Home
G.E.T. the real Picture
Serving South Florida's inspection needs.
 
 
 
 
 

South Florida Local News

Syndicate content Sun Sentinel
Sun Sentinel: Your source for South Florida breaking news, sports, business, entertainment, weather and traffic
Updated: 10 hours 32 min ago

Man killed by police during medical call at Davie home was not the recipient of the call, authorities say

Sat, 03/16/2024 - 15:07

A man who died after being shot by Davie Police during a medical call at a home just after midnight Friday was not the recipient of the medical call, officials said Saturday. The resident of the home, who the call was about, has since been released from the hospital.

Three officers are now on administrative leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates.

About 12:30 a.m., Davie Police officers responded to a medical call about a resident at a home in the 14500 block of Southwest 24th Street, according to a news release.

When they arrived, they were “confronted” by the unidentified man, “at which time shots were fired and the subject was struck,” the release said. The man was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Children were inside the home at the time but did not witness the shooting, Sgt. Kelvin Urbaez said in an update Saturday. The resident who was the reason police were originally at the home has since been released from the hospital.

It is unclear why the man who was shot was at the home or if he also lived there. Police did not have that information Saturday.

Davie Police Criminal Investigations and Internal Affairs detectives responded to investigate, along with FDLE, the lead agency investigating the shooting.

Man dies after falling from Pompano Beach drawbridge, officials say

Sat, 03/16/2024 - 14:51

A man died after falling from a drawbridge in Pompano Beach Saturday afternoon, the Broward Sheriff’s Office confirmed.

No foul play is suspected, the Sheriff’s Office said. The Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy.

The bridge at 3000 Northeast 14th street was stuck in the up position and closed in both directions while BSO’s Homicide and Crime Scene detectives investigated, BSO said in a tweet a little after 5 p.m.

Deputies have not provided further details on how the man ended up falling from the bridge.

Former Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker heads to Seahawks as free agent

Sat, 03/16/2024 - 14:32

The Miami Dolphins were involved in a trade of linebackers.

Well, not technically, but the Dolphins and Seattle Seahawks essentially swapped players at the position this week.

Former Dolphins linebacker Jerome Baker went to the Seahawks as a free agent, according to agents Drew and Jason Rosenhaus on Saturday evening. Seattle is the same team that Miami free agent signing Jordyn Brooks came from.

Baker will play for a professional team other than the Dolphins for the first time in his career after spending the past six seasons in Miami.

The Dolphins released him March 5 for salary cap savings. They moved quickly to address the void in free agency, agreeing to terms with linebackers Brooks and Anthony Walker Jr. on Monday, the first day free agent contact and negotiations could take place per league rules.

Baker had 78 tackles, 1 ½ sacks, two interceptions and one returned for a touchdown in 13 games, 12 starts in 2023 for the Dolphins.

The 2018 third-round pick out of Ohio State collected 587 tackles, 22 ½ sacks, six forced fumbles, five interceptions, two touchdowns and 21 passes defensed in 94 games for the Dolphins.

Baker, although rarely injured in his years with Miami, is coming off missing time late last season with a knee injury and then hurting his wrist in his return for the regular-season finale against the Buffalo Bills, costing him the playoff game in what turned out to be his final season with the Dolphins.

Along with Baker, cornerbacks Xavien Howard and Keion Crossen and defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah were players released this offseason for cap relief.

The Miami defense also had defensive tackle Christian Wilkins go to the Las Vegas Raiders, outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel to the Minnesota Vikings, safety DeShon Elliott to the Pittsburgh Steelers, safety Brandon Jones to the Denver Broncos and nose tackle Raekwon Davis to the Indianapolis Colts in free agency. The Dolphins have filled most of their holes with signings of their own for a revamped defense under new coordinator Anthony Weaver.

The Dolphins are scheduled for a road game in Seattle in 2024.

New UCF strength coach Anthony Kincy brings family feel to Knights

Sat, 03/16/2024 - 14:21

Anthony Kincy had some big news he needed to share with his family.

After a quick group chat with his brother, two sisters and parents, he gathered everyone on FaceTime and told them he was returning home to Florida.

In a few weeks, he would be the director of football strength and conditioning at UCF.

“They were excited,” Kincy recently told the Orlando Sentinel. “Coming back home is special.”

After living in Arkansas, Alabama, and Tennessee, Kincy is back in the Sunshine State and is reunited with his former coach, Gus Malzahn.

KJ Jefferson out to prove himself to UCF teammates, coaches

The move for his parents, Alex and Alfredia, who live in St. Petersburg, means being closer to their son and grandson. Kincy’s twin brother lives in Portland, Oregon, while his two sisters live in Dallas.

“I think they were more excited that their first grandson is coming closer to home,” Kincy joked.

Sports have always played a significant role in the Kincy family.

Anthony and his brother, Aaron, played multiple sports, including football, while his sisters participated in track and soccer. His parents were also athletes, and his father, Alex, played football at a small college in Iowa.

But Anthony’s path in football wasn’t straightforward.

He broke his hand during his senior year at high school and wound up at Butte College, a junior college in California. With the Roadrunners, the 6-foot, 232-pound tight end earned all-conference honors before transferring to Arkansas State.

Kincy was first introduced to Malzahn when he was hired at Arkansas State in 2012.

Family is an important aspect of Anthony Kincy’s life and as UCF’s new director of football strength and conditioning, he hopes to build more than just muscle but relationships with the players. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)

The senior-to-be spent the previous season as a halfback/tight end role for the Red Wolves under coach Hugh Freeze, who left to take the head coaching job at Ole Miss. That opened the door for new athletic director Terry Mohajir to hire Malzahn, who had spent the previous two seasons as offensive coordinator at Auburn.

“We were fortunate to have coach Malzahn come in,” said Kincy. “He just brought that SEC-like mentality. He changed the trajectory of Arkansas State.”

Kincy finished with 11 catches for 98 yards and a touchdown in his final season.

Malzahn would lead Arkansas State to a 9-3 record before leaving to return to Auburn to become the Tigers’ new head coach.

For Kincy, the future was uncertain.

However, a talk with his strength and conditioning coach, Ryan Russell, would put him on his current career path.

“He said, ‘Kincy, what do you plan on doing when you graduate?’” Kincy recalled. “I want to train for Pro Day and go to the NFL. He said, ‘If the NFL doesn’t fall onto your plate, what do you want to do?’”

Knights open spring camp looking to improve in Year 2 of Big 12

Kincy said he would probably return home, follow in his father’s footsteps, and become a fireman. Alex Kincy has spent more than three decades as a firefighter for St. Petersburg.

Russell, who was joining Malzahn’s new coaching staff at Auburn, had other plans.

“What do you think about joining me as a GA [graduate assistant]? Coach Malzahn just offered me the head strength coach job at Auburn and I would love for you to be a part of that program,” Kincy said.

Kincy had not considered a career as a strength coach, but Russell’s impact on his life and the lives of others made the decision easy.

“I would love it if I could impact 18- to 22-year-olds like he did,” he said.

Kincy spent the next eight years at Auburn, working his way into becoming an assistant strength coach. Following Malzahn’s departure at the end of the 2020 season, he was hired at the University of Tennessee.

“The first day I was hired, they let go of Coach [Jeremy] Pruitt,” said Kincy. “And I was thinking, what am I going to do now? But it worked out because [new coach] Josh Heupel met with me and said I would love for you to be a part of our strength staff.”

UCF spring football: How does new QB KJ Jefferson fit in with Knights?

But Kincy always stayed in contact with Malzahn, mainly through text messages.

Eventually, the two would reconnect in person when Kincy was in town as Tennessee prepared to take on Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day. The Volunteers happened to be using UCF’s Nicholson Fieldhouse as a practice site.

