'Hug machine' lets great-grandmother embrace children

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka’s Former Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and Former Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara were released and acquitted by a Colombo court on Friday (18) from all charges in the Easter Sunday Attacks case.The cases were called up in the presence of Justices Namal Balalle, Aditya Patabendige, and Mohamed Irshadeen.The Attorney General filed the cases against Fernando and Jayasundara on charges of criminal dereliction of duty for failing to take action to prevent the Easter attacks despite receiving specific intelligence.A total of 855 charges of criminal negligence were leveled against Pujith Jayasundera and Hemasiri Fernando, individually.The Colombo Permanent High Court Trial-at-Bar ordered to acquit and release Ex-Police Chief Pujith Jayasundara and Ex-Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando from the cases, without calling for evidence from the defense, as the prosecution had failed to prove the charges filed against them.Justice Aditya Patabendige delivering the summary verdict in court noted that the evidence provided by Director of State Intelligence Nilantha Jayawardena made it clear that he had not carried out his duties in a proper manner, and acted to place that responsibility on someone else.Justice Aditya Patabendige went on to note that many devotees died under tragic circumstances in the Easter Sunday Terror Attacks that also left many injured, adding that it is not possible to proceed with a case against a person in absence of evidence on such a tragic event.Justice Aditya Patabendige also noted that one needs to be extra careful when leveling criminal charges against a person, and noted that the arrests of Jayasundara and Fernando on the said charges are also marred

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) says that NO scheduled power cuts will take place on Saturday (19).However, the Chairman of the PUCSL, Janaka Rathnayake stated that intermittent interruption can be expected between 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

died of heat exhaustion during a gruelling summer hike in Northern California last summer tried to send desperate calls and texts for help, but their attempts at communication failed because of poor cellphone service.Jonathan Gerrish, his wife Ellen Chung, their one-year-old daughter, Aurelia “Miju” Chung-Gerrish, and their dog, Oski, were found dead Aug. 17 on a hiking trail near the Merced River, after temperatures spiked at 43 C.

Chris Barber, one of the principal organizers of the so-called “freedom convoy,” is being released on bail on the conditions that he imminently leaves Ottawa and no longer supports the downtown blockades.Barber was released from police custody after a court hearing in Ottawa late Friday afternoon.His bail bond is set at $100,000, with his wife set as a surety. He is instructed to leave the city within 24 hours and the province of Ontario within five days.He must also, under the order of Justice Julie Bourgeois, no longer directly or indirectly support the ongoing blockades in downtown Ottawa, which police launched operations to clear earlier in the day on Friday.

Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief told Global News on Friday the nation is “disheartened” to see what happened at the Coastal GasLink worksite this week.“We certainly don’t, as a Wet’suwet’en people, condone this type of action,” said Chief Wihaliy’te, who is also known as Theresa Tait-Day.RCMP in northern British Columbia said a “violent confrontation” between unknown attackers and Coastal GasLink pipeline workers happened early Thursday.Houston RCMP said security officials with the company reported “acts of violence” by masked attackers at their worksite by the Marten Forest Service Road early Thursday morning.“They were dressed in camouflage-type outer winter wear, their faces were disguised, they had masks over their face and they started using extreme violence against the workers,” Chief Supt.

PHILADELPHIA - Many local parents, already struggling to find powdered formula on store shelves, are even more concerned after the Food and Drug Administration recalled three brands. RELATED: Baby formula recall 2022: Some Similac, Alimentum and EleCare products tied to illnessSimilac, Alimentum and EleCare are being pulled off the shelves because of dangerous bacteria, including salmonella and Cronobacter sakazakiim. FOX 29's Eddie Kadhim spoke to numerous parents who are very concerned after finding the recalled products in their pantries. Matthew Smale is worried about finding formula for his six-month-old going forward. He showed FOX 29 one of the six recalled formula cans his family has been using. It didn't take long for the impact to hit his home. "Watery diapers and she started throwing up this morning," Smale said.

PHILADELPHIA - A young man is expected to survive after being shot multiple times Friday night in South Philadelphia, according to police. Investigators said the 19-year-old victim was shot six times on the 2700 block of South Marshall Street around 9 p.m. He was driven to Methodist Hospital with gunshot wounds to the hip, back, arms and legs, police said.The victim was placed in stable condition at the hospital. No arrests were reported immediately following the shooting. MORE LOCAL HEADLINES___DOWNLOAD: FOX 29 NEWS APP | FOX 29 WEATHER AUTHORITY APPSUBSCRIBE: Good Day Digest Newsletter | FOX 29 Philly on YouTubeAdvertisementFOLLOW: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

PHILADELPHIA - With all the violence happening in the City of Philadelphia, many children and teens are looking for an outlet. Living in a city plagued by gun violence means carrying around the weight of grief associated with it, but community groups have pledged to help them every step of the way. One local 10-year-old said her father taught her what to do when she hears gunshots. "When I hear that pop pop pop he said don't look around.

