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Animal rights advocates mourn passing of Lolita, decry orca’s ‘miserable’ living conditions at Miami Seaquarium

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:18 GMT

A devastated community came together to hold a moving memorial for Lolita, the beloved killer whale who called Miami Seaquarium home for over half a century.After more than half a century of living in captivity, the orca, also known as Toki, died on Friday, Miami Seaquarium officials said.Animal rights advocates who spoke with 7News did not hold back when reacting to the marine mammal’s passing.“She was stolen as a baby from her family when she was meant to be living in the wild,” said one advocate.“Her miserable existence at the Miami Seaquarium for days, years and decades is finally over,” said a representative from the animal rights group PETA.At least 20 mourners gathered outside the Miami Seaquarium on Saturday. They held up signs and placed flowers in front of a makeshift tombstone.“It’s like a family member died. I’m really upset, really upset right now,” said a mourner. “I’m upset because I’m very disapp...

Crews rescue man stuck in elevator shaft in Brickell

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:18 GMT

Crews came to the rescue of a man who became stuck in a blind shaft of an elevator in Miami’s Brickell section.City of Miami Fire Rescue units responded to 1001 Brickell Bay Drive, at around 9:30 a.m., Saturday.First responders arrived to find the man stuck between the second and fourth floors.Officials said the only access to the shaft was on 16th floor, so crews requested the Miami Technical Rescue Team to perform a high-angle pick-off.Using a pulley device secured with technical devices and ropes, a rescuer descended from the 16th floor down to the top of the elevator and placed the man in a safety harness.The rescuer was able to hoist the man to safety. He was not injured.

Hilary downgraded to Category 2 hurricane as Mexico and California brace for ‘catastrophic’ impact

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:18 GMT

CABO SAN LUCAS, Mexico (AP) — Hurricane Hilary roared toward Mexico’s Baja California peninsula late Saturday as a downgraded but still dangerous Category 2 hurricane that’s likely to bring “catastrophic” flooding to the region and cross into the southwest U.S. as a tropical storm.While it’s still expected to enter the history books as the first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, Hilary weakened from a Major Category 3 hurricane down to a Category 2 storm at midday Saturday and is expected to lose strength further as it treks northward.“Hilary appears to be weakening quickly,” John Cangialosi, a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center, wrote in a Saturday update posted online. “The eye is filling and the cloud tops in the eyewall and rainbands have been warming during the past several hours.”Forecasters said the storm could bring heavy rainfall to the southwestern United States, dumping 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 centimeters) in place...

WATCH: Shocking video shows person standing on top of moving Red Line train

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:18 GMT

A shocking cellphone video of a person standing on top of a moving Red Line train has triggered an investigation at the MBTA. The dangerous stunt has gone viral online but transit police and the agency are taking it very seriously.The video captured in Dorchester around 7 p.m. Thursday shows the person standing on top of the train as it crosses the Neponset-Anderson Bridge.Ailee Tahmassebi was with a friend when they spotted the Red Line rider and pulled out her phone to record the video. “I was just kind of watching and then it hit me to start recording,” she said. “I thought he was doing it for clout or something.” As the train left view, the person could be seen getting back down off the top of the train.In a statement, the T said it is taking the matter very seriously and urged riders to call 911 if they see someone standing on top of the train.

Boston firefighters rescue woman who fell 10 feet in Blue Hill Ave. threshold collapse

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:18 GMT

Boston firefighters rescued a woman who was injured when she fell 10 feet underground when the threshold of a building collapsed on Friday.Crews responding to the collapse in the area of 428 Blue Hill Ave. extricated the person from the hollow sidewalk leading into the building. She was transported to the hospital with what were considered non-life-threatening injuries.The area has been blocked off to prevent anyone else from falling in.No additional information was immediately available.https://twitter.com/BostonFire/status/1692746953501593883This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Chicago Cubs designate catcher Tucker Barnhart for assignment, offer no rotation plans for next series

