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Dead baby found in Lakeland dumpster, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:27 GMT

LAKELAND, Florida (WFTS) — A newborn baby boy was found dead inside a bag in a dumpster on Thursday morning in Lakeland, Police Chief Sam Taylor said during a press conference.Taylor estimated the baby was less than 10 hours old. He said the placenta and umbilical cord were still attached.Taylor said the baby was found by a man going through the dumpster behind Just Move on South Florida Avenue.The baby’s body is now with the Medical Examiner, Taylor said, to determine the cause of death. The baby was viable, according to Taylor, who said, “I would actually refer to it as a baby.”Taylor said there were two locations down the road where the baby could have been left under the state’s Safe Haven Laws.Safe Haven Laws allow a newborn up to seven days old to be taken to any Safe Haven facility recognized by state law anonymously and without fear of prosecution. The babies can be surrendered to any hospital, fire station, or EMS station that has a full-time s...

South Florida immigration groups condemn DeSantis’ newly signed immigration bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:27 GMT

As the migrant crisis makes national headlines due to the looming expiration of title 42, Florida’s latest restrictions on immigrants is getting mixed reactions. Immigration groups on Thursday condemned the latest immigration bill that was signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron Desantis, which adds new restrictions on undocumented immigrants.“It’s inconceivable that in a state where immigrants are a critical and a crucial part of the community, a state that has been home for millions of immigrants, the governor and his legislature have decided to attack and despise the people who actually build the economical and cultural prosperity in Florida,” said Adelys Ferro, who is with the Venezuelan-American Caucus.The same sentiment was felt in Little Haiti where the Family Action Network Movement, a local group that helps immigrant families, along with some local leaders, spoke up against the governor.“At the end of the day, when you look at what the Florida Legislature have done ...

Europe First: Macron hits the gas in transatlantic subsidy race with EU carmaking cash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:27 GMT

PARIS — Emmanuel Macron took his war of words with Washington to the mat Thursday by proposing a concrete counter to Washington’s electric car subsidies — a move likely to further heighten transatlantic tensions. France, home to major carmakers like Renault and Stellantis, will tailor its existing measures that encourage green vehicle purchases to specifically reward European manufacturers by the end of this year, the president said, calling on the rest of the European Union to take similar action.“We will be the first European country to reform the criteria for the allocation of the car bonus,” Macron said in a speech at the Elysée Palace during an event on re-industrialization, where EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton also took the floor. “It’s a small revolution that we want to bring to the European level,” Macron said.Macron has been a combative voice hitting out at the subsidies under Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, whi...

Crews respond to house fire in Watertown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:27 GMT

Emergency crews responded in Watertown Thursday afternoon after a fire broke out in a house on Maple Street. SKY7-HD was over the scene, capturing video shortly before 4 p.m. of flames shooting out of the building’s roof and out the side of the structure.Thick smoke could be seen still coming out of the roof as crews continued their response moments after 4 p.m. No further information was immediately available.This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

A little ‘Smudge’: MSPCA takes in tiny pup found on streets of Boston and in need of surgery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:27 GMT

A small puppy in need of significant surgery was brought to the MSPCA-Angell after being found by animal control officers in Boston.The non-profit organization said the pup dubbed “Smudge” is a nine-week-old, bully breed-type dog that was found by Boston Animal Control earlier in May at Charlestown High School.The officers brought the puppy in when it became clear the stray needed special care as Smudge has a cleft palate, according to Director of Adoption Centers and Programs, Mike Keiley.Image provided by MSPCA-Angell“We’re the only organization around that has both the medical expertise to perform the surgery she needs, as well as the means to foster and adopt her out when she’s ready for her new home,” Keiley said in a statement.Keiley also noted the similarities between Smudge and another case earlier this year that involved a Chocolate Lab puppy in need of special care – Valentina, who was rescued in Arizona and flown to Boston to be treated for a vascular ri...

