evidence and witness testimony.Smith’s investigation into potential mishandling of classified materials and possible obstruction appears to be nearing the final stages of the investigation.

BSFR extinguish fire at assisted living facility in Lauderdale Lakes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:58 GMT

The Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue crews extinguished a fire that broke out in an assisted living facility in Lauderdale Lakes. According to officials, the blaze started just before 11 p.m. Tuesday at 3485 N.W. 30th St. Firefighters entered the building where they found smoke expelling from the third floor in one of the rooms.Officials believed the flames spread from an unattended candle in the living space.The automatic sprinklers in the building suppressed the fire and kept it from spreading further. Approximately 50 firefighters responded to the scene to control the blaze and help people evacuate nearly 30 residents from inside the living facility. Most of the residents lived on the second, third and fourth floors of the housing structure and were evacuated due to the smoke conditions and water disturbance caused by the sprinkler system.Around midnight, two residents needed to be transported for complaints related to the fire but their conditions were stable. Everyone involved was e...

Woman rescued from sinking boat 4 decades ago reunites with good Samaritan who saved family

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:58 GMT

MELBOURNE, Fla. (WSVN) — There was a heart warming reunion between a good Samaritan and a woman who was rescued from a sinking boat four decades ago.“I’ll never forget him,” Memory Wilks said. “I can’t thank him enough, he is truly my hero.” Wilks was clearing out her parents’ home recently when she found a newspaper article from 1982.The article was about her family’s boat, which sank near Melbourne.The article mentioned the man who was credited with saving their lives.After a quick Facebook search, the two connected.“The boat was half sunk, they were a like a foot and a half of water, deep already, all their belongings were floating away,” Doug Ritter said. “They were in a panic.” “He reached his hand down, he said, ‘Sweetie, I got you. Grab my hand,'” Wilk’s said. Ritter was able to rescue all seven members of Wilk’s family.He said that was the best day he’s ever had on th...

Russia used sabotaged dam as ‘weapon of mass destruction’ says Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:58 GMT

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced and the natural world suffered catastrophic damage after the destruction of Nova Kakhovka dam unleashed heavy flooding across southern Ukraine, the country’s energy minister told POLITICO on Wednesday.German Galushchenko said Russia deliberately destroyed the hydroelectric dam, creating “the largest man-made disaster in Europe in decades.”“People have lost their homes. The nature, unique ecosystems have suffered irreparable damage. About 20,000 households in the Kherson region are cut off electricity, have limited access to clean food and water,” he said, adding: “It is a war crime and can be qualified as the use of weapons of mass destruction under the Geneva Convention. They must be punished for all their crimes.”Ukrainian authorities worked through the night on Wednesday to evacuate thousands of people from flood-hit areas of Kherson region, in the south of the country. As many as 16,000 res...

Court says no, Polish government says go on coal mine permit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:58 GMT

WARSAW — The Polish government said it will ignore a court ruling suspending an environmental permit for one of the country’s largest lignite coal mines.The ruling was issued by a Warsaw court on May 31 and made public on Tuesday. The case had been filed by Polish, Czech and German environmental groups, complaining about an environmental permit issued last year for an expansion of the Turów mine located near the Czech and German borders in southwestern Poland.The court found that the permit — valid from 2026 to 2044 — was issued in breach of EU environmental regulations. “It should be pointed out that the probability that the [permit] is defective cannot be ruled out,” the court said, adding: “Further mining under the conditions set out in the permit … may lead to irreversible damage not only to the environment, but may also have a negative impact on the health of the inhabitants of nearby towns.”That set off a storm of protest from the Polish government.“We’re def...

