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Guatemala sentences renowned journalist José Rubén Zamora to six years in money laundering case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:38 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A Guatemalan tribunal sentenced newspaper founder and editor José Rubén Zamora to six years in prison Wednesday in a money laundering case, concluding a trial that press freedom groups decried as a political persecution aimed at silencing a critical voice.The three-judge panel convicted and sentenced Zamora on a charge of money laundering that affected the national economy and stability of the financial system. The tribunal cleared Zamora of additional charges of blackmail and influence peddling.Guatemala President Alejandro Giammattei, and specifically his justice system, have been criticized internationally for backsliding on democratic principles and weaponizing the country’s prosecutors and courts to pursue perceived enemies.Giammattei has denied there was any political motivation.Zamora’s El Periodico newspaper was known as fiercely independent and published investigations about corruption in the administrations of Giammattei and his predecessors. Zamora’s...

`Cats’ returns at new Perelman Center, a $500 million building in downtown Manhattan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:38 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Andrew Lloyd Webber’s absence from New York City’s stages will be at most 14 months, with “Cats” returning in June 2024 at the World Trade Center’s new Perelman Performing Arts Center.The $500 million building, the next-to-last element of the World Trade Center redevelopment to open following the 2001 terrorist attacks, announced its inaugural season Wednesday.“Cats” will appear in June and July 2024 directed by Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, with choreography by Arturo Lyons and Omari Wiles.The musical will have reimagined staging set in Harlem’s drag Ballroom Culture. Bill Rauch, PAC’s artistic director, said Ballroom Culture will come across in the casting, staging and design.“Certainly Ballroom beats will affect how some of the songs are orchestrated,” he said.Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” closed on April 16 at the Majestic Theater after 13,981 performances, leaving the legendary composer with no shows on Broadway for...

B.C. becomes first province to provide universal coverage for opioid treatments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:38 GMT

VICTORIA — British Columbia says it is providing universal coverage for opioid agonist treatments that help people with substance use disorders, making it the first province in Canada to do so.Health Minister Adrian Dix said in a news release issued Wednesday that full coverage of the medications will be available to all B.C. residents with an active medical services plan.The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions said the policy became effective June 6, and expands full coverage to approximately 1,638 people who had been paying out of pocket, out of a total of 34,520 who had been receiving the treatments in B.C. last year.Dix said improving access to the medication strengthens the public health system. “By reducing financial barriers to opioid agonist treatment medication, we’re making it easier for people to get the care they need and helping to create more equitable health outcomes for people in B.C.”Opioid agonist treatment involves the use of medications suc...

Ex-Starbucks manager awarded $25.6 million in suit over firing after 2018 arrests of 2 Black men

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:38 GMT

CAMDEN, N.J. (AP) — Jurors in federal court have awarded $25.6 million to a former Starbucks regional manager who alleged that she and other white employees were unfairly punished after the high-profile arrests of two Black men at a Philadelphia location in 2018.Shannon Phillips won $600,000 in compensatory damages and $25 million in punitive damages on Monday after a jury in New Jersey found that race was a determinative factor in Phillips’ firing, in violation of federal and state anti-discrimination laws, Law360 reports.In April 2018, a Philadelphia store manager called police on two Black men who were sitting in the coffee shop without ordering anything. Phillips, then regional manager of operations in Philadelphia, southern New Jersey, and elsewhere, was not involved with arrests but lost her job less than a month later after objecting to another white manager being placed on leave amid the uproar, according to her lawsuit.The company’s rationale for suspending the ...

Theranos founder objects to $250 monthly restitution sought by US due to limited financial resources

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors want Elizabeth Holmes to pay $250 each month to victims of her failed blood testing startup after she leaves prison, but her attorneys are pushing back citing “limited financial resources” available to the disgraced founder of Theranos. The U.S. filed a motion last week asking the court to correct “clerical errors” which included, prosecutors said, the lack of a timeline for restitution from the one-time billionaire once she exits prison. Holmes’ legal team objected to those changes this week. Holmes, 39, began an 11-year sentence at a minimum-security facility in Bryan, Texas, late last month after she and her former partner, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, were convicted of fraud for duping investors out of hundreds of millions of dollars while running Theranos, a Silicon Valley startup that promised to revolutionize health care.In a May 16 ruling, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila ordered Holmes and Balwani, who is serving a nearly 13-yea...

