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Clashes as French protesters rally against Macron's pension bill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:47 GMT

Police in Paris were confronted by black-clad groups that set fire to garbage containers and threw projectiles at them. They also charged at them and used teargas to disperse protestors against President Emmanuel Macron's deeply unpopular pension bill.On Tuesday (28 March), clashes broke out at rallies similar to those in Rennes, Bordeaux, and Toulouse. A bank branch was set on fire in Nantes.Although public anger has morphed into more anti-Macron sentiments, violence was much lower than last week. Rally attendees were generally peaceful.Live footage from BFM TV shows that one man was lying motionless on the ground following a Paris police officer's charge. The same footage went viral on social networks. The man was rescued by police who stopped to help him but didn't respond to a request to comment.The government refused to suspend and rethink the pension law, which raised retirement age by two years to 64. This angered labour leaders, who demanded that the government find a way to...

Southern California mother fights for her life after pursuit suspect crashes into her

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:47 GMT

A mother of three is fighting for her life after a suspected DUI driver crashed into her car during a police pursuit in South Los Angeles.Yolanda Reyna, 43, remains in a coma after she was violently struck by suspect Dashawn Sutton, 43, as he was speeding away from police on Feb. 16, 2023.Yolanda was on her way to a concert when her vehicle was hit near Main Street and Florence Avenue, leaving her unconscious and fighting for her life.Her family is devastated as they remain by their mother’s side, hoping she will wake up soon."I can never take her place but I am trying,” said Julisa Mercado Reyna, 25, the victim’s daughter. Julisa says she sits with her mother in the hospital every day while speaking to her and praying."I’m constantly just trying to stimulate her brain so she wakes up faster,” said Julisa. “It is heartbreaking. I want to hear my mom’s voice.”Yolanda Reyna in a family photo.Yolanda Reyna and her daughter Julisa as she remains in critical condition in the hospita...

Protesters claim Burbank school district mishandling allegations of sexual misconduct

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:47 GMT

Dozens gathered outside Burbank and John Burroughs High Schools Wednesday to call for changes in how the district handles sexual misconduct allegations.  The demonstrations comes on the heels of social media posts that have been critical of the district’s response to sexual assault accusations against staff members and other students.  “Personally, I’ve had sexual comments made at me. I’ve reported those. They do nothing,” Burroughs High School senior Geneva Gisella said.  Burbank resident Ani Chaglasian, with the group, Protect Kids Not Abusers, and an organizer of Wednesday's demonstration, told KTLA that dozens of students have reached out with their stories and have not been heard by officials at Burbank Unified School District.  “We have 78 students who have publicly reached out to us and written impact statements about how their stories have not been heard by either BUSD, Burroughs High School, Burbank High School," said Chaglasian.Former Burbank High School stu...

Antioch: Eight additional officers on leave for racist and homophobic texts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:47 GMT

ANTIOCH — As a grand jury continues to weigh potential criminal charges against at least eight Antioch police officers, an additional eight cops have been placed on leave for allegedly sending offensive text messages to each other, this news organization has learned.The officers, who have not been publicly named, were placed on leave this week for violating department policies by texting or receiving racist and homophobic messages, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The revelations are not criminal in nature but surfaced during the FBI’s investigation of other Antioch police officers suspected of a range of alleged crimes.Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe is expected to announce the personnel changes at a news conference set for 11 a.m. Thursday.The move comes as Antioch continues to grapple with police staffing levels, resulting in a controversy over a lengthy response time to crimes including commercial burglaries, and competing statements from City Hall ...

San Jose police union front office manager charged with trying to illegally import fentanyl

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:47 GMT

SAN JOSE – The long-time front office manager for the San Jose Police Officers Association allegedly used her work computer to order controlled substances from abroad, including an analog version of fentanyl, and distributed the drugs from her office, according to a federal criminal complaint.Joanne Marian Segovia, executive director of the SJPOA since 2003, is charged with attempting to unlawfully import valeryl fentanyl. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison.Filed in U.S. District Court on Monday, the 13-page complaint contends that Segovia, 64, was arrested as part of an ongoing Homeland Security investigation into a network that was shipping controlled substances to the Bay Area from abroad.At least 61 packages were delivered to Segovia’s home in San Jose between October 2015 and January 2023, according to the complaint. Manifests for the packages – which were sent from countries including India, China and Canada – reportedly listed their contents as “wedding party fa...

