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California woman accused of murdering son was sought in 2013 child-abuse case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:48:17 GMT

The San Bernardino Mountains woman accused of murdering her 1-year-old son had a warrant out for her arrest that was still active this week — more than nine years after she failed to report to jail following a child-abuse conviction in 2013, Superior Court records show.Samantha Victoria Garver, 33, and her boyfriend, 32-year-old Sergio Mena, were booked on suspicion of murder on Sunday, Oct. 2, in the death of Henry Wheatley Brown. Medics responding to a report of a baby not breathing at a Surgarloaf home found the boy burned and unresponsive, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said. Sugarloaf is a community east of Big Bear Lake.Henry was pronounced dead at a hospital.There was no fire at the home that would have explained the injuries, said Mara Rodriguez, a Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman. She declined to say specifically how Henry was burned because of the ongoing investigation.In March 2013, Garver was charged with willful child cruelty that could cause injury or d...

Want a native California tortoise for a pet? Adoption is the only legal way

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:48:17 GMT

By Lois M. BarronSeeing a turtle isn’t rare in California, especially in ponds and lakes in city parks. Unfortunately, many are abandoned pets and might be species from anywhere in the world. Only one type, appropriately named the desert tortoise, is native to Southern California. Its home turf is the Mojave Desert.To be clear, all tortoises are turtles — the way that all greyhounds are dogs, but not all dogs are greyhounds. Tortoises stay on land, while other turtles are equipped for being in the water, to varying degrees. Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) have an average lifespan of 30 to 50 years but may live to be more than 80. They range from 8 to 15 pounds and 9 to 15 inches.You can’t legally buy a desert tortoise. You have to adopt one through the guardians of the turtle galaxy in the state: the California Turtle & Tortoise Club.“While they are listed on the Endangered Species List [as threatened], the captive desert tortoise population is far from in the same boat,” ...

Nanny convicted of sexually abusing 16 California children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:48:17 GMT

A Costa Mesa male nanny was convicted Tuesday of sexually abusing sixteen children after prosecutors alleged he gained the trust of their parents before molesting the boys under the guise of playing with them.An Orange County Superior Court jury deliberated for several hours before finding Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski, 34, guilty of 34 felony counts following a nearly monthlong trial in a Santa Ana courtroom in which prosecutors relied heavily on video evidence of the abuse the self-described “manny” had himself “brazenly” created.Along with the sixteen boys Zakrzewski was convicted of molesting, the jury also found him guilty of showing pornography to a 17th child. He faces up to 690 years to life in prison, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. That means he would have to serve 690 years before being eligible for parole.Zakrzewski showed no obvious reaction to the verdicts, staring ahead as they were read one by one for each of the nearly three-dozen counts by a...

Use of snitches unravels 57 murder and other felony cases in California county

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:48:17 GMT

New numbers released by an attorney with the Orange County Public Defender’s Office show that the illegal use of jailhouse informants unraveled 57 homicide and other felony cases, with convictions overturned, charges dropped and sentences dramatically reduced.Previous estimates had placed the number of affected cases at about 12 — far less than the results of the new analysis by Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders, partially using data from the district attorney’s office.“We already knew that this was the largest and longest running informant scandal in U.S. history, but there had never been a complete accounting of the cases with changed outcomes.” Sanders said.With Sanders first sounding the alarm in 2014, state justices and federal investigators have confirmed that Orange County prosecutors and law enforcement officers systematically violated the constitutional rights of criminal defendants with the illegal use of jailhouse informants.Authorities assembled a secret cadre of j...

Got packages to return? Starting Wednesday, Uber drivers will mail them

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:48:17 GMT

Uber is adding a new task to its list of services: mailing consumers’ return packages.The ride-hailing and delivery company said Wednesday that its drivers will collect up to five prepaid and sealed packages and drop them off at a local post office or at UPS or FedEx stores. Uber will charge a flat fee of $5 for the service or $3 for its Uber One members.The San Francisco-based company said the service will be available in nearly 5,000 U.S. cities to start. Uber said customers will be able to choose package drop off locations within its app. Only locations open for at least the next hour will be listed. Drivers will provide visual confirmation once a package has been dropped off.While the service is expected to be used primarily to return packages, Uber drivers will also mail new packages that are sealed and have prepaid labels.The new service opens up a potentially vast market to Uber. According to Pitney Bowes, a provider of mailing technology, the U.S. Postal Service, UPS a...

