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Panama Ex-President Martinelli is sentenced to 10 years in prison for money laundering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:27 GMT

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Former Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli was sentenced Tuesday to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering.Martinelli, 71, had been trying to mount a political comeback in next year’s general elections, but a judge sentenced him to 128 months in prison in a case that revolved around the purchase of a media company.The supermarket magnate who governed Panama from 2009 to 2014 was elected by his party last month as its presidential candidate for the May 5 election.The case, known locally as “New Business,” dates back to 2017 and concerns the 2010 purchase of a publishing company that owns national newspapers.Prosecutors said companies that had won lucrative government contracts during Martinelli’s presidency funneled money to a front company that was then used to purchase the publisher. The transactions involved a complex series of foreign money transfers totally $43 million. The front company collecting the money was called “New Business.”In closing ...

Trump notified he's target of probe into efforts to overturn the 2020 election

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:27 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump said Tuesday he has received a letter informing him that he is a target of the Justice Department's investigation into efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, an indication he could soon be charged by U.S. prosecutors.New federal charges, on top of existing state and federal counts in New York and Florida and a separate election-interference investigation nearing conclusion in Georgia, would add to the list of legal problems for Trump as he pursues the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. Trump disclosed the existence of a target letter in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying he received it Sunday night and that he anticipates being indicted. Such a letter often precedes an indictment and is used to advise individuals under investigation that prosecutors have gathered evidence linking them to a crime; Trump, for instance, received one soon before being charged last month in a separate investigation...

170 puppies rescued after fire at Pembroke Pines pet store, all survive

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:27 GMT

A quick response from Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue saved the lives of 170 puppies after a structure fire broke out at Forever Puppies.The fire department received a report of a structure fire at the pet store, located at 9803 Pines Blvd, around 7 a.m., Tuesday. Upon arrival, crews encountered significant smoke emanating from the building. The fire protection system’s sprinklers had already extinguished a small fire, preventing further damage.https://twitter.com/PPinesPD/status/1681320878129180674?s=20Fire Rescue teams immediately assisted with ventilation efforts to clear the smoke from the structure. Their focus then shifted to ensuring the safety and well-being of the puppies housed within the store.Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue crews carefully removed approximately 170 puppies from the building, transferring them to the safety of the parking lot. Temporary kennels were set up to provide a secure environment until transportation to another facility could be arranged by the busin...

Broward County School Board swear in Superintendent Dr. Peter Licata

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:27 GMT

The Broward County School Board (BCSB), the sixth-largest district in the country, swore in Dr. Peter Licata as their new superintendent, Tuesday morning.Dr. Licata took over as head of the district after Dr. Vicki Cartwright’s resignation earlier in the year.Licata, the third superintendent in three years, said one of his biggest goals is to make sure the district becomes an “A” district again. Throughout the years, the BCSB has seen its share of controversy and instability. “Everyone on that board wants the best for children,” said Licata. “My success over the years has been focused on children — make sure there. When you run into a problem, put them in between that and say what’s best for them and answer that way. When you can do that, it’s hard for people to poke holes in that.”Now Licata has to juggle a politically diverse board as he focuses on students, teacher recruitment and convincing families to stay with the dis...

A 12-year-old is facing charges for allegedly throwing acid on an 11-year-old girl at a Detroit playground, officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:27 GMT

(CNN) — A 12-year-old girl in Detroit is facing charges after allegedly throwing acid on an 11-year-old girl at a playground, officials said.Deaira Summers, the 11-year-old suffered second-degree burns on her back, legs and arms in the July 9 attack, her mother, Dominique Summers told CNN affiliate WXYZ.Summers said Deaira was playing with her siblings and cousins at a playground when she was caught in the middle of an altercation between the 12-year-old and one of Deaira’s family members.“I feel like it was the most evil thing you could do to a kid and especially the fact that she was an innocent bystander,” Summers told WXYZ.“I hope she get what she deserve, and they all get what they deserve,” Deaira told the station, saying she wants everyone involved to be held accountable.The 12-year-old is expected in court Tuesday afternoon for a hearing on the charges – assault with intent to do great bodily harm and felonious assault, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statemen...

