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Prison nurse sentenced to 6 years for smuggling drugs into Miami federal detention center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:19 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — A former prison nurse has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for smuggling drugs and other contraband into a federal detention center in Miami.Ruben Montanez-Mirabal, 33, was sentenced Wednesday in Miami federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to receive bribes and introduce prohibited objects into a federal prison and to introducing prohibited objects into a federal prison.According to a criminal complaint, Montanez-Mirabal took illegal payments from FDC Miami inmates in exchange for bringing in and delivering to them prohibited objects, including sheets of paper soaked with synthetic cannabinoids, from November 2021 to August 2022. Montanez-Mirabal accepted thousands of dollars in bribes, as well as other items of value, including the free use of a Lamborghini and a Rolls-Royce, prosecutors said.Over several months, Montanez-Mirabal smuggled more than 100 drug-soaked pages that he would deliver directly to inmates...

Deputy’s acquittal in Parkland school massacre case shows holes in the law, attorneys say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:19 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — When Florida prosecutors charged former Deputy Scot Peterson for his alleged inaction during the 2018 Parkland school massacre, they faced a major hurdle: no law precisely fit.So it was not a surprise to legal observers that Peterson was acquitted Thursday of child neglect and other charges for failing to confront the shooter who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.Without an on-point statute to base their case upon, prosecutors tried to make the law fit the facts instead of the facts fit the law, lawyers said. That is always a tougher courtroom battle to win.The Peterson case “has always been an uphill climb for the prosecutors,” Miami criminal defense attorney David S. Weinstein said. “I feel bad for the victims and their families. Their pain will last for a lifetime. For them, the disappointment in the system continues. It was compounded by the state pushing forward on this case, despite the high odds of obtaining a conviction.”Bu...

Harold’s Shrimp & Chicken faces closure after violations and recent violent incident

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:19 GMT

Harold’s Shrimp and Chicken, a popular restaurant in Miami Beach, finds itself closed for business following a near-fatal beating that took place behind the establishment. In addition, an official notice from the City of Miami Beach, obtained by 7News through a public records request, reveals that Harold’s is in violation for not possessing a business tax receipt. As a result, city officials have taken action to temporarily shut down the restaurant.Sources within City Hall informed 7News that officials began scrutinizing the restaurant’s paperwork after a recent incident of attempted murder near Harold’s food truck. According to the police, the victim had vandalized the vehicle, which subsequently led to the violent assault.The consequences of the altercation include two arrests, while others remain under investigation by the authorities. Terrance Delaney, identified by the state as the registered agent of Harold’s Shrimp and Chicken on Wheels, is among...

Florida police officers are accused of ‘jailing’ their young son over potty training accidents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:19 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida police officers accused of twice putting their 3 1/2-year-old son in a jail cell to punish him for potty training accidents remain on the job while an investigation continues.Nearly nine months later, the Daytona Beach Shores Police Department is not talking about it and most records related to the investigation have been sealed by a Volusia County judge.“The city strives to always be open and transparent, however due to the court order that was issued to the city, we are unable to comment at this time. If anything should change, we would be happy to discuss,” the city’s public information officer, Tammy Marzik, wrote in an email to The AP.The couple said they “jailed” their son twice — on Oct. 5 and 6, 2022. They were interviewed by a state child abuse investigator, who was escorted to their home by a Volusia County Sheriff’s deputy whose body camera recorded the conversation. The video was sent to the media this week by the sheriff’...

Ed Sheeran announces John Mayer, Little Big Town to replace Khalid ahead of weekend at Gillette Stadium

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:19 GMT

Ed Sheeran, set to take the stage in Foxboro this weekend, announced Friday morning that two new direct supports to replace the singer Khalid.The +–=÷× Tour, pronounced as The Mathematics Tour, will now feature John Mayer on Friday night and Little Big Town on Saturday. As of Thursday, Khalid was set to reunite with Sheeran after taking a break from the tour due to a recent car accident.There was no explanation for the change in the line-up for this weekend’s concerts at Gillette Stadium.https://twitter.com/GilletteStadium/status/1674784211646169094?s=20Rosa Linn will still open both shows as planned.The parking lots will be open at 2 p.m. both days. Gates open at 4, and the shows start at 6.

