(TNS) — Vinal Technical High School's Criminal Justice and Protective Services Program has received a $300,000 infusion to support a state-of-the-art upgrade to its emergency operations center courtesy of two global companies. Students at the Middletown school have developed a free online, year-round intelligence briefing for first responders nationwide. Daily briefings on hurricanes, disease outbreaks, power outages, and solar flares are available. David Cruickshank, CJPS department head, founded the program. Vinal opened the nation's first high school emergency operations center five years ago. The EOC was used at full capacity for three major incidents: the first cruise ship COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, a COVID-19 hospital deployment in Wyoming in 2021, and Hurricane Ian in 2022. "We realized they're doing so well that we need to be using it more and doing more," said Cruickshank, a former police officer. "We didn't realize the students were going to be as good as they are. They blow us away every day." He added that the students suggested using the "groundbreaking" program more often. While he recently applied for funds to upgrade the center, he said that Samsung and Comcast jumped at the chance. "I figured it was a five-year goal," but funds were secured within just three months. Samsung offered to double the amount the high school would have spent by supplying an "absolutely incredible" video wall that contains state-of-the-art technology, Cruickshank explained. Comcast, a project partner since the center opened, upgraded all its equipment and increased its contribution. RnB Enterprises installed the entire wall, he said, and worked to get companies to offer significant discounts on equipment. "It's not what people see," he said. "It's what they don't see. It's what's behind the monitor that powers it with gig-per-second internet for up to 400 devices." "The students all have the ability to turn their Chromebooks into Ferraris because they're on different networks, and they're able to do incredible things," he said. The wall was ready to operate when students came back from summer break. Then Hurricane Helene hit in September. At the time, a program graduate was working in Florida on a national ambulance contract. He reached out, asking to be included in Vinal's briefings. "He wasn't getting any information while he was down there," Cruickshank said. However, Cruickshank said the EOC hadn't been activated for the incident. "We realized at that moment that we've been doing it wrong this whole time." A group of student incident commanders got together and came up with the idea of the briefings, said Cruickshank, who is also a security specialist for the National Disaster Medical System under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "It is incredible. They aggregate about 60 websites every single day to create the briefing. They filter out exactly what emergency responders need," Cruickshank said. Unfortunately, Cruickshank said, "there's no shortage of disasters. They're getting bigger and worse and more frequent." At the same time, most first responders started in the field around Sept. 11, 2001, he said. "They're all getting to the end of their careers, and it's leaving big gaps for talented people that have field experience. That's what we're training these students to do: be the next people at the helm." Students can earn their EMT certification and learn about emergency management, fire, forensics and law in CJPS. "They're very well-rounded," Cruickshank said. They also have an opportunity to earn their Federal Aviation Administration drone pilot license, take hazardous materials courses, and learn Stop the Bleed CPR techniques. They end up graduating with more certifications than most four- or five-year police officers, Cruickshank said. "They can get hired pretty much anywhere right out of high school." Those who went through the program work for companies such as AMR New Haven and are dispatchers in Cromwell and Waterbury. Others become firefighters or combat medics. Apollo Rodriguez, a junior, said the experience has been "unbelievable." "Anytime something major happens, it's easy to feel glum or depressed by the state of the world," Apollo said. "Being here has shown me I don't have to sit there and feel helpless. I can do something about that." Timely information is crucial for those in emergency operations, said Apollo, who is among only 10 students nationwide chosen to work as a Federal Emergency Management Agency Youth Preparedness Council representative for New England. "This has to be something you have to want to do. You have that compassion and care for others and that drive," Apollo said. Dontae Northup, a junior, agreed. "It will take time. It will take effort," he said. "You will have to work early in the day, late at night to find the information you need." Hands-on training is also invaluable. "We are getting real-world experience. We are already making impacts on the field while we're still getting our education," Apollo said. Cruickshank said, "It's incredible having a junior in high school, and her resume is better than mine." The program is much in demand. In all, 72 students are enrolled, and there's a waiting list at Vinal, A.I. Prince, Bullard-Havens and Windham technical high schools. "We're rolling it out to more schools as fast as we can," he said. Courses are college level, including forensics and criminal psychology. "We push these kids hard," Cruickshank said. "You can throw anything at a high school student, and as long as you give them the passion, motivation, they're going to accomplish it," he said.
