Author: CNN Newsource

By Jim DeFede

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    PARKLAND, Florida (WFOR) — In the eight years since Alyssa Alhadeff and Alex Schachter were murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, their parents have worked tirelessly to turn their grief into action and to try to keep the tragedy that left 17 people dead from happening again.

Lori Alhadeff took her pain and ran for the Broward School Board, where she has spent years working to make schools safer not only in Florida but across the country. She has pushed for the passage of Alyssa’s Law, which requires a silent alarm system in classrooms that teachers can activate to alert police and fire rescue if there is anything from an active shooter to a medical emergency.

So far, 10 states have passed Alyssa’s Law. Lori Alhadeff was in Washington, D.C. last week, where Alyssa’s Act was introduced, which would create standards for such systems across the country.

“We have passed Alyssa’s law in 10 states, which is panic buttons in schools directly linked to law enforcement, so they can get there faster. Time equals life,” she told CBS News Miami. “And then with Alyssa’s Act at the federal level, we will create standards around panic buttons and digital mapping and have a data Center because we want to try to reduce violence and prevent the next school shooting. Unfortunately, we know that school shootings are continuing to happen. So, this work is so vitally important to get Alyssa’s Act signed into law by President Trump as soon as possible.”

Max Schachter has spent years creating a national school safety dashboard so that parents can know if there have been dangerous or violent incidents at their local schools. He served on a statewide commission after the shooting to investigate school safety.

“And throughout our investigation, we found that schools weren’t reporting incidents, specifically Marjory Stoneman Douglas was shoving everything under the rug,” he explained. “And so they were reporting zeros across the board. And then when I went to look at my other three kids’ schools, all the data was in a massive Excel spreadsheet, which just made it impossible for me to evaluate, compare, and understand. So Safe Schools for Alex, the charity that my wife and I started after the tragedy, we created the first of its kind school safety dashboard because when I sent Alex to school we had no idea that our children were going to school with a violent individual, an individual that had accumulated over 70 disciplinary referrals and law enforcement was at his house over 40 times. And so, parents have a right to know what’s happening in their school. So, we created this user-friendly dashboard for parents to use and to empower them with the knowledge so that they can become advocates and they can make sure that the schools are doing everything they can to reduce violence on campus, so this never happens again.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Riley Rourke, Matt Schooley

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    EASTHAM, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A search has been suspended on Cape Cod for a man who is still missing after falling through the ice while walking his dog with his wife on Saturday. The man’s wife was found dead and two police officers were hospitalized after they also fell into the frigid water in Eastham, Massachusetts.

Eastham Police received a call just after 9 a.m. on Saturday about a wet dog in distress at First Encounter Beach. An officer arrived and found a woman screaming for help in Bee’s River after falling through the ice.

The officer attempted to help the woman, but fell in during the rescue and was completely submerged. Another officer arrived and attempted to help the first officer, who had fallen in, but the ice broke, sending him plunging into the water up to his waist.

Both officers were able to get themselves back onto the shore, according to police. They were taken to Cape Cod Hospital to be evaluated for any injuries. There is no update on their condition.

A dive team began searching for the missing woman. During the search, they learned that the woman was on a walk with her husband and their dog at the time.

“Based on items located in their vehicle and a check of their residence, it was determined that it was possible that the husband may have fallen through the ice prior to the officer’s arrival,” Eastham Police said in a press release.

They found the woman’s body under the ice just after 11 a.m. on Saturday.

First responders searched through Saturday afternoon but did not find the man. On Sunday around 7 a.m., Eastham police and firefighters returned to Bee’s River and flew a drone for about two hours.

Crews also walked the area where ever the shoreline was accessible. After two hours, they were still unable to find the missing man.

“Additional search efforts will be conducted when changes to the ice conditions occur, allowing access for public safety personnel,” Eastham police said.

The name of the couple involved in the incident is not being released at this time.

