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Texas sheriff’s office recommends criminal charges in connection with migrant flights to Martha’s Vineyard

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:41:37 GMT

A sheriff’s office in Texas is recommending criminal charges in connection with last year’s flights of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard.The incident happened in September, when 49 migrants were flown to the Vineyard from Florida after being picked up in Texas. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has claimed responsibility for the move. Back in Texas, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office on Monday said several accounts of unlawful restraint were filed. The case was being reviewed by the Bexar County District Attorney’s office as of Monday afternoon.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Compass Medical files for bankruptcy after sudden closure

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:41:37 GMT

Health care provider Compass Medical has filed for bankruptcy after abruptly closing its practices last week, records show. Compass had locations in Quincy, Braintree, East Bridgewater, Easton, Middleborough and Taunton. It then confirmed an “imminent plan” to close its practices on Wednesday of last week, leaving hundreds without a job and thousands with health care headaches. The company is now facing a class-action lawsuit that has said, in part, Compass’ sudden closure placed patients “…in the chaotic, stressful, disruptive, and unsafe position of having to scramble to find new medical providers, to fill and/or refill prescriptions, to schedule and/or reschedule important medical tests and appointments…”“This business went about its closure decision in the wrong way,” said attorney Jonathan Sweet in an interview with 7NEWS last week.In a statement, the lawsuit’s plaintiff Richard Callanan also said the move was “totally unnecessary.” “If Compass had given us some ...

Investigation underway after suspected pellet gun fired near Boston school

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:41:37 GMT

Frightening moments unfolded at the Richard J. Murphy School in Dorchester on Monday when leaders said someone drove up and shot what appeared to be a pellet gun at students outside. The incident happened on Monday afternoon while students were at recess. The school’s principal later addressed the situation in a letter to parents saying no students or staff were injured. “School staff immediately notified BPS Safety Services to provide assistance and an investigation into this incident is ongoing,” said Courtney Sheppeck. “Any student in need of support is encouraged to speak with the school psychologist or social worker.”Sheppeck continued, saying “The Murphy School and all Boston Public Schools are committed to building learning environments where all students feel safe, respected, and academically challenged.”“We encourage any community member to immediately report any safety concerns to a member of school leadership,” she said. If a pellet gun was indeed inv...

Motorcyclist killed in I-5 crash

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:41:37 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A motorcyclist died last week when his motorcycle collided with a car on Interstate 5, authorities said.The crash occurred around 9:33 p.m. on May 28 on I-5 southbound just north of L Street, per the California Highway Patrol.According to law enforcement, the 47-year-old old man riding a Harley Davidson was traveling on I-5 when he struck a Nissan sedan and was ejected from the motorcycle. Man killed in North County crash; driver arrested on suspicion of DUI First responders took him to the hospital, where he died from his injuries.The victim was later identified as Gabriel John Novello, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed on its website.His manner of death was determined as an "accident," medical officials said.

Hollywood actors guild votes to authorize strike, as writers strike continues

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:41:37 GMT

Actors represented by the Hollywood union SAG-AFTRA voted Monday evening to authorize a strike if they don’t agree on a new contract with major studios, streamers and production companies by June 30. The strike authorization was approved by an overwhelming margin — nearly 98% of the 65,000 members who cast votes.The guild, which represents over 160,000 screen actors, broadcast journalists, announcers, hosts and stunt performers, begins its negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on Wednesday, over a month after the Writers Guild of America began striking over its own dispute with AMPTP. If the actors union ultimately moves forward with the strike, it would be limited to television and film productions; news and broadcast work would not be directly affected.At stake is increased base compensation, which actors say has been undercut by inflation and the streaming ecosystem, the threat of unregulated use of artificial intelligence, benefit plans ...