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US stocks take a breather, Asian bourses rise in post-Christmas trade
Businessman behind huge Trump sign in Upstate NY running to fill Stefanik’s seatStock market today: Wall Street drifts to a mixed close in thin trading following a holiday pause Stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Wall Street as some heavyweight technology and communications sector stocks offset gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% Thursday, its first loss after three straight gains. Alex Veiga, The Associated Press Dec 26, 2024 1:14 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message FIL:E - People photograph the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File) Stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Wall Street as some heavyweight technology and communications sector stocks offset gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% Thursday, its first loss after three straight gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%. Gains by retailers and health care stocks helped temper the losses. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened following the Christmas holiday. The Labor Department reported that U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week, though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years. Treasury yields fell in the bond market. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Stocks wavered on Wall Street in afternoon trading Thursday, as gains in tech companies and retailers helped temper losses elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 was up less than 0.1% after drifting between small gains and losses. The benchmark index is coming off a three-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 10 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 3:20 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened after the Christmas holiday. Chip company Broadcom rose 2.5%, Micron Technology was up 1.3% and Adobe gained 0.8%. While tech stocks overall were in the green, some heavyweights were a drag on the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, slipped 0.1%. Meta Platforms fell 0.5%, Amazon was down 0.4%, and Netflix gave up 0.7%. Tesla was among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500, down 1.4%. Health care stocks helped lift the market. CVS Health rose 1.4% and Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 3.9% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks. Several retailers also gained ground. Target rose 3.1%, Ross Stores added 1.8%, Best Buy was up 2.5% and Dollar Tree gained 3.6%. Traders are watching to see whether retailers have a strong holiday season. The day after Christmas traditionally ranks among the top 10 biggest shopping days of the year, as consumers go online or rush to stores to cash in gift cards and raid bargain bins. U.S.-listed shares in Honda and Nissan rose 4.2% and 15.9%, respectively. The Japanese automakers announced earlier this week that the two companies are in talks to combine. Traders got a labor market update. U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week , though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years, the Labor Department reported. Treasury yields turned mostly lower in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.58% from 4.59% late Tuesday. Major European markets were closed, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Trading was expected to be subdued this week with a thin slate of economic data on the calendar. Still, U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year’s end despite lower trading volumes. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950. So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade. Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up roughly 26% so far this year and remains near its most recent all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year. Wall Street has several economic reports to look forward to next week, including updates on pending home sales and home prices, a report on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity. ___ AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed. Alex Veiga, The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message More National Business Boxing Day shoppers take advantage of tax holiday amid cost of living crisis Dec 26, 2024 12:08 PM Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away Dec 26, 2024 10:25 AM Canada’s women’s pro sports landscape transformed with arrival of PWHL, NSL and WNBA Dec 26, 2024 8:50 AM Featured Flyer
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NEW YORK — Failed presidential hopeful Marianne Williamson announced Thursday that she plans to run for chair of the Democratic National Committee . Williamson, 72, is best known for her unconventional, long-shot presidential campaigns in 2020 and 2024 , both of which ended with her dropping out early. Prior to that, she penned a series of self-help books and ran as an independent for a congressional seat in California. “I feel that I can help transform the party, reinvent the party, because the politics of the past will not be enough to take on the politics of the present and the future,” Williamson said in a YouTube video posted Thursday. The race for DNC chair was already crowded before Williamson threw her hat in the ring to potentially replace outgoing leader Jaime Harrison . Other candidates include ex-Maryland governor and presidential candidate Martin O’Malley, New York state senator James Skoufis , Minnesota Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin and Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler. Williamson claimed that her history of talking to Democratic