“He called me while I was on the bus [heading to practice], and he was like, ‘I see all your other strength coaches here. Where are you?’” Kincy said. “I told him I was on the way, and as soon as I got there, he asked me how I was doing. He just wanted to check up on me. I hadn’t seen him since our time at Auburn.”

The pair would trade phone conversations after the bowl season before Malzahn eventually made an offer.

“There’s no doubt he’s a rising star,” said Malzahn. “He played for me, and you could see he differed from many of the guys. He understands what I expect; he understands our philosophy. We’re all on the same page.”

It’s been almost 10 weeks since Kincy arrived in Orlando and while it was a bit overwhelming initially, he’s settled relatively quickly. After establishing a staff, Kincy worked to introduce himself and his philosophy to the players.

“When they first come in, we show them the techniques and walk them through our steps to see what we want and expect from an urgency standpoint to a technique standpoint,” said Kincy. “This year is unique because everybody is new to me. Next year, around this time, I’ll have incoming freshmen, incoming transfers, and the guys who have been here.”

Because of his familiarity with Malzahn and many of the coaches on staff, Kincy would find himself tuning into many of UCF’s games last season, the Knights’ first in the Big 12.

UCF releases 2024 spring football roster, new jersey numbers

While watching the games, something stood out to him.

“They [UCF] were up big and then would lose games at the end,” Kincy said.

UCF finished with a 6-7 record, with three losses decided by two or fewer points. The Knights were tied or leading in the second half of five of those seven games before losing in the fourth quarter.

“So, for me, it is teaching these guys just how to finish and how to have some emotional consistency,” said Kincy. “Don’t get too high on the highs, and don’t get too low on the lows. You’ll be able to finish that out.”

“He’s helping us build the mentality, that toughness that we lacked a little bit in the Big 12 last season,” said defensive tackle Ricky Barber. “He’s from the SEC, bringing that mentality here and making us tougher. We’re finding that second gear, and he’s helping us develop that.”

Players have been raving about Kincy’s impact, not just on the field but in their lives.

“Everybody loves him, and they are connecting well with him,” added receiver Xaviers Townsend. “He also connects with the younger players.”

For Kincy, it all comes down to a simple equation: E+R=O.

“Events happen in your life that you can’t control. That’s the E. The R stands for how you respond. How you respond to things you can’t control equals the outcome. That’s the equation for success,” explains Kincy.

Family always plays a big part in Kincy’s life, and this carries over to his work.

His 12-year-old son, Amaud, is in honors classes and has a 4.0 grade-point average. He also plays baseball, basketball and football. He was on the same sixth-grade football team as Heupel’s son, Jace.

Kincy wants his players to feel they can come to him with whatever issues they face.

“My door is always open; they can come in and talk to me,” he said. “I don’t want them to look at me as a drill sergeant. I want these guys calling me three years down the road, 10 years down the road, ‘Coach, I want you to see my son because I remember you brought your son around the complex.

“I want them to be proud husbands, fathers, and productive citizens of this society,” said Kincy.

Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com

Braxton Berrios returning to Dolphins, giving Miami its return specialist and a slot receiver

Sat, 03/16/2024 - 14:00

The Miami Dolphins are bringing back wide receiver and return specialist Braxton Berrios in 2024, according to multiple league sources.

Berrios’ deal is for one year and $3 million, according to agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey on Saturday.

Following his first season back in Miami after a four-year college career with the Hurricanes, Berrios cashes in for another year of handling kicks and punts for the Dolphins while also providing a depth option at wide receiver behind Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle who can contribute in the slot.

Berrios posted an image on Instagram of him carrying the football in a Dolphins uniform last season with the caption, “Unfinished business… RUN IT BACK.”

Last season, Berrios’ 27 receptions were tied for fourth on the team and his 238 receiving yards were fifth. He also caught a touchdown pass.

In the return game, the sure-handed Berrios (5-9, 185 pounds) averaged 10.2 yards on 23 punt returns and 24.5 yards on 18 kick returns.

Berrios, 28, spent the previous four seasons before joining the Dolphins with the New York Jets. His rookie year, in 2018, was spent as a practice squad member with the New England Patriots, who drafted him in the sixth round that year.

Berrios had 14 touchdowns in his college career at UM, including nine his senior season in 2017.

The Dolphins will need more wide receivers to fill out the unit behind Hill and Waddle after Cedrick Wilson Jr. fled to the New Orleans Saints in free agency. They also have River Cracraft, Chase Claypool and Robbie Chosen as free agents this offseason. Chosen reportedly visited with the team Friday.

They return 2022 fourth-round draft pick Erik Ezukanma, have Anthony Schwartz and Braylon Sanders, practice squad players in 2023, on board and signed Matthew Sexton early in the offseason to compete for a roster spot.

Suárez scores twice in second half, leading Inter Miami past DC United without Messi

Sat, 03/16/2024 - 13:49

WASHINGTON — Luis Suárez scored the go-ahead goal in the 72nd minute and added a spectacular insurance tally in the 85th minute, lifting Inter-Miami to a 3-1 victory over DC United on Saturday, despite the absence of Lionel Messi.

Messi was held out of Sunday’s 3-2 MLS loss to Montreal and was subbed off early in the second half of Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over Nashville in the Concacaf Champions Cup second leg. Messi is reportedly resting a right leg injury.

Suárez did not start on Saturday but subbed in at the 62nd minute. It took him only 10 minutes to connect on the go-ahead goal, scoring with a left-footed shot from close range to the bottom left corner. The goal was assisted by Leonardo Campana following a fast break.

Suárez struck again in the 85th minute when he left-footed a shot from the center of the box to the high center of the goal, United keeper Alex Bono only able to barely deflect the ball as it landed just beyond the goal line.

With Messi sidelined and Suárez not in the starting lineup, United took an early advantage. Jared Stroud scored when he delivered a right-footed shot from the right side of the box to the top left corner in the 14th minute. The assist went to Mateusz Klich.

Inter Miami countered in the 24th minute on Leonardo Campana’s left-footed shot from the center of the box to the bottom left corner. The assist went to Federico Redondo.

D.C. United’s Pedro Santos drew a red card in the final minute of regular time.

Drake Callender made six saves in goal for first-place Miami (3-1-1), and Bono stopped four for United (1-0-3).

___ AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Crowds cheer on St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Fort Lauderdale | PHOTOS

Sat, 03/16/2024 - 13:41
  • The Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade and Festival heads east on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • Crowds cheer on the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade and Festival as it heads east on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • The crowd dressed up for the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • The crowd cheered on the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • The crowd cheered on the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • The crowd cheered on the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • The crowd cheered on the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • The crowd cheered on the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • The crowd cheered on the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • The crowd cheered on the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • The crowd cheered on the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • The crowd cheered on the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • The crowd cheered on the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

  • The crowd cheered on the Fort Lauderdale St. Patrick’s Parade on Las Olas Blvd. on Saturday, March 16, 2024. (Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Show Caption of

Expand

Three people hospitalized in Deerfield Beach triple shooting, deputies say

Sat, 03/16/2024 - 11:10

Three people were hospitalized after a triple shooting in Deerfield Beach Friday night, deputies say.

A little after 9:30 p.m., Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies and Broward Fire Rescue responded to reports of a shooting in the 200 block of Northwest Eller Street, according to spokesperson Carey Codd. There, they found three people with gunshot wounds.

All three were taken to a nearby hospital, Codd said. BSO’s Violent Crimes and Crime Scene detectives were investigating Saturday.

Anyone with information should call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

Reddit reveals FTC inquiry into deals licensing its users’ data for AI training

Fri, 03/15/2024 - 16:22

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Reddit said Friday that the Federal Trade Commission has opened an inquiry into the social media platform’s sale, licensing or sharing of its users’ posts and other content to outside organizations for use in training artificial intelligence models.

