NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A scruffy little fugitive is on the lam again in New Orleans, gaining fame as he outwits a tenacious band of citizens armed with night-vision binoculars, nets and a tranquilizer rifle. Scrim, a 17-pound mutt that's mostly terrier, has become a folk hero, inspiring tattoos, T-shirts and even a ballad as he eludes capture from the posse of volunteers. And like any antihero, Scrim has a backstory: Rescued from semi-feral life at a trailer park and adopted from a shelter, the dog broke loose in April and scurried around the city until he was cornered in October and brought to a new home. Weeks later, he'd had enough. Scrim leaped out of a second-story window, a desperate act recorded in a now-viral video. Since then, despite a stream of daily sightings, he's roamed free. The dog’s fans include Myra and Steve Foster, who wrote “Ode to Scrim” to the tune of Ricky Nelson’s 1961 hit, “I’m a Travelin’ Man.” Leading the recapture effort is Michelle Cheramie, a 55-year-old former information technology professional. She lost everything — home, car, possessions — in Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and in the aftermath, found her calling rescuing pets. “I was like, ‘This is what I should be doing,’” Cheramie said. “I was born to rescue.” She launched Zeus’ Rescues, a nonprofit shelter that now averages 600 cat and dog adoptions a year and offers free pet food to anyone who needs it. She helped Scrim find the home he first escaped from. It was Cheramie's window Scrim leaped from in November. She's resumed her relentless mission since then, posting flyers on telephone poles and logging social media updates on his reported whereabouts. She's invested thousands of dollars on wildlife cameras, thermal sensors and other gear. She took a course offered by the San Diego Zoo on the finer points of tranquilizing animals. And she's developed a network of volunteers — the kind of neighbors who are willing to grid-search a city at 3 a.m. People like writer David W. Brown, who manages a crowd-sourced Google Map of all known Scrim sightings. He says the search has galvanized residents from all walks of life to come together. As they search for Scrim, they hand out supplies to people in need. “Being a member of the community is seeing problems and doing what you can to make life a little better for the people around here and the animals around you,” Brown said. And neighbors like Tammy Murray, who had to close her furniture store and lost her father to Parkinson's disease. This search, she says, got her mojo back. “Literally, for months, I’ve done nothing but hunt this dog,” said Murray, 53. “I feel like Wile E. Coyote on a daily basis with him.” Murray drives the Zeus' Rescues' van towards reported Scrim sightings. She also handles a tactical net launcher, which looks like an oversized flashlight and once misfired, shattering the van's window as Scrim sped away. After realizing Scrim had come to recognize the sound of the van's diesel engine, Murray switched to a Vespa scooter, for stealth. Near-misses have been tantalizing. The search party spotted Scrim napping beneath an elevated house, and wrapped construction netting around the perimeter, but an over-eager volunteer broke ranks and dashed forward, leaving an opening Scrim slipped through. Scrim's repeated escapades have prompted near-daily local media coverage and a devoted online following. Cheramie can relate. “We’re all running from something or to something. He's doing that too,” she said. Cheramie's team dreams of placing the pooch in a safe and loving environment. But a social media chorus growing under the hashtag #FreeScrim has other ideas — they say the runaway should be allowed a life of self-determination. The animal rescue volunteers consider that misguided. “The streets of New Orleans are not the place for a dog to be free,” Cheramie said. “It’s too dangerous.” Scrim was a mess when Cheramie briefly recaptured him in October, with matted fur, missing teeth and a tattered ear. His trembling body was scraped and bruised, and punctured by multiple projectiles. A vet removed one, but decided against operating to take out a possible bullet. The dog initially appeared content indoors, sitting in Cheramie's lap or napping beside her bed. Then while she was out one day, Scrim chewed through a mesh screen, dropped 13 feet to the ground and squeezed through a gap in the fence, trotting away. Murray said Cheramie's four cats probably spooked him. “I wholeheartedly believe the gangster-ass cats were messing with him,” Murray said. Cheramie thinks they may have gotten territorial. Devastated but undeterred, the pair is reassessing where Scrim might fit best — maybe a secure animal sanctuary with big outdoor spaces where other dogs can keep him company. Somewhere, Murray says, “where he can just breathe and be.” Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Brook on the social platform X: @jack_brook96Narges Mohammadi, Nobel Laureate Out from Teheran Prison for Treatment, Vows to Fight on for Women’s Rightsjili super ace 888 login 。

