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Justice Department secures $9 million settlement with Ameris Bank over redlining in Florida

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:30:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has secured a $9 million settlement with Ameris Bank over allegations that it avoided underwriting mortgages in predominately Black and Latino communities in Jacksonville, Florida, and discouraged people there from getting home loans.It’s the latest settlement over a practice known as redlining, which the Biden administration has set to combat with a new task force that previously secured the largest settlement of its kind in the department’s history.Between 2016 and 2021, the Atlanta-based Ameris Bank’s home lending was focused disproportionately on mostly white areas of Jacksonville while other banks approved loans at three times the rate Ameris did, the government said.The bank has never operated a branch in a majority Black and Hispanic neighborhood, and in one-third of those areas it did not receive a single application over the six-year period, even though other banks did, Attorney General ...

Active shooter and hostage negotiation training to take place at Galleria Fort Lauderdale

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:30:54 GMT

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department, in collaboration with Galleria Fort Lauderdale, will be conducting an active shooter and hostage negotiation training exercise at the mall.The drill will take place on Thursday from 5 p.m. to midnight on the property located at 2414 E. Sunrise Boulevard. View this post on Instagram A post shared by GALLERIA FORT LAUDERDALE (@galleriaftlaud)The scenario-based training drill aims to enhance the preparedness of emergency responders and showcase the police response to an active shooter situation.The drill will be held in a vacant space within the mall. Galleria Fort Lauderdale will maintain its regular business hours during the event.

GOP’s Jordan will back a temporary House speaker as he tries to shore up support, lawmakers say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:30:54 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Refusing to drop out, Republican Rep. Jim Jordan told GOP colleagues Thursday he will back a temporary U.S. House speaker as he works to shore up support to win the gavel himself.Jordan delivered the message at a closed door meeting at the Capitol as the Republican majority considered an extraordinary plan to give the interim Speaker Pro-tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry more powers to reopen the House and conduct crucial business.That’s according to Republicans familiar with the private meeting and granted anonymity to discuss it.The House is tentatively set to convene Thursday afternoon, but it’s doubtful now that Jordan will immediately try again to win a vote to become speaker. The hard-fighting ally of Donald Trump has been unable to win, but he and his far-right allies won’t step aside for a more viable GOP nominee.At the same time, there is a sinking realization that the House could remain endlessly stuck, out of service and without a leader for...

Police: Brothers arrested in $440k fentanyl trafficking bust in Miami

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:30:54 GMT

Miami-Dade Police arrested two New Mexico brothers for their involvement in a fentanyl trafficking operation, officials said. On May 29, David Hernandez, 22, and Justin Hernandez, 19, were arrested after attempting to sell 10,000 Fentanyl pills valued at $440,000 in Miami, MDPD said in a news release.According to investigators, the two suspects had negotiated a deal for 10,000 fentanyl pills with an estimated street value of $440,000. The suspects had allegedly driven from California to Miami to complete the transaction. Upon arrival, authorities said they removed the spare tire from their vehicle and revealed four vacuum-sealed bags containing fentanyl M30 pills. With the help of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, two additional vacuum-sealed bags of fentanyl M30 pills were discovered concealed inside the spare tire. Authorities said in total, approximately 10,000 pills, weighing 1050 grams, were seized during the operation. According to the arrest report, David Hernandez admitted to accepti...

Pro-Palestinian activists ‘occupy’ EU office in Dublin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:30:54 GMT

A group of pro-Palestinian activists gathered Thursday at the European Commission’s offices in Dublin to protest the EU executive’s support for Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The group, Dublin for Gaza, said Thursday morning they had occupied the offices of the Commission building, holding Palestinian flags and signs calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The group said they were expressing “their opposition to the open support given to Israel’s campaign of indiscriminate killing in Gaza by the EU Commission.”A spokesperson for the office confirmed that activists gathered in front of the office and inside the reception area, but Head of the European Commission Representation in Ireland Barbara Nolan said the group did not disrupt working arrangements.“We fully respect the right of people to protest peacefully,” Nolan said in a statement. “These young people have not disrupted working arrangements and are making their voices heard. We are here to listen and understand t...

