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After anger from victims’ families, UK says criminals will be forced to attend sentencing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:48:50 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The British government said Wednesday it will change the law to force serious criminals to attend their sentencing hearings, after an outcry from the families of murder victims.The move follows widespread outrage at the refusal of nurse Lucy Letby to come to court this month to be sentenced for the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of six others.That meant the killer did not have to hear anguished victims’ statements from the babies’ families, or listen as judge James Gross imposed a sentence of life without parole, saying Letby had acted with “deep malevolence bordering on sadism.”Politicians and victim advocates were already calling for changes in the law to force criminals to appear for sentencing after several high-profile convicts chose not to face their victims in recent months.Currently, offenders can be found in contempt of court if they refuse to attend, but they can’t be forced to come. The government said it will change the law to make clear t...

Nearly 170 rescued Senegalese migrants returned after Mauritania refused to take them in

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:48:50 GMT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Nearly 170 migrants returned to Senegal on Wednesday after spending almost a week in limbo on a Spanish rescue boat. Spain’s interior ministry said 168 migrants were safely transported to Saint-Louis, a major coastal city in the north of Senegal. Since Thursday, the migrants had been stuck aboard a Spanish Civil Guard vessel near the northwest African nation of Mauritania after authorities there refused to let them disembark, according to leading Spanish newspaper El Pais. Ibrahima Cissé, spokesperson for the ministry of Senegalese abroad, confirmed the migrants had arrived in Saint Louis but did not provide further details. The Civil Guard is one of two national police forces in Spain. For years, it has worked with local authorities in Mauritania and Senegal to try to prevent migrants from attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands, an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of Africa.In recent months there has been a surge of migrants depart...

Japanese ministers eat Fukushima fish to show it’s safe after nuclear plant wastewater is discharged

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:48:50 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and three Cabinet ministers ate Fukushima fish sashimi at a lunch meeting Wednesday, in an apparent effort to show that fish is safe following the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that began last week. Kishida and the three ministers had sashimi of flounder, octopus and sea bass, caught off the Fukushima coast after the water release, along with vegetables, fruits and a bowl of rice that were harvested in the prefecture, Economy and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who was at the meeting, told reporters. The release of the treated wastewater into the ocean, which began Thursday and is expected to continue for decades, has been strongly opposed by fishing groups and by neighboring countries. China immediately banned all imports of Japanese seafood in response. In South Korea, thousands of people joined rallies over the weekend to condemn the discharge.All seawater and...

E-470 closed at I-76 due to semi rollover

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:48:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Those who commute on E-470 will want to find another route following a semitruck rollover Wednesday morning.Just before 7:30 a.m., all southbound lanes of E-470 were closed at Interstate 76 due to the rollover.FOX31's Courtney Fromm is on the scene where multiple emergency crews were working to clear the metal scaffolding that was covering the highway. You’ve been warned: Don’t drive over solid white lines In addition to the closure at I-76, the ramp from U.S. 85 to southbound/eastbound E-470 is also closed so another truck can come and clear the debris.The closure is expected to last at least another three to four hours. However, one lane will be temporarily reopened at around 9:30 a.m. to help clear some of the backed-up traffic.For detours around the closure, visit the FOX31 traffic page.There has been no word on what may have caused the rollover.

Idalia blasts Florida and Georgia, swamping the coast and closing highways

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:48:50 GMT

CEDAR KEY, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Idalia remained an extremely dangerous Category 2 hurricane as it moved into Georgia after making landfall Wednesday morning on Florida’s west coast, where it unleashed life-threatening storm surges and rainfall across an area that has never before received such pummeling.More than 242,000 customers were without electricity as trees snapped by strong winds brought down power lines and rushing water covered streets. Along the coast, some homes were submerged to near their rooftops and structures crumpled. As the eye moved inland, destructive winds shredded signs and sent sheet metal flying. LIVE: Hurricane Idalia brings catastrophic storm surge, destructive winds to Florida’s Big Bend “We have multiple trees down, debris in the roads, do not come,” posted the fire and rescue department in Cedar Key, where a tide gauge measured the storm surge at 6.8 feet (2 meters), submerging most of hte downtown. “We have propane tanks blowing up all over the isla...

