NEWS 6: Coverage of Central Florida news

Explosions were seen near Kharkiv, Ukraine, early on the morning of February 24, as Russia announced expanded military operations in the country.

With the Kremlin’s troops already moving in, and no signs of de-escalation despite sanctions, Ukraine is sending urgent pleas for help to stop a war with Russia.

A couple in Mission says their young daughter was subjected to a lesson she should have never had to learn. They say the mixed race kindergartener was brought up to the front of the room during a lesson on slavery, and used as an example.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine, telling the West not to intervene in what appeared to be the beginning of war in Europe. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared martial law and confirmed military strikes have been reported across the country.

BURLINGTON, N.J. - As COVID-19 cases continue to wane, some states have started shifting to an endemic approach that will bring life closer to pre-pandemic normal.In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday that he will no longer hold planned coronavirus briefings that have been part the state's COVID-19 attack plan. "As we move into our new normal and transition from a pandemic stance to endemic one, there is no longer the need for us to gather at a set time every week," Murphy said in a tweet. The state will also drop its school mask mandate on Mar.

There is a growing chorus of condemnation from world leaders and diplomats after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized a special military operation into eastern Ukraine on Thursday.

A couple in Mission, B.C., is speaking out after they say their young daughter was singled out in a lesson in kindergarten class.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka Navy seized two (02) Indian trawlers with 22 Indian fishermen while poaching in Sri Lankan waters.The apprehension was made in northern waters of Sri Lanka, during a patrol carried out on the night of 23rd February 2022.Considering the impact of foreign fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters on the local fishing community and threats to the biodiversity of the country’s marine environment, the Navy has been conducting regular patrols and operations to curb such illegal activities of foreign fishermen in Sri Lankan waters.The apprehension was made during a patrol carried out by a Fast Attack Craft of the 4th Fast Attack Flotilla (4 FAF), attached to the Northern Naval Command in Sri Lankan waters north of Kankasanthurai and northwest of Kovilan Lighthouse, Jaffna.Thus, the Navy took hold of the 02 Indian trawlers with 22 Indian fishermen while practicing the illegal fishing method known as ‘bottom trawling’ in island waters, through the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). The Navy also seized a stock fish caught illegally by this fishing method.The operation was conducted adhering to COVID-19 protocols and arrangements are being made to hand over the Indian poaching vessels and fishermen held in the operation to relevant authorities.Including the 02 Indian trawlers seized, the Navy took hold of 08 Indian fishing vessels with 51 fishermen poaching in Sri Lankan waters, thus far in the month of February 2022.Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Navy remains committed to carry out regular operations with a view to safeguard the security in Sri Lankan waters while protecting the fishery resources of the country and the livelihood of local fishermen.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Ceylon Electricity Board announced on Wednesday (23) that Colombo will experience Power Cuts from Thursday (24).Accordingly, Colombo 1 to 15 will also be included in the scheduled power cuts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, in an early Thursday (24) morning address in Moscow, announced that Russia would launch a military action in Ukraine. NBC News reported that explosions were heard in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.The United Nations Security Council had just convened an emergency meeting Wednesday night.Earlier, European and U.S.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa has said that necessary measures have been taken to ensure there is no shortage in the supply of essential goods to the country.Speaking at the meeting with state officials at the Presidential Secretariat chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday (23), the Finance Minister said a mechanism is also in place to inquire into the shortcomings at the regional level and obtain information via the Divisional Secretariats.The meet was held to raise awareness on the government’s forward plans, and speaking at the meeting President Gotabaya Rajapaksa noted that it is his aspiration that all state institutions commit to serving the general public.“A majority of the public servants wish to work. What is required is supervision, guidance, and encouragement and that will lead to a productive service,” the President told the meeting.He stressed the need for Governors, and the Secretaries of Ministries, Provinces, and Districts, as well as all high-ranking state officials, to personally intervene to provide leadership in this effort.The President recalled the fact that he personally visits state offices and supervises them, called on the Governors and state officials to also visit all institutions under their purview and conduct inspections, whilst encouraging the staff.“We are here to ensure the people survive and the proper environment for that needs to be created.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a “special military operation” in eastern Ukraine, telling the West not to intervene in what appeared to be the beginning of war in Europe.Putin said in an early televised speech Thursday the action was in response to threats coming from Ukraine, yet insisted Russia doesn’t have a goal to occupy the country.He said the responsibility for bloodshed lies with the Ukrainian “regime,” telling fighters there to lay down their arms and surrender — though Putin admitted clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces are “inevitable” and “only a question of time.”The Russian leader warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to “consequences they have never seen.” Russia says rebels need help in possible war pretext as Ukraine president pleads for peace Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Putin’s move a “full-scale invasion of Ukraine” and said cities were being hit with military strikes.“This is a war of aggression,” he said on Twitter. “Ukraine will defend itself and will win.”Putin has just launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