The company disclosed the inquiry Friday in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that cited a letter from the FTC dated Thursday.

“Given the novel nature of these technologies and commercial arrangements, we are not surprised that the FTC has expressed interest in this area,” Reddit wrote in the filing. “We do not believe that we have engaged in any unfair or deceptive trade practice.”

Like many other social media platforms, Reddit has expressed interest in business deals where AI companies pay to access databases of human-written text that AI models can use to refine their ability to converse, answer questions and produce written work and images on request.

Almost a month ago, Reddit announced a $60 million deal with Google for exactly that purpose. That arrangement will also give Reddit access to Google AI models for improving its internal site search and other features. Reddit declined to comment or answer questions beyond a written statement about the deal.

Friday’s disclosure comes as Reddit prepares to sell shares to the public for the first time. The San Francisco-based company on Monday filed paperwork that projected a price for its initial public offering valuing the 18-year-old platform at up to $6.4 billion.

Vice President Harris, rapper Fat Joe team up for discussion on easing marijuana penalties

Fri, 03/15/2024 - 15:21

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris and rapper Fat Joe led a White House discussion Friday on easing marijuana penalties, with Harris saying it’s “absurd” that the federal government classifies marijuana as more dangerous than fentanyl, the synthetic opioid blamed for tens of thousands of deaths annually the United States.

Harris, a former state prosecutor in California, also criticized the federal classification of cannabis as “patently unfair.” The government currently is reviewing how it classifies marijuana, and Harris urged that the process be wrapped up as quickly as possible.

Fat Joe, a Grammy-nominated artist and philanthropist whose real name is Joseph Cartagena, moderated a subsequent closed-door discussion that included Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and individuals who received pardons for prior marijuana convictions.

President Joe Biden has issued pardons to thousands of people for federal marijuana possession and commuted long sentences handed down for nonviolent drug offenses. In 2022, he urged governors to pardon state offenses. Beshear then invited people convicted of simple marijuana possession to apply for pardons in Kentucky. Biden launched the process to review how marijuana is classified in 2022.

A full seven in 10 U.S. adults favor legalizing marijuana, according to Gallup polling. Support for legalization is closer to eight in 10 among 18- to 34-year-olds, a demographic whose support for Biden, who is seeking reelection, has softened since he took office.

“I cannot emphasize enough that they need to get to it as quickly as possible and we need to have a resolution based on their findings and their assessment,” Harris said of the Departments of Health and Human Services and Justice, which are handling the review.

“But this issue is stark when one considers the fact that on the schedule currently marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin,” she said during the public portion of the meeting. “Marijuana is considered as dangerous as heroin and more dangerous than fentanyl, which is absurd. Not to mention patently unfair.”

“So I’m sure DEA is working as quickly as possible and will continue to do so and we look forward to the product of their work,” the vice president said, referring to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opioid blamed for tens of thousands of deaths annually in America.

U.S. regulators are studying reclassifying marijuana shifting it from a drug that has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” known as “Schedule I,” to the less tightly regulated “Schedule III.”

Biden mentioned the marijuana classification review during his State of the Union address earlier this month. He said during a campaign appearance in Milwaukee this week that “no one should be jailed for marijuana.”

“If you’re just using, you should have that wiped off your record,” Biden said.

Cartagena opened the roundtable by saying he’s hot on the issue of price transparency in health care “but, today, when the vice president calls me, I stop everything.”

He got a little ahead of himself when he proceeded to dismiss journalists so the closed-door discussion could begin, prompting Harris to tell him to “hold on” because she had a statement to make, too.

Charges dropped against all five Palm Beach Central High staffers accused of failure to report sexual assault

Fri, 03/15/2024 - 15:17

The Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office has dropped the charges against all five Palm Beach Central High School staff members accused of failing to report the sexual assault of a student, declaring that a systemic lack of knowledge of the mandatory reporting law throughout the school district has made the case more difficult to prosecute.

The last-minute decision Friday came just days before a jury trial was set to begin. But prosecutors say “recent developments” revealed that the victim could not remember important details, while the staff members accused — including the Wellington school’s principal and two assistant principals, one of whom is the father of the accused assailant — consistently received conflicting information about mandatory reporting laws.

“It is apparent that School Board training has not sufficiently emphasized mandatory reporting requirements,” Marc Freeman, a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office, said in a statement Friday. “It appears that not one person up and down the chain of command had knowledge of this law.”

At one point, prosecutors say, a school district administrator, who did not report the assault but wasn’t charged, also gave instructions to the principal that did not include reporting the assault.

The five charged last July were Principal Darren Edgecomb; Assistant Principal Daniel Snider; Assistant Principal Nereyda De Garcia; the school’s behavioral therapist, Priscilla Carter; and the chorus teacher, Scott Houchins.

Snider’s case was dismissed in December by Judge Scott Suskauer, who said that Florida’s mandatory reporting law does not require people to report sexual assault they do not suspect actually occurred. The State Attorney’s Office had appealed the decision but is no longer pursuing the case.

Freeman said in the statement that the victim “is now unable to recall material aspects of the events at issue.”

“Not only does this greatly reduce any reasonable likelihood of success, it would not be in the best interest of the child to be subjected to the rigors of cross-examination during five separate trials,” he said.

Related Articles

The alleged assault occurred close to three years ago, in April 2021, according to police records. The girl told detectives that she and a friend had met up with two boys at Lake Worth Beach, one of whom forcibly touched her multiple times that day while she said no.

Her parents had declined to pursue criminal charges against the boy for their daughter’s “emotional health,” the affidavit states.

The five staff members later heard about the assault through various means: Some received a letter written by a classmate whom the victim told; others from a friend who witnessed the assault. The victim spoke to the school counselor and gave a statement to the principal. No one reported it, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Edgecomb later informed the girl’s parents that he had “conducted his own investigation” into the incident and decided it didn’t happen, according to court records.

Carter, the school therapist, had told police during the investigation that Edgecomb had spoken to Karen Whetsell, his supervisor, who had told him to type out the content of the letter. The investigation then went to the school district level.

The ambiguity of the district’s policy on mandatory reporting also lowered the chance of a successful prosecution, Freeman said: “School Board reporting policy is conflicting, ambiguous and unclear regarding allegations of abuse involving only minors.”

Related Articles

In addition to the district administrator, he said, a school district police officer who saw the victim give her statement also did not report it.

“Combined, these factors effectively remove the chance of a successful prosecution at trial,” Freeman wrote. “While we strongly believe that the rights of sexual abuse victims must be protected, the prosecutions in this matter must come to an end. The family of the victim has been consulted and agrees with our decision to end the prosecution.”

Some of the confusion over the law at both the district level and beyond has stemmed from the question of whether people should only report allegations they believe. When Suskauer dismissed Snider’s case, he wrote that the law requires someone who hears about an assault to become “a fact finder of sorts,” determining what accusations are credible. The School Board also requires staff to conduct their own investigation, Edgecomb’s attorney had argued.

Meanwhile, State Sen. Lauren Book, a proponent and lead architect of the law, criticized Suskauer’s analysis, describing it as a “miscarriage of justice.”

“That’s why DCF and law enforcement exist,” she told the Sun Sentinel back in December. “If something comes across my desk and I suspect a child is being harmed in some way, it is my duty and responsibility to report that so proper authorities can go and investigate it. I’m not a child investigator.”

All five staff members were reassigned following their arrests in July to positions that did not have student contact, the district said. It is unclear whether they will now return to their positions; the district did not respond to inquiries after hours Friday.

