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Hialeah mayor set to address missed 911 calls after city officials prompt investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:33 GMT

Hialeah city officials are investigating an alarming amount of missed 911 calls and the mayor is set to address the matter on Thursday morning. A councilman of the city said the situation is a “call crisis” after thousands of missed emergency calls since 2021 have prompted an investigation by officials. “In the past two years, the city of Hialeah has missed over 32,000 calls to its 911 operators,” said Councilman Brian Calvo in a press conference held on June 26. “Folks were calling 911 but the call was ringing and no one answered.” Calvo was the leader who called for an investigation into the operation of the city’s 911 call center. He pointed to multiple sources and documented a deterioration in service, including a March 2022 report he said was commissioned by the mayor.This report showed, and I quote, ‘That the city’s 911 system is woefully understaffed,’” continued Calvo. Back in March, Andrew Glassmer, a call center employee, too...

Excessive Heat Warnings Remain in Effect for Parts of South Florida Thursday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:33 GMT

It has been a very hot and oppressive week so far in South Florida and that continues this Thursday courtesy of a heat dome remaining parked nearby, generating and trapping plenty of heat and humidity across the southeastern U.S..That dome of heat even led Key West to break their all-time warmest low temperature on record of 88F! That broke the old record of 87F which has been set several times, as recently as earlier this year.Excessive Heat Warnings remain in effect through 7PM for Miami-Dade and Broward Counties for feels-like temperatures up to 115F.A Heat Advisory is in effect for the Florida Keys from 10AM through 8PM for feels-like temperatures up to 110F, with some locations even hotter.Actual high temperatures will reach the mid 90s at most locations, with lots of sunshine and very steamy conditions in the morning. A spotty shower will be possible but rain chances will increase to a 40% chance for the afternoon and evening hours with rain and thunderstorms possible across p...

‘Barbaric.’ Founder of Russia’s Google slams Putin’s war on Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:33 GMT

Arkady Volozh, one of the founders of Yandex — Russia’s version of Google — is “categorically against” the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the entrepreneur said Thursday in a rare public admission from a leading Russian business figure.“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is barbaric, and I am categorically against it,” Volozh said in a written statement shared with POLITICO, adding he was “horrified about the fate of people in Ukraine.”Volozh, who co-founded Yandex in 1997 and has been living in Israel since 2014, stepped down as Yandex’s CEO in June 2022 after he was sanctioned by the EU for “materially or financially” supporting Russia’s war.He said he realized that his “role in the Yandex story had come to an end” after the Kremlin’s aggression ramped up in February 2022, but had chosen to “stay silent” since then to focus on “support[ing] the talented Russian engineers...

Russian ‘revenge’: Ukraine braces as Kremlin steps up attacks on recaptured areas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:33 GMT

KYIV — Russia is intensifying its attacks in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region as it aims to retake territory which it lost during Ukraine’s stunning counteroffensive last fall. With Ukraine now pushing on the southern front, where Kyiv has liberated settlements and destroyed Russian logistics, the Kremlin’s invading forces are heavily targeting Kupiansk, an important logistics hub in the Kharkiv region.The renewed Russian offensive comes as fighting in Ukraine’s east is heavily bogged down in a war of attrition, with both sides struggling to make big gains. Ukraine’s counteroffensives faces heavily fortified Russian positions, as Moscow’s forces learn lessons from a total wipeout last September when Ukraine stormed the Kharkiv region. And amid the grinding stalemate in the south and east, the Kremlin’s troops are pivoting to a major assault in the northeast. “Russians are aiming to retake the Kharkiv region to take revenge for ...

Don’t go slow on electric cars, says Shapps

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:33 GMT

LONDON — The U.K. should be “leaning into” the phase-out of petrol and diesel vehicles as a way to boost investment in British battery manufacturing, Energy Secretary Grant Shapps said.Ministers are divided over plans to hit car manufacturers with fines from next year if they miss electric vehicle sales targets, with Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch pushing colleagues inside government to soften the rules. The discussions come amid a wider rethink of net zero policies in the Conservative party.But Shapps said the U.K.’s “clear picture” — including proposals that 22 percent of new cars sold must be zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs) by 2024 — had been instrumental in securing a recent £4 billion Gigafactory investment from the Tata Group, to make batteries for Jaguar Land Rover and other manufacturers.Asked whether he would be arguing inside government in favor of the 22 percent target, Shapps claimed personal credit for securing the Tata deal, and pushed back against any suggestion...

