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Florida woman wins lottery after using life savings to pay for daughter’s cancer treatment

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:07 GMT

LAKELAND, Florida (WFTS) — A Polk County woman became a millionaire after buying a winning scratch-off ticket.Lakeland resident Geraldine Gimblet won the $2 million prize from the Bonus Cashword Scratch-Off game. She claimed her winnings at the Florida Lottery Headquarters in Tallahassee, which she chose to receive as a lump-sum payment of $1,645,000.Gimblet purchased her ticket from Beverage Castle, located on Pipkin Road in Lakeland. The store will receive a $2,000 bonus commission for selling the winning ticket.“At first, the gas station clerk thought there were no tickets left, but I asked him to double check because I like the crossword games the best. He found the last one,” Gimblet said.Her daughter added that the day before her mother bought the ticket, she completed her last treatment for breast cancer.“The day before my mom bought this ticket, I rang the bell and walked out of the hospital after completing my last treatment for breast cancer,”...

Humane Society of Tampa Bay finds injured dog tossed over 6-foot fence

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:07 GMT

TAMPA (WFTS) — A video from the Humane Society of Tampa Bay showed a person taking a puppy out of the bed of a pick-up truck and then tossing it over a six-foot fence.Employees at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay said the incident happened when the shelter was closed at around 8:40 p.m. on Saturday. The man tosses the 4-month-old dog over the fence into the play yards.Staff discovered the injured dog the next day, on Easter morning.“I’m really mad. We’re open seven days a week here. There’s all kinds of resources if you can’t keep your pet, and if for some reason, we can’t take it at the time, we’re full, you call back in a week, you give us some time so we can find room for the dog,” said Sherry Silk, CEO of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.Shelter officials named the dog “Sonny.”“He has such a really positive outlook. When he was going through his intake after that, his paw hurt, his leg hurt, but he was still l...

Tampa pilot Rey Martin dedicates his life and flying skills to helping people in need

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:07 GMT

PLANT CITY, Florida (WFTS) — Community heroes don’t get much more inspiring than Rey Martin.The Cuban-born pilot living in West Tampa has dedicated his life and flying skills to helping people in need all over the world.“I’ve always been a humanitarian,” the 64-year-old said at his home base at Plant City Airport. “I’ve always loved to help people, ever since I was young.”When he was just a boy, a pilot flew him and his family out of Cuba to a new life in the United States.“I’d never seen a plane before,” he said. “I still get goosebumps. It made a big impression on me.”You can say that again.Martin, whose pilot call sign is appropriate enough, “Seagull Romeo,” would make it his life’s mission to help people with his own plane.One of Martin’s greatest adventures was working with Brothers to the Rescue, a famed group of Cuban exiles and pilots who helped others fleeing Castro’s...

Germany aims to ‘set the record straight’ on China after Macron’s Taiwan comments

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:07 GMT

BERLIN — German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is heading to China to represent Berlin, but she’ll likely have more explaining to do about Paris in the wake of French President Emmanuel Macron’s explosive comments on Taiwan.As Baerbock embarked on her two-day visit Wednesday evening, officials in Berlin were eager to stress that Germany and the EU care about Taiwan and stability in the region, arguing it’s mainly China that must contribute to de-escalation by refraining from aggressive military maneuvers close to the island nation.Baerbock’s trip comes amid international backlash against Macron’s comments in an interview with POLITICO, arguing Europe should avoid becoming America’s follower, including on the matter of Taiwan’s security. Although German government spokespeople refused to comment directly on the French president’s remarks, a spokesperson for the foreign ministry specifically called out Beijing when expressing “great concer...

Investigators say remains of baby girl found outside Revere apartment building

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:07 GMT

Remains found outside an apartment building in Revere Tuesday have been determined to be those of a baby girl, state police said on Wednesday. Police said the infant was “at or close to full term” and “likely was white or light skinned.”State police previously said Revere police patrols responded around 6:20 p.m. Tuesday to a building on Dolphin Avenue after officials said a man found the possible remains. 7NEWS sources said the infant’s remains were found in a bag near a trash and recycling area. The medical examiner arrived late Tuesday night and removed the body.In their update on Wednesday, police said the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner had conducted a post-mortem examination. A determination of the child’s cause and manner of death was pending as an investigation continued. State police asked anyone with information about the infant to call their Suffolk County detective unit at 617-727-8817. 

The final season of The Flash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:07 GMT

Memphis sends Justin J. Pearson back to the Tennessee House days after GOP lawmakers ousted him

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:07 GMT

(CNN) — The Shelby County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday voted to confirm the reappointment of Justin J. Pearson to the Tennessee House of Representatives, sending him back to fill the House District 86 seat as an interim representative.The vote to return Pearson to his seat — vacated last Thursday when the GOP-dominated chamber expelled the state representative after he and two other Democrats called for gun reform on the chamber floor — came after the board voted to suspend a rule that would have required a waiting period between his nomination and confirmation.Shelby County commissioners voted Wednesday on appointing Pearson to the House District 86 seat, which the 28-year-old vacated last week when he was forced out in a two-thirds majority vote by the GOP-dominated body after he and two Democratic colleagues participated in a demonstration calling for gun reform on the chamber floo...

New Episodes of Riverdale Every Wednesday 8/9c

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:07 GMT

Food prices ease for the first time since 2020. Here’s what’s getting cheaper

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:07 GMT

(CNN) — Grocery prices finally dipped in March, falling for the first time since September 2020, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.Of six major grocery food group indexes, three fell from February to March. The meats, poultry, fish and eggs index fell 1.4%, pulled down by another month of large decreases in egg prices.Fruits and vegetable prices fell 1.3%, and dairy products ticked down 0.1%. The other indexes, for non-alcoholic beverages, cereals and bakery products and all other groceries, went up.While the monthly decline is a relief, groceries are still expensive on an annual basis. In the year through March, grocery prices jumped 8.4%, outpacing overall inflation of 5%. Menu prices went up 8.8% in that time.Over the course of the year, a number of grocery items notched large price increases. Eggs rose 36%, margarine went up 33.4%, flour got 17.5% pricier, potatoes went up 9.7%, cheese rose 8.2% and milk went up 5.5%...

Police investigate discovery infant remains

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:02:07 GMT

REVERE, Mass. (AP) — The human remains found outside of an apartment building north of Boston have been determined to be those of an infant girl was at or close to full-term, state police said Wednesday.Revere police responded to the building in the city at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday after a man found the remains, state police said.According to broadcast reports, the remains were found inside a trash bag near some trash cans. State police assigned to the Suffolk district attorney’s office also responded to the scene.The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner conducted an examination of the infant and the cause and manner of her death are pending, police said. The investigation is ongoing.No additional information was released.Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact police.Massachusetts has a baby “safe haven” law, that allows parents to surrender infants up to 7 days old at a hospital, police station, or staffed fire station without facing crimi...