PHILADELPHIA - A Delaware County family is in shock after their family matriarch was struck and killed by a SEPTA trolley on Friday morning. Darien Houser was 2,800 miles away in Washington state when he got the tragic news that his mother, 67-year-old Glendora Moody, was killed. Moody, who raised five kids and was known as "Peaches," was known for her love of family and her dedication to social work. "It's just hard losing your mother," he said. "Your only mother.

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With B.C.’s pandemic picture looking more optimistic for the spring and summer, Keith Baldrey has the details on what Dr. Bonnie Henry says might be ahead for the fall.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!

Police are in the midst of an operation to clear out the so-called “Freedom Convoy” that has been encamped for 22 days in the nation’s capital, with more than 100 individuals arrested on Friday.

Nicki Minaj is called out the Philadelphia Health Department in a pair of new tweets on social media.

With honking trucks, disruptive occupations, and border blockades, protesters spent weeks pushing back against Canada’s COVID-19 restrictions.

More than 2.1 million booster shots have now been given nationally, with over 25,000 administered on Friday.

Police in Ottawa have begun the task of ending a protest that began just over three weeks ago. Officers are methodically moving in on demonstrators and trucks, making arrests and towing vehicles.

COVID-19 in Alberta rose to 3,830 on Friday, up eight from the day before.Alberta Health posted the province’s latest pandemic-related numbers to its website Friday afternoon. The number of patients with COVID-19 in Alberta hospitals increased ever so slightly on Friday, up by three from a day earlier for a total of 1,494 people.

PHILADELPHIA - Police say a man is fighting for his life after being shot multiple times Friday night in West Philadelphia. Officers from the Philadelphia Police Department were called to the area of 54th and Vine streets just before 5:30 p.m.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Jusan Hamilton fell hard for fast cars, dreaming as a kid of a NASCAR career as he drove at dirt tracks in New York. He contended for wins, kept pace with top drivers as he bounced from series to series and trusted his talent enough to know that he could succeed as a professional driver.What Hamilton didn’t see as his family traversed around tracks were other kids that looked like him.

Police officers have started to make arrests in the capital as the trucker convoy marks its third week in Ottawa. Kyle Benning has more on the standoff between police and protesters and the latest from the liberal government.

The Taoiseach has said that the Government will be accepting all advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team to lift almost all remaining Covid-19 measures from 28 February.

During a news conference Friday, Ottawa Interim Police Chief Steve Bell said that as of 3 p.m. ET local time, 70 people were arrested as authorities work to clear the city of trucker protesters who have occupied the area for three weeks.

PHILADELPHIA - Residents in Philadelphia's Kingsessing neighborhood are still feeling the impacts of a massive water main break a week after millions of gallons flooded city streets. According to officials, a 48-inch water pipe buried underneath the intersection of 56th Street and Springfield Avenue for more than a century burst forth around 6 a.m. on Feb.

ELKINS PARK, Pa. - Frank Mitchell, the owner and founder of Mitchell and Mitchell Wines, is on a mission to promote inclusivity and unity in the industry. Friday is National Drink Wine Day and many across the country use it as an opportunity to dabble in new flavors for their pallette. RELATED: National Drink Wine Day: Wine by the numbersFor Mitchell, his business is the only Black-owned winery in the area and just one of the 47 operating in the country. "I want to change the concept that wine is a white man's game," he said. His business started with dinner parties.

UPPER DARBY, Pa. - A former elementary school principal in Upper Darby has been arrested on child sexual assault charges, according to the Delaware County District Attorney.Police say 39-year-old Jonathan Wisneski of Springfield, Pennsylvania, was arraigned on Thursday afternoon. Bail was set at $150,000.He faces charges of intercourse/sexual contact with a student, indecent assault on a person under the age of 13, corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children, according to the criminal complaint obtained by FOX 29.Wisneski has not worked for the Upper Darby School District since 2018 and he currently works at Devereaux Cares School in Downington, according to police.Authorities say there were allegations against him when he was principal in 2018 and those claims were investigated by law enforcement and the district attorney's office.

