Judge rules that Southwest failed to follow his order in a flight attendant’s free-speech case

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:29:26 GMT

Judge rules that Southwest failed to follow his order in a flight attendant’s free-speech case DALLAS (AP) — A judge has sanctioned Southwest Airlines, writing that the airline twisted his words and disregarded his order in the case of a flight attendant who claimed that she was fired for expressing her opposition to abortion.U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr found Southwest in contempt for the way it explained the case to flight attendants last year after losing a jury verdict. In a blistering 29-page order, the judge said the airline acted as if its own policy limiting what employees can say is more important than a federal law protecting religious speech.On Monday, the judge ordered Southwest to pay the flight attendant’s most recent legal costs, dictated a statement for Southwest to relay to employees, and ordered three Southwest lawyers to complete “religious-liberty training” from a conservative Christian legal-advocacy group.For Southwest, the sanctions add insult to injury. They stem from a roughly $800,000 judgment against the airline and the flight atte...

Russell Wilson and wife Ciara announce baby on the way

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:29:26 GMT

Russell Wilson and wife Ciara announce baby on the way DENVER (KDVR) -- Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson is celebrating with his home team in the announcement of another child with his wife Ciara. Ciara tweeted, “You look at me like that again, we make another kid… You my heart I’m your rib,” on Tuesday with a photo of her posing in a swimsuit by a pool, showing off her pregnancy shape. Wilson countered Ciara's tweet including her baby bump clip with "That’s just 'How We Roll'" and added "Daddy" to the video. The couple has three children, according to Billboard magazine. Future Zahir Wilburn, 9, is from Ciara's previous relationship with her ex-fiance Future. She and Wilson have Sienna, 6, and Win, 3, since tying the knot in 2016. Broncos back to conventional preseason approach under Payton a year after sitting starters backfired Billboard said Wilson asked his wife "for more babies" when she was filling in for Ellen DeGeneres on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" last year. The publication said he got down on one knee and said, “I...

Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot largest in US history

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:29:26 GMT

Tuesday's Mega Millions jackpot largest in US history DENVER (KDVR) — If you thought Friday's Mega Millions jackpot was impressive, Tuesday night's jackpot is expected to be at $1.55 billion, the highest amount for Mega Millions and the third largest in U.S. history.Friday's jackpot was the fourth largest for Mega Millions and the fifth highest jackpot in the U.S., which amounted to $1.35 billion. The jackpot was huge because the last jackpot won was on April 18 and there were 30 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner. Can a Mega Millions jackpot winner remain anonymous? Not in these states Tuesday's jackpot is even bigger because there wasn't a winner on Friday. For every drawing without a winner, the prize gets closer to the largest jackpot in history. The largest jackpot ever won was from the Powerball jackpot last November, which reached $2.04 billion. The second largest jackpot in history was also from Powerball, which amounted to $1.586 billion in 2016. For the full jackpot, the winner would receive $1.55 billion over 3...

Divers working to retrieve almost 3 dozen submerged cars in Doral lake

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:29:26 GMT

Divers working to retrieve almost 3 dozen submerged cars in Doral lake Divers worked Tuesday to retrieve nearly three dozen submerged cars from a lake in Doral. On Sunday, Divers Ken Fleming and Doug Bishop spoke with 7News about the approximately 32 cars they found in the lake. “We’re here trying to solve missing persons cold cases,” said Fleming.The divers called Miami-Dade Police after their discovery and as of Tuesday, the cars recovered in this body of water are believed to be related to theft. The first car pulled was an Acura Legend, a model from the late 80s early 90s. Divers will continue to work throughout the day to remove an estimated 8 vehicles. 7News was told one of the vehicles recovered was tied to an open stolen vehicle case. “Most likely, the types of vehicles that were going to find here, dumped in this lake are vehicles that perhaps have been abandoned and they wanted to get rid of them and they got rid of them here,” said Detective Alvaro Zabaleta with Miami-Dade Police Department. “Or those that took them f...

Georgia man arrested for Florida church burglary claims he baptized himself during break-in

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:29:26 GMT

Georgia man arrested for Florida church burglary claims he baptized himself during break-in PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WSVN) – A Georgia man is facing a slew of charges after allegedly breaking into a Florida church and causing extensive damage, all while claiming to have baptized himself in the church’s baptistry pool during the incident.Derek Porter, of Georgia, was arrested by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office on August 4, following a reported burglary at the Emerald Beach Church of God located off Alf Coleman Rd in Panama City. The charges against Porter include Burglary of an Occupied Structure, Criminal Mischief, Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.The BCSO responded to the burglary call and upon arrival, deputies discovered that Porter had used a cinder block to shatter a window of the church, gaining unauthorized entry. Inside the church at the time was a female employee, who immediately sought safety upon hearing the sound of breaking glass.While inside the church premises, Porter reportedly caused an estimated $8,000 worth o...

