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US military affirms it will end live-fire training in Hawaii’s Makua Valley

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:19:21 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. military has confirmed that it will permanently end live-fire training in Makua Valley on Oahu, a major win for Native Hawaiian groups and environmentalists after decades of activism.U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth filed a statement with federal court in Hawaii on Friday affirming the military’s new stance that it would “no longer need to conduct live-fire training at (Makua Military Reservation), now or in the future,” Hawaii News Now reported.Under the terms of a 2001 settlement, the military hasn’t conducted live-fire training at Makua Valley since 2004. But the court filing “removed the threat that Makua will ever again be subjected to live-fire training,” environmental nonprofit Earthjustice said in a news release.Earthjustice has represented local activist group Malama Makua in its long-running legal dispute with the Army.Makua Valley was the site of decades of live-fire military train...

Authorities identify suspect in killing of 3 homeless men in Los Angeles

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:19:21 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles man who was already arrested in another shooting investigation has been identified as the suspect in three recent killings of homeless men, police said Saturday.Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said 33-year-old Jerrid Joseph Powell was identified as the suspect in the three killings after authorities determined a firearm found in the vehicle he was driving when he was arrested earlier was linked to the shootings.Powell was arrested this week by Los Angeles sheriff’s deputies for investigation of the shooting death and robbery of a 42-year-old man after he returned to his home.The announcement came a day after authorities said they were searching for a suspect in the shootings, which took place at the end of November during early morning hours while the victims were sleeping or preparing to turn in for the night.Jose Bolanos, 37, was found dead with a gunshot wound around 3 a.m. on Nov. 26 in an alley in South Los Angeles, police said. The ...

Police investigating fiery multi-vehicle crash on I-93 in Bow, NH

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:19:21 GMT

Authorities are investigating a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 93 in Bow, New Hampshire on Saturday that resulted in injuries.The three-vehicle crash occurred on the southbound side of the highway and sent one of the vehicles into the woods, where it caught on fire.There were reported injuries, though the extent of the injuries was not immediately released.The cause of the crash remains under investigation.No additional information was immediately available.https://twitter.com/NH_StatePolice/status/1731043541470597599This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Roxbury residents weigh ideas for playground near Mass and Cass

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:19:21 GMT

A month after encampments cleared out of Mass and Cass, officials overseeing the redesign of Clifford Playground remain adamant that the future of the dilapidated park needs to be one that is welcoming to the entire community.Close proximity to the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, a longtime homeless encampment that the city had struggled to control, often resulted in activity spilling over into the 8-acre recreational space, with needles, trash and human feces littering the park.City officials ordered all tents to be taken down in November, and designers leading the Clifford project said a major goal is to improve the park’s “openness and visibility.” Security cameras and improved lighting would be among the measures taken to achieve that priority, they said.“We want a park where there’s a lot of activity of the good kind with people coming and playing sports, using it at night,” said Ricardo Austrich, lead project manager for consultant BSC Group. “T...

Crime Briefs: Postal worker stole $18K, stamp sale by stamp sale

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:19:21 GMT

That’s a lot of postage.A Marblehead postal worker made off with more than $18,000 through a couple schemes that boiled down to pocketing money people paid for stamps and money orders.On Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris sentenced Zeon Johnson, 28, of Saugus, to just time served — a day in jail — and two years of supervised release. It’s a sentence that finds a middle ground between the prosecution’s ask of 30 days in prison with three years of supervised release and the defense’s ask of time served with one year of supervised release, according to their respective sentencing memos.He’ll also have to fork over the $18,206 he stole from the U.S. Postal Service.While that sum is only a 74th of the $1,351,250 a single Inverted Jenny — often listed as the most valuable U.S. stamp in history — sold for at auction in 2016, it’s enough to have sent out 27,667 regular letters or 35,805 postcards to family and friends at current postage rates.BPD officer pepper sprayed while a...

