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Fairfax Co. schools inching closer to adding stop-arm cameras to bus fleet

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:57:55 GMT

As soon as next spring, drivers caught on camera passing a school bus with its stop arms extended in Fairfax County, Virginia, may get a $250 fine sent to them.The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is scheduled to vote on an agreement between the supervisors and county school board regarding a school bus stop-arm camera program.If approved, according to county documents, the state’s largest school system would contract with American Traffic Solutions, also known as Verra Mobility, to provide cameras for the bus fleet’s stop arms.The initiative, which has been years in the making, is one of several safety measures Fairfax County Public Schools is working to put in place. Thousands of door locks have been replaced, security vestibules are being built on campuses that don’t have them and the county is working to expand the use of external video cameras, Superintendent Michelle Reid confirmed in April.Fairfax County also placed cameras near eight schools t...

Putin critica a los “traidores” mientras Prigozhin, del grupo Wagner, afirma que la rebelión mercenaria fue solo una “protesta”

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:57:55 GMT

(CNN) — El presidente de Rusia, Vladimir Putin, y el jefe del grupo Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, rompieron su silencio luego de que la insurrección caótica y de corta duración del grupo paramilitar este fin de semana sumiera al país en la incertidumbre, en lo que el líder ruso describió como una traición al país.En un breve discurso a la nación este lunes, Putin dijo que los combatientes del grupo Wagner tomaron la “decisión correcta” al detener su avance, y agregó que “la rebelión armada habría sido reprimida de todos modos”.Esas fuerzas ahora tendrían la oportunidad de firmar un contrato con el Ministerio de Defensa de Rusia “u otras agencias de aplicación de la ley, o regresar con su familia y amigos”, dijo. Agregó que los combatientes también podrían optar por ir a Belarús, donde también se espera que vaya Prigozhin según un acuerdo aparentemente negociado por el presidente de Belarús, Alexander Lukashenko.Putin no mencionó a Prigozhin por su nombre, pero acusó a “los organi...

Deliberations continue in the trial of the ex-school resource officer who stayed outside during Parkland shooting

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:57:55 GMT

(CNN) — Deliberations are continuing for a second day Tuesday in the trial of Scot Peterson, a former school resource officer who stayed outside during the February 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.Prosecutors say Peterson, 60, ignored his training and common sense and chose to do nothing while students and adults at the Parkland, Florida, school were shot. Seventeen people died – 14 of them students.“His job was to go and investigate and make his presence known, and that simply did not happen,” Assistant State Attorney Christopher Killoran said in closing rebuttal arguments Monday.Peterson is accused of failing to confront the gunman according to his active shooter training, instead taking cover for more than 45 minutes outside the school’s three-story 1200 building during the deadliest high school shooting in US history.“In that moment, while he stood at those doors, every student and every teacher on the third floor was still alive,” Assistant State Atto...

Curious whale follows kayak as Australia revels in bumper annual humpback count

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:57:55 GMT

(CNN) — Nearly 5,000 humpback whales have been spotted in Australian waters during a record annual migration census, a conservation group said, with one curious cetacean seen following a kayaker just off Sydney’s famed Bondi beach.Each year, experts and members of the public head to the coast of New South Wales to conduct an annual count and Sunday’s census resulted in a highest ever 4,792 whales, adding to a rare “megapod” sighting in 2021 that previously enthralled whale watchers.Many of the whales were spotted just yards from the shoreline, according to Steve Trikoulis, vice president of the Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans (ORRCA) .“They were traveling to Queensland and Hervey Bay to make babies,” he told CNN. “It was exciting for people (on shore) to see them… jumping around.”Better weather and cleaner water were just some factors that contributed to the rise in the number of whales this year, he added.“The numbers are healthy and have definitely increased,...

FBI and Homeland Security ignored ‘massive amount’ of intelligence before Jan. 6, Senate report says

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:57:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security downplayed or ignored “a massive amount of intelligence information” ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S Capitol, according to the chairman of a Senate panel that on Tuesday is releasing a new report on the intelligence failures ahead of the insurrection.The report details how the agencies failed to recognize and warn of the potential for violence as some of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters openly planned the siege in messages and forums online.Among the multitude of intelligence that was overlooked was a December 2020 tip to the FBI that members of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys planned to be in Washington, D.C., for the certification of Joe Biden’s victory and their “plan is to literally kill people,” the report said. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee said the agencies were also aware of many social media posts that foreshadowed viol...

