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Feds seek charges against 28 in multi-state sex ring

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:26 GMT

Federal officials on Monday said they were seeking criminal complaints against 28 alleged sex buyers in connection with a multi-state brothel network busted in November.Acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy, said a federal task force, working with the Cambridge Police, is seeking criminal complaints against 28 buyers in connection with the alleged sex ring.“Our office made it clear when we announced charges of a commercial sex ring case on Nov. 8, 2023, that the investigation was ongoing and that there would be accountability for the buyers who fuel the commercial sex industry,” Levy said in a statement.“Today, a Homeland Security Investigations Task Force Officer with the Cambridge Police Department submitted applications for complaints against 28 sex buyers with the Cambridge District Court.”The targets of the complaints remain unnamed.Levy explained that the criminal complaints were subject to probable cause hearings and that no suspect would be named “until probable...

Earthquake in northwestern China kills at least 116 people in Gansu and Qinghai provinces

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:26 GMT

By KEN MORITSUGU (Associated Press)BEIJING (AP) — An overnight earthquake killed at least 116 people in a cold and mountainous region in northwestern China, the country’s state media reported Tuesday.Search and rescue operations were underway in Gansu and neighboring Qinghai provinces. The earthquake left more than 500 people injured, severely damaged houses and roads, and knocked out power and communication lines, according to the media reports.The magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck in Gansu at a relatively shallow depth of 10 kilometers (six miles) just before midnight on Monday, the China Earthquake Networks Center said. The U.S. Geological Survey measured the magnitude at 5.9.By mid-morning, 105 people had been confirmed dead in Gansu and another 397 injured, including 16 in critical condition, Han Shujun, a spokesperson for the provincial emergency management department, said at a news conference. Eleven others were killed and at least 140 injured in Qinghai, according...

Woman suspected of $370K cocaine smuggling attempt arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:26 GMT

INDIO, Calif. -- A 30-year-old American woman was arrested after El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents found over $370,000 worth of cocaine, authorities said.The drug bust occurred on Dec. 9 around 5 p.m. at the U.S. Border Patrol’s Highway 86 checkpoint, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a news release Monday. Motorcyclist killed in North County crash A black sedan that entered the primary area of the checkpoint raised suspicions as agents inspected the vehicle. When the vehicle went through a secondary inspection from a K-9 unit, agents found an aftermarket compartment containing 10 vacuum-seal packages in the rear driver side area that tested positive for cocaine.The driver, a 30-year-old woman, was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for further processing and investigation, according to authorities. The vehicle, as well as $374,400 worth of drugs, were also sent to the DEA.

Australia to release convicted terrorist from prison under strict conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:26 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A convicted terrorist whom Australia had wanted to strip of his citizenship and deport will be released into the community on Tuesday under strict conditions.Algerian-born Muslim cleric Abdul Benbrika will be released from prison on a supervision order for 12 months following a ruling by Victoria state Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth. Police had argued for the order to last for three years.Benbrika must wear an electronic ankle bracelet to track his movements and abide by a nightly curfew. The 63-year-old was convicted in 2008 of three terrorism charges related to a plot to cause mass casualties at a public event in Melbourne. No attack took place.He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and would have been released in 2020. But his sentence was extended by three years under a recent law that allowed the continued detention of prisoners convicted of terrorism offenses if a judge ruled they posed an unacceptable risk to the community if released....

Woman arrested after crashing into Forest Park storefront

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:26 GMT

FOREST PARK, Ill. — A 55-year-old woman has reportedly been arrested after crashing her car into a Forest Park storefront late Sunday night.According to the Forest Park Police Department, a vehicle crashed into M.E. Marketplace Retail Co-Op & Model Esteem in the 7400 block of West Madison Street just after 11:30 p.m. on Sunday. Suburban high school wrestler ineligible for senior year after transfer Upon arrival, officers discovered the entire glass storefront window was pushed away from its frame. Officers also found the vehicle involved parked directly in front of the store.An officer on scene reported that when they approached the driver, she had slurred speech and denied taking a field sobriety test due to “bad knees and two lazy eyes.” The driver was taken into custody.While at the police station, authorities say the driver began trying to tie her shoes but had no shoelaces and reportedly told officers that she thought she was in Melrose Park. The driver also reportedly at...