US Navy says it will cost $1.5M to salvage jet plane that crashed on Hawaii coral reef

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:19:21 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — The U.S. Navy estimates it will cost $1.5 million to salvage a jet plane that crashed on a coral reef in Hawaii nearly two weeks ago, officials said Saturday.Navy spokesman Mohammad Issa said the salvage efforts are focused on protecting the environment and safely recovering the aircraft in a way that retains its combat capability. He said $200,000 has already been spent on the operation. The Navy plans to use inflatable cylinders to lift and roll the jet plane off the reef where it crashed on Nov. 20.The P-8A, the military’s version of a Boeing 737 jet, slammed into an environmentally sensitive bay about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Honolulu when it overshot the runway at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. None of the nine people on board were injured. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Rear Adm. Kevin Lenox, the commander of Carrier Strike Group 3 who is leading the salvage effort, said Friday he is confident the operation can be carried out without further dam...

Mississauga man arrested in human trafficking investigation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:19:21 GMT

Investigators from Peel police’s Vice and Human Trafficking Unit have arrested and charged a man in relation to a sex trafficking investigation involving two women. It is alleged that the man forcibly confined one of the victims and forced her to into the sex work industry while also obtaining a second victim, controlling numerous aspects of their lives and profiting from their work. On Nov. 29, a 46-year-old man, Andre O’Connor of Mississauga, was arrested and charged with 12 criminal offences including forcible confinement, assault, assault with a weapon, human trafficking, receiving material benefit, advertising sexual services, failure to comply with a release order, procuring, assault causing bodily harm, and possession of opioids and controlled substances.He was held for a bail hearing and appeared before the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton.Investigators believe there may be additional victims, in the Greater Toronto Area specifically.

Father, 13-year-old son, victims in Richmond, B.C. double homicide, investigators say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:19:21 GMT

RICHMOND, B.C. — British Columbia’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says a 13-year-old boy and his father were the victims in a targeted double homicide in the suburban Vancouver city of Richmond. The boy and his 46-year-old father were killed at their home on Thursday, IHIT Sgt. Timothy Pierotti said Saturday at a news conference.He said the investigation is in the early stages, but initial evidence suggests it was a targeted incident and police are still working to determine a motive.Pierotti said it appears the double homicide was not gang related.“This does not appear to be a connection to anything like that, any sort of gang connection,” he said. “What I can say is we believe this to be targeted, and what I mean by that is we believe someone attended that residence with the intention of committing a murder.”The names of the father and son have yet to be released.Pierotti said the father and son, who were not known to police, were alone in th...

Chad Allan, founding member of Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, dies at 80

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:19:21 GMT

Celebrated musician Chad Allan, who carved a place in Canadian rock music history as co-founder of iconic bands the Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive, has died. He was 80.Jamie Anstey, vice president of Regenerator Records which reissued a number of his early albums and recordings, said Allan died Tuesday but his family asked friends to delay announcing the news to give them time to grieve privately.Allan had suffered a number of strokes since 2017 and had spent time in hospitals and a care home near his home in Burnaby, B.C.“He was kind of a guy that never really made it in terms of fame and fortune, but he was certainly a pioneer and a founder of two huge Canadian groups, which I think is really special,” Anstey said in an interview Saturday. Randy Bachman, a member of both bands, issued a Facebook poast in which he said he was grateful to have known and worked with Allan. He described his former bandmate as “a quiet, gentle soul with a peaceful voice.”...

21 men arrested in child sex sting in Indiana

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:19:21 GMT

JOHNSON COUNTY, Ind. (WXIN) — A child solicitation sting conducted Nov. 28-30 in Greenwood, Indiana, resulted in 21 men — including a public servant — being arrested. The Johnson County Sheriff's Office, the United States Secret Service, and several local law enforcement organizations orchestrated a string over several months where the adults involved believed they were there to meet a 14 or 15-year-old child at a home in Greenwood. This operation follows an investigation that occurred in April 2023 that resulted in 32 arrested in a child sex sting. "The only way to protect our citizens is to be proactive, think outside of the box, and have a prosecutor who is willing to go the extra mile," said Johnson County Sheriff Duane E. Burgess.From 2019 to 2023, officers arrested 100 people in six different child solicitation stings. The Edinburgh Police Chief Doyne Little said that he works on these cases to, "allow our children to enjoy their childhood innocence while we, the police, shiel...