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Bezos joins Brady at Miami’s Billionaire Bunker

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:04:48 GMT

MIAMI — Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is buying an estate on an exclusive man-made barrier island in Miami known as “Billionaire Bunker,” where he will be neighbors with a growing list of celebrities including Tom Brady, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner.Bezos, 59, is paying $68 million for the three-bedroom, waterfront home, which sits on 2.8 acre, Fortune magazine and Bloomberg reported. The Amazon founder stepped down as CEO in 2021 to devote more time to philanthropy and other projects.MTM Star International is listed on Miami-Dade property records as the previous owner of the home. The county website does not list Bezos as the owner, but shows the property sold in June.Guillermo Olmedillo, the village manager of Indian Creek Village, said he has no information about the purchase. The village has a country club and its own police force.County records show the property previously sold for $1.4 million in 1982. The home has 9,300 square feet (864 square ...

4 arrested at Pacific Beach DUI checkpoint

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:04:48 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Four people were arrested at a driving under the influence (DUI)/Driver’s License Checkpoint in Pacific Beach Saturday night, authorities said.The San Diego Police Department said officers conducted the checkpoint 2700 Garnet Ave. from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m. Sunday. Former Santee USPS mail carrier sentenced for stealing mail During that time, 3 drivers were arrested on suspicion of operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol at or near the checkpoint, authorities confirmed. Another individual was arrested on other criminal charges that were not specified. The identities of those arrested have not been released.According to the police department, 1,181 vehicles traveled through the overnight checkpoint and 371 of them were screened by officers. Authorities say a total of 3 vehicles were impounded.SDPD says these types of checkpoints have been shown to lower DUI deaths and injuries. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), these...

Gunman opens fire at prominent Shiite shrine in southern Iran, wounding at least 4 people

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:04:48 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — A gunman opened fire Sunday night at a prominent shrine in southern Iran, wounding at least four people, authorities said.Information on the attack at Shah Cheragh remained unclear immediately after the shooting, with state media and semiofficial news agencies offering differing details. The state-run IRNA news agency said four had been wounded, including two workers at the shrine and two pilgrims. The governor of Fars province, where Shiraz is the provincial capital, told Iranian state television that a single gunman carried out the attack and later was detained by security forces. Mohammad Hadi Imanieh did not offer any motive for the attack in his brief comments. Shah Cheragh is one of Iran’s top five Shiite shrines. It draws pilgrims to Shiraz, which is some 675 kilometers (420 miles) south of Iran’s capital, Tehran. The attack Sunday night comes after an October 2022 attack on the same shrine killed 13 people and wounded dozens of others. The Islamic S...

North Dakota teen survives nearly 100-foot fall at North Rim of Grand Canyon

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:04:48 GMT

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK, Ariz. (AP) — A 13-year-old North Dakota boy has survived a fall of nearly 100 feet at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon during a family trip.Authorities said it took emergency crews two hours to rescue Wyatt Kauffman after he slipped on a cliff Tuesday and plunged the nearly 100 feet (30 meters) at the Bright Angel Point trail.The teenager was airlifted to a Las Vegas hospital for treatment of nine broken vertebrae plus a ruptured spleen, a collapsed lung, a concussion and a broken hand and dislocated finger.“I was up on the ledge and was moving out of the way so other people could take a picture,” Kauffman told Phoenix TV station KPNX. “I squatted down and was holding on to a rock. I only had one hand on it.“It wasn’t that good of a grip. It was kind of pushing me back. I lost my grip and started to fall back,” he added.Rescue crews had to repel down the cliff and get the injured boy out of the canyon in a basket.“I just remember somewhat waking up and b...

“Barbie” has legs: Greta Gerwig’s film tops the box office again and surpasses $500 million

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:04:48 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Barbie” has legs. Director Greta Gerwig ‘s film phenomenon remained a runaway No. 1 at the box office in its fourth week, bringing in $33.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Margot Robbie-led and produced film from Warner Bros., still in 4,137 theaters, refused to drop off as most box-office toppers have this year, surpassing $500 million in North America overall a week after it crossed the $1 billion mark globally, a record for a female director. The second half of the “Barbenheimer” duo, “Oppenheimer,” returned to the No. 2 spot in its own fourth week after a week at No. 3 overall. The Christopher Nolan-directed film from Universal Pictures brought in $18.8 million from 3,761 locations for an overall domestic total of $264.3 million. The top pair had thin competition. The week’s top new release, Universal’s “The Last Voyage of the Demeter,” finished fifth with a $6.5 million opening weekend. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Muta...

