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Judge blocks most of an Iowa law banning some school library books and discussion of LGBTQ+ issues

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:53 GMT

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked key parts of an Iowa law that bans some books from school libraries and forbids teachers from raising LGBTQ+ issues.Judge Stephen Locher’s preliminary injunction halts enforcement of the law, which was set to take effect Jan. 1 but already had resulted in the removal of hundreds of books from Iowa schools.The law, which the Republican-led Legislature and GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds approved early in 2023, bans books depicting sex acts from school libraries and classrooms and forbids teachers from raising gender identity and sexual orientation issues with students through the sixth grade. Locher blocked enforcement of those two provisions. The judge said the ban on books is “incredibly broad” and has resulted in the removal of history volumes, classics, award-winning novels and “even books designed to help students avoid being victimized by sexual assault.” He said that part of the law...

Phony MIT physicist bilked investors out of $24.6 million with Irvine tech firm, SEC alleges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:53 GMT

An Irvine man bilked more than 50 investors out of $26.4 million with phony academic credentials, a fanciful rags-to-riches story and a promise to usher in “the next age of humanity” with cutting-edge nanotechnologies that could cure cancer, detect counterfeiting and provide an antidote to snake venom, according to federal regulators.Faiz M. Chowdhury, 54, who owns Irvine-based DTI Holdings Inc. and Quantum Age Corp., swindled venture capitalists in the U.S. and Asia by falsely claiming to be a Massachusetts Institute of Technology-trained physicist and intellectual prodigy, states a U.S. Securities Exchange Commission lawsuit filed in federal court.From May 2018 to December 2022, Chowdhury treated DTI and QAC accounts as his “personal piggy bank,” the SEC said. He allegedly spent investment funds totaling $19.8 million to support an extravagant lifestyle that included international travel, gambling, luxury items for himself and his family, ATM cash withdrawals and wire transfers to...

Failed Del Mar horse show producer pleads guilty to murder-for-hire plot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:53 GMT

VISTA, Calif. — A North County woman accused of attempting to hire someone to kill her estranged husband pleaded guilty in court on Thursday to a charge of solicitation to commit murder.Tatyana Natasha Remley, 42, entered the guilty plea in front of a judge at a Vista Superior Court after reaching an agreement with prosecutors to the solicitation charge and a second charge for carrying a loaded, concealed gun in her vehicle that was not registered to her.She had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this year. As part of the deal to change her plea, she was immediately sentenced to three years and eight months behind bars in a state prison. Prosecutors also agreed to drop a third weapon-related charge. Four Rancho Santa Fe suspects plead not guilty to first degree burglary Remley was arrested by deputies with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department in early August after a sting operation set around a supposed meeting with a hitman, who — unbeknownst to her — was a...

San Diego minimum wage increases Jan. 1, but how much?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:53 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Minimum wage will increase for millions of workers across California on Jan. 1, 2024, including those employed within the City of San Diego.Just how much will hourly pay increase? According to city officials, employees who perform at least two hours of work in one or more calendar weeks of the year will receive a minimum wage increase from $16.30 to $16.85 an hour. Self-serve ramen restaurant coming to Mid-City, says San Diego celebrity chef “With the cost of living rising, this increase could not come at a more needed time for workers and working families,” said Mayor Todd Gloria. “This increase means a better ability to make ends meet, put food on the table, and spend in our local businesses."The city said the change is in accordance with San Diego's Earned Sick Leave and Minimum Wage Ordinance, which was approved in 2016.How is the increase determined?As explained by the city, San Diego minimum wage has gone up annually since 2019. The amount of the increase corres...

Jail call recording shows risk to witnesses in Tupac Shakur killing case, Las Vegas prosecutors say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:53 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Prosecutors are telling a Nevada judge that witnesses may be at risk in the case of a former Los Angeles-area gang leader charged with orchestrating the killing of hip-hop music icon Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas more than 27 years ago.A court filing submitted Thursday urges the judge to keep Duane “Keffe D” Davis behind bars until trial, alleging that a list of witnesses was given to Davis family members, and that Davis’ son told the defendant during a recorded jail telephone call that a “green light” order had been given.“In (Davis’) world, a ‘green light’ is an authorization to kill,” prosecutors Marc DiGiacomo and Binu Palal said in the court filing.“This caused enough concern that the federal government stepped in and provided resources to at least (one witness) so he could change his residence,” the prosecutors wrote, calling the Oct. 9 jail call evidence of “credible threats to witnesses (that) demonstrate both a consciousness of guilt and that defendant poses a ...