There’s been an increased police presence over the last couple of weeks downtown, amid protests over pandemic restrictions and mandates. Shallima Maharaj reports.

Nicki Minaj this week over her infamous tweet last year connecting the COVID-19 vaccine to impotency. On Feb. 16, the "Moment 4 Life" singer cryptically tweeted, "Nothing like watching someone speak confidently about something they know nothing about."Nicki didn't explain what her message was pertaining to, but the Philadelphia Public Health Department saw her tweet as an opportunity to pounce and throw one of her old messages back in her face. Back in September 2021, Nicki caused quite the stir over her position on the COVID-19 vaccine, and it had to do with, among other things, her cousin's friend's testicles and a canceled wedding. "My cousin in Trinidad won't get the vaccine cuz his friend got it & became impotent," she wrote.

Ottawa Police have begun making arrests at the site of protests near Parliament Hill.

Kim Kardashian showed off her minimalist, beige-and-cream-colored home in a recent video for Vogue magazine, and she gave fans a special treat in the process: daughter North‘s adorable and creatively sound paintings and sketches.

PARIS, FRANCE - MARCH 01: Kim Kardashian West and husband Kanye West leave K.West's Sunday Service At Theatre Des Bouffes Du Nord - Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2020/2021 on March 01, 2020 in Paris, France. (Photo by Marc Piasecki/WireIm LOS ANGELES - The growing divorce drama between Kim Kardashian and Ye -- the rapper formerly known as Kanye West -- took another legal turn this week, with Ye filing court papers objecting to the fashion and reality TV mogul's request to have their split finalized by a judge.In a 40-page document filed Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Ye's attorneys make a series of technical objections to Kardashian's bid to have the pair declared legally single as early as next month, even before details on dividing property and determining custody of their children are finalized.RELATED: Kim Kardashian files for divorce from Kanye WestThe attorneys argue that several issues need to be resolved before the pair can be declared officially divorced, such as protection of joint trusts or financial accounts, even though the pair did sign a prenuptial agreement."This is not an extravagant request," according to Ye's court documents.

HARRISBURG - A Pennsylvania man is accused of torturing an employee in Iraq after the worker raised concerns about a project to produce weapons parts in that country, federal prosecutors said.Under a superseding indictment returned Tuesday, federal authorities accused Ross Roggio, 53, of Stroudsburg, with suffocating the victim with a belt, threatening to cut off one of the victim's fingers and directing Kurdish soldiers to inflict pain and suffering on the victim.Roggio and the Roggio Consulting Company were previously charged in 2018 with illegally exporting firearms parts and tools from the United States to Iraq as part of a weapons project in Kurdistan.

WASHINGTON - The White House blamed Russia on Friday for recent cyberattacks targeting Ukraine's defense ministry and major banks.The announcement from Anne Neuberger, the White House's chief cyber official, was the most pointed attribution of responsibility for cyberattacks that unfolded as tensions escalate between Russia and Ukraine.The attacks this week, which knocked two major banks and government websites offline, were of "limited impact" since Ukrainian officials were able to quickly get their systems back up and running, but it is possible that the Russians were laying the groundwork for more destructive ones, Neuberger said.RELATED: Russian threat to invade Ukraine still 'very high,' Biden saysShe said the U.S. had rapidly linked the attacks to Russia and was publicly blaming the Kremlin because of a need to "call out the behavior quickly." She said there was no intelligence indicating that the U.S.

Adam Scott in "Severance." Photo: Apple TV+. CHICAGO - Adam Scott gives the performance of his career in "Severance" — a good thing, as Apple TV+‘s nimble, riveting workplace thriller-dramedy is enough to make its audience think seriously about retirement, to say nothing of its cast.

An analysis of prescribing data from more than 80 countries found that global antimicrobial consumption declined prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers reported today in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.For the cross-sectional time-series analysis, researchers

The risk of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and death was much lower among more than 9,000 Canadian COVID-19 patients infected with the Omicron variant than among matched Delta patients, according to a study published yesterday in JAMA.The risk of hospitalization or death with Omicron was 41% of—and the

Six Arican countries were tapped yesterday to receive technology to produce mRNA vaccines, part of a plan to boost supply and production in that part of the world.

