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Florida bound plane takes off with missing window panes as crew fails to spot damage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:24 GMT

(CNN) — An Airbus A321 aircraft took off from London Stansted Airport last month with four damaged window panes, including two that were missing, according to UK air accident investigators.Nine passengers and 11 crew members were on board the plane bound for Orlando International Airport in Florida on October 4, when the damage, apparently caused by high-powered lights used during a filming event the previous day, was discovered after takeoff.The aircraft had reached an altitude of at least 14,000 feet by the time it was turned around, reads a special bulletin by the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB.) The plane landed back at Stansted Airport safely shortly afterward.Courtesy AAIB‘Increased cabin noise’The report, published on November 4, details the incident, noting that it could have resulted in “more serious consequences” if “window integrity” had been “lost at higher differential pressure.”It describes how passengers had noticed that the aircraft appeared to be...

Sheriff: 2 Florida deputies seriously injured after they were intentionally struck by a car

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:24 GMT

BRANDON, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man intentionally drove into two sheriff’s deputies on Thursday, badly injuring them before a third deputy arrested him, authorities said.The Hillsborough County deputies were answering a call from a woman who said her adult son was acting irrationally and she was afraid of him, Sheriff Chad Chronister said at a news conference. The 28-year-old man was sitting in a running car outside his home in the Tampa suburb of Brandon and took off when the deputies tried to make contact with him.The driver returned a short time later, sped up and rammed the deputies, pinning them against a patrol vehicle, the sheriff said. Both suffered severe leg injuries but are expected to survive.“There is no other way to describe this other than an ambush,” Chronister said. “He chose today to use his car as a weapon. They didn’t have a chance to get out of the way.”The deputies were identified as Carlos Brito, 39, and 31-year-old Manny Santos. Chronister sa...

EU throws weight behind Cypriot plan to ship aid to Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:24 GMT

Several EU countries on Thursday threw their weight behind Cyprus’ plan to supply Gaza with humanitarian aid, but several hurdles remain, mainly over the feasibility of landing big cargoes safely in Gaza’s tiny port facilities. The president of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, presented his country’s proposal to open a maritime corridor to help deliver more aid to the Gaza Strip during the Paris Peace Forum organized by the French President Emmanuel Macron.Being only 210 nautical miles from the conflict zone, Cyprus is the closest EU country and is putting itself forward as the natural stepping stone for collecting and inspecting shipments destined for Gaza. The big idea is to increase the humanitarian relief provided to the Gaza Strip by importing the serious volumes allowed by ship, rather than the limited deliveries currently being made by truck through the Rafah crossing with Egypt.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel,...

Systemwide Subway Shutdowns Planned To Fix MBTA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:24 GMT

In another new development with big implications for riders, the MBTA’s push to trade near-term headaches for long-term improvements will soon be put to the test on an unprecedented scale.Reduced train speeds associated with safety concerns have plagued riders with sluggish travel for months, and MBTA officials on Thursday announced they now plan to shut down segments of all four subway lines in phases over the next 13 months, allowing for repairs they say will eliminate all “slow zones” by the end of 2024.Repair work will replace rails, fix or replace deteriorated ties, install new ballast, improve signals and switches, and more, MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said. Free shuttle buses will replace subway service during closures.The proposal will inflict widespread disruption on riders, with a portion of the core subway system scheduled to be closed on almost exactly half of the days between now and the end of next year.With their new plan, MBTA officials are provid...

National institute will build on New Hampshire’s recovery-friendly workplace program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:24 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu will oversee the creation of a national institute to provide training and resources for companies willing to hire and help people in recovery for substance use disorder.Sununu will serve as honorary chairman of The Recovery Friendly Workplace National Institute and lead its advisory board, the White House announced Thursday along with other efforts to help states and businesses expand employment opportunities for those in recovery. The initiatives include a toolkit for businesses and model legislation for state legislatures interested in establishing tax credits, grants and other incentives for employers to become certified as recover-ready workplaces.Sununu was tapped thanks to the success of a program he launched in March 2018 starting with 12 employers, ranging from Walmart to the state of New Hampshire. Since then, about 350 businesses employing nearly 100,000 people have joined, he said on a call with White House officials We...