NoneIsrael strikes Houthi rebels in Yemen's capital while the WHO chief says he was meters away JERUSALEM (AP) — A new round of Israeli airstrikes in Yemen have targeted the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa and multiple ports. The World Health Organization’s director-general said the bombardment on Thursday took place just “meters away” as he was about to board a flight in Sanaa. He says a crew member was hurt. The strikes followed several days of Houthi attacks and launches setting off sirens in Israel. Israel's military says it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa, power stations and ports. The Israeli military later said it wasn’t aware that the WHO chief was at the location in Yemen. An uneasy calm settles over Syrian city of Homs after outbreak of sectarian violence HOMS, Syria (AP) — Syria’s new security forces checked IDs and searched cars in the central city of Homs a day after protests by members of the Alawite minority erupted in gunfire and stirred fears that the country’s fragile peace could break down. A tense calm prevailed Thursday after checkpoints were set up throughout the country’s third-largest city, which has a mixed population of Sunni and Shia Muslims, Alawites and Christians. The security forces are controlled by the former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which led the charge that unseated former President Bashar Assad. The US says it pushed retraction of a famine warning for north Gaza. Aid groups express concern. WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say they asked for — and got — the retraction of an independent monitor's warning of imminent famine in north Gaza. The internationally Famine Early Warning System Network issued the warning this week. The new report had warned that starvation deaths in north Gaza could reach famine levels as soon as next month. It cited what it called Israel's “near-total blockade” of food and water. The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Jacob Lew, criticized the finding as inaccurate and irresponsible. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which funds the famine-monitoring group, told the AP it had asked for and gotten the report's retraction. USAID officials tell The Associated Press that it had asked the group for greater review of discrepancies in some of the data. Powerful thunderstorms rumble across Texas, delaying holiday travel DALLAS (AP) — Severe thunderstorms are firing up in parts of Texas and could trigger high winds, hail and potential tornadoes. More than 100 flights were delayed and dozens more were canceled Thursday at airports in Dallas and Houston. The National Weather Service says the greatest weather risk stretched from just east of Dallas, and between Houston and portions of southern Arkansas and western Louisiana. The risk includes the possibility of tornadoes, wind gusts between 60 and 80 miles per hour and large hail. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch for several counties in southeast Texas, including the Houston area. Trump has pressed for voting changes. GOP majorities in Congress will try to make that happen ATLANTA (AP) — Republicans in Congress plan to move quickly in their effort to overhaul the nation’s voting procedures, seeing an opportunity with control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. They want to push through long-sought changes such as voter ID and proof-of-citizenship requirements. They say the measures are needed to restore public confidence in elections. That's after an erosion of trust that Democrats note has been fueled by false claims from Donald Trump and his allies of widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Democrats say they are willing to work with the GOP but want any changes to make it easier, not harder, to vote. Americans are exhausted by political news. TV ratings and a new AP-NORC poll show they're tuning out NEW YORK (AP) — A lot of Americans, after an intense presidential election campaign, are looking for a break in political news. That's evident in cable television news ratings and a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The poll found nearly two-thirds of Americans saying they've found the need recently to cut down on their consumption of political and government news. That's particularly true among Democrats following President-elect Donald Trump's victory, although a significant number of Republicans and independents feel the same way. Cable networks MSNBC and CNN are really seeing a slump. That's also happened in years past for networks that particularly appeal to supporters of one candidate. Aviation experts say Russia's air defense fire likely caused Azerbaijan plane crash as nation mourns Aviation experts say that Russian air defense fire was likely responsible for the Azerbaijani plane crash the day before that killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured. Azerbaijan is observing a nationwide day of mourning on Thursday for the victims of the crash. Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons yet unclear and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan. Cellphone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before smashing into the ground in a fireball. Ukraine's military intelligence says North Korean troops are suffering heavy battlefield losses KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine's military intelligence says North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in Russia's Kursk region and face logistical difficulties as a result of Ukrainian attacks. The intelligence agency said Thursday that Ukrainian strikes near Novoivanovka inflicted heavy casualties on North Korean units. Ukraine's president said earlier this week that 3,000 North Korean troops have been killed and wounded in the fighting in the Kursk region. It marked the first significant estimate by Ukraine of North Korean casualties several weeks after Kyiv announced that North Korea had sent 10,000 to 12,000 troops to Russia to help it in the almost 3-year war. Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez, citing 'emotional toll,' seeks sentencing delay in wake of wife's trial NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is asking a federal judge to delay his end-of-January sentencing on bribery charges, saying his family would suffer a “tremendous emotional toll” if the New Jersey Democrat was sentenced during his wife's trial. His lawyers told Judge Sidney H. Stein in a letter that Nadine Menendez would face a jury that might find it impossible not to hear about her husband's sentencing if it occurred eight days into her trial. The 70-year-old Menendez was convicted in July of 16 charges, including bribery. His wife, whose trial was postponed when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, faces much of the same evidence as her husband. How the stock market defied expectations again this year, by the numbers NEW YORK (AP) — What a wonderful year 2024 has been for investors. U.S. stocks ripped higher and carried the S&P 500 to records as the economy kept growing and the Federal Reserve began cutting interest rates. The benchmark index posted its first back-to-back annual gains of more than 20% since 1998. The year featured many familiar winners, such as Big Tech, which got even bigger as their stock prices kept growing. But it wasn’t just Apple, Nvidia and the like. Bitcoin and gold surged and “Roaring Kitty” reappeared to briefly reignite the meme stock craze.