Woman arrested for attempted felony murder and arson after setting gas pumps on fire at two Florida City stations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:27 GMT

A 24-year-old woman identified as Daylet Uribazo Hernandez was arrested for two counts of attempted felony murder and first-degree arson after police said she intentionally set fire to gas pumps at two separate gas stations in Florida City.According to police, the incident unfolded Monday, at approximately 5:00 p.m. when Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials alerted Miami-Dade Police Department about a suspect in custody at the 7-Eleven gas station located at 1350 N. Krome Avenue in Florida City. The Florida City Police Department had detained Hernandez for setting fire to a gas pump.Upon arriving at the scene at around 5:52 p.m., investigators met with officers from the Florida City Police Department. An officer provided details of the incident, stating that earlier that day, another officer had responded to the Orion Krome Xpress gas station at 1460 N. Krome Avenue, where Hernandez had used a cigarette lighter to set fire to Pump 14. The gas station was crowded with patrons and employe...

EU set to approve military sanctions against Belarus

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:27 GMT

EU countries informally agreed to a package of military sanctions targeting Belarus on Tuesday, three EU diplomats told POLITICO. The package will include restrictions on battlefield equipment, including aviation parts, two of the diplomats said. The exact items will mirror the sanctions against Russia — an effort to crack down on military components being illegally routed through Belarus to Russia.The new Belarus sanctions are seen as a stepping stone toward a broader, more global deal to penalize Belarus, said the diplomats, who were granted anonymity to discuss the negotiations.The talks are separate from another discussion over how to fully align the Belarusian sanctions with penalties against Moscow. Those negotiations have stalled over a push to exempt Belarusian fertilizer from EU sanctions. Most EU countries are in favor but Lithuania has been staunchly opposed, arguing the carveout would give President Alexander Lukashenko a lifeline and do little to alleviate food ins...

New Bedford police detective recovering after being struck in face during shooting, driving to hospital on his own

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:27 GMT

The New Bedford Police Department says a veteran detective assigned to its Organized Crime Intelligence Bureau is in stable condition and recovering after being struck during a shooting in the city’s South End.The department said Detective Lavar Gilbert had been working undercover in an unmarked vehicle when “shots were suddenly fired” by Rivet and Orchard Streets around 8:45 p.m. on Monday.According to officials, Gilbert was “struck in the face” during the shooting, which shattered one of his car windows, but the detective remained conscious afterwards and was able to drive to a hospital for treatment.In addition to investigating the scene, state and local police could be seen blocking off the emergency room at St. Luke’s Hospital Monday night, where, according to New Bedford PD, another adult male “presented at the emergency room who had sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his foot.”“The circumstances surrounding ...

Taco Bell and Taco John’s drop their ‘Taco Tuesday’ fight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:27 GMT

New York (CNN) — Taco John’s, the regional chain that has “Taco Tuesday” trademarked, announced Tuesday that it’s ending its fight in defending the phrase and will “abandon” it because it doesn’t want to pay the legal fees that come with a fight against Taco Bell.“We’ve always prided ourselves on being the home of Taco Tuesday, but paying millions of dollars to lawyers to defend our mark just doesn’t feel like the right thing to do,” Taco John’s CEO Jim Creel said in a statementTaco Bell filed a petition in May with the US Patent and Trademark office to cancel the trademark owned by rival Taco John’s for 34 years because Taco Bell claims the commonly used phrase “should be freely available to all who make, sell, eat and celebrate tacos.”As a result of the trademark being abandoned, Creel said that it’s donating $40,000 ($100 per its roughly 400 locations) to Children of Restaurant Employees (CORE). CORE is a nonprofit organization that “supports restaurant workers wit...

Pittsburgh synagogue shooting trial reaches final death penalty sentencing stage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:27 GMT

(CNN) — The final phase of the Pittsburgh synagogue gunman’s death penalty trial began Monday as prosecutors laid out why the shooter should be sentenced to death, including his continued lack of remorse in the attack that left 11 worshippers dead and six others wounded.“He defiled a house of worship, turning it into a place of violence and death,” prosecutor Nicole Vasquez Schmitt said. “He made these decisions, and he is proud of them.”“At the end of this trial, we will ask you to return a verdict of death, a verdict of justice,” she added. “The defendant made his decisions, and he must be held accountable.”In contrast, defense attorneys for the gunman, Robert Bowers, emphasized his difficult upbringing and told jurors to follow their own moral code. They said a life sentence was enough of a penalty.“The death penalty is never required – not in this case and not in any other case. It is each of you who decides Mr. Bowers’ fate,” defense attorney Elisa Long said. “You are neve...