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Ex-California mom charged with hosting parties with alcohol for teens and encouraging sexual assault

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:56 GMT

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — A woman accused of hosting parties for her teenage son and his friends in Northern California where she encouraged them to drink and sexually assault intoxicated girls was charged Monday with more than five dozen felony and misdemeanor counts.Shannon Marie O’Connor, 49, was indicted by a grand jury in Santa Clara County on 63 charges including child endangerment for furnishing alcohol to minors and aiding and abetting sexual assault, the Mercury News reported.Seventeen alleged victims testified at the grand jury hearing, the paper said.It wasn’t immediately clear whether O’Çonnor, who was ordered to remain in jail without bail, had an attorney who could speak to the charges.Prosecutors contend that O’Connor staged six alcohol-fueled parties in 2020 at her-then home in Los Gatos and other places. Prosecutors allege she bought beer, vodka, whiskey and other liquor and encouraged the teens, who were mostly 14 and 15, to drink to the point of...

B.C. commits to mandatory Holocaust education for Grade 10 students

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:56 GMT

VANCOUVER — British Columbia has plans to make Holocaust education mandatory for high school students with additions to Grade 10 curriculum coming in 2025.Premier David Eby says it’s been a “frightening time” for the Jewish community after deadly terrorists attacks by Hamas militants in Israel earlier this month.He saysthere has been a rise in antisemitism in B.C., and combatting hate starts with learning from the past so the same horrors are never repeated.A statement says the B.C. government is “committed to broadening the scope of the required Grade 10 social studies curriculum” with changes coming in 2025.It says that will ensure students learn about the murders of six million Jews and others by the Nazis during the Second World War, while “learning about discriminatory policies and injustices in Canada and around the world.”Eby made the announcement at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver on Monday.The changes will take effe...

Panama’s leader calls for referendum on mining concession, seeking to calm protests over the deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:56 GMT

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Protests extended into a second week Monday over a long-term copper mining concession for a Canadian company, as Panama’s government sought to calm anger by promising to let Panamanians decide in a referendum whether to scrap the deal.A broad cross-section of society has joined in demonstrations across the country for more than a week demanding the government rescind the contract with a local subsidiary of Canada’s First Quantum Minerals. Critics say the concession puts Panama’s environment and water supply at risk. President Laurentino Cortizo’s administration proposed Monday to send congress a bill that would schedule a referendum in December. But the country’s top electoral authority said such a vote couldn’t be held before next May’s presidential election.Interior Minister Roger Tejado, who submitted the proposed legislation, called on electoral authorities to “carry out your historic role.”The contract has real economic implications fo...

Actor Robert De Niro tells a jury in a lawsuit by his ex-assistant: ‘This is all nonsense’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Robert De Niro testified Monday in New York City at a trial resulting from a former personal assistant’s lawsuit accusing the actor of being an abusive boss. De Niro, who at times appeared grouchy, restrained himself from erupting at the dissection of his interactions with her before finally blurting out: “This is all nonsense!”The two-time Oscar-winning actor known for his performances in blockbuster movies like “The Deer Hunter” and “Raging Bull” was the first witness in a trial resulting from lawsuits over the employment of Graham Chase Robinson. Robinson, who worked for De Niro between 2008 and 2019, was paid $300,000 annually before she quit as his vice president of production and finance.The woman, tasked for years with everything from decorating De Niro’s Christmas tree to taking him to the hospital when he fell down stairs, has sued him for $12 million in damages for severe emotional distress and reputational harm. Robinson said he refused to give her a...

UN agency in Gaza says urgent cease-fire is `matter of life and death’ for millions of Palestinians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:56 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees told a U.N. emergency meeting Monday “an immediate humanitarian cease-fire has become a matter of life and death for millions,” accusing Israel of “collective punishment” of Palestinians and the forced displacement of civilians.Philippe Lazzarini warned that a further breakdown of civil order following the looting of the agency’s warehouses by Palestinians searching for food and other aid “will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the largest U.N. agency in Gaza to continue operating.”Briefings to the Security Council by Lazzarini, the head of the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF and a senior U.N. humanitarian official painted a dire picture of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza 23 days after Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, and its ongoing retaliatory military action aimed at “obliterating” the militant group, which controls Gaza.According to the latest figures from Gaza’s M...

