Former Laurel police chief sentenced to 8 full life terms on arson charges

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 20:56:44 GMT

Former Laurel police chief sentenced to 8 full life terms on arson charges <p>Male judge hitting gavel, calling court members to stand, United States justice system</p> <p>Male judge hitting gavel, calling court members to stand, United States justice system</p> The former police chief of Laurel, Maryland, will spend the rest of his life behind bars for setting fire to several homes and a car, all of which belonged to people he believed slighted him.A judge in Howard County sentenced David Crawford, 71, of Ellicott City, to eight life terms in prison plus 75 years for fires set in 2017 and 2018 in the county.The sentence comes after Crawford was convicted of eight counts of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of first-degree arson and one count of first-de...

Peterson, Nimmo lift struggling Mets past Brewers ahead of owner Steve Cohen’s presser on team

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 20:56:44 GMT

Peterson, Nimmo lift struggling Mets past Brewers ahead of owner Steve Cohen’s presser on team NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Nimmo homered twice and David Peterson threw six scoreless innings in his return to the majors as the struggling Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-2 Tuesday night, hours after New York owner Steve Cohen announced plans to hold a press conference on the state of the team.The Mets won for the third time in 10 games and for the sixth time in 22 games. New York began the season with a record $355 million payroll and has struggled to a 36-43 record. The Mets entered Tuesday’s game 8 1/2 games back of the final NL wild-card spot.Cohen grabbed everyone’s attention earlier in the day when he tweeted: “I will be doing a press conference tomorrow before the game. You will get it from me straight.”The Mets, who were coming off a three-hit, 2-1 loss Monday night, started slowly again as Milwaukee’s Julio Teheran (2-3) retired the first nine batters on just 34 pitches.Nimmo opened the fourth with a 422-foot homer, the first of four by the Mets. Francisco...

Collier scores a career-high 33 to help the Lynx beat the Storm 104-93

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 20:56:44 GMT

Collier scores a career-high 33 to help the Lynx beat the Storm 104-93 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Napheesa Collier had a career-high 33 points and 10 rebounds, Diamond Miller added 18 points in her return from an injury and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Seattle Storm 104-93 on Tuesday night.Minnesota made its first six shots of the fourth quarter during a 14-5 run to extend its lead to 94-79. After Seattle got within eight points, Miller made a jumper near the free-throw line with 36.3 seconds left to seal it.Collier scored 24 in the second half to help the Lynx reach 100-plus points for the first time this season.Kayla McBride also scored 18 points for Minnesota (5-9). Rookie Dorka Juhasz had 10 points and 12 rebounds for her first double-double. Miller, who missed the last eight games due to an ankle injury, was 8 of 13 from the field in 31 minutes.Minnesota scored 53 points in the opening 20 minutes for its highest-scoring half of the season.Ezi Magbegor and Sami Whitcomb each scored 20 points for Seattle (4-10). Jewell Loyd and Ivana Dojkic added 14 points a...

Muere Ryan Mallett, exmariscal de campo de la NFL, aparentemente ahogado en Florida

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 20:56:44 GMT

Muere Ryan Mallett, exmariscal de campo de la NFL, aparentemente ahogado en Florida (CNN) — Ryan Mallett, exmariscal de campo de la NFL, murió este martes luego de que al parecer se ahogara en una playa de Florida, informó la Oficina del Sheriff del Condado de Okaloosa en un comunicado de prensa. Tenía 35 años.Los socorristas acudieron a una playa de Destin alrededor de las 2:12 p.m., hora local, por informes de que un grupo de personas en el agua tenía dificultades para llegar a la orilla, explicó el comunicado.Mallett estaba bajo el agua y no respiraba cuando el personal de emergencia lo sacó, según la oficina del sheriff. Murió en un hospital local, añadió la declaración.Muere Jim Brown, leyenda de la NFL, actor y reconocido activista, a los 87 añosMallett fue una estrella con los Razorbacks de Arkansas antes de ser reclutado en 2011 durante la tercera ronda por los Patriots de Nueva Inglaterra, dijo la NFL. Pasó siete años en la NFL con los Patriots, Texans de Houston y Ravens de Baltimore.La NFL dijo que Mallett jugó en 21 partidos, fue 3-5 como titular ...

Flooded paths lead to Bike to Work Day detours

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 20:56:44 GMT

Flooded paths lead to Bike to Work Day detours DENVER (KDVR) — Wednesday is Bike to Work Day in Colorado, and some cyclists may have to get creative on this year's commute.Flooding has led to a recommended detour on the Cherry Creek Trail as it crosses underneath Iliff Avenue in Denver."Usually there's a couple of places that are a concern, but this year is particularly bad with all the rains," bicyclist Sally Leibbrandt said.Leibbrandt bikes to work in Cherry Creek from her home in Centennial every day that she can and plans to celebrate Bike to Work Day accordingly.  Free breakfast, prizes for biking to work Wednesday She's planning an alternate route, however, after coming across the flooded path Tuesday."I decided to try something different tomorrow and see what I find on those trails," she said.A portion of the Cherry Creek Trail in Denver floods on June 27, 2023. (KDVR)The event is organized by Way to Go, which is asking drivers to be especially cautious Wednesday."It’s maybe even more important to let drivers know that ...