Jordan Westburg records first MLB hit in debut as Orioles top Reds, 10-3, in rain-delayed game: ‘It was really cool’

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:57:55 GMT

Brandon Hyde said he doesn’t have words of wisdom for young players making their major league debuts.Instead, the Orioles manager wants to be “relaxed,” hoping that energy rubs off on the player achieving a lifelong goal.Either that strategy worked Monday, or Jordan Westburg, who brings a consistent and even-keeled reputation to Baltimore along with his talent as a top 100 prospect, didn’t need to be calmed down, as the 24-year-old looked plenty relaxed in his debut Monday.Westburg did a little bit of everything to help lead the Orioles to a 10-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in a game twice delayed because of rain.“Just soak it in,” Westburg said about his approach. “Tried to really block out as many emotions as I could and just try to lock in and focus on the game. But at the same time, I just wanted to kind of look around, take in the atmosphere, the environment, the people. This is something I’ve never been a part of before, so ...

Great white sharks along Cape Cod take center stage in Nat Geo’s Sharkfest: ‘Really rare footage… pretty riveting’

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:57:55 GMT

Hundreds of great white sharks hunting seals close to shore along Cape Cod, and how local researchers are hoping to predict shark behavior, is the focus of a new National Geographic special for Sharkfest next week.The documentary Return of the White Shark includes “really rare footage” of three great whites feasting on a seal, and an apex predator attacking a seal in the surf zone.The Cape shark researchers in the show also revealed how many sharks have visited the region in a recent 5-year period, which is much higher than expected.“There was never a population estimate for white sharks in the Northwest Atlantic,” Atlantic White Shark Conservancy staff scientist Megan Winton said during the special. “It’s one of the most mysterious populations of white sharks on the planet.”The team of researchers, which includes Winton and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries marine biologist Greg Skomal, now estimate that 800 to 900 individual shark...

Editorial: Mayor Wu must stop politicizing public safety

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:57:55 GMT

Mayor Michelle Wu should stop politicizing public safety. Today.Hire good police and fire commissioners and let them do their jobs. She’s doing the opposite.Calling the response to a South Boston overdose death two weekends ago tainted by “conspiracy theories” and “rumors” is doing more harm than good.It is a fact a 28-year-old died in an apartment at the Mary Ellen McCormack housing complex of a suspected drug overdose.That does not qualify as a “conspiracy theory.”It is a fact that four children, ages 5 to 10, were found in a back bedroom by first responders.That’s not a “rumor.”It is a fact those kids are now in the custody of the state Department of Children and Families after a 51A neglect report was filed once firefighters got a look inside that squalid apartment.That also does not qualify as a “conspiracy theory” or a “rumor.”It is a tragically simple story: suspected drug abuse in a housing c...

Battenfeld: Healey’s Ireland junket puts Kim Driscoll in the Corner Office, sort of

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:57:55 GMT

Don’t look now but our acting governor this week is Kim Driscoll, the understudy who was supposed to be a key part of Gov. Maura Healey’s administration.Driscoll so far has turned out to be an adequate functionary and stand-in the way most lieutenant governors are destined to be. Not a powerhouse.Don’t expect Driscoll, the former Salem mayor, to go rogue this week while Healey is out of the country on a junket to Ireland. No surprise vetoes or late-night budget maneuvers.She will be quiet and do what Healey wants her to do, which is not much.Despite the hype about Driscoll when she was hand-picked by Healey, she has no statewide elective experience. Running a small city like Salem and keeping order during Halloween is not the same.She’s not ready for prime time so she shouldn’t touch anything major. Don’t get too used to that Corner Office.Stick to signing proclamations or running the Governor’s Council meetings.The fact is that nobody elected Driscoll to be governor, and she should...

Embattled Tennessee bishop resigns after priest complaints, abuse-related lawsuits

Published Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:57:55 GMT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, resigned under pressure Tuesday following allegations he mishandled sex abuse allegations and several of his priests complained about his leadership and behavior, sparking a Vatican investigation.Pope Francis accepted Bishop Richard Stika’s resignation, according to a one-line statement from the Vatican. At 65, Stika is still 10 years below the normal retirement age for bishops. The Vatican didn’t identify a replacement in its statement, but the U.S. conference of Catholic bishops said the archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky, the Most Reverend Shelton Fabre, was named temporary administrator to run the diocese until a new bishop is installed.Stika’s departure, after 14 years as bishop of Knoxville, closes a turbulent chapter for the southern U.S. diocese that was marked by a remarkable revolt by some of its priests, who accused Stika of abusing his authority and protecting a seminarian accused of sexual misconduct. T...