David Norris lives in the area. He said because of the strong currents and salt water, he never walks on the ice.

“It’s just dangerous,” he said. “I have two dogs. I won’t bring them out here until summertime when it’s just sand, they can go on the beach. I would never let them go on the salt. There’s no boundaries to it. It’s just weak, you fall right in.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Kaicey Baylor

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    ABINGDON, Maryland (WJZ) — An Abingdon, Maryland, couple is raising money to bring home their twin infants who died in Mexico. The family hopes an online fundraiser will help raise the $12,000 needed for funeral and transportation expenses.

Paris Singleton-Ajaero said she suffered a miscarriage while on a gospel cruise with her mother.

At the time, she said she was 21 weeks pregnant and had no prior pregnancy issues. Singleton-Ajaero said she and her mother boarded the cruise on February 1.

“Things were fine the full day,” she said.

The next night, she felt discomfort and learned she was in the process of delivering her baby boy.

“We quickly realized the feet were already out,” said Singleton-Ajaero.

She said medical staff on the cruise told her the baby wouldn’t make it. Then, they rushed her to a hospital in Cancun.

Before she could deliver her second child, a baby girl, her husband, John Ajaero, said they had to pay a “good faith payment” of $5,000. He remained stateside, making calls to their insurance company to ensure his wife had proper care.

“It was times where you couldn’t cry because you’re in survival mode,” Ajaero said.

Singleton-Ajaero hoped doctors would be able to save their baby girl. The Abingdon parents said their twin babies died a day apart.

“[It] just seemed like everything was working against us,” said Singleton-Ajaero.

“It’s really jarring to deal with all of this, and this is her first pregnancy, our first try at being parents,” Ajaero said.

Although Singleton-Ajaero and her mother are back in the U.S., the twins are still in Mexico. She said her husband still hasn’t been able to see the babies.

“It’s hard to feel like we’re at peace because we don’t have them home,” Singleton-Ajaero said. “My husband and I, we don’t know how to plan a funeral. It’s not something we ever even talked [about] for ourselves yet.”

As they plan a funeral, they’re thinking of other ways to remember their twin babies. They’re remaining hopeful that one day they will be parents.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Peter Katz, Westfair’s Westchester County Business Journal

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    Chester, New York (westfaironline.com) — The county executive of Orange County, New York, which is about 60 miles northwest of New York City, said that as of the close of business on Friday Feb. 13 no deed had been filed with the county showing that ICE had bought a warehouse in the county for conversion to an immigrant detention center. The warehouse in question is at 29 Elizabeth Drive in the community of Chester. County Executive Steve Neuhaus was speaking in response to statements attributed to ICE that it had gone ahead and purchased the former PepBoys warehouse in Chester.

The Salt Box Project, which tracks ICE’s warehouse purchases throughout the U.S. and reports on other sites that ICE is considering for its growing network of detention centers, lists the Chester location as having been bought by ICE.

The warehouse encompasses 401,000 square feet with parking for 194 cars. ICE had tried to prevent the public and local officials from finding out about its interest in converting the warehouse into a detention facility for people its agents arrested. However, when it filed required government paperwork disclosing that its project would impact a flood area on the property, word of its plan for the warehouse got out.

In the face of ongoing opposition from the public and elected officials, ICE issued a statement saying that it had moved ahead and purchased the warehouse but did not provide details including disclosing when the purchase was closed.

Neuhaus said that he had not heard anything from federal officials from the time ICE first became interested in the warehouse. Neuhaus said that the sewage system at Chester already is at capacity and could not accommodate what ICE wants to do.

“You’re going to have a facility where you’re going to have thousands of protesters coming here at the same time they’re operating here in an industrial park,” Neuhaus said. “There are businesses all around the industrial park. There’s a commuter parking lot that is very actively used by people commuting to New York City on bus.”

