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Colorado funeral home stockpiled bodies for 4 years and gave families fake remains, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:15 GMT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The owner of a Colorado funeral home and his wife were arrested Wednesday in Oklahoma on charges linked to the discovery of 190 sets of decaying remains at one of their facilities, including some that apparently had been languishing there for four years.Investigators entered the Return to Nature Funeral Home building in the Rocky Mountain town of Penrose in early October to find “abhorrent” conditions with dozens of stacked bodies, according to a federal affidavit that’s under seal in Colorado but available in Oklahoma.Some bodies had 2019 death dates, according to the document.“Law enforcement now knows the cremains each family was given could not have been their loved one,” reads the documents alleging funeral home owners Jon and Carie Hallford had fled Colorado to avoid prosecution.The Hallfords were jailed in Oklahoma on $2 million bond on suspicion of four felonies — abuse of a corpse, theft, money laundering and forgery — after their arrest in Wa...

Beloved mini horse on the road to recovery after health scare

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:15 GMT

A miniature horse in Swampscott is on the road to recovery after a serious health scare. The horse, named Fluffernutter, is 30-years-old and travels around with the nonprofit Minis With a Mission, which provides visits for people to connect with rescued mini horses and donkeys. “He’s been through a lot in his life, but he really just warms everybody’s hearts,” said Marianne Speranza-Hartmann of Minis With a Mission. In Swampscott, Fluffernutter has long been a community favorite. “Fluff is a bit of an enigma,” Speranza-Hartmann said. “He’s often grumpy when he’s at the barn. He doesn’t like to get caught. And he doesn’t particularly enjoy getting brushed or just being handled a whole heck of a lot until we go out into the community.” Fluffernutter stood as Swampscott’s Pride Pony in 2021 and marched as a reindeer in last year’s Christmas parade. Recently, he suffered a bout of Colic that put him in the hos...

Franklin flexes offensive might in blanking Winchester, 6-0

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:15 GMT

FRANKLIN – Through its typical combination of elite speed and depth, the fourth-seeded Franklin field hockey team’s red-hot offense couldn’t be cooled off Wednesday night as part of a 6-0 Div. 1 second-round win over No. 13 Winchester.Raena Crandall scored a goal and dished three assists, pairing with Haley Wernig’s two goals and Emily Carney’s goal and assist to overwhelm the Red and Black from start to finish. Winchester (14-6) had no issue getting the ball on the Panthers’ side of the field, but couldn’t generate more than a pair of shots on goal.Franklin (19-0-1) got 37 off helping it score at least five times for a sixth straight game. The Panthers are the last unbeaten team left in Div. 1 and get No. 5 Acton-Boxboro in the state quarterfinals next.“Every single game, they just keep getting better and better,” said Franklin head coach Michelle Hess. “They’re coming together as a team, they’re executing all the things that we’ve told them, they’re playing clean hockey. … I’m jus...

Boston Medical Center ups security after spike in Mass and Cass dwellers sheltering there

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:15 GMT

Boston Medical Center’s top executive said the number of people loitering on the campus and using its emergency department for shelter has spiked since the city began clearing out homeless encampments in the Mass and Cass zone.The hospital has increased security patrols and is working with the Boston Police Department to cope with the rising number of squatters on its Massachusetts Avenue campus, which is located near the former encampment activity, Dr. Alastair Bell, president and CEO of the BMC Health System, said on Wednesday.Related ArticlesPolitics | Mass and Cass tents come down in Boston [+gallery] Politics | St. Anthony Shrine jumps in to Mass and Cass mess Politics | Boston Police to begin enforcing Mass and Cass tent ban on Wednesday Politics | Battenfeld: Maura Healey and Michelle Wu face twin tests this week on migrants and homeless Politics | No new tents, Wu says ahead of Mass and Cass enforceme...