Snider was working in the district’s Transportation Department as of November, while Edgecomb was placed in the Maintenance and Plant Operations office.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

Former Vice President Mike Pence says he’s not endorsing Trump

Fri, 03/15/2024 - 15:09

By JILL COLVIN (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Former Vice President Mike Pence says he will not be backing Donald Trump in the 2024 election.

“It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year,” Pence said in an interview with Fox News Channel Friday, weighing in for the first time since the former president became the presumptive GOP nominee. Pence ran against Trump for their party’s nomination but dropped his bid before voting began last year.

The decision makes Pence the latest in a series of senior Trump administration officials who have declined to endorse their former boss’s bid to return to the Oval Office. While Republican members of Congress and other GOP officials have largely rallied behind Trump, a vocal minority has continued to oppose his bid.

It also marks the end of a metamorphosis for Pence, who had long been seen as one of Trump’s most loyal defenders but broke with his two-time running mate by refusing to go along with Trump’s unconstitutional scheme to try to remain in power after losing the 2020 election. When Trump’s supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, trying to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden’s win, Pence was forced to flee to a Senate loading dock as rioters chanted, “Hang Mike Pence!” outside.

In order to participate in the Republican primary debates, Pence was required to sign a pledge saying that he would support the party’s eventual nominee. And during the first debate in Milwaukee, Pence was among the candidates who raised their hands when asked whether they would support Trump even if he were convicted in one of his four criminal indictments.

But Pence had made clear he had come to harbor serious reservations about Trump’s actions and his policy stances.

“I believe anyone that puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States and anyone who asks someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president of the United States again,” he said during his campaign launch speech.

As the campaign progressed, he raised alarms about the party’s resistance to sending aid to Ukraine and called on his fellow Republicans to reject what he called the “siren song of populism” espoused by Trump and his followers.

In the Fox interview, Pence said he was “incredibly proud” of his and Trump’s record in office, but said, “During my presidential campaign I made it clear that there were profound differences between me and President Trump on a range of issues, and not just our difference on my Constitutional duties that I exercised on January the 6th.”

“I mean, as I have watched his candidacy unfold, I’ve seen him walking away from our commitment to confronting the national debt. I’ve seen him starting to shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life,” he went on, also referencing what he called Trump’s “reversal on getting tough on China and supporting our administration’s effort to force” the sale of the popular TikTok app.

“In each of these cases, Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years. And that’s why I cannot in conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign,” he said.

Pence declined to say whom he would be voting for — “I’m going to keep my vote to myself,” he said — but made clear it wouldn’t be Biden.

“I would never vote for Joe Biden,” he said. “I’m a Republican.”

Trump White House official Peter Navarro asks Supreme Court to stave off contempt sentence

Fri, 03/15/2024 - 14:45

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trump White House official Peter Navarro appealed to the Supreme Court Friday to allow him to stay out of prison as he appeals his contempt of Congress conviction.

Navarro is due to report to a federal prison next week, after an appeals court ruled that his appeal wasn’t likely to overturn his conviction for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Navarro has maintained that he couldn’t cooperate with the committee because former President Donald Trump had invoked executive privilege. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, barred him from making that argument at trial, finding that he didn’t show Trump had actually invoked it.

The emergency application comes as the Supreme Court separately prepares to hear arguments on whether Trump himself has presidential immunity from charges alleging he interfered in the 2020 election.

Navarro was the second Trump aide convicted of misdemeanor contempt of Congress charges. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon previously received a four-month sentence but was allowed to stay free pending appeal by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed by Trump.

Navarro was found guilty of defying a subpoena for documents and a deposition from the House Jan. 6 committee and sentenced to four months in prison. He served as a White House trade adviser under then-President Donald Trump and later promoted the Republican’s baseless claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

UCF receives commitment from 4-star defensive back Tony Williams

Fri, 03/15/2024 - 14:08

UCF has received a verbal commitment for its 2025 recruiting class from four-star defensive back Tony Williams.

Williams, a West Palm Beach native, is the third four-star commitment the Knights have received for their 2025 class. The senior-to-be is the second-highest-ranked player among the five pledges and joins Kendarius Reddick (ATH), Taevion Swint (RB), Jaquez Joiner (OL) and Santonyo Isaac (WR).

The 6-foot-2, 180-pounder played receiver, safety and cornerback for Palm Beach Central. According to MaxPreps, he appeared in 25 games and totaled 47 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 8 interceptions. He also had 129 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Williams is the 19th-ranked athlete in the 2025 class and the 55th overall athlete in the state.

He has received offers from Arkansas, Florida State, Kentucky, Penn State, Pittsburgh, USF, and USC.

Before Williams’ commitment, UCF had the No. 25 overall recruiting class, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings.

The Knights are coming off signing their highest-ranked recruiting class in school history. According to 247 Sports’ composite rankings, the 2024 group ranked No. 38 overall. The class was third overall in the Big 12 behind Texas Tech (25) and TCU (34).

All verbal commitments are non-binding but can become official during the early signing period in December.

Matt Murschel can be reached at mmurschel@orlandosentinel.com

New versatile Dolphins lineman Aaron Brewer still has position ‘to be determined’

Fri, 03/15/2024 - 13:55

New Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Aaron Brewer started at center for the Titans in 2023.

He moved there from playing guard in Tennessee the year before. He also played plenty of guard and all over the line in his college days at Texas State.

Brewer, who agreed to join the 2024 Dolphins when free agent negotiations began across the NFL on Monday and officially signed Friday, doesn’t have it set in stone that he will play center in Miami.

“I believe that’s still to be determined,” the versatile Brewer said in a Friday evening web conference with reporters. “Right now, I’m just here trying to figure out the best way I can help the team.”

The Dolphins have holes to fill at both starting guard spots and center. Last year’s starter in the middle, Connor Williams, is a free agent and rehabbing his ACL tear in a knee. Highly valued right guard Robert Hunt left to the Carolina Panthers in free agency. Left guard Isaiah Wynn, coming off a season-ending quadriceps injury, also is a free agent. The Dolphins do return reserve interior linemen Robert Jones and Liam Eichenberg, who have started and can compete for those jobs.

They can also add more blockers later in free agency and through the draft. Who gets brought in could determine where Brewer can slide in.

All that said, the answer to where he may ideally fit in Miami might be found in why he originally moved to the center in Tennessee.

“That transition to center, I feel like that was always my instant position,” said Brewer, who weighs in at 295 pounds. “For me, being more of an undersized offensive lineman — I’m not one of them 320, 310, 300-pound offensive linemen — so you don’t really see too many of the undersized offensive linemen being at guard. So I just felt like me being undersized, it’s basically predetermined for me to be a center.”

Brewer, an agile blocker who can get to the outside in Miami’s wide-zone run-blocking scheme, just felt the Dolphins were an overall good fit for him in free agency.

“I believe it’s pretty solid. It’s a fast team. That’s one of my strong suits,” he said. “I’m a fast offensive lineman, able to get to first level, second level and open space, could move pretty well. So I feel like it’ll be a nice fit for me.”

Brewer described the strengths in his game: “My speed, my aggressiveness, my will, my work ethic, leverage.”

And delved deeper into that will of his: “I’m not going to stop. I’m going to keep going. I got that chip on my shoulder, so I feel like that’s my edge above people I’m playing against.”

Brewer said coach Mike McDaniel played a big role in him wanting to join the Dolphins.

“He got that juice about him,” Brewer said. “He’s very knowledgeable. He’s passionate about what he’s doing, and I just love that. You can feel it without even knowing him. You feel that passion about him.”

Fortson: I know how to win

Newly signed tight end Jody Fortson, who has spent all five years of his career with the two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, said one thing he brings to the Dolphins is knowing how to win.

