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Destruction in Texas Panhandle: Storm blamed for 3 deaths there wrecked mobile homes and main street

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:08:30 GMT

By DAVID ERICKSON, SARAH BRUMFIELD and KEN MILLER (Associated Press)PERRYTON, Texas (AP) — As Sabrina Devers watched what would turn out to be a deadly summer storm approach her ranch just north of the Texas Panhandle town Perryton, she first spotted golf ball-sized and then softball-sized hail.Then, Devers said, across the high plains toward Perryton, the system spawned a tornado.Once the twister had moved through, Devers drove into into the town to find a path of wreckage local officials estimated was a quarter of a mile (0.4 kilometer) wide, and 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) long. The Thursday afternoon storm would be blamed for three deaths and more than 100 injuries as it destroyed hundreds of homes, tossed vehicles into buildings and knocked out power and cellphone service in Perryton, a town of 8,000 about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of Amarillo, just south of the Oklahoma line.“The devastation was unbelievable,” Devers told Fox Weather. “It took a ...

Style at Home: Understanding the differences between cluttercore and clustercore

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:08:30 GMT

Katie Laughridge | Tribune News ServiceWhen it comes to home design, two seemingly similar concepts have gained attention in the online world in recent years: cluttercore and clustercore.While they share similarities, a few key differences set them apart. Cluttercore and clustercore represent two contrasting philosophies when it comes to organizing and displaying personal belongings.Ultimately, both cluttercore and clustercore offer unique ways to infuse personality and creativity into home design, allowing you to express your individuality through your living spaces.What is cluttercore?Cluttercore finds beauty in the chaos, embracing the idea that a space can be filled with items that bring joy and nostalgia. It encourages a sense of comfort and familiarity, where every nook and cranny tells a story. Cluttercore enthusiasts often prioritize sentimentality over minimalism, allowing their homes to become a reflection of their personal journeys and experiences.Functionally, it embrace...

Harvard Medical School threatened with class action lawsuit over alleged body snatching ring

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:08:30 GMT

The disclosure of an alleged human body parts trafficking operation connected to the Harvard Medical School morgue’s fallout has begun with the filing of a lawsuit against the school and the employee allegedly responsible for these “deplorable acts.”“The law recognizes that human beings are entitled to be treated with decency and dignity after death including by not having their bodies mishandled, viewed, dismembered, and/or sold by those entrusted with them,” the lawsuit filed Friday in Suffolk Superior Court states.“Families who lose loved ones find solace in temporarily entrusting the bodies of their loved ones to an institution such as Harvard Medical School with the goal of furthering academic and medical research,” it continues. “The actions of the Harvard Medical School morgue manager in mishandling and selling the body parts of cadavers donated to the school was a reprehensible tragedy that should have never happened.”The lawsuit, which seeks recognition as a class action cl...

NCAA committee recommends dropping marijuana from banned drug list, focus testing instead on PEDs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:08:30 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An NCAA panel is calling for the removal of marijuana from the organization’s list of banned drugs, suggesting that testing should be limited to performance-enhancing substances.The proposal released Friday from the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports would mark a big change for the NCAA, which has been conducting drug tests at championship events since 1986. Committee members recommended halting cannabis tests at such events until a final decision is made, likely this fall.Legislation would still have to be introduced and approved by all three NCAA divisions to take effect. Administrators in Divisions II and III had asked the committee to study the issue.The recommendation comes as the U.S. is seeing more and more states allowing medical or recreational marijuana use.Earlier this year, the committee increased the THC threshold needed for a positive test and recommended revamped penalties for athletes. The threshold for THC — t...

Housing affordability crisis requires “all hands on deck” response: CMHC

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:08:30 GMT

TORONTO — When Bob Dugan surveys the future of Canada’s housing market, he doesn’t see the rosy picture many long for. “I’m actually worried that affordability is going to deteriorate rather than improve unless we can do something about it,” the chief economist at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation told The Canadian Press on Friday.A day earlier, the country had learned from the Canadian Real Estate Association that the actual national average home price was $729,044 in May, up 3.2 per cent from a year earlier, while the seasonally adjusted average home price was $715,290, up 2.7 per cent from April. The average topped $1 million in the Greater Toronto Area and several parts of B.C. Dugan’s feelings about the lack of affordability have been festering within the federal housing agency for some time, prompting it to ring alarm bells last summer, when it revealed the country needed to build 3.5 million more homes than it is on track for to reach some semblance of affor...

