Author: ricardofrancois

A federal judge on Friday ordered a comprehensive independent review of all homelessness programs funded or administered by the city of Los Angeles.The ruling by U.S. District Judge David O. Carter granted a wide scope for scrutiny, going beyond the standards he initially indicated he wanted.The audit, which city officials agreed to in principle earlier this month, is part of a settlement with the Los Angeles Human Rights Coalition, a group of business owners and residents who sued the city and county, claiming they failed in their duty to address homelessness. . Carter's order calls for “full and comprehensive transparency…

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London – Kate, Britain's Princess of Wales, revealed on Friday that she has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy.In a video statement released on Friday, she said she underwent major abdominal surgery in London in January, saying her condition was initially thought to be non-cancerous.Her statement said, “The surgery was successful. However, the tests conducted after the operation showed the presence of cancer. Therefore, my medical team advised me that I should undergo a course of preventive chemotherapy, and I am now in the early stages of this treatment.”“This has of course been a huge shock, and William and I have…

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The Long Beach Media Guild announced Friday that at least 60% of the bargaining unit received layoff notices shortly after newsroom employees unionized and went on strike to protest impending cuts.The unit, which is seeking voluntary recognition from its employer, the Long Beach Press Initiative, said nine of its members have been laid off, while three of its surviving members remain on strike. The Long Beach Post's entire staff has been reduced from 17 to eight, said a source close to the nonprofit who was not authorized to comment.CEO Melissa Evans and the board of the Long Beach Journalism Initiative,…

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Orange County sheriff's investigators are asking for the public's help in finding a 61-year-old man who authorities say was kidnapped by two men outside his Midway City home last week. The suspects were arrested, but investigators have not yet found the victim. The kidnapping victim, Tony Lamm, had arrived home shortly after midnight on March 15 after spending time at LV Restaurant & Lounge in Westminster and 171 Sky Restaurant in Garden Grove when he was confronted by a masked man in his driveway, according to the sheriff. . The section that didn't explain why it was important for him…

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The FBI told passengers on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX plane that lost a door connection panel mid-flight that they may be victims of a crime.“I am calling you because we have identified you as a potential victim of a crime,” a victim specialist from the federal agency’s Seattle office wrote in messages passengers received this week. “This case is currently under investigation by the FBI.”The plane was flying at 16,000 feet over Oregon on January 5 when the panel exploded, leaving a large hole in the side. The rapid loss of cabin pressure caused oxygen masks to fall…

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As the oil industry wages a multimillion-dollar campaign to overturn California's drilling restrictions, the campaign to defend the state's environmental protections is beginning to resemble a Hollywood blockbuster.In a show of political clout and celebrity influence, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and actress Jane Fonda joined Gov. Gavin Newsom and environmental advocates Friday in Los Angeles to call on voters to save Senate Bill 1137, a state law aimed at banning new oil. Gas drilling will be within 3,200 feet of homes, schools and parks next year. Bold and impactful reporting on climate change, environment, health and science. Although Newsom signed…

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Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.Iceland plans to prioritize food security over financial gains, grow corn and limit Bitcoin mining, as the island nation seeks to become more self-sufficient in a hostile world.Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir told the Financial Times that recent farmers' protests in Europe and trade disruptions meant the Scandinavian country needed to reduce its reliance on imports.“It's not easy to be a farmer in Iceland. It's not exactly great fields. You know, we have glaciers covering a lot of the country. “But it's an…

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There are few missions that more acutely embody the “space is hard” adage than Atomos Space's first test mission, which the company has more than once managed to pull back from the brink of disaster. This demonstration mission, called Mission-1, was launched into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on March 4. The mission's goals are ambitious in the extreme: The two spacecraft — an orbital transfer vehicle called Quark-LITE and a target vehicle called Quark-LITE Gluon — will ultimately demonstrate highly complex maneuvers including rendezvous, docking, orbital transfer and in-orbit refueling. The company had two major problems with…

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The SpaceX logo appears on a Falcon 9 rocket ready to lift off to carry NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Janet Epps and Roscosmos astronaut Alexander Grebenkin to the International Space Station at Kennedy Space Center. At Cape Canaveral, Florida, United States, March 2, 2024.Joe Skipper | ReutersThe National Labor Relations Board accused SpaceX in a new complaint of entering into illegal separation agreements with terminated employees across the country.The unfair labor practices complaint comes two months after SpaceX filed a federal lawsuit challenging the legitimacy of the NLRB watchdog, and after the federal agency in…

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Steve Burns, the ousted founder, chairman and CEO of bankrupt electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors, has settled with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over misleading investors about demand for the company's flagship all-electric pickup truck. Burns was ordered to pay a civil fine of $175,000 and cannot serve as an employee or director of a public company for two years, according to the agreement filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, Burns agreed to a permanent injunction, a fine and other terms in the agreement, according to the…

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