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The Jones Act brigade: Boat patrols waters off New England to enforce century-old regulation on offshore wind energy

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:20:40 GMT

One early morning this week in ocean waters off the coasts of Rhode Island and New York, signs of the nascent wind industry were all around. Giant upright steel tubes poked from the water, waiting for ships to hoist up turbines that will make electricity driven by wind.A battleship-gray vessel was on the prowl. In this ramp-up for U.S. offshore wind, American marine companies and mariners fear they’ll be left behind.So Aaron Smith, president of the Offshore Marine Service Association, was looking through binoculars to see whether ships servicing the new wind farms were using foreign-flagged vessels instead of U.S.-made ships with American crews.“It really makes me upset when I think about the men and women I know who can do this work. American citizens, fully capable, sitting at home while foreign nationals go to work in U.S. waters,” Smith said. “It’s unfair.”The ship is named the Jones Act Enforcer, after the century-old law that says the transport of merchandise between U.S...

Libya’s security forces release ex-minister whose detention prompted oil closure, tribal elder says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:20:40 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — Security authorities in the Libyan capital of Tripoli released a former minister Saturday less than a week after his detention which had prompted his tribesmen to shut down crucial oil fields, a tribal elder said.Former Finance Minister Faraj Bumatari, who hails from the al-Zawi tribe in southeastern Libya, walked free Saturday afternoon from detention in Tripoli, said al-Senussi al-Zawi, one of the tribe’s elders.“I spoke with him by phone, and he is awaiting a flight to the east” of Libya, al-Zawi told The Associated Press by phone. Bumatari was detained earlier this week by the Tripoli-based Internal Security Agency which is allied with the government of Prime Minister Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, according to local media.His detention was prompted by his bid to replace Sadiq al-Kabir as governor of the Central Bank of Libya, according to al-Zawi. Al-Kabir, a divisive figure in Libya, is a close ally of Dbeibah.Dbeibah’s government didn’t comment on Bumatari’s...

Police seeking information in serious assault in Hamilton

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:20:40 GMT

Hamilton police are asking for information as they investigate a serious assault that took place at Woodlands Park located at 501 Barton Street East in Hamilton.On Saturday morning shortly before 12:00 p.m., Hamilton police responded to a call of an assault in Woodlands Park and located a 37-year-old male victim without vital signs.The victim was transported to hospital where he underwent successful emergency surgery and remains in critical condition.Police are seeking suspects and ask any witnesses to come forward, as well as asking residences, businesses and vehicles with cameras in the area to review security cameras between 11:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. for any footage related to the assault.

US Rep. George Santos repays himself $85K raised from lackluster reelection fundraising

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:20:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Embattled freshman U.S. Rep. George Santos, a Republican from New York charged with a host of financial crimes, including embezzling money from his campaign, withdrew $85,000 from his campaign to help repay hundreds of thousands of dollars he loaned himself to get elected in 2022.Congressional campaign records released Friday show Santos raised a relatively paltry $138,000 during the last three months for a reelection bid that is expected to be one of the country’s most-watched and hotly contested races in 2024.The records show he spent nearly $118,000, the bulk of it to begin repaying the more than $700,000 he loaned himself for his successful but surprising victory last year.The underwhelming fundraising suggests potential struggles in fending off a challenge from fellow Republican Kellen Curry, an Afghanistan war veteran and former J.P. Morgan banker, who raised more than $200,000 and spent $36,000 during the same period.Meanwhile, the top Democrat vying for...

FBI opens criminal investigations into violent Los Angeles County deputy encounters

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:20:40 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The FBI has opened criminal investigations into violent encounters involving Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, including one in which a deputy punched a woman in the face as she held her baby.Federal authorities visited the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department headquarters to take documents related to the probes, according to an email obtained by the newspaper, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.Department officials confirmed the visit and told the newspaper they planned to cooperate with investigators.The second case being scrutinized by the FBI involves a deputy who threw a woman to the ground by her neck last month in a grocery store parking lot after she started recording an arrest with her cellphone.In addition to the federal investigations, the California Department of Justice has agreed to review the case of 18-year-old Andres Guardado, who was shot in the back three years ago by a sheriff’s deputy in the city of Gardena, south of Los Ang...