Neuhaus noted that large protests have taken place outside of ICE detention facilities elsewhere in the U.S. He said that he talked with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Feb. 13 about the situation and asked her to have the New York State Police available to help local police with crowd control should ICE actually convert the warehouse into a detention facility. He also asked for the National Guard to be on standby.

“I have not had one elected official in New York state, in the Hudson Valley, in Orange County, call me and say they’re for this,” Neuhaus said.  He is a Republican and pointed out that his Republican-controlled County Legislature voted unanimously against the project.

Neuhaus emphasized he has had “zero communication” from the Trump administration regarding ICE’s plan for the Chester site, which apparently is part of a larger plan to establish numerous sites across the U.S. where 100,000 or more people would be imprisoned. Neuhaus said that the county was restrained from filing a lawsuit to try to stop the ICE project until a deed showing that ICE actually owns the warehouse has been filed. However, he also did not commit to taking legal action to try to stop the project.

While ICE has persistently said it was imprisoning “the worst of the worst” criminals, in reality only a small percentage of those detained have a criminal record and detainees include U.S. citizens, children and immigrants who have been in the country legally.

Congressman Pat Ryan whose district includes Chester is among those who has been rallying the Hudson Valley community to stop ICE’s Chester plan. Ryan has now voiced an added concern about ICE reportedly leasing office space at 843 Union Ave., in New Windsor, close to New York’s New York Stewart International Airport.

Ryan demanded answers to what ICE is doing in New Windsor from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting ICE Administrator Todd Lyons.

“Let me be clear: the Hudson Valley does not support ICE expansion in our community,” Ryan told them. “More than 20,000 people have signed my petition opposing the proposed Chester detention facility. Bipartisan local leaders have condemned your plans. Our community has spoken with one voice: ICE’s terror campaign has no place here. Now ICE is quietly expanding its footprint in Orange County without consulting the people who live here. This is not how agencies operate in a democracy. The Hudson Valley will not stand for it.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Peter Katz
pkatz@westfairinc.com

By Janay Reece

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    BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Baltimore City Recreation and Parks plans to introduce a new program to manage the deer population by utilizing firearms.

“So in many of our parks and the forest that we have here in Baltimore City, we see these areas that are being highly damaged by deer and browsed by deer eating activities,” explained Shane Boehne, the city recreation and parks deer management program lead.

Boehne explained that the deer population is a bigger issue than most people think.

“The earliest known acknowledgement of that has been since 1999, and we have some internal management drafts that came out in 2014 and 2016 that got our program kind of initially started,” Boehne explained. “In our forestry division, we have seen evidence of increasing deer-related issues in the city.”

From parks to TV Hill, they are everywhere, causing issues for many people.

“We have seen evidence of increasing deer-related issues in the city, both damage to our forest understories, creating lots of damage to people’s homes and garden spaces, and we’ve also seen a number of deer vehicle collisions every single year happening in Baltimore City around a lot of our parks that are occupied by deer.”

What’s the plan?

Starting in March, trained firearms experts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will enter three designated parks after dark to eliminate as many deer as possible before April 15.

These designated parks include:

“We are going to be conducting our deer control efforts with the USDA, who have wildlife biologists who are specifically trained at utilizing firearms to remove the deer,” said Boehne.

According to the program’s website, the partnership will be with trained wildlife biologists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS), who have firearms expertise and follow national best practices.

When management activities are happening, parks will be temporarily closed to keep residents and staff safe.

Boehne says this is not recreational hunting. Sharpshooters are experts, trained to complete the job since hunting isn’t much of an option in Baltimore City.

According to the Baltimore City’s Recreation and Parks website, residents may only hunt on private property with bows, and at least 150 yards from an occupied building.

“We’re also making sure that we are discharging the firearms in adequate areas that have a backdrop, so that’s basically just an area that minimizes [the] likelihood of ricochet. And we’re also making sure that we are staying far away from any occupied structures, like residents, homes, or businesses,” said Boehne.

