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Cocoanut Grove Memorial breaks ground 80 years after fire claimed 490 lives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:20 GMT

Over 80 years after the Cocoanut Grove fire claimed 490 lives and singularly revolutionized fire safety standards and burn treatments, families of survivors and victims of the devastating fire gathered Monday at a new site to remember their loved ones.“The Coconut Grove is long overdue, but this memorial will ensure future generations will always remember what happened here 81 years ago,” said Paul Miller, president of the Cocoanut Grove Memorial Committee, addressing a crowd at a ground breaking for the new memorial site in Statler Park. “That the legacy of that night will always be in our hearts.”The fire broke out in the basement of the popular Cocoanut Grove nightclub on Nov. 28, 1942, the first Thanksgiving weekend after the U.S. entered WWII.The club held twice its legal occupancy that night, 1,000 patrons crammed in the space as the fire ripped through. The space was papered in highly flammable decorations and most doors were sealed to prevent unauthor...

Celtics lean on hustle plays, best rebounding game of season to beat Hawks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:20 GMT

Jaylen Brown got some space, a head of steam, and switched to his left hand. He took one more dribble and switched back to his right hand as he flew over Atlanta’s Clint Capela and threw it down on him.Brown’s latest ferocious dunk was the highlight of another Celtics victory. But it’s what made that play happen that represented the night for the C’s. Moments before, Derrick White had missed a 3-pointer and the rebound went long. But Brown hustled after the ball and beat everyone to it.Moments later, Brown was flexing with both of his arms.The Celtics were outplayed, out-toughed, and out-hustled in almost every aspect of Friday’s loss to the Magic. Two nights later, the Celtics turned a hard lesson into a victory. Jayson Tatum scored 34 points and Jaylen Brown added 22 points to pace the Celtics, but it was those hustle plays and all the little things that made the difference in a 113-103 victory over the Hawks.The Celtics posted a season-high 58 rebounds, which included 18 on...

Girl, 11, confirmed as fourth victim of Alaska landslide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:20 GMT

WRANGELL, Alaska — Authorities recovered the body of an 11-year-old girl Saturday evening from the debris of a landslide in southeast Alaska that tore down a wooded mountainside days earlier, smashing into homes in a remote fishing village.The girl, Kara Heller, was the fourth person confirmed killed by last Monday night’s landslide.The girl’s parents Timothy Heller, 44 and Beth Heller, 36, and her sister Mara Heller, 16, were discovered and confirmed dead in the initial days after the landslide. Search crews are looking for a third child still missing from the Heller family, Derek, 12, and neighbor Otto Florschutz, 65, according to Tim DeSpain, a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Public Safety.Florschutz’s wife survived the disaster.The landslide came down in the direct path of three homes near Wrangell, a fishing community of about 2,000 residents located on an island about 155 miles south of Juneau.DeSpain said the latest victim was found under debris in...

3 Palestinian students shot near University of Vermont

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:20 GMT

Three young men of Palestinian descent who were in Burlington for a Thanksgiving holiday gathering were shot and injured — one seriously — near the University of Vermont, police said Sunday. Authorities said the attack may have been a hate crime.The shootings occurred at about 6:25 p.m. Saturday near the UVM campus, according to Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad. He said police are searching for the shooter.Two of the men are in stable condition and the other suffered “much more serious injuries,” Murad said in a news release Sunday. The three, all age 20, were visiting the home of one of the victim’s relatives and were walking when they were confronted by a white man with a handgun.“Without speaking, he discharged at least four rounds from the pistol and is believed to have fled,” Murad said in a news release. “All three victims were struck, two in their torsos and one in the lower extremities.”Murad said all three men are of Palestinian de...

Chance of rain, high elevation snow coming to San Diego County this week

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:20 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The time to breakout an umbrella may return this week as a low pressure system heading towards San Diego is expected to bring some rain to the county this week.Forecasters with the National Weather Service say the system will start pushing towards San Diego on Tuesday, with the strongest part of it reaching the region Wednesday afternoon or evening. The chance for rain will linger through Friday as the system weakens.Lower elevations west of the mountains are likely to see the greatest chances for rain Wednesday night, according to models analyzed by NWS on Sunday. NWS issues hazard warning as high tide over 6 ft. expected for San Diego County beaches Along the coast, communities from San Ysidro to Oceanside could see about a 55 to 65% chance of rain, according to NWS. Inland valley and mountain areas may possibly see about a 50% chance of precipitation.Precipitation chances forecast for Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023. (Courtesy of National Weather Service)In the lower elev...

