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Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Former Miami Heat security officer pleads guilty to selling stolen memorabilia
MIAMI (AP) — A former Miami Heat security officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to transporting and transferring millions of dollars worth of stolen game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia. Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, was a 25-year retired veteran of the Miami Police Department. The Miami resident worked for the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025. According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and FBI Miami, Perez stole more than 400 jerseys and other items from a secured equipment room and sold items through various online marketplaces. He had access because he worked on the game-day security detail at the Kaseya Center. He was one of a few employees with access to a secured equipment room that stored memorabilia the Heat organization planned to display in a future team museum. Over a three-year period, authorities say Perez sold more than 100 stolen items for approximately about $1.9 million and shipped them across state lines, often at bargain prices. They say he sold a Miami Heat jersey LeBron James wore during the NBA Finals for approximately $100,000. That same jersey later sold at a Sotheby's auction for $3.7 million.
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
UK independent space agency scrapped to cut costs
The UK Space Agency will cease to exist as an independent entity to cut the cost of bureaucracy, the government said on Wednesday. It will be absorbed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) in April 2026. The government says this will save money, cut duplication and ensure ministerial oversight. But one leading space scientist said the move would lead to disruption in the short term and the UK losing ground to its international competitors over the long run. Dr Simeon Barber of the Open University feared that scrapping UKSA would lead to Britain's space sector "losing focus". "Around the world countries have been recognising the importance of space by setting up national space agencies, and for the government to be scrapping ours seems like a backward step," he said. UKSA was created 2010 in response to the growing importance of the sector to the economy. The development of small spacecraft, satellites and space instrumentation is a field that the UK excels at, thanks in part due to the agency. Its role is to develop the country's space strategy, coordinate research and commercial activities and liaise with international partners. During its tenure UKSA saw a UK astronaut, Tim Peake launched into space to work on the International Space Station and the development of Britain's own capability to launch small satellites and other small payloads into space from Scotland. The space sector generates an estimated £18.6bn a year and employs 55,000 people across the country. The agency, its budget and activities will now be absorbed into DSIT. It follows a commitment from Prime Minister Keir Starmer to reduce costs and cut the number of arms length government bodies, known as quangos (quasi-autonomous non-governmental organisations), starting with the abolition of NHS England announced in March. Space minister Sir Chris Bryant said: "Bringing things in house means we can bring much greater integration and focus to everything we are doing while maintaining the scientific expertise and the immense ambition of the sector." The merger will see the agency become a unit within DSIT, staffed by experts from both organisations and retaining the UKSA name. But supporters of the space agency, such as Dr Barber fear that this will mean a loss of the agency's dynamic, proactive approach which has proved to be so successful for the UK's space science and its space industry. He said there was a danger of moving to more bureaucratic, less incentivised ways of working, which he said were more typical of government departments, and were the reason the agency was created in the first place. "It feels like we're going to get stuck in the mud again," he told BBC News.
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Conducive environment on the Prairies revives severe storm, supercell threat
The Prairies will be a hot spot of severe weather opportunity this week. Wednesday and Thursday will see a risk of severe thunderstorms in parts of the region, with both days featuring the chances of large hail, heavy downpours and strong winds. DON'T MISS: On Wednesday, the environment will be particularly ripe for supercell development in parts of all three Prairie provinces. So, the chances for a funnel cloud or a tornado are low, but not zero. It'll be important to remain weather-aware, and stay up-to-date on all of the latest watches and warnings as conditions change. Wednesday: Severe storm, supercell risk in multiple provinces A favourable environment for severe thunderstorm is forecast on the Prairies Wednesday afternoon and evening. A few supercells will be possible east of Calgary, Alta., and could track into Saskatoon, Sask. Elevated thunderstorms may bring large hail, anywhere from two to four centimetres in size. Supercells are also possible in southeastern Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba. A low-pressure centre may trigger severe thunderstorms in a higher wind shear and CAPE environment. As a result, the ingredients raise the risks for rotating supercells. The chances for a funnel cloud or a tornado are low, but not zero. DON'T MISS: That part of the forecast has some uncertainty because there is a CAP (warm air inversion) in the atmosphere that storms would have to break through to develop and mature. Additionally, storms trigger here later by Wednesday evening, acting against tornadogenesis. Hail of two to four centimetres in size and heavy downpours are the main risk.s Thursday: Threat for severe storms moves east Thursday's several areas of instability come together in the form an organized, large, low-pressure system situated over northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Widespread rain is expected near and north of the Yellowhead Highway, while severe weather potential exists in southern Manitoba and northwestern Ontario along the system's cold front. Storms in the south may be severe and impact regions near Winnipeg, Man., and Kenora, Ont. SEE ALSO: Cooler temperatures is anticipated for the western Prairies on the backside of the low. Regina, Sask., temperatures fall from 32 C Wednesday to 23 C on Thursday. The eastern Prairies will see one or two days with highs only in the mid- to upper teens on Friday and Saturday. A much drier pattern will then dominate across the region for the remainder of the month of August. Be sure to check back for the latest updates across the Prairies. WATCH: Prairies drive the second-worst fire season on record in Canada Click here to view the video orm risk moves east, Alberta significantly cools__
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Six severed heads found on road in Mexico
Six severed heads have been found on a road in central Mexico, in an area not normally associated with cartel violence. Local authorities made the discovery early on Tuesday morning on a route that links the broadly peaceful states of Puebla and Tlaxcala. Police have not given a motive for the killings or said which of the criminal groups operating in Mexico might have carried them out. Local media has reported that a blanket was left at the scene with a message issuing a warning to rival gangs and apparently signed by a group called "La Barredora", meaning the sweeper. It is the same name as a little-known criminal group operating in the western state of Guerrero but it isn't clear if they were behind the attack or why. The local prosecutor's office said the heads found in Tlaxcala were those of men and it has launched an investigation into the killings, according to AFP news agency. As well as drug-trafficking, there is an issue in the region with fuel smuggling, known as "huachicolea", which generates billions of dollars a year for the groups behind the illegal activity. So far, federal authorities have not commented on the killings. They come amid a major crackdown by the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum on fentanyl trafficking. Puebla and Tlaxcala are not prone to the kind of extreme cartel violence prominent in other parts on the country. In June, the bodies of 20 people - four of them decapitated - were found in Sinaloa, a state gripped by gang violence. Seven Mexican youths were also killed in a shooting at a Catholic Church festivity in the central state of Guanajuato in May. Violence between cartels has surged in recent years, with hundreds of thousands of people killed and tens of thousands missing since the government first began to use the Mexican military against gangs in 2006. Seven Mexican youths shot dead at church festivity Five beheaded bodies found next to road in Mexico
Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
US commerce secretary says trade documents wanted by Japan are 'weeks away'
TOKYO (Reuters) -U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday that documents memorializing trade agreements with Japan and South Korea -- a sensitive topic in Tokyo -- are "weeks away" from being ready. Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba, who is facing calls to step down after the ruling coalition's loss in the July upper house election, has come under attack for not insisting on getting the details of the U.S.-Japan trade deal in writing. He has said Japan skipped this to avoid delaying a reduction in U.S. tariffs on Japanese goods. Lutnick told CNBC the United States has reached a common understanding with both Japan and South Korea on these trade agreements. Under the deal reached last month, the U.S. agreed to reduce tariffs on Japanese car imports to 15% from the previous 27.5%, but did not announce when the change would take effect. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
