Author: ricardofrancois

The former head of the Los Angeles County Probation Department Adolfo Gonzalez, who was fired last March amid widespread dysfunction in the agency's juvenile halls, claims in a lawsuit that he was fired because he reported severe staffing shortages to state regulators. Gonzalez's two-year-and-one-month term was marked by near-constant controversies. But in a lawsuit filed last month, he said county supervisors decided to terminate him only after he was candid with inspectors from the State and Community Corrections Board about the agency's staffing crisis. The board, referred to as the BSCC, has the authority to close juvenile detention facilities if…

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Five Beverly Hills eighth-graders have been expelled for their involvement in creating and sharing fake nude photos of their classmates.The Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education voted at a special meeting Wednesday evening to approve expulsion agreements set with five students. According to a source close to the investigation, the expelled students taught at Beverly Vista Middle School. Under the stipulated agreement, the students and their parents do not object to the punishment and no hearing was held.The names of the students were not revealed, and the agreements are confidential. However, such agreements usually specify how long a…

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An image of Starlink on a mobile device is shown with Ukraine on a map in the background in this illustration in Warsaw, Poland on September 21, 2022.STR | norphoto | Getty ImagesHouse Democrats Robert Garcia, Democrat of California. Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, sent a letter to SpaceX demanding transparency from the defense contractor after reports of possible illegal purchases and Russia's use of Starlink satellite internet equipment in the occupied territories of Ukraine. The members of Congress also announced a Democratic House committee investigating SpaceX over the company's safeguards and procedures to prevent illegal exports and use of…

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Instagram overtook TikTok in new app downloads last year, with the US photo-sharing platform's growth fueled by imitating its Chinese rival's success with short-form videos.The total number of Instagram app downloads rose 20 percent in 2023 to 768 million compared to the previous year, according to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, making it the most downloaded app in the world.Downloads of TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, rose just 4 percent to 733 million over the same period.Statistics show that Meta's photo-sharing platform has had success targeting new users, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg identifying TikTok's growth as among the…

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Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.The UK government should ban the use of non-disclosure agreements in sexual harassment cases, according to an investigation by an influential committee of MPs, which found a “shocking” prevalence of misconduct in the financial services sector. The House of Commons Treasury Committee said its investigation into sex discrimination in the industry found that non-disclosure agreements were still being “misused” by employers to “cover up” allegations of mistreatment, harassment and discrimination. Nondisclosure agreements are legal contracts that prevent their signatories from disclosing specific…

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Following the conviction in the trial of the “Rust” armorer, New Mexico prosecutors will now turn their focus to actor Alec Baldwin, hoping to prove his criminal liability for the accidental death of the film's cinematographer in October 2021.In fact, Special Prosecutor Carrie T. Morrissey did not wait for the 12-person jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico, to find gun dealer Hannah Gutierrez guilty of manslaughter before presenting evidence that could damage Baldwin. During closing arguments Wednesday, Morrissey criticized Baldwin and his use of a gun on the set of “Rust,” particularly when he pointed his gun at director of…

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Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty ImagesCostco On Thursday, it missed Wall Street's revenue expectations for the holiday quarter, despite reporting year-over-year sales growth and strong e-commerce gains.The retailer's shares fell about 4% in aftermarket trading. The retailer's stock had reached a 52-week high earlier in the day.Here's what the retailer reported for its fiscal second quarter of 2024 compared to what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts conducted by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv:EPS: $3.92 vs. $3.62 expected Revenue: $58.44 billion vs. $59.16 billion expectedIn the three-month period ended February 18, Costco's net income rose…

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Nvidia shares have risen 280% over the past year thanks to rising sales of its chips that power artificial intelligence applications. However, the Silicon Valley company is not alone in this AI-fueled rise. Investors are also pouring money into companies that buy these chips, amid expectations that artificial intelligence will help improve productivity and profits. CNBC Pro examined companies that are Nvidia customers, and also have total revenues that are highly tied to the chip giant — in other words, their stock prices tend to rise and fall along with Nvidia's. Super Micro, Tokyo Electron Devices, Meta Platforms, Tata Motors…

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Think fast — How much does the high-end iPhone 15 Pro Max cost? If you said around $1,600, you'd be right, but only if you're based in the US. In Turkey, the same phone will cost you around $3,000. This gap provides a great arbitrage opportunity – and a lively market for used and refurbished goods. Getmobil just raised $4 million to legalize phone refurbishment within the country. “The Turkish government wants to reduce the trade deficit,” explains Mehmet Uygun, CEO and founder of Getmobil. “The government wants to create a circular economy. They don't want customers to buy new…

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Check out which companies are making headlines in after-hours trading. Broadcom – Shares fell 3% after the semiconductor company posted full-year revenue guidance that was in line with analyst expectations, according to LSEG. For its fiscal first quarter, Broadcom reported adjusted earnings of $10.99 per share, while analysts surveyed by LSEG expected $10.29 per share. Revenue was $11.96 billion, higher than analysts' expectations of $11.72 billion, per LSEG. Marvell Technology – Shares fell 8% after Marvell, which provides semiconductor products for data infrastructure, posted light guidance for first-quarter revenue of $1.15 billion, while analysts polled by LSEG expected $1.37 billion.…

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