‘There’s nothing left’: Canadian in Maui recounts horrors of fatal wildfire

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:04:48 GMT

A Winnipeg woman recounts the horrors of the past few days after a wildfire that broke out on Tuesday night on Maui levelled the historic town of Lahaina.Originally from Winnipeg, Tess Lemon now resides on the northern part of the island, which she says was not impacted by the fire. But many were not so lucky.“This isn’t just a pretty tourist destination,” said Lemon. “This is where people live. And this was people’s heritage and culture. And it is now in ash.“It’s gone. Everything they’ve ever owned is ashes.”Lemon says she heard from some locals who have gone back to the site within the last 48 hours about what they’ve seen left behind.“People unfortunately have died in their cars trying to escape the fire,” she said. “People who are running out of gas because it was so hot from running air conditioning in their cars trying to evacuate. People jumping into the water trying to evacuate the fire.”Lemon says transportation to the west side of...

Maryland man leads Virginia police on wild chase in stolen truck and ambulance before DC arrest

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:04:48 GMT

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A Maryland man committed over a dozen hit-and-run crashes in a stolen ambulance alone in addition to driving a stolen truck on several major northern Virginia highways this weekend before being taken into custody in the District of Columbia, authorities said.Virginia State Police said there were no reports of serious injuries in Saturday’s crashes on portions of Interstate 66, I-395 and the George Washington Memorial Parkway.According to the state police news release, the driver, identified as Darell T. Caldwell, 30, of Brandywine, Md., was charged by federal and local law enforcement. State police charges were still pending. Caldwell was being evaluated at a hospital Saturday evening.The string of accidents began shortly after 3:30 p.m., when state police responded to a two-vehicle crash in the eastbound lanes of I-66. Caldwell was identified as the driver of one of the vehicles — a truck that had been reported stolen in Virginia, police said.The truck left th...

As Maui rescue continues, families and faith leaders cling to hope but tackle reality of loss

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:04:48 GMT

For scores of families in Hawaii still hoping to reunite with loved ones, it was not yet time to give up — even as the staggering death toll continued to grow, and even as authorities predicted that more remains would be found within the ashes left behind by a wildfire that gutted the once-bustling town of Lahaina.But many others are already confronting a painful reality. Their loved ones did not make it out alive.Kika Perez Grant wasn’t sure what would become of the remains of her uncle, Franklin Trejos, who was found in a charred car, his body shielding a friend’s dog.“We knew he was happiest out there, and so we’re allowing his best friends, who he’s been with for over 30 years out there, do whatever they think he would be happy with,” said Grant, who lives with her mother and family in Maryland.Specific plans have yet to be decided, she said, partly because it was unclear who had possession of his remains.Thus far, the remains of more than 90 people have been pulled ...

Man hospitalized after attempted carjacking, shooting in Loop

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:04:48 GMT

CHICAGO — An attempted carjacking and shooting in the Loop left a man hospitalized early Sunday morning, according to Chicago Police.Officers say a 44-year-old man was held at gunpoint by a group of men who attempted to steal his car in the 100 block of West Van Buren Street at around 4 a.m. Rideshare driver, CCL holder, fires shots at robbers on West Side Police say the man exchanged gunfire with the group and sustained a gunshot wound to his right leg. The group then fled the scene in a black Dodge SUV following the shooting. 5-year-old pedestrian hospitalized after Irving Park car crash, driver in custody The victim sustained critical injuries and was taken to the hospital, police say.Area Three detectives are investigating, and authorities have not offered a description of the individuals involved.

Bulls star, community leader team up for violence prevention basketball league

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:04:48 GMT

CHICAGO — Hundreds of young people in Chicago spent the summer learning skills on and off the court.They played in a basketball league powered by former Bulls star Joakim Noah and more than two dozen anti-violence groups. ‘A week of blessing:’ Kids battling cancer set health challenges aside at Illinois camp "I was part of the problem. Now I'm part of the solution and I think it's important to let people know that you can change," Cobe Williams, a co-founder of the One City Basketball League, said. "You can do the right thing."After seeing Williams work on the frontlines of Chicago's fight against violence captured in the acclaimed documentary "The Interrupters," Noah reached out to see how he could help young people in the city."One thing I respect about Joakim, he did a lot of listening, asked them, 'What do y'all want to do?'" Williams said.Now, 12 years later, the two continue to collaborate.They brought together 300 young people and nearly 30 anti-violence organizations for t...