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Rare birdwing butterflies star in federal case against NY man accused of trafficking insects

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:55 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Birdwing butterflies are among the rarest and largest to grace the planet, their 10-inch wingspans flapping through the rainforests of Southeast Asia and Australia. Their sheer size can make them hard to miss.But the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn says Charles Limmer made tens of thousands of dollars over the past year by illegally trafficking scores of flying insects, including endangered birdwings — whose numbers have fallen because of diminishing habitat and illegal poaching.The six-count indictment against Limmer, 75, accuses him of working with overseas collaborators to smuggle some 1,000 lepidoptera, including some of the rarest and most endangered moths and butterflies in the world.Federal authorities in New York say the Long Island man smuggled dried specimens of the species, circumventing U.S. laws by labeling shipments as “decorative wall coverings,” “origami paper craft” and “wall decorations.”Attempts to reach Limmer by phone and email were unsu...

Missouri teacher who performed on website known for explicit content has resigned, official says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:55 GMT

ST. CLAIR, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri high school teacher who was suspended after officials discovered that she had performed on a subscription-based website known for sexually explicit content has resigned, a school district official said.St. Clair High School English teacher Brianna Coppage was placed on leave last month after school officials discovered her page on the OnlyFans website, which she said she joined to supplement her teaching salary. She recently tendered her resignation, Superintendent Kyle Kruse told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The 28-year-old teacher was not asked to resign, and district officials took “all possible steps to ensure confidentiality” after Coppage’s page was discovered through social media posts, Kruse said. Last month when she was placed on leave, Kruse said in a statement that “an employee may have posted inappropriate media on one or more internet sites.”When she was suspended, Coppage told the newspaper she had joined the site over the ...

Birkenstock stumbles on Wall Street as traders find sandal maker’s shares too pricey

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:55 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Birkenstock shares are stumbling in their debut on the stock market as Wall Street trades in its wingtips for sandals for a day. The 249-year-old German maker of upmarket sandals set a price of $46 per share for its initial public offering of stock, valuing the company at $8.64 billion. The stock opened for trade at $41, which was below the range of $44 to $49 it had been expected to price just a week ago. Birkenstock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the “BIRK” ticker symbol. Birkenstock Holding Ltd. sold about 10.8 million shares in the offering, raising about $495 million. Its shareholders sold an additional 21.5 million shares.The company’s footwear was first cobbled together by Johann Adam Birkenstock in Germany in 1774. The sandals have long been derided as the antithesis of high fashion but have a cult following and this year got a plug in the blockbuster film “Barbie.”“Through the strong reputation and universal appeal of our brand — enabling ext...

Federal Reserve minutes: Officials signal cautious approach to rates amid heightened uncertainty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials regarded the U.S. economy’s outlook as particularly uncertain last month, according to minutes released Wednesday, and said they would “proceed carefully” in deciding whether to further raise their benchmark interest rate.Such cautious comments are generally seen as evidence that the Fed isn’t inclined to raise rates in the near future. Economic data from the past several months “generally suggested that inflation was slowing,” the minutes of the Sept. 19-20 meeting said. The policymakers added that further evidence of declining inflation was needed to be sure it would slow to the Fed’s 2% target.Several of the 19 Fed policymakers said that with the Fed’s key rate “likely at or near its peak, the focus” of their policy decisions should “shift from how high to raise the policy rate to how long” to keep it at restrictive levels.And the officials generally acknowledged that the risks to Fed’s policies were becoming more balanced between...

Oklahoma Supreme Court chief justice recommends removing judge for texting during a murder trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:55 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court is recommending the removal of a lower court judge who was caught on camera scrolling through social media and texting during a murder trial.An investigation by the Oklahoma Supreme Court Council on Judicial Complaints found District Judge Traci Soderstrom exchanged more than 500 texts with her courtroom bailiff during the trial. Texts included in a court filing showed the judge mocked prosecutors, laughed at the bailiff’s comment about a prosecutor’s genitals, praised the defense attorney and called the key prosecution witness a liar, according to the petition filed Tuesday by Chief Justice John Kane IV.Soderstrom, who was sworn in on Jan. 9 after being elected in November, was suspended with pay pending the outcome of a hearing by the Court on the Judiciary, which will determine whether to remove her from the bench.“The pattern of conduct demonstrates Respondent’s (Soderstrom’s) gross neglect of duty, gross...

