News

MIAMI – The financial statements and structural safety reports of condominium and homeowner associations must be made public under a new law approved by the Miami-Dade County Commission following the collapse of a condo last year. The law approved Tuesday was part of a package of legislation proposed after the Champlain Towers South condominium fell June 24, killing 98 people. Commissioner René Garcia had been working on the issue before the collapse, according to spokesperson Iraida R. Mendez-Cartaya.

NEW YORK – A Ghislaine Maxwell trial juror whose post-verdict revelation that he had suffered child sex abuse has jeopardized Maxwell’s conviction may receive immunity to testify before the judge mulling whether the verdict will stand. Prosecutors said in a submission to U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan on Wednesday that they were in the process of seeking approvals to offer immunity to the man to compel his testimony at a hearing next Tuesday. Maxwell was convicted of charges including sex trafficking and conspiracy.

Average gasoline prices jumped nearly 8 cents this past week in Oklahoma — and are almost 80 cents higher than one year ago — prompting many Shawnee area residents to feel the pinch in their pocketbooks as everything seems to be going up in price.

QUETTA, Pakistan – A bomb exploded near a police van in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing an officer and two other people and wounding 27, mostly passers-by, police said. The attack took place in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, on the Fatima Jinnah Road that runs through a bazaar, according to Fida Hussain, a senior police officer. He identified the slain officer as Ajmal Sadozai. One of the wounded was in critical condition, he added. Several shops at the bazaar caught fire after the bombing.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – A new Zulu king can be crowned in South Africa after a court settled a dispute Wednesday over whether the prince named as heir to the throne last year had a rightful claim to it. A KwaZulu-Natal high court judge ruled that Prince Misuzulu KaZwelithini, the eldest surviving son of the late king, is the “undisputed successor to the throne.” The Zulu king is a largely ceremonial role in South Africa but holds great significance for the 12 million Zulus who make up the country’s largest ethnic group.

For the fifth year, Patriot Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Chandler is going to provide a brand new vehicle for the Patriot Student of the Year. The Patriot Auto Group is teaming up with The Shawnee News-Star to recognize the area’s best student.

Please send items for the calendar to Elisabeth Slay, eslay@news-star.com and/or newsroom@news-star.com. March 3 The Shawnee Ministerial Association (SMA) bringing back the Community Ecumenical Lenten Worship Series.

Planning is underway on how to implement a network of statewide electric vehicle charging stations that will give drivers assurance they can drive anywhere in the state without traveling more than 50 miles to charge up.