Brian Joseph Carey, 41, is facing charges for allegedly killing his stepfather in Bristol Township, according to the Bucks County District Attorney,  BRISTOL TOWNSHIP, Pa. - The Bucks County District Attorney's Office announced charges against a man accused of killing his stepfather on Tuesday. Brian Joseph Carey, 41, was arrested on Wednesday after he was named as a person of interest in the killing of his stepfather, 78-year-old Joseph Michael Jakimowicz. PREVIOUS: Person of interest in Bucks County homicide in custody, DA saysBristol Township police were called to the 700 block of Winder Drive on Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. Jakimowicz was found dead inside. According to the DA, the Bucks County Coroner's Office determined the man died from injuries caused by sharp force and his manner of death was ruled a homicide. Detectives learned Jakimowicz had ongoing problems with Carey, his estranged stepson.

The pre-Thanksgiving spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant among fully vaccinated attendees of a New York City Anime convention was an early sign the variant was able to evade vaccines, according to a study today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

Early treatment with the antiparasitic drug ivermectin does not lower the risk of severe disease when given to patients with mild to moderate COVID-19, according to a study today in JAMA Internal Medicine.

MINNEAPOLIS - A Minnesota judge in the sentencing of Kim Potter, a former police officer found guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of Daunte Wright, appeared to get emotional after handing down a two-year sentence — which she called "an extremely difficult decision."Potter was convicted in December of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April 11 killing of Wright, a 20-year-old Black driver. Potter, who said she confused her handgun for her Taser in the shooting, was sentenced Friday and received a penalty below state guidelines after the judge found mitigating factors warranted a lesser sentence."This is one of the saddest cases I’ve had in my 20 years on the bench," Judge Regina Chu said during the sentencing.

FILE - An official MLB baseball sits on top of an MLB game-used base with a lock and chain around it to represent the lockout between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). Major League Baseball on Friday canceled the first week of spring training games through March 4 in the first public acknowledgement of the disruption caused by the lockout.The announcement came with the work stoppage in its 79th day, and a day after economic talks between the management and the Major League Baseball Players Association lasted just 15 minutes.Negotiators are set to resume talks on core economics on Monday, and MLB said members of the owners’ negotiating committee will attend the session, just the seventh on the central issues of the dispute since the lockout began Dec.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter was sentenced Friday morning to two years in prison after a jury found her guilty of first-degree and second-degree manslaughter in the April 2021 shooting death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright.Presiding Judge Regina Chu said there was no question that Potter is extremely remorseful when she announced a downward departure from state guidelines with a total sentence of 24 months, with 16 months served in prison, and the remaining on supervised release. Potter will receive credit for 58 days served. Kim Potter addresses the family of Daunte Wright during her sentencing in Hennepin County Court.Chu said she found the facts and circumstances of the case justified a downward departure from state guidelines.

EL PASO, Ill. - An Illinois pileup involving over 100 vehicles was reported Thursday night amid a severe winter storm, shutting down a 30-mile stretch of the highway for hours. Interstate 39 was closed through Friday between Normal to Minonk due to the pileup, the Illinois Department of Transportation said. Both directions eventually reopened nearly 24 hours later. Normal, Illinois is part of the Bloomington metropolitan area and is located about 130 miles southwest of Chicago.

Middlesex-London Health Unit reported two deaths and 85 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases on Friday, though the case count is an underestimate due to widespread transmission and restrictions on testing.London Health Sciences Centre, meanwhile, is caring for 56 inpatients with COVID-19, 14 of whom are in adult critical care, continuing an overall downward trend in hospitalizations.As noted, LHSC is caring for 56 COVID-19 inpatients, with 14 inpatients in adult critical care. Last Friday, there were 87 COVID-19 inpatients, with 20 in adult critical care.Of the 56, there were five or fewer in Children’s Hospital, with five or fewer in pediatric critical care.

The USFL is a new, independent American football league controlled by FOX Sports through NSFL HoldCo, LLC, a new business entity. (Source USFL) (USFL)Here is the full draft order for the first round of the 2022 USFL Draft, as determined by Thursday's draft lottery:1. Michigan Panthers2.

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia police have released new information after officers shot and killed a knife-wielding man they witnessed fatally stabbing his aunt earlier this week. The incident happened Tuesday, at 3:45 p.m. on the 2000 block of South Beechwood Street in Feltonville.Officers responded to a radio call for a person with a weapon, and met with a witness who told that that her son,  36-year-old Thomas Maisano, was inside a home and armed with a knife. The witness also told officers that her sister, 72-year-old Josephine Duggan, was also inside.Police say the four responding officers entered the home and saw Maisano on the second floor in possession of a knife.

Carly Marinaro said her kids' grandmother has been longing to hug her babies, so she created a hugging device out of PVC pipe and clear plastic to bring a smile to everyone's faces.