voters across the country would help her lead the party through another Donald Trump presidency. “I’ve seen how much pain there is out there,” she said in the video. “I’ve been up close and personal with people who didn’t have health care, who couldn’t survive on just one job, who were so depressed about so many of the conditions in their lives.” During her presidential campaigns, Williamson was best known for odd statements. In 2019, she said “a creative use of the mind” led to a hurricane turning away from land . At a 2020 debate, she said Trump’s hate would be defeated because “only love can cast that out.” Shortly after she announced a second candidacy in 2023, several staffers spoke about her tyrannical behavior and “dehumanizing” abuse during the prior campaign. Stories included her throwing a phone at a staffer and pounding so heavily on a car door that she had to visit the hospital . Williamson denied many of the stories. ©2024 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Thousands more face prosecution under LNP’s crackdown on drug use
Blue Jays acquire Gold Glove infielder Andres Gimenez from ClevelandBaltimore prosecutors are still mulling what to do with the case of Adnan Syed, whose decades-old convictions were reinstated earlier this year. At a status conference in Syed’s case Friday, sprosecutor Clara Salzberg, chief of the Baltimore State’s Attorney’s Office’s Post Conviction Litigation Unit, said her team needed more time to decide what to do with a request to vacate Syed’s convictions filed by the previous administration in the state’s attorney’s office. “We are asking for an additional 90 days ... to allow us to take the time that we need to conduct the review of what was filed and to determine what are the appropriate next steps for our office to take,” Salzberg said. Syed’s lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Erica Suter, did not object to the prosecutor’s request. Also the director of the Innocence Project Clinic at the University of Baltimore School of Law, Suter didn’t say anything else during the brief court hearing. David Sanford, an attorney for Young Lee, the brother of the woman Syed is accused of killing in 1999, Hae Min Lee, said he would object to any further delays in the case. “The office claims it needs an additional three months to review documents it has had for over two years,” Sanford said, adding, “At this point, this is frankly absurd.” That prosecutors are still mulling how to proceed in this case adds intrigue to a legal saga made famous by the hit podcast “Serial,” which chronicled Syed’s prosecutions. The Supreme Court of Maryland reinstated Syed’s convictions in August, capping off an appeals process dating to September 2022and placing Syed’s fate in the hands of a new state’s attorney. Though the state’s attorney’s office successfully moved to vacate Syed’s convictions in September 2022, the office doesn’t have to take the same position now that the Supreme Court has ordered a redo of the hearing that set Syed free. On the campaign trail, Bates said Syed’s convictions should be undone. When his office received the case following the state Supreme Court’s ruling, he said they needed to evaluate the case. “Ninety days is what we’re confident today will at least give us the time that we need to have more clarity about what our next steps will be,” Salzberg told Baltimore Circuit Judge Jennifer B. Schiffer, who is now presiding over the case. Schiffer ordered prosecutors to file anything new in the case by Feb. 28. Syed’s legal saga traces to 2000 when a Baltimore jury found Syed guilty of murder, kidnapping, robbery and related charges in the death of Lee, his high school sweetheart. Prosecutors postulated at the time that Syed couldn’t handle it when Lee broke up with him, so he killed her. Lee, 18, was strangled to death and buried in a clandestine grave in Leakin Park. Syed’s convictions withstood multiple appeals, but he always maintained he was innocent. Years turned to decades behind bars. His break came in 2021 when Suter approached city prosecutors about modifying his sentence under a new law allowing people convicted of crimes before they turned 18 to petition a court to change their penalty. The subsequent review spawned a full-throttled reinvestigation of the case, which, prosecutors said, revealed alternative suspects in Lee’s killing not before disclosed to Syed. The revelation, prosecutors said, led them to doubt the “integrity” of Syed’s decades-old convictions. They moved to vacate the guilty findings. On a Friday afternoon in September 2022, Baltimore Circuit Judge Melissa M. Phinn scheduled a hearing for the following Monday. Prosecutors then informed Young Lee, saying he could watch it by Zoom, but a lawyer for Young Lee insisted his client, who lived in California, wanted to attend in person and wasn’t given enough time to travel. Phinn proceeded with the hearing, ordering Syed freed after 23 years of incarceration. Young Lee raised questions about his role in the hearing, appealing before prosecutors dismissed Syed’s charges in October 2022. He argued that the short notice violated his right as a crime victim and the intermediate Appellate Court of Maryland agreed in March 2023, ordering Syed’s convictions reinstated for a do-over of the hearing to vacate them. Syed swiftly appealed to the state’s highest court, arguing that Young Lee got adequate notice and that the prosecutor’s decision to dismiss his charges nullified the appeal. Young Lee followed up with his own appeal , with his lawyers arguing the appellate court’s ruling didn’t go far enough for crime victims. The state Supreme Court’s decision was split. The three dissenting judges argued, in part, that it was up to the legislature, not the judiciary, to decide whether to clarify a crime victim’s role in such a proceeding. Have a news tip? Contact Alex Mann at amann@baltsun.com, and x.com/@alex_mann10.Donald Trump is returning to the world stage. So is his trolling
