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72-year-old man becomes first of his 7 siblings to graduate college, cheered on by his “proud” 99-year-old mom

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:57:09 GMT

(TMX) – A 72-year-old man became the first of his seven siblings to earn an undergraduate degree when he graduated from Georgia Gwinnett College in Lawrenceville, Ga., earlier this month.A video and photos shared by the college show Sam Kaplan walking across the stage on May 11 to receive his degree in Cinema and Media Arts as the crowd cheers. In the crowd was his “proud” 99-year-old mother.According to a news release from the college, Kaplan was 68 when he heard a radio advertisement for Georgia Gwinnett College, offering a degree program that involved script writing.“Five minutes later, I was registering for the fall semester,” Kaplan said. After graduating high school in 1969, Kaplan never considered college. The father of five held a variety of jobs over the years, including running a cleaning service, then a telemarketing company, and even driving a taxi.Being an older student came with challenges, but Kaplan resolved to connect with his younger classmates, and form...

Virginia officers help ducklings cross busy highway

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:57:09 GMT

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (WSVN) — Virginia police officers went out of their way to help a family of ducklings on a busy highway.The Fairfax County Police Department said on their Facebook account that local authorities helped stop traffic and directed approximately 10 ducklings across Interstate 66 on May 15. Bodycam footage from one of the officers showed his waddled stance as he tried to move the little creatures to safety.According to officials, no ducks were injured in this incident.

Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen speaks publicly since his attack outside Fort Lauderdale hotel in March

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:57:09 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen says he was blindsided during an attack on him outside a South Florida hotel following a concert earlier this year.“I heard a couple of steps and then I just saw this (flash) and the next thing I knew was I was on the ground,” Allen, 59, told ABC’s “ Good Morning America ” in an interview broadcast Monday. “I landed on my backside — hit my head on the pavement.”Def Leppard was in Fort Lauderdale to perform at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino when he was attacked March 13 while taking a smoke break outside a hotel.Police arrested Max Hartley, a 19-year-old from Avon, Ohio, who has pleaded not guilty to two counts of battery and four counts of criminal mischief, according to court records. Police said they haven’t determined a motive.“I don’t think he knew who I was, but he must have seen that I wasn’t a threat because, you know, I’ve only got one arm,” said Allen, who lost his left arm in a car accident in...

Pilot dies in result of Martin County plane crash

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:57:09 GMT

PALM CITY, Fla. (WSVN) – After having some trouble following takeoff, a small plane plunged from the sky and crashed, engulfing in flames and claiming the life of the pilot onboard. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the plane crashed while departing from the Naked Lady Ranch Airport, where people nearby risked their lives as they tried to save him.Some of the sounds were heard by neighbors just seconds before the plane touched down.“Out of nowhere we just started hearing some pops. It sounded like a plane coming down,” said Eduardo Casillas, who burned his arm in an attempt to save the pilot. Michael Terranova was inside his home. “‘Put put put,’ like that. So he was having problems with his engine,” he said. “Everything’s basically gone.”Terranova was one of six good Samaritans who sprang into action with fire extinguishers to put out the fire and try and get the trapped pilot out of the burning plane. Eduardo...

HPV vaccine: Some studies say one and done might be better

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:57:09 GMT

(CNN) — This week, at the World Health Organization’s 76th World Health Assembly, health leaders from nearly 100 countries will join with thousands of others who have signed off on a global initiative to eliminate cervical cancer.Globally, cervical cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer in women, according to WHO, but many cases are completely preventable with the human papillomavirus vaccine.HPV is a group of more than 200 related viruses. Many don’t cause any symptoms at all. Some strains cause warts, and some cause cancer. The HPV vaccine protects against the strains that cause most HPV-related cancers.“Vaccines are bringing the dream of eliminating cervical cancer within reach,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in his remarks to the World Health Assembly on Monday.The vaccine is recommended for children because it works best before someone has been exposed to the virus. HPV is often spread through sexual contact, and the...

