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Miami-Dade County commissioners defer vote for lease extension for ‘Miami Wilds’ theme park on Zoo Miami property

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:33 GMT

Miami-Dade County commissioners on Wednesday decided to defer a vote to renew a lease extension for a proposed “Miami Wilds” theme park on Zoo Miami property.Commissioners will meet again on Sept. 19 to discuss the lease renewal. During the the first 20 minutes of the meeting, tensions ran high as one man was escorted out of the building. “Yelling, sending mean emails, being rude and commenting social media, it will not get my vote,” said Commissioner Oliver G. Gilbert III.Several speakers weighed in on the proposed water park.“You’re throwing away Miami’s history for the fleeting joy of a water slide and we will remember,” said a speaker. “And this is the largest population, absolute largest population of Florida bonneted bats about anywhere else that need this space,” said a speakerOpinions on the proposed theme park have been mixed with environmental groups concerned that the development will threaten endangered wildlife, while dev...

Wendy’s newest Frosty tastes like a fan-favorite flavor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:33 GMT

New York (CNN) — Wendy’s is entering the pumpkin spice wars.For the first time, Wendy’s is adding a pumpkin spice-flavored Frosty to its menus for a limited time beginning September 12.Wendy’s said the new flavor “merges the same creamy, delectable texture Frosty fans know and love with hints of pumpkin and a blend of warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg for a taste of familiar fall flavors in every bite,” in a press release.For marketers, seasonal products are a crucial way to create buzz. Often, they pick items that make people feel a certain way — nostalgic, or excited for a new season — but that are too indulgent to buy more than a few times a year. The ‘limited-time only’ availability boosts the appeal.Adding pumpkin spice-flavored drinks seems like a no-brainer for Wendy’s since the flavor keeps growing in popularity, partly because of Starbucks. Their Pumpkin Spice Latte has become a reliable hit, making it an autumn(ish) mainstay that has given the coffee chain a seasonal sa...

Students evacuated from South Plantation High School after bomb threat reported

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:33 GMT

Students and staff were evacuated after a bomb threat was reported at a South Florida school.Plantation Police and the Broward Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad arrived at South Plantation High School, located at 1300 SW 54th Ave., Wednesday afternoon.7Skyforce hovered over the scene were students and staff were evacuated to the school’s football field. Officers and deputies were seen going into the school as they checked rooms for any potential threats. The students were moved to Heritage Park for dismissal. Parents were told to go into the first entrance of Heritage Park at Fig Tree Lane and Peters Road and go towards the back of the park at the roundabout to pick up their children. https://twitter.com/PlantationPD/status/1699465768218267878?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5EtweetIn an abundance of caution, Plantation Park Elementary was placed on lockdown.Officers and deputies were seen going into the high school as they checked rooms for any potential thre...

Man accused of causing deadly crash in Miami appears in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:33 GMT

A man accused of causing a deadly crash faced a judge.Alejandro Hall was ordered not to drive if he posts his $80,000 bond, Wednesday. The 24-year-old was charged with vehicular homicide and driving without a license.According to police, Hall slammed his Lamborghini into another car Monday night, which ejected the victim inside.The crash was so violent that it shut down the eastbound lanes of the 79th Street Causeway in Miami for hours.Officials said speed and alcohol may have been factors that lead to the incident.

Former German intelligence officer charged with treason for spying for Russia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:33 GMT

A former German intelligence employee was charged with treason for allegedly spying for Russia, according to German media reports.Germany’s federal prosecutor reportedly filed charges against Carsten L., a former senior employee of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), before the Berlin Court of Appeal.Police arrested him in December on suspicion of trading state secrets with Russian agents and sharing intelligence obtained through his work about the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.Another man, Arthur E., was also charged with treason as prosecutors believe he helped Carsten L. communicate with the Russia’s Federal Security Service, the FSB. Carsten L. was for many years the head of the BND department overseeing surveillance of phones, internet and satellite communication. Shortly before his arrest, he was promoted and put in charge of screening employees, according to German reports.He reportedly met Arthur E., a Russian businessman, at a party in Bavaria i...