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:18 GMT

The Chicago Cubs designated catcher Tucker Barnhart for assignment before Saturday’s game against the Kansas City Royals at Wrigley Field.Barnhart, 32, followed Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini as veteran free-agent signees who couldn’t produce enough to rationalize keeping them on the roster for a team in contention for a playoff spot.After signing a two-year, $6.5 million deal in December, Barnhart posted a .541 OPS in only 109 at-bats and was made expendable by the emergence of rookie Miguel Amaya as primary backup to Yan Gomes.“He wants to play and has the right to feel that way,” manager David Ross said. “Just feels like there are not going to be a whole lot of at-bats for him down the stretch.”Miles Mastrobuoni was recalled from Triple-A Iowa to take Barnhart’s roster spot.Ross had no update on the rotation plans for the upcoming three-game series in Detroit, where the Cubs will need a starter Tuesday. Javier Assad took over Marcus Stroman...

Boston police arrest one at Fisherman’s Feast amid multiple reports of underage drinking

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:18 GMT

The teens struck again. This time at a festival Friday night in the North End.Boston police arrested one person, summonsed five to court, and wrote or are in the process of writing at least 20 different reports based on underage drinking incidents at the Fisherman’s Feast, an annual festival in the historic Italian district that commemorates the devotion of fishermen from Sciacca, Italy to Madonna del Soccorso, or Our Lady of Help.The department has received “an abundance of complaints” from the community of underage drinking at festivals in the North End, officers wrote in one report.In the past few years, the festivals have become “inundated” with minors from outside the city “who congregate around the festivals and drink in public, start fights, and cause other disturbances,” the police report said.Friday night was apparently no different, according to law enforcement descriptions in seven different police reports provided to the Herald.In one of the police reports, officers said...

Bill Belichick updates Ezekiel Elliott’s progress in Patriots offense

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:18 GMT

In his first hours as a Patriot, running back Ezekiel Elliott met with Bill Belichick to cover the ins and outs of his new offense.Days later, Belichick offered an update on Elliott’s progress as he acclimates to a new system and his new teammates.“It’s been fine,” Belichick said Friday. “A couple days spending a lot of time with (running backs coach) Vinnie (Sunseri) and the ability in terms of just getting caught up on the terminology, things on the offense and all that. He took a few snaps yesterday. So, you know, we’ll work him into it here and see how it goes.”The Patriots rotated Elliott into team periods during Thursday’s padded joint practice with the Packers. His increased participation was a notable difference from Wednesday, when he was limited to non-contact positional drills. Elliott took six hand-offs and caught one pass from Mac Jones.“He’s done things,” Belichick added. “He worked out with the strength staff...

Worcester Bishop issues policy requiring students to act based on their biological sex

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:18 GMT

A new gender identity policy in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester is receiving praise from the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts but strong condemnation from several state lawmakers.Worcester Bishop Robert McManus in late June approved the policy, requiring students to “conduct themselves at school in a manner consistent with their biological sex,” and sent it to the diocese’s schools to implement into handbooks for this coming academic year.But not until last week did word about the policy get spread to the general public, after the diocese posted information about it online.“Catholic parents should enjoy the reasonable expectation that Catholic schools will provide a genuine alternative to the secular values and practices — often inimical to Christian morality and parental rights — which prevail in the government controlled public school system,” Catholic Action League Executive Director C.J. Doyle said in a statement.Under the “Catholic Education and the Human Person”...

A front-row seat to devastation on the shores of Lake Okanagan

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:47:18 GMT

KELOWNA — The eerie calm on the Kelowna waterfront Saturday morning was broken by the faint percussive chops of helicopter blades in the distance. There were semblances of normality — people walking their dogs or cycling down the path along the lakefront. But hanging over Okanagan Lake was a pall of putrid wildfire smoke, and the threat posed by fires on both sides of the lake.Dale Simpson and Steve Smith were out walking their dogs near a marina, where dozens of boats and jet skis sat idle on the docks, the water mostly free of boats due to aerial firefighting craft needing a wide berth to do their work.  Simpson, along with hundreds of others, had gone up a hillside on Thursday night to watch the McDougall Creek wildfire across the lake when embers began blowing across the lake, sparking a spot fire nearby.  The crowd had a “front-row seat” to the devastation unfolding across the water.  “You saw fire going up hundreds of feet in the air,” he said. “The whole massive mountainside ...