These spooky movies will be released this fall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:48:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — While spooky season is still a month out, there are a few scary films set to hit theaters soon. These movies vary in horror, from comically creepy to downright gruesome. Orchards still offering apple picking for fall 2023 Depending on your threshold for thrillers, these movies will put you in the Halloween mood. September: All Fun and Games: Sept. 1After Salem teens find a cursed knife, they are forced to play childhood games with a deadly turn. You may recognize one of the stars, Natalia Dyer, as "Nancy Wheeler" from the popular TV series "Stanger Things." Don't Look Away Sept. 1 Once you see the supernatural entity in the form of a mannequin, you're already dead -- or at least that's what happened to the people who saw it before Frankie. The Good Mother Sept. 1This dramatic mystery isn't supernatural, but it's definitely a thriller. A mother embarks on a journey to track down her son's killer with his pregnant girlfriend only to find a world of drugs and corrupt...

Hurricane Idalia unleashes fury on Georgia and Florida, swamping the coast and closing highways

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:48:50 GMT

CEDAR KEY, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Idalia remained an extremely dangerous Category 2 hurricane as it moved into Georgia after making landfall Wednesday morning on Florida’s west coast, where it unleashed life-threatening storm surges and rainfall across an area that has never before received such pummeling.More than 242,000 customers were without electricity as trees snapped by strong winds brought down power lines and rushing water covered streets. Along the coast, some homes were submerged to near their rooftops and structures crumpled. As the eye moved inland, destructive winds shredded signs and sent sheet metal flying.“We have multiple trees down, debris in the roads, do not come,” posted the fire and rescue department in Cedar Key, where a tide gauge measured the storm surge at 6.8 feet (2 meters), submerging most of hte downtown. “We have propane tanks blowing up all over the island.”Idalia came ashore in the lightly populated Big Bend region, where the Florida Panhandle curves...

GEM prepares supplies to assist communities and people affected after Hurricane Idalia makes landfall in Florida

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:48:50 GMT

After Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the Sunshine State, The Global Empowerment Mission in Doral is packing up and is ready to send supplies to those hit hard by the storm. 7News cameras on Wednesday captured several items in their assembly line such as socks, food, water and family hygiene kits.The Chief Development Officer at GEM spoke with 7News about their current plans. “It’s always getting the most amount of aid to the most amount of people in the least amount of time for the least amount of money,” Patrick Lynch said. “It’s what we’re doing here today. Our neighbors here in Florida, just up the road, are no strangers to storms like this, unfortunately, and neither are we. So starting yesterday, we already sent out two tractor trailers worth of aid that are currently en-route to Perry. They’ll be ready for distribution as soon as the storm clears.”Lynch also discussed what GEM will do for the rest of the week.“Throughou...

Randy Arozarena, Josh Lowe and Isaac Paredes slug homers to lead Rays over Marlins 11-2

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:48:50 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Randy Arozarena, Josh Lowe and Isaac Paredes homered as the Tampa Bay Rays rallied from two early deficits and beat the Miami Marlins 11-2 Tuesday night for their ninth win in 11 games.José Siri hit a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth inning and Yandy Díaz added two singles for the Rays, who trail AL-leading Baltimore by 2 1/2 games in the East Division and maintained their 5 1/2-game lead in the race for the AL’s top wild-card spot. With the win, Tampa Bay improved to 81-52, ensuring the Rays will go a seventh straight season without a losing record.“We’re playing good baseball and trust each other,” Arozarena said. “And we have to continue playing strong to maintain the positive results.”Miami slugger Jorge Soler left the game in the seventh inning due to right hip tightness. Soler, who has 35 homers this season, swung at a pitch from Tampa Bay reliever Erasmo Ramírez and stepped away from the plate.Aaron Civale (7-3) overcame a 32-pitch first inning and worked fiv...

Police seize cash from home of MEP Maria Arena’s son

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:48:50 GMT

BRUSSELS — Belgian police found cash in the home of Ugo Lemaire, the son of European parliamentarian Maria Arena, as first reported by Le Soir and confirmed by the Belgian prosecutor’s office.Arena, though implicated in the corruption scandal now known as Qatargate through July raids of her and her family’s homes, remains uncharged. But recent revelations show investigators in charge of the Qatargate case discovered large amounts of cash during the search of her son’s home in July. It was Arena who allegedly opened the door to her son’s apartment, next door to her own, where police officers recovered €280,000 in cash, according to Le Soir. To date, no connection has been established between the cash and any corruption activities related to a foreign country.Asked to comment on the raid and on the amount of money seized, the Belgian prosecutor’s office declined to give further information — but said it “deplored any leak of information in this case.”Belgia...