BRUSSELS - Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced a military operation in Ukraine, and he is warning other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences they have never seen."U.S. President Joe Biden says the world will "hold Russia accountable."The Ukrainian president earlier rejected Moscow’s claims that his country poses a threat to Russia and made a passionate plea for peace.Before Putin’s announcement, world leaders worked to maintain a united stance and vowed to impose tougher sanctions in the event of a full-fledged invasion.The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Wednesday night at Ukraine’s request.Here are the things to know about the conflict over Ukraine and the security crisis in Eastern Europe:PUTIN MAKES HIS MOVEPutin said the military operation was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine — a claim the U.S.

PLEASANTVILLE, N.J. - An Atlantic County town council on Wednesday voted to shut down a nightclub where a young man was assaulted before his body was found days later. Protesters marched through the streets of Pleasantville to the city hall where Pleasantville City Councilmembers voted to revoke Centerfolds Cabaret's Mercantile license.According to police, 19-year-old Irving Mayren-Guzman was assaulted in the parking lot of Centerfolds during the early morning hours of Jan.

CHERRY HILL, N.J. - New Jersey parents want answers after they claimed their young son came home from daycare with unexplained bruises.Shane Camardo said he pulled his 5-year-old son Cole, who has autism, out of Barclay Early Childhood Center in Cherry Hill due to safety concerns and a lack of communication."We just kind of hope and assumed it was from the playground," Shane said. "What I was told was 'No way he was on the playground it's a cold day' I said ‘well can you tell me how he came home with this bruising?’ That’s the last info I got."Camardo said this incident comes after he and his wife raised questions about treatment methods used on their son without their permission, including the use of ankle weights for extended periods of time."Any other kid can come home and say ‘Hey Dad, I had ankle weights on my ankle all day’ my kid cant," Camardo said.New Jersey parents are searching for answers after they claim their young son came home from daycare with unexplained bruises.

KYIV, Ukraine - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced a military operation in Ukraine and warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to "consequences they have never seen."He said the attack was needed to protect civilians in eastern Ukraine – a claim the U.S. had predicted he would falsely make to justify an invasionIn a televised address, Putin accused the U.S.

LOWER OXFORD TWP, Pa. - Authorities in Delaware County have made an arrest in the stabbing death of a Lincoln University student who was killed during a brawl at a dorm that injured two others.Delaware County District Attorney Deb Ryan and Lincoln University Police will hold a press conference Thursday to announce the arrest of 39-year-old Nydira Smith.Smith, a Philadelphia resident, is being charged with the murder of 21-year-old Jawine Evans during the dorm room brawl on Feb. 16. Officers responded to the campus in Lower Oxford Township around 9:30 p.m.