State police investigating hit-and-run in South Boston that left pedestrian seriously injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:33 GMT

State police are investigating a hit-and-run pedestrian crash in South Boston early Thursday morning that left a man with serious, potentially life-threatening injuries, officials said.Troopers responding to a report of a pedestrian struck on Columbia Road at the Exit 14 ramp from Route 93 north in South Boston found a man suffering from serious injuries, according to state police. The driver of the vehicle that hit him fled the scene.The man was transported to Boston Medical Center. His condition was not immediately available.The crash is under investigation by Troop H of the Massachusetts State Police, the State Police-South Boston Barracks, the State Police Detective Unit for Suffolk County, the State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, and the State Police Crime Scene Services Section. No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

State police offering $10,000 reward as search continues for ‘Bad Breath Rapist’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:33 GMT

The Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, United States Marshals Service, and Quincy police continue to search for rapist and kidnapper Tuen Kit Lee, who fled during his trial in 2007 and was convicted in absentia.Investigators determined that Lee, whose family owned the Kagawa restaurant in Quincy, raped a waitress from the restaurant after he broke into her home on Feb. 2, 2005. Lee, who was masked, held the victim at knifepoint, zip-tied her to a bed face-down, and sexually assaulted her. Lee left the victim zip-tied to the bed; she was found there several hours later by her boyfriend, who went to her house after being unable to reach her by phone.Among the evidence establishing that Lee was the assailant was his foul breath, which the victim recognized. He was subsequently dubbed by media as the “Bad Breath Rapist.”After his arrest, Lee posted $100,000 cash bail set by a bail clerk and was not in custody pending and during trial. After he testified at...

Tropical Storm Khanun drenches South Korea as it churns toward Seoul

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:33 GMT

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — Tropical Storm Khanun was pouring intense rain on South Korea on Thursday, turning roads into chocolate-colored rivers and leaving at least one person dead as it advanced north toward major urban centers near the capital.More than a foot of rain fell in eastern and southern areas after the storm made landfall on the mainland in the morning. Emergency workers responded to increasing reports of flooding and landslides by the afternoon. More than 16,000 people, mostly in southern regions, were evacuated from their homes. The number was expected to grow as the heavy rains continue and rivers and streams rise.Officials shut down hundreds of freeways, streets and public parks and sent text alerts warning about the perils posed by Khanun, which is hitting South Korea weeks after torrential rains caused flash floods and landslides that killed at least 47 people.Khanun made landfall around 9:20 a.m. near the southeastern port city of Geoje, Khanun and was approachin...

Big fashion is getting bigger. Parent of Coach will buy Versace owner Capri in $8.5 billion deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:33 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Tapestry, the parent company of luxury handbag and accessories retailer Coach, is buying the owner of fashion brands including Michael Kors, Versace and Jimmy Choo, Capri Holdings. Big fashion has been getting even bigger through a spate of acquisitions as U.S. players seek more sway in Europe. The approximately $8.5 billion (7.7 billion euro) deal puts Tapestry in a better position to do just that in going-to-toe with rivals like LVMH and Kering.Tapestry Inc., whose brands also include Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman, said Thursday that the combined company had global annual sales of more than $12 billion (10.9 billion euro) and has a presence in more than 75 countries. Tapestry has a market cap of nearly $10 billion (9.1 billion euro), while Capri’s is around $4 billion (3.6 billion euro).“The combination of Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman together with Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Michael Kors creates a new powerful global luxury house,” Tapestry CEO Joann...

Biden is in Utah to mark the anniversary of the PACT Act expanding veterans benefits

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:37:33 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — President Joe Biden will mark the first anniversary of a law that is delivering the largest expansion of veterans benefits in decades on Thursday by showcasing the bipartisan PACT Act in the company of Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox.The Democratic president and the GOP governor will visit the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center to promote a law that is intended to improve health care and disability compensation for exposure to toxic substances, such as burn pits that were used to dispose of trash on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 348,000 veterans have had their claims approved in the last year, and about 111,000 who are believed to have toxic exposure have enrolled in health care.The president is winding up a three-state western swing in which he has been combining events focused on achievements from his first term with campaign fundraisers aimed at helping him win a second. Both Biden and Cox have stressed the ...