Fortson (6 feet 4, 226 pounds), who has spent much of his career on the practice squad and has only played 15 games, totaling 14 receptions for 155 yards and four touchdowns, could be an effective red-zone threat, which is where he feasted for the Chiefs.

With Miami he joins a tight end contingent that includes Durham Smythe, newly signed Jonnu Smith, Julian Hill and Tanner Conner.
Fortson said his biggest gift at this point is his mentality.

“I just think it brings a winner’s attitude, a winner’s mindset,” Fortson said. “Everybody knows I’ve been with the Chiefs my entire career. We’ve won there. I might not have had the role that I like but I know what it takes to win. I’ve been around winners, I’ve been around what it takes, the consistency, the discipline, the sacrifices…I feel like that’s what I inherited with my time being with Kansas City, the discipline and the seriousness behind it, what it takes.

“You’re just not going to wake up one day and be a winner. You’ve got to do it. You’ve got to constantly chip at it every single day.”

Neville Gallimore: Opportunity is knocking at DT

Dolphins defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, the 27-year-old four-year veteran who came from the Dallas Cowboys, is yet sure where he’ll fit into defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver’s multiple system.

But Gallimore, who played all 17 games and 288 snaps (27%) for the Cowboys last season with no starts, knows he should excel.

He likes how the Dolphins’ defensive linemen such as Christian Wilkins, Raekwon Davis and Andrew Van Ginkel developed and benefited.

“You saw the impact this team has had when it comes to developing D-linemen,” Gallimore (6 feet 2. 302 pounds) said Friday during an introductory video call with local media.

“You’ve seen guys be able to really take care of their families. And you just see those guys every D-lineman that has played here under this staff plays with a chip on his shoulder. They brought a lot to the table so I was just looking forward to the opportunity to grow my game.”

Gallimore, a third-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2020, has 52 career games with 14 starts. He’s totaled 90 tackles, 4.0 sacks, and three passes defended in his career.

Gallimore figures to play interior defensive line alongside returnees Zach Seiler, Da’Shawn Hand, Brandon Pili and with newly signed Daviyon Nixon and Isaiah Mack.

Judge delays Trump’s hush-money criminal trial until mid-April, citing last-minute evidence dump

Fri, 03/15/2024 - 13:39

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s New York hush-money criminal trial was delayed Friday until at least mid-April as the judge seeks answers about a last-minute evidence dump that the former president’s lawyers said has hampered their ability to prepare their defense.

Manhattan Judge Juan Manuel Merchan agreed to a 30-day delay starting Friday and scheduled a hearing for March 25 after Trump’s lawyers complained that they only recently started receiving more than 100,000 pages of documents from a previous federal investigation into the matter.

The trial had been scheduled to start on March 25. The delay means the trial would start no earlier than April 15. Prosecutors had said they wouldn’t object to a short delay. Trump’s lawyers have requested a three-month delay as well as asking for the case to be thrown out.

In a statement Friday, the Trump campaign continued to argue that the case “has no basis in law or fact, and should be dismissed.”

In a letter Friday, Merchan told Manhattan prosecutors and Trump’s defense team that he wanted to assess “who, if anyone, is at fault for the late production of the documents,” whether it hurt either side and whether any sanctions are warranted.

The judge demanded a timeline of events detailing when the documents were requested and when they were turned over. He also wants all correspondence between the Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting Trump, and the U.S. attorney’s office, which previously investigated the matter in 2018.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office declined comment. Trump lawyer Todd Blanche also declined comment.

Merchan’s decision upended what had been on track to be the first of Trump’s four criminal indictments to go to trial. Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has fought to delay all of his criminal cases, arguing that he shouldn’t be forced into a courtroom while he should be on the campaign trial.

Trump’s lawyers raised the evidence issue last week, though their court filing wasn’t made public until Thursday. In their motion, they made multiple requests. Among them, they asked for a 90-day delay, which would push the start of the trial into the early summer; that certain witness testimony be precluded; and that Trump’s charges be dismissed.

Prosecutors said they were ready to proceed to trial on March 25, but were OK with a 30-day adjournment “in an abundance of caution and to ensure that defendant has sufficient time to review the new materials.”

“Trial on this matter is adjourned for 30 days from the date of this letter on consent of the People,” Merchan wrote, referring to the prosecution. “The Court will set the new trial date, if necessary, when it rules on Defendant’s motion following the hearing.”

Merchan said his prior directive that the parties, including Trump, “not engage or otherwise enter into any commitment pending completion of this trial” remains in effect.

Trump’s lawyers said they have received tens of thousands of pages of evidence in the last two weeks from the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, which investigated the hush money arrangement while Trump was president.

The evidence includes records about former Trump lawyer-turned-prosecution witness Michael Cohen that are “exculpatory and favorable to the defense,” Trump’s lawyers said. Prosecutors said most of the newly turned over material is “largely irrelevant to the subject matter of this case,” though some records are pertinent.

The hush money case centers on allegations that Trump falsified his company’s records to hide the true nature of payments to Cohen, who paid porn actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 during the 2016 presidential campaign to suppress her claims of an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.

Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels. His lawyers argue the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses and were not part of any cover-up.

Prosecutors contend Trump’s lawyers caused the evidence problem by waiting until Jan. 18 — a mere nine weeks before the scheduled start of jury selection — to subpoena the U.S. attorney’s office for the full case file.

District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office said it requested the full file last year but the U.S. attorney’s office only turned over a subset of records. Trump’s lawyers received that material last June and had ample time to seek additional evidence from the federal probe, the district attorney’s office said.

Short trial delays because of issues with evidence aren’t unusual, but any delay in a case involving Trump would be significant, with trial dates in his other criminal cases up in the air and Election Day less than eight months away.

The defense has also sought to delay the trial until after the Supreme Court rules on Trump’s presidential immunity claims, which his lawyers say could apply to some of the allegations and evidence in the hush money case. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments April 25.

Trump has repeatedly sought to postpone his criminal trials while he campaigns to retake the White House.

“We want delays,” Trump told reporters as he headed into a Feb. 15 hearing in New York. “Obviously I’m running for election. How can you run for election if you’re sitting in a courthouse in Manhattan all day long?”

CAMERA reports: Dissecting CNN’s allegation of an atrocity by Israel

Fri, 03/15/2024 - 13:20

Over the course of the ongoing war launched by Hamas on October 7, there has been a growing trend of CNN reporters making shocking factual allegations based on thin evidence. Unchecked by journalistic standards, some of these reporters have moved past making dubious factual allegations to making dubious legal conclusions based on them. Instead of acting as journalists, they are acting as both prosecutor and judge.

Such is the case in the February 28 article, “How indiscriminate Israeli fire killed half a family in Gaza” by Abeer Salman, Mohammad Al Sawalhi, Benjamin Brown, Mick Krever, Jomana Karadsheh, Ivana Kottasová, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Carlotta Dotto, Byron Manley, and Lou Robinson.

The story has to do with the alleged bombing of a warehouse that resulted in eight dead – including five members of the Abu Jibba family – in what the authors declare was an “indiscriminate” bombing and an “atrocity.” That is, they aren’t just reporting facts; they are declaring that those facts amount to a legal conclusion which the authors deem themselves competent to make.

Hadi Mohammad/ Creative CommonsHamas’ 25th anniversary celebration in Gaza. CNN has omitted information related to Hamas’ presence in areas targeted by Israeli airstrikes. Hadi Mohammad/ Creative Commons

This makes it all the more important to thoroughly analyze CNN’s reporting.

But, as has repeatedly been the case in CNN articles, the story is riddled with factual errors and misleading narratives. In some cases, the facts reported by CNN itself contradict the journalists’ conclusions.