World’s first whole-eye and partial face transplant gives Arkansas man new hope

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:24 GMT

(CNN) — It was a moment Meagan James never expected to witness.A surgical team at NYU Langone Health in New York had performed the world’s first successful whole-eye transplant in a living person: her husband, Aaron James.After an accident at work led to the loss of his left eye and part of his face, Aaron was given a new window to his soul, as well as a partial face transplant.When Meagan peered into her husband’s new eye for the first time, she noticed the post-surgery swelling and saw that the eye was brown. Aaron naturally has ocean-blue eyes.She also saw his new nose, lips and cheek, which already had some beard stubble growing. She saw a face filled with gratitude, and that’s when the emotion set in.She was happy for her husband of 20 years.“It was a crazy, great, weird, strange, ecstatic, happy feeling,” Meagan said. “I was just happy he made it through, and everything was good in the moment.”On that day in late May, a team of more than 140 surgeons at NYU Langone Health...

Federal trial begins for man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:24 GMT

(CNN) — The federal trial of David DePape, the man accused of attacking the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in their San Francisco home last year, is now underway.Jury selection for the trial concluded Monday, said Liz Noteware, director of courtroom operations for the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The trial is scheduled to run through next week.DePape has pleaded not guilty to federal charges in connection with the attack on Paul Pelosi, including assault on the immediate family member of a federal official and the attempted kidnapping of a federal official. He faces a maximum of 30 years and 20 years, respectively, if found guilty on the charges.Among those expected to testify are the police officers who responded to the break-in and assault, the neurosurgeon who treated Pelosi for his injuries, and Paul Pelosi himself, court documents show. Nancy Pelosi is not expected to testify, accordin...

Mystery of ‘Stick Man’ on Led Zeppelin album cover finally solved

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:24 GMT

London (CNN) — After more than half a century, the identity of the elderly, stick-carrying man featured on the “Led Zeppelin IV” album cover has finally been revealed.The “Stick Man” who featured on the cover of English rock band Led Zeppelin’s 1971 fourth studio album was a thatcher from the late-Victorian era, the Wiltshire Museum in southwestern England said in a statement Wednesday.The thatcher is thought to be Lot Long – sometimes known as Longyear – who was born in the town of Mere, Wiltshire in 1823 and was a widower living in a small cottage when the photograph was taken. He died in 1893, according to the museum.Brian Edwards, a visiting research fellow with the Regional History Centre at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), made the finding after rediscovering the black and white original photograph, which had “A Wiltshire Thatcher” handwritten on it.The photograph is thought to be the original because it has a thumb print in the corner, Edwar...

Massachusetts emergency shelters for homeless, migrants max out, triggering waitlist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:24 GMT

Massachusetts emergency shelters have maxed out at 7,500 families, leaving adults and children with few alternative options as they work their way through a state-run waiting list for temporary housing, according to data released Thursday.Shelters in the state reached the Healey administration’s self-imposed limit just as House lawmakers passed legislation that requires the creation of an overflow site for waitlisted families. But the bill still needs Senate approval and sign-off from Gov. Maura Healey.As advocates warn adults and children could find themselves stuck sleeping outside as they wait for shelter, the Healey administration moved this week to set up a $5 million grant program for nonprofits, community, and religious groups to offer overnight shelters.But overnight shelters are still in the works and any potential opening of an overflow site is still weeks away at best leaving immediate options for people seeking shelter limited. Interim solutions by community-based and fa...

Bruins notebook: Charlie McAvoy lays out his case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:24 GMT

Charlie McAvoy knows he screwed up. His hit on the Florida Panthers’ Oliver Ekman-Larson on October 30, made in the heat of a 2-2 game that he’d just tied up, was late and high and he understands there had to be consequences.But the Bruins’ defenseman appealed his four-game suspension because he felt it should have had a game lopped off of it. Commissioner Gary Bettman, who heard the appeal, did not agree and thus McAvoy was set to serve the fourth and final game of the suspension on Thursday.McAvoy spoke to reporters for the first time since the hit on Ekman-Larson on Thursday morning after the B’s morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena.“What we were hoping for was just to get it reduced. I understand the need for discipline there and take responsibility for my actions. I know I made a mistake on the play,” said McAvoy. “But really the way that we understood it, and sort of the way it was explained to us by (head of Player Safety) George (Parros) and Player Safe...