WATCH LIVE | Fed Chair Jerome Powell discusses decision to keep rates unchanged for first time in 15 months but signals 2 more potential hikes this year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:38 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday after having raised it 10 straight times to combat high inflation. But in a surprise move, the Fed signaled that it may raise rates twice more this year, beginning as soon as next month. The Fed’s move to leave its benchmark rate at about 5.1%, its highest level in 16 years, suggests that it believes the much higher borrowing rates it’s engineered have made some progress in taming inflation. But top Fed officials want to take time to more fully assess how their rate hikes have affected inflation and the economy. “Holding the target rate steady at this meeting allows the committee to assess additional information and its implications” for the Fed's policies, the central bank said in a statement. The central bank’s 18 policymakers envision raising its key rate by an additional half-point this year, to about 5.6%, according to economic forecasts they issued Wednesday.The economic projections revealed a...

Neuqua Valley High School employee after allegedly making personal purchases on district card

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:38 GMT

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — A financial secretary at Neuqua Valley High School was arrested Tuesday after she allegedly used a district credit card for personal purchases, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.Tracie Mondell, 39, of Naperville, is charged with one count of theft of governmental property, a Class 3 Felony, according to a news release from the state's attorney's office. 3 hospitalized, 1 critical after head-on collision in Naperville Mondell allegedly used a District 204 credit card between Nov. 22-27 to make personal purchases that totaled between $500-$10,000, according to the release.“Through her alleged actions, Mrs. Mondell abused the trust placed in her by Neuqua Valley High School for her own personal gain,” DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “I would like to thank authorities at the school for bringing this matter to the attention of law enforcement and for their complete cooperation throughout the investigation."Berl...

14-year-old boy shot while near sidewalk in Garfield Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:38 GMT

CHICAGO — A 14-year-old boy was shot Wednesday while he was near a sidewalk in Chicago's Garfield Park neighborhood, according to police.Chicago Police Department officers were called to investigate the shooting just before 1 p.m. in the 4300 block of West Adams Street. Missing man last seen at Salt Shed concert; Police seek public’s help When they arrived, they found the boy who was shot in the legs and had a graze wound to the head, according to information from CPD.He was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, police said.No one has been arrested yet.Detectives are still investigating the incident.

Giant taxidermied moose draws stares in Capitol complex

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:38 GMT

(The Hill) -- New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) is bringing her home state to D.C. in the form of a massive taxidermied moose that cleared its own path through the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Wednesday. Shaheen's staffers set up "Marty the Moose" in her office ahead of her "Experience New Hampshire" event later in the day meant to showcase what the state has to offer, featuring multiple state businesses and products. Photos showed the giant stuffed moose being rolled into Shaheen's office on a cart as it attracted stares from staffers and journalists in the Capitol. Crenshaw pops out glass eye to mock refs after Congressional Soccer Match Shaheen said in a statement that "Experience New Hampshire" is meant to showcase small businesses on a "national stage" to other leaders of the country. Other members of the New Hampshire delegation, including Sen. Maggie Hassan (D) and Democratic Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas were also leading the event. "From our world-famous...

Austin housing market optimism 'continues to grow,' ABoR says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:38 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Both sellers and buyers are seeing "more opportunity" in the Austin housing market, according to the latest monthly market report from the Austin Board of Realtors.Almost 9,000 homes were actively listed for sale in May, according to the ABoR report, equal to about 3.4 months of inventory."Last month’s housing market activity demonstrates not only a stable market, but one where optimism for the months ahead continues to grow," said ABoR President Ashley Jackson.The median price for homes sold in May was $467,500 across the Austin metro, a decline of 15% year-over-year. Homes are taking longer to sell compared to this time last year, but the average number of days on the market has dipped since a peak in February.Homes sold in May spent an average of 65 days on the market, down from 84 in February, but up significantly from 15 days in May 2022. A total of 3,411 sales closed last month."Nationally, from May 2022 to May 2023, homebuyers' purchasing power declined by an ...