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Ex-FBI agent John ‘Zip’ Connolly’s medical parole in Massachusetts in jeopardy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

Shady ex-FBI agent John “Zip” Connolly’s “conditional medical release” is up before a Florida parole board next week.This means the former handler of murdered mobster James “Whitey” Bulger could be forced back behind bars.The 83-year-old Connolly was allowed to return to Massachusetts on a medical release on Feb. 17, 2021, because he had about a year to live after being called “terminally ill.” That estimated timeline of his demise has not proven correct.The Florida Commission on Offender Review voted 2-1 to grant Connolly’s medical release, allowing him to “finish out his life in sunshine,” as one supporter testified that day.Now, that same commission has Connolly on the agenda for Tuesday. Zip is 11th on the list of convicts set for “Parole and Conditional Medical Releases/Revocations” in a hearing slated to begin at 9 a.m.Connolly was convicted of second-degree murder in 2008 for wearing his FBI-issued sidearm when he me...

Tropical Storm Ophelia makes landfall in North Carolina as coastal areas lashed with heavy rain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall on the North Carolina coast early Saturday, lashing coastal areas with damaging winds and dangerous surges of water, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Radar, hurricane hunter aircraft and observers on the ground found that Ophelia’s center came ashore at around 6:15 a.m. near Emerald Isle with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph), the hurricane center said. That’s roughly 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Cape Lookout.Life-threatening flooding was forecast for parts of eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, but the system is expected to weaken after landfall.Ophelia is likely to turn north Saturday and then shift northeast on Sunday, the hurricane center said. The storm promised a weekend of windy conditions and heavy rain up to 7 inches (18 centimeters) in parts of North Carolina and Virginia, as well as 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters) in the rest of the mid-Atlantic region through Su...

Uganda’s president says airstrikes killed ‘a lot’ of rebels with ties to Islamic State in Congo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni said Saturday that recent airstrikes against rebels with ties to the Islamic State group in eastern Congo have killed “a lot” of the militants, possibly including a notorious bomb maker.The statement issued by the president’s office didn’t provide details on the Sept.16 airstrikes targeting the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, a shadowy extremist organization blamed for regular violence targeting civilians from bases in Congo’s volatile east. The airstrikes targeted four ADF camps located between 100-150 kilometers (62-93 miles) from the Uganda border, according to Museveni’s statement. Uganda and Congo launched joint military operations against the ADF in 2021.Meddie Nkalubo, a Ugandan bomb maker with the ADF, was likely killed in the airstrikes, according to the statement.ADF fighters sometimes conduct deadly raids across the border. In June, suspected ADF rebels attacked a school on the Ugandan side of t...

Florida siblings, ages 10 and 11, stopped while driving mom’s car on freeway 200 miles from home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A 10-year-old Florida boy and his 11-year-old sister who were running away to California drove 200 miles (320 kilometers) in their mother’s car before they were stopped by sheriff’s deputies on an interstate highway, authorities said. The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office says deputies spotted the sedan on Interstate 75 near Gainesville in north Florida just before 4 a.m. Thursday. The children’s mother had reported it stolen and her children missing four hours earlier in North Port, a city in southwest Florida.The deputies, thinking that they were dealing with car thieves, drew their guns and ordered those inside the car to step out. “Much to their surprise, deputies observed a 10-year-old male driver exit the vehicle along with his 11-year-old sister,” the department said in a statement. The children told deputies the girl had been upset that their mother had taken away her electronic devices for misbehaving, so the boy was driving he...

Goodbye party being held for Scarborough RT on Saturday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

There will be one final celebration for the Scarborough RT on Saturday. The ultimate farewell bash is meant to mark the end of an era for Line 3. It will include cake, special guest speakers, local food vendors, a DJ, local merchandise, a raffle, and more.The party takes place at Scarborough Town Centre Station from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.The TTC announced almost a month ago that Line 3 would not resume operation following the July 24th derailment when the rear car of a southbound SRT train separated from the rest of the train approximately 500 feet from Ellesmere Station. Of the 40 passengers who were forced to evacuate, five were treated for minor injuries.Line 3 was originally scheduled to be decommissioned on Nov. 18 with the TTC planning to run express shuttle bus service along the 6.4-kilometre route from Scarborough Centre and Kennedy stations for the next seven years until the Scarborough Subway Extension opens in 2030.The transit agency says while a comprehensive review was st...