Too many people in NYC are stopped, searched and frisked illegally, federal monitor says

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:41:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s reliance on the tactic known as “stop and frisk” as part of a new initiative to combat gun violence is harming communities of color and running afoul of the law, a court-appointed federal monitor reported Monday.Monitor Mylan Denerstein said the NYPD ‘s Neighborhood Safety Teams — special units deployed in the past 14 months to seize guns in high-crime areas — were engaging in “unconstitutional policing” by stopping and frisking too many people without justification.In one police precinct, Denerstein said, only 41 percent of stops, 32 percent of frisks and 26 percent of searches were lawful.The Neighborhood Safety Teams, a replacement for the anti-crime units that the NYPD disbanded in 2021, operate in 34 areas that account for 80% of the city’s violent crime — largely communities of color. Of the people the teams have stopped, Denerstein said, 97% are Black or Hispanic.A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said city officials “have se...

How inmates are using the mail to get high at the Cook County Jail as overdose incidents more than double

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:41:37 GMT

A rare look inside the Cook County Jail as crews search cells for drugs making their way inside through the mail system.  WGN Investigates first told you about the problem three months ago. Letters and books soaked in dangerous chemicals are being mailed to the jail, and later used by detainees to get high.Sheriff Tom Dart says, “We’ve got our radar up on a lot of these things but it’s wildly complicated.” More Coverage: WGN Investigates At the end of last year, the Cook County Jail saw an average of about 7 overdose incidents each month. This year the average number is up to 18 monthly overdose incidents.  A team is now tasked with searching cells each week, going through books and beds to find the contraband.According to Dr. Priscilla Ware, who oversees Cook County Correctional Health, “the pages are often soaked in roach spray, insecticides and pesticides.” It can cause a deadly high. Ware adds, “people are coming in unresponsive, wi...

Mayor announces timeline, next steps for city manager search

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:41:37 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Mayor Kirk Watson announced to city council members Monday that he's beginning the search process for a permanent city manager roughly four months after the council parted ways with Spencer Cronk. "As I promised, I am taking the steps to begin the search process for a permanent city manager. I committed that we would start in the June/July timeframe," Watson wrote in a post on the city's message board. Watson announced that he had tapped several council members to serve on a committee to help with the initial stages of the process including narrowing down search firms to complete the search. PREVIOUS: Austin City Council votes to fire City Manager Spencer Cronk Those council members are Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis and Council Members Leslie Pool, Chito Vela and Vanessa Fuentes. The mayor said he was nearly done with a request for proposal (RFP) that the committee would view before being put out to possible search firms. That will go out by the end of June or...

Bexar County files criminal charges over Florida’s transport of migrants from San Antonio to Massachusetts

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:41:37 GMT

AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office says it has completed its investigation into the transport of 49 migrants from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard last September by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration and filed criminal charges with the local district attorney.A statement from the sheriff’s office says it has filed several counts of unlawful restraint, both misdemeanors and felonies. The sheriff’s office didn’t name any individual suspects and didn’t specify when the investigation was turned over to the Bexar County district attorney. Newsom calls DeSantis a ‘small, pathetic man’ amid questions over migrant flight “At this time, the case is being reviewed by the DA’s office. Once an update is available, it will be provided to the public,” the statement said.In a separate statement from the sheriff’s office, spokesperson Johnny Garcia said the case was turned over to the DA’s office “recently,” adding, “At this time we are not naming the suspects invol...

Austin Police say violent crime ticking up after DPS troopers leave

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 17:41:37 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN)-- It will be at least another two weeks before Texas Department of Public Safety troopers could return to Austin, Austin Police's assistant chief said Monday. In an update to the public safety commission, James Mason said they've already seen an uptick in violent crime since their partnership with the agency was paused about three weeks ago when troopers were redeployed to the border. DPS temporarily halts partnership in Austin "In the areas where DPS was deployed, it did reduce the calls for service and reduce our response times and reduce our violent crimes," Mason said. "We see it moving back in the direction of the levels that we were seeing before. I would expect we'll see it get quite a bit higher," said Jonathan Kringen, APD's chief data officer. Austin Police showed this map to public safety commissioners Thursday. The dotted, horizontal line shows the average of violent crimes. The two vertical blue lines show the timeframe of the APD/DPS partnership. The g...