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Cougar at Massachusetts zoo is euthanized after suffering from seizures: ‘Heartbroken’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:51 GMT

A cougar that has been an “incredible presence” at a local zoo for almost a decade has died, according to Zoo New England’s Stone Zoo.Blue the cougar was euthanized over the weekend after he reportedly suffered multiple seizures, and he was no longer responding to medication. Blue was 9 years old.“We are completely heartbroken to share this news about Blue,” said John Linehan, Zoo New England’s president and CEO. “He has been an incredible presence at Stone Zoo since he arrived as a very young cub.“Guests had the opportunity to watch Blue grow up, and we know there are many people who love him as much as we do,” Linehan added. “This is an incredibly sad day, and we appreciate everyone who is keeping our animal care team in their thoughts.”Blue began experiencing seizures several months ago and had responded well to treatment, according to staff at the Stoneham zoo.But within his final 24 hours, Blue experienced multip...

David Ross reflects on magical season, career with Chicago Cubs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:51 GMT

Former Chicago Cubs catcher turned manager David Ross relived the magic of the 2016 World Series championship for a large crowd of avid fans Sunday at the Purdue University Northwest Sinai Forum lecture series.Less than a handful in the Westville crowd admitted to being White Sox fans.“I’ve got stories for days,” Ross told former MLB pitcher Dan Plesac in their conversation on stage.“The buzz in the city when we won the World Series was palpable,” Ross said. “It’s a unique stadium, the neighborhood, the city, it’s a special place.”“The fan base, how they treat you when you walk down the street,” is incredible, he said.Ross got a standing ovation when fans recognized him as he walked into a restaurant. “You guys know I suck, right?,” he said he felt.In 2016, Ross was one of the team’s heavy hitters. As catcher, he watched the games unfold from a perspective few players get. Catchers get to see the who...

Boston city councilor rejects opposing panel on immigrant voting rights proposal, Republican leader says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:51 GMT

A local Republican leader says a progressive Boston city councilor reneged on her promise to allow a panel of opponents to testify at an upcoming hearing weighing voting rights for immigrants with “legal status” but without full citizenship.Kendra Lara, the city councilor pushing for the policy change, said that’s not the case — her commitment, she said, was to allow time for the opponent to speak during public testimony in the first hour of a Tuesday afternoon Council hearing.The matter stems from an exchange on WBZ NewsRadio’s “Nightside with Dan Rea,” where Lara, a progressive Democrat, was a guest last Thursday. Lou Murray, former chairman of Ward 20 Republican Committee of West Roxbury, called into the program to ask whether Lara would “allow someone who’s in opposition to put a panel together and testify” against her proposed home rule petition.“What happens, people that don’t know, politicians in Massachusetts hold a hearing,” Murray said on the radio segment. “They stack the...

14-year-old student stabbed near San Diego High School

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:51 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A 14-year-old was stabbed Monday near San Diego High School, authorities said.The stabbing occurred around 11:15 a.m. at 1400 Park Blvd., located across the street from San Diego High School, in the East Village neighborhood, San Diego Fire-Rescue Department told FOX 5.The victim, who school officials say was a San Diego High student, was taken to a hospital, where their condition is unknown.There are no details on the suspect besides that they are a juvenile, per San Diego police. Teen dies at San Diego border after crossing from Mexico: CBP San Diego High Principal Francisca Del Carmen sent a letter Monday to students, families and staff that "an altercation occurred off campus that resulted in the injury to one of our students," with school police continuing to support students and staff. "The safety and security of our students is the district’s top priority. Our School Police work with educators every day to ensure that they have a safe learning environment. I’ve...

Photographs capture humpback whale’s Seattle visit, breaching in waters in front of Space Needle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:51 GMT

Seattle (AP) — Pictures released by a conservation group show a young humpback whale breaching in front of the Space Needle as it visited the waters off Seattle last week, capturing a rare display of wildlife next to a major city.The photos were also used to gauge the general health of the whale and create a serial identification number that will help researchers keep track of the young marine mammal. This young whale, which is estimated to be about two years old, now has the designation of CRC-20899, according to Cascadia Research Collective. The photos were taken by Jeff Hogan, co-coordinator of the Seattle-branch of Soundwatch Boater Education Program. Hogan shadowed the whale for most of its time in the bay to alert other vessels to it. Hogan said the whale looked healthy and watched it breach nearly 30 times.Soundwatch has been operating off the San Juan Islands, where orcas are commonly found, for more than 30 years. The Seattle wing of the program debuted this past August wit...