This analysis will begin by focusing on the main factual allegations regarding the presence, or lack thereof, of terrorists in the vicinity, and whether the IDF knew, or should have known, that the building was being used as a shelter. Following that is a review of some of the ways in which the authors mislead about the facts and the law of armed conflict.

The Facts

Before laying out the facts, it is necessary to elaborate on the question of which facts matter, given that the story accuses the IDF of what amounts to a war crime. In determining whether a military strike violated the law of armed conflict (LOAC), the important question isn’t whether civilians died, but rather what the commander knew, or reasonably should have known, at the time of the strike. As explained by LOAC experts Geoffrey S. Corn and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Robert P. Ashley, the tendency to issue “effects-based” condemnations “fundamentally distorts the LOAC equation for assessing attack legality, an equation that focuses on the attack judgment and not the attack effect. The law demands that those judgments be reasonable under the existing circumstances, not that they always be right.”

To make such an allegation in a responsible way, the reporters must be able to demonstrate that they thoroughly reviewed all available evidence, including both inculpatory and exculpatory information. Given the gravity of the allegation, the evidence should be substantial. To make such serious allegations based on flimsy evidence would be, as CAMERA has pointed out before, equivalent to tabloid journalism.

The Alleged Facts

So what is the evidence presented that suggests an “atrocity?”

The authors allege that on January 4, eight Gazans, including five from the Abu Jibba family, were killed by the IDF in a warehouse located on Salah a-Din Road, near the towns of Maghazi, Deir al-Balah, and Zawayda. Citing “experts,” the authors argue that the crater at the site suggests a 2,000-pound bomb was used, and that it is consistent with one that “detonated on impact.” However, according to CNN’s main witness, at least “several” were killed at the scene by gunfire shortly before the bombing. In a statement given to CNN, the IDF reportedly explained that its forces were taking gunfire from that location, and the strike was carried out to address that threat.

The reporters write that, “Eyewitnesses said there were no militants inside the warehouses where they were sheltering, and that they weren’t aware of Hamas operating in the area.” Sumaya Abu Jibba, the mother, also claimed that they had “put up white flags” and wrote “displaced families” on the building. Sumaya also claims that “Israeli drones and planes were constantly flying overhead, monitoring the area.” CNN also asserts, based on the claims of the witnesses, that the Gazans were never told to evacuate the area.

Given this is the main evidence CNN provides to suggest the IDF committed an “atrocity,” it is worth going through each of the individual allegations. Are any of these allegations contradicted elsewhere in CNN’s own reporting? Is there available open-source information contradicting some of the claims? Are there any reasonable alternative interpretations of the facts presented?

Was Hamas Operating in the Area?

Whether Hamas and/or other Palestinian terrorists were operating in the vicinity of the warehouse is a crucial question. The claim that the IDF engaged in “indiscriminate” bombing largely rests on this fact, for if terrorists were operating in the vicinity, that would substantially raise the likelihood that the IDF’s version of events is accurate and that the IDF was not bombing anyone and anything, but was trying to target terrorists.

It’s thus notable that CNN’s claim that “eyewitnesses” said “they weren’t aware of Hamas operating in the area” of the warehouse is flatly false, based on the network’s own reporting.

The authors themselves cite a witness, Hamed al-Hinnawi, who was staying in a building directly across the street from the warehouse, who said he heard “resistance fire” that morning. Al-Hinnawi told CNN that he decided to flee “west, away from the fiercest fighting” with his family. Notably, the warehouse in which the Abu Jibba family was located was to Al-Hinnawi’s east.

The article also briefly acknowledges that “local journalists” reported “clashes” in the area that day, but this understates the evidence.

Consider one detail hidden in CNN’s reporting, seemingly aimed at depicting the IDF as indiscriminate: the allegation that an UNRWA warehouse “located just up the road” from the warehouse was hit by two tank shells on the same day. Omitted, however, is that Hamas itself announced that morning that it had attacked an “Israeli Merkava tank” to the “west of al-Maghazi.” The warehouse in question is located west, and slightly to the south, of al-Maghazi.

CNN reported claims of IDF tank fire in the vicinity, but omitted that Hamas itself was boasting of its presence in the area and of having attacked Israeli tanks.

The timing of this report fits with the incident at the warehouse, too. One of CNN’s witnesses, Alaa Abu Jibba, put the timeline of the IDF operations at the warehouse as “from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m.” The Hamas announcement about attacking an Israeli tank went out around noon, based on the near simultaneous posting by the Hamas-affiliated Safa news agency and the Hamas-linked Hassan Eslayeh, whom CNN itself has used in the past.

Other reports and video of clashes between the IDF and Palestinian terrorists in the area were also posted during this time period. Quds News posted reports of “clashes” in the area multiple times during this period, including at 7:07a.m. and 8:25a.m. At 4:15a.m., Quds News even posted video, reportedly filmed from the Shomar Factory in al-Maghazi, which is “just up the road” from the warehouse, in which the sounds of a loud gun battle can be heard. That day, Al-Ghad TV also reported battles and the use of smoke shells – used to screen ground forces from enemy fire – in the area.

But the evidence of the presence of Palestinian terrorists in the vicinity gets even stronger.

As CNN itself admits, the warehouse was built on the same section of Salah a-Din Road in which the IDF found Hamas’s main weapons manufacturing complex which stretched nearly two kilometers from al-Bureij and Nuseirat nearly all the way to Deir al-Balah.

The complex was built in four different centers. The warehouse was located in one of those centers, which the IDF termed the “rocket department.” In other words, the warehouse sat in the middle of one of Hamas’s most strategically important sites in Gaza.

The warehouse was plainly located in close proximity to these strategic Hamas sites, which have been documented with footage and even toured by independent journalists. One of the tunnel shafts exposed by the IDF was located around 175 meters away from the warehouse.

To reach the conclusion that Hamas was not operating in the vicinity, and thus the IDF committed an “indiscriminate” attack, the authors had to ignore CNN’s own witness, numerous media reports, and the claims of Hamas itself. On top of that, CNN would have to believe that Hamas did not put up a fight at one of its most strategic sites in the Gaza Strip.

The Warehouse

Now consider a key question: were there any terrorists in the warehouse itself? Despite how central this question is to CNN’s assertion that an “atrocity” was carried out by the IDF, the evidence presented is shockingly thin.

In support of this conclusion, the authors produce only one piece of evidence: “Eyewitnesses said there were no militants inside the warehouses where they were sheltering.” But the IDF directly contradicted this, saying its forces were fired upon from that location. This raises the question of why CNN chose to believe one side, but not the other. This becomes more puzzling given that there is strong circumstantial evidence that Hamas was operating in the immediate vicinity.

But even beyond the evidence of Hamas in the area, there are several reasons to question the reliability of the claims made by CNN’s eyewitnesses. In particular, it is not clear that these “eyewitnesses” were actually in a position to know what was happening in the warehouse.

Consider, for example, that two of CNN’s named witnesses were not even in the warehouse.  One, al-Hinnawi, was sheltering at a ceramic and tile factory across the street. It’s also not clear whether or not he had fled by the time the warehouse was bombed. It’s further unclear where exactly another named witness, Alaa Abu Jibba, was at the time of the incident. The only place CNN identifies him being is in a field in which displaced Gazans had set up tents approximately 200 meters away from the warehouse.

But it’s also unclear whether those located at the warehouse actually could have known what was happening in the warehouse. After all, CNN clearly states that they were staying not in the warehouse itself, but in a warehouse annex. Based on some of CNN’s own footage, it appears that the annex was a distinct, separate part of the building, and that there was at least one wall between the Abu Jibba family and the part of the warehouse that was apparently hit by the bomb.