Fourth of July at the Esplanade drawing near; law enforcement officials offer tips

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:19 GMT

The Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular is drawing nearer, as large display boards featuring fireworks and the American flag appear at the Hatch Memorial Shell.Public safety and event officials anticipate hundreds of thousands of people flocking to the Esplanade rocking their red, white and blue attire to celebrate America’s 247th birthday on Tuesday.The iconic show, featuring the Boston Symphony Orchestra, begins at 8 p.m. and runs until around 11 when fireworks wrap up. Gates open at noon, and officials say they are ready for an all-day affair.Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies are not aware of any credible threats targeting the event, John Mawn, interim superintendent colonel of the Massachusetts State Police, told reporters Friday.Before visitors go out to the Esplanade, Mawn recommends checking the State Police website to see what items are and are not permissible. Small pop-up tents and canopies, blankets and tarps, beach chairs and coolers carried by strap are al...

Supreme Court won’t hear challenge to Mississippi’s Jim Crow-era ban on voting after some felonies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:19 GMT

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS (Associated Press)JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday that it will not stop Mississippi from removing voting rights from people convicted of certain felonies — a practice that originated in the Jim Crow era with the intent of stopping Black men from influencing elections.The court declined to reconsider a 2022 decision by the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that said Mississippi had remedied the discriminatory intent of the original provisions in the state constitution by altering the list of disenfranchising crimes.In a dissent Friday, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that the authors of the Mississippi Constitution in 1890 made clear that they intended to exclude Black people by removing voting rights for felony convictions in crimes they thought Black people were more likely to commit, including forgery, arson and bigamy. The list of disenfranchising crimes was “adopted for an illicit discriminatory ...

Nets dumping sharpshooter Joe Harris’ $20M salary in trade with Pistons

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:19 GMT

The Joe Harris era in Brooklyn is coming to an end.The Nets are dumping the sharpshooter’s $20 million salary in a deal with the Detroit Pistons just hours ahead of the NBA’s Friday 6 p.m. free agency kickoff. To sweeten the deal, the Nets added a 2027 second-round pick via Dallas and a 2029 second-rounder from Milwaukee.The Nets did not receive a player back in the deal but they will receive a $19.9 million trade exception that they can use to acquire a player without sending any outgoing salary.Instead, the front office made a business decision, opting to shed the final year of the four-year, $75 million contract Harris signed in 2020.The deal marks the end of a tenure for a player the organization had labeled a posterchild of its player development program. Harris evolved from a spot-up shooter into a more well-rounded basketball player during his seven-year tenure in Brooklyn.He averaged 11.6 points and shot the three at a 44% clip during his Nets career.Harris reign...

Massive ESPN layoffs include Jeff Van Gundy, Suzy Kolber, Keyshawn Johnson and Jalen Rose

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:19 GMT

ESPN was expected to lay off 20 people on Friday, including household names like former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, boxing expert Max Kellerman, NFL sideline reporter Suzy Kolber and NBA star Jalen Rose — on his 50th birthday.Kolber confirmed she’s one of the on-air personalities The Hollywood Reporter said was on the chopping block. “Today I join the many hard-working colleagues who have been laid off,” she tweeted Friday. “Heartbreaking – but 27 years at ESPN was a good run.”Kolber expressed gratitude for the decades she spent with the cable sports channel and said she was “especially proud” to have accomplished that as a woman largely covering men’s sports.Former Jets receiver Keyshawn Johnson was also reportedly handed his pink slip Friday.“Given the current environment, ESPN has determined it necessary to identify some additional cost savings in the area of public-facing commentator salaries, and that process ha...

Nothing else sounds like vintage brass: These musicians are avid collectors of age-old instruments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:19 GMT

Hannah Edgar | Chicago TribuneFew contest that a centuries-old violin will be more coveted than its newer counterparts, assuming it was well-made to begin with. That’s how luthiers like Stradivari and Guarneri have become household names, regardless of whether you know the difference between Prokofiev and Smirnoff.But old brass instruments of comparable pedigrees don’t enjoy such hagiographies, outside a niche set of brass enthusiasts. Their repair needs can be esoteric, their intonation spotty, the necessary breath support challenging. That’s assuming such instruments have been maintained enough over the years to remain usable and are not dented, oxidized messes.Even so, a select few brass players swear by century-old instruments, especially by German makers. And the most spirited acolytes of those instruments on this side of the Atlantic are right here, in the Chicago Symphony’s brass section.Principal trombone Jay Friedman, who has collected vintage instruments since his student ...