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Former South Florida police officer pleads guilty to COVID-19 relief fraud

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:00 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — A former South Florida police officer pleaded guilty Monday to stealing about $285,000 in COVID-19 relief funds.Former Miami-Dade police officer Samuel Harris, 43, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in Miami federal court, according to court documents. He faces up to 20 years in prison at a sentencing hearing scheduled for Sept. 25.According to court documents, Harris falsely claimed in a June 2020 Paycheck Protection Program loan application that his business, Oregen Digital Inc., had 10 employees and a monthly payroll of more than $50,000. Prosecutors said Harris was able to obtain a forgivable loan of $125,579.Harris also falsely claimed in a Economic Injury Disaster Loan application submitted to the Small Business Administration that Oregen had annual gross revenues of more than $859,000 and 10 employees. Prosecutors said Harris received a $10,000 advance that did not need to be repaid and $149,900 in loan proceeds.The Paycheck Protection Program involves billions of doll...

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin resurfaces with new message

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:00 GMT

Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin gave his first sign of life in a week on Monday as he issued a voice message expressing thanks to supporters of his recent failed uprising.“I want you to understand that our ‘March of Justice’ was aimed at fighting traitors and mobilizing our society,” Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner mercenary army, said in a 41-second voice message posted on Telegram. “In the near future, I am sure that you will see our next victories at the front. Thanks guys!”Prigozhin, 62, went from folk hero to public enemy number one in Russia after leading a 36-hour armed insurrection last month, capturing the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and sending his men to within 200 km of the capital Moscow. He bottled out after President Vladimir Putin condemned the mutiny as a “stab in the back,” winning a judicial reprieve in a deal brokered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko under which Prigozhin and his men would go into e...

Suspect arrested after allegedly assaulting Boston police officer, state police lieutenant near Mass. and Cass

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:00 GMT

A man with multiple arrest warrants was taken into custody after allegedly resisting arrest and pepper-spraying both a Boston police officer and Massachusetts State Police lieutenant near Mass. and Cass on Monday, according to authorities.An MSP spokesperson said Joseph W. Russell, 27, was arrested after he was first spotted and recognized by a state police lieutenant on Southampton Street around 7:50 a.m.“When the Lieutenant approached JOSEPH W. RUSSELL, 27, of Weymouth, the suspect fled on foot down Atkinson Street,” MSP spokesperson Dave Procopio said. “The MSP Lieutenant and a Boston Police Officer pursued him on foot. As the suspect ran, he tried to instigate an attack on the Trooper and Officer by people loitering on the street.”Both the lieutenant and officer eventually caught up with Russell, who allegedly kicked and punched at the two during his arrest.Procopio said during this time, the state police lieutenant suffered a minor injury and was taken t...

Mass and Cass arrest: Weymouth man allegedly assaults State Police lieutenant and Boston officer

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:00 GMT

A Weymouth man wanted on drug warrants is accused of assaulting a Massachusetts State Police lieutenant and a Boston police officer as they arrested him near Mass and Cass on Monday morning, according to police.Joseph Russell, 27, allegedly kicked and punched both of the law enforcement officers before they took him into custody.During the confrontation, the Mass State Police lieutenant suffered a minor injury. He was transported by Boston EMS to Boston Medical Center for evaluation.Russell was booked on the two outstanding warrants — both for drug offenses, one out of Boston Municipal Court, the other out of South Boston District Court — and new charges of assault and battery on a police officer (two counts) and resisting arrest for Monday’s incident.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | A grim reminder of Boston’s opioid epidemic on a Dorchester splash pad Crime & Public Safety | Hamrock: We can optimize mental health, a...

Novak Djokovic, Iga Swiatek win on Day 1 at Wimbledon, Venus Williams and Coco Gauff in action

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:00 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek advanced with straight-set victories Monday despite a rain delay as Wimbledon got started.Venus Williams and Coco Gauff are among the other big names in action later on Day 1.It is the year’s third major tournament — and Djokovic won the first two: the Australian Open in January and the French Open in June. That puts him halfway to the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969. He came close to the feat in 2021, falling just one victory short when he lost in the final of the U.S. Open.He seeks a fifth consecutive title at the All England Club and eighth overall, which both would tie records for men.Djokovic’s title at Roland Garros was his 23rd at a Slam event, breaking a tie with Rafael Nadal for the men’s mark in that category.Djokovic, the No. 2 seed, beat Pedro Cachin 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4) after a rain relay that lasted more than an hour. Groundskeepers used leaf blowers to dry the grass...

