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Missouri official under fire for opposing LGBTQ+ protections

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:48 GMT

EFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Democrats on Monday called for the removal of the leader of the state's Human Rights Commission after he testified last week against a bill for LGBTQ+ rights.Timothy Faber, chairman of the Missouri Commission on Human Rights, has “lost the trust of elected leaders," Senate Democrats wrote in a letter to Gov. Mike Parson, who appointed the fellow Republican to the commission in 2021. The commission handles cases of alleged discrimination in the state.The bill in question, brought by the state’s only openly gay senator, would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. It would offer protections against landlords refusing to rent to LGBTQ+ people or employers firing them. Top story: Timeline of severe weather near St. Louis Tuesday Faber testified against it last week, telling Senate committee members that “this bill cannot be separated from religion, and particularly religious liberty.”“The U.S. Constitution and the Missouri...

Officials seeking help to identify patient hospitalized for 2 weeks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:48 GMT

Officials at LAC+USC Medical Center are asking for the public's help to identify a woman who has been hospitalized for more than two weeks.The woman is believed to be between 55 and 60 years old and arrived at the hospital on March 20 after she was found unresponsive on the sidewalk.She's described by hospital staff as a Black woman, with coarse, shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes. She's about 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing about 242 pounds with a heavy build, officials said, and she has no other "identifiable markers."Hospital workers in Los Angeles are hoping to identify this woman hospitalized since March 20, 2023. (L.A. County Department of Health Services)Due to privacy laws, the L.A. County Department of Health Services-run facility cannot provide any additional details about her condition or prognosis.Anyone with information about the woman's identity is urged to contact Jennifer Burgos, Sr., a clinical social worker with LAC+USC Medical Center Department of Social Wor...

33-year-old Simi Valley woman identified as second suspect in deadly West Hills shootout

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:48 GMT

A second suspect has been identified in connection with a shootout Saturday at a busy West Hills shopping center that left one person dead, and three others injured, authorities announced Monday.  The shooting happened around 3:45 p.m., with police responding to the scene on reports of gunfire exchanged involving multiple people at a shopping plaza near Fallbrook Avenue and Vanowen Street. A 45-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. A 35-year-old woman, a 35-year-old man and a 45-year-old man were hospitalized in serious or critical condition, LAPD said. After the shootout, police say 34-year-old Mark Connole of Woodland Hills, crashed his vehicle, fled the shooting and was picked up at the location by a female suspect, now identified as 33-year-old Amy Waters of Simi Valley.  “A pursuit ensued by marked police vehicles. Suspect Waters failed to pull over and violated numerous vehicle code violations putting the public at risk,” an LAPD news release ...

Disney teases live-action 'Moana' film, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson returns as Maui

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:48 GMT

A live-action remake of the animated Disney blockbuster "Moana" is in the works. CEO Bob Iger and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made the announcement during Disney’s annual shareholder’s meeting Monday. Johnson famously voiced the character of the demigod known as Maui in the 2016 movie. Auli‘i Cravalho voiced Moana in the original. She will serve as executive producer with Scott Sheldon of Flynn Picture Co.The "Black Adam" star made the announcement via a video message from the Hawaiian island of Oahu alongside his two young daughters. "Deeply humbled to announce we’re bringing the beautiful story of 'Moana' to the live-action big screen!" Johnson wrote in a caption on Instagram. "This story is my culture, and this story is emblematic of our people’s grace, mana, and warrior strength.""I wear our culture proudly on my skin and in my soul, and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reunite with Maui, inspired by the spirit of my late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, is one that run...

Home sales have slowed in this California city, prospective buyers can buy a home at a cheaper price

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:48 GMT

Prospective buyers in California may have trouble landing their forever homes in cities like Los Angeles or San Francisco due to expensive home prices and low inventory; however, purchasing a home in the Golden State is still possible.For those with little flexibility on location, a new study from Realtor.com revealed that homes in Chico have been on the market for longer and aren’t as expensive as other homes In California. This is where California residents can find the cheapest homes Researchers found that Chico, located in Northern California, has a surplus in home inventory. On average, homes in the area have stayed in the market for 78 days, which is more than twice as long as they were a year ago, according to the report.In comparison, on average, homes in Los Angeles stay on the market for 61 days and in San Francisco, the average is 29. In San Diego, homes usually remain on the market for 30 days, according to Redfin data from February.Researchers noted that the housing s...