Power Play for Tuesday, December 10, 2024

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NoneA Nebraska man is getting title to his home back, years after losing it over a $588 tax debt, one of his lawyers said Thursday. Kevin Fair of Scottsbluff has been involved in a legal dispute since 2018, when he lost title to the home he had owned for nearly three decades for failing to pay $588 in overdue property taxes. Scotts Bluff County sold the lien to a private investor, as allowed by Nebraska law at the time. When Fair couldn’t repay the money along with interest and fees, the title went to the investor, though Fair was allowed to stay in the home while the legal dispute played out. The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled against Fair in 2022, but a year later, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the state court to reconsider. In August, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that Fair should retain title to the house. Fair’s appellate law firm, Pacific Legal Foundation, said Fair and the investor have amicably resolved their dispute, ending the legal battle. The case confirmed that home equity “is protected by the Constitution,” said Christina Martin, senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. As for Fair, the ruling “is protecting him from, in all likelihood, homelessness,” she said. A message seeking comment was left Thursday with an attorney for Scotts Bluff County. Fair and his wife, Terry, had already paid off the mortgage for their home in Scottsbluff, a town of 14,300 people in far western Nebraska, by the early 2010s. But in 2013, Terry was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and Kevin quit his job to care for her. The couple fell behind on their property taxes, owing $588. The county placed a lien on the home and listed the delinquency in the newspaper. In 2015, the county sold the tax lien to the private investor, which paid the home’s taxes for three years. When the investor called for the Fairs to pay the accrued $5,268 in taxes, interest and fees, they couldn’t. Scotts Bluff County turned the title and equity over to the investor in 2018. Kevin Fair’s lawsuit contended that while the state should be allowed to collect its debt, it should not be allowed to seize the home or the equity in it above the debt amount — $54,000 in this case. The court victory is bittersweet for Kevin Fair. His wife died in 2019, and he suffered a stroke last month. Martin said he’ll need a ramp built at the home to accommodate him. A GoFundMe account had raised nearly $10,000 by Thursday afternoon. Nebraska changed its law in 2023 so that homeowners are no longer at risk of losing their equity over unpaid property taxes. Stock indexes drifted to a mixed finish on Wall Street Large fossil fuel companies would have to pay fees to A Nebraska man is getting title to his home back, Technology stocks led a broad rally on Wall Street Tuesday

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Aaron Judge wins second AL MVP in 3 seasons. Shohei Ohtani expected to win NL honor NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was a unanimous pick to win his second American League Most Valuable Player Award in three seasons on Thursday, easily outdistancing Kansas City shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. Shohei Ohtani was expected to win the National League honor later Thursday, his third MVP and first in the NL. Judge received all 30 first-place votes in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Witt got all 30 second-place votes for 270 points, and Yankees outfielder Juan Soto was third with 21 third-place votes and 229 points. Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and 133 walks while hitting .322. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.

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