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Illegal towing nightmare: South Florida woman’s car disappears from CVS lot, forced to pay to retrieve it

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:08:51 GMT

She walked into a drugstore. When she came out, her car had been towed and she had to pay to get it back. Is it legal to tow a customer’s car? It’s why one South Florida woman picked up the phone and called Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.Look around, traffic backed up, people lined up.Clearly, South Floridians have one thing in common; they are busy.Katherine Grigelis: “And I don’t have a lot of time to do like, shopping and a lot of things like that personally.”Proof of that, the other day, Katherine didn’t have time to run an errand until after midnight.Katherine Grigelis: “I saw the CVS and I decided, I needed a couple of things I would run in.”Katherine pulled in next to this sign that read “If you park and leave the shopping center, you are subject to tow.”Katherine Grigelis: “And it didn’t faze me at all because I didn’t leave the lot and I didn’t do anything wrong.”When she was in th...

Police search for grocery thief, stealing $400 of meat goods from Tropical Supermarket

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:08:51 GMT

Police are searching for a man that stuffed his backpack with hundreds of dollars worth of meat products in a West Miami grocery store.The stealing spree happened at Tropical Supermarket on SW 8th Street on July 3rd, but it wasn’t the first time that the store has been the victim of a crime like this.“It did start out as a theft, but escalated when the subject pulled out a knife to an armed robbery,” said West Miami Police Department Detective Richard Menor.Surveillance footage displayed a criminal grocery run involving an armed man and a dispute over steaks and salami.“We really want to get this person off the street,” said the detective.Menor said he wants to find the man that stole about $400 of the store’s meat products. The man first browsed the beef and pork section, where he boldly stuffed products into his backpack until he was met by the store manager.He then pulled out a pocket knife and made what seemed to be a stabbing motion toward th...

48-year-old Ohio man charged with battery escorted off United Airlines flight from FLL airport

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:08:51 GMT

An Ohio man was charged with battery and was escorted off the flight from Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport.Shawn Levan, 48-year-old was accused of being a problem passenger on a United Airlines flight headed to South Florida, Saturday. 7 News spoke with another passenger, Claudia Mondelo who was on the same flight, Saturday. “Where are you, when I need you,” said Mondelo.Claudia Mondelo captured the video of the man, who was escorted out of flight before deputies took him to the Broward County jail.Mondelo said Levan had been a less-than-ideal passenger.“He didn’t want to go back to his seat, he didn’t want to put on his seatbelt, he just wanted to cause a scene,” said Mondelo. Mondelo said the drama began at the counter in Washington DC, where she was waiting for her Fort Lauderdale flight.“He was screaming at the ticket counter lady, pretty much everyone heard him because he was extremely loud, so I was surprised when I saw ...

Senator Chuck Schumer calls for FDA investigation into high caffeine content of Prime Energy drinks

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:08:51 GMT

New York (CNN) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has called on the US Food and Drug Administration to investigate the high caffeine content of Prime Energy drinks, which he claims are being targeted to children as “one of the summer’s hottest beverages for kids.”Schumer said cans of Prime Energy drinks contain more than double the caffeine of a can of Red Bull and six times more caffeine than a can of Coca-Cola. He warned parents the drink is gaining popularity on social media. The company does not recommend the drinks for anyone under the age of 18, according to information on its website. Schumer claimed marketing for the beverage is tempting for minors.Speaking at a news conference in New York on Sunday, Schumer said, “This stuff called Prime … at just 12 ounces Prime has an eye-popping level of caffeine and that’s giving parents and doctors the jitters for the kids that are targets. Here’s the other problem, most parents haven’t even heard of this stuff that their...

Chicago White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr. showcases Home Run Derby power — including a 484-foot blast — before falling in semifinals

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:08:51 GMT

Luis Robert Jr. had a simple message for his Home Run Derby pitcher, Chicago White Sox bullpen catcher Luis Sierra.“Throw the ball in the middle and I’ll take care of the rest,” Robert said through an interpreter Monday afternoon.The top seed in the eight-player field, Robert displayed the easy power that has made him one of the game’s rising stars. He advanced to the semifinals of the Home Run Derby at T-Mobile Park, where he lost to Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena.Robert hit 22 home runs in the semis to Arozarena’s 35. The two hugged after Robert completed his swings.Robert hit 50 total homers in his entertaining two rounds.Robert turned it up a notch when he had to in his opening-round matchup with Adley Rutschman.The Baltimore Orioles catcher put on a show batting left-handed and then right-handed.With his father Randy pitching, Rutschman bashed 27 homers. He hit 21 from the left side and then hit six from the right side during his 30-seco...

