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Florida sheriff reacts to home invasion vid: 'If you kick my door in, in the middle of the night, I will kill you graveyard dead'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:30 GMT

POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Just after 3 a.m. on Saturday, June 3, a couple of masked intruders kicked in the door of a home in the Copper Ridge subdivision of North Lakeland, Florida, and went inside."As you can see, they are well garbed up, they had masks on, they had gloves," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, reviewing surveillance video from the break-in.Judd said the intruders entered the home but left without taking anything after realizing there were kids inside."When the burglars that did the home invasion heard the kids screaming and crying and noticed it was kids there, he told the others, 'Let's go, it's kids,' and they left without taking anything," said Judd, who is now asking for the public's help to identify the intruders.At the time of the break-in, there were three 11-year-old children inside the home, Judd said. Their parents were not present — and it took nearly 45 minutes for someone to call 911 — but the sheriff said his investigators have no reason to suspect...

This university forgives loan debt so students can come back to school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:30 GMT

(NewsNation) — More than a million college students drop out every year. One estimate finds almost a quarter of first-time undergraduate freshmen drop out within 12 months. This means many Americans are accruing the debt that comes with attending college but aren't receiving the benefit of a full education and a degree. That's a problem that Wayne State University in Michigan is working to tackle with its Warrior Way Back initiative. Founded in 2018, the program provides both some amount of debt forgiveness and counseling to students who attended the school but dropped out so that they can return and finish their degrees. At these US colleges everyone works and there’s no tuition When the program began, the amount forgiven was $1,500. Earlier this year, the university upped it to $4,000. To put that into perspective, current tuition and fees for a school year at the school is estimated to be just north of $14,000 for in-state students. Out of state students pay more than $30,000....

Oklahoma school board approves nation's first religious charter school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:30 GMT

(The Hill) - An Oklahoma school board on Monday voted to approve a bid to open the nation’s first religious charter school, sparking backlash and questions about the constitutionality of the move to use taxpayer dollars to fund a religious school. Oklahoma’s Statewide Virtual Charter School Board in the meeting approved in a 3-2 vote a plan to create St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School.“We are elated that the board agreed with our argument and application for the nation’s first religious charter school,” Brett Farley, the executive director of the Catholic Conference of Oklahoma, said after the decision. “Parents continue to demand more options for their kids, and we are committed to help provide them,” he added.The journey for this Catholic school is far from over as many disagree with the idea of a charter school, which receives taxpayer dollars along with private donations, run by a religious organization. Opponents argue it violates the separation between church ...

Through the years: Apple's breakthrough products

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:30 GMT

Apple has a long history of designing products that aren't the first to be introduced in a particular category but still redefine the market. With the company unveiling a headset equipped with virtual and augmented reality technology already available in other devices, here is a look back at some of Apple's other breakthrough products: Apple jumps into VR THE MACINTOSH COMPUTER, UNVEILED JANUARY 1984Heralded by a now-most famous TV commercial, the Macintosh computer lived up to the revolutionary promise made by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs during its 1984 unveiling. Among other things, the Mac ushered in the era of the graphical user interface (known as “GUI” in tech parlance) and the navigational mouse. In many ways, it was the first realization of Jobs’ vision to turn computers into “a bicycle of the mind.”THE IPOD, UNVEILED OCTOBER 2001Although it wasn’t the first of its kind, the iPod changed the way people thought about digital music players just like Jimi Hen...

Heat player criticizes DeSantis, but says people shouldn't 'Florida shame' residents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:30 GMT

(The Hill) - Miami Heat forward Udonis Haslem called out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) for policies that target the Black and LGBTQ communities in the state, but said people shouldn't shame state residents for the governor's politics.“I happen to live there and I was born there. It’s not my fault," Haslem, en elder statesman on the Heat who is retiring as a player at the end of the NBA Finals, told the Boston Globe on Saturday. "So please stop Florida-shaming us people. We’re not happy about what this man [DeSantis] is doing,” Haslem said. “Diversity and inclusion and taking the [books away]. We’re not happy about that. I sit at home on the couch with my wife and raise hell.”Haslem has played with the Heat throughout his long career, serving on championship teams first with Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal, and then Wade and LeBron James. He said he's confused about the policies in his state, expressing disappointment at school policies that will affect his three sons, and criticizi...

