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Sam Zell, billionaire real estate investor, dies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:39 GMT

Sam Zell, a Chicago real estate magnate who earned a multibillion-dollar fortune and a reputation as “the grave dancer” for his ability to revive moribund properties has died due to complications from a recent illness. He was 81. Bearded and blunt-spoken, Zell reveled in bucking traditional wisdom. He had a golden touch with real estate, and got his start managing apartment buildings as a college student. By the time he reached his 70s, he had amassed a fortune estimated at $3.8 billion.Zell sold Equity Office, the office-tower company he spent three decades building, to Blackstone Group for $39 billion in 2007. It was the largest private equity transaction in history, and Zell personally netted $1 billion.A month later, he made another deal that ultimately tarnished his image: the acquisition of the ailing Tribune Co. for $13 billion. The media giant filed for bankruptcy the following year.Real estate was his trademark, but as he noted in an interview shortly before mak...

ABC News crew spends year in Uvalde, documents journey of survivors, families of shooting victims

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — After most mass shootings that capture the public’s attention, national news organizations will send reporters for a few days, a week maybe, before moving on. There’s always another community, another tragedy.ABC News tried something different after 19 elementary school students and two teachers were shot and killed in Uvalde, Texas, last May.The journalists stayed.For a year, ABC News kept a team in Uvalde. The result is a nuanced portrait of what happens over time to a suffering community, as seen in the two-hour documentary, “It Happened Here — A Year in Uvalde,” that airs Friday on ABC and Saturday on Hulu.“What we discovered has been profoundly moving and inspiring and, we hope, useful,” said ABC News President Kim Godwin.The story’s richness is in the details: There are the children’s rooms left undisturbed since May 24, 2022, the brush a parent can’t give up because it contains a dead girl’s hair, the survivor made upset by ...

Police investigating Chase Bank in SW Miami-Dade after ATM theft attempt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:39 GMT

An investigation is underway after, police said, thieves attempted to steal an ATM machine outside a bank in Southwest Miami-Dade.According to Miami-Dade Police, the call came in around 3 a.m. Thursday after two individuals in a white truck attempted to remove the machine.Police could be seen at the Chase Bank at 12610 S.W. 120th St. around 10 a.m. while crews cleaned up the damage.While the bank’s interior remained accessible to customers, drive-up services were unavailable as yellow tape cordoned off the area where the ATM sustained damage during the robbery.It is currently unconfirmed whether any money or property was taken.Authorities have not made any arrests in connection with this incident.If you have any information on this crime, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

Clean-up begins after banner plane crash kills experienced pilot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:39 GMT

Investigators and cleaning crews were on the scene Thursday after a banner-towing plane crashed on a road adjacent to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood and burst into flames, killing an experienced pilot. Crews were seen towing the remainder of the frame of the Piper PA-25 which was completely scorched.7News learned that the pilot had taken off just shortly before the accident. He had only been on the job for two weeks. People nearby watched in disbelief as the plane made landfall. It was headed towards the beach from North Perry Airport.“He had approximately 325 total hours of flight experience, he was a recent hire, been with the company two weeks and he had a total of estimated 13-15 hours of experience in this aircraft, make and model,” said a man from the National Transportation Safety Board. Witness Karen Schiff said she could tell the pilot was doing all he could not to hit anyone on the ground.The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportat...

Dr Pepper Float ice cream is here

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:39 GMT

New York (CNN) — Two iconic Texas brands have come together to create a Dr Pepper Float ice cream.The soda company is partnering with Blue Bell Creameries to create the flavor, which mixes together vanilla ice cream and a Dr Pepper-flavored sherbet. It’s available beginning Thursday in pint and half-gallon sizes at stores where Blue Bell is sold, the company announced.“The best ice cream floats are made with Dr Pepper poured over a few scoops of Blue Bell,” said Jimmy Lawhorn, Blue Bell vice president of sales and marketing, said in a release.Both Dr Pepper and Blue Bell have Texas roots.Founded in 1885 in Waco, Texas, Dr Pepper was the first in a wave of 19th-century upstart soda companies. (It dropped the period after Dr. in the 1950s for design reasons.) The little brand rose to prominence in the latter half of the 20th century and helped shape the soda industry, all while cultivating its reputation as an outsider.Over the years Dr Pepper has found success as a quirky alternative...

