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Private school administrator arrested, fired after engaging in sexual conduct with minor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:47 GMT

A former private school administrator was arrested and charged with engaging in sexual conduct with a minor in a position of authority. Following her arrest by Coral Springs Police on Monday, Tracy Michelle Smith was fired from her position as Head of School at Xceed Preparatory Academy, located at 3301 N University Drive in Coral Springs.Smith’s online bio, which has since been deleted, once said she “enjoys connections with students, faculty and families.”The school’s attorney, Brian Bieber, released a statement on Tuesday: “The allegations resulting in Ms. Smith’s arrest yesterday came as a complete shock to everyone at the school. The school and its staff will cooperate with law enforcement in every way possible. A safe learning environment is paramount at XCEED – with no exceptions.”She is being held at the North Broward Jail and her bond is set at $25,000.

Medford man pleads not guilty on murder charge in connection with 2 bodies found in Brighton storage unit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:47 GMT

A Medford man pled not guilty Tuesday morning on a murder charge in connection with the bodies of two men that were found in a storage unit on North Beacon Street on Saturday, according to court records, Leonid Volkov, 37, was arrested Saturday in North Attleboro in connection with the deaths of Kiryl Schukin, 37, and Pavel Veshkin, 28, a married couple from Medford who both sustained stab wounds. Friends reported Schukin and Veshkin missing last week, but the pair hadn’t been seen since March 29.Investigators executing a search warrant on the unit, which had been rented by Volkov using one of the victim’s names, found the men’s bodies in rubber storage bins. One of the bodies, tentatively identified as Kiryl Schukin, had been dismembered, officials said.Investigators say they also found bleach, rubber gloves, and items belonging to Schukin and Veshkin. The victims, officials said, were known to Volkov, and Schukin was a guarantor on Volkov’s apartment lease. However, S...

Air Force to review base where airman leaked documents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:47 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Air Force has opened its own investigation into how a lone airman could access and distribute possibly hundreds of highly classified documents, top Air Force leaders told Congress on Tuesday.Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said he has directed the Air Force inspector general to go look at the Air National Guard unit based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira served and “anything associated with this leak that could have gone wrong” and allowed the leak to happen.Teixeira, 21, was charged Friday in the U.S. District Court in Boston with unauthorized removal and retention of classified and national defense information. He is expected back in court for a hearing Wednesday.The leaks have raised questions as to how a single airman could have removed so many documents without being detected, why there were not safety checks in place and how the documents could have lingered online undetected for months.“How could this gua...

T. rex skeleton sells for more than $5M at Zurich auction

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:47 GMT

By JAMEY KEATEN (Associated Press)BERN, Switzerland (AP) — Nearly 300 Tyrannosaurus rex bones that were dug up from three sites in the United States and assembled into a single skeleton sold Tuesday at an auction in Switzerland for 4.8 million francs ($5.3 million), below the expected price. Crafted into an open-mouth pose, the T. rex skeleton measuring 11.6 meters long (38 feet long) and 3.9 meters high (12.8 feet) high came in under the anticipated range of 5 million to 8 million francs when it went under the hammer at the Koller auction house in Zurich. Koller had said Tuesday’s sale would be the first time such a T. rex skeleton would go up for auction in Europe. The composite skeleton, featuring 293 bones, was a showpiece of an auction that featured some 70 lots, and the skull was set up next to the auctioneer’s podium throughout.“It could be that it was a composite — that could be why the purists didn’t go for it,” Karl Green, the auct...

Bears stadium development could hinge on TIF money — a financial tool that’s had varying success in Arlington Heights

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:47 GMT

Arlington Heights officials proudly point to their downtown as an example of tax subsidies that work.The village transformed the once-sleepy area into a thriving destination with high-rise luxury apartments and condominiums, entertainment and restaurants. In fair weather, the streets close to draw steady crowds to a festive al fresco dining district.Just 2 miles down the road, though, lies another attempted redevelopment that went terribly wrong. International Plaza was once filled with Asian restaurants and stores, a karaoke bar, even a competitive table tennis club. Now it’s mostly abandoned, marred with potholes and boarded windows.Both sites were designated by the village as tax increment financing, or TIF, districts. The two areas, one thriving, and one nearly deserted, illustrate the range of possible outcomes for TIFs.The tax subsidy tool has come under increased scrutiny now that a TIF has been suggested as a potential funding mechanism to help draw the Chicago Bears t...

