Category: NEWS
Idaho house where four university students were murdered to be torn down
The Idaho house where four college students were murdered in November will be demolished as a “healing step,” the University of Idaho said in a statement Friday.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/24/us/idaho-murder-house-to-be-demolished/index.html
Florida teacher’s aide violently attacked after taking student’s Nintendo Switch
Deputies in Florida released surveillance video of a student attacking a high school teacher’s aide after she took away his Nintendo Switch during class.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said that the physical incident happened at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast, Florida, on Tuesday, and said that a 17-year-old was taken into custody and charged with felony aggravated assault with bodily harm.
Deputies say that a female teacher’s aide took the Nintendo Switch away from him during class, which made him upset. According to WESH-TV, the teenager is considered a special needs student.
Surveillance video released by the school shows the 6’6″ and 270 pound student running up to the teacher’s aide, pushing her to the ground, then continuing to punch and kick her.
FLORIDA STUDENT ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY ATTACKING SCHOOL EMPLOYEE WHO TOOK NINTENDO SWITCH: POLICE
The student is seen on video continuing to punch the employee for several seconds until a group of people are seen forcibly removing him.
Video shows that the teacher’s aide laying on the floor for several minutes before getting up.
Sheriff Rick Staly said that the teacher could have been killed, according to WESH.
“This could have been a homicide,” Staly said. “When you push people down like that, they hit their head, you never know the outcome.”
Body camera video shows the student saying “f–k you” to one of the deputies before he was arrested.
“I don’t want to go to jail,” the suspect said.
FLORIDA JUDGE ON ‘KILLER CLOWN’ CASE MULLS USE OF ALLEGED COSTUME, KEY EVIDENCE AS TRIAL LOOMS
An arrest report states that the student was upset that the paraprofessional took the game away, stating that he “will beat her up every time she takes away his game,” according to FOX 35.
The teacher’s aide was taken to a local hospital and was released. She’s believed to have broken ribs and significant bruising, but the sheriff’s office doesn’t know the full extent of her injuries.
“I believe she will be out of work for at least several weeks, if she even plans on returning,” the sheriff’s office wrote.
“The actions of this student are absolutely horrendous and completely uncalled for,” Staly said. “We hope the victim will be able to recover, both mentally and physically, from this incident. Thankfully, students and staff members came to the victim’s aid before the SRDs could arrive. Our schools should be a safe place – for both employees and students.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Matanzas High School for comment.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-teachers-aide-violently-attacked-taking-students-nintendo-switch
Prosecutor presses Alex Murdaugh on ‘fuzzy’ memory in double murder trial
The lead prosecutor grilled Richard “Alex” Murdaugh, who is charged with killing his wife and son, on inconsistencies in his memory on Friday.
Billionaire Thomas H. Lee leaves legacy of philanthropy after suicide
Lee, 78, built his fortune pioneering the leveraged buyout industry and ended up using a large portion of it to support various causes.
https://nypost.com/2023/02/24/billionaire-thomas-h-lee-leaves-legacy-of-philanthropy/
State officials ‘vow to do better’ on Exide lead cleanup. Some residents aren’t satisfied
Many community members and advocates were unsatisfied with the pledge, with one resident dismissing it as ‘another DTSC world apology tour.’
U.S. dismisses China’s Ukraine peace proposal as an attempt to distract
U.S. officials are scoffing at Beijing’s much-anticipated Ukraine peace proposal and urging the world not to get distracted from the imminent threat of China supplying lethal weapons to Russia.
China’s 12-point “Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis,” published Thursday, asserts vague support for “sovereignty,” “ceasing hostilities” and “resuming peace talks,” without specific proposals on achieving those goals.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told ABC News on Friday that it showed China trying to draw the world’s eyes away from its support of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“China’s been trying to have it both ways — it’s on the one hand trying to present itself publicly as neutral and seeking peace, while at the same time it is talking up Russia’s false narrative about the war,” Blinken said. “There are 12 points in the Chinese plan. If they were serious about the first one, sovereignty, then this war could end tomorrow.”
Those comments echoed remarks from President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, the day before. “My first reaction to it is that it could stop at point one, which is to respect the sovereignty of all nations … this was a war of choice waged by Putin,” Sullivan told CNN on Thursday.
The proposal itself falls short of what Beijing had promised. China’s top diplomat Wang Yi touted last week that the plan would include “important propositions” from Chinese paramount leader Xi Jinping “conducive to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.” Instead it mostly restates Beijing’s existing positions on the war by linking it to the Kremlin’s “legitimate security concerns.”
The timing, however, is significant. The proposal comes after Blinken warned this week that China is considering providing lethal weaponry to Moscow to use against Ukraine.
And world leaders are coming out en masse to counter China’s messaging. Beijing’s peace proposal “doesn’t have much credibility because they have not been able to condemn the illegal invasion of Ukraine,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday. The EU would consider China’s proposals “against the backdrop that China has taken sides,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Beijing helped earn that distrust by abstaining from a United Nations’ resolution on Thursday demanding that Russia immediately withdraw from Ukraine.
Beijing’s proposal doesn’t reference Russia as the conflict’s aggressor or demand that Putin stop the war. Instead it calls for Kyiv and Moscow to “exercise restraint” and says it supports “promoting talks for peace.” The Chinese government also distances itself from leading such efforts by limiting its participation to a hands-off “constructive role.”
“The Chinese are running up against the problem that their buddy Russia has a maximalist position [on Ukraine] and is not going to budge,” said Daniel Fried, former assistant secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs and now a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council. “But instead of pushing the Russians, they’re coming up with mush.”
