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Study: DC area ranked No. 3 for top 2023 summer destination

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:45:00 GMT

You may see more and more tourists crowding the National Mall or taking in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, this summer. The D.C. metro area was ranked No. 3 for best summer vacation spot, according to a study from WalletHub.D.C. ranked high in attractions and activities.“Not only are there a lot of attractions, but they’re very diverse. And just having so much history certainly helps that in D.C.,” said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst with WalletHub.“D.C. actually ranked as the second safest of all these metro areas, which you know, is becoming increasingly important, I think to families are so in terms of safety, both violent and property crime rates, were, you know, better than most of these other places,” she told WTOP.The D.C. area also ranked high in weather and travel costs. Gonzalez pointed to ease of access with three major airports in the area.The only area where D.C. performed poorly was, unsurprisingly, “local costs.”Atlanta, Georgia, to...

Man and 12-year-old boy arrested after fatal shooting at Sonic restaurant in Texas

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:45:00 GMT

KEENE, Texas (AP) — A 12-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man have been arrested on a murder warrant in the fatal shooting of a Sonic Drive-In employee in Texas, police said.Matthew Davis, 32, was shot and killed Saturday night as he fought with Angel Gomez, 20, in the parking lot of the restaurant in Keene, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Dallas, police said.The boy was at the restaurant with Gomez, who was causing an unspecified disturbance in the parking lot, and shot Davis several times after taking a gun from Gomez’s vehicle, according to a police statement.Davis was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said. The boy used an AR-style rifle in the shooting, Police Chief James Kidd told The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday.Both Gomez and the boy fled the scene, but Gomez later returned and was arrested on a murder warrant and the boy, whose name has not been released, was found and arrested in the nearby town of Rio Vista, said police.Court records do ...

'Please drive safely' sign honors mother who died after motorcycle crash

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:45:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Victoria Long's family is finding peace after a sign in her honor was placed near Hampden Avenue and South Poplar Street. “The grief still ways heavy, it weighs heavy on me and it weighs heavy on her two daughters – who are missing out on so much without their mom," Janet Inzeo, Victoria's mother, said Tuesday. Report: Space Command may stay in Colorado due to Alabama’s abortion laws Long died days after being the passenger on a motorcycle when it crashed on May 4, 2019, at the intersection of Santa Fe Drive and Iowa Avenue.Inzeo said the "Please Drive Carefully" sign was placed on Hampden instead near Victoria's old New York Deli News job. She said the location where the crash happened was too busy to put a sign and still be able to visit safely. “It was difficult. Just the memory of driving down Santa Fe was difficult,” Inzeo said. According to her mother, Victoria had severe head trauma following the crash and wouldn't have had any quality of life. Inzeo said...

Broward County renters eligible for federal assistance following severe storms and flooding

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:45:00 GMT

Renters and homeowners in Broward County affected by the severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding that occurred last month can now apply for federal disaster assistance to aid in their recovery.FEMA is providing Individual Assistance to renters, including students, as well as homeowners. This assistance aims to help with temporary housing costs. Initially, rental assistance will cover a one-month or two-month period and can be reevaluated for extended aid.Renters may also be eligible for assistance through FEMA’s Other Needs Assistance program, which can assist with uninsured essential personal property losses and other disaster-related expenses. This assistance may include:Replacement or repair of necessary personal property, such as furniture, appliances, clothing, textbooks, or school supplies.Replacement or repair of tools and other job-related equipment required by the self-employed.Primary vehicles.Uninsured or out-of-pocket medical, dental, childcare, moving and storage e...

Disney asks judge to dismiss DeSantis-appointed board’s lawsuit in latest tit-for-tat

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:45:00 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney on Tuesday asked a state judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a governing board appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee Disney World, claiming the company has been the victim of the “weaponizing” powers of government aimed at punishing it for opposing a law dubbed “Don’t Say Gay” by critics.Disney’s motion to dismiss filed in state court in Orlando was the latest twist in legal battles being played out in federal and state courts among the entertainment giant, DeSantis and the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. The fight is over who controls the special governing district which decides what gets built at Disney World and runs the municipal-like services on the 25,000 acres that make up the theme park resort.“Just over a year ago, Disney expressed a political view that Governor DeSantis did not like. In response, the Governor unleashed a campaign of retaliation, weaponizing the power of government to punish Disney f...