Woman says she was raped after getting into a car she thought she had booked

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:30:54 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — A man has been charged with raping a woman who thought he was the driver she requested after leaving a Boston nightclub.The woman told police she left the nightclub early Saturday and got into the car, believing it to be an Uber she had requested for the ride home. But after she got in, the driver drove behind some buildings, put a T-shirt over the rear window and then raped her, police said in a report.“This is a terrifying incident involving a woman who entered a vehicle with the full understanding that she was going to be delivered home in safety and a driver who took advantage of the victim and the situation,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a news release Wednesday.Afterward, the driver drove the woman around before dropping her off near her house, police said.Investigators said they used video surveillance and descriptions provided by the woman to identify the car.The driver, identified as a 29-year-old man from Worcester, was arrested...

House in limbo as Jordan faces stiff GOP resistance in speaker bid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:30:54 GMT

(CNN) — The House remains paralyzed with no end in sight to the Republican leadership crisis as Rep. Jim Jordan continues his bid for speaker despite facing stiff resistance.Jordan won’t hold a third speaker vote on Thursday, sources told CNN, as he has struggled to flip holdouts and was at risk of bleeding more support.He is also now leaning toward backing a resolution to expand the powers of interim Speaker Rep. Patrick McHenry, sources said, but wants to see how a currently ongoing conference meeting goes.Heading into the meeting, Jordan would not tell CNN’s Lauren Fox what he plans to do and said he wanted to talk to colleagues first.The Ohio Republican, who has made a name for himself as a hardline conservative agitator, has so far vowed to stay in the race despite two failed votes for the gavel.Multiple GOP sources told CNN that Jordan is bleeding votes and is poised to lose even more Republicans if he goes through with a third ballot. One GOP opponent says...

Eating red meat linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes, study finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:30:54 GMT

(CNN) — A large new study by Harvard researchers suggests having just two servings of red meat per week increases risk for developing type 2 diabetes later in life, and the risk further increases with greater consumption, according to the study published Thursday in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.“The association between red meat and type 2 diabetes has been observed in different populations worldwide,” said the study’s first author Xiao Gu, a postdoctoral research fellow of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, via email. “We keep strengthening existing evidence with improved data and techniques. I hope our study could settle the debate regarding whether we should limit red meat intake for health concerns or not.”About 462 million people worldwide are affected by type 2 diabetes, a rate that has been rapidly increasing, the authors said.“Prevention of diabetes is important because this disease ...

Healey looks to leverage rainy day fund interest in race for federal grants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:30:54 GMT

Massachusetts could turn to an additional $800 million in state dollars to help bolster its position when applying for federal grants under legislation Gov. Maura Healey filed Thursday.A trio of laws — the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act — signed by President Joe Biden made more than $1 trillion in federal funds available to states. Local officials estimate Massachusetts can compete for a remaining $17.5 billion that could support everything from transportation to technology services and security.Most federal grant programs require states to put up cash to cover a portion of proposed project costs and Healey said having money in hand to match federal dollars will make applications from Massachusetts more competitive when they are sent down to Washington. Healey’s bill creates a fund to build up matching dollars.“This Capital Investment and Debt Reduction Fund will give Massachusetts a competitive edge in pursuing this h...

Torrey Craig embraces role as a motivator for Patrick Williams, who faces a turning point with the Chicago Bulls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:30:54 GMT

Patrick Williams is still overthinking it.That was clear in the first quarter of Tuesday’s preseason game against the Toronto Raptors. After three minutes, coach Billy Donovan had seen enough, yanking the forward off the court for a lengthy discussion about the same improvements Williams has been trying to make for more than a year.After practice Wednesday, Donovan’s frustration was palpable. Williams didn’t crash the boards enough. He danced away from physical defenders. He passed up multiple 3-point opportunities when defenders ducked under a screen, leaving him wide open with nearly 5 feet of space.This all might sound familiar.Williams, 22, hasn’t figured it out. But for Donovan, the disconnect has been mischaracterized.“The perception of him not being aggressive — really, the thing he’s got to get better at is the moment of the decision of what to be aggressive with,” Donovan said. “When people say, ‘be aggressive̵...