This raises the question of how those staying in the “annex” knew, or could have known, that terrorists were not operating in the part of the warehouse struck. The authors mention they sent an “extensive set of questions” to the IDF, but did they pose a similarly extensive set of questions to those at the warehouse? Thorough questioning would help tease out these details and any potential inconsistencies in the statements of those witnesses. If the reporters did not engage in thorough questioning to ensure they were getting all these details, why not? This is a basic, but crucial, question. If they did ask about this, what did the witnesses say?

Similarly, on the subject of unaddressed questions and whether terrorists were located in the warehouse, there is the issue of who three of the eight bodies belonged to. Only five names, all siblings from the Abu Jibba family, ages 10-22, are identified among the eight. Among those five is Hamdi Abu Jibba, age 22, who, according to his mother Sumaya, was killed by gunfire shortly before the warehouse was bombed.

CNN leaves unexplained who the other three bodies belonged to, giving only a few clues. Sumaya told CNN that “several others” were killed by gunfire alongside Hamdi moments before the alleged airstrike. We’re also told that among the bodies at the scene, there were “several adults curled up.” Indeed, three adult-sized bodies can be seen in a video provided by CNN which, based on appearances and attire, belonged to men.

Consider this information. Hamdi, a military-aged male, and “several others” – presumably the three bodies unidentified by CNN but consistent with military-aged males – were killed by gunfire shortly before the bombing, which the IDF said was carried out in response to gunfire from the location.

Does CNN know the identity of the others killed in the warehouse? Did the reporters look into this question? Did they ask the surviving members of the Abu Jibba family who else was staying with them in that small warehouse annex? Surely the reporters could have figured it out. The article mentions they obtained records from the hospital where the bodies were taken.

Given these unaddressed questions about the reliability of the evidence presented, it’s deeply irresponsible for CNN to level the accusation against the IDF without further investigation.

White Flags, Writing on the Building, and Drones

Another key question is whether the IDF knew, or should have known, that the warehouse was being used as a civilian shelter.

In fact, there’s a question of whether the warehouse annex was a significant shelter at all. The authors never say how many were sheltering there, not even an approximation. Footage suggests the warehouse annex was a relatively small space that would not have been able to accommodate more than a dozen or so. It seems safe to say that no one was staying in the main part of the warehouse, given that the only bodies referenced are those found in the annex. Notably, this raises its own questions as to why no one was staying in the main part of the warehouse. With all of that space, one wonders why so many displaced Gazans were forced to pitch tents in an open field down the road instead of under the roof of the warehouse. Once again, it’s unclear if the reporters considered and probed this question.

On the other hand, the ceramics and tile factory across the street was sheltering approximately 95 displaced Gazans, according to the article. It’s not difficult to understand how any reasonable aerial observer might mistake civilians in the vicinity as staying in the much more prominent, visible factory shelter, without realizing the small annex building across the street was also being used.

Which brings us to the claim made by just one witness, Sumaya Abu Jibba, that the words “displaced persons” were written on the building, that white flags were displayed, and that IDF drones had been observing the area for a while.

Yet again, there are several crucial, but answered, questions about this claim

First, where were the white flags displayed? Where did they write “displaced persons” on the building? Did they write it on the roof? Which roof? The warehouse roof, or the annex roof? What did they write with? How large was the text? Was it in a prominent color? Sumaya says “the families” wrote the text on the building, and yet the only family mentioned in the warehouse annex was the Abu Jibba family. Was she perhaps referring to families staying at the ceramics and tile factory across the street?

Indeed, what matters most is not whether the writing and flags existed, but whether they would have been reasonably visible. Yet we’re given zero details about this question.

This is especially curious because the authors make extensive use of satellite imagery. Assuming the writing was directed toward the drones Sumaya mentioned, one wonders whether such writing might have been visible on the rooftop. Does any satellite imagery show the writing? On that note, why do the dates of satellite imagery CNN reference not include imagery for the crucial dates of January 1-4, the days leading up to the incident and the day of the incident itself?

Relatedly, could any trace of the writing be found on the remains of the warehouse? CNN’s footage of the aftermath shows that the roof, while collapsed, appears in relatively clean condition.

Even if there were writing and white flags, and even if they were prominently displayed, were they visible in the conditions existing at the time of the incident? One of CNN’s witnesses, al-Hinnawi, recounted that when he escaped from the shelter across the street, “there was so much smoke that when he looked down, he couldn’t see the fingers on his hands.” If al-Hinnawi couldn’t see his own fingers, could the IDF have reasonably seen any writing on the building?

This is not nitpicking. CNN has alleged, in conclusive terms, that the IDF committed an “atrocity.” This particular question – whether there were visible markings indicating the building was a civilian shelter – is crucial when it comes to determining whether a crime was committed in this instance. This is a basic question that the journalists should have asked and thoroughly examined before making such an allegation.

It’s also worth noting that even if there were writing on the building, and even if an IDF drone saw it at some point prior to the incident, the IDF has indicated the airstrike was not a pre-planned operation in which the commander had time to review all available intelligence, but rather an urgent strike made in the chaos of combat. Israeli soldiers were being fired upon. The commander was expected to act reasonably given the existing circumstances, not based on perfect conditions with all the time in the world to review intelligence.

Does the Evidence Stack Up?

Given all these inconsistencies, open questions, and contradictory evidence, consider what the authors had to do to reach the conclusion they did: that the IDF “indiscriminately” bombed the warehouse, committing an “atrocity.”

The authors needed to disregard the IDF’s statement in its entirety. They also needed to disregard several statements by their own witness, al-Hinnawi. They similarly needed to disregard the abundant evidence of Palestinian terrorists operating in the vicinity around the time of the incident. They needed to assume that even though the warehouse was built in the middle of one of Hamas’s most important strategic sites, the terrorist organization was not operating in the vicinity.

Meanwhile, the authors needed to assume everything that Sumaya Abu Jibba said was entirely accurate. On top of that, they needed to make unsupported assumptions about Sumaya’s claims, such as that the writing on the building she mentions was clearly visible. They also needed to assume that the witnesses in the warehouse annex were in a position to know what was happening in the warehouse itself, notwithstanding there appears to have been a wall between the annex and the warehouse.

This is not the behavior of impartial journalists interested in the truth. To the contrary, the lack of curiosity into the unaddressed questions suggests a disinterest in truth-seeking.

Instead, this is the behavior of partisan activists who seek to paint one party to a conflict in the most unforgiving light possible.

Misleading on the Facts

Beyond making horrendous conclusions based on flimsy evidence, several factual errors in the report raise some concerns about the story.

Perhaps most telling is the authors’ references to distances.

Consider these two sentences in the article:

1) “The nearby tent encampment is gone – replaced by military vehicles, tracks, and bulldozed earth. Israeli military vehicles can be seen about 213 feet away from the warehouse.”
2) “According to the map, a building just 250 meters (820 feet) northeast of the warehouse where the Abu Jibba family was staying was used by Hamas for weapons manufacturing.”

In fact, the tent encampment, where the Israeli military vehicles were seen, is approximately 200 meters away from the warehouse, or approximately 800 feet, based on Google Maps.

For context, returning to the color-coded map, the tent encampment is the blue area to the northeast of the Abu Jibba marker. Meanwhile, the “building just 250 meters (820) feet northeast of the warehouse” is the red area to the east of the tent encampment. Clearly, the authors erred, and in doing so, overstated how close Israeli military vehicles were to the warehouse.

Worse, the authors deceived their audience about how close the known Hamas sites were to the warehouse. The “building just 250 meters (820 feet) northeast of the warehouse” was connected, by a terror tunnel, to another building being used by Hamas for weapons manufacturing which was only about 175 meters north of the warehouse. That is, the authors used the building further away in such a way that misleads the audience about how close Hamas’s infrastructure was to the warehouse.

