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Stephen Smith’s case is now being investigated as a homicide, South Carolina law enforcement says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:17:51 GMT

(CNN) — The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the death of Stephen Smith, a 19-year-old nursing student whose body was found in the middle of a South Carolina road in 2015, as a homicide, an agency spokesperson told CNN.A SLED spokesperson also confirmed there were no indications in the investigation that Smith’s death was a hit-and-run — which is what an initial incident report deemed the death to be.Smith’s body was discovered in Hampton County on July 8, 2015.SLED announced in June 2021 it was opening the investigation into Smith’s death based on information learned while probing the murders of Margaret “Maggie” Murdaugh and her son Paul Murdaugh earlier that month. It has not given any details into what was found.Authorities have not announced a connection between Smith’s death and the Murdaugh family, whose patriarch, Alex Murdaugh, was found guilty earlier this month and sentenced to life in ...

Captain Consistent: Orioles infield prospect Jordan Westburg’s ‘morbid’ mentality pushing him toward majors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:17:51 GMT

Jordan Westburg recognizes it’s not a great analogy. After all, it implies he’s dead.Baseball is a game of highs and lows, hots and colds, peaks and valleys. That up-and-down nature, the Orioles’ infield prospect said, prompts thoughts of a heart rate monitor.“It’s a little morbid,” Westburg said, “but I want to be that flatline as much as I can.“If you can ride that flatline, that consistency, man, I feel like that’s when your potential is maximized.”To those who have witnessed the 24-year-old’s climb up Baltimore’s minor league system, he frequents that space often. They call him a “gamer” and a “grinder.” He’s “dependable,” “scrappy” and “professional.” But no word better defines Jordan Westburg than consistent.“The ‘C word’ in baseball is the most important word,” fellow infield prospect Connor Norby said. “That&#...

Howie Carr: Be careful what you wish for, Dems

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:17:51 GMT

So yesterday wasn’t the day, but a state indictment of Donald J. Trump still seems to be in the cards in New York. So the question remains, what’s the end game here for the Democrats?Are they just so consumed with Stage 4 Trump Derangement Syndrome that they can’t help themselves? Obviously, the answer to that question is yes.But is there more going on here with the Democrats than this fatal attraction-type obsession? Is there some method to their madness? Do they have some larger game plan here than a quick fix for their anti-Trump jones, and if so, what is it?Are George Soros et al. seriously trying to take Trump off the board for 2024? Or, conversely, is this a ploy to get Trump the nomination, as a martyr to the GOP base, because they think he would be easier to beat?And if that’s the scenario, are they sure that they’d be better off with Trump as the nominee against the senile corrupt vegetable now installed in the White House? Or would 44-year-old Ron DeSantis be easier pickin...

OBF: Online betting in Massachusetts off to wild start

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:17:51 GMT

“March Madness?”Nope.Try “absolute insanity.”That’s how one top executive in the online sports betting industry described the start of mobile betting in Massachusetts to me the other day.Welcome to Problem Gambling Awareness Month.The “insanity” is everywhere.It exists in a tsunami of advertising not seen since the push to pass the Millionaire’s Tax in 2022.It lives in online accounts where players see $2,000 deposits balloon into $10,000 worth of bonus bets.It breathes in odds boosts that pay even money on a $50 bet if the Celtics score one point, or the Bruins get one shot on goal.In addition to this being “absolute insanity,” it’s also “unsustainable.”Again, his words, not mine.No matter how many times the house always wins – and it usually does – no house is big enough to sustain itself by giving away $50 or $100 to potentially 400,000+ mobile betting customers in Massachusetts every time the Bruins or Celtics play.That equates to potentially $40,000,000 a whack. Times two.The h...

Nikki Haley signals Ukraine support, splitting with many Republicans

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:17:51 GMT

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is setting a strikingly different tone regarding the war in Ukraine than her fellow Republican presidential hopefuls.“Everyone knows it, yet President Biden and some Republicans are failing to realize a corresponding truth: If Russia wins in Ukraine, China wins too,” the former South Carolina governor wrote in a Tuesday morning Wall Street Journal op-ed.According to Haley, if Russia’s full-scale invasion of democratic neighbor Ukraine is allowed to succeed, the result will be an emboldened Chinese Communist Party.“Beijing has set its sights on overtaking the U.S. militarily, economically and culturally. Mr. Xi is in Moscow now because supporting Mr. Putin advances his dark vision. He wants Russia to conquer Ukraine so it’s easier for China to invade Taiwan,” she wrote.So far, Haley is the only prominent Republican to throw themselves into the race for the party nomination against former President Donald Trump, though Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has s...