Ravens sign veteran QB Josh Johnson to compete for backup role

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:57:09 GMT

Josh Johnson is returning to Baltimore.The 37-year-old free agent quarterback has signed with the Ravens, the team announced Monday. Johnson has played for an NFL-record 14 teams and this marks his third stint with Baltimore.A fifth-round pick out of San Diego by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2008, he played for the Ravens in 2021 and was on the roster during the 2016 offseason before being released that September.He also gives the Ravens a veteran presence in their quarterback room and will compete with Tyler Huntley, Anthony Brown and undrafted free agent Nolan Henderson for a backup role behind Lamar Jackson, who earlier this month signed a five-year extension worth a reported $260 million.Johnson has started nine games in his NFL career, though teams were just 1-8 with him at the helm.One of those starts was with the Ravens two years ago. After Baltimore signed him from the New York Jets’ practice squad that December, Johnson started in Week 16 against the Cincinnati Bengals...

Absent Celtics pride most embarrassing as Boston falls down 0-3

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:57:09 GMT

There’s so much blame to go around through the Celtics’ despicable conference finals run that it would be impossible to put the lion’s share on just one person.In what’s turned out to be a complete dud of a championship run for a Boston franchise looking to hang its 18th title banner, it’s been the vaunted Celtics pride that has been most absent.Forget surrendering Games 1 and 2 on the TD Garden’s parquet floors. If it wasn’t embarrassing enough to forfeit home-court advantage to the conference’s eighth seed, these Celtics flat-out gave up in the third quarter of Game 3 in Miami, when the Heat lead first ballooned to 30 points.With an opportunity to fight tooth and nail to avoid an 0-3 playoff deficit no team in NBA history has ever overcome, the Celtics did the exact opposite.They laid down. They took their beating and never once in the second half looked to fight back.“I don’t even know where to start,” said star fo...

New documentary offers rare glimpse inside Ontario women’s prison

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:57:09 GMT

Canadian media are rarely allowed inside prisons, especially for extended periods of time, but Citytv was granted unprecedented access over the past few months to the Grand Valley Institution for Women, spending about two weeks with the inmates and staff that live and work in the multi-security-level prison in Kitchener, ON.It’s one of only five prisons for women in Canada, and home to some of Canada’s most notorious killers, including Terri-Lynne McClintic, who is serving a life sentence for murdering 8-year-old Victoria Stafford in 2009 and Jennifer Pan, convicted of a kill-for-hire attack on her parents.But if you were expecting hard time and rough conditions for these convicted child killers, that’s not quite the environment at Grand Valley.“It really doesn’t feel like a prison in many respects. I mean, yes, there were security features and barbed wires, and you have to go through screening to get in,” noted reporter and producer Cristina Howo...

Arizona, California and Nevada propose water cuts from Colorado River to avert forced cuts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:57:09 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Arizona, California and Nevada on Monday proposed a plan to significantly reduce their water use from the drought-stricken Colorado River over the next three years.The plan would conserve an additional 3 million acre-feet of water from the 1,450-mile river that provides water to 40 million people in seven U.S. states, parts of Mexico and more than two dozen Native American tribes.At least half that amount — or 1.5 million acre-feet of water — would have to be conserved by 2024, the plan said. In exchange for temporarily using less water, cities, irrigation districts and Native American tribes in the three states will receive federal funding, though officials did not say how much funding individual users in the states would get. Specifics of the deal announced Monday were sparse, including exactly how the cuts would be spread out. JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California, said in a statement his state would be responsible for 1.6 million acre-fee...

Michigan governor set to sign state’s new red flag gun law

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 11:57:09 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will give final approval Monday afternoon to a red flag law that aims to keep firearms away from those at risk of harming themselves or others as the state grapples with ways to slow gun violence in the wake of its second mass school shootings.Whitmer plans to sign the legislation just outside of Detroit, with Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, Attorney General Dana Nessel and former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords all expected to be in attendance. Giffords began campaigning for gun safety after she was shot in the head in 2011 in Tucson, Arizona.Michigan will join Minnesota as the second state in under a week to implement a red flag law after Democrats in both states won control of both chambers and the governor’s office in November. New Mexico previously was the last state to pass a red flag law in 2020. The new law, also known as extreme risk protection orders, is expected to go into effect next spring. It will allow family members, po...