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Denver Zoo officials weren’t sure who fathered a baby orangutan. They asked Maury Povich to reveal the paternity test results

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:55 GMT

(CNN) — Five words from famed daytime talk show host Maury Povich helped Denver Zoo officials solve the monthslong mystery of which orangutan fathered baby girl Siska: “Berani, you are the father!”When the pregnancy of Sumatran orangutan Eirina, Siska’s mother, was confirmed last spring, zoo officials weren’t sure who the dad was, according to Denver Zoo’s integrated communications director, Jake Kubié.They knew there were two possibilities: either 16-year-old Jaya, an orangutan who was moved to the Denver Zoo as a mate for Eirina in 2019; or 30-year-old Berani.“After Siska was born on August 27, 2023, our Animal Care and Health teams were very careful to not interfere with Eirina and Siska’s bonding time and had to wait for a few months before they were able to get a hair sample from Siska so they could compare her DNA to samples from Berani and Jaya,” Kubié told CNN in an email.He said the zoo’s animal care specialists had previously observed courtship and mating activity bet...

National gun rights group to appeal ruling upholding Massachusetts’ ban on assault weapons

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:55 GMT

A national gun owners advocacy group has vowed to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that Massachusetts’ assault weapons ban is constitutional.Bay State resident Joseph Capen and the National Association for Gun Rights, a nonprofit advocacy group, challenged the law banning the sale and possession of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines, arguing that it burdens their constitutional right to keep and bear arms under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.They filed the lawsuit in September 2022, months after the Supreme Court handed down a ruling in the landmark Bruen case, requiring states to fashion gun laws in line with the history and tradition of the Second Amendment.Capen alleges that, if it weren’t for the ban, he would purchase certain firearms and magazines “to keep in his home for self-defense and other lawful purposes.”Massachusetts U.S. District Court Chief Judge Dennis Saylor on Thursday denied a request to halt the ban which he said is co...

Crime Briefs: Drunk driver arrested in West Bridgewater after slamming into Massachusetts State Police cruiser

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:55 GMT

An alleged drunk driver was arrested in West Bridgewater early Saturday morning after authorities said the person slammed into a stopped state police cruiser.A state trooper stopped and exited their car on Route 24 at about 1 a.m. when the cruiser was hit by the alleged drunk driver, who was operating a pickup truck.“The cruiser was pushed into the trooper, causing minor injuries,” Massachusetts State Police said on social media.Taunton police arrest 22-year-old New Bedford man after armed home invasionTaunton police arrested a 22-year-old New Bedford man accused of breaking into an apartment and shooting another man inside.Taunton Police Chief Edward Walsh said Joshua Manuel Deleon faces 10 charges, including home invasion and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, after the alleged armed home invasion.Police arrived at an apartment on Newcomb Place Friday morning after receiving a call “with a person screaming on the line.” As they approached the multi-unit house, police wer...

5 things to watch in the Chicago Bears-Arizona Cardinals game — plus our Week 16 predictions

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:55 GMT

The Chicago Bears (5-9) look to rebound from yet another fourth-quarter collapse and loss when they host the Arizona Cardinals (3-11) on Sunday at Soldier Field (3:25 p.m., Fox-32).As kickoff approaches, here’s our snapshot look at the game.Players in the spotlightBears running backsIn the aftermath of a 20-17 loss to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Bears coach Matt Eberflus pointed to the run game as one reason the offense managed just 10 points. The Bears rushed for 88 yards, their third-worst output this season.Now the Bears, led by running backs Khalil Herbert, D’Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson, face the Cardinals, whose 31st-ranked rushing defense gives up 139.6 rushing yards per game.Eberflus put the onus on an offensive line that will be without left guard Teven Jenkins (concussion), saying “you’ve got to be able to move people at the line of scrimmage.”Herbert and Foreman have been hobbled by injuries this season, and Foreman is listed as quest...

