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Andrea Cardenas seeking re-election to Chula Vista City Council amid resignation calls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:32 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — Embattled Chula Vista City Councilmember Andrea Cardenas appears to be running for re-election after pulling nomination papers from the city clerk on Tuesday — a mere three days before the deadline to file.The District 4 representative was issued the papers just hours after her colleagues on the City Council voted to strip her of committee appointments, including serving as a representative on the San Association of Governments board, amid multiple felonies charges for alleged fraud.The charges against Cardenas were made public in an indictment filed by the San Diego County District Attorney at the beginning of November. Montgomery Steppe sworn in as District 4 Supervisor In the court filing, prosecutors accuse the councilmember, 31, and her and her brother Jesus Cardenas, 40, of fraudulently obtaining $176,227 in COVID-19 relief funds for their firm, Grassroots Resources. She and her brother both pleaded not guilty.In the weeks that followed, there have bee...

Whitby youth sprayed with ‘noxious substance’ after suspect demanded jacket: DRPS

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:32 GMT

Police in Durham are on the hunt for a suspect after a male youth was allegedly sprayed in the face with a noxious substance when he refused to give up his jacket.Authorities were called to the Dundas Street East and Anderson Street area in Whitby just after 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday to assist with an ambulance call.Police said a male youth was sprayed in the face with a noxious substance while in a fast-food plaza. It’s alleged the victim was approached by another male who demanded his jacket. When the victim ignored him, the suspect sprayed the victim in the face. The suspect then fled the area on foot. The victim was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.The suspect is described as around five-foot-five to five-foot-eight with scruffy facial hair. He was last seen wearing a black ski mask, a black hooded sweater, and dark pants.

Woman dies after being hit by garbage truck in St. Clair West Village

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:32 GMT

A woman in her 50s has died after she was struck by a garbage truck in Toronto’s St. Clair West Village.Officers responded to the area of St. Clair Avenue West and Winona Drive near Dufferin Street just before 1 p.m. Thursday.Police say the woman was hit at a crosswalk and pronounced dead at the scene.The driver remained at the scene.The area is closed to traffic for the investigation.No further details have been released.COLLISION:St. Clair Ave and Winona Dr12:46 pm-female pedestrian struck by a truck-driver remained o/s-pedestrian has been pronounced deceasedROAD CLOSURES:W/B St. Clair Ave at Arlington AveE/B St. Clair Ave at Alberta StWinona Ave-Barrie Ave to Rosemount#GO2816709^lm— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) December 7, 2023

Last of 3 Palestinian college students shot in Vermont leaves hospital

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:32 GMT

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — The last of the three college students of Palestinian descent who were shot and seriously injured in Vermont during their Thanksgiving break has been released from a Burlington hospital and will undergo rehabilitation.Hisham Awartani, who is paralyzed from the chest down, left the University of Vermont Medical Center on a stretcher Wednesday to clapping, according to a video shared by his uncle Rich Price. Awartani waved with one hand as he was transported out. Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad are childhood friends who grew up in the West Bank and now attend colleges in the eastern U.S. The 20-year-olds were visiting Awartani’s relatives in Burlington for the Thanksgiving break when they were shot Nov. 25 near the University of Vermont. They were walking to Awartani’s grandmother’s for dinner when they were shot in an unprovoked attack, his family said. The young men were speaking in a mix of English and Arabic and two of them were...

‘Oppenheimer’ will get a theatrical release in Japan, after all

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:32 GMT

“ Oppenheimer ” will get a theatrical release in Japan, after all. The Japanese distributor Bitters End said Thursday that the Christopher Nolan film will play in the country’s theaters in 2024.In a statement, Bitters End wrote that the decision was made, “following months of thoughtful dialogue associated with the subject matter and acknowledging the particular sensitivity for us Japanese.”“Oppenheimer” is about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the so-called “father of the atomic bomb,” and chronicles the development of the weapon during World War II. The choice to have the film address, but not explicitly depict, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. — which killed tens of thousands of people and left many with lifelong injuries — was hotly debated in the media.Nolan’s film was released theatrically in most territories in July, making over $950 million. It’s also already available to purchase for in-home viewing in many countries. But it had been a lingering question whet...