Man shot, boy stabbed in Lakeside

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:20 GMT

LAKESIDE, Calif. -- Two people were injured after a fight ended in a shooting and stabbing in Lakeside Saturday, authorities said.According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, deputies from the Lakeside Sheriff's Substation responded to reports of a shooting in the 12000 block of Woodside Avenue shortly before 7:30 p.m.Responding deputies found a man with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was transported to a local hospital and is expected to survive his injuries, authorities said.Deputies also found a 16-year-old boy who had been stabbed. He was also transported to a local hospital, where he was treated and later released.  Police looking for suspect in morning stabbing in North Park On Sunday afternoon, SDSO announced a male juvenile was taken into custody at the scene and booked into Juvenile Hall on suspicion of the stabbing. The suspect of the shooting remains on the loose.Deputies and detectives conducted an investigation, gathering evidence from the scene. The...

Schools in Portland, Oregon, reach tentative deal with teachers union after nearly month-long strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:20 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s largest school district said late Sunday it had reached a tentative agreement with its teachers union and roughly 45,000 students would be back in school Monday after more than three weeks without classes. The agreement must still be voted on by teachers who have been on the picket line since Nov. 1 over issues of pay, class sizes and planning time. It must also be approved by the school board, but the union agreed that classes could resume while those votes go forward. Portland Public Schools students missed 11 days of school before the district began its weeklong Thanksgiving break. “We are relieved to have our students returning to school and know that being out of school for the last three weeks — missing classmates, teachers and learning — has been hard for everyone,” Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero said in a statement.The teachers’ union said the tentative deal was a big win for teachers and students alike in areas of classroom size, teac...

Jalen Hurts runs for winning TD in overtime, Eagles rally past Josh Allen, Bills 37-34

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:20 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts scored the winning touchdown on a quarterback draw with 2:37 left in overtime, and the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Buffalo Bills 37-34 on a cold, rainy Sunday.Hurts threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more, outdueling Buffalo’s Josh Allen while rallying the Eagles from a 17-7 halftime deficit for the second straight game.Philadelphia’s Jake Elliott tied the game with a 59-yard field goal with 20 seconds remaining. After the Bills went ahead with a field goal on the first possession of OT, Hurts ran virtually untouched for the 12-yard score that made the Eagles the only 10-1 team in the NFL.Hurts walked off the field with his arms extended in celebration as fans roared. He hit DeVonta Smith for 17- and 11-yard receptions in OT, and D’Andre Swift had a 16-yard run to help set up Hurts’ walk-off TD.Allen threw for 339 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 81 yards and two scores for the Bills (6-5), who are in danger of missing the playoffs ...

Artist Zeng Fanzhi depicts ‘zero-COVID’ after a lifetime of service to the Chinese state

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:20 GMT

SHENZHEN, China (AP) — In one painting, a child sits, mouth wide open, as a worker in white medical garb extends a long cotton swab toward her tonsils. In another, a masked officer and medical workers stand guard in front of an apartment cordoned off with ropes and seals reading “CLOSED,” as residents look on with frustration and despair.These are some of the portraits that Zeng Fanzhi, 85, has painted to commemorate three years of China’s strict “zero-COVID” controls, which sparked nationwide protests a year ago. But Zeng, a retired architect living in Shenzhen, is not a harsh critic of the measures, under which millions of people were tested, locked in apartments, or carried off to quarantine centers.Zeng has spent much of his life in service to the Chinese state, designing monuments in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and coal plants for the Ministry of Coal. He’s a member of Shenzhen’s state-sponsored artist’s association and his paintings feature on stamps and win prizes.The artist h...

Man seriously injured in west end stabbing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:20 GMT

A man has suffered serious injuries after being stabbed in the west end of the city.Police say they were called to the area of Bloor Street West and Dundas Street West just after 7:30 p.m. Sunday night for reports someone had been stabbed.When they arrived they found a man suffering from a stab wound. They were taken to a nearby trauma centre in serious condition.There is no word on suspects at this time or what may have led up to the stabbing.