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Woman caught smuggling 29 protected turtles from US to Canada

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Woman caught smuggling 29 protected turtles from US to Canada

A woman from Hong Kong was caught for trying to smuggle 29 protected turtles from the United States into Canada.

Wan Yee Ng, 41, entered the guilty plea Friday in U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vermont to a single count of attempting to smuggle eastern box turtles from Vermont to Canada.

Eastern box turtles are a protected species in Vermont as well as in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan and New Hampshire.

According to an affidavit, Ng was arrested on June 28 at an Airbnb in Canaan, Vermont. 

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An endangered male Eastern Box Turtle named “Tank” who resides at the Franklin Park Zoo. (John Wilcox/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

Police said that the 41-year-old was caught red-handed as she was loading up her inflatable kayak to make the trek over to the Canadian side of Lake Wallace.

Police said they were notified by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that two other people, including Ng’s suspected husband, had begun to paddle an inflatable watercraft from the Canadian side of the lake towards the U.S.

Authorities said that she had 29 eastern box turtles inside a duffle bag that were wrapped in socks, the affidavit said.

Box Turtle, Fairfax, Virginia. (Robert Knopes/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

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Eastern box turtles are known to be sold on the Chinese black market for $1,000 each, the affidavit stated.

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During the investigation, police seized her cellphone and showed that she had tried to smuggle the turtles into Canada so that they could eventually be sold for profit in Hong Kong.

Robert Knopes/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (Robert Knopes/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Ng pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of unlawfully attempting to export and send 29 eastern box turtles out of the United States, contrary to law.

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She has been held in custody since her arrest in June and will remain in custody pending her sentencing. She is scheduled to be sentenced on December 13 and faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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Boston, MA

Jazzy Francik tosses no-hitter as FSU softball run-rules Boston College

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Jazzy Francik tosses no-hitter as FSU softball run-rules Boston College


play

  • Florida State sophomore Jazzy Francik pitched her third career no-hitter against Boston College.
  • The Seminoles defeated the Eagles 10-0 in six innings due to the run-rule.
  • The victory moves Florida State one win away from clinching the ACC regular-season title.

Jazzy Francik returned to the site of one of the toughest outings of her career and delivered a dominant performance.

The Florida State sophomore tossed her third career no-hitter and powered the Seminoles to a 10-0 win over Boston College in six innings Saturday at Harrington Athletics Village, moving FSU within one win of clinching the ACC regular-season title.

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Francik (19-2) was in control from the first pitch, striking out six and allowing only one baserunner on an infield error in the fifth inning. She needed just 67 pitches to complete the no-hitter, the third of her career and one of the most efficient outings of her season.

Florida State’s offense gave its ace plenty of support, collecting 12 hits and scoring 10 runs. After a scoreless first inning, the Seminoles broke through in the second with three runs on RBI doubles by freshmen Haley Griggs and Makenna Sturgis.

FSU added four more runs in the fourth inning behind a two-run double from Jaysoni Beachum and an RBI single by Ashtyn Danley. The Seminoles put the run-rule into play in the sixth, scoring three times on an RBI single from Sturgis, an RBI double by Isa Torres and a sacrifice fly from Danley.

Beachum, Torres, Sturgis and Danley each drove in two runs as Florida State continued to pressure Boston College despite several highlight-reel defensive plays from the Eagles.

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Francik and the Seminole defense sealed the no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth to end the game early.

Florida State is one win away from securing at least a share of the ACC regular-season championship. A sweep of Boston College on Sunday would clinch the title outright.

How to watch FSU vs. Boston College Game 2

  • Date: Saturday, May 2
  • Time: 4 p.m.
  • Where: Harrington Athletics Village, Brighton, Massachusetts
  • TV/Stream: ACC extra

Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics and Big Bend Preps for the Tallahassee Democrat. If you like to pitch a story on a high school athlete, don’t hesitate to get in touch with him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.



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Pittsburg, PA

Pittsburgh residents raise concerns over site of proposed reentry center

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Pittsburgh residents raise concerns over site of proposed reentry center


Outrage is building in a quiet Pittsburgh neighborhood.

Residents say they were blindsided by a plan to convert the former Fraternal Order of Police lodge on Banksville Road into a reentry center. The building could be turned into housing for up to 100 federal inmates, officials said.

Dismas Charities, an organization that operates federal halfway houses across the country, is behind the proposal. But neighbors say this isn’t the place.

“What will these people be doing when they’re not in the halfway house? Will they be law-abiding citizens and respect our community and its members?” questioned Judi Perry, a Shady Crest resident.

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Concerns range from safety to proximity. Some fear the risk of repeat offenses, even though the facility is designed for rehabilitation. Residents point to past incidents tied to similar programs, including a case in Kentucky where an inmate left a facility and killed a police officer.

“We need to be better educated about how this facility would operate, what the parameters are for the people who stay there, and maybe, if we had more information, it would comfort us,” Perry said.

Inside a recent Pittsburgh Planning Commission presentation, Dismas Charities pitched the facility as a second-chance model.

“Over the past five years, we’ve had almost 40,000 residents participate in our programs nationally, and the rate of recidivism is .08 percent,” a Dismas Charities representative said at the meeting.

But that message isn’t landing here. Petitions are already circulating with hundreds of signatures collected. Neighbors say this fight is just beginning.

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“We have preconceived notions about these people who were convicted and committed a crime. We don’t know what their crime was, and so maybe our concerns are exaggerated. But in general, you don’t like the idea of that facility being so close to our community,” Perry said.

A decision could come soon, as the commission is set to take this up in the coming days. If approved, it would still need additional sign-off before any inmates move in.



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Connecticut

Telework at DCF under fire following Child Advocate letter

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Telework at DCF under fire following Child Advocate letter


A strongly worded memo raised new questions about how much work Department of Children and Families (DCF) staff were doing from home, and whether that level of teleworking was hurting child protection. 

Telework expanded during the pandemic and later became part of the state’s labor agreement, allowing some DCF employees to work remotely up to 80% of the week.

While social workers continued to handle court appearances, home visits, and foster placements in person, they were allowed to start and end most workdays at home. Staff must reapply for telework permission every six months and face losing that privilege if performance slips. 

Concerns over the workflow quickly followed. The state’s Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) warned that extensive teleworking could be undermining case practice and supervision inside an agency already struggling with high turnover and many inexperienced workers.

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In a critical letter sent Thursday, the Child Advocate suggested that telework should be limited unless workers met specific, data‑driven performance standards, citing the loss of in‑office collaboration, supervision, and real‑time support. 

NBC Connecticut Investigates also spoke exclusively with a longtime former DCF employee who remained in the child welfare field. That former worker said telework simply did not function on multiple levels at DCF, describing widespread belief among current staff and those in the judicial system that bringing people back into the office was a necessary step toward restoring the agency. 

Lawmakers from both parties echoed those concerns. House Minority Leader Vincent Candelora (R) said staff working remotely were missing daily interaction, training, and support, instead operating in silos. House Speaker Matt Ritter(D) said the newly formed oversight committee was expected to examine the policy. 

Those warnings were backed up by troubling findings. According to the OCA’s report, a review of in‑home cases in 2024 and 2025 found face‑to‑face interactions did not happen in about 40% of cases—something the OCA called alarming and in need of urgent attention. 

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As scrutiny over DCF intensified, teleworking became the latest flashpoint in a broader debate over accountability, supervision, and whether the systems meant to protect vulnerable children were being stretched too thin.



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