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Pro-Palestine protesters holding rally in downtown Miami, as Israel supporters gather across street; 1 detained

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

Dozens of people have come together in downtown Miami to voice their support for Palestine as war rages on in the Middle East.7News cameras captured demonstrators as they waved Palestine flags and held up signs in front of the Torch of Friendship on Biscayne Boulevard, just after 5 p.m., Friday.Protesters said they are very concerned about the people of Gaza City and Israel Defense Forces’ response to Hamas’ surprise attack last weekend. Some said two wrongs don’t make a right.City of Miami Police have cordoned off the sidewalk in front of the Torch of Friendship, and officers were seen lined up facing the protesters in an effort to make sure no one crosses into the street.Across Biscayne Boulevard, a smaller group of Israel supporters were seen standing near officers. That sidewalk has also been cordoned off.One person who crossed the line and tried to run across the street was detained by police.The brother of the person who was taken away said the emotions just ...

Holocaust survivors tell their stories at new interactive learning center at Dania Beach museum

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

A South Florida museum is using technology to teach people about the Holocaust in a new exhibit that gives survivors an opportunity to tell their stories.With the world’s eyes on Israel, and the unbelievable images of war and desperation, comes a timely reminder at the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center in Dania Beach.Holocaust survivors took 7News inside the new interactive learning center at the museum, the first Holocaust museum in South Florida.The state-of-the-art facility allows visitors to open critical dialogue with survivors through prerecorded interviews.“The educational experience in this is quite extraordinary, and the technology, and for students to come,” said Rositta Kenigsberg, president of the Holocaust Documentation and Education Center. “We have seen this work all over the country and the world, and we are really proud to have two of them here.”These exhibits, known as “Dimensions in Testimony,” will provide gen...

‘Just amazing how good they get’: Kids and teens learn the art of Japanese anime at workshops in Sunrise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

It is art inspired from half a world away. And here in South Florida, a unique workshop is giving students the chance to showcase their talent.Karen Hensel has today’s 7 Spotlight.These kids are not here to create viral videos or post on Instagram.Carlos Aleman/teaches anime workshops: “This is their chance to disconnect from technology and social media and all that.”What these artists are here for requires just a pad, pencil and a passion for anime.Carlos Aleman: “Anime is just the Japanese term for animation. So they are very inspired by western comics. The way we love Japanese anime, they love Marvel and DC and all that.”Carlos Aleman is an artist in his own right, creating these Asian-inspired paintings that burst with color.Carlos Aleman: “Well, it’s not good enough Art Basel, so they say. There’s highbrow and there’s lowbrow and I’m just the regular guy. I’m not very sophisticated.”A humble artist, who tea...

Students at Maimonides School in Brookline come together as family, friends face danger in Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

Teenagers at Maimonides School in Brookline are putting on a brave face, but with war breaking out in Israel, this week was not an easy one.“It’s honestly been a very scary week. I have a lot of friends and some family in Israel,” said Deena Levin, a high school junior. “One of the scariest things is if you don’t get a text back or at night if they’re not on their phones because they’re sleeping. It can be very scary.”Many of the students have family in Israel. Moria Danan’s older sister is studying there, and Eden Grossman’s two siblings are there, including her brother serving in the Israeli Defense Force.“I first found out about it from my mom, and that was really scary,” Grossman said. “She was crying and I just hugged her, and I could feel her fear.”One of the school’s staff members has a sister who was at the music festival when gunfire erupted. She is still missing.When the Maimonides Jewish School decided to join 40 other Orthodox Jewish high schools from the United St...

Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah killed in southern Lebanon, 6 others wounded

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

(CNN) — At least one journalist was killed and six others injured on Friday in southern Lebanon when Israel fired artillery into the area they were gathered.The incident — which impacted journalists from Reuters, the Agence France-Presse wire service and Al Jazeera — marks one of the worst press catastrophes yet to emerge from Israel’s war against Hamas.The Israel Defense Forces acknowledged firing artillery into Lebanon, telling CNN that it was in response to an explosion near the security fence near a kibbutz. Additionally, a Lebanese security source told CNN that an Israeli Apache helicopter was seen over the site of the attack.The IDF, however, did not respond to additional questions from CNN related specifically to the journalists being hit. The journalists were wearing press-labeled jackets at the time of the attack.Reuters said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened” to learn that one of its videographers, Issam Abdallah, had been killed in the incident.“We are urge...