By MICHELLE L. PRICE and ROB GILLIES NEW YORK (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump’s recent dinner with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his visit to Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral were not just exercises in policy and diplomacy. They were also prime trolling opportunities for Trump. Related Articles National Politics | Trump names Andrew Ferguson as head of Federal Trade Commission to replace Lina Khan National Politics | Biden issues veto threat on bill expanding federal judiciary as partisan split emerges National Politics | Trump lawyers and aide hit with 10 additional felony charges in Wisconsin over 2020 fake electors National Politics | After withdrawing as attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz lands a talk show on OANN television National Politics | What will happen to Social Security under Trump’s tax plan? Throughout his first term in the White House and during his campaign to return, Trump has spun out countless provocative, antagonizing and mocking statements. There were his belittling nicknames for political opponents, his impressions of other political figures and the plentiful memes he shared on social media. Now that’s he’s preparing to return to the Oval Office, Trump is back at it, and his trolling is attracting more attention — and eyerolls. On Sunday, Trump turned a photo of himself seated near a smiling first lady Jill Biden at the Notre Dame ceremony into a social media promo for his new perfume and cologne line, with the tag line, “A fragrance your enemies can’t resist!” The first lady’s office declined to comment. When Trudeau hastily flew to Florida to meet with Trump last month over the president-elect’s threat to impose a 25% tax on all Canadian products entering the U.S., the Republican tossed out the idea that Canada become the 51st U.S. state. The Canadians passed off the comment as a joke, but Trump has continued to play up the dig, including in a post Tuesday morning on his social media network referring to the prime minister as “Governor Justin Trudeau of the Great State of Canada.” After decades as an entertainer and tabloid fixture, Trump has a flair for the provocative that is aimed at attracting attention and, in his most recent incarnation as a politician, mobilizing fans. He has long relished poking at his opponents, both to demean and minimize them and to delight supporters who share his irreverent comments and posts widely online and cheer for them in person. Trump, to the joy of his fans, first publicly needled Canada on his social media network a week ago when he posted an AI-generated image that showed him standing on a mountain with a Canadian flag next to him and the caption “Oh Canada!” After his latest post, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Tuesday: “It sounds like we’re living in a episode of South Park.” Trudeau said earlier this week that when it comes to Trump, “his approach will often be to challenge people, to destabilize a negotiating partner, to offer uncertainty and even sometimes a bit of chaos into the well established hallways of democracies and institutions and one of the most important things for us to do is not to freak out, not to panic.” Even Thanksgiving dinner isn’t a trolling-free zone for Trump’s adversaries. On Thanksgiving Day, Trump posted a movie clip from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” with President Joe Biden and other Democrats’ faces superimposed on the characters in a spoof of the turkey-carving scene. The video shows Trump appearing to explode out of the turkey in a swirl of purple sparks, with the former president stiffly dancing to one of his favorite songs, Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.” In his most recent presidential campaign, Trump mocked Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, refusing to call his GOP primary opponent by his real name and instead dubbing him “Ron DeSanctimonious.” He added, for good measure, in a post on his Truth Social network: “I will never call Ron DeSanctimonious ‘Meatball’ Ron, as the Fake News is insisting I will.” As he campaigned against Biden, Trump taunted him in online posts and with comments and impressions at his rallies, deriding the president over his intellect, his walk, his golf game and even his beach body. After Vice President Kamala Harris took over Biden’s spot as the Democratic nominee, Trump repeatedly suggested she never worked at McDonalds while in college. Trump, true to form, turned his mocking into a spectacle by appearing at a Pennsylvania McDonalds in October, when he manned the fries station and held an impromptu news conference from the restaurant drive-thru. Trump’s team thinks people should get a sense of humor. “President Trump is a master at messaging and he’s always relatable to the average person, whereas many media members take themselves too seriously and have no concept of anything else other than suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome,” said Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director. “President Trump will Make America Great Again and we are getting back to a sense of optimism after a tumultuous four years.” Though both the Biden and Harris campaigns created and shared memes and launched other stunts to respond to Trump’s taunts, so far America’s neighbors to the north are not taking the bait. “I don’t think we should necessarily look on Truth Social for public policy,” Miller said. Gerald Butts, a former top adviser to Trudeau and a close friend, said Trump brought up the 51st state line to Trudeau repeatedly during Trump’s first term in office. “Oh God,” Butts said Tuesday, “At least a half dozen times.” “This is who he is and what he does. He’s trying to destabilize everybody and make people anxious,” Butts said. “He’s trying to get people on the defensive and anxious and therefore willing to do things they wouldn’t otherwise entertain if they had their wits about them. I don’t know why anybody is surprised by it.” Gillies reported from Toronto. Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.31 Christmas-Tree Nails to Get You in the Holiday Spirit
