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Florida Senate’s ban on minors at drag shows draws criticism from Democrats, LGBTQ activists

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:27 GMT

Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and other members of the community are set to speak out around 10 a.m. on Wednesday in opposition to the Florida Senate-passed bill preventing children from attending drag shows.They argue that the language of the bill is too ambiguous, raising concerns that it could lead to a chilling effect on businesses hosting drag shows and even prompt cities in Florida to deny permits for Pride parades.The Republican-controlled Florida Senate passed a controversial bill on Tuesday that would prohibit minors from attending drag shows, even if their parents consent. Under the proposed legislation, organizers and performers could be fined and possibly face criminal charges, including imprisonment, if the performance is deemed “lewd” by authorities.Opponents of the bill argue that it is an infringement on the freedom of expression and would harm the state’s LGBTQ community. The bill will now move to the House for a fi...

Man speaks out after surviving fall from overpass in Orlando

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:27 GMT

Angel Garcia, 39, fell off an overpass in Orlando and survived the horrific crash. Authorities believe that he lost control of his 2018 Accura while trying to avoid a collision and fell about 50 feet from State Road 528, landing on the Interstate 4 highway below.Garcia, who is now paralyzed from the chest down and has several injuries including a broken back and face, is opening up about his experience from his hospital bed. In an interview, he shared that he doesn’t remember falling and feels like he is still stuck in a nightmare.“How do you go from walking from one minute to not being able to walk to the next?” he said. “It’s just the worst feeling in the world.”While Garcia is grateful to have health insurance and support from his workplace, he acknowledges that it was a close call and hopes that his story will serve as a reminder to drivers to be more careful on the road. “From one moment to the next, your life can be taken away, and you...

ANOTHER DAY OF DOWNPOURS

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:27 GMT

Happy Wednesday, South Florida!Hopefully everyone has been able to stay dry as South Florida has been soggy since late in the weekend.  After record rainfall in Miami on Monday, heavy rain has continued to fall over portions of South Florida, leaving the ground saturated and the roads flooded. And after relentless rain continued on Monday and Tuesday, this morning South Florida woke up to a few showers, which increased in coverage and intensity as the morning went on while temperatures remained in the 70s – something that hasn’t changed since earlier in the week. Unfortunately, for South Florida today has the potential to be another wet one for our area. There is still plenty of moisture available for rain over South Florida as we have a stalled Front nearby and a developing disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico, which altogether, will help draw in moisture across South Florida and keep rain chances high throughout the day today. Due to the extensive cloud cover, the showers and h...

Belfast must revive power-sharing to thwart ‘enemies of peace,’ Biden tells divided leaders

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:27 GMT

BELFAST – Northern Ireland must seize the opportunities of the Good Friday Agreement so that “the enemies of peace will not prevail,” U.S. President Joe Biden told local leaders in a speech overshadowed by the region’s failure to sustain a unity government as the 1998 peace deal proposed.Seated side by side in front of Biden were the leaders of Northern Ireland’s five main parties, who had just chatted – briefly and separately – with the president on his first visit since 1991 to this still-divided corner of the United Kingdom.Four of Northern Ireland’s leaders, spanning the spectrum from the Irish republican Sinn Féin to moderate British unionists, want to form a new cross-community government at Stormont overlooking Belfast as the U.S.-brokered peace deal intended.But the pivotal fifth leader, Jeffrey Donaldson of the hard-line Democratic Unionist Party, is refusing to permit this because his party still opposes how the U.K.’s Brexit deal with the European Union treats Northern Ir...

Scottish government to take Westminster to court over stalled gender reforms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:27 GMT

LONDON — The Scottish and U.K. governments are heading back to court under Scotland’s new leader Humza Yousaf.Yousaf’s Scottish National Party-led administration announced Wednesday that it will take legal action against the Westminster government’s decision to block SNP reforms aimed at making it easier for people to legally change gender.After the Scottish parliament passed the contentious legislation — championed by former first minister Nicola Sturgeon — the U.K. government used an instrument granted by the devolution settlement for Scotland to effectively thwart the reforms.Using a so-called Section 35 order, the U.K. government’s Scotland Secretary Alister Jack argued that the law could have “an adverse impact on the operation of Great Britain-wide equalities legislation.” The reforms were also strongly opposed by parts of the SNP and some senior lawmakers, who were concerned about the potential impact on single-sex spaces. But Yousaf’...