Time capsule unearthed at middle school in Attleboro

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:27 GMT

Administrators at Brennan Middle School in Attleboro panicked when no one remembered exactly where a time capsule was buried 25 years ago. The professionals were called in and using ground-penetrating radar, the capsule was uncovered The capsule’s contents were moldy and wet, including old school banners, uniforms and a floppy disc and cassette tape. Dawn Greening, a teacher at the middle school for the past 28 years, said she was there when it was buried in 1997. “The students are excited. I heard my fifth graders say, “I heard there’s a time capsule! Where is it?’ so they are excited and now we have an empty time capsule,”  Greening said. “There’s talk of hopefully maybe another class or another group of people getting together and putting something in there to open up at year 50!”The artifacts will be cleaned and put on display June 10 for the public and the 1997 alumni to view.

Summer-like Weather Rolls On

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:27 GMT

Temperatures climbed to near 80° today give or take a degree one or two and that summer-like air is back again tomorrow. We also had a few isolated showers pop up this afternoon, and that chance of a few showers is back again tomorrow. The only difference is the showers that were confined to the afternoon today, may slide through in the morning too.That said, it’s important to stress it’s not even close to a washout tomorrow. A few spotty showers or storms are possible but they’re again hit and miss. It looks like the rain chance tomorrow will come in two waves — one in the morning, one in the late afternoon with plenty of dry time in between. The screenshots below show future radar with an isolated shower in the morning, sunshine for the middle part of the day, and a pop up storm in the late afternoon. Far from a washout and it will again be a beautiful summer-like evening.As we look forward to the weekend, we’ll keep the summer warmth around for Satur...

Elon Musk stepping down as CEO of Twitter

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:27 GMT

Elon Musk said Thursday he has found a new CEO for Twitter, or X Corp. as it’s now called.He did not name the person but she will be starting in about six weeks.Musk, who bought Twitter last fall and has been running it since, has been insisting he is not the company’s permanent CEO.The Tesla billionaire said in a tweet Thursday that his role will transition to being Twitter’s executive chairman and chief technology officer.Musk has been saying for nearly six months that he plans to find a new CEO for San Francisco-based Twitter.In mid-November, just a few weeks after buying the social media platform for $44 billion, he told a Delaware court that he does not want to be the CEO of any company.While testifying, Musk said “I expect to reduce my time at Twitter and find somebody else to run Twitter over time.”More than a month later, he tweeted in December: “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job.” The pledge came after millions of ...

Debt limit fight: Biden meeting with Congress leaders put off until next week as staff talks proceed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:27 GMT

By LISA MASCARO (AP Congressional Correspondent)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s follow-up meeting with congressional leaders on averting a potential default was postponed on Thursday to next week, the White House said, presenting the news as positive as staff-level talks on raising the debt limit continue.The meeting was originally set for this Friday after Biden met Tuesday with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Since then, their staffs have been meeting on finding a way forward to ensure the government can meet its funding obligations — while also considering deficit cuts for the coming fiscal year.The White House said staff would continue to hold discussions through the weekend, and the delay was billed as a sign of positive exchanges between the two parties.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.WASHINGTON...

Ticker: Mortgage rates tick down; Jobless claims highest since 2021

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:27 GMT

The average rate on a long-term U.S. home loan is down to the lowest level in five weeks, welcome news for house hunters facing a market constrained by persistently high prices and low inventory.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year home loan inched down to 6.35% from 6.39% last week. The average rate a year ago was 5.30%.The average benchmark rate has now edged lower seven of the last nine weeks since reaching a high for this year of 6.73% in early March.“This week’s decrease continues a recent sideways trend in mortgage rates, which is a welcome departure from the record increases of last year,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “While inflation remains elevated, its rate of growth has moderated and is expected to decelerate over the remainder of 2023. This should bode well for the trajectory of mortgage rates over the long-term.”Jobless claims highest since 2021The number of Americ...