Cultural sharing key part of North American Indigenous Games as sacred fire lit

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:20:40 GMT

HALIFAX — Organizers of the North American Indigenous Games ignited a sacred fire on Saturday, saying the rekindling of First Nations culture is at the heart of the sports competition.“We set the goal at these games to have 50 per cent culture and 50 per cent sport, so we’re infusing cultural aspects into all aspects of the games themselves,” said games president George (Tex) Marshall in an interview after the ceremony.The 2023 version of the games is taking place at venues in Halifax, referred to as Kjipuktuk, along with events at Millbook First Nation, near Truro, N.S., and Sipekne’katik First Nation, about 60 kilometres north of Halifax.Sports include the traditional Indigenous sports of canoe/kayak, archery, and box lacrosse, as well as soccer, softball, swimming, volleyball, wrestling, beach volleyball, rifle shooting, golf, athletics, badminton, baseball and basketball.Indigenous ceremonies will occur at each of the venues, said Marshall. “There w...

CPD: 27-year-old woman missing from the Hermosa neighborhood

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:20:40 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department is looking for the public's assistance in helping find a woman who went missing in the Hermosa neighborhood Friday.Antoinette Mathis, 27-year-old missing from the Hermosa neighborhood.According to CPD, 27-year-old Antoinette Mathis was last seen leaving her residence in the 2100 block of North Kildare Avenue Friday. Police said she was wearing a black top, black pants, and a gray sweater wrapped around her waist the last time she was seen.She is described as being around 5-foot-6-inches tall, weighing around 108 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.Anyone with information that can help detectives find Mathis is asked to contact Area Five detectives at 312-746-6554.

Man shot after attempted armed robbery on South Side

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:20:40 GMT

CHICAGO -- A 22-year-old man is in critical condition after resisting an armed robbery on the Far South Side, police said. The man was found in the 11000 block of South Western Avenue around 1:48 a.m. with a gunshot wound to the chest. Teen, 17, shot in arm on West Side: CPD Police investigation found that the man was approached by unidentified individual who attempted to rob him at gunpoint. The man refused and the armed individual fired shots before fleeing on foot.There is currently no one in custody and police are investigating the incident.

Mass shooting in Georgia: At least 4 killed, county says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:20:40 GMT

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — A county government official in Georgia says at least four people have been killed in a mass shooting in a small community south of Atlanta.A statement from Henry County officials said police were still investigating an “active shooter incident” that occurred late Saturday morning at a subdivision in Hampton, a city of about 8,500 people about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Atlanta.“I can confirm that four people are deceased," county government spokeswoman Melissa Robinson told The Associated Press by phone. "As of right now, the suspect is still at large.”Police in Hampton, Georgia, planned to release more details at a Saturday afternoon news conference.Several local law enforcement agencies were assisting, as was the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said she had no information other than that GBI agents had been asked to help.This is a developing story.

Billy Baldwin went to same high school as suspected Long Island serial killer, he says: 'Mind-boggling'

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 15:20:40 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – “Backdraft” actor Billy Baldwin said Friday that he and Rex Heuermann, the suspect accused in a string of murders on Long Island, had attended the same school in the late ‘70s-early ‘80s.“Woke up this morning to learn that the Gilgo Beach serial killer suspect was my high school classmate Rex Heuermann,” Baldwin tweeted, calling the discovery “mind-boggling.” Who is Rex Heuermann? What we know about Long Island serial killer suspect Baldwin, whose famous family includes actors Alec Baldwin and Steven Baldwin, was born in Massapequa, New York — the same Long Island town where Heuermann said he’d lived all his life, Nexstar's WPIX reported.Baldwin also identified Massapequa’s Berner High School as his and Heuermann’s alma mater — a claim many of the school’s alumni have seemingly confirmed on Facebook since Heuermann’s arrest.This booking image provided by Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office, shows Rex Heuermann, a Long Island architect who was charged Friday, July 14, 2023,...