EU countries cut firefighter jobs despite climate crisis, new data shows

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:29:26 GMT

EU countries cut firefighter jobs despite climate crisis, new data shows The number of firefighters in the EU is declining, even as the bloc faces more wildfires as a result of climate change.The bloc counted a total of 360,000 firefighters last year — 2,800 fewer than in 2021, according to new data released by EU statistics office Eurostat.“Cutting the number of firefighters in the midst of a climate crisis is a recipe for disaster,” Esther Lynch, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, said in a statement Tuesday.“The increased fire risk caused by climate change has been clear for all to see this summer and we need to ensure our fire services have the staff and resources they need to do their life-saving work,” she added, calling on countries to boost investment in their firefighting fleets.According to Eurostat, 10 countries cut firefighting jobs between 2021 and 2022, with the largest drops recorded in France, Romania, Portugal, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Belgium. The number of firefighters in France dropped b...

Yankees believe playoffs are ‘doable’ despite growing hole: ‘We’re gonna be right in it’

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:29:26 GMT

Yankees believe playoffs are ‘doable’ despite growing hole: ‘We’re gonna be right in it’ The Yankees believe they can reach the summit, even as their playoff odds plummet.Following a 5-1 loss Monday night to the Chicago White Sox, the Yankees fell a season-high 5.5 games out of the third and final American League Wild Card spot. They entered Tuesday with 49 games remaining and a 10.7% probability of qualifying for the postseason, according to Fangraphs.“It’s doable,” ace Gerrit Cole said after taking the loss Monday. “Mountains are different sizes. The goal is just to get to the top, so whatever it takes.”Coming off a 99-win season and an AL East title, the Yankees entered the 2023 campaign with similar core players and 81.2% odds of making the playoffs. Those odds stood at 56.5% going into last month’s All-Star break, when the team was only a game out of the last postseason spot.The Yankees have faced their share of challenges. Reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge has missed nearly half of the team’s games, first with a hip strain and t...

Dear Abby: Date-rape photos bring back haunting memories

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:29:26 GMT

Dear Abby: Date-rape photos bring back haunting memories DEAR ABBY: My daughter was repeatedly date-raped at the age of 16. Her predator threatened to kill her if she ever told, so she kept it to herself until she could get away from him. It was a very scary time in her life, but with the help of counseling she is working through it and moving on with her life.The problem is, while visiting with my in-laws it was pointed out to us that my mother-in-law had made a collage of pictures and included in it the person who raped my daughter. In all, there are five pictures of him in group settings. When my husband asked her calmly to remove them, she refused. She says it would punish the other grandchildren if she removed the pictures, and it would “ruin her collage.”We have asked her three times, but she refuses to budge. She says we all need counseling and that the request is completely out of line. Do you think our request was out of line? — APPALLED IN ILLINOISDEAR APPALLED: Of course not! Was your mother-in-law aware of wh...

A tale of two teams: ‘Teletubby’ O’s players are having fun; autocratic ownership wants script approval | COMMENTARY

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:29:26 GMT

A tale of two teams: ‘Teletubby’ O’s players are having fun; autocratic ownership wants script approval | COMMENTARY In less than one week’s time, two distinctly different images of the Baltimore Orioles have been presented to their fans. One is the widely-shared photograph of four of the team’s young stars walking through a tunnel at Camden Yards dressed in brightly hued track suits that were color coordinated to match their cyclops-style sunglasses, a look labeled “futuristic Teletubbies.” The other was news that MASN’s Kevin Brown had been suspended from his duties providing play-by-play during Orioles’ TV broadcasts for the past two weeks. Why? Apparently, for daring to acknowledge that the team has been losing quite a few games in recent years — specifically against the Tampa Rays.We leave to our readers to figure out which event is more temperamentally suited to nursery school.Ordinarily, we would be inclined to ignore internal disputes within the local baseball franchise, particularly when it’s so unrelated to the product on the field. Brown i...

Tornado warning issued for Cape Cod, flash flood warning for eastern Massachusetts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 15:29:26 GMT

Tornado warning issued for Cape Cod, flash flood warning for eastern Massachusetts The National Weather Service issued a series of tornado warnings across eastern Massachusetts Tuesday morning, with the latest twister warning for Cape Cod.Residents were told to take cover around noontime, as radar indicated rotation over Barnstable.“Flying debris will be dangerous to those caught without shelter,” the National Weather Service wrote in an alert. “Mobile homes will be damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs, windows, and vehicles will occur. Tree damage is likely.”“TAKE COVER NOW!” NWS added. “Move to a basement or an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building. Avoid windows. If you are outdoors, in a mobile home, or in a vehicle, move to the closest substantial shelter and protect yourself from flying debris.”The tornado warning was expiring at 12:30 p.m., but damaging winds remained likely and a severe thunderstorm warning remained in effect for the area.Tornado warnings were issued in Middlesex and Worcest...