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Instagram lifts ban on anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after launch of presidential bid

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:41:25 GMT

New York (CNN) — Instagram announced Sunday it had lifted its ban on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine activist who has launched a presidential bid, two years after it shut down Kennedy’s account for breaking its rules related to Covid-19.“As he is now an active candidate for president of the United States, we have restored access to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s, Instagram account,” Andy Stone, a spokesperson for Instagram’s parent company Meta said in a statement.Kennedy, who has a long history of spreading vaccine misinformation, was banned from Instagram in February 2021.A company spokesperson at the time said Instagram had removed his account for “repeatedly sharing debunked claims about the coronavirus or vaccines.”While Kennedy’s Instagram account was banned, his Facebook account remained active. Both platforms are owned by Meta.Kennedy was a leading anti-vaccination voice during the Covid-19 pandemic, using his social media platforms to sow doubt and misinformation abo...

Davenport, Iowa, officials: 3 bodies recovered at apartment collapse site; no others thought missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:41:25 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The bodies of three men have been removed from the site of a collapsed six-story apartment building, the police chief in Davenport, Iowa, announced Monday.“We don’t have any other information at this time that there are any additional people missing,” Chief Jeff Bladel said.Branden Colvin Sr.’s body was recovered Saturday. The body of Ryan Hitchcock was recovered Sunday and Daniel Prien early Monday. The discoveries came after authorities announced that the search for survivors had been completed, with attention turning to shoring up the remaining structure so recovery efforts could begin.City officials had said earlier that Colvin, 42; Hitchcock, 51; and Prien, 60; had “high probability of being home at the time of the collapse.” Searching for them has proven to be extremely dangerous. The remains of the six-story apartment building were constantly in motion in the first 24 to 36 hours after it collapsed on May 28, putting rescuers...

Former Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith sells Wilmette home for $1.3M

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:41:25 GMT

Former Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith and his son, Matt, in April sold a four-bedroom, 2,906-square-foot house in Wilmette for $1.27 million.The house was not the residence of Lovie Smith, who until earlier this year was the head coach of the Houston Texans. However, he and his son paid $820,000 for the house in late 2020.They placed the house on the market in February for $1.25 million and sold it in April for an amount that was above its asking price. Built in 1957, the house has 3-1/2 bathrooms, three fireplaces, hardwood floors on the first floor, wool carpets upstairs, a recently renovated kitchen with an island, an en-suite primary bedroom with a large walk-in closet and a basement with a rec room and an area that has been dug out.Listing agent Kelly Maggio declined to comment on the sale. However, Smith and his son previously owned another house on the exact same street, which they had bought in 2010 for $455,000 and sold in 2013 for $630,000.The primary residence for S...

Lawyer accused in series of alleged cold case rape and assaults, held on $5M bail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:41:25 GMT

A Suffolk Superior Court judge on Monday ordered Matthew Nilo, accused in a series of alleged rapes and assaults dating back to 2007 and 2008, held on $5 million bail during an arraignment Monday.Nilo pleaded not guilty to the charges this morning. He can be released if he posts $500,000 cash.Nilo is charged with three counts of aggravated rape, two counts of kidnapping, one count of assault — attempted rape and one count of indecent assault and battery. The charges stem from alleged incidents in the Terminal Street area of Charlestown on Aug. 18, 2007; Nov. 22, 2007; Aug. 5, 2008; and Dec. 23, 2008, according to information provided by BPD Commissioner Michael Cox last week.An attorney now practicing in New Jersey, Nilo, 35, was arrested last Tuesday at his home in Weehawken, N.J., and agreed to waive extradition during a court appearance there last week.The charges against Nilo were filed after Boston Police, working with the FBI, turned to genetic analysis of evidence that ...

Amount of warming triggering carbon dioxide in air hits new peak, growing at near-record fast rate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:41:25 GMT

By SETH BORENSTEIN (AP Science Writer)The cause of global warming is showing no signs of slowing as heat-trapping carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere increased to record highs in its annual Spring peak, jumping at one of the fastest rates on record, officials announced Monday.Carbon dioxide levels in the air are now the highest they’ve been in more than 4 million years because of the burning of oil coal and gas. The last time the air had similar amounts was during a less hospitable hothouse Earth before human civilization took root, scientists said.The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration announced that the carbon dioxide level measured in May in Hawaii averaged 424 parts per million. That’s 3 parts per million more than last year’s May average and 51% higher than pre-industrial levels of 280 ppm. It is one of the largest annual May-to-May increases in carbon dioxide levels on record, behind only 2016 and 2019, which had jumps of 3.7 and 3.4 parts per...