Embezzlement of Oregon weekly newspaper’s funds forces it to lay off entire staff and halt print

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:53 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon weekly newspaper has had to lay off its entire staff and halt print after 40 years because its funds were embezzled by a former employee, its editor said, in a devastating blow to a publication that serves as an important source of information in a community that, like many others nationwide, is struggling with growing gaps in local news coverage.About a week before Christmas, the Eugene Weekly found inaccuracies in its bookkeeping, editor Camilla Mortensen said. It discovered that a former employee who was “heavily involved” with the paper’s finances had used its bank account to pay themselves $90,000 since at least 2022, she said. The paper also became aware of at least $100,000 in unpaid bills — including to the paper’s printer — stretching back several months, she said.Additionally, multiple employees, including Mortensen, realized that money from their paychecks that was supposed to be going into retirement accounts was never deposite...

Light snow possible New Year's Eve

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:53 GMT

Clouds blocked all sun a second consecutive day as rains eased Friday.  December—typically Chicago's cloudiest month of the year—has been even cloudier than usual this year.  The month, which typically hosts about 40% of its possible sun has generated just 32% of its possible sun to date in 2023.  That's only 80% of December's typically paltry allotment of sunshine.Total storm rainfall out of this slow moving system has come to 0.27" at O'Hare and 0.37" at Midway.  Some clearing is expected later tonight allowing some sunshine as the New Year's Eve weekend gets underway Saturday.  But any sun will yield ground to a new round of incoming clouds later Saturday.  Those clouds are to accompany the next weather disturbance to sink southeastward into the Midwest out of Canada and potential bring some flurries to the Chicago area later Saturday night that is to build into periods of light snow Sunday into Sunday night (New Year's Eve). Though NOT a BIG SYSTEM, modest accumulations are poss...

Body of missing St. Louis mother found in Chicago suburbs; ex-boyfriend charged with murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:53 GMT

DES PLAINES, Ill. — The family of Marquisha Williams is heartbroken, but they say the discovery of her body in the Chicago area brings them some closure after Williams had been missing for over a week.The search ended Thursday in Des Plaines when Williams' family said her body was found in the 2100 block of E. Algonquin Road at the Cook County Forest Preserve. The Cook County Medical Examiner had responded to the Forest Preserve. On Friday, the medical examiner confirmed that the body found was that of Williams.Williams, a 29-year-old mother of four from St. Louis, went missing a week before Christmas.Prosecutors have charged Trenton Ivy, her ex-boyfriend, with murder. Ivy was arrested in Racine, Wisconsin, last week Friday on unrelated charges. Investigators say after his arrest, Ivy confessed to killing Williams in St. Louis. He also admitted to having a physical altercation and then dumping Williams' body at an undisclosed location.Williams' mother, Norvette Chavis Williams, said...

Man rescued after crashing into pond at forest preserve in Addison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:53 GMT

DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. — A man was pulled to safety after crashing his car into a pond in the western suburbs.First responders in Addison conducted a water rescue on Friday after the man drove his car into the pond at the Wood Dale Grove Forest Preserve. FBI searching for man who robbed bank in Buffalo Grove According to Addison fire officials, the rescue was conducted around noon and officials say the driver crashed after he lost control of his vehicle.Officials say the man was still inside his car when crews located him in shoulder-deep water and was able to get out thanks to the help of first responders. String of burglaries in Hyde Park prompts warning from Chicago police "They attempted to throw a rope out to the individual, the rope missed, he kind of walked back to the car, and then subsequently he ended up walking out toward the shore and then our paramedics and firefighters, helped him, assisted him get out of the water," Deputy Chief Brock Herion from the Addison Fire Pr...

Texas point guard Rori Harmon out for season with ACL tear in right knee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:11:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas junior point guard Rori Harmon is out for the remainder of the season after tearing the ACL in her right knee during practice Wednesday, she announced Friday.In a social media post, Harmon said, "I'm heartbroken that I won't be able to play with my teammates this season, but I'm going to support them and be the best teammate I can be."Harmon is one of the best point guards in the country and leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio at 6.64, dishing out 93 assists to just 14 turnovers. She's second in the country with 7.8 assists per game and averages 14.1 points per game, helping the Longhorns to a 13-0 record and No. 5 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25."She has worked so hard to become in my opinion the best guard in the country, an All American," Longhorns head coach Vic Shaefer said. "It is difficult to see a young person go through this. It is truly devastating. My heart is crushed for her."Texas opens Big 12 Conference play against No. 10 Baylor ...