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‘Brave’ Winthrop police officer cleared of wrongdoing in shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:37 GMT

Winthrop Police Sgt. Nicholas Bettano, who shot and killed a committed racist who killed two black bystanders during a rampage in 2021, has been cleared of any wrongdoing.“Our investigation makes clear that the officer’s actions were justified that tragic day,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement released with the investigation’s findings on Tuesday.“Indeed, it is likely that this officer’s brave actions saved others from being injured or killed as a result of Nathan Allen’s racially motivated rampage,” the DA added. “This was a terrifying incident for Winthrop, rooted in Nathan Allen’s deep White Supremacist hatred.”DA: Winthrop rampage shooter Nathan Allen. (Suffolk DA photo.)Allen, 28, had written in his journal, in an entry decorated with a Swastika and featuring many racial epithets, at an unknown date that he had determined that “Racism is good. Natural. Killing (expletive) is in our blood. We need to do this while we are apex predators.”Come...

Gun control proposal will get a vote after lawmakers attach it to ‘shell game’ budget bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:37 GMT

Following a procedural move gun rights groups are calling a legislative “shell game,” lawmakers will vote on a controversial new gun bill this week, after House leadership revealed they had attached much of the bill to the 2023 close-out budget.On Tuesday, the House Ways and Means Committee polled its membership on whether they might vote in favor of recommending “H.4090 ‘An Act making appropriations for fiscal year 2023 to provide for supplementing certain existing appropriations and for certain other activities and projects’ in part, as amended; see attached.”Attached to that bill, which was submitted in September by Gov. Maura Healey with an aim toward closing the books on the state’s fiscal 2023 budget, was the third version of the House’s gun legislation.Originally proposed by Stoneham Rep. Michael Day as HD. 4420, or An Act modernizing firearms laws, gun owners met the first draft bill with alarm at many of its provisions. As written, according to opponents, the bill would mak...

Harvard student denounces anti-Israel open letter roiling campus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:37 GMT

One of the Harvard students embroiled in the anti-Israel furor is now saying “terrorism is never justified” as he attempts to distance himself from the controversy.Josh Willcox, the 22-year-old son of British perfume magnate Jo Malone, said he hasn’t been on the Cambridge campus and had nothing to do with the letter signed by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups, the New York Post first reported.That letter, signed by 34 Harvard sub-committees, has set off a storm on campus that has brought condemnation from donors to alums alike, as the Herald has reported.In his lone Instagram message, Willcox writes, “In contrast to the (Palestine Solidarity Groups’) open letter, I believe that anyone who inflicts violence on civilians is solely responsible for their actions. I therefore do not support the letter’s attribution of blame for (the Oct. 7) attacks to Israel. Terrorism is never justified under any circumstances.”In the lone Instagram post, seen by the ...

Driver killed after colliding with pole on I-805

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:37 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A 63-year-old woman was killed after crashing into a pole on Interstate 805 Monday evening, authorities said.The collision occurred around 11:46 p.m. on I-805 near the State Route 94 transition ramp, Salvador Castro with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) said in a news release Tuesday.According to law enforcement, the woman was driving a white Nissan Maxima on I-805 northbound transitioning to SR-94 when her vehicle went off the roadway and crashed into a metal pole. 3.0-magnitude earthquake reported off San Diego coast The driver died at the scene due to major injuries, CHP confirmed. A female passenger was also removed from the car and taken to a hospital with major injuries. The passenger's condition is not known at this time.Authorities shut down the SR-94 transition ramp for about two hours as a result of the crash.It is unknown if driving under the influence was a factor in the collision, as CHP is awaiting a toxicology report from the San Diego County Medical...

Elderly woman loses $200,000 after targeted with these common scams: DA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:37 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego County District Attorney announced criminal charges against a 22-year-old San Gabriel man on Tuesday in connection to two common, but sophisticated scams that robbed an elderly San Diego woman of her life savings.The man, Zhi Gao, was arrested in a sting operation at the 65-year-old victim's home last Thursday and faces charges of attempted grand theft among others. According to prosecutors, he is accused of being courier for a larger theft ring that defrauded the woman over several weeks by posing as both Microsoft Tech Support and Chase Bank to convince her to pay more than $200,000 in cash to them. San Diego District Attorney meets with businesses to crack down on organized retail crimes DA Summer Stephan said that the scam included two of the most common ruses encountered by law enforcement: the "tech support scam" and "banking scam."The woman was first targeted with the "tech support scam." According to Stephan, the victim's encountered a pop-up mes...