Remains of Georgia woman killed 46 years ago identified, confirmed serial killer victim

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:39 GMT

MACON, Ga. (AP) — The remains of a Georgia woman killed 46 years ago were identified and confirmed as a victim of Samuel Little, known as the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history, authorities said Thursday.Yvonne Pless was about 20 when Little killed her in 1977, according to a news release from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. She had been dubbed “Macon Jane Doe” by The Telegraph newspaper in the city.Little, who died in December 2020, confessed in 2018 to killing two Macon women, prompting Georgia investigators to travel to Texas in 2019 to interview him. They were able to confirm that his confessions matched the unsolved Macon cold case. They were able to notify a remaining family member of the other woman, Fredonia Smith, who was killed in 1982.But Pless’ remains hadn’t been identified, so her family was not known. Last year, investigators used forensic genetic genealogy to identify Pless’ remains and ...

Fire hydrant ruptures while crews extinguish blaze in Palmetto Bay home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:39 GMT

A fire hydrant was hit while crews put out nearby flames, but the impact caused a big mess.Firefighters worked to put out a blaze at a home on Southwest 148th Street and 80th Avenue in Palmetto Bay. When the truck hit a hydrant it caused water to gush out.Although there was no water main breakage, Miami-Dade Water and Sewer crews responded to shut off the water from the hydrant to contain the spill.Officials with the Miami-Dade Fire Department said everyone inside the house evacuated safely.Now, officials investigating what caused the fire.

UK and Norway team up to protect undersea cables, gas pipes in wake of Nord Stream attacks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:39 GMT

LONDON — The U.K. and Norway signed a security partnership to prevent attacks against undersea infrastructure including gas pipeline and cables.Under the agreement, announced Thursday by the defense ministers of both countries, Britain and Norway are promising to exchange intelligence, counter mine threats and improve their ability to detect submarines from hostile nations.U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said Thursday that Russia has “the intent and capability” to sabotage critical Western infrastructure, but he refused to blame Moscow for last year’s attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. Swedish investigators said last month that a state actor was most likely responsible for the blasts, but that the incident remained “difficult to investigate.”“What we know is the Russians have a work program, they have a specific naval program designed to both look at and potentially sabotage or attack critical national infrastructure belonging to its adversaries,” Wa...

New Hampshire man arrested on murder charge, accused of shooting uncle at Derry, NH restaurant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:39 GMT

A 27-year-old man from Candia, New Hampshire is being charged with murder after a fatal shooting at a restaurant in the town of Derry.Law officials said John Kratz will be arraigned on a second degree murder charge Thursday afternoon following the shooting death of his uncle, John Kratz, Jr., 64, of Sandown. The suspect was taken into custody after officers initially responded to a reported shooting at the Lobster Claw II on Main Street in Derry around 5:45 p.m. on Wednesday.There, authorities found John Kratz, Jr., suffering from an apparent gunshot wound, according to a joint statement issued by New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella and Derry Police Chief George Feole.He was taken to Eilliot Hospital in Manchester, where he was pronounced dead.Following an investigation, the 27-year-old Kratz was located and arrested. He is expected to be arraigned in Rockingham Superior Court.

What happens if the US can’t pay its bills? ‘Catastrophe’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:39 GMT

A few short weeks are left for Congress — or, perhaps, President Joe Biden — to take action and lift the debt ceiling before tick, tick, tick … boom goes the economy.The so-called “X-date” — when the federal government can no longer meet its legal obligations — could be as early as June 1, according to a May 1 letter from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to Congress. Yellen reiterated the same sentiments in another letter to Congress on May 15.“If Congress fails to increase the debt limit, it would cause severe hardship to American families, harm our global leadership position, and raise questions about our ability to defend our national security interests,” Yellen wrote in the most recent letter. She warned of “catastrophe” in a May 11 news conference.The Congressional Budget Office released its own projections on May 12, which left more wiggle room: somewhere in the first two weeks of June. The report also said the U.S. Treasury’s cash and extraordinary measures wo...