Woman dead in two-vehicle crash in Brampton

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:08:30 GMT

A woman has died following a multi-vehicle crash in Brampton.Peel Regional Police were called to the Kennedy Road South and Steeles Avenue East area on Friday afternoon for reports of a two-car collision.An adult woman was pronounced dead, police said. It’s unclear if there are other injuries.The drivers of the two vehicles remained at the scene and are cooperating with the police.There are road closures in the area, including westbound at Steeles and southbound at Kennedy.FATAL COLLISION: -Kennedy Rd S / Steeles Ave E #Brampton-Two vehicles, all remained. -Adult Fml has died -Other injuries unknown -W/B Steels blocked -S/B Kennedy blocked -Please use alternate routes-PR230195694— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) June 16, 2023

2024 trial date set for 2 men in Vermont murder-for-hire case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:08:30 GMT

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Two men facing federal charges connected to the 2018 abduction and killing of a Vermont man are scheduled to go on trial in the fall of 2024, a judge decided Friday. U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford set an Oct. 7, 2024 start date for the trial of Serhat Gumrukcu, of Los Angeles, and Berk Eratay, of Las Vegas. They pleaded not guilty last year to a charge of wire fraud as part of an alleged international murder-for-hire conspiracy that was tied to an oil deal. The two men were previously charged with arranging to have the third defendant, Jerry Banks, kidnap and kill Gregory Davis, 49, of Danville, Vermont.Banks, of Colorado, who prosecutors say abducted and killed Davis, changed his plea to guilty earlier this month. Prosecutors say Banks was part of a plot that began when Davis had been threatening to go to the FBI to report he’d been involved in a fraudulent oil deal with Gumrukcu. Davis’ body was found by the side of a snowy Vermont back road.A f...

Oath Keepers lawyer’s trial delayed for competency treatment

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:08:30 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The trial of a lawyer for the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group will be delayed so she can get treatment she needs to be mentally competent to stand trial, a judge decided Friday. Kellye SoRelle is charged with conspiracy in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol, but experts for the prosecution and defense found she is not competent for a trial that had been set for July. Those evaluations predicted that three to four months of treatment can restore her to competency, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said.She has pleaded not guilty and been free pending trial in Texas. Defense attorney Horatio Aldredge agreed an in-patient treatment program will be required once a spot becomes available. Attorneys did not disclose details of her condition, and Aldredge’s office declined additional comment on her behalf. SoRelle, who served as general counsel for the antigovernment group, was photographed with leader Stewart Rhodes outside the Capitol...

Next round of COVID-19 shots in fall will target latest omicron strain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:08:30 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The next round of COVID-19 vaccines will target one of the latest versions of the coronavirus, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.FDA’s decision came one day after an agency panel of outside advisers supported the recipe change. The agency told vaccine makers to provide protection against just one omicron strain, known as XBB.1.5. Today’s shots include the original coronavirus and an earlier version of omicron. They do still help prevent severe disease and death even as XBB variants have taken over. But protection gradually wanes over time and was short-lived against milder infection even before the virus, inevitably, evolved again.The three U.S. companies that make COVID-19 shots said this week they had geared up to make the formula change, in anticipation of making many millions of doses available for the fall. One company, Pfizer, said it could have at least some doses ready as early as next month.The Centers for Disease Control and Preventio...

‘Corrupt’ OPP officer guilty of sex assault dismissed after years on paid leave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 12:08:30 GMT

An Ontario Provincial Police officer convicted of multiple criminal offences has been dismissed after years of being on paid leave.OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique says Const. Jason Redmond of the Leeds County detachment was terminated Thursday after abandoning his appeal to overturn a dismissal order.The OPP has terminated the employment of Jason Redmond. Further details are available in the attached statement, which has been issued to the media. pic.twitter.com/mXPzUnDS06— Thomas Carrique (@OPPCommissioner) June 16, 2023“The corrupt, disgraceful and criminal behaviour of this individual is inconsistent with the exemplary conduct of OPP members and our values of serving Ontarians with pride, professionalism and honour,” Carrique said in a statement. “This behaviour also undermines the selfless and heroic acts our officers perform every day while serving and protecting our communities.”Redmond was charged in November 2015, and subsequently convicted in ...