Rite Aid to close four stores in San Diego County after bankruptcy filing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:37 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Four San Diego-area Rite Aid locations are set to shutter after the Rite Aid Corporation filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this week.In court filings submitted Monday, the company disclosed that 150 of its over 2,000 stores will be closed amid the restructuring effort to deal with financial losses and opioid-related lawsuits. According to the company, all the stores impacted were considered "underperforming."Among these initial closures are four stores in San Diego County -- two in the city of San Diego and two in other parts of the county:Oceanside location at 3813 Plaza DriveSan Diego location at 6505 Mission Gorge RoadSan Diego location at 8985 Mira Mesa BoulevardRamona location at 1670 Main StreetAs of Tuesday, the Rite Aid location in Mira Mesa already appears to be closed, per the corporation's list of all stores. Meanwhile, Rite Aid officials confirmed to FOX 5 on Monday that the pharmacy's location in Ramona will be permanently closed on Thursday, but they...

What we know about the deadly blast at a Gaza City hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — This is what we know about Tuesday’s deadly blast at a hospital in Gaza City.— In the dark of early evening in Gaza, reports emerged of an explosion at Gaza City’s al-Ahli hospital. Al-Ahli was crowded both with victims of 10 days of Israeli airstrikes and with families and others who have taken refuge on hospital grounds.— Video that The Associated Press confirmed as being from the hospital showed an orange ball of fire and flames engulfing the building and grounds. — The video showed the outside of the hospital, where countless Palestinian families had been camping out. Torn bodies covered the grass, with slain children lying among dead adults.— Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry blamed an Israeli airstrike, and said it killed at least 500 people. — Israeli authorities soon after denied involvement, saying a misfired Palestinian rocket appeared to blame.— Outraged over the hospital blast, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordan’s King Abdullah II annou...

Venezuela’s government and US-backed faction of the opposition agree to work on electoral conditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:37 GMT

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuela’s government and a faction of the opposition formally agreed Tuesday to work together to reach a series of basic conditions for the next presidential election, including scheduling the contest for the second half of 2024.Their accord was part of a partial agreement that is expected to trigger some relief from economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. government on President Nicolás Maduro’s administration. It came just five days before the opposition holds a primary to pick its candidate for the 2024 presidential election.The signing of the agreement demonstrated notable progress in a negotiation process marked by fits and starts over the past two years, but it also showed how far apart the two sides remain on what constitutes fair electoral conditions. Two provisions of the agreement could affect the government’s tactic of banning some of its loudest critics from seeking office, including the frontrunner in Sunday’s presidential primary....

Hundreds gather for pro-Palestinian demonstration in Toronto, pro-Israeli student rally held at U of T

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:37 GMT

Hundreds of demonstrators gathered for a pro-Palestinian rally in Toronto’s downtown core on Tuesday night that followed a pro-Israeli student rally at the University of Toronto (U of T).The demonstrations come in the wake of a massive blast that rocked a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter Tuesday, killing hundreds of people. Hamas blamed an Israeli airstrike, while the Israeli military blamed a rocket misfired by other Palestinian militants.At least 500 people were killed, the Gaza Health Ministry said.The pro-Palestinian gatherers settled outside Toronto’s Israeli consulate in the Bloor Street West and Yonge Street area. Photos from the scene show several people waving a Palestinian flag, with some climbing atop scaffolding at the populous intersection. Tuesday, October 17, 2023. Photo: Matt Wilkins/CityNews.The Instagram account “Palestinian Youth Movement” shared details of the scheduled gathering on social media...

No injuries reported after Hawthorn Woods house fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:37 GMT

CHICAGO -- A family will be displaced following a fire that destroyed their home Tuesday evening.According to the Lake Zurich Fire Department, a house fire broke out on the 10 block of Robin Crest Road in Hawthorn Woods just after 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Emergency crews respond to home explosion in DeKalb County The Lake Zurich fire chief told WGN-TV that no one was home at the time of the fire and no injuries are being reported, but a pet remains unaccounted for.SkyCam9 was over the scene just before 4:30 p.m. to find the house completely engulfed in flames. Fire crews were able to contain the fire and remained at the scene into Tuesday night.Fire officials report that the area does not have fire hydrants, which led to a significant response from emergency crews, including a dozen water tenders, seven ambulances, 10 fire engines, and 13 chief fire officers.No further information has been provided at this time. The investigation is ongoing.Stay with WGN-TV as this story develops.