Eby says B.C. deserves heating bill relief, too, after federal tax on fuel oil paused

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:56 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia Premier David Eby says it’s unfair that Atlantic Canada is being targeted for federal relief on heating bills that won’t apply to B.C., after Ottawa announced a three-year pause on carbon pricing for home fuel oil. The pause announced last week applies to the 10 provinces and territories where the federal fuel charge applies, although home fuel oil usage is more prevalent in Atlantic Canada.British Columbia, Quebec and the Northwest Territories are excluded because they collect their own fuel tax.Eby, who is facing calls from Opposition politicians to cut the province’s carbon taxes, said people in Atlantic Canada are struggling to make ends meet, but so are residents of B.C.He told an unrelated news conference in Victoria on Monday that a proposed heat-pump rebate that is being piloted in Atlantic Canada should also be made available in B.C.“At a minimum, fairness demands equal treatment of British Columbians,” said Eby. &#...

Teen boy killed in shooting in Avalon Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:56 GMT

CHICAGO — A teen boy has died after a shooting on the city's South Side on Monday night. According to Chicago police, the 16-year-old boy was critically injured after he suffered gunshot wounds to his back and right leg while in a parking lot in Avalon Park. Police say the boy was taken to the hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. Officers say the shooting happened in the 1900 block of East 87th Street just before 4 p.m. on Monday afternoon.  Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines Currently, it is unclear what led to the shooting and officers say no arrests have been made. An investigation into the deadly shooting is currently underway.Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact Area Two Detectives by calling the CPD non-emergency number at (312) 746-6000. Tips for police can also be filed at CPDtip.com. Tips can be left anonymously.

'Skip the Line' service issues draw ire of Illinois seniors: 'Very frustrating'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:56 GMT

CHICAGO — When he took over for the retiring Jesse White, Alexi Giannoulias promised to bring sweeping changes and modernization to the office.  For people like Sandy, who did not wish to give her last name when speaking with WGN News outside the Secretary of State-Chicago facility at Elston Street, it was an all-thumbs-up experience. “Getting a sticker for my car and my son's car but I'm too early and they helped me with everything I needed and did it all for me while I sat in a chair,” she said.  But for others not so much, like Helen McQuaid, who needed to take a field driver's test when she renewed her driver's license.  Secretary of State’s office launches updated website Until this year, she could drive to her hometown of Naperville Secretary of State facility and take the test. But now, an appointment is required. McQuaid said she tried unsuccessfully for weeks to get an appointment to no avail. Locations that still accept walk-in services, in Bridgeview and Evanston, ...

THC gummies found in candy stash at California elementary school event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:56 GMT

ALAMEDA, Calif. (KRON) -- Gummies infused with cannabis were found in a candy stash at a Halloween event held at a California elementary school over the weekend, school district officials said Monday.One student ate a fruit chew containing THC before anyone realized what was in it. The child became sick and sought medical attention, the Alameda Police Department said. The fruit chews were included in a stash of candy collected by students at a PTA-sponsored "Trunk-or-Treat" event at Amelia Earhart Elementary School, according to Alameda Unified School District (AUSD) officials. "Three families found the fruit chews in their children’s candy," AUSD spokesperson Susan Davis told KRON4.The candy stash also contained chocolate and other popular Halloween candy. The 'most hated' Halloween candy, according to study The cannabis fruit chews were made by Kiva Lost Farm and packaged in square blue wrappers, according to school district officials. Kiva Lost Farm's website states that its T...

Time running short to approve Texas school voucher plan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:50:56 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The end of the third special legislative session is approaching quickly, and still it appears Texas lawmakers are no closer to reaching a deal on a plan that would allow families to use public dollars to pay for their children's private education.The Texas House of Representatives gaveled in Monday afternoon and adjourned after six minutes, leaving its version of the school choice plan on the table. The Senate approved its plan more than two weeks ago that would create an education savings account program, carrying out one of Gov. Greg Abbott's main priorities. However, the House held no debate so far on its version of the legislation. State of Texas: Tension, questions of legality shape immigration bill debate Sherri Greenberg, a former lawmaker and a professor of practice at UT's LBJ School of Public Affairs, noted the special session wraps next week on Tuesday. "I think this bill, the chances at this point are probably slim to none [of it] passing in this speci...