Starlight Square may see another season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:17:51 GMT

The Cambridge City Council is looking to overrule a city board who’s recent ruling threatened to shut down a Central Square gathering space that emerged as an oasis during the pandemic.Councilors on Monday referred a zoning petition to the city’s Planning Board to help revive Starlight Square in the Central Square Business Improvement District.The petition would allow outdoor retail, entertainment and recreational facilities, like Starlight, to be located within the area by default if such spaces have minimal impact on neighbors.Showing strong support for the petition, the council expressed urgency for the Planning Board to proceed with a hearing and other necessary action as quickly as possible since some events are planned at Starlight as early as May.“This zoning petition not only would address some of the concerns regarding Starlight,” Councilor Marc McGovern said, “but it would allow for other really exciting arts and opportunities to take place in Central Square.”Starlight bec...

Japan’s Kishida pledges aid for Ukraine-backing Poland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:17:51 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Japan’s prime minister pledged Wednesday to provide Poland with development support to help the European country assist neighboring Ukraine as it defends itself from Russia’s invasion. Polish Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Warsaw a day after Kishida made a surprise visit to Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Bearing in mind the increasing burden on Poland due to the prolonged invasion of Ukraine,” Kishida said Japan would offer Poland assistance to support its role and is looking to “vigorously build up” projects.Japan usually provides the type of promised aid to developing countries, which Poland is no longer, but the Japanese government is making a special exception, he said. Kishida said it was crucial for like-minded countries such as Japan and Poland, to remain united in their support for Ukraine and in furthering sanctions against Russia.During a joint new...

Tear gas, clashes as Lebanon protesters try to storm govt HQ

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:17:51 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanese security forces fired tear gas on Wednesday to disperse hundreds of protesters, mainly retired soldiers, who tried to break through the fence leading to the government headquarters in downtown Beirut. The violence came amid widespread anger over the harsh economic conditions in the country, where mismanagement by the ruling class has been rampant for years, preceding the economic meltdown that started in late 2019. The retired soldiers demanding better pay were clashing with riot police and troops. Several people suffered breathing problems from the tear gas. The protesters hurled stones at the officers protecting the government headquarters and repeatedly tried to break through the fence. The Lebanese pound hit a new low on Tuesday, selling for more than 143,000 pounds to the dollar before making some gains. The pound has lost more than 96% of its value over the past three years. “My monthly salary is $40. How can I survive,” screamed a retired army officer. ...

Ethiopian lawmakers remove Tigray group from terror list

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:17:51 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopian lawmakers have removed the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front from the country’s list of designated terror groups more than four months after a peace agreement ended a conflict that killed hundreds of thousands of people.Wednesday’s decision highlights the improving relations between federal officials and Tigray regional ones and moves the region closer to the establishment of an interim government. The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics for close to three decades before Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018. The Tigray conflict began in late 2020.Most of Ethiopia’s 547 lawmakers voted to remove the TPLF from the terror list, with 61 objections and five abstentions, according to the state-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation.The TPLF was added to the list in May 2012.Kindeya Gebrehiwot, a senior TPLF official, told The Associated Press the removal will be a “very good step in moving the peace agreement forward.”Ethiopia accused the TPLF of start...

India police hunt Sikh leader, arrest separatist supporters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:17:51 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian police have launched a search for a separatist leader who has revived calls for an independent Sikh homeland, stirring fears of violence in northwestern Punjab state where there’s a history of bloody insurgency.Police have accused Amritpal Singh, a 30-year-old preacher, and his aides of creating discord in the state, which is still haunted by the memories of an armed insurgency in the 1980s for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan. The insurgency had prompted a controversial military operation by the Indian government that killed thousands of people, according to official estimates. Authorities have deployed thousands of paramilitary soldiers to the state and suspended mobile internet services in some areas to prevent unrest, Sukhchain Singh Gill, the inspector general of police for Punjab, said Wednesday. He said police have so far arrested 154 supporters of Singh and seized 10 guns and some rounds of ammunition.The hunt for Singh was launched on...