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Several new Florida laws going into effect in 2024

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:47:07 GMT

FLORIDA (WSVN) — As the new year approaches, the state of Florida is set to welcome several new laws. The Ethics Requirements for Public Officials Act is set to take effect in the new year. Under this act, city council members will be obligated to disclose their net worth and provide the dollar amount for every asset they own over $1,000. The strict requirements have led to the resignation of several council members who argue that the law infringes on their privacy and security.In addition to the Ethics Requirements Act, an expansion of Florida’s Move Over Law is also set to take effect. The updated law mandates drivers to move over a lane for disabled vehicles displaying warning or hazard lights. Similarly, if someone is outside a vehicle that is stopped on the road, motorists are required to change lanes when possible.The Florida Legislature passed the laws earlier this year, and they take effect Jan. 1, 2024. 

FDLE issue Missing Child Alert for 2-year-old girl, possibly accompanied with adult

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:47:07 GMT

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has issued a Missing Child Alert for 2-year-old Ava Gantt, last seen in the area of the 8000 block of SW 157th Place in Miami. The child may be in the company of 22-year-old Dante Torres. Gantt has brown hair and brown eyes, wighs 31 pounds and is 3 feet tall. Torres has black hair, brown eyes and stands at 5 feet, 11 inches, weighing 170 pounds.Torres was last seen wearing an orange t-shirt, blue jeans, and brown shoes. He has a full sleeve tattoo on his right arm. The pair may be traveling in a 2017 silver Nissan Sentra with Florida tag number NRJC05.If located, police are urgning the public to not approach them and to contact law enforcement immediately.If you have any information concerning the whereabouts of this person, please contact FDLE or the Miami-Dade Police Department at 305-715-3300 or 911.

Boston Police investigating home invasion in Dorchester

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:47:07 GMT

Boston Police are investigating a home invasion that occurred early Wednesday morning on Bentham Road in Dorchester.At 2:56 a.m., officers responded to a call reporting the home invasion. Upon arrival, authorities said the residents stated they had been robbed at gunpoint by three unknown suspects. Early Wednesday morning, officers could be seen bringing in K-9 units and an ambulance was later seen leaving the area.The incident is under active investigation and no arrests have been made. This is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Haley returns to New Hampshire seeking to close gap with Trump less than a month before primary

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:47:07 GMT

(CNN) — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley returns to the campaign trail Wednesday for a three-day swing in New Hampshire with less than a month to close a still-yawning polling gap between her and GOP front-runner Donald Trump before the state’s first-in-the-nation primary.Haley’s visit marks her first time back in the Granite State since receiving the coveted endorsement of popular New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, which her campaign said was “the latest evidence of Nikki’s growing momentum.”Sununu, who has long made clear his opposition to Trump’s candidacy, is expected to campaign with Haley this week as they attempt to pitch the former South Carolina governor as the best alternative to the former president ahead of the January 23 primary.Ahead of hitting the trail, Haley released a new ad that will air statewide and features Sununu touting why Haley earned his endorsement.“She’s a leader who builds people up. She’s a live-free-o...

This wild, futuristic space plan could help save the world. But some say it’s too far-fetched

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:47:07 GMT

(CNN) — Ali Hajimiri has spent a decade researching how to put solar panels in space and beam the energy down to Earth. Yet when the Caltech electrical engineering professor talks about his work, people always have three questions, usually in this order: Why not just put solar panels on Earth? Are you going fry birds in the sky? Are you building a Death Star?Hajmiri jokes he plans to have the answers printed on a card. “I’m going to have it in my wallet to show people,” he said.Originally a space solar skeptic, Hajimiri’s interest was piqued when he started looking more closely at the idea. “On average, you get about eight times more power in space” compared with solar on Earth, he told CNN. The beam won’t kill animals either. And as for the Death Star? The beam won’t be powerful enough to be weaponized, he added.This year, Hajimiri and his team made a step towards making space-based solar a reality.In January, they launched Maple, a 30-centimeter-long space sola...