Restore and protect the environment

Rec and Parks officials say their hope is that the program will help restore and protect wooded environments and help the community.

“Once all the deer are processed, we’re going to be able to donate that back to the Maryland food bank. And if we’re able to reach our harvest goal for the year, we’ll be able to provide about 40,000 servings here to Baltimore City residents in need,” Boehne said.

Other places in Maryland, such as Howard, Montgomery, and Baltimore Counties, have similar programs.

“We want to make sure that people have quality experiences in our park areas, and one of the ways that we can do that is by providing additional forest regeneration in these areas, “said Boehne.

To learn more about the deer management program, visit the Rec and Parks website.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Riley Rourke

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    EASTHAM, Massachusetts (WBZ) — A woman has died, and two police officers are in the hospital after falling through the ice in Eastham. A search is underway for the woman’s husband, who is believed to have also fallen into the frozen river.

Eastham Police received a call just after 9 a.m. about a wet dog in distress at First Encounter Beach. An officer arrived and found a woman screaming for help in Bee’s River after falling through the ice.

The officer attempted to help the woman, but fell in during the rescue and was completely submerged. Another officer arrived and attempted to help the first officer, who had fallen in, but the ice broke, sending him plunging into the water up to his waist. The officers were able to get themselves back onto the shore. They were taken to Cape Cod Hospital to be evaluated for any injuries. There is no update on their condition.

A dive-and-rescue team began searching for the missing woman. During the search, they were led to believe that the woman was on a walk with her husband and their dog at the time.

“Based on items located in their vehicle and a check of their residence, it was determined that it was possible that the husband may have fallen through the ice prior to the officer’s arrival,” Eastham Police said in a press release.

They found the woman’s body under the ice just after 11 a.m. Their identities have not been released.

First responders are still searching for the husband as of Saturday afternoon. There is no more information available.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Naomi Ruchim

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    NEW YORK (WCBS) — There’s a new ride-share app in New York City promising lower prices than the competition, but city officials say it’s illegal.

They’re urging riders and drivers not to use it.

What is Empower?

The ride-share race is getting even tighter as newcomer “Empower” hopes to win over riders and drivers.

“I think it’s one of the greatest deals a New Yorker could have, especially at times where inflation and the cost of living, it’s so high,” said one Empower driver, who did not want to share his identity.

The company promises lower fares by giving drivers 100% of the rider’s payment, cutting out commissions and fees on both sides.

Instead, drivers pay a $50-a-month subscription in New York City.

“I have made more money driving less time and less distance, or less amount of passengers,” the driver said.

TLC says Empower is illegal City officials, however, say not so fast.

The Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) says Empower is illegal and warns that riders may face insurance issues if they are involved in a crash. The TLC posted its warning on its website and social media accounts, urging New Yorkers to avoid unlicensed ride-share apps and naming Empower directly.

Drivers may face the steepest consequences including:

Fines of up to $500, Possible loss of their TLC license, And vehicle owners could be hit with up to $10,000 in fines. In a statement, the commission said:

“We take the safety of all passengers and drivers seriously, which is why anyone dispatching for-hire trips in NYC must be licensed by the TLC. Despite repeated attempts to encourage Empower to apply for a license, it continues to operate illegally. Riders using unlicensed apps should know that their trips aren’t tracked, and they will likely be on their own if they lose property or experience issues. Drivers also risk being fined by TLC Police, who are actively enforcing against Empower trips. They also risk losing their licenses, or forfeiting any worker’s compensation if they’re injured during an unlicensed trip.”

Empower pushed back, saying:

“Every driver using Empower’s software to work for themselves in New York is a TLC licensed driver using a TLC licensed vehicle. We look forward to working with the Mamdani Administration to ensure TLC licensed drivers have the same civil rights as all other licensed professionals in New York and that New Yorkers have access to affordable and safe transportation.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.