Arlington 425 developer points to Bears’ presumed impact on downtown Arlington Heights as he asks for more time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:47 GMT

Questions about how the Chicago Bears’ proposed redevelopment of Arlington International Racecourse may impact the future of downtown Arlington Heights became part of another developer’s appeal to the Village Board Monday night for more time to get permits for his own project planned for the downtown area.In his request for a permit extension for the delayed Arlington Block 425 planned unit development, developer Bruce Adreani said the NFL football team’s arrival in the village raises concerns about whether the downtown area could become “the red-haired stepchild to the Bears site” and referenced Chicago Tribune and Pioneer Press reporting on the subject to make his case.“There were articles in the paper, just most recently in the past week, on how the Bears will affect downtown,” Adreani said at the board meeting. Nobody knows what’s going to happen there.”The Bears closed on the 326-acre property in February after having first ...

Cam Thomas minutes on the table for Nets in crucial Game 3 vs. 76ers, says Jacque Vaughn

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:47 GMT

PHILADELPHIA — Is it time to free second-year scorer Cam Thomas? Facing an 0-2 deficit in the Nets’ first-round playoff series against the 76ers, Jacque Vaughn says it’s on the table for Game 3 at Barclays Center on Thursday.Vaughn, however, doesn’t appear sure minutes are necessary for Thomas. He was pleased with the overall flow of the offense in Brooklyn’s 96-84 loss at the Wells Fargo Center in Game 2.His biggest takeaway was the team generated quality three-point looks and simply failed to knock them down. The Nets shot 13-of-42 from downtown, but players not named Cam Johnson — who scored a playoff career-high 28 points and on 5-of-11 shooting from behind the arc — connected on threes at just a 8-of-31 shooting clip.Many of those missed shots were wide-open looks.“I just thought that if we felt like we were struggling to get looks, maybe that could be an answer,” the head coach said postgame when asked if he gave any though...

Southwest passengers face delays after nationwide grounding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:47 GMT

DALLAS — Southwest Airlines planes were grounded nationwide for what the airline called an intermittent technology issue, causing more than 1,700 flight delays Tuesday just four months after the carrier suffered a meltdown over the Christmas travel rush.The hold on departures was lifted by late morning, shortly after it was announced, according to Southwest and the Federal Aviation Administration, but not before traffic at airports from Denver to New York City backed up.“Southwest has resumed operations after temporarily pausing flight activity this morning to work through data connection issues resulting from a firewall failure,” the Dallas airline said in a prepared statement. “Early this morning, a vendor-supplied firewall went down and connection to some operational data was unexpectedly lost.”The airline urged customers to check on their flight status “and explore self-service options” for travel as the airline worked on restoring its operati...

Malnourished dog found abandoned in North County Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:47 GMT

ESCONDIDO, Calif. — The San Diego Humane Society's law enforcement team is seeking public information regarding a dog who was abandoned at a North County Park.On March 28, a seven-year-old small Yorkie mix was found abandoned in a crate at Mayflower Dog Park in Escondido, SDHS said in a news release.The dog was found in near-death condition, with thick, crusty skin, missing hair and suffering from malnourishment.After being found, the dog was transported to the humane society's Escondido Campus for treatment. The veterinarian team, who named the dog Champ, worked to relive the dog's pain and suffering, SDHS said.After a week of care, the medical team was unable to save Champ and made the decision to humanely euthanize him. Dog matching description of canine abandoned at shelter found, dies “We’re less than half a mile from the park where this dog, who was already suffering, was placed to endure an extremely cold night without shelter,” Lt. Regina Price with SDHS's Humane Law Enfor...

Damar Hamlin cleared to play, 4 months after cardiac arrest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:47 GMT

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is cleared to resume playing and is attending the team’s voluntary workout program, the latest and biggest steps in his remarkable recovery some four months after going into cardiac arrest and having to be resuscitated on the field during a game at Cincinnati.“He’s fully cleared. He’s here and he is of the mindset. He’s in a great headspace to come back and make his return,” general manager Brandon Beane said Tuesday.Beane said the clearance came after Hamlin met with a third and final specialist on Friday, with all three being in agreement that Hamlin can resume playing without any fear of setbacks or complications. While the Bills had their head athletic trainer sit in on Hamlin’s meetings with specialists, Beane said the team is following the lead of the specialists.“He’s such a great kid and has such a great family, and it’s exciting to go from a guy who was fighting for his life to now,” Beane said. “His story hasn’t b...