How the Australian Labor Party taught Keir Starmer to fight dirty

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 20:56:44 GMT

How the Australian Labor Party taught Keir Starmer to fight dirty LONDON — The history of the U.K. Labour Party is one of electoral failure. Only two of the party’s leaders have won general elections in the past 60 years.But with Labour now in an unfamiliar position — streets ahead in the polls as a U.K. general election looms in 2024 — leader Keir Starmer is taking advice from his sister party in Australia, which won a famous victory of its own last year.The advice from Down Under is simple — aim low and get personal if you want to win. Starmer’s Labour has been happy to oblige.“You win elections by using every tool in your toolbox — and we have now reached deep into the toolbox and pulled a few out that haven’t been dusted off in a while,” one shadow Cabinet minister said. April’s local elections in England proved a testing ground for Labour’s new approach, with the party trialing a controversial ad accusing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of being soft on sex offenders.The simple social media graphic showed a beaming Sunak bes...

Infinite plastic recycling: The technology is ready, but what about legislation?

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 20:56:44 GMT

Infinite plastic recycling: The technology is ready, but what about legislation? The future of the circular economy in the EU is currently being shaped, with substantial investments planned to address the critical environmental challenge of plastic waste. But will legislation encourage or limit the changes needed to enable a circular economy?Mark J. Costa, board chair and chief executive officer, Eastman | via Eastman ChemicalInnovative chemical recycling technologies that are available now offer the ability to recycle hard-to-recycle plastic waste, which is currently incinerated, landfilled, or left in the environment. They do so with exceptionally high yields, producing ‘virgin-like’ quality recycled plastic output with a carbon footprint that is 40-80 percent lower than traditional fossil production of new plastics. Current mechanical recycling processes work well for a portion of the waste stream — mainly clear bottles that are well sorted — however even with this stream of material, mechanical recycling output degrades over several cycles. Therefore, new ch...

UK has ‘lost’ global climate leader status, say its own advisers

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 20:56:44 GMT

UK has ‘lost’ global climate leader status, say its own advisers LONDON — The U.K. has “lost its clear global leadership position” on climate change and is at serious risk of missing legally-binding emissions targets, according to a damning new report from the government’s official climate adviser.The Climate Change Committee (CCC) said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government had “backtracked” on commitments to phase out fossil fuels by granting consent for a new coal mine and supporting new oil and gas production in the North Sea.Ministers have also been “slow” to react to major new climate policies from the U.S. and the EU, the report said, adding that the government failed to respond to the spike in gas prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with effective policies to cut energy demand and emissions.The committee’s chair, former Conservative Environment Secretary John Gummer, said there was a “worrying hesitancy by ministers to lead the country to the next stage of net zero commitments.”Gummer, who will stand down at the end of June aft...

Mets Notebook: Owner Steve Cohen to speak with media Wednesday amid team’s poor start

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 20:56:44 GMT

Mets Notebook: Owner Steve Cohen to speak with media Wednesday amid team’s poor start With the Mets continuing to sink deeper and deeper toward the bottom of the standings, the fans are clamoring more and more for action. Whether it’s firing manager Buck Showalter or pitching coach Jeremy Hefner, or even cutting ties with struggling slugger Daniel Vogelbach, fans are begging the Mets to do something to shake things up. Some fans are often begging owner Steve Cohen directly via social media.So, Cohen has decided it’s time to talk. The hedge fund manager sent a tweet to his 286,043 followers Tuesday afternoon announcing that he will be meeting with the media before Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers.“I will be doing a press conference tomorrow before the game,” the tweet said. “You will get it from me straight.”Owners typically don’t talk much during the season, preferring to let their operations executives who run the team day-to-day do the speaking. But Eppler has only met with reporters four three times thi...

Failed Wagner revolt leaves a question in Africa: Will the ruthless mercenaries remain?

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 20:56:44 GMT

Failed Wagner revolt leaves a question in Africa: Will the ruthless mercenaries remain? BIRAO, Central African Republic (AP) — The Russian mercenary group that briefly threatened President Vladimir Putin’s authority has for years been a ruthless force-for-hire across Africa, protecting rulers at the expense of the masses. That dynamic is not expected to change now that the group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been exiled to Belarus as punishment for the failed rebellion.The Wagner Group brutalizes civilians in the Central African Republic, Mali and elsewhere to crush dissent and fend off threats to their leaders’ power. In exchange, Russia gains access to natural resources and ports through which weapons can be shipped, and receives payments that enrich the Kremlin and help it fund operations elsewhere, including the war in Ukraine.Neither Russia nor the African leaders dependent on Wagner’s fighters have any interest in ending those relationships. But many questions linger in the aftermath of Wagner’s stunning revolt, such as who will lead its thousands...