EU balks at adding Russian gas pipeline ban to sanctions package

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:45:00 GMT

The EU is unlikely to amend its 11th Russia sanctions package to permanently shut natural gas pipelines the Kremlin turned off following its invasion of Ukraine, even though it’s up for discussion at the upcoming G7 summit, diplomats told POLITICO.According to draft conclusions seen by the Financial Times, the G7 club of rich democracies meeting in Japan is mulling a measure that would bar countries like Germany and Poland from resuming imports of natural gas from Russia even if the Kremlin decides to turn the taps back on.But that would have to be accepted by G7 members like Germany and Italy, which still have pipeline links to Russia, even if the gas flowing through them has dropped off to almost nothing, and EU officials and analysts say there is no consensus in support of the idea.“From what I hear, it is very unlikely this will pass,” said one diplomat from an EU country that had its Russian gas cut off last year, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitiv...

Massachusetts US Attorney Rachael Rollins to resign after Justice Department ethics probe

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:45:00 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Rachael Rollins will resign after a monthslong ethics investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general into her appearance at a political fundraiser and other potential issues, her attorney said Tuesday.The Justice Department’s watchdog has yet to release its report detailing the findings of its investigation, but an attorney for Rollins told The Associated Press that she will be submitting a letter of resignation to President Joe Biden by close of business Friday.“She is optimistic that the important work she started will continue but understands that her presence has become a distraction,” her attorney said in a statement. “The work of the office and the Department of Justice is far too important to be overshadowed by anything else.”Rollins, who was represented in the investigation by former Justice Department Inspector General Michael Bromwich, was sworn in as Massachusetts’ top federal law enforcement o...

WATCH: O’Neill Tunnel cameras catch group of bicyclists on roadway, causing Boston drivers to hit brakes

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:45:00 GMT

New video shared with 7NEWS shows a group of people on bicycles running through the O’Neill Tunnel in Boston last week.In one clip, a group of five people can be seen riding into the tunnel. Another clip shows the group later exiting the tunnel. In a separate clip, members of the group can be seen doing wheelies on their bikes while in between cars inside the tunnel. Credit: MassDOTIn a statement, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said the incident happened on Friday of last week around 5 p.m. The spokesperson said bicyclists illegally entered a ramp at O’Brien Highway into the O’Neill Tunnel. The spokesperson said the group then got out of the roadway without incident. Credit: MassDOTThis is a developing story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest updates.

Two Boston Celtics players up for awards for advocacy work and giving back to the community

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:45:00 GMT

Two Boston Celtics players have been nominated for awards that recognize individuals making a difference in their communities.This week, the NBA announced that Grant Williams was a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion award.Described by the league as a “passionate advocate for social justice efforts, specifically criminal justice reform,” an NBA news release pointed to Williams’s work leading the team’s “Play for Justice” event last year, which helped advocate for Massachusetts to reclassify who is considered a juvenile in the justice system.He was also credited for his work with the team’s Playbook Initiative – a program that works to train and deploy high school students to “facilitate workshops with middle school populations,” teaching kids how to intervene safely whenever they encounter “acts of bias or discrimination in their community.”Also nominated for the award was St...

Massachusetts attorney general probes often criticized Boston police gang unit

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 11:45:00 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — The Massachusetts attorney general’s office is investigating possible racial bias by the Boston Police Department’s gang unit and its associated gang member database, which has been criticized in the past for disproportionately tracking young Black and Latino men.The investigation into what is formally known as the Youth Violence Strike Force began last summer, Attorney General Andrea Campbell’s office said in a statement released Monday.“Our Civil Rights Division is reviewing the Youth Violence Strike Force and its Gang Assessment Database based on allegations that, between 2018 and the present, there may have been a pattern or practice of racially biased policing,” the statement said.Boston police said in a statement that the department is fully cooperating with the investigation.While police defend it as a critical tool for fighting violent crime, others have called the database flawed and sought to have it abolished. Gang databases in other jurisdictions have...