Multiple people injured in what authorities describe as ‘active shooting’ at Florida shopping mall

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:55 GMT

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — Multiple people were injured Saturday during what authorities described as “an active shooting” situation at a shopping mall in central Florida.The Ocala Police Department said they were responding to “an active shooting” situation at the Paddock Mall in Ocala, located about 80 miles northwest of Orlando.The police department later said on social media that the suspect had fled and that the mall was being evacuated.People were being urged to avoid the area.The Associated Press

New York governor vetoes bill that would make it easier for people to challenge their convictions

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:55 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill days before Christmas that would have made it easier for people who have pleaded guilty to crimes to challenge their convictions, a measure that was favored by criminal justice reformers but fiercely opposed by prosecutors.The Democrat said the bill’s “sweeping expansion of eligibility for post-conviction relief” would “up-end the judicial system and create an unjustifiable risk of flooding the courts with frivolous claims,” in a veto letter released Saturday.Under existing state law, criminal defendants who plead guilty are usually barred from trying to get their cases reopened based on a new claim of innocence, except in certain circumstances involving new DNA evidence. The bill passed by the Legislature in June would have expanded the types of evidence that could be considered proof of innocence, including video footage or evidence of someone else confessing to a crime. Arguments that a person was coerced in...

Tampa settles lawsuit with feds over parental leave for male workers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:55 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The city of Tampa has reached an agreement with the federal government to resolve a discrimination lawsuit alleging that male workers didn’t receive the same parental leave as female workers.Under the proposed settlement reached Thursday, Tampa will pay $300,000 and credit 240 hours of additional leave time to male workers who were denied the same amount of parental leave as female workers in 2017 and 2018.According to the lawsuit, female workers were allowed up to 320 hours of leave time for the purpose of serving as the primary caregiver for a new child, while male workers were permitted only 80 hours as “secondary” caregivers, even if they were the primary caregiver.At least 10 male workers requested primary caregiver leave and were denied because of their sex, and as many as 150 male workers were discouraged from applying for primary caregiver leave by their supervisors or human resources officials, according to the complaint.The proposed consent decree,...

Woman who was shot in the head during pursuit sues Missississippi’s Capitol Police

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:55 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A woman who was shot in the head while she was a passenger in a car fleeing from police has filed a federal lawsuit against a state-run department in Mississippi’s capital city. Sherita Harris was shot in the head during an August 2022 pursuit that began after a traffic stop in Jackson, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. Southern District of Mississippi. Two officers from the Capitol Police, who patrol an area home to many government buildings, stopped a car driven by Harris’ friend for running a red light. The lawsuit, which alleges excessive force, says an officer began firing into the car after the traffic stop. A spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, which oversees the Capitol Police, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment. Police have not confirmed whether Harris was shot by an officer, NBCNews.com reported.The officers have said the car Harris was in fled after they exited their patro...

Man suspected of trying to steal items in Alaska shot by resident, authorities say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:55 GMT

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A man suspected of trying to steal items from a garage in a south-central Alaska community was shot after being confronted by a resident, authorities said, the second such case in the region in recent days.Alaska State Troopers said a 30-year-old man was shot Wednesday night in Houston, which is about 57 miles (91.7 kilometers) north of Anchorage. The man entered a garage and was going through items when residents saw tracks leading to the building and confronted him, Troopers spokesperson Tim DeSpain said. The man grabbed a lamp and “attempted to use it as a blunt weapon,” DeSpain said. Troopers said the man tried to grab a gun from a resident and was shot twice, the Anchorage Daily News reported. The man was taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, troopers said, and the residents were not harmed.On Dec. 17, troopers said another man was found inside a Wasilla home by two residents. A fight ensued, and the man was fatally shot by one of...

Moneris payment machines down for second time in as many days during holiday shopping rush

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:53:55 GMT

For the second day in a row, Moneris debit and credit machines are down.The company initially posted a statement on X that was identical to the one they issued Friday, saying it is suffering “intermittent processing issues,” but that post was deleted and replaced with one saying it is experiencing “intermittent network slowness that may impact transactions.”CityNews reached out to Moneris to get a better understanding of what’s going on, but Moneris says a spokesperson isn’t available. Related: Moneris service outage affects card payments on busy shopping, travel day “We are currently experiencing some network slowness but all systems are operational and our teams are monitoring all systems closely,” Moneris communications director Darren Leroux told CityNews.“As you can imagine, we’re busy focusing on our merchants.”Moneris describes itself on its website as “Canada’s #1 payment processor&#...