‘Nice try:’ Ursula von der Leyen stays mute on second term as Commission president

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:33 GMT

BRUSSELS — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen refused to say if she will put herself forward for a second five-year term in the Berlaymont. “Nice try,” the German conservative told POLITICO with a large grin after being asked if she was running again, as she stepped out of a meeting with top MEPs in the European Parliament on Wednesday, surrounded by aides and bodyguards. Speculation is bubbling in Brussels about what von der Leyen will do after the European election next June, which will spark a reset of the bloc’s top jobs. Her name has also cropped up in discussions about who will succeed Jens Stoltenberg as secretary-general of NATO. Even if she does declare an intention to stay in the Commission post, there is a major question mark about whether she would embrace the informal lead candidate (or Spitzenkandidat) process, or expect to be simply appointed as happened in 2019.Von der Leyen spent over an hour with the heads of the Parliament...

Britain to unveil deal on rejoining EU’s Horizon scheme within days

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:33 GMT

LONDON — Britain and the EU are set to announce a post-Brexit agreement on rejoining the bloc’s flagship Horizon science funding project within days.U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been considering a draft deal on the scheme — which Britain has been shut out of since Brexit — over the summer.Bloomberg reported Wednesday that Sunak has now told officials to finalize an agreement. Two well-placed U.K. government officials confirmed that report to POLITICO Wednesday. The first said a deal should be announced in the “coming days.” An EU spokesperson said it appeared talks were “moving very quickly in the right direction.”Britain left the EU’s science funding system when it formally quit the bloc in January 2020. Talks on re-associating with Horizon as a third country then stalled amid a bitter row over post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland. Discussions resumed in earnest in March, after London and Brussels struck the Windsor Framework deal o...

Boston students set to go back to school amid hot weather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:33 GMT

With Boston public schools about to open in the midst of hot weather this week, plans are underway to keep students cool. The first day of school for most students is set for Thursday when high temperatures could rise past 90 degrees in some spots. “It takes an incredible amount of planning and coordination and staff time and resources to try to manage when many, many of our buildings are just old and need to be updated,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.Wu said most but not all of Boston’s public schools have some kind of air condition — either from central air systems or from more than 3,000 window units installed during the past five months. Getting to school cool and comfortable, though, is a challenge since most buses don’t have air conditioning, officials said. With the region’s latest round of warm weather already upon the city of Boston, leaders on Wednesday were also thinking about keeping children cool and healthy outside the classroom. “We’ll b...

Proposed Mass. rent control, MCAS test ballot questions clear major hurdle 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:33 GMT

Proposed Massachusetts ballot questions over rent control and the MCAS test cleared a major hurdle Wednesday as part of a larger batch of 34 possible ballot questions certified to move forward in the state’s ballot question process, the Attorney General’s Office announced. Petitioners previously submitted a total of 42 initiative petitions to be considered for inclusion on next year’s November ballot. In its announcement on Wednesday, the office of state Attorney General Andrea Campbell said it determined the 34 proposals met the requirements for ballot questions outlined in Massachusetts’ constitution. Among the certified questions are two potential questions aimed at scrapping the MCAS test as a graduation requirement. One other potential question certified this week would enable cities and towns to enact rent control provisions, among other “tenant protection” options.Massachusetts voters in 1994 voted to ban rent control through a ballot question. Rent control has...

The writer who won a sex abuse and defamation lawsuit against Trump scores another victory

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:16:33 GMT

By JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Four months after a civil trial jury found that Donald Trump sexually abused and defamed advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday that still more of the ex-president’s comments about her were libelous. The decision means that an upcoming second trial will concern only how much more he has to pay her.The ruling stands to streamline significantly the second trial, set for January. It concerns remarks that Trump made in 2019, after Carroll first publicly claimed that he sexually attacked her in a dressing room after a chance meeting at a luxury department store in 1996. He denies that anything happened between them.The first trial, this spring, concerned the sexual assault allegation and whether some 2022 Trump comments were defamatory. Jurors awarded Carroll $5 million, finding that she was sexually abused but rejecting her allegation that she was raped.“The jury considered and decided is...