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Want to cage dive with sharks? There’s a new expedition at a great white shark hotspot in the Atlantic

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:43 GMT

With more and more great white sharks flocking north to hunt for seals, there are new opportunities to get up close and personal with the toothy apex predators.The latest ecotourism expedition in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean involves cage diving with sharks at a growing great white shark hotspot.Atlantic Shark Expeditions off of Nova Scotia, Canada has openings for its 7-hour trips this fall. People on the expeditions can view sharks from the boat, or get cozy with great whites in the water from the shark cage.“It’s really great to engage the public in science and conservation, and it’s a cool opportunity for them to see these rare and special animals that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to,” Neil Hammerschlag, founder of Atlantic Shark Expeditions, told the Herald.The cage diving can totally change peoples’ perspectives of the apex predators, added Hammerschlag, who used to be the director of the Shark Research and Conservation Program at the Uni...

Trailing by eight, Red Sox mount comeback but fall short in 10-7 loss to Nationals

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:43 GMT

Facing the toughest remaining schedule of any playoff contender, the Red Sox have to take advantage of the few opportunities they have left against weaker competition if they hope to reach the postseason.This week’s tilt against the last-place Washington Nationals was a golden opportunity, but the Red Sox let it slip away.Though they made things interesting late, the Red Sox couldn’t erase an eight-run deficit and wound up losing 10-7 after being dominated in every facet during the early innings. Boston was doomed by two early errors and some uncharacteristically poor pitching performances, and the result was a second straight loss to lose the series.The Red Sox trailed by as much as 9-1 after Washington scored five runs in the fifth and three in the sixth, but in the top of the seventh Boston’s bats finally came to life. Luis Urias hit a grand slam and Rafael Devers crushed a two-run home run to make it a two-run game, but while the Red Sox got the tying run to th...

Murderer of former Somerville High School football standout sentenced to life in prison

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:43 GMT

An Everett man who authorities deemed an armed career criminal will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being convicted of a 2017 murder in Somerville.Middlesex Judge Cathleen Campbell on Thursday handed the life sentence to Tony Dyshaun Harris, 34, who was found by a Superior Court jury in June guilty of the murder of 20-year-old Somerville resident Kevin Raymond.Raymond, a former Somerville High School football standout who played as a freshman on the Franklin Pierce University’s sprint football team in New Hampshire, died less than a week shy of his 21st birthday.Convictions for armed assault to murder and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon from 2007 led Campbell to find Harris guilty of being an armed career criminal during bench trial in late July, according to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.Harris also was found guilty by the Middlesex Superior Court jury of illegally carrying and possessing ammunition and a firearm.The sentencing Thurs...

Patriots encouraged by early returns on Ezekiel Elliott signing

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:43 GMT

GREEN BAY, Wisc. — New Patriots running back Ezekiel Elliott last practiced over seven months ago. He’s missed three weeks of training camp and just like any player in a similar situation needs to get back in football shape before the season starts Sept. 10.That’s why the three-time Pro Bowl selection was already thrust into full-team competitive drills Thursday in Green Bay during the Patriots’ joint practices with the Packers.Elliott received six carries total with Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe against the Packers’ defense. He also caught a screen from Jones as part of roughly a dozen snaps.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots extra points: Robert Kraft denied Hall of Fame entry again, when will he get in? New England Patriots | Patriots-Packers joint practices Day 1: Ezekiel Elliott debuts, offense hobbled by 13 sacks in Green Bay New England Patriots | How Patriots’ Ezekiel Elliott can earn max value of one-year contract ...

Montgomery Steppe, Reichert appear headed to runoff in District 4 Supervisor race

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:43 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Monica Montgomery Steppe and Amy Reichert continued to lead in the District 4 Supervisor race as more votes were counted Thursday. But with no candidate yet reaching the 50% majority needed to win outright, the top two vote-getters appeared to be headed for a runoff election in November.The latest batch of unofficial election results showed Montgomery Steppe, a Democrat, with 41.42% of the vote, followed by Reichert, a Republican, with 28.93%.Janessa Goldbeck, a Democrat who had 24.98% of the vote, said she called Montgomery Steppe to congratulate her."It's clear that San Diegans want strong Democratic leadership on the County Board of Supervisors, and Councilmember Montgomery Steppe will deliver that," Goldbeck said Thursday in an emailed statement.There were a projected 6,000 ballots still outstanding, according to the San Diego Registrar of Voters. Hurricane Hilary heads for California: What we know Tuesday’s primary was the first election to fill the for...

