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Women falls to death down a well shaft hidden below rotting floorboards in a South Carolina home

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:50:12 GMT

SALEM, S.C. (AP) — An 83-year-old woman who died when she fell through rotting floorboards in a century-old South Carolina house and down a well shaft the owner didn’t know was there, authorities said.It took rescuers nearly four hours Sunday to get the women’s body out of the nearly 50-foot (15-meter) deep hole, Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis said in a statement.The woman was helping her daughter pack up and move from the house in Salem, which according to property records was built in 1920, Addis said.As she walked across the kitchen floor, part of it collapsed. The woman’s daughter searched for her in the crawlspace under the house and couldn’t find her, according to a police report.Firefighters finally were able to find the woman and bring her bock back to the surface, said the coroner, who determined she died from injuries from the fall.Addis declared the death an accident and said he has never seen a death like this in his 31 years as coroner in Ocone...

Nikki Haley draws the largest crowd of her campaign in her home state of South Carolina

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:50:12 GMT

BLUFFTON, S.C. (AP) — Nikki Haley drew the largest crowd of her campaign Monday at an event in her home state of South Carolina, as she tries to close the gap with GOP front-runner and former President Donald Trump just weeks from the start of the primary season. Around 2,500 people gathered to hear Haley, the former governor and United Nations ambassador, according to officials at a satellite campus of the University of South Carolina along the state’s southern coast. Half that number watched her event from video screens outside the venue after it reached capacity.That’s significantly higher than the 2,000 people who attended her February launch event in Charleston, according to Haley’s campaign. Hours ahead of Monday’s start time, the line for attendees wrapped around the venue, which had to be changed from its original location due to demand.Haley’s staff have cast her campaign as being on a rising trajectory. She often hits on this theme herself, noting h...

Paramount Plus Canada developing comedies about prime minister, widowed limo driver

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:50:12 GMT

TORONTO — Paramount Plus Canada says it’s developing two more homegrown comedies, one centred on a widowed limo driver trying to raise his kids, the other on an A-list actor who gets the chance to become prime minister. The streamer announced in June it would begin developing Canadian projects, and is now adding two more to its slate from production company Boat Rocker.“Bensen,” from creator Clara Altimas, follows a limo driver who tries to keep his “fun dad” status following the death of his wife. Altimas was previously a writer on CBC’s “Kim’s Convenience” and its spinoff “Strays.”Paramount Plus is also developing “Elected,” a comedy series from Michael McGowan, whose feature film credits include writing and directing “All My Puny Sorrows” and “Score: A Hockey Musical.”Paramount Plus Canada also says its first original documentary, “500 Days in the Wild,” will premiere...

Celebrities, politicians among those named in sex abuse suits filed under NY’s Adult Survivors Act

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:50:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — For a year, New York’s Adult Survivors Act suspended the usual legal deadlines to give sexual assault victims one last chance to file lawsuits over misconduct that occurred years or decades ago.By the time the law expired last week, more than 3,700 legal claims had been filed, with many of the last few coming against big-name celebrities and a handful of politicians.The list of the accused contained many familiar names from past #MeToo scandals and a few new ones. A huge number of claims were also made by former prisoners over alleged assaults in jails and prisons.Here’s a guide to some of the more noteworthy lawsuits:Donald TrumpFormer president Donald Trump was one of the first to be sued under the law when it took effect last November, by a writer who said he had raped her in a department store dressing room.E. Jean Carroll, a columnist, had written of the alleged assault in a 2019 book. He rebuffed the accusation, saying it never happened. She initial...

US Navy to discuss removing plane from environmentally sensitive Hawaii bay after it overshot runway

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:50:12 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — U.S. Navy officials said Monday they would discuss how they plan to remove a large aircraft from an environmentally sensitive Hawaii bay after it overshot a runway last week. The Navy placed two temporary floating barriers around the P-8A aircraft at its resting spot in the shallow waters of Kaneohe Bay to prevent any potential fuel spill or other contaminants from polluting the ocean. Navy officials scheduled a news conference for Monday to provide an update.On Thursday, sailors retrieved the data recorder and conducted a hydrographic survey to assess the plane’s structural integrity. The Navy has not said whether the plane is sitting on sand or coral in the water. State environmental officials expect to conduct a damage assessment once the plane is removed. Kaneohe Bay is home to coral reefs, an ancient Hawaiian fishpond and a breeding ground for hammerhead sharks.In addition to the floating barriers, the Navy has placed material around the plane to help absorb any...

