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Alabama woman found guilty in kidnapping hoax, will have to pay $18K in restitution

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Carlee Russell, a nursing student who made international news when she faked her own kidnapping in Alabama over the summer, was found guilty of the false report.During a municipal court hearing Wednesday, Judge Brad Bishop found Russell guilty of filing a false police report and falsely reporting the incident, where she reported seeing a child walking along I-459 before she went missing on July 13. On July 15, she walked back to her home in Hoover, Alabama, where she told police that she had been abducted. Timeline of Carlee Russell’s disappearance, return and the investigation However, after a days-long investigation by police, Russell admitted she had made the whole thing up. In a statement released through her attorney, Russell said she acted alone and apologized for her actions. There was speculation during the police investigation after authorities uncovered several text messages from Russell in the day leading up to her disappearance, such as “You h...

Disneyland, Disney World raise prices for some tickets, passes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

(KTLA/WFLA) — The happiest and most magical places on Earth are about to be more expensive to visit: Disneyland and Disney World have raised some of their prices. Increases ranged from $15 to $150 at both parks and are effective as of October 11.Disneyland will keep its cheapest one-day ticket at $104, a Disney spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday. But others will see a hike, including the popular Magic Key annual passes.Disneyland's one-day "peak" ticket is increasing from $179 to $194. Multi-day tickets increased an average of 11 to 12 percent, with the 5-day ticket seeing the biggest increase from $415 to $480. Jada Pinkett Smith reveals Chris Rock asked her out years before Oscars slap Magic Key prices increased by $50 to $150 depending on the pass type. The top-tier Inspire Key increased from $1,599 to $1,649; the Believe Key increased from $1,099 to $1,249; the Enchant Key increased from $699 to $849; and the Imagine Key increased from $449 to $499.Disney's Genie+ ser...

Why this Bulls preseason is different than the past few decades

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

CHICAGO — As the Bulls get ready for the 2023-2024 season, they took a different path to get things going than in previous years. In fact, they did so a few hundred miles away in Chicago, with the hopes of building a little team chemistry before their 82-game campaign. Before embarking on a five-game preseason, which began with a loss to the Bucks on Sunday at Fiserv Forum, the team decided to take their training camp to Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. It's a dramatic departure in Bulls' history as the team has called Chicago home for their preseason workouts for nearly the last four decades. Per NBC Sports Chicago, it's the first training camp for the team away from the city since they staged training camp at Beloit College in Wisconsin in 1985. That was prior to Michael Jordan's second season with the franchise. This year the trip to Nashville was all about team unity, something that head coach Billy Donovan believed could use just a little strengthening, especially wi...

Kaitlin Armstrong attempts escape ahead of Austin murder trial; will face additional charges

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Kaitlin Armstrong, the woman accused of killing professional cyclist Moriah “Mo” Wilson, attempted to escape the custody of Travis County corrections officers on Wednesday morning, sources first confirmed for KXAN.Armstrong ran from officers while leaving a medical office building around 8:17 a.m. Wednesday, according to a sheriff’s office spokesperson. After about 10 minutes, officers caught up to her and restrained her. The spokesperson said officers did not lose sight of Armstrong during the pursuit. BACKGROUND: Kaitlin Armstrong’s murder trial date moved The TCSO spokesperson said the attempted escape happened in south Austin near Second Street and Ben White Boulevard.Armstrong’s trial was set to begin Oct. 30 in Austin, where she faces a first-degree murder charge.After Wednesday morning's event, Armstrong will face additional charges. Those charges haven't been added yet, the spokesperson said.According to police, Wilson was shot and killed at a home in east...

Man who died in St. Paul motorcycle crash was 27-year-old father of twins

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

A man who died in a motorcycle crash in St. Paul last week has been identified by police as a 27-year-old.Officers responded to a collision in the North End at 10:30 p.m. Friday. Jonathan Garcia Alvarez, of St. Paul, was driving a motorcycle and police said preliminary information indicated he rear-ended a van at Rice Street and Cook Avenue.The van’s driver stayed at the scene and was cooperating with police in the investigation.Alvarez was the father of 4-year-old twins with his life partner. He was their family’s breadwinner and now his partner also has “to go through the agony of telling” their sons “their daddy is gone and we won’t be able to see him again,” she wrote on a fundraising site for his funeral expenses at gofundme.com/f/jonathan-jonny-garcia-alvarez.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | St. Paul’s first-ever ‘Snow Summit’ aims to educate public, alley captains Crime & Public Safety ...