Ben Stiller is crediting the pandemic for his reconciliation with his wife, Christine Taylor. In a new interview with , Stiller opened up about directing  for Apple TV+ and what led to his reunion with Taylor after their separation in 2017.Stiller moved back into the family home when the pandemic began, so that he could see their children, Ella, 19 and Quinlin, 16, during the early stages of the lockdown, but before long, something shifted.«Over the course of time, it evolved,» he told the magazine. «We were separated and got back together and we’re happy about that.

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Justin Bieber answers a phone call on his way to a medical building in Los Angeles on Wednesday afternoon (February 23).

Now that Novovax has been approved in Canada, B.C. health officials hope it will convince some vaccine-hesitant people to get their shot. Keith Baldrey has the latest.

PHILADELPHIA - Police said a man was found fatally shot in the living room of an Overbrook Park home on Wednesday night. Officers from the Philadelphia Police Department were dispatched to the 900 block of North 68th Street around 8 p.m. for reports of an unresponsive man. Police said the 48-year-old victim was in the first-floor living room with a gunshot wound to the head.

Omicron is the most highly contagious variant of COVID-19. Now a new study from Denmark looks at whether you can be reinfected with the same variant. Jamie Mauracher breaks down the new data.

Edmonton city councillors voted Wednesday to meet with members of the police commission behind closed doors, despite growing criticism of the police service. Breanna Karstens-Smith reports.

After being hit with a double whammy of slumping oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic, the energy and forestry industry driven town of Drayton Valley went bust over the last few years. But as restrictions ease and industry picks up, the western Alberta town is once again buzzing.

Bianco is a baseball coach for Cherry Hill National Athletic League and employs minors in his business, Bianco Landscaping Maintenance, LLC.

Palo Alto, California, resident Brian Hamachek was looking over a government website listing payouts for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) last year. He immediately noted many businesses listed either didn't exist or greatly exaggerated their number of employees.He said he recognized fraud that an investigator in Washington would have no way of knowing, "such as, a restaurant that went out of business a couple of months before they got their loan, and they've never come back."Hamachek is a software engineer.

SAN FRANCISCO - A woman is dead and three others are in critical condition Wednesday morning after a fire in an overpass at a homeless encampment in San Francisco. The fire broke out in a confined space at around 1:15 a.m. inside an onramp at Bosworth Street and southbound Interstate 280.Initially three adults were rescued – all of them in critical condition.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 27: (L-R) Co-teachers at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 Marisa Wiezel (who is related to the photographer) and Caitlin Kenny give a lesson to their masked students in their classroom on September 27, 2021 in New York City.

Health Minister Adrian Dix announced on Wednesday, Feb. 23, that rapid antigen tests will be available to the general public beginning on Friday.

Increasing numbers of cases and hospitalisations are another reminder that vaccination is our best defence against the virus.

Google said on Wednesday it is giving employees in the Bay Area the option to return to office where possible, as COVID-19 cases ease in the United States.

Anthony Fauci said. Covid drugs like Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid that keep high-risk patients from hospitalization and death are becoming plentiful as production ramps up, Fauci said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “The Close."

JUPITER, Fla. (AP) - Major League Baseball said Wednesday that the 2022 season will be shortened if no labor agreement has been reached by the end of Monday.Management had maintained that was the deadline for a deal that would allow the season to start as scheduled on March 31.

(FOX 9) - Target will no longer require its employees or customers to wear masks, according to an update on its corporate website.  Through an update to its FAQ section, Target announced, "As COVID-19 cases continue to decline across the country, Target will not require U.S.

Tom Brady #12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks to throw the ball in a game against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Divisional Playoffs in 2022. (Photo by Kevin C.

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia police and local authorities are widening their search for accomplices of a carjacking ring after its accused leader was arrested and charged in connection to two deadly vehicle thefts. The Philadelphia Police Department on Tuesday announced the arrest of 28-year-old Jonathan Akubu on charges of murder, aggravated assault, arson and carjacking. Investigators linked Akubu to the Feb.