Dior brings ethereal goddesses, silver threads, to Paris couture

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:00 GMT

PARIS (AP) — In the lush surroundings of Paris’ Musee Rodin, the landscapes of artist Marta Roberti formed the backdrop on Monday for the latest Dior couture collection by designer Maria Grazia Chiuri. The designs, inspired by power, feminism and the divine, shone against Roberti’s fantastical creations of exotic birds and ethereal trees. VIP attendees, including actors Natalie Portman and Rosamund Pike, were drawn into this imaginative realm.Here’s a look at some highlights from Monday’s fall-winter 2023 collections:DIVINE GODDESSES OF DIOR STRUT AMID BIRDS AND TREESThe collection by Chiuri drew its strength from the past, a salute to timelessness. An ecru wool crepe cape with long, draping sleeves set the classical tone, with the gathered plaits of the models’ hair, a throwback to times past. Subtle and understated, the adornments of pearl or gold earrings added a quiet elegance, while tunic shapes and classical banding played up the nostalgic silhouettes, all marked by loose prop...

Wimbledon uses leaf blowers to dry the grass on Centre Court after rain delay

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:00 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — After the rain came down and the Centre Court roof was closed, groundskeepers at Wimbledon brought out the leaf blowers.Several workers using the hand-held machines paced up and down the hallowed grass in the All England Club’s main stadium to dry the ground from the sudden shower that disrupted play on all courts.Novak Djokovic, the defending champion who was playing Pedro Cachin in the stadium at the time the rain started, clapped when he saw the workers emerge with their leaf blowers. He had been trying to dry the grass on his own, waving his white towel over some spots that seemed to be particularly soaked.Djokovic looked up to his box and joked: “ Yes, blow, blow. Blow the air. We need everybody’s help. “The delay lasted more than an hour, with Djokovic in the lead after winning the first set 6-3. The roof, installed over Centre Court in 2009, was reopened before play resumed.Djokovic won 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4).___AP tennis: https://apnews...

Investigators visit North Carolina amusement park after closing ride because of crack

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:00 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — State investigators were on site Monday at a North Carolina amusement park after a crack was discovered on a support beam on one of their popular roller coasters.Tommy Petty, chief of the state Department of Labor’s Amusement Device Bureau, said investigators from his department “already came and went” from the Carowinds roller coaster Monday morning. He declined to share details about their findings.Carowinds’ Fury 325 was shut down Friday. Video of the ride showed the beam bending, the top of it visibly detached, as cars with passengers whirled by.The park’s website advertises the ride as the “tallest, fastest, longest giga coaster in North America” that crosses into both North Carolina and South Carolina. It has been open to the public since 2015. The rest of the park remains open. Hannah Schoenbaum And Kimberlee Kruesi, The Associated Press

As 1,500 Disneyland collectibles go up for auction, that Dumbo car – or trash bin – can be yours

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:00 GMT

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — Fans who agree Disneyland is indeed the happiest place on Earth will soon be able to take home more than a souvenir. A passionate collector has brought Disney magic to a sprawling 30,000-square-foot (2,800-square-meter) building in Burbank, California, where fans can hear birds chirping in the Enchanted Tiki Room section or giggle at the animated ghosts from the Haunted Mansion ride as they preview more than 1,500 items up for auction later this month. Joel Magee has been building his collection of more than 6,000 items — including costumes, rare posters, and life-size vehicles from rides like Dumbo and Peter Pan — for 30 years, and he’s finally ready to share some of it with the public. “I’m one of those guys — go big or go home. And if you don’t have the biggest, then it ain’t the best,” Magee told The Associated Press in a recent interview, as fans milled about the exhibit. Magee’s is the largest individually owned Disneyland/Disney Park collection in the w...

Kevin Spacey’s accuser describes the Oscar-winning actor as a ‘slippery, snaky’ predator to avoid

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:02:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — One of actor Kevin Spacey ‘s accusers described the Oscar-winner in court Monday as a “slippery, snaky” predator who good-looking, young men were warned to avoid. The man, who worked with the American actor when he came to the Old Vic Theatre in London in the early 2000s, said Spacey told him he could introduce him to Hollywood stars. But the man said that word around the playhouse was that he should be careful around Spacey.“It was well known he was up to no good,” the man said in a video of his police interview played for jurors in Spacey’s sexual assault trial. “He was almost right from the get-go grooming me.”He said Spacey made him uncomfortable querying him about his sexuality, then became “touchy feely” and graduated to aggressive groping when they were alone together.The man, who cannot be identified under British law, likened Spacey to the villain he plays in the 1995 thriller “Se7en” about a serial killer motivated by the seven deadly sins. “He’s ...