Gerald Nelson Arrested after DUI Accident on Brunswick Road [Nevada County, CA]

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:48 GMT

80-Year-Old Woman Pronounced Dead after Side-Swipe Collision near Highway 174NEVADA COUNTY, CA (April 3, 2023) – Monday afternoon, Gerald Nelson was arrested after a fatal DUI accident on Brunswick Road.Officers responded to the scene shortly after 3:00 p.m., near Highway 174 on March 27th.Per reports, Nelson was heading west in a 1994 Dodge pickup-truck. Meanwhile, an 80-year-old woman was driving a 2006 Mercedes in the oncoming lane.For DUI related reasons, Nelson failed to negotiate a curve and crossed into the oncoming lanes. As a result, Nelson struck the side of the Mercedes and crashed into a pole and street sign.Medics arrived and pronounced the female Mercedes driver dead at the scene. Although, authorities have not yet released her identity.Meanwhile, paramedics took 81-year-old Nelson to a nearby hospital for further treatment. Following preliminary duties, officers booked Nelson into the Nevada County Jail under suspicion of felony DUI.At this time, an active inves...

First lady wants champs LSU – and Iowa – at the White House

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:48 GMT

Associated PressWASHINGTON — First lady Jill Biden said Monday that she wants the defeated Iowa women’s basketball team to be invited to the White House in addition to the national title winner Louisiana State University. She watched LSU’s 102-85 victory over Iowa from the stands on Sunday night.Biden, speaking at the Colorado state capital in Denver, praised Iowa’s sportsmanship and congratulated both teams on their performance.“I know we’ll have the champions come to the White House, we always do. So, we hope LSU will come,” she said. “But, you know, I’m going to tell Joe I think Iowa should come, too, because they played such a good game.”The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about whether President Joe Biden would also extend a White House invite to Iowa — and whether it would be a joint visit with LSU or a separate engagement.Related ArticlesNational News | Pac-12 WBB: What̵...

Tesla racism lawsuit: Elon Musk’s firm to pay $3.2 million after $137 million award tossed

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:48 GMT

Tesla must pay a Black former Tesla worker about $3.2 million, most of it in punitive damages, after a judge in the racism-based case threw out an earlier jury award of $137 million.On Monday, a jury awarded Owen Diaz $3 million in punitive damages, plus $175,000 in non-economic damages, according to the verdict form released by the court.Diaz alleged in a 2017 lawsuit against Tesla that as a contracted elevator operator at the firm’s electric car factory in Fremont in 2015 and 2016, he endured “daily racist epithets,” including the n-word, and that colleagues drew swastikas and left racist graffiti and drawings around the plant.In October 2021, a San Francisco federal court jury awarded Diaz nearly $137 million — believed to be one of the largest awards in U.S. history for a single plaintiff in a race-discrimination case. But in April last year, Judge William Orrick in U.S. District Court in San Francisco slashed the amount to $15 million. He gave Diaz the option of a retrial...

Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s mystery “special advisor” raises legal concerns, experts say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:48 GMT

Santa Clara resident and small business owner Kirk Vartan has been a special advisor to Mayor Lisa Gillmor for the last three years, but now the city says it was never aware of the appointment — and few records between the two exist, sparking concerns about transparency, ethics and even legal complications.In February 2020, Gillmor asked Vartan, who is the general manager at local pizza parlor A Slice of New York, to be her special advisor on small businesses and worker cooperative initiatives. Vartan had previously converted his business to a worker cooperative.In an email, Gillmor said he has provided her with “information and insight on what was happening at the local, state and national level.”“For me, Kirk is an expert resource in this field and helps me with the additional layer of support I need, when I need it, to help small businesses with employee ownership,” she said. “As so many small businesses struggle in our city, especially small f...

Cal introduces Mark Madsen as face to lead Bears men’s basketball out of darkness

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:10:48 GMT

Cal brought its band, chancellor, mascot, alumni and even the Stanford Axe onto the Haas Pavilion hardwood on Monday, all to welcome Mark Madsen as its men’s basketball coach.He really needed no introduction, not with his Bay Area roots and how he forcefully played some 25 years ago at rival Stanford.So Madsen, 47, seized on the pomp and circumstance, like an elbow-swinging rebound from his days on The Farm and in the NBA. Monday’s spotlight allowed him to start re-introducing the Cal basketball program, which bottomed out this past season with a 3-29 record.“I love my alma mater, I love where went to school, I love my experiences,” said Madsen, Stanford’s bruising leader from 1996-2000. “But my excitement is for Cal, to build this into a championship program.“… It’s not going to take us as long as everybody thinks.”Madsen oozed energy and optimism. Reflecting his defection from Stanford, he donned a navy suit with a blue-and-gold striped tie, thus fulfilling Cal’s unofficial rallyi...