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RFK Jr. spent years stoking fear and mistrust of vaccines

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:03 GMT

By Michelle R. Smith and Ali Swenson | Associated PressWhen 12-year-old Braden Fahey collapsed during football practice and died, it was just the beginning of his parents’ nightmare.Deep in their grief a few months later, Gina and Padrig Fahey received news that shocked them to their core: A favorite photo of their beloved son was plastered on the cover of a book that falsely argues COVID-19 vaccines caused a spike of sudden deaths among healthy young people.The book, called “Cause Unknown,” was co-published by an anti-vaccine group led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President John F. Kennedy’s nephew, who is now running for president. Kennedy wrote the foreword and promoted the book, tweeting that it details data showing ” COVID shots are a crime against humanity.”The Faheys couldn’t understand how Braden’s face appeared on the book’s cover, or why his name appeared inside it.Braden never received the vaccine. His death in August 202...

Troops hurt after three drones attack US bases in Iraq as tensions flare after Gaza hospital strike

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:03 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Coalition forces were slightly injured in Iraq in a spate of drone attacks over the last 24 hours at U.S. bases in Iraq as regional tensions flare following the deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza. Two drones targeted the al Asad airbase in western Iraq used by U.S. forces and one drone targeted a base in northern Iraq, a U.S. official told The Associated Press. U.S. forces intercepted all three, destroying two but only damaging the third, which led to minor injuries among coalition forces at the western base, according to a statement Wednesday by U.S. Central Command.The U.S. official were not authorized to speak publicly on the attacks and spoke on the condition of anonymity. “In this moment of heightened alert, we are vigilantly monitoring the situation in Iraq and the region. U.S. forces will defend U.S. and coalition forces against any threat,” Central Command said in the release. Iranian-backed militias in Iraq have threatened to attack U.S. facilities there b...

Driver arrested after crash on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu kills 4 college students

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:03 GMT

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) — A 22-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a crash in Malibu killed four college students and injured two other people, officials said Wednesday. The six pedestrians were struck around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday along Pacific Coast Highway about 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Pepperdine University, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.Four women were pronounced dead at the scene and two others were taken to a hospital but there was no word Wednesday on their conditions.Pepperdine initially said on X, formerly Twitter, that officials believed those killed attended the university’s Seaver College of Liberal Arts. Pepperdine’s president, Jim Gash, later confirmed that the four killed were students.“Earlier today, we learned that four precious lives who brought joy and light to our campus were taken from us suddenly, tragically, and incomprehensibly,” Gash wrote in a message to the university community. The school la...

Palestinians in Colorado mourn losses in conflict thousands of miles away

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:03 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Israeli and Palestinian communities are both mourning losses in the Israel-Hamas conflict, both abroad and right here in Colorado.On Wednesday night, a group of Palestinians and their supporters gathered at Washington Park to honor their dead."It's up to 29 people at this point, so it's kind of hard to keep 29 names in my head," said Abdullah Elagah, a local Palestinian.Elagah was joined by dozens of other Palestinians and supporters to grieve their losses."It's something that we, collectively, need to be grieving together in these moments," said another Palestinian mourner, who asked not to be identified. Will the US send troops to Israel? The conflict has separated families. One thing that keeps this community connected, Elagah said, is their loss."It's been very hard to hear back from them," Elagah said.Palestinians and their supporters gathered at Washington Park to mourn losses in the Israel-Hamas conflict (Rogelio Mares, KDVR)Grief 'ongoing' in decades-long I...

FHP: Search underway for reckless driver who fled traffic stop, ditched car after fiery crash in Miami Gardens

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:03 GMT

Authorities are searching for a driver who, they said, fled a traffic stop after troopers attempted to pull him over for reckless driving and crashed the vehicle in a Miami Gardens neighborhood following a brief pursuit.A 7News crew who was covering the aftermath of the wreck and bailout in the area of Northwest 37th Avenue and 213th Street found themselves in the middle of a tense response by Florida Highway Patrol troopers and other officers, Wednesday evening.Cameras captured a subject who sprinted past the news unit with a gun in hand.Meanwhile, frightened neighbors, several of them children, ran back into their homes, while cruisers and troopers moved across the area.According to FHP, the chaotic chain of events began when troopers tried to pull over the reckless motorist along Northwest 37th Avenue.Investigators said the driver would not stop, and a pursuit ensued.It all came to a crashing end after a collision caused the subject’s vehicle to burst into flames. The drive...