French actor Gérard Depardieu accused of sexual assault: Report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:27 GMT

French actor Gérard Depardieu was accused of sexual violence by 13 women in an article published Tuesday by French investigative news outlet Mediapart. The 74-year-old actor has been under investigation since 2020 over rape and sexual assault charges. A dozen women, some of them on the record, are now accusing him of engaging in unwanted sexual touching and of making inappropriate comments on several occasions during film shoots as well as off set. According to Mediapart, three of them testified to the police but none pressed charges, out of fear that “their word would weigh little against a monument of French cinema.”In a statement from his lawyers shared with the French outlet, Depardieu said he “formally denies all accusations susceptible of coming under criminal law.”A one-time Oscar nominee, Depardieu is one of France’s most prolific actors, having played in over 200 movies.But the actor has been mired in a series of controversies in recent years ...

3 Sherpa climbers missing after falling on Mount Everest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:27 GMT

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Three Sherpa climbers were missing Wednesday after they fell into a deep crevasse on a treacherous section of Mount Everest just above the base camp, a Nepalese mountaineering official said.They fell into the crevasse, thought to be about 50 meters (160 feet) deep, on Wednesday morning as they were moving toward the first camp on the world’s highest mountain, said Yubraj Khatiwada of Nepal’s Department of Mountaineering.A rescue helicopter was trying to locate them while rescuers searched on foot, he said.The area is the Khumbu Icefall, a constantly shifting glacier with deep crevasses and huge overhanging ice that can be as big as 10-story buildings. It is considered one of the most difficult and tricky sections of the climb to the peak.In 2014, a chunk of the glacier sheared away from the mountain, setting off an avalanche of ice that killed 16 Sherpa guides as they carried clients’ equipment up the mountain. It was one of the deadliest disasters in E...

MBTA completes $255M purchase of Widett Circle, plans to turn area into a rail yard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:27 GMT

The MBTA has completed the $255 million purchase of Widett Circle, a 24-acre industrial area located one mile from South Station and adjacent to existing MBTA Commuter Rail facilities, the agency announced WednesdayAccording to transit officials, the area will be used to improve train operations through new facilities that allow for train storage and maintenance activities for nine of the T’s 14 Commuter Rail lines. These improvements will help make service more frequent on the Fairmount and Framingham/Worcester Lines, as well as additional, future rail service that would include the West-East Rail between Pittsfield and Boston and the South Coast Rail between Boston and Fall River/New Bedford, the MBTA says. “The purchase of Widett Circle is an important step in our efforts to improve rail operations and make service more efficient and reliable,” said Gov. Maura Healey. “Our administration is grateful for the hard work that went into making this purchase possible and we look forwar...

Indiana recycling plant fire forces evacuation orders for thousands as it emits toxic smoke, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:27 GMT

(CNN) — A fire that started Tuesday afternoon at a recycling plant in the eastern Indiana city of Richmond was emitting toxic smoke and has forced evacuation orders for about 2,000 people as it is expected to burn for days, officials said.Early air monitoring results are expected early Wednesday, Wayne County officials said. Plastics were among the items burning at the plant, and the smoke — a thick, black column rose from the site Tuesday — is “definitely toxic,” Indiana State Fire Marshal Steve Jones said in a news briefing.“There is a host of different chemicals that plastics give off when they’re on fire, and it’s concerning,” Jones said Tuesday evening, adding he expects the fire to burn for days.An evacuation order was put in place for residents within a half-mile of the fire, and authorities could change the order if the direction of the wind shifts, Jones said. Residents downwind of the evacuation zone — to the...

Heat given 7 p.m. Friday tip, if advance would play 5:30 p.m. Sunday in Milwaukee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:27 GMT

After a loss that only muddled the Miami Heat’s postseason outlook, the NBA has added clarity for what comes next for Erik Spoelstra’s team in the play-in tournament and what might come next in the playoffs.In the wake of the Los Angeles Lakers’ late overtime victory on Tuesday night over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Heat’s winner-take-all game on Friday to close out the Eastern Conference play-in round has been scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Kaseya Center, to be solely televised on TNT, without local South Florida coverage on Bally Sports Sun.The game was moved to an earlier time than Tuesday’s 7:30 p.m. play-in start because of Minnesota hosting the second game of Friday night’s nationally televised play-in doubleheader in the Central time zone.The Heat were forced into a Friday game with Tuesday night’s 116-105 home loss to the Atlanta Hawks, who thereby secured the No. 7 playoff seed in the Eastern Conference and will play the No. 2 Bost...