Official who posted ‘ballot selfie’ in Wisconsin has felony charge dismissed

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:50:12 GMT

PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. (AP) — A local official who posted a photo of his marked ballot on Facebook during the April 2022 election had felony charges against him dropped Monday. Paul Buzzell, 52, of Mequon had faced maximum penalties of 3 1/2 years behind bars and $10,000 in fines. Buzzell, a member of the Mequon-Thiensville School Board, would have also been barred from holding elected office if convicted.Ozaukee County Judge Paul Malloy dismissed the charges against Buzzell in a hearing Monday, saying a state law prohibiting voters from showing their marked ballots to anyone else is in violation of the constitutional right to freedom of speech, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.“This case was about more than just a Facebook post; it was about protecting the fundamental right to freedom of expression,” Michael Chernin, Buzzell’s attorney, said in a statement to the newspaper.Ozaukee County District Attorney Adam Gerol, who brought the charges against Buzzell, promised to ...

If Liberals need more time on pharmacare, NDP says it will demand ‘more results’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:50:12 GMT

OTTAWA — The NDP says there’s still enough time for the Liberals to meet their deadline for introducing pharmacare legislation, but if the government needs more time, their legislative dance partners are expecting more results. NDP spokesperson Alana Cahill says her party was “very clear” that the Liberals’ first draft of a pharmacare bill “missed the mark” and didn’t guarantee coverage for everyone.The parties’ supply-and-confidence agreement requires a Canada Pharmacare Act to be passed before the end of this year, though it doesn’t stipulate that an actual program be up and running any time soon.There are less than three weeks’ worth of sittings before the House of Commons rises for a winter break, making it next to impossible to introduce and pass a bill before that deadline. But Cahill says there could still be enough time to do it, and talks are ongoing. New Democrats passed an emergency resolution at a policy convent...

Migrant camp in Brighton Park still weeks away, officials say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:50:12 GMT

CHICAGO — Migrants are coping with the frigid temperatures and snow that swept across Chicagoland on Sunday as the city prepares to begin work on a winterized tent camp in Brighton Park on Monday — and neighbors in the area continue to push back on the plans.A spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson said there is no date yet to begin construction, even though 12th Ward Alderwoman Julia Ramirez told constituents it would start Monday.Mayor Brandon Johnson signed the contract to build large, winterized tents to house migrants in mid-September but has never publicly shared a specific target date for the facilities to be opened. Now, the governor’s office says the winterized tent camp won’t be open until mid-December.For several weeks, dozens of residents have shown up every day to voice their concerns and opposition to the city's proposal to house migrants at the vacant property located near West 38th Street and South California Avenue. Police warn residents ...

Jimmy Carter to attend late wife Rosalynn Carter's memorial service, family says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:50:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The family of Rosalynn Carter began the final farewells Monday to the former first lady and global humanitarian ahead of a memorial service Tuesday that her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, who is currently in hospice, is expected to attend.The tributes started in her hometown of Sumter County, Georgia, with an escort from past and present members of her Secret Service detail."It hurts our hearts," Kim Fuller, Carter’s niece, said during a church service Sunday.Carter died Nov. 19 at the age of 96. PHOTOS: Rosalynn Carter through the years "I just thank you, especially for the life of Rosalynn Carter and what she means to every single one of us," Fuller prayed.A wreath-laying ceremony at Carter's alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University, honored one of her many contributions, advocating for the millions of unpaid caregivers in U.S. households."For 40 years, she did that work,” said Paige Alexander, the CEO of the Carter Center. “Her top prior...

Video captures streaker in Disneyland's 'It's a Small World'; man arrested

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:50:12 GMT

ANAHEIM, Cali. (KTLA) — Disneyland guests on “It’s a Small World” got an unexpected and unwelcome show Sunday when a man stripped nearly naked and got up close and personal with some of the set pieces on the iconic ride.Officers with the Anaheim Police Department responded to the theme park at around 1:30 p.m. to assist Disney security with the incident. Video of the streaker obtained by Nexstar's KTLA shows the man, eerily lit in blue, orange and pink lights, walking around nearly in the buff to the sound of Christmas music. Disneyland guest hospitalized, others injured after lamp post falls due to high winds “I am on Small World and there was a streaker, I cannot believe this happening,” Ashley Esqueda posted to X, formerly Twitter.  Disneyland officials told KTLA that the man stepped out of the ride's vehicle as the attraction was in operation and that park employees stopped the ride as soon as they were made aware of the situation. “At some point, somebody snapped him o...