Philippine ferry fire leaves 31 dead, at least 7 missing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:47 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A ferry carrying about 250 passengers and crew caught fire in the southern Philippines and 31 people drowned or died in the blaze and were discovered later, a provincial governor said Thursday. Many of those rescued had jumped off the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 in panic at the height of the fire and were plucked from the sea by the coast guard, navy, another ferry and local fishermen, said Gov. Jim Hataman of the southern island province of Basilan. The search and rescue effort was continuing Thursday for at least seven missing passengers.The burned ferry was towed to Basilan’s shoreline, where coast guard personnel and other authorities later discovered 18 more bodies in a budget section of the passenger cabin, Hataman said, adding the search of the vessel was continuing.“These victims perished onboard due to the fire,” Hataman said. The governor said an investigation was underway and the discovery suggested there were additional travelers not listed on the vesse...

Governor in southern Philippines says 18 bodies found in cabin of burned ferry, raising toll to 31 dead in ferry fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:47 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Governor in southern Philippines says 18 bodies found in cabin of burned ferry, raising toll to 31 dead in ferry fire.Source

Corte Constitucional ecuatoriana admite parcialmente dictamen que permite tramitar juicio político contra el presidente Lasso

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:47 GMT

(CNN) — Por 6 votos a favor y 3 en contra, el pleno de la Corte Constitucional de Ecuador aprobó la noche de este miércoles un dictamen de admisibilidad parcial sobre el pedido de juicio político en contra del presidente Guillermo Lasso. El dictamen fue realizado por los jueces Alí Lozada y Richard Ortiz, elegidos como ponentes este lunes.Con este dictamen la Corte resolvió que la Asamblea continúe con el trámite para el enjuiciamiento político en contra del presidente Lasso.Asamblea de Ecuador aprueba informe que sugiere el juicio político contra el presidente Guillermo LassoEl dictamen de admisibilidad parcial significa que la mayoría de la Corte Constitucional resolvió admitir la acusación de juicio político relacionada con el presunto delito de peculado e inadmitir las dos acusaciones relativas al presunto delito de concusión que hicieron los asambleístas que firmaron la solicitud de juicio político. De acuerdo con la Corte, las acusaciones sobre el delito de concusión no ...

2 US military helicopters crash during training in Kentucky

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:47 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Two military helicopters crashed Wednesday night in southwestern Kentucky during a routine training mission, the U.S. Army’s Fort Campbell said in a statement.The status of the crew members was unknown, it added.The two HH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, part of the 101st Airborne Division, crashed around 10 p.m. Wednesday in Trigg County, Kentucky, according to the statement, which was posted on Facebook.“The command is currently focused on caring for the servicemembers and their families,” the statement said.Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear wrote on Twitter that “fatalities are expected,” adding that police and emergency officials were responding.The crash is under investigation.The Associated Press

Endangered Komodo dragons hatch at Spanish zoo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:47 GMT

Five Komodo Dragon hatchlings were born at a zoo, Spain. This is the first successful breeding of this endangered species in Spain in a decade."This is a huge achievement for all of us," Milagros Roberto, head of the Herpetology section at the Bioparc Fuengirola zoo south of Spain, and self-described "mother of the dragons", said on Tuesday.A 13-year-old girl named Ora was their birth mother and laid 12 eggs in August. Five of the dozen eggs were chosen and artificially incubated for seven months.Robledo stated that hatchlings were a "hopeful future", adding that it was a difficult task.Although the hatchlings are smaller than a lemon and much shorter than a shoebox they will eventually grow to be nearly three metres in length (10 feet). They could also reach 70 kilos (150 lbs) in weight, with sharp teeth and a venomous bite.These apex predators, which are native to four islands in Indonesia, were added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) "Red List" in 202...