Deadly storm batters Northeastern US, knocking out power, grounding flights and flooding roads

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:26 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A storm barreled into the Northeastern U.S. on Monday, flooding roads and downing trees, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, forcing flight cancellations and school closures, and killing at least four people. More than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain fell in parts of New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania by mid-morning, and parts of several other states got more than 4 inches (10 centimeters), according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts reached nearly 70 mph (113 kph) along the southern New England shoreline.Power was knocked out for hundreds of thousands of customers in an area stretching north from Virginia through New England, including nearly 423,000 in Maine and about 200,000 in Massachusetts as of Monday night, according to poweroutage.us. The weather service issued flood and flash-flood warnings for New York City and the surrounding area, parts of Pennsylvania, upstate New York, western Connecticut, western Massachusetts and part...

High-rise residents still out one year after fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:26 GMT

CHICAGO — For 55 years, Mildred Richardson has called a high-rise near Lake Michigan home. But the senior citizen has been without access to her apartment for nearly a year and there’s no end in sight. “People have built large buildings in a year’s time,” Robinson said. “I don’t know whose fault it is. I don’t what the problems are. All I know is I’m out of my home.” One person died and 143 apartments were damaged last January when smoke and flames tore through several floors of the building located at 4850 South Lake Park Avenue on the South Side. Since then, they say building management has offered conflicting statements on when repairs would be complete.    Related: 1 killed, 9 injured, 50 displaced after high-rise apartment fire in Chicago The building is home to many senior citizens who tell WGN Investigates insurance that has helped cover the cost of alternate housing runs out in a few weeks.     “If I can’t find something I can afford...

Better Business Bureau investigates Austin bridal shop, brides left without dresses

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:26 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) --- The Better Business Bureau said its investigating a bridal shop in Austin. It's after customers said the shop wouldn't respond to text or calls about their orders and unexpectedly closed. The situation left brides without their wedding dress. 'It's a lot of money'Lisa Garcia had everything planned out for her wedding day in February 2024. "This is the venue we're getting married at," Garcia said. "It's Canyonwood Ridge. It's out in Dripping Springs."But something Garcia was missing was her dress; a dress she paid for but never received. "I was just like, I don't know what to do," Garcia said. "I don't have a dress and I'm 90 days out from my wedding."Garcia was one of the brides left without their wedding dress after shopping at Belle Saison Bridal in north Austin. She said she paid for the dress in full and was told it would be ready in October. "That's $3,000," Garcia said. "It's a lot of money."But when the time came for the dress to be ready, she couldn't get i...

Timberwolves down Miami for best road win of season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:26 GMT

The Timberwolves had one box left to check during their impressive start to the season — beat a healthy, good team on the road.Check.Minnesota rallied from a 17-point deficit to down the Heat 112-108 on Monday night in Miami.It did so on the back of its defense, which hasn’t always traveled this season. That looked to be the case in the first half, as Miami scored 66 points on 58 percent shooting over the first two quarters.But, as has often been the case this season, Minnesota locked in after the break. Miami scored just 17 points in the third quarter as Rudy Gobert started to dominate the interior. Even in the fourth, the Heat went 9 for 25 from the field, often resorting to Bam Adebayo’s mid-range jump shots.Adebayo returned from an injury absence just in time for Monday’s contest. Ditto for Heat guard Tyler Herro. Herro set the offensive tone for Miami (15-12) in the first half, but he wasn’t nearly as much of a factor from there.“First half, ...

Brazen gunmen seen in Central West End in stolen cars

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:53:26 GMT

ST. LOUIS – Neighborhood surveillance cameras catch brazen car crime in St. Louis’s Central West End neighborhood.Authorities hope sharing the video will prevent the capture of the brazen gunmen and keep them from striking again.The video is from just before 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10.There was a man at an alley dumpster throwing away trash. He had no idea what was going on when two cars came around the corner and stopped right up the street from him. The drivers did not pull over to the curb and stopped in the middle of the street.The man at the dumpster glanced in their direction. He might have noticed the shattered glass of the rear passenger window of a black Kia next to the black Hyundai but did not approach the vehicles. That was probably a good thing.“Just somebody yelling, ‘Hey stop’ or ‘What are you guys doing’ may be enough to initiate a response from the criminals,” Jim Whyte, Central West End Security Initiative, said. “It could have been catastrophic for the community.”B...