Jen Pawol breaks MLB's gender barrier as first female umpire
Jen Pawol has made history as the first female umpire to work a regular-season game in the major leagues. Pawol worked as the first base umpire for Saturday’s first game of a split doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins. She enjoyed a quiet first inning. Pawol will work third base in Saturday night’s second game of the doubleheader and will be in the spotlight when she calls pitches behind the plate in Sunday’s final game of the series. Marlins manager Clayton McCullough and Braves bench coach Walt Weiss greeted Pawol when lineups were exchanged at home plate.
Florida prosecutor seeks to clear records of people charged with buying police-made crack in 1980s
A Florida prosecutor says he will seek to vacate as many as 2,600 convictions of people who bought crack cocaine manufactured by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office between 1988 and 1990. The Florida Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that people couldn’t be charged in cases where the sheriff’s office had made the crack cocaine and undercover deputies then sold it to buyers who were arrested and charged. Broward County State Attorney Harold F. Pryor says that while his office was reviewing old records, prosecutors realized many of people may still have criminal charges or convictions on their records because of the sting operation.
Federal judge blocks Louisiana law that requires classrooms to display Ten Commandments
Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrill says the state will ask a federal appeals court to quickly stay a lower court's order declaring unconstitutional a law requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public classroom by Jan. 1. U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles on Tuesday said the law had an unconstitutional “overtly religious” purpose. He ordered state education officials to notify all 72 local school boards of his finding. Murrill contends that his ruling only applies to five local school boards named as defendants in the case. However, she acknowledged that deGravelles’ order could have a “chilling effect” on any local board’s decision to enforce the law.
Waffle House Index helps Southerners and FEMA judge a hurricane's severity
For some residents of storm-prone Southeastern states, the best indicator of a hurricane's severity can be found at the local Waffle House. If the Georgia-based restaurant chain stays open in town, neighbors are reassured that the coming storm is unlikely to cause devastation. A closed location of the dependable diner chain has come to indicate impending disaster. What might sound like silly logic has become one of the most reliable ways for Southerners and even federal officials to gauge a storm’s severity and identify communities most in need of immediate aid. The Waffle House Index was created by a federal emergency management official and is still used today.
US port strike: Over 45,000 dockworkers from Maine to Texas hit picket lines
Dockworkers at ports from Maine to Texas have started walking picket lines in a strike over wages and automation that could reignite inflation and cause shortages of goods if it goes on more than a few weeks. The contract between the ports and about 45,000 members of the International Longshoremen’s Association expired at midnight, and even though progress was reported in talks on Monday, the workers went on strike early Tuesday. The strike is affecting 36 ports. The U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents the ports, said Monday evening that both sides had moved off of their previous wage offers, but when picket lines went up just after midnight, it was apparent there was no deal.
SpaceX launches rescue mission for stranded NASA astronauts
SpaceX has launched a rescue mission for the two stuck astronauts at the International Space Station. A Falcon rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday, sending up a downsized crew and two empty seats. The capsule carrying a NASA astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut will arrive at the space station this weekend. But it won't leave until February. So the two test pilots who flew up on Boeing's troubled Starliner capsule will have to wait until then before returning home, more than eight months after launching on what should have been a weeklong mission.
SpaceX launches rescue mission for stranded NASA astronauts
SpaceX has launched a rescue mission for the two stuck astronauts at the International Space Station. A Falcon rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Saturday, sending up a downsized crew and two empty seats. The capsule carrying a NASA astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut will arrive at the space station this weekend. But it won't leave until February. So the two test pilots who flew up on Boeing's troubled Starliner capsule will have to wait until then before returning home, more than eight months after launching on what should have been a weeklong mission.
DOJ charges nearly 200 people in $2.7B health care fraud crackdown
The Justice Department has charged nearly 200 people in a sweeping crackdown on health care fraud schemes nationwide with false claims topping $2.7 billion. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced charges against doctors, nurse practitioners and others across the U.S. on Thursday. The people are accused of a variety of scams, including a $900 million scheme in Arizona targeting dying patients. Prosecutors accuse two owners of Arizona wound care companies of accepting $330 million in kickbacks in a scheme to fraudulently bill Medicare for wound dressings. Another case alleges a scheme in Florida to distribute misbranded HIV drugs. Garland says anyone profiting off the unlawful distribution of controlled substances "will be held accountable.”
New Jersey man flies to Florida to attack another player over an online gaming dispute, deputies say
Authorities say an online gaming dispute made its way to the real world when a New Jersey man flew to Florida to attack another player with a hammer. Court records show that 20-year-old Edward Kang is charged with attempted second-degree murder and armed burglary with a mask. The Nassau County Sheriff's Office says Kang and the victim, another young man around the same age as Kang, had never met in real life, but they both played ArcheAge, a medieval fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game. Deputies say Kang attacked the victim early Sunday morning at his Fernandina Beach home. The victim and his stepfather were able to restrain Kang until police arrived.
Stuck at sea for years, a sailor's plight highlights a surge in shipowner abandonment
The United Nations over the last decade has logged an increasing number of crew members abandoned by shipowners around the world. That’s left sailors aboard months and sometimes years without pay. More than 2,000 seafarers on some 150 ships were abandoned last year. The number of cases is at its highest since the U.N.’s labor and maritime organizations began tracking abandonments 20 years ago. The numbers spiked during the global pandemic and continued to rise as inflation and logistical bottlenecks increased costs for shipowners. And the problem shows no signs of abating.
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