HOUSTON - A law enforcement officer has been killed, and a suspect has died following a shooting at PlazAmericas Mall in southwest Houston Wednesday afternoon.SIGN UP FOR THE FOX 26 NEWSLETTERAccording to Houston Police Department, an officer was attacked at the mall located in the 7500 block of Bellaire Boulevard. HPD reported that the officer, who is not from their department, and the suspect were shot and taken to local hospitals.The unidentified officer is with the San Jacinto County Pct.

NEW YORK - Two of the prosecutors leading the Manhattan district attorney's investigation into former President Donald Trump's business practices have resigned.A spokesperson for District Attorney Alvin Bragg confirmed the resignations of Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz, top deputies who had been tasked with running the investigation on a day-to-day basis. Both started on the Trump probe under former District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., and Bragg asked them to stay when he took office in January.Dunne, the office's former general counsel, argued before the U.S.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday revoked the Emergencies Act after police in Ottawa cleared out anti-mandate protesters this past weekend, and said he doesn’t “think anyone feels there was a low bar” that was set by invoking the Emergencies Act.

Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping announced new measures to make access to pediatric COVID-19 vaccines easier in an effort to increase vaccination rates.

Police are investigating after the constituency offices of two GTA politicians have been targeted. The most recent, a fire investigation at MP Peter Fonseca’s office in Mississauga.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau revoked the use of the Emergencies Act on Wednesday, explaining that there were “occupations so solidly implanted that police didn’t have the resources or tools available to dislodge them, that emergency is now over.” Trudeau added that the “threat continues,” but that his government has a high level of confidence in the existing tools police forces have across Canada will be sufficient to deal with further disruptions.

Toronto says it is shifting its COVID-19 vaccination resources and will be focusing on a “hyper-local” and “equity-focused” approach.In a press release Wednesday afternoon, the city said its crews along with Toronto Public Health (TPH) will be “shifting the city-wide COVID-19 vaccination approach to increase localized vaccination opportunities, outreach and efforts, as case counts and hospitalizations continue to decline.”The release said the city and TPH will shift resources to a “hyper-local, equity-focused campaign” and “continue to increase vaccination opportunities in focused communities with low vaccine uptake.” Ontario COVID numbers — 1,106 people in hospital, 319 in intensive care “While significant progress has been made across the city and in certain age groups, disparity in vaccine uptake remains as some communities continue to experience hesitancy and barriers to vaccination,” the release reads.The city said TPH will be bringing mobile clinics to 30 priority neighbourhoods that were identified through an analysis of “local, neighborhood-level data.”Mobile clinics will be brought to the following neighbourhoods:As part of this next phase of our vaccination efforts, #TeamToronto is shifting resources to a hyper-local, equity-focused campaign in communities with low vaccine uptake.@TOPublicHealth is bringing mobile clinics to 30 priority neighbourhoods, identified by local data.

Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown is calling on the Ontario government to consider implementing a maskless policy for school aged children in the province. The move would follow similar guidelines set out by Quebec. Morganne Campbell has more.

COVID-19.The move comes on the heels of the province’s chief medical officer’s re-evaluation of letters sent last year to various sectors, including hospitals and post-secondary institutions, requiring the development of immunization policies.A spokesperson for the Hamilton Police says the service will be following the Ford government’s direction and dropping rapid test requirements for members who didn’t get shots or didn’t disclose their status.

Ford government promised it would deliver its budgets by the end of Ontario’s fiscal year, but an amendment quietly added onto its legislation to axe licence plate sticker fees will allow the government to miss the target without penalty, presenting the budget much closer to the provincial election.The Tories introduced a law in 2019, requiring the delivery of budgets by a March 31 deadline. That target has been missed before and the government said it will be missing it again, because it wants more time to take get a clear picture of Ontario’s recovery following the March 1 reopening.

The Ford Government quietly introduced a clause to allow it to miss its self-imposed law surrounding budget deadlines, to allow it to miss the date without penalty. The timing of the move and the means has opposition members crying foul.