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Giffords meet with Parkland parents, speaks out against permitless carry state bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:30:47 GMT

Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords joined Parkland parents during a South Florida stop as they continue ongoing efforts to help preserve steps made in gun control legislation.The former Arizona lawmaker spoke at an event held in Parkland on Saturday. The 52-year-old opened up about her daily struggles after she was shot in the head in 2012.“My recovery is a daily fight, but fighting makes me stronger,” she said. Giffords met with families who lost loved ones in the Feb. 14, 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.“We are at a crossroads. We can let the shooting continue, or we can act,” she said.The group is critical of a bill currently making its way through the Florida Legislature that, if enacted into law, would remove the requirement of a license to conceal carry a weapon.“We’re saddened to see that some of the legislatures have forgotten these lessons which are written in the blood of my daughter, her classmates and her teache...

Florida woman beats the odds after undergoing 2 major organ transplants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:30:47 GMT

A young Florida woman is recovering from not one, but two major organ transplant operations. 7’s Karen Hensel has Siobhan Rhodes’ story of strength and courage on today’s 7Spotlight.“We did it,” said Siobhan as she firmly grasped the hand of a nurse in a strong handshake after her surgery.She has a great reason to celebrate. The 26-year-old is at the end of a nine-month stay at the Miami Transplant Institute.Siobhan Rhodes: “I got my life back and today is discharge day.”Her journey began eight years ago in her hometown of Northport, Florida. Siobhan Rhodes: “I was a healthy individual. I was in my high school marching band, I was in the color guard and I had the most normal life that any girl really would have.”But at 18, she got an infection in her trachea. She began having stomach problems and couldn’t digest food. Eventually, her colon stopped working.Dierdre Rhodes, Siobhan’s mother: “We were in and out of ...

Fort Lauderdale High School lockdown lifted; police investigation continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:30:47 GMT

Fort Lauderdale High School was placed on lockdown Monday but has since been lifted after police received information regarding a shooting threat. Just before 10 a.m., a tweet from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department stated that the school was immediately placed on lockdown while officers searched the building. However, nearly an hour later, the police department lifted the lockdown.So far, nothing suspicious has been located on the premises. However, the police department is continuing to investigate the source and legitimacy of the threat.As the investigation into the Fort Lauderdale High School shooting threat continues, it is important for students, parents, and educators to remain vigilant and report any suspicious behavior or threats to law enforcement.

Biden administration approves controversial Willow oil project in Alaska, which has galvanized online activism

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:30:47 GMT

(CNN) — The Biden administration has approved the massive Willow oil drilling project in Alaska, angering climate advocates and setting the stage for a court challenge.The Willow Project is a decadeslong oil drilling venture in the National Petroleum Reserve, which is owned by the federal government. The area where the project is planned holds up to 600 million barrels of oil, though that oil would take years to reach the market since the project has yet to be constructed.By the administration’s own estimates, the project would generate enough oil to release 9.2 million metric tons of planet-warming carbon pollution a year — equivalent to adding 2 million gas-powered cars to the roads.The approval is a victory for Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation and a coalition of Alaska Native tribes and groups who hailed the drilling venture as a much-needed new source of revenue and jobs for the remote region.But it is a major blow to climate groups ...

Bank stocks drop and S&P 500 swings as Wall Street shakes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:30:47 GMT

By STAN CHOE (AP Business Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is worried about what may be next to topple following the second- and third-largest bank failures in U.S. history, and stocks are swinging sharply Monday as investors scramble to find someplace safe to park their money.The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in morning trading, but only after tumbling 1.4% at the open. The sharpest drops were again coming from banks. Investors are worried that a relentless rise in interest rates meant to get inflation under control are approaching a tipping point and may be cracking the banking system. The U.S. government announced a plan late Sunday meant to shore up the banking industry following the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank since Friday. The most pressure is on the regional banks a couple steps below in size of the massive, “too-big-to-fail” banks that helped take down the economy in 2007 and 2008. Shares of First Republic plunged 78%, even ...