Cooler weather settles in following Monday’s July-level warmth and brings the chance for scattered showers Tuesday but rainfall will do very little to help ease the drought conditions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:30 GMT

TOTAL RAINFALL THROUGH MONDAY, JUNE 12thWhile a couple of chances for rain exist over the coming week in the Chicago area, meaningful rainfall to help alleviate drought conditions is not expectedPEEKS OF SUN ARE POSSIBLE……But Tuesday brings far more cloud cover after a sunny start to June 5, 2023SMOKE FORECASTSome haze as the result wildfire smoke may continue Tuesday but the greatest concentration is expected to be east/southeast of Chicago.COOLER WEATHER SETTLES IN FOLLOWING MONDAY’S SUMMER LIKE MID 80sTUESDAY AFTERNOON TEMPERATURE FORECAST—70s inland but only 60s near the lake WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON TEMPERATURE FORECAST—70s inland again but only 60s near the lake PRECIPITATION PROBABILITYSUNNY START TO JUNE: June 1-5 sunshine % possible sun83% Possible Sun63% Normal June SunshineHere’s how rainfall might lay out the next 24-30 hours.Any rainfall is better than nothing but this will do little to ease drought conditionsCLICK TO ENLARGE

LIVE: Family of man shot, killed by APD officer holds press conference at City Hall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The family of Raj Moonesinghe will hold a press conference Tuesday morning at Austin City Hall.Moonesinghe, 33, was shot and killed by Austin police officers outside of his south Austin home Nov. 15, 2022.  KXAN will live stream the press conference at 9 a.m. You can also watch it on Facebook.Ring camera footage released by APD in December 2022 showed Moonesinghe outside his home pointing a rifle at something off-camera and saying, "Are you sure you want this?" The person who called 911 told dispatchers that Moonesinghe seemed to be scared of something inside his home. Moonesinghe fired into his home twice before police arrived.Police arrived without sirens, the video showed, and one officer opened fire on Moonesinghe almost immediately after getting out of their patrol vehicle. The officer gave a command for Moonesinghe to put the gun down, but as the video showed, fired a split-second after he gave the command. The officer, later identified as Daniel San...

Austin health officials work to prevent another outbreak of mpox this summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin Public Health said another case of the painful mpox virus has re-emerged after an outbreak last June.Mpox was previously referred to as monkeypox. The CDC changed the name in November, following a recommendation from the World Health Organization.“We have a report of a case in our community of an individual who has Mpox,” said Dr. Desmar Walkes. RELATED: First mpox case in months reported in Travis County APH said mpox is not considered an STI and is primarily spread through close physical contact, which includes sexual contact. Sexual contact with anonymous and/or multiple partners increases the risk of catching and spreading mpox.APH warned the latest case could be the first of many this summer. A public health emergency was issued last summer over the virus.“Last summer had an uptick and increase in cases around this late June timeframe,” said Dr. Walkes. “That was related to some of our festivals that occur here in the summertime and we want people...

Piles of rubbish catch fire at the old Jamestown Mall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:30 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Emergency crews are at the scene of a fire at the old Jamestown mall at around 7 a.m. Tuesday. The mall closed its doors in July 2014 and has been vacant for nearly a decade.Several firefighters were sent into the building to check out the smoke rising from the roof. They found several small fires near the old Sears store in the center of the building. Blackjack Fire Chief Roger Ellison says that the fires appears to be out now. There are several piles of rubbish inside the mall. That is what is catching on fire. Ellison says that these can be a safety concern. Missouri governor denies clemency for man facing execution today The building was previously damaged after a fire broke out in April. Two firefighters were injured in that incident and taken to a hospital. Community leaders said $12 million in COVID relief funds is being used to demolish the old mall. Demolition is expected to be happening now.FOX 2 will update this story with more information as it b...

Free Trip Tuesday heads to Giant City State Park with Shawnee Forest Country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:35:30 GMT

GIANT CITY, Ill. - From breathtaking natural beauty to unlimited outdoor recreation, FOX 2's free Trip Tuesday brought to you by Berry Door and Window takes you to Giant City State Park, in Shawnee Forest Country.Carol Hoffman with the Southern Most Illinois Tourism Bureau spoke with FOX 2's Margie Ellisor Tuesday morning to share details on what to expect at the park like horse stables, an alpaca ranch, and swimming pools. Free Trip Tuesday heads to Giant City State Park with Shawnee Forest Country! For the adventurists, there's four passes to a zip line adventure at Shawnee Bluffs Canopy Tour.To register for the contest, click here.