The authors also perniciously imply that the IDF used bulldozers to bury the displaced Gazans in the warehouse. They quote one of the witnesses saying, “They left us in the room and started bulldozing, and then bombs started falling on us.” They then immediately quote the IDF as saying “allegations of shooting at civilians who were sheltering in the area or any trampling of civilians with the help of bulldozers or any other vehicle are baseless.”

But CNN’s own satellite imagery seems to disprove that any bulldozers were used on the warehouse. The imagery shows what appear to be some type of tracks next to the building to the warehouse’s north, but never approaching closer than approximately 50 meters.

The inclusion of these quotes, once again, seems designed to imply cruelty on the part of the IDF, which is unsupported by the actual evidence.

Meanwhile, it’s worth also pointing out the game CNN is playing with its “expert” witnesses. To support its claim that the damage was caused by a “2,000-pound bomb,” the authors turned to three organizations, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and PAX. All three are notorious for their anti-Israel activism. But what is especially notable is that the individual “experts” from the first two organizations are clearly identified (Mark Hiznay and Brian Castner), whereas no individual is specifically mentioned from PAX. The likely explanation is that the individual was the expert from PAX that CNN has repeatedly turned to before, the avid Nazi memorabilia collector Marc Garlasco, who is notorious for making blatantly false claims about Israel, as has been repeatedly documented by CAMERA.

It appears that CNN is sufficiently embarrassed about being exposed for turning to someone as notorious as Garlasco, and yet refuses to give up turning to the biased “expert” the journalists know will give them the expert testimony they want to hear.

Misleading on the Law

In addition to getting the facts wrong, the authors also get the law wrong in such a way that undermines their conclusions.

Consider this passage from the article:

International humanitarian law protects civilians in armed conflict and requires attacking forces to warn civilians of planned attacks if possible. Under the principle of proportionality enshrined in the UN charter, warring parties should not use more force than is needed to respond to a threat. The testimonies collected by CNN and imagery of the damage to the building raise serious questions about whether the IDF made any efforts to avoid harm to civilians, and the proportionality of the attack.
Where to begin?

First, there is no “principle of proportionality” enshrined in the UN Charter, and second, the authors are confusing two different concepts.

It seems that the authors are referring to the right of self-defense, which is enshrined in the UN Charter, and which forms a part of what is known as jus ad bellum, which deals with the law of resorting to war, and which does involve a principle of proportionality.

However, that principle of proportionality has nothing to do with individual strikes. Rather, this principle of proportionality provides that a state engaging in a war in self-defense must “limit defensive force to that required to defeat the armed attack and likely follow-on attacks.” It deals with how much force Israel is allowed to use to defeat Hamas, not how much force it is allowed to use in any individual strike.

When discussing the “proportionality of the attack” on the warehouse, however, an entirely different principle of proportionality is used under the law of armed conflict. Under this principle, commanders are instructed to assess an attack which may be expected to cause incidental harm to civilians, and to decide whether the military advantage anticipated from the attack justifies that incidental harm.

That is, not only did CNN rely on thin and contradictory evidence to accuse Israel of having committed a war crime, or an “atrocity” as they put it, they even used the wrong legal principle to judge the IDF.

If CNN can’t be relied upon to produce an accurate picture of the facts, or to give the proper analysis of those facts, then can CNN be relied upon as a serious journalistic entity at all?

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA) is an international media-monitoring and educational organization founded in 1982 to promote accurate and unbiased coverage of Israel and the Middle East. CAMERA is a non-profit, tax-exempt, and non-partisan organization under section 501 (c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. To learn more or receive our newsletters please visit CAMERA.org

 

Man dies after being shot by police during medical call at Davie home, authorities say

Fri, 03/15/2024 - 13:14

A man died after being shot by Davie Police during a medical call at a home just after midnight Friday, according to a news release. Three officers are now on administrative leave while the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates.

About 12:30 a.m., Davie Police officers responded to a medical call about a resident at a home in the 14500 block of Southwest 24th Street, the release said.

When they arrived, they were “confronted” by the unidentified man, “at which time shots were fired and the subject was struck,” the release said. It did not specify if the man was the resident referenced in the medical call.

The man was taken to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, the release said.

Davie Police did not say how many times the man was shot or how many officers fired at him, and referred questions to FDLE.

Three Davie Police officers were involved and have been placed on administrative leave, according to the release.

Davie Police Criminal Investigations and Internal Affairs detectives responded to investigate, along with FDLE, the lead agency investigating the shooting.

‘You’re not just a student anymore’: Broward Catholic school teacher charged in sexual relationship with 15-year-old

Thu, 03/14/2024 - 16:33

A 35-year-old teacher at a Catholic school in Hollywood is accused of coercing a 15-year-old female student into a sexual relationship, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday. At one point, he chaperoned a high school Model United Nations trip to New York City, where the two had sex multiple times.

Boris Fernando Bastidas is now charged with coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity and traveling in interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual activity. He had his first appearance in Fort Lauderdale federal court Thursday morning.

Bastidas chaired the social studies department of Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory, a private Catholic school, where he was named Educator of the Year in 2023, according to the school’s Instagram page, the same year that the alleged sexual relationship occurred.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chaminade-Madonna College Preparatory (@cmlions)

Bastidas was the girl’s teacher her freshman year, and they began communicating when she asked him to help her run for sophomore vice president, according to the complaint. Over that summer, their emails and texts grew increasingly flirtatious, and they continued the relationship during the school year, meeting up in secret for sexual encounters, the complaint said.

Related Articles

The FBI began investigating Bastidas in February after the girl’s mother notified them, according to the criminal complaint. They searched the girl’s phone and personal email, as well as school emails between her and Bastidas, uncovering daily messages the two had sent back and forth over the summer of 2023. The emails from Bastidas’ school account were deleted, but school officials were able to recover them from a backup server.

“You’re not just a student anymore, to me,” Bastidas wrote to the girl in August from his school email account.

“You’re not just a teacher to me, anymore,” she replied. “What am I to you?”

“What if I told you that like you said to me there’s somethings I would rather say to you in person,” he replied.

When school officials met with Bastidas privately, they read some of the emails aloud, according to the complaint. They asked him if he recalled sending and receiving the emails, and he said he did, describing it as an “error in judgment.”

The teacher and the student later moved the conversations to their private emails and phones, discussing where to meet up without being discovered before school started and eventually deciding on a Dunkin’ Donuts.

After their meeting, they continued to text, declaring their love for each other and sending each other sexually explicit messages. They saved each other in their phones as “Dunkin’.”

“There’s not a lot I would do, to risk so much of my professional life, even my personal life for … but for some reason, [redacted], you make me risk it all,” Bastidas emailed in October.

Investigators interviewed the victim, who told them that she would perform oral sex in Bastidas’ car in different parking lots in Miramar and Hollywood.

When Bastidas and another teacher chaperoned the Model UN trip to New York City, the victim said he had sex with her in his room multiple times before everyone woke up or after they went to bed, according to the complaint. He bought her gifts, including a bracelet, necklace, T-shirt and keychain, all of which she wore to her interview with the FBI.

She said he told her he didn’t want to get in trouble or break the law, and “was concerned about something happening and hurting her.”

Investigators corroborated her story using phone records and surveillance footage of Bastidas’ car.

Bastidas was fired during the investigation, the head of school, Judith Mucheck, told reporters in a statement.

“When we became aware of the allegations, we conducted an investigation, and he was terminated immediately,” she said.

$10,000 Honor Guarantee, Backed by InterNACHI

Inspected once, inspected right. ® 

LogoUp.com
Thanks LogoUp.com for the best embroidered apparel!

G.E.T. Home Inspections, LLC is a top Coral Springs, FL home inspector on Inspectopia.com!

 
Admin Login