Ukraine targets key Crimean city a day after striking the Russian navy headquarters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine on Saturday morning launched another missile attack on Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, a Russian-installed official said, a day after an attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet left a serviceman missing and the main building smoldering.Sevastopol was put on air raid alert for about an hour after debris from intercepted missiles fell near a pier, Gov. Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on the messaging app Telegram. Ferry traffic in the area was also halted and later resumed. Loud blasts were also heard near Vilne in northern Crimea, followed by rising clouds of smoke, according to a pro-Ukrainian Telegram news channel that reports on developments on the peninsula. Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, has been a frequent target for Ukrainian forces since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the neighboring country almost 19 months ago.Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, told Voice of America on Sat...

Niger’s junta accuses United Nations chief of blocking its participation at General Assembly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — The military government that seized power in Niger has accused United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of “obstructing” the West African nation’s full participation at the U.N.’s annual meeting of world leaders in order to appease France, Niger’s former colonizer, and its allies.The decision to not allow the junta’s envoy to speak at the U.N. General Assembly in New York could “undermine any effort to end the crisis in our country,” Col. Maj. Amadou Abdramane, a spokesman for the officers who deposed Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum in a July coup, said late Friday.The junta had wanted Niger’s former ambassador to the United Nations, Bakary Yaou Sangare, who was made foreign minister after the coup, to speak on its behalf at the General Assembly.However, Bakary did not receive credentials to attend after the deposed Nigerien government’s foreign minister sent the world body a letter “informing of the end of functions of ...

Pope Francis says migrants ‘do not invade’ Europe, challenges countries to open ports

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

Pope Francis challenged French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders to open their ports to people fleeing hardship and poverty, insisting Saturday that the continent isn’t facing a migration “emergency” but rather a long-term reality that governments must deal with humanely.For a second straight day in the French port city of Marseille, Francis took aim at European countries that have tried to close their doors to migrants and tried to shame them into responding with charity instead. He called for migrants to have legal pathways to citizenship, and for the Mediterranean Sea that so many people try to cross to reach Europe to be a beacon of hope, not a graveyard of desperation.The Mediterranean, Francis told Macron and a gathering of regional bishops, “cries out for justice, with its shores that on the one hand exude affluence, consumerism and waste, while on the other there is poverty and instability.”The pope’s visit to the city i...

Round Rock police respond to fatal auto-pedestrian crash on I-35

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

ROUND ROCK, Texas (KXAN) — One person died after an auto-pedestrian crash on Interstate 35 in Round Rock overnight Saturday. Police said the crash happened on I-35 northbound near the Old Settlers Boulevard exit. Around 5 a.m., the Texas Department of Transportation said all northbound lanes at US 79 were closed due to a crash. Drivers are asked to use alternative routes. RRPD said the driver stayed at the scene and is cooperating with the investigation.

NFL picks: Dallas’ roaring start, the AFC West’s offensive defenses and a big game in Detroit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:53 GMT

Around the NFCDallas rolling. The ultimate measure will be postseason success, but it’s hard to imagine a much better start for Dallas. Its defense under Dan Quinn looks like the NFL’s best with Micah Parsons leading the way. The team’s scored 70 points already in two games and enters Sunday at Arizona as a 12.5-point favorite. In a league built on parity, Dallas’ point differential (plus-60) through two games was twice the next-closest (San Francisco). That’s a pretty good way to open the season, though they suffered a big blow this week when star corner Trevon Diggs tore his ACL in practice.Rare 2-0 battle. Speaking of parity, there are eight 2-0 teams in the league and, just as everybody predicted, three of them are in the NFC South. Tampa’s one of them, and the Bucs play in the lone matchup of unbeaten teams on the Week 3 docket Monday night when they host Philadelphia. Baker Mayfield’s very much enjoyed throwing to Mike Evans (12 catches, 237, two touchdowns) so far, but this w...