Jets tackle Duane Brown: ‘I still got plenty left’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:41:25 GMT

At age 37 and coming off shoulder surgery, some players might have decided to hang up their cleats and begin a new chapter of their lives.Jets tackle Duane Brown isn’t one of those players, as he didn’t contemplate retirement despite having a 16-year career and being named to multiple All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams.So what is Brown’s motivation during the twilight of his career?“I still got plenty left,” Brown told reporters last week. “I still feel like I can play at a high level. I want to get as healthy as possible.“Last year, I was playing less than 100%. So I want to get healthy and play at the level that I’m accustomed to. Obviously, with the team that we have, it’s a great shot to win.“I’ve done everything you can ask for individually in my career, but I want to win and I want to be the best version of myself to contribute to that.”A week after Mekhi Becton’s season-ending right knee injury during train...

Chicago Bears Q&A: Is it time to add an edge rusher? What young players are standing out at OTAs?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:41:25 GMT

The Chicago Bears are finishing their second week of organized team activities at Halas Hall. Despite their offseason additions, they still have some roster deficiencies. Brad Biggs addresses concerns in his weekly mailbag.It’s June 1. Do you think the Bears will be active this week or next for edge help? — @just_acyJust because the Bears have not added a defensive end with a track record does not mean general manager Ryan Poles and his staff have not been working on this initiative. I expect the team to add a veteran edge defender at some point.“We’re interested in a lot of free agents,” coach Matt Eberflus said Wednesday when asked if he would like to get some help at the position. “We’re interested in a lot of guys at all positions. We’re just excited about being able to look at those guys and potentially add as we go through camp and getting closer to the season.”Does this mean something will happen this week or next? Maybe. ...

La Jolla restaurant burglarized two days after grand opening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:41:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Just days after the grand opening event, a man broke into the Beeside Balcony La Jolla early Saturday morning and stole the restaurant's cash register.Beeside Balcony chef and owner, Christophe Cevasco, first started serving his specialties at the Del Mar location with La Jolla next in line. After years of hard work, he was excited for the opening of his La Jolla location last Thursday, June 1. But, that excitement quickly turned to frustration just two days later when someone was caught on security camera around 6 a.m. Saturday, stealing the cash register from behind the restaurant's bar after breaking in through the delivery entrance."He walked right in, grabbed the register, pulled the whole set up, ripped everything off the wall," Cevasco told FOX 5.According to the owner, the suspect was in and out of the restaurant within a minute, taking with him about $500 that was inside the register. Cevasco said, "He was on a mission … he was in and out." Man struck by vehi...

One dead after being shot by police at South Bay transit center

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:41:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- One person is dead after being shot by a police officer at a South Bay transit center Sunday night, San Diego police said.Around 8:56 p.m., officers were called to the transit center in the 700 block of East San Ysidro Boulevard for an undisclosed reason.One person was confirmed dead by SDPD. Authorities have not disclosed if they were the only individual shot at in the incident.The transit center was closed Sunday night as authorities investigated the incident, but of of 5:39 a.m. normal operations had resumed, according to MTS.Deputies from the San Diego County Sheriff's Office are headed to the scene to investigate the incident, per the countywide memorandum on officer-involved shootings, Lt. Adam Sharki with SDPD said.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Conservatives call on feds to see killer Bernardo returned to maximum-security prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:41:25 GMT

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the federal government to use whatever tools it can to reverse a decision by the Correctional Service of Canada to transfer killer Paul Bernardo to a medium-security prison. Bernardo’s move to a facility in Quebec was made public last week after the correctional service notified the lawyer representing the families of 15-year-old Kristen French and 14-year-old Leslie Mahaffy, whom Bernardo kidnapped, tortured and murdered in the early 1990s.The killer and serial rapist had been serving a life sentence at Millhaven Institution, a maximum-security penitentiary near Kingston, Ont. Tim Danson, a lawyer for the victims’ families, says it was unacceptable that the prison service refused to answer questions about the reason for the Bernardo’s move or details of his custody conditions, citing his privacy rights. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Poilievre called Bernardo a “monster” and said Prime Minis...