B.C. community prepares to stickhandle removal of world’s largest hockey stick

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:51 GMT

DUNCAN, B.C. — Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley Regional District wants to know who is willing to take a shot at owning the world’s largest hockey stick.It says the more than 62-metre wooden stick and puck that has been attached to the east side of the Cowichan Community Centre in Duncan for the past 35 years needs more than a new tape job.The regional district says the glue structure holding the giant Douglas fir replica stick together has decayed and must be removed to protect public safety.The district says a public survey about the future of the stick found few respondents calling for efforts to repair or replace the prominent landmark, which was originally constructed for Expo 86 in Vancouver.The district says its goal now is to seek expressions of interest from community organizations or individuals looking to make use of a large hockey stick.Tom Duncan, the acting chair of the Cowichan Core Recreation Commission, says in a statement that the stick has been a com...

Four Republicans will be on stage for the fourth presidential debate. Here’s who’s in and who’s out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:51 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The field of candidates onstage for the fourth Republican presidential debate will be the smallest yet.Four hopefuls will participate in Wednesday night’s debate at the Moody Music Hall at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, according to the Republican National Committee.To qualify for the fourth debate, candidates needed at least 6% support in two national polls or 6% in one national poll as well as two polls from four of the early-voting states — Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. All the polls used for qualification must have been approved by the RNC.The White House hopefuls also needed at least 80,000 unique donors, with at least 200 of those coming from 20 states or territories. They also had to sign an RNC pledge promising to support the party’s eventual nominee.A look at where the candidates stand:WHO’S IN RON DESANTIS Initially seen as the top rival for Donald Trump, DeSantis has been locked in a battle for ...

Coroner’s inquest into death of Soleiman Faqiri hears from correctional officer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:51 GMT

A correctional officer who was called in to help restrain a mentally ill man at an Ontario jail told a coroner’s inquest Monday he didn’t know anything about the inmate or the reason for the struggle at the time.Dave Surowiec said he was working in the admissions and discharge area when he responded to a code blue —  a call for assistance — in a cell at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ont., on the afternoon of Dec. 15, 2016. After initially being sent on an errand, he was asked to replace one of the officers holding down the inmate, he said.Surowiec said he could see an inmate face down on the floor of the cell, clearly struggling, surrounded by several officers who were urging him to calm down and stop resisting. The inmate’s hands were cuffed above his head, he had leg irons on and a spit hood, a type of face covering to prevent spitting or biting, the officer told the inquest.Surowiec knelt beside the inmate and took control of his r...

Prosecutors push back against Hunter Biden’s move to subpoena Trump documents in gun case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Prosecutors pushed back Monday against Hunter Biden’s move to subpoena documents from Donald Trump and former Justice Department officials in the firearms case filed against the president’s son. They argued that Hunter Biden doesn’t have enough evidence to support his claims of potential political interference in the criminal investigation against him and urged a judge to reject the subpoena requests. “His allegations and subpoena requests focus on likely inadmissible, far-reaching, and non-specific categories of documents concerning the actions and motives of individuals who did not make the relevant prosecutorial decision in his case,” prosecutor Leo Wise wrote in court documents. The investigation into Hunter Biden’s taxes and a gun purchase began in 2018, while Trump, a Republican, was still president. But charges weren’t brought until this year, while his father was president, something Wise called an “inconvenient truth” that undercuts the d...

GM’s Cruise robotaxi service faces fine in alleged cover-up of San Francisco accident’s severity

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:51 GMT

California regulators are alleging a San Francisco robotaxi service owned by General Motors covered up the severity of an accident involving one of its driverless cars, raising the specter they may add a fine to the recent suspension of its California license.The potential penalty facing GM’s Cruise service could be around $1.5 million, based on documents filed late last week by the California Public Utilities Commission.The notice orders Cruise to appear at a Feb. 6 evidentiary hearing to determine whether the robotaxi service misled regulators about what happened after one of its driverless cars ran into a pedestrian who had already been struck by another vehicle driven by a human on the evening of Oct. 2 in San Francisco.The February hearing comes just six months after the commission authorized Cruise’s robotaxi service to begin charging passengers for around-the-clock rides throughout San Francisco despite strident objections from city officials who warned the driver...