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DeSantis suspends Diaz de la Portilla after arrest; commissioner says ‘not an ounce of truth’ to money laundering, bribery allegations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:14 GMT

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has suspended Miami City Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla a day after the commissioner and his attorney were arrested on money laundering and bribery charges.In a news release issued Friday evening, DeSantis’ office confirmed the governor signed issued Executive Order 23-184 suspending the commissioner.Moments after he walked out of the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Thursday night, Diaz de la Portilla insisted he did nothing wrong and called his arrest political.“Not an ounce of truth. Not an an ounce of truth to those allegations,” he said. “This is a work of fiction, and I’ll repeat it again: this is a work of fiction by a Democrat state attorney targeting a Republican city commissioner. Period.”Charges against him include bribery, money laundering and official misconduct. Some of that alleged misconduct involved a controversial private school in Miami. According to the Miami Herald, the investigation revealed ...

MDPD Director Alfredo Ramirez home from hospital weeks after shooting himself near Tampa

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:14 GMT

Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo “Freddy” Ramirez has returned to South Florida nearly two months after, authorities said, he shot himself on the side of Interstate 75 south of Tampa.According to state law enforcement officials, Ramirez severely wounded himself with a gunshot wound to the head on July 23.Prior to the incident, investigators said, Ramirez and his wife had some sort of argument at the JW Marriott in Tampa, where the police director was attending a law enforcement conference.Tampa Police units responded to the hotel and spoke with Ramirez and his wife before he got to leave with his wife and his gun.A troubled Ramirez then made a phone call to Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Not long after, he shot himself in the head while his wife was in the car.Ramirez’s wife called for help, and the 52-year-old was rushed to Tampa General Hospital, where he spent weeks recovering.Ramirez, a Democrat, is still running for reelection as MDPD’s po...

Enough to make your skin crawl: 20 rattlesnakes found inside a homeowner’s garage in Arizona

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:14 GMT

MESA, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona man called a snake removal company after seeing what he thought were three rattlesnakes lurking in the garage of his Mesa home. He was wrong.There actually were 20 snakes — five adult western diamondback rattlers and 15 babies. One of the adult snakes also was pregnant.Snake wrangler Marissa Maki found most of the rattlers coiled around the base of a hot water heater in the unidentified homeowner’s cluttered garage Tuesday.“That is a lot of snakes. I’m not going to lie. This is crazy,” Maki said in a YouTube video recorded by the company, Rattlesnake Solutions.The western diamondbacks, with their distinctive triangular-shaped heads, are found throughout the Southwest. And though their venom is far less toxic than other rattlesnake species, they still require care when being handled.Maki used tongs to pick up each snake before dropping them into large plastic buckets and relocating them to a natural habitat in a desert area.“This is our record for the mo...

Tory Lanez denied bail while appealing Megan Thee Stallion shooting conviction

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:14 GMT

(CNN) — Tory Lanez has lost an attempt to be free on appeal while he seeks to overturn his conviction for shooting Megan Thee Stallion.He was sentenced in August to 10 years in prison for the 2020 shooting of the “Savage” artist, who was his friend at the time.Lanez’s request for bail was denied on Thursday, with the judge citing his conviction for a “violent felony” and possible flight risk, according to Unite the People CEO and co-founder Ceasar McDowell, a nonprofit organization representing Lanez in his appeal.Lanez had pleaded not guilty to assault with a semiautomatic firearm, carrying a loaded unregistered firearm in a vehicle, and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence, according to prosecutors.But a jury found him guilty in December 2022.“Mr. Peterson’s case has been a challenging one from the beginning,” McDowell said in a statement to CNN. “Despite the hurdles we have faced, we firmly believe in his innocence and will continue to advocate fo...

Prosecutors seek narrow gag order on Trump in DC elections case after ‘inflammatory’ public comments

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:14 GMT

By ERIC TUCKER (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors are seeking an order that would prevent Donald Trump from making “inflammatory” and “intimidating” comments about witnesses, lawyers and other people involved in the criminal case charging the former president with scheming to overturn the 2020 presidential election.Special counsel Jack Smith’s team said in a motion filed Friday that such a “narrow, well-defined” order was necessary to preserve the integrity of the case and to avoid prejudicing potential jurors. Prosecutors had foreshadowed for weeks their concerns about Trump’s verbal attacks, but Friday’s request marks the first time they have proposed formal action to rein in speech that they say risks tainting the case and causing court workers and witnesses to live in fear of being targeted. The motion lays out what prosecutors say is a pattern of “false and inflammatory” statements abou...