Ancient bricks baked when Nebuchadnezzar II was king absorbed a power surge in Earth’s magnetic field

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:47:07 GMT

(CNN) — Thousands of years ago, Earth’s magnetic field underwent a significant power surge over a part of the planet that included the ancient kingdom of Mesopotamia. People at the time probably never even noticed the fluctuation, but signs of the anomaly, including previously unknown details, were preserved in the mud bricks that they baked, new research has found.When scientists recently examined bricks dating from the third to the first millennia BC in Mesopotamia — which encompassed present-day Iraq and parts of what is now Syria, Iran and Turkey — they detected magnetic signatures in those from the first millennium, indicating that the bricks were fired at a time when Earth’s magnetic field was unusually strong. Stamps on the bricks naming Mesopotamian kings enabled researchers to confirm the time range for the magnetic spike.Their findings corresponded with a known magnetic surge called the “Levantine Iron Age geomagnetic Anomaly,” which took place bet...

Three US passengers stopped from bringing loaded guns onto festive flights

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:47:07 GMT

(CNN) — For most of us, traveling home for the holidays involves bringing clothes, presents and possibly some food to add to the feast awaiting us.But three US travelers attempted to bring something else cross-country for the season of peace: loaded guns.The three were caught during the busy holiday travel period by TSA officers in separate incidents across the East Coast.On December 22, a Florida man was stopped at Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania, after TSA staff detected a .380 caliber handgun in his luggage, loaded with no fewer than seven bullets.“The traveler claimed that he forgot that he had his loaded gun with him,” TSA said in a statement.Then on Christmas Eve, a woman from Maryland was stopped at DC’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after TSA staff noticed a 9mm gun loaded with six bullets in her carry-on.The gun – with pink paneling – was the 39th detected at the airport in 2023. That’s the highest number ever caught at Reagan – the previou...

Florida teen shoots younger brother who killed their sister after fight over Christmas gifts

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:47:07 GMT

A 15-year-old Florida boy is accused of shooting his 14-year-old brother after that teenager fatally shot their 23-year-old sister as she sat outside with her baby on Christmas Eve, authorities said Tuesday.Police said the brothers had earlier gotten into a fight during a family shopping trip over who was getting what for Christmas, according to CBS News. When the siblings’ mother took them all to their grandmother’s house in Largo afterwards, the fighting continued. The 14-year-old reportedly pointed a semiautomatic handgun at his older brother’s head and threatened to kill him.The boys were separated by an uncle who managed to get the younger sibling out of the home where his sister, Abrielle Baldwin, was sitting outside with her child. Baldwin is said to have asked her brother to end the dispute.The 14-year-old, apparently angered by his sister’s request, berated her with pejoratives, then threatened to shoot Baldwin and her baby before firing a bullet into the woman’s arm and ch...

Chicago Bears Q&A: Where does Matt Eberflus stand with 2 games left? Is Kyler Gordon a top-10 slot cornerback?

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:47:07 GMT

Could the Chicago Bears’ second-half improvement save Matt Eberflus’ job? Or would general manager Ryan Poles potentially prefer to pair a new quarterback with a new head coach?Brad Biggs takes the temperature of the Eberflus situation and many other topics in the latest Bears mailbag.Any temperature reading on where things could be for Matt Eberflus with two games remaining? — Ray L., WestchesterThat’s one of the pressing questions for the fan base and the organization. I can’t tell you with certainty either way what will shake down after the Jan. 7 season finale in Green Bay. The vibe around the league since the weekend, in talking with a few folks from different organizations, is that Eberflus could be safe to return in 2024. Let’s keep in mind two more games remain part of the evaluation process.The Bears are generally considered a relatively patient franchise. Marc Trestman was fired after two seasons in 2014. You have to go back to Paddy Dri...

Opposition candidate in Congo alleges police fired bullets as protesters seek re-do of election

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:47:07 GMT

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — A main opposition candidate in Congo accused police of using live bullets to break up a protest Wednesday in the capital, as demonstrators demanded a re-do of last week’s presidential election.Holding up a bullet, Martin Fayulu told The Associated Press that it landed near him while he was barricaded inside his headquarters during a standoff with police. His claim could not be verified. Police said no live bullets were used, only tear gas, and that they were restoring order.Fayulu is one of five opposition candidates who called the protest.Some rights groups and international observers also have questioned the vote and alleged it was extended illegally. Many polling stations were late in starting, and some didn’t open at all. Some lacked materials, and many voter cards were illegible as the ink had smudged.In some parts of Congo, people were still voting five days after the election.“I feel bad this is not a country anymore,” Fayulu said, adding th...