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Children return to school and trick-or-treat as Maine community starts to heal from mass shooting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:34 GMT

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Children were back in school in Lewiston and on the streets dressed as dinosaurs and princesses for Halloween, after a chaotic week that saw the deadliest mass shooting in Maine’s history and a massive search for the suspect as people sheltered indoors.Hundreds of students returned to Lewiston High School, petting therapy dogs and signing a large banner that read “Lewiston Strong.” Days earlier the campus had been transformed into a law enforcement command post, with helicopters utilizing athletic fields and 300 vehicles filling the parking lot.“Today’s going to be hard,” Superintendent Jake Langlais said. “But I think there’s strength in gathering, in unity, in getting back together.”Jayden Sands, a 15-year-old sophomore, said one of his football coaches lost four friends. One of his best friends also lost a friend, and his mom’s friend was shot four times but survived. Sands is glad to be back at school though safety was in the back of his ...

What is ‘community conferencing?’ And how does it work in Charles and Prince George’s Co.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:34 GMT

People who work in the field of restorative justice say two things have to happen to make the practice work: all parties have to agree to the process, and once a resolution is decided upon, all parties have to agree to that as well.As the Montgomery County Council examines “community conferencing” as a way to deal with some juvenile offenses, WTOP reached out to two facilitators in two different Maryland counties to ask about the process.Dana Coles, who runs the Prince George’s County Community Conferencing Program said, “The most important part is to talk to people and make sure that they really want to participate” and that “they’re prepared for what the process is going to look like.”She said the process doesn’t look to be punitive, but she insists, it’s not done without accountability. “If you are the party that caused the harm, you have to acknowledge that you participated in the harm in some way.”Coles sai...

Diamondbacks’ Ketel Marte extends record postseason hitting streak to 20 games

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:34 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Ketel Marte wasted little time extending his postseason-record hitting streak to 20 games, ripping a single to lead off the bottom of the first inning in Game 4 of the World Series on Tuesday night.The Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman’s 20-game on-base streak is the third best to begin a postseason career, trailing Boog Powell’s 25 games from 1966-71 and Daniel Murphy’s 21 games from 2015-17.Marte came into the game hitting .333 this postseason with two homers, 11 RBIs, six doubles and three stolen bases. He got his base hit on Tuesday off Texas Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney. He was thrown out trying to steal second to end the inning.Marte broke the postseason record with a two-run single in Saturday’s Game 2, pushing his streak to 18 games. His two-out hit was part of a three-run eighth, sending him past Derek Jeter and Hank Bauer of the New York Yankees and Boston’s Manny Ramirez for the longest streak.Jeter’s run came in 1998-99, while Baue...

Rangers slugger Adolis García and pitcher Max Scherzer to miss the rest of the World Series

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:34 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Texas Rangers slugger Adolis García and pitcher Max Scherzer will miss the rest of the World Series after getting hurt in Game 3 against the Arizona Diamondbacks.García, the AL Championship Series MVP, has a moderate strain of his left oblique. Scherzer, who had been in line to pitch a possible Game 7, has a muscle spasm on the right side of his back. They were replaced on the active roster by infielder/outfielder Ezequiel Durán and left-hander Brock Burke before Game 4 on Tuesday night.“They’ve worked their entire lives to be on this stage and be in this moment and they’ve both suffered injuries that are going to take them out of that,” Rangers general manager Chris Young said. ”I have great empathy for them in terms of that.”García grabbed his left side while coming out of the batter’s box on his flyout against Luis Frías in the eighth inning Monday.“Adolis did everything he could today,” Young said. ”He came in, was the first guy in today. He got ...

Bodycam video shows police saving residents from Maui wildfire, keeping people out of burn zone

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:34 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — An officer sprinted from house to house in the historic town of Lahaina, Hawaii, alerting people to the approaching inferno. Another coughed and swore as he drove through thick smoke past burning buildings with people he rescued crammed in the back seat. With no ambulance available, one officer offered to bring a severely burned man to a hospital.While police frantically tried to save people from what would be the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, they also faced another challenge: keeping people from heading back toward the flames, newly released video from body cameras shows.“No more waiting! Too much people have died already!” one frustrated officer shouted at a line of stopped cars. “Turn around and get out of Lahaina! Stop being stubborn and get out of Lahaina now!”The roughly 20 hours of video depict the actions of Maui police officers on Aug. 8, when strong winds from a hurricane passing far to the south drove flames that quickly leveled Lahaina ...