Battenfeld: Shannon O’Brien’s surprise suspension creates more turmoil in $3 billion pot industry

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:14 GMT

Let’s see, put a hack political appointee and a pot industry executive at the helm of the state agency that’s supposed to regulate the $3 billion weed industry – what could possibly go wrong?State Treasurer Deb Goldberg’s incredibly bad decision to put former state Treasurer Shannon O’Brien at the helm of the Cannabis Control Commission has not surprisingly come back to bite her as O’Brien is now out just a year into her tenure.In a shameless and cowardly move, Goldberg leaked the news of O’Brien’s surprise suspension in a Friday news dump while the state was in a hurricane state of emergency – refusing to face the music for her ill-fated move.O’Brien’s ouster – which sounds permanent and ominous – signals new turmoil ahead for the CCC and the already reeling cannabis industry. The CCC has now lost all credibility and Goldberg has lost control.Goldberg would give no details about the reason for O’Brien’s paid suspension, declining to address the reasons behind the decision or how lo...

Bruins notebook: Defense will carry extra burden this season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:14 GMT

At first glance, one would think that the Bruins are in good stead to keep its position at the top of the top of the league in keeping pucks out of its net.They are returning in net Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, who combined to win the Jennings Trophy, and their defense corps is mostly intact. They lost Dmitry Orlov to free agency, which was not unexpected yet still significant. But the B’s were already well on their way to establishing a league-best goals against average (2.12) before Orlov arrived here from Washington in a deadline deal.From the net out, the B’s are strong.But coach Jim Montgomery expects his D corps to carry a heavier burden this year. The team has lost three of their four centermen from last year – Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement, Tomas Nosek to free agency – and the centers play a key role in the B’s defensive system. Only Charlie Coyle remains from last year’s crop centers while Pavel Zacha moves to the middle on a f...

Brockton man held without bail after dragging state trooper while fleeing a traffic stop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:14 GMT

A Brockton man is being held without bail after he dragged a state trooper on a busy city roadway as he sped away from a traffic stop.A judge at Brockton District Court set the bail status for Derek Lobo, 31, on Friday, pending the outcome of a dangerousness hearing scheduled for Wednesday, according to Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz.Authorities allege Lobo had nearly 11 grams of suspected fentanyl on him when he dragged the trooper.The incident unfolded on Montello Street around 6 p.m. Wednesday, when two Massachusetts State Police troopers, on patrol in the area, stopped Lobo in the Mercedes he had been driving with windows obstructed by a non-transparent tint and no front license plate.An initial record check found the inspection sticker on the Mercedes had expired, according to a release from the Plymouth DA’s Office. One trooper stayed by Lobo’s side while the other went back to their cruiser to conduct a further computer check which revealed Lobo’s license was expi...

Biden set for busy week of foreign policy, including talks with Brazil, Israel and Ukraine leaders

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’ s busy agenda for his time at the annual U.N. General Assembly next week will include meetings with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.He’ll then return to Washington for critical talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan also confirmed that Biden will host Zelenskyy on Thursday for talks at the White House. Zelenskyy is also expected to meet with Democratic and Republican lawmakers while in Washington.The sit-down — Zelenskyy’s third visit to the White House since Biden took office — comes as Congress is increasingly divided over providing additional funding for Ukraine as the war is well into its second year. Biden has sought a package of $13.1 billion in additional military aid for Ukraine and $8.5 billion for humanitarian support. It also includes $2.3 billion for financing and to catalyze donors through t...

What are the articles of impeachment against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:14 GMT

The Texas Senate is deliberating 16 articles of impeachment against state Attorney General Ken Paxton after a two-week trial. Paxton, a Republican and star of the conservatives legal movement, was suspended from office in May when the GOP-controlled House voted 121-23 to impeach him on 20 articles that include bribery and abuse of public trust. Most of the articles deal with Paxton using his office to benefit a wealthy donor, Nate Paul, prompting eight of the attorney general’s top deputies to report him to the FBI in 2020.The Senate did not take up four of the articles. Three of those date back to Paxton’s pending 2015 felony securities fraud case, including lying to state investigators. The other is related to Paxton’s ethics filings in the impeachment trial. Paxton would be permanently removed from office if he is convicted of any of the articles.A look at the 16 articles the Senate is considering and the four that it set aside:DISREGARD OF OFFICIAL DUTYARTICLE 1 – Protecti...