Comment on 911 Briefs -- Published Dec. 21, 2014

By MARCIA DUNN (AP Aerospace Writer) CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummeled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places. “Not done yet!” the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced in an update. It’s the biggest flare of this 11-year solar cycle, which is approaching its peak, according to NOAA.

By DAVID KOENIG and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — Boeing has violated a settlement that allowed the company to avoid criminal prosecution after two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft more than five years ago, the Justice Department told a federal judge on Tuesday. It is now up to the Justice Department to decide whether to file charges against Boeing.

By JENNIFER PELTZ (Associated Press) NEW YORK (AP) — If every dog must have its day, one champion canine is about to have its year. By the end of Tuesday night, one of the more than 2,500 hounds, terriers, spaniels, setters and others that entered this year’s Westminster Kennel Club dog show will be crowned best in show. Will Comet the shih tzu streak to new heights after winning the big American Kennel Club National Championship last year?

While belief in climate change has waned a bit nationally, 90% of Floridians still believe it’s real, according to a recent survey by Florida Atlantic University. Most Floridians — nearly 70% — want both the state and federal governments to do more to address climate change, the study found. “Floridians support strengthening our resilience to the effects of climate change because they are experiencing it.

TALLAHASSEE — The governing body that oversees high-school athletics in Florida could soon approve a proposal that would lead to high-school athletes getting paid through business agreements such as endorsement deals. The Florida High School Athletic Association held a discussion Tuesday about a potential change to the organization’s bylaws that would allow student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness under what is commonly known as an NIL policy.

By PHILIP MARCELO (Associated Press) NEW YORK (AP) — The video screen “Portal” that lets people in New York and Dublin peer into life on opposite sides of the Atlantic in real time has been a source of whimsical delight for sidewalk crowds in the two cities, but also a magnet for boorish behavior that’s prompted officials to hit pause for now. The livestreaming public art installation known as “ The Portal ” made its North American debut on May 8, with a circular screen set up below New York City’s iconic Flatiron Building and a companion screen on Dublin, Ireland’s main thoroughfare, O’Connell Street, with city landmarks including the Spire in the backdrop. Exhibit organizers touted the interactive display as a unique way to “embrace the beauty of global interconnectedness.” “Portals are an invitation to meet people above borders and differences and to experience our world as it really is —united and one,” said Benediktas Gylys, the Lithuanian artist who conceived the installation, when the screens were unveiled to fanfare. But just days into a run that was to have continued into the fall, the portals were shut down Monday night after videos spread on social media of people behaving badly — from an OnlyFans model in New York baring her breasts to Dubliners holding up swastikas and displaying images of New York’s Twin Towers burning on 9/11. The screens, which only broadcast video with no audio, were back up Tuesday morning but were to be powered down again Tuesday evening, according to officials in New York and Dublin. Michael Ryan, a spokesperson for the Dublin City Council, said exhibit organizers are looking into “possible technical solutions” to address the inappropriate behavior.