Two GOP presidential debates are set for Iowa and New Hampshire in January before the voting begins

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two Republican presidential primary debates have been scheduled in Iowa and New Hampshire in January, not long before each state’s GOP nominating contest.CNN said Thursday it will host a Jan. 10 debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, five days before the state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, and a Jan. 21 debate at St. Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, two days before that state’s leadoff primary.The announcement came a day after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie met for the fourth debate of the 2024 primary season. Former President Donald Trump, the GOP front-runner for the 2024 nomination, has yet to take part in any debate and has said he doesn’t plan to.The qualifications for candidates to participate in the debates are getting stricter. To qualify for the Iowa debate, candidates must register at least 10% support in...

Judge says ex-Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to cut plane’s engines can be released before trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:32 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An ex-Alaska Airlines pilot accused of trying to cut the engines of a passenger flight while off-duty and riding in an extra seat in the cockpit can be released from jail pending trial, an Oregon judge said Thursday.Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Ryan made the decision as Joseph Emerson pleaded not guilty to reduced charges of reckless endangerment; he previously faced attempted murder charges.Emerson, of Pleasant Hill, California, has also pleaded not guilty to a federal charge of interfering with a flight crew, and the judge in that case also agreed that he could be released pending trial.The release conditions agreed to by defense attorneys and prosecutors in the state case include that Emerson post a $50,000 bond, undergo mental health services, stay away from drugs and alcohol, and not come within 30 feet (9 meters) of an operable aircraft.Emerson is accused of trying to cut the engines of a Horizon Air flight from Everett, Washington, to San ...

Adults can now legally possess and grow marijuana in Ohio – but there’s nowhere to buy it

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:32 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohioans woke up Thursday in a land of recreational marijuana limbo, in which adults can legally grow and possess cannabis at home, but cannot legally buy it.That combination of factors related to a citizen-initiated statue voters approved in November “is a recipe for disaster,” Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said Wednesday night. He urged passage of a compromise bill setting parameters for carrying out Issue 2. The 11th-hour deal managed to make it through the Ohio Senate on the eve of the new law’s effective date, but not through the Ohio House, which — insistent there’s no rush— opted to adjourn. DeWine predicted that black market sales would flourish in the state, making fentanyl- or pesticide-laced marijuana products more accessible and endangering Ohioans, including children who could be subjected to second-hand pot smoke at this holiday season’s festivities.One regulator quipped that growing marijuana without being able to legally buy it must req...

New US-Mexico agreement to monitor foreign investments comes as more Chinese money flows into Mexico

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:32 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — As more Chinese money flows into Mexico, the United States and Mexico on Thursday agreed to monitor foreign investments and regularly share information about the screening.The U.S and Mexico “benefit when they work together to guard against foreign investments that pose national security risks,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. The U.S. wants to prevent Chinese purchases of sensitive American technology that could be accessed through other U.S. trading partners. The U.S.-Mexico agreement may help achieve that goal. “This engagement is further evidence of the close partnership between our two countries, not only on matters of trade but also on critical issues of national security,” Yellen said.The U.S. is Mexico’s top trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching more than $850 billion in 2022. But China has increased its investment into Mexican companies in the past few years and is the fastest-growing source of foreign investment in Mexi...

Best movies of 2023: ‘Oppenheimer,’ ‘Fallen Leaves,’ ‘May December’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:32 GMT

The Associated Press’ Film Writers Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle’s picks for the best movies of 2023:LINDSEY BAHR1. “Oppenheimer”Christopher Nolan has had so many major films in a relatively short time, that “ Oppenheimer ” might seem like a given, rather than the triumphant fusion of everything he’s passionate about: Large format film; the tension between humanity and science; the turmoil of a brilliant mind; and the wonder of an exceptional group coming together to make an impossible thing (in this case a nuclear weapon) but also on a meta level, the film.2. “The Zone of Interest”Like “Oppenheimer,” the horror in Jonathan Glazer’s “ The Zone of Interest ” is what is unseen. Depiction bubbled up as a hot topic this year, as though audiences aren’t intelligent enough to imagine the worst. In “The Zone of Interest,” it’s only a wall that separates one Nazi family from the gas chambers of Auschwitz. Glazer’s film is a masterclass in atmosphere: A chilling, artful repre...