Biden administration picks Maryland for new FBI headquarters, AP sources say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:15 GMT

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST and MARY CLARE JALONICK (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has chosen a location for a new FBI headquarters in Maryland, people familiar with the selection said Wednesday as the suburban Washington location was selected over nearby Virginia following a sharp competition between the two states.The site is planned for Greenbelt, about 13 miles (20 kilometers) northeast of Washington, two people familiar with the process told The Associated Press. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the plans ahead of an announcement.Consideration for a new headquarters has been going on for more than a decade.Democratic Maryland Gov. Wes Moore argued in recent months that building it there would be fast and save taxpayers $1 billion. He said a headquarters in the majority-Black Prince George’s County would meet equity goals raised by President Joe Biden.Virginia, on the other hand, has the FBI Academy in Quantico. That state&#...

Driver pulled from burning car

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:15 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Firefighters pulled a driver from a car that caught fire after crashing into a structure in the Tierrasanta neighborhood Wednesday afternoon.According to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, a gas meter was hit during the incident, which occurred on the 10500 block of Gabaccho Drive in San Diego.No further information is available at this time. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Gloria running for re-election in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:15 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is running for re-election in 2024, he announced on his Instagram Wednesday."Today, I officially pulled papers to run for re-election as your Mayor! Together, we have confronted our city’s toughest problems head-on, made progress, and gotten things done," Gloria said.The former California state assemblyman representing San Diego was elected mayor in 2020, replacing Kevin Faulconer after his eight-year run from 2014 to 2020. Gloria beat out former city councilmember Barbara Bry in the 2020 election. Results: Nov. 7 Special Election "I’m running for re-election to continue this work and to #FinishTheVision — a San Diego #ForAllofUs!" Gloria added on social media.Gloria's announcement comes a day after the special election, during which San Diegans voted for the District 4 county supervisor, Chula Vista city attorney and two water measures in Fallbrook and Rainbow.The 2024 mayoral race will be determined in next year's General Election on Tue...

Millions for border sewage treatment projects in California stuck in Congress

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:15 GMT

SAN DIEGO (Border Report) -- As you walk along the Tijuana River Valley, it's hard not to smell the pungent smell of sewage, effluent flowing its way down the valley toward the Pacific Ocean.It's been a problem for decades as Tijuana's sewage infrastructure has failed to keep up with a city that seemingly grew to two million residents overnight. The system constantly spews untreated raw sewage that eventually makes its way north of the border.In 1999, the International Wastewater Treatment plant was built in the valley just north of the border to help control the problem."It captures wastewater from Tijuana, treats it and sends it three miles offshore. Otherwise, if that plant didn’t exist all, all of that untreated wastewater and sewage would run down and impact us here in South San Diego," said Paloma Aguirre, mayor of Imperial Beach. California group seeks disaster declaration for Tijuana River Valley ‘sewage crisis’ Aguirre's city has taken the brunt of the sewage problem as t...

4 elections offices in Washington are evacuated due to suspicious envelopes, 2 containing fentanyl

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:15 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Four county elections offices in Washington state were evacuated Wednesday after they received envelopes containing suspicious powders — including two that field-tested positive for fentanyl — while workers were processing ballots from Tuesday’s election.The elections offices were located in King County — home of Seattle — as well as Skagit, Spokane and Pierce counties, the Secretary of State’s Office said in emailed news release. Local, state and federal agents were investigating, and no one was injured, officials said. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs called the incidents “acts of terrorism to threaten our elections.”“These incidents underscore the critical need for stronger protections for all election workers,” he said.Renton police detective Robert Onishi confirmed that an envelope received by workers at a King County elections office field-tested positive for fentanyl, while Spokane Police Department spokesperson Julie Humphreys said fentanyl was found in an...

Woman charged with threatening federal judge in abortion pill case arrested in Florida

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:15 GMT

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — A woman accused of threatening to kill a federal judge in Texas who suspended approval of the abortion drug mifepristone earlier this year was arrested Wednesday in Florida, court records.Alice Marie Pence made her initial appearance in Fort Myers federal court after her arrest, according to court records. She faces charges of transmitting a threatening interstate communication and influencing a federal official by threat. Her next hearing is scheduled for Nov. 22 in Dallas federal court.Court records didn’t list an attorney for Pence.According to an indictment, Pence called the chambers of a federal judge in Amarillo, Texas, in March and threatened to kill him. The indictment doesn’t name the judge, but the only federal judge in Amarillo is U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk.In April, Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, ordered a hold on federal approval of mifepristone in a decision that overruled decades of scientific a...