A huge fire rages in a plastics factory in eastern Croatia and residents are asked to stay indoors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:48:17 GMT

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Firefighters in eastern Croatia were battling to contain a huge fire in a plastics factory on Wednesday, and authorities asked residents to remain indoors and keep their widows shut.The fire erupted early Wednesday in the Drava International factory complex in the town of Osijek, spreading quickly and sending thick dark smoke high in the air.Emergency services said that large amounts of plastics stored in an open area were on fire, making it difficult for firefighters to control the raging blaze.“The temperature is unbelievable, horrible,” said Boris Banjan, deputy commander of the regional firefighting unit. “Our equipment is melting.”The state HRT television reported that two firefighters were slightly injured. The report said firefighters managed to take out large amounts of flammable liquid from the fire zone, preventing further incidents.The fire also forced the closure of a road, police said. Some schools canceled classes for the day.The TV said a strong...

Helen of Troy: Fiscal Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:48:17 GMT

HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) — HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) — Helen of Troy Ltd. (HELE) on Wednesday reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $27.4 million.On a per-share basis, the Hamilton, Bermuda-based company said it had net income of $1.14. Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense and amortization costs, were $1.74 per share.The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.60 per share.The personal and household products company posted revenue of $491.6 million in the period, which also topped Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $485.4 million.Helen of Troy expects full-year earnings in the range of $8.50 to $9 per share, with revenue in the range of $1.97 billion to $2.02 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on HELE at https://www.za...

RPM International: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:48:17 GMT

MEDINA, Ohio (AP) — MEDINA, Ohio (AP) — RPM International Inc. (RPM) on Wednesday reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $201.1 million.The Medina, Ohio-based company said it had net income of $1.56 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were $1.64 per share.The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.56 per share.The specialty chemicals company posted revenue of $2.01 billion in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.96 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on RPM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/RPMSource

The US warns of a Chinese global disinformation campaign that could undermine peace and stability

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:48:17 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — For much of the world, China’s Xinjiang region is notorious, a place where ethnic Uyghurs face forced labor and arbitrary detention. But a group of visiting foreign journalists was left with a decidedly different impression.On a tour in late September sponsored by Beijing, the 22 journalists from 17 countries visited bazaars and chatted with residents over dates and watermelon slices. They later told state media they were impressed with the bustling economy, described the region as “full of cultural, religious and ethnic diversity,” and denounced what they said were lies by Western media.The trip is an example of what Washington sees as Beijing’s growing efforts to reshape the global narrative on China. It’s spending billions of dollars annually to do so.In a first-of-its-kind report, the State Department last week laid out Beijing’s tactics and techniques for molding public opinion, such as buying content, creating fake personas to spread its message and using rep...

Biden cancela US$ 9.000 millones en deuda de préstamos estudiantiles días después de que se reanuden los pagos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:48:17 GMT

(CNN) — La administración Biden aprobó el alivio de la deuda para otros 125.000 prestatarios de préstamos estudiantiles, por un total de US$ 9.000 millones de condonación, dijo la Casa Blanca este miércoles.El anuncio se produce pocos días después de que se reiniciaran los pagos de préstamos federales para estudiantes después de una pausa de más de tres años.Aunque la Corte Suprema anuló el característico programa de condonación de préstamos estudiantiles del presidente Joe Biden, que prometía hasta US$ 20.000 en alivio de la deuda para prestatarios de ingresos bajos y medios, la administración ha seguido buscando otras formas de brindar alivio de la deuda.Las cancelaciones anunciadas este miércoles provienen de tres programas diferentes de alivio de deuda existentes que han estado plagados de problemas en el pasado. La Casa Blanca está llevando a cabo lo que llama “arreglos” de un “sistema de préstamos estudiantiles fallido”.Nueva página web del Gobierno para condonar deuda e...