Biden OKs controversial, huge Willow oil drilling in Alaska

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:30:47 GMT

By MATTHEW DALY and CHRIS MEGERIAN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration said Monday it is approving the controversial major Willow oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope, one of President Joe Biden’s most consequential climate choices that is likely to draw condemnation from environmentalists who say it flies in the face of the Democratic president’s pledges.The announcement comes a day after the administration, in a big conservation move, said it would bar or limit drilling in some other areas of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.Biden’s Willow plan would allow three drill sites initially, which project developer ConocoPhillips has said would include about 219 total wells. A fourth drill site proposed for the project would be denied. The company has said it considers the three-site option workable. Houston-based ConocoPhillips will relinquish rights to about 68,000 acres of existing leases in the National Petroleum Reserve...

March Madness bracket primer: Who should you pick?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:30:47 GMT

If you’re like most of the country, you probably didn’t count on a No. 8 seed reaching the national title game last year — or a No. 15 seed making it to the Elite Eight.Thank you North Carolina and Saint Peter’s, who made sure there’s nowhere to go but up trying to pick a winning bracket in 2023.This season, of course, picking the March Madness bracket comes with its own set of potential pitfalls. How do you account for injuries at Houston and UCLA? Can defending champ Kansas make another run after losing handily in the Big 12 Tournament final? Is this the year you can trust the Big Ten?Here’s one way to go with the bracket:SOUTH REGIONFirst Four: Texas A&M Corpus Christi over Southeast Missouri State.First round winners: Alabama, West Virginia, San Diego State, Virginia, Creighton, Baylor, Utah State and Arizona.Maryland was terrific at home this season and not very good on the road. At a neutral site, the Terrapins get a tough first-round matchup against a West Virginia team r...

Patriots free agency tracker and grades: Every New England signing, rumor and move

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:30:47 GMT

Welcome to NFL free agency!The NFL will officially open for business Monday at noon with the start of its “legal tampering” period, during which time teams can begin negotiating with free agents and their representatives.Spoiler: most of those talks have already been held.Several of the top free agents — including possibly Jakobi Meyers — should agree to a new contract Monday, when historically most major deals have been reached and reported following weeks of unsanctioned contract talks.As for the Patriots, they’re in a strong position. They own the eighth-most cap space in the NFL at $30.9 million, per Over the Cap, and rank among the lowest-spending teams in the league over the last three years. They have clear needs at wide receiver, offensive tackle and cornerback. Bill Belichick could solve one or two of them this week, provided the Pats are willing to spend and identify proper value in the market.So will they make a big splash? Or will the Patrio...

The meaning behind the blue ribbons worn at the Oscars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:30:47 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Small and subtle, the blue ribbons worn by many celebrities at the Oscars nonetheless had an important message: support refugees.According to a statement from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, donning the #WithRefugees ribbons Sunday “sends a powerful visual message that everyone has the right to seek safety, whoever, wherever, whenever.”The ribbons were made by Knotty Tie Co., which the agency says provides employment, training and education to refugees resettled in the Denver area.“In many of the films nominated at festivals and awards ceremonies this season, the human themes of conflict, separation and loss are present,” the agency said in the statement, citing movies like “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.”“Through effective storytelling, these films help erode discrimination and misunderstandings, offer new perspectives and help to build compassion for people forced to flee, the statement continued.”Like o...

UN: World after earthquake was slow to send aid to Syria

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:30:47 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The international community and the Syrian government did not act quickly last month to help people in need in the rebel-held northwest after a deadly earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, a U.N. commission said Monday.The Feb. 6 magnitude 7.8 earthquake and strong aftershocks that ravaged southern Turkey and northwestern Syria killed more than 50,000 people, including over 6,000 in Syria.The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria said there should be an investigation into why it took a week to open border crossings for aid to flow. It added that war-torn Syria “now needs a comprehensive cease-fire that is fully respected” for civilians, including aid workers, to be safe.It took a week for the U.N. and Syria’s President Bashar Assad’s government to agree on opening two more border crossings into the rebel-held region bordering Turkey as many people were still under the rubble.“Since the earthquake, we have seen many acts to help victims by the Syrians them...