Relentless rain causes floods in Northeast, prompts rescues and swamps Vermont’s capital

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:08:51 GMT

By LISA RATHKE and JOHN MINCHILLO (Associated Press)ANDOVER, Vt. (AP) — Rescue teams raced into Vermont on Monday after heavy rain drenched parts of the Northeast, washing out roads, forcing evacuations and halting some airline travel. One person was killed in New York’s Hudson Valley as she tried to escape her flooded home.Mike Cannon of Vermont Urban Search and Rescue said crews from North Carolina, Michigan and Connecticut were among those helping to get to towns that have been unreachable since torrents of rain belted the state. The towns of Londonderry and Weston were inaccessible, Cannon said, and rescuers were heading there to do welfare checks. Water levels at several dams were being closely monitored.Flooding hit Vermont’s state capital, with Montpelier Town Manager Bill Fraser estimating Monday night that knee-high waters had reached much of downtown and were expected to rise a couple more feet during the night. Montpelier had largely been spared during T...

Orioles’ Adley Rutschman puts on switch-hitting show in Home Run Derby but falls in opening round

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:08:51 GMT

When Randy Rutschman got a call from his son asking to throw to him in the Home Run Derby, he felt it was a sign of Adley Rutschman’s competitive intentions in the event.“He could have chosen 100 other people that’d probably do a better job than me,” Randy said. “But that told me it was more about the experience.”It was one father, son, and those watching at home and at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park — an announced 46,952 — won’t soon forget. The Orioles’ second-year catcher lost in the opening round to top seed Luis Robert Jr. of the Chicago White Sox but highlighted the matchup with a showcase of his switch-hitting prowess.After the 25-year-old hit 21 home runs from the left side in his first three minutes, he shared a big hug with Randy. Then, when he stepped in the right-handed batter’s box for the bonus 30 seconds, the real show began.Seven of Rutschman’s eight swings from the right side resulted in the ball...

Blue Jays’ Vlad Guerrero Jr. wins thrilling 2023 Home Run Derby

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:08:51 GMT

Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. won the 2023 Home Run Derby, beating Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena in a tense and thrilling final that came down to the wire.Guerrero Jr., who conquered Arozarena 25-23 in the showdown, joins Vladimir Guerrero Sr. as the only father-son duo in Major League history to win a Home Run Derby.Pacific NorthBEST ????Vladdy wins the 2023 #HRDerby pic.twitter.com/LjEpJt6S1B— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) July 11, 2023Guerrero is the first Blue Jay in history to win the competition. He was runner-up in 2019 when Guerrero set a record for most overall homers in the derby with 91.Guerrero’s 25 home runs set a finals record against Arozarena, beating New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso’s previous total of 23 last year.Guerrero hit 26 home runs in the first round of this year’s Home Run Derby, eliminating Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts, who finished with 11.The Blue Jays slugger went up against Seattle Mariners ...

Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero and Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena face off for Home Run Derby title

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:08:51 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero and Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena advanced to the final of the All-Star Home Run Derby on Monday night.Guerrero defeated Julio Rodríguez 21-20 in the semifinals after the Mariners star hit a record 41 in the first round in front of his hometown fans.Arozarena defeated Luis Robert of the Chicago White Sox 35-22 in the semifinals. Robert hit the longest drive of the night, a 484-foot shot to left in the second round.Trying to become the youngest Derby winner at age 22, Rodríguez knocked out two-time champion Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, who hit 21. Rodríguez beat Corey Seager 32-24 in the first round last year at Dodger Stadium, then knocked out Alonso 31-23 before losing to Juan Soto 19-18 in the final.Arozarena beat Texas’ Adolis García 24-17 in the opening pairing before a crowd of 46,952 at T-Mobile Park. García is the godfather to Arozarena’s daughter, and the two jumped into each other’s arms during warmups.Robert knocked out B...

Tourists received no safety warnings before New Zealand volcano eruption killed 22, prosecutor says

Published Thu, 13 Feb 2025 11:08:51 GMT

WEL.LINGTON, New Zealand — Tourists received no health and safety warnings before they landed on New Zealand’s most active volcano ahead of a 2019 eruption that killed 22 people, a prosecutor said Tuesday.There were 47 people on White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Indigenous Maori name Whakaari, when superheated steam erupted on Dec. 9. Most of the 25 people who survived were severely burned.The island’s owners, brothers Andrew, James and Peter Buttle, their company Whakaari Management Ltd. and tour operators I.D. Tours NZ Ltd. and Tauranga Tourism Services Ltd. went on trial Tuesday in Auckland District Court for allegedly failing to adequately protect tourists and staff.Prosecutor Kristy McDonald said in opening the prosecution case that the eruption at the popular tourist destination was not predictable but was foreseeable. The 20 tourists and two tour guides who died were given no warning of the risks, she said.“They were not given the opportunity to m...