Stock market today: Wall Street drifts to a mixed close in thin trading following a holiday pause Stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Wall Street as some heavyweight technology and communications sector stocks offset gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% Thursday, its first loss after three straight gains. Alex Veiga, The Associated Press Dec 26, 2024 1:14 PM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message FIL:E - People photograph the New York Stock Exchange in New York's Financial District on Dec. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File) Stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Wall Street as some heavyweight technology and communications sector stocks offset gains elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 slipped less than 0.1% Thursday, its first loss after three straight gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.1%. Gains by retailers and health care stocks helped temper the losses. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened following the Christmas holiday. The Labor Department reported that U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week, though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years. Treasury yields fell in the bond market. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Stocks wavered on Wall Street in afternoon trading Thursday, as gains in tech companies and retailers helped temper losses elsewhere in the market. The S&P 500 was up less than 0.1% after drifting between small gains and losses. The benchmark index is coming off a three-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 10 points, or less than 0.1%, as of 3:20 p.m. Eastern time. The Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%. Trading volume was lighter than usual as U.S. markets reopened after the Christmas holiday. Chip company Broadcom rose 2.5%, Micron Technology was up 1.3% and Adobe gained 0.8%. While tech stocks overall were in the green, some heavyweights were a drag on the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, slipped 0.1%. Meta Platforms fell 0.5%, Amazon was down 0.4%, and Netflix gave up 0.7%. Tesla was among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500, down 1.4%. Health care stocks helped lift the market. CVS Health rose 1.4% and Walgreens Boots Alliance rose 3.9% for the biggest gain among S&P 500 stocks. Several retailers also gained ground. Target rose 3.1%, Ross Stores added 1.8%, Best Buy was up 2.5% and Dollar Tree gained 3.6%. Traders are watching to see whether retailers have a strong holiday season. The day after Christmas traditionally ranks among the top 10 biggest shopping days of the year, as consumers go online or rush to stores to cash in gift cards and raid bargain bins. U.S.-listed shares in Honda and Nissan rose 4.2% and 15.9%, respectively. The Japanese automakers announced earlier this week that the two companies are in talks to combine. Traders got a labor market update. U.S. applications for unemployment benefits held steady last week , though continuing claims rose to the highest level in three years, the Labor Department reported. Treasury yields turned mostly lower in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.58% from 4.59% late Tuesday. Major European markets were closed, as well as Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Trading was expected to be subdued this week with a thin slate of economic data on the calendar. Still, U.S. markets have historically gotten a boost at year’s end despite lower trading volumes. The last five trading days of each year, plus the first two in the new year, have brought an average gain of 1.3% since 1950. So far this month, the U.S. stock market has lost some of its gains since President-elect Donald Trump’s win on Election Day, which raised hopes for faster economic growth and more lax regulations that would boost corporate profits. Worries have risen that Trump’s preference for tariffs and other policies could lead to higher inflation , a bigger U.S. government debt and difficulties for global trade. Even so, the U.S. market remains on pace to deliver strong returns for 2024. The benchmark S&P 500 is up roughly 26% so far this year and remains near its most recent all-time high it set earlier this month — its latest of 57 record highs this year. Wall Street has several economic reports to look forward to next week, including updates on pending home sales and home prices, a report on U.S. construction spending and snapshots of manufacturing activity. ___ AP Business Writers Elaine Kurtenbach and Matt Ott contributed. Alex Veiga, The Associated Press See a typo/mistake? Have a story/tip? This has been shared 0 times 0 Shares Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message More National Business Boxing Day shoppers take advantage of tax holiday amid cost of living crisis Dec 26, 2024 12:08 PM Israel strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away Dec 26, 2024 10:25 AM Canada’s women’s pro sports landscape transformed with arrival of PWHL, NSL and WNBA Dec 26, 2024 8:50 AM Featured Flyer