Fact or fiction: Is rent cheaper in fall and winter months? 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:55 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- It's not a secret, everyone and their wallets know that there is a housing crisis in Colorado. Rent prices are up, demand is high and supply is down.The housing market isn't all about location location location. As renters are pinching pennies, it may be useful to know that the odds of finding lower rent prices are better in the fall and winter months. Polis signs executive order on housing But how can a rental unit be worth less in the fall and winter? It's not so much that it's worth less, rather, rental units are more valuable in the spring and summer.It's a trend that Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist at Zillow, told FOX31 he sees year after year."That's how the housing market works, people tend to move in the spring, and in the fall and winter it gets quieter and rent slows down," Divounguy said.Divounguy said that when the rent increases slow down, you can even find some rent declines."There is less competition in the market at that time because fewer peop...

No threat at Margate Middle School after officers find BB gun in students backpack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:55 GMT

A South Florida school was cleared after a scare on campus.According to police, a student at Margate Middle School reported seeing a gun on a fellow classmate’s waist, Thursday. Officers investigated and found a BB gun in that student’s backpack.There were no known threats and the school returned to normal operations.It is unclear if the student will face any disciplinary action.

US death toll in Israel-Hamas war rises to 22 as Blinken heads to Israel and US makes military moves

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:55 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of U.S. citizens confirmed to have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war has risen to at least 22 with at least 17 more Americans unaccounted for, the State Department said Wednesday. That’s an increase in the death toll from 14 the day before, in a war that has already claimed more than 2,200 lives on both sides.A “handful” of U.S. citizens are among the estimated 150 hostages captured by Hamas militants during their shocking weekend assault on Israel, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday.In a further sign of U.S. support for Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken left for meetings with officials there. And the U.S. military is moving a second aircraft carrier toward the Mediterranean Sea as part of efforts to prevent the war from spilling over into a more dangerous regional conflict.Kirby said the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its ships would be an “available asset” if necessary. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s mos...

Renew proposes MEP Martin Hójsik as new Parliament vice president

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:55 GMT

BRUSSELS — Liberal Slovak MEP Martin Hojsík is in the running to become one of the European Parliament’s 14 vice presidents, after a spot opened up in the wake of September’s election in Slovakia.Chaired by Parliament President Roberta Metsola, the bureau of vice-presidents makes decisions on how the €2-billion-a-year Parliament runs, including appointments of top civil servants, acquisition of properties, and agreeing rules for MEPs.A current vice president, Michal Šimečka, is set to resign as he prepares to take up a seat in the national parliament, having led his Progressive Slovakia to the second-placed spot in the election. Hojsík also represents Progressive Slovakia, which looks set to be the main opposition party in Slovakia, after populist Robert Fico struck a tentative coalition deal with the social democrats and a far-right party Wednesday.“For me it’s humbling and I will try to do my best in order to get the confidence of the colleagues in the Parl...

Authorities investigating deadly industrial accident in Abington

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:55 GMT

An investigation is underway after an industrial accident in Abington killed a 67-year-old Braintree man Tuesday, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office announced. The DA’s office said Abington police first responded to Troupe Waste and Recycling on Bedford Street around 1:40 p.m. after receiving a 911 call from an employee who said another employee had fallen off a forklift. The DA’s office said first responders soon found the injured employee and began life saving measures. The employee was ultimately taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The Plymouth County DA’s office on Wednesday identified the man who died as Donald Schaefer. In its statement, the DA’s office said Schaefer appeared to have been working with two other men to offload several steel container bottoms using a tractor with a forklift attachment. The DA’s office said Schaefer “was standing on top of one of the loads to provide counterweight.” When the load shifted, officials sa...