Police state man was killed in fender bender, but he is not dead

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:03 GMT

According to police and the state, he died in a fender bender. Since he called us, obviously he is alive, but problems are pouring in because he can’t get the state to list him as alive. So he asked Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser to breathe new life into his efforts.Moises does pretty well playing air hockey with his daughter.Pretty well, that is, for a guy who is supposedly dead.Moises Ramos: “Fatality in 2019.”His so-called passing began when Moises backed out of his driveway and another driver bumped him.Moises Ramos: “We called police department to make an accident record for insurance.”No one was hurt. Everything was fine, until Moises applied to be an Uber driver and was rejected.Moises Ramos: “And I was like, ‘Why am I getting denied?’ So I disputed it. They came back again, and they put because of an accident of a ‘fatality.'”Moises was told to check the Miami-Dade Police report on the fender bender.Moises Ramos...

Survivors of kibbutz attack turn their ire on Netanyahu

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:03 GMT

Tomer Eliaz, a 17-year-old boy in the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, was forced to go door-to-door by Hamas and tell neighbors to come out, saying he would be killed if they didn’t. Several opened up and were murdered, while others were hauled off as hostages to Gaza — with several children cooped up in chicken pens. After using the teenage boy as bait, the Islamist militants shot him dead too. Just 800 meters from the Gaza border, Nahal Oz was one of the first Hamas targets on October 7, and the events of that morning are now painfully seared into the minds of residents Elad Poterman and Addi Cherry. Now both in Belgium, they vented their frustration over what they saw as abandonment by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive right-wing government, whose hostile policy toward Palestinians is accused of undermining Israel’s security. “He [Netanyahu] needs to say: ‘I’m sorry, I failed you. It’s because of me and my pride, you were almost murdered,'” ...

Israel-Hamas war is changing the political landscape in France

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:03 GMT

Robert Zaretsky teaches at the University of Houston and Women’s Institute of Houston. His latest book is “Victories Never Last: Reading and Caregiving in a Time of Plague.The shock waves from Hamas’ attacks on Israel last week continue to resonate across Europe’s political landscape — and the effects have been especially worrisome in France.Fearing a “rise in tensions” at home, President Emmanuel Macron met with representatives from all political parties last week to discuss potential responses to the situation. His fears are well founded. France is home to the world’s third largest Jewish population, as well as Europe’s largest Muslim population. Moreover, the country’s past as a colonial power in North Africa and the Middle East — no less than its past as a collaborator with Nazi Germany in the Final Solution — makes the risks all the more real.In fact, tensions have already risen. On the same day Macron met with political parties, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin met with the p...

Mass. House approves bill to strengthen gun laws

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:03 GMT

Most House Democrats lined up Wednesday in support of a major overhaul of the state’s firearms laws, easily hurdling over procedural complaints and sending the Senate a measure that has generated incendiary criticism from gun owners and promises from supporters that it will save lives.The House voted 120-38 on wide-ranging legislation (H 4135) that prohibits firearms in some public spaces, expands the state’s “red flag” law, seeks to crack down on the spread of ghost guns with new registration requirements, updates the statewide ban on assault weapons, and streamlines the licensing process.A dozen Democrats joined the full Republican caucus in opposition: Reps. Shirley Arriaga of Chicopee, Brian Ashe of Longmeadow, Colleen Garry of Dracut, Patricia Haddad of Somerset, Kathleen LaNatra of Kingston, Christopher Markey of Dartmouth, Rady Mom of Lowell, David Robertson of Tewksbury, Aaron Saunders of Belchertown, Alan Silvia of Fall River, Jeffrey Turco of W...

Solve It 7: TV Trouble

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:03 GMT

A Framingham couple says they started to fret over their TV set.  It stopped working, and when the repair didn’t go as they expected, they contacted Solve It 7. Brandon Gunnoe has the story.Three giant Xs were scratched into their television screen.“I was surprised. I was I was surprised,” Bryan said.Bryan says their set was damaged when someone came out to fix it.“I was like, ‘Okay, well, I guess it’s really broken now,'” Bryan said.Bryan and his partner, Martin, bought the television last year and paid it off in installments.  They say a week after they made the last payment, the TV started having problems.“The TV turned on twice in the middle of the night without anyone being up or anything. A month later, it just wouldn’t turn on anymore. We were disappointed,” Bryan said.Bryan says he called the store where he got the TV.“It was paid for, and there was nothing they could do,” Bryan said.So, h...