That rhetoric could have impact in other parts of the globe, said Alexander Gabuev, senior fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center. He argued that the U.S. and European officials lashing out at the proposal may not be its intended audience.
China can now market the plan in the global south as proof of Beijing’s dedication to peace and tell the U.S. and its allies “It’s your job to convince the Ukrainians [to stop fighting] — our mission here is accomplished,” Gabuev said.
The document’s publication means “China gets a PR victory upfront without doing anything,” Gabuev said.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/24/united-states-china-ukraine-00084384
Intelligence suggests China is considering sending drones and ammunition to Russia, sources familiar say
The US has intelligence that the Chinese government is considering providing Russia with drones and ammunition for use in the war in Ukraine, three sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/24/politics/us-intelligence-china-drones-russia-ukraine/index.html
Padres’ Manny Machado becomes first victim of MLB’s new pitch clock
In his first at bat of 2023, Manny Machado was down 0-1 before he even saw a pitch.
That’s because home plate umpire Ryan Blakney ruled that the San Diego Padres slugger was not set in the batter’s box in time.
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Facing Seattle Mariners pitcher Robbie Ray, Machado did not bring his left foot inside the batter’s box in the eight seconds he’s allowed. Blakney called time, signaled to his wrist for a clock violation, and announced that the count was now 0-1.
While in the windup, pitchers will now have 15 seconds to deliver a pitch (20 seconds with a runner on base) — but batters have just eight seconds to get set. A batter who violates the clock will be charged with a strike, while pitchers who do so will be given a ball.
Machado admitted that it’s going to take some getting used to.
“I’m gonna have to make a big adjustment. I might be 0-1 down a lot this year,” he said. “It’s super fast. There’s definitely an adjustment it’s gonna be.”
MINOR LEAGUE CLUB INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS ANNOUNCE TEAM NAME WILL NOT BE CHANGED
The changes come after test drives in Minor League Baseball, where MLB says games have been shortened by an average of 26 minutes.
Two games were played on Friday between MLB teams (the Boston Red Sox had a scrimmage against Northeastern University). The game between the Padres and the Mariners took two hours and 29 minutes, while the other game between the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals took two hours and 33 minutes.
Of course, that is a minuscule sample size, and considering it is early in spring training, plenty of minor leaguers, who are well-accustomed to the faster pace, are playing. So maybe it isn’t the best indicator. But if baseball wants to get back to the pace of the old days, it’s off to a hot start, and the sample size from the minors is surely quite large.
Last season, the average nine-inning game lasted three hours and three minutes, and the average length hasn’t been under three hours since 2015 (2:56). You have to go back to 1978 for the last time the average game took less than two and a half hours.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/padres-manny-machado-becomes-first-victim-mlbs-new-pitch-clock
Indiana authorities identify cause of October fire that razed neighborhood
An October fire that left an Evansville warehouse and neighboring buildings in ruins began on the third floor of the warehouse after someone started it to keep warm, firefighters said.
The fire began around 4:40 a.m. on Oct. 17 and the Evansville Fire Department spent several days at the scene before the fire was completely extinguished. Multiple fire departments responded to the blaze.
LARGE INDIANA FIRE LEAVES EVANSVILLE WAREHOUSE, NEIGHBORING BUILDINGS IN RUINS
No charges will be filed against the occupants of the warehouse at the time, police said.
“Although the individuals were not supposed to be inside, there was no malicious intent to cause the fire and burn down the building,” Sgt. Anna Gray of the Evansville Police Department said.
IN FIRE CREWS BATTLE 100-ACRE FIRE THAT BEGAN IN SOUTHERN INDIANA’S BROWN COUNTY STATE PARK
The warehouse area was once the site of Hercules Buggy Works.
Two and a half months later, on Dec. 31, another large Evansville warehouse caught fire. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said that fire had an electrical cause.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/indiana-authorities-identify-cause-october-fire-razed-neighborhood
FDA authorizes first at-home combo flu/Covid test
The FDA on Friday authorized emergency use of the first over-the-counter test that can detect both Covid-19 and flu.
The single-use test, made by Lucira Health, is able to differentiate between influenza A and B as well as Covid. It takes about 30 minutes to get results from a self-collected nasal swab.
“Today’s authorization of the first OTC test that can detect Influenza A and B, along with SARS-CoV-2, is a major milestone in bringing greater consumer access to diagnostic tests that can be performed entirely at home,” top FDA medical device regulator Jeff Shuren said in a statement. The FDA noted that all rapid diagnostic tests have a risk of false positive and false negative results.
Disease burden: The U.S. flu season peaked early last fall and cases are now low, according to the CDC. The agency estimates at least 25 million flu illnesses have occurred this season, resulting in 280,000 hospitalizations and 18,000 deaths.
But there are still a considerable number of Covid-19 infections being recorded each week: more than 236,000 cases and 2,400 deaths were recorded as of the week ended Feb. 22, according to the CDC.
Bankruptcy filing: Earlier this week, Lucira Health filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced it would try to sell its business.
“The Company anticipated an EUA for an OTC indication on the COVID-19 and Flu test in August 2022, though the FDA’s approval process became protracted, resulting in high expenditures without new revenue from the combined test kit during the 2022-2023 flu season,” Lucira Health said in a press release on Wednesday.
What’s next: Lucira Health did not immediately respond to questions about the impact the bankruptcy filing would have on the market rollout of the test, what current manufacturing capacity is or what the price for the test will be. The company’s stock price jumped more than 85 percent in after-hours trading.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/24/fda-at-home-flu-covid-test-00084420