The 2 killed in mass shooting after Virginia high school graduation ceremony were an 18-year-old graduate and his stepfather

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:58 GMT

(CNN) — An 18-year-old graduate and his 36-year-old stepfather were killed in a shooting after a high school commencement ceremony in Richmond, Virginia, Tuesday evening, police confirmed Wednesday.A gunman opened fire after the ceremony Tuesday, killing two and injuring five, as terror spread among hundreds who had gathered to celebrate, police said.A suspect – a 19-year-old man – is in custody, and police are seeking second-degree murder charges against him, interim Police Chief Rick Edwards told reporters Tuesday night. Edwards said other charges could follow.A 9-year-old girl was struck and injured by a car in the chaos among guests and graduates after the shooting in Monroe Park, across the street from the Altria Theater, where Huguenot High School held the ceremony, officials said.“This should have been a safe space,” Edwards said. “It’s just incredibly tragic that someone decided to bring a gun to this incident and rain terror on our community.”The shooting mar...

Pope Francis will have intestinal surgery and stay in the hospital for several days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:58 GMT

By NICOLE WINFIELD and MARIA CHENG (Associated Press)ROME (AP) — Pope Francis was admitted to the hospital for surgery Wednesday to repair a hernia in his intestine, the latest malady to befall the 86-year-old pontiff who had part of his colon removed two years ago.Francis was expected to be put under general anesthesia for the open abdominal surgery and remain at Rome’s Gemelli hospital for several days, the Vatican said. While hernia operations are rarely performed on an emergency basis, the procedure appeared somewhat urgent, scheduled just a day after Francis went to the hospital for tests. The pontiff’s doctors no doubt also wanted to give him ample time for recovery ahead of a busy travel schedule later this summer.The pope was suffering from a “painful and worsening” hernia that formed over a previous scar, presumably from his 2021 colon surgery. Experts said the formation of the hernia, called a laparocele, is a known complication from intestina...

Man pleads guilty to assisting in plot to kidnap Michigan governor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:58 GMT

BELLAIRE, Mich. (AP) — A man accused of assisting the leaders in a plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor pleaded guilty Wednesday, the ninth conviction in state and federal courts since agents broke up an astonishing scheme by anti-government rebels in 2020.Shawn Fix said he provided material support for an act of terrorism, namely the strategy to snatch Gov. Gretchen Whitmer at her vacation home in Antrim County. Prosecutors agreed to drop a weapon charge. Prosecutors have said they had evidence that Fix trained with a militia, the Wolverine Watchmen, for “politically motivated violence” and hosted a five-hour meeting at his Belleville home where there was much discussion about kidnapping Whitmer.Fix, 40, helped plot leader Adam Fox pinpoint the location of Whitmer’s second home, key information that was used for a 2020 ride to find the property in northern Michigan, prosecutors said in a court filing.Fix appeared in an Antrim County court, one of five people charged in that leg of th...

Security guards at London’s Heathrow Airport to escalate strikes over pay into busy summer months

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:58 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Security guards at London’s Heathrow Airport, Europe’s busiest, will escalate their strike action over pay into the busy summer months, the U.K.’s largest trade union said Wednesday.The Unite union said more than 2,000 of its members will walk out for 31 days from June 24 through to Aug. 27, a move that could wreak havoc for the millions of people going through Heathrow during the summer travel season. Security guards have already been striking in recent months, including during the Easter break and the coronation of King Charles III.“Unite is putting Heathrow on notice that strike action at the airport will continue until it makes a fair pay offer to its workers,” Unite general-secretary Sharon Graham said. “Make no mistake, our members will receive the union’s unflinching support in this dispute.”Security officers at Terminal 3, which is the base for many international carriers, including American Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, will be joining ...

Greece seeks assistance from rival Turkey over migration spike along border river

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:58 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek officials have launched a series of high-level contacts with the newly elected government in Turkey in an effort to counter a surge in attempted crossings by migrants over a river that divides the two countries.Defense Minister Alkiviades Stephanis spoke on a call Wednesday with Turkish counterpart Yasar Guler, officials in Athens said, a day after the foreign ministers of the two countries also spoke. Guler and other members of the new Turkish government were appointed following the recent reelection victory of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.Patrols along the Evros River on the Greek side of the border have been intensified following a recent drop in the water level that makes migrant crossings easier.The two NATO members have a number of longstanding disputes, including sea boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean and efforts to curb illegal migration to the European Union.Greece in the past has accused Turkey of “instrumentalizing” migration to ...