US Army soldier accused of killing his wife in Alaska after night out celebrating his birthday

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:43 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A U.S. Army soldier has been accused of killing his wife in Alaska after a night out celebrating his 21st birthday, according to court records.Zarrius Ray Hildabrand faces murder and evidence tampering charges in the death of his wife, Saria Hildabrand, of Utah, whose body was found in a storm drain in Anchorage, Alaska, according to court records. Hildabrand first reported his wife missing on Aug. 7. Police arrested him after finding Saria Hildabrand’s body as well as the mattress in their home “saturated” by blood, according to a complaint filed in the case.Hildabrand, whose bail was previously set at $500,000, had a brief pre-indictment hearing Thursday in Anchorage, an early step in a felony case.A message seeking comment for an attorney representing Hildabrand on Wednesday was not returned.According to the complaint, Hildabrand said he and his wife had been partying on Aug. 5 to celebrate his birthday, and got home in the early hours of Aug. 6. He said bot...

Maui fire evacuees moving out of shelters and into hotels where they could live for months

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:43 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Maui residents whose homes burned in a wildfire that incinerated a historic town and killed more than 100 people are steadily filling Hawaii hotels that are prepared to house them and provide services until at least next spring, officials said Thursday. Authorities hope to empty crowded, uncomfortable group shelters by early next week and move displaced people into hotel rooms, said Brad Kieserman, vice president for disaster operations with the American Red Cross. Hotels are also available for eligible evacuees who have spent the last eight days sleeping in cars or camping in parking lots, he said. “We will be able to keep folks in hotels for as long as it takes to find housing for them,” Kieserman said at a media briefing. “I am confident we’ll have plenty of rooms.” Contracts with the hotels will last for at least seven months but could easily be extended, he said. The properties will be staffed by service providers who will offer meals, counseling, financi...

Execution set for Florida man convicted of killing two women he met at beach bars in 1996

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:43 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A man convicted of killing two women he met at beach bars in the Florida Panhandle in 1996 is set to be executed under a death warrant signed Thursday by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.Michael Duane Zack III’s lethal injection is scheduled for Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. It’s the sixth execution scheduled in Florida this year after a break dating back to 2019.The scheduled execution of Zack, 54, would be the eighth under DeSantis. Though Florida has been executing death row inmates at a far slower pace than under its previous governors, DeSantis has made tougher, more far-reaching death penalty laws an issue in his presidential campaign.According to court records, Zack went on a crime spree across the Florida Panhandle in June 1996. He had been living in Tallahassee when he borrowed a bartender’s car and never returned it, authorities said. Zack made his way toward Panama City, where the owner of a local construction business allowed Zack to stay in his...

Colorado fugitive takes plea deal in connection with dramatic Vegas Strip casino standoff

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:43 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A fugitive from Colorado who was arrested after a spectacular standoff last month that had furniture flying from a window at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip has taken a plea deal that is expected to send him to his home state to serve any prison sentence, his attorney said Thursday.Matthew John Ermond Mannix, now 36, pleaded guilty to felony property destruction and misdemeanor negligence charges and has agreed to pay nearly $55,300 in restitution, attorney David Roger said.The judge in Nevada could also fine Mannix up to $12,000 and sentence him to one-to-five years in prison concurrent with a 364-day jail term.Prosecutors agreed to drop more serious felony kidnapping and coercion charges, according to court documents. A conviction in Nevada on the kidnapping charge can carry the possibility of life in prison.Mannix is from Golden, Colorado. Roger said his client would be transferred after sentencing Sept. 28 to Colorado and serve his Nevada sentence with any...

Authorities charge 10 current and former California police officers in corruption case

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:43 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Authorities have charged 10 current or former police officers at two Northern California departments in a federal corruption investigation, they said Thursday as they outlined a range of allegations from engaging in fraud aimed at boosting pay to violating residents’ civil rights.Ismail J. Ramsey, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, announced the charges against current or former officers of the police departments in Antioch and Pittsburg, two San Francisco Bay Area cities. Arrest warrants were served Thursday in California, Texas and Hawaii, said Robert Tripp, special agent in charge of the FBI’s San Francisco Field Office.“Any breach the public’s trust is absolutely unacceptable,” Tripp said while discussing charges against Antioch officers that include using their official positions as officers to deprive people of their rights.Tripp said the arrests were the result of a two-year investigation. Authorities said early in the news...