Local family trapped in Gaza pleads for help while war continues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

A local couple’s trip to see family recently took a terrifying turn, leaving the pair trapped in Gaza with their baby while the current war between Israel and Hamas continues. As millions of people are told to evacuate Gaza, hundreds of Americans are among those trapped. Wafaa Abuzayda is from Medway and is now begging for help. “Please save us,” she told NPR. “We have been trying to call the embassy since Saturday. Nobody is helping. Nobody is getting back to us.” Abuzayda was in Gaza visiting family with her husband and one-year-old child when the war broke out over the weekend.With supplies cut to and from the region, the family has been running out of diapers and formula. “It’s not safe,” Abuzayda  said. “Yesterday, it was like a horrible night. We couldn’t sleep at all.” US officials estimate Abuzayda’s family is among upwards of 600 Americans stuck in Gaza. Back in Massachusetts, family friend Sammy Nabulsi is one of many working to get Abuzayda a...

Failed Massachusetts congressional candidate convicted for using campaign funds to pay off personal, business debts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

A 2018 Democratic Massachusetts congressional candidate has been convicted of charges related to misusing campaign finances to pay personal debts.Abhijit “Beej” Das, 50, of North Andover, was convicted by a federal jury in Boston Friday of one count of accepting excessive campaign contributions, one count of conduit contributions, one count of conversion of campaign funds and two counts of making false statement.Each charge carries a possible maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Jan. 17.Das finished seventh in the 10-candidate Democratic primary in 2018 for the 3rd Congressional District seat, winning less than 2% of the votes cast . The seat would eventually be won by current Rep. Lori Trahan, who defeated Republican Rick Green in the general election that November.The 3rd Congressional District consists of a large swath of Middlesex County and portions of Essex and Worcester counties....

17-year-old arrested, warrant issued for a second teen in shooting at Baltimore’s Morgan State University

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

Darcy Costello, Alex Mann | (TNS) Baltimore SunBaltimore Police on Friday announced the arrest of one teen and an arrest warrant for a second teen in connection with the Oct. 3 shooting on Morgan State University’s campus that wounded five young people.A 17-year-old was arrested Thursday in Washington, D.C., “without incident” and will be charged with multiple counts of attempted murder, according to a police news release.The second teen, Jovan Williams, who is 18, is wanted on a warrant accusing him of multiple counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting. Police say he is considered “armed and dangerous,” and ask anyone who comes in contact with him to call 911.Williams has been wanted by local and federal authorities in D.C., where he lives, since July. At that time, he was federally indicted in connection to what the Washington Metropolitan Police Department described as a “violent drug trafficking organization.”In addition to drug dealing, the federal indictment a...

Man killed in afternoon fatal shooting in Dorchester

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

A man is dead in another “broad daylight” shooting in Dorchester.Boston Police responded a little after 2 p.m. to the area of 46 Corona St. in Dorchester upon a ShotSpotter alert and calls of a person shot, authorities said from the scene later in the afternoon.In front of that address, police found a man suffering from gunshot wounds, BPD Superintendent Felipe Colon said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene by Boston EMS.Colon and Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden stressed the importance of the community’s help in solving this crime.“As always, in every single one of these circumstances, we need our community’s help and support in this situation. Our office and law enforcement will do everything we can to bring the perpetrator of this incident to justice,” Hayden said. “We need the community’s help.”Colon said officers were, as he was speaking, canvassing the area for any video footage or witnesses who could aid in the investigation. He said anyone with any information sh...

Former Mountie acknowledges tension between intelligence units within RCMP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:10 GMT

OTTAWA — A former senior Mountie acknowledges there were tensions from time to time between an intelligence unit he led and one run by Cameron Jay Ortis, who is charged with breaching Canada’s secrets law.Warren Coons, now a retired chief superintendent, was responsible for the National Intelligence Co-ordination Centre, an RCMP unit that aimed to track emerging trends of interest to the force.At the time, Ortis was director of the RCMP’s Operations Research group, which had access to highly classified intelligence.Coons told the jury in Ortis’s Ontario Superior Court trial on Friday he wouldn’t necessarily describe the relationship between the two units as adversarial, but it was not a strong one.“In a high-stress working environment, that’s not uncommon,” Coons said under cross-examination by defence lawyer Mark Ertel.The Crown alleges that Ortis anonymously sent secret information in 2015 to people who were of investigative interest to th...