Wild’s Jon Merrill on NHL’s Pride Night directive: ‘I don’t understand it’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

Count Jon Merrill among those disappointed by the NHL’s decision to prohibit players from visibly expressing “cause messaging” anywhere on the ice before or during a game or during practice.The guidance, sent by the NHL to its 32 teams last week, follows a July decision to ban teams from wearing Pride Night jerseys during games or in warmups. Most players just learned of it because of press coverage this week.“It’s just disappointing that there has to be a situation like this,” Wild defenseman Jon Merrill said Wednesday after a 35-minute practice at TRIA Rink. “I don’t know why it’s been a thing. It doesn’t seem like it’s a problem. I don’t understand it.”The move by the NHL applies to all specialty nights, including those supporting the military and the fight against cancer. But the inclusion initiatives, such as Pride Night and Hockey is for Everybody Night, have been controversial — mostly because a handful of players, such as former Wild center Eric Staal, have refused to wear t...

Some Rosemount residents hesitant about $700 million Meta data center at UMore site

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

Meta was revealed last month to be the potential new operator of a $700 million data center in Rosemount, but city residents are not sold on the idea yet.Rosemount residents voiced their concerns about the data center, codenamed Project Bigfoot, at last week’s city council meeting, including a lack of transparency from city leaders due to a nondisclosure agreement.Mayor Jeff Weisensel said during the Oct. 3 meeting that code names are used to keep growth plans of large companies private to avoid impacting stock prices or informing competitors.Concerns from Rosemount residents ranged from environmental issues like noise pollution and water usage to the cost of roads, street lights and fire hydrants. “Will homeowners be picking up the tab?” one resident asked.Multiple speakers also had qualms with the end-user of the data center, saying that Facebook’s parent company has “questionable ethics” and a history of censoring people when they speak out against the media and the government’s ...

Chief Rutberg reflects on transition into new role

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsCoaldale’s Director of Protective Services has transitioned into the role since former Director Kevin McKeown moved into a new role in Lethbridge earlier this year.“The transition has been fairly smooth. I was fortunate enough to be one of the Deputy Chiefs under Kevin since 2018, which provided me with a good working knowledge of the department,” Rutberg explained.The department was well-equipped for McKeown’s departure, and Rutberg said he was able to use the time after the announcement to prepare for the transition.“There was also a month of time where we knew Kevin was going to be going back to the City, and that I was going to be taking over as Chief so this allowed us to touch base on things that may have been outside of my portfolio before.”Rutberg added the leadership team in place was instrumental in making the transition as seamless as it has been.“We have a training officer, five Captains and four Lieutenants that have provided a great deal...

Maintaining adequate volunteer roster among top concerns for departments in region

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsRecruiting volunteers continues to be the most challenging factor for departments across southern Alberta.In an environment known for its extreme conditions, physical and mental demands, and steady rises in call volumes over recent years aren’t the top concern for leaders in fire services, rather it is maintaining an adequate number of volunteers, coupled with the ever-increasing challenges and demands of the profession.According to the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC), volunteer firefighters make up over 70 per cent of total firefighters in Canada. In 2022, the CAFC, in partnership with the Answer the Call committee, the Data committee, and the National Advisory Council (NAC), worked to complete the 2022 Great Canadian Fire Census which provides an overview and description of the state of the fire and emergency sector, and is the most comprehensive and current data set available. The report outlines key issues across the over 3,200 fire dep...

K.A. High School graduate receives provincial STEM honour

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:05 GMT

By Erika MathieuSunny South NewsWill Peters, a former resident of Coaldale and recent graduate of Lethbridge College’s engineering design and drafting technology program is being recognized for his work on a wind tunnel project by the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta’s Capstone Project of the Year Award.The project has landed the former team in the running for a provincial honour awarded annually by the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta (ASET).For their Capstone Project, former teammates Will Peters, Peter Harris, Nicolas Groenheide, and Julian Krizan, posed the question of whether software was an effective as a physical wind tunnel when testing air flow around an object. To answer this question, the group conducted research and compared testing air flow in a physical wind tunnel with the data collected through digital software which was guided by a branch of fluid mechanics called computational fluid...