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California sober living homes were ‘little more than drug dens,’ lawsuit says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

Dear Gov. Newsom: Thanks for the new laws. Thanks for the new inspectors. Thanks, I guess, for trying, even a little.But — and isn’t there always a but? — it’s not working. And it’s maddening that the fraud and abuse still plaguing California’s addiction treatment industry aren’t being exposed by California’s regulators, or California’s attorney general, or its district attorneys or insurance commissioner, but by the federal Department of Justice and the insurance companies footing the bills. To wit:Last month, Aetna filed a lawsuit against a slew of rehabs and their operators in Orange, Los Angeles and Riverside counties, claiming fraud, negligent misrepresentation, economic interference, conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and unjust enrichment.Aetna headquarters in Hartford,  CT (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File) “The various schemes perpetrated by Defendants here are particularly disturbing,” the Aetna suit says. “Since at least 2021, Defendan...

‘A losing hand:’ Legal experts examine USC’s push against players being classified as employees

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

LOS ANGELES – The future of collegiate athletics, for all anyone knows, was sealed a decade ago in a slew of union ballots that has never seen the light of day.Let’s travel back here for a moment to 2015, when a long-suffering labor movement by Northwestern athletes chasing employee status – led by quarterback Kain Colter – steamrolled all the way to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). According to a Sports Illustrated story a few years ago, players had assembled in 2014 at a hotel to cast votes in favor of unionizing. But in August a summer later, the NLRB unanimously declined to assert jurisdiction – anticlimactically ending a landscape-changing movement.Eight years later, Jodi Balsam, a professor of clinical law at Brooklyn Law School and an expert on sports law, speaks of that union vote as if she’s Indiana Jones discussing a mystical artifact.“When they vacated the decision, we never found out what happened in that ballot,” Balsam told the Southern California News Group....

El Nino is not on our side for a white Christmas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

While visions of sugarplums dance in our heads and we dream of waking up to a fresh snow-packed Christmas morning in the D.C. area, Mother Nature’s scorecard is not in our favor.Weather records dating back to the 1960s show Washington has a statistically more significant chance at a White Christmas when we are not in either a La Nina or El Nino pattern.Three winters were considered “neutral,” which means not El Nino or La Nina, and brought the D.C. region a White Christmas. They include Dec. 25 of 1960, 1962 and 1963.We did win the lottery with two El Nino winters (highlighted in the table below) that produced a White Christmas: 1966 and 2009. One rare La Nina winter brought a White Christmas to Washington on Dec. 25, 1989.Weather records dating back to the 1960s show the District is more likely to see snow on Christmas when we are NOT in either a La Nina or El Nino pattern. (WTOP/Chad Merrill)What about this year?We’re getting into a chilly pattern early thi...

Draw list for the Europa League’s knockout round playoffs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Draw made Monday for the Europa League’s knockout round playoffs (matches to be played from Feb. 15):Feyenoord (Netherlands) vs. Roma (Italy)AC Milan (Italy) vs. Rennes (France)Lens (France) vs. Freiburg (Germany)Young Boys (Switzerland) vs. Sporting (Portugal)Benfica (Portugal) vs. Toulouse (France)Braga (Portugal) vs. Qarabag (Azerbaijan)Galatasaray (Turkey) vs. Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine) vs. Marseille (France)___AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerSource

DC region deals with windy conditions, road closures after overnight showers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

Listen to WTOP for weather updates on the 8s.Heavy rains roared into the D.C. region Sunday night and continued into Monday morning, leaving behind slippery roads and flooding concerns as commuters hit the roads to start their work week. Here’s what you need to know, according to the National Weather Service:A wind advisory has been issued from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and includes the entirety of the District, Maryland, and northern Virginia. A flood warning for large portions of the D.C. region expired at 7 a.m.Rain pushing along the East Coast is expected to continue impacting the D.C. metro area throughout the early Monday morning hours, with an inch to 1.5 inches of rain already on the ground, according to WTOP meteorologist Chad Merrill. 11:19 PM Radar Update: A band of moderate rainfall will continue to move northward across the area. This is all in response to a potent coastal low near eastern NC. 3-hour rainfall totals have been around 0.50-1.25″. A Flood Watch continue...