Students turn high school into fright school for those with special needs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:34 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A Denver public charter school scared a lot of folks on Halloween: They turned their school into a haunted house.5280 High School does not look like your typical high school. That’s because it isn't."5280 is a project-based-learning chartered public school that specializes in serving students that are in recovery from alcohol and drugs and self-harm," said Nik Harris, director of the school's science department.On Tuesday, the high school was transformed into a haunted house."This year, we have been talking about the neuroscience about fear, and to tie it all in, of course we are going to demonstrate our knowledge by showing how to create fear and incite fear," Harris said. A European style of mountain climbing is taking root in the Colorado Rockies The entire student population — about 100 kids — was tour guides, makeup artists, pumpkin painters and poltergeists.Nicole Defosses is with King Adult Day Enrichment Program. They work with people with disorders of the...

Patients, staff at Franciscan Children’s celebrate Halloween with fun costumes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:34 GMT

It’s a Halloween takeover at Franciscan Children’s in Brighton with food, candy, pumpkins, a Halloween parade and, of course, costumes.And it wasn’t just for the patients. Staff got in on the fun too, with costume and pumpkin carving competitions.An effort worth it to put a smile on families’ faces.“Our goal is because kids are in the hospital, they deserve these kinds of holidays,”  said Elizabeth Smith, chief nursing officer.”They deserve to enjoy the same things that kids enjoy when they are not in the hospital.”“And the parents are thrilled. It gives them some normalcy and some fun seeing their kids dressed up,” said Amanda Voysey, a patient advocate.The staff said because this is such a special day that all look forward to, they are planning for next year’s celebration immediately.

A bear seen in Whitman approached homes, sniffed pumpkins ahead of trick-or-treating

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:34 GMT

There were more than just gummy bears in Whitman this Halloween. A big bear made his way around town around noon on Tuesday.“My husband came in and said there was a bear on our porch, had no idea,” said Jayne Casey, who saw the bear on her front porch. “Thought it was the mailman.”The local police departments have named the bear Pumpkin, who was seen around Commercial Street.“It was going after the pumpkins, and I think because they were painted he didn’t take one,” Casey said.Pumpkin helped himself to some bird feeders but mostly kept to himself.The bear’s appearance is not stopping trick-or-treating in Whitman.  “I was excited,honestly. I really wanted to see it,” said Harvey, a trick-or-treater. “I’ve never seen a bear, so I was curious about what it looked like in general.”Police said to not feed the bear or crowd it and are reminding neighbors to not leave out pumpkins or candy.“I just hope Pumpkin doesn’t make an appear...

Chicago Bears reportedly upgrade their pass rush in a trade-deadline deal for defensive end Montez Sweat

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:34 GMT

A year after making a move to add a wide receiver ahead of the NFL trade deadline, the Chicago Bears are attempting to boost the pass rush, a splashy move general manager Ryan Poles has to be hoping has a long-term payoff.The Bears have traded a second-round draft pick to the Washington Commanders for defensive end Montez Sweat, a deal first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter.Sweat, who leads the Commanders with 6 1/2 sacks, immediately becomes the best edge defender for the Bears, who are last in the NFL with 10 as a team. The Bears can negotiate with him on a contract extension or use the franchise tag to secure him before the start of free agency. They are projected to have around $100 million in salary-cap room, so space to pay Sweat will not be an issue.It would not be surprising if the Bears are already working on a new contract for Sweat, with the goal of having him be secure about his future with the organization when he arrives.The question now is what happens with corn...

Woman stabbed in Scarborough, suspect wanted by police

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:57:34 GMT

Toronto police said a woman was stabbed and injured in Scarborough on Tuesday night.Authorities were called to the Warden Avenue and Huntingwood Drive area for reports of a stabbing.Police located a woman, and she was rushed to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.The suspect or suspects fled the area. No description was provided.A woman was stabbed and injured in a separate incident on Monday night in the city’s downtown core.Police said the victim in her 30s was discovered with stab wounds and rushed to a trauma centre in serious but stable condition. A male suspect fled the scene, and he remains wanted.