Real Madrid has a depleted defense after Alaba becomes 3rd player with serious knee ligament injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has some tinkering to do with his defense after yet another serious injury blow.Central defender David Alaba became the third Madrid player to sustain an anterior cruciate ligament injury on Sunday, having to be substituted before halftime in the team’s 4-1 win against Villarreal in the Spanish league.The Austria international is expected to undergo surgery on his left knee in the coming days and is not likely to play again this season.“We are really sad about it because he is another player that we will lose,” Ancelotti said. “I’ve never had three of my players get cruciate injuries in four months, it’s incredible.”Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and defender Éder Militão also underwent surgeries to repair their knee ligaments this year, while midfielder Eduardo Camavinga and forward Arda Güler sustained other knee problems that sidelined them for significant periods. Also out for Madrid are forward Vinícius Júnior and right back Da...

EEUU multa a Southwest con $140 millones por interrupciones de vuelos durante la Navidad del 2022

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

El Departamento de Transporte multó a Southwest Airlines con 140 millones de dólares por interrupciones importantes de vuelos durante la temporada navideña de 2022 y provocó casi 17,000 vuelos cancelados o retrasados significativamente, anunció el DOT este lunes.La sanción civil, que según el DOT es 30 veces mayor que cualquier sanción anterior del departamento por violaciones de protección al consumidor, se destinará principalmente a pagar a los futuros pasajeros de Southwest afectados por retrasos o cancelaciones importantes causados por la aerolínea, dijo el Departamento de Transporte en un comunicado. Se suma a los 600 millones de dólares en reembolsos y reembolsos que Southwest ya entregó a los pasajeros.En su investigación de casi un año, el DOT encontró que Southwest violó una serie de leyes de protección al consumidor al no brindar un servicio al cliente adecuado (es decir, a través del centro de llamadas), notificaciones rápidas sobre el estado de los vuelos y reembolsos de...

Denver weather: More sunshine, mild conditions on the way

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver’s weather will stay mild with above-average temperatures reaching the 50s and 60s throughout the workweek.Weather today: Sunny and warmLet's do it again on Monday. Temperatures will start in the upper 20s and lower 30s before topping out in the upper 50s, nearing 60 degrees. Photos: Star Wars display at Highlands Ranch home Winds will be coming out of the southwest at about 5-10 mph. Pinpoint Weather: Daily highs on Dec. 18 Weather tonight: A few clouds, mildPartly cloudy skies are forecast to dominate the area Monday night as low temperatures will drop into the upper 20s and lower 30s. Parts of Colorado could see wind gusts up to 15 mph as well. Pinpoint Weather: Overnight temperatures on Dec. 18 Looking ahead: Mild week, chance for weekend snowOn Tuesday, a mostly sunny sky and southwesterly breeze will help to boost highs into the 60s, which is 20 degrees above average and just shy of the current record of 67 degrees set in 1917. CSP investigating hit-...

Oil giant BP halts Red Sea transit amid attacks by Yemen’s Houthis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

The oil and gas heavyweight British Petroleum (BP) has paused shipping through the Red Sea, the company said Monday, as attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels on commercial vessels in the area have intensified in the last few weeks.“In light of the deteriorating security situation for shipping in the Red Sea, BP has decided to temporarily pause all transits through the Red Sea,” the company said in a statement.“We will keep this precautionary pause under ongoing review, subject to circumstances as they evolve in the region,” it added.Houthis — a pro-Palestinian rebel Yemeni group which is backed by Iran — have increasingly targeted international ships going through the Red Sea since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, raising fears that the conflict could escalate into a regional war.Some of the world’s largest shipping companies, including the Italian-Swiss MSC and the Danish giant Maersk, have similarly decided to pause shipments through the sea rout...

Depardieu scandal puts Macron on the back foot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron has distanced himself from his government’s decision to consider stripping actor Gérard Depardieu of his Légion d’honneur in the wake of allegations of sexual assault.Last week, France’s Culture Minister Rima Abdul Malek said that Depardieu, who has starred in more than 200 films, most famously “Green Card” and “Cyrano de Bergerac”, had “shamed France” after fresh footage emerged of him making obscene and sexist comments. The French actor was charged with rape in 2020 and faces a dozen accusations of sexual harassment or assault, which he denies.According to the culture minister, a disciplinary proceeding has been launched which may lead to the removal and suspension of Depardieu’s Légion d’honneur, or Legion of honor, which is the highest French order of merit. But Macron is unhappy with what appears to be a knee-jerk reaction to a recently released documentary about the Frenc...