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‘We’re fighting against our extinction,’ striking writers ready for long battle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:47:59 GMT

Two weeks into the Writers Guild of America strike, hopes for a quick resolution are low, but determination among picketing writers is high.The WGA went on strike in 1960, 1981, 1988 and 2007. Yet as a sea of writers pound the pavement outside the studios, bearing signs like “pens down, knives out” and “here’s a wild pitch: pay us fair wages,” there is a distinct feeling that this time is different.“Every other strike was about corporate greed, this is about extinction,” said screenwriter Billy Ray. “We are fighting against our extinction as a class of craftsmen.”Writers allege that changes in industry practices are making the job financially untenable. This includes shorter seasons, smaller workplace rooms, shrinking residual payments from streaming services and the rising use of AI, or artificial intelligence.“This is probably the most important strike I’ve participated in,” said veteran screenwriter Peter Hancock, who has picketed in every strike since 1981, as he marched outside...

California Iraq war veteran sentenced to 11 years for killing girlfriend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:47:59 GMT

An Anaheim man who stabbed his girlfriend to death and then tried to persuade a police officer to shoot him was sentenced Friday to 11 years in prison.Frank Moseley, a 34-year-old Iraq War veteran, was convicted earlier this year of voluntary manslaughter for the January 2017 killing of 25-year-old Janessa Smith in an Anaheim apartment, after an Orange County Superior Court jury rejected a more serious murder charge.Frank Moseley Moseley, who never denied responsibility for Smith’s violent death, apologized to her family prior to his sentencing and alluded to the PTSD that his attorney argued had helped lead to the killing.“I just want to express how apologetic I am to anyone who is affected by the crime I committed,” Moseley said.“I don’t want anyone who is dealing with psychological trauma to be in this situation,” he added.Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menninger acknowledged Moseley’s PTSD and military service, but also described the killing as “brutal” and not...

New California budget means a $6 billion cut, and future uncertainty, for climate spending

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:47:59 GMT

For climate advocates, the growing state deficit unveiled in the revised 2023-24 state budget offers some bad news, some good news and a great deal of uncertainty.The bad news in the budget presented Friday morning by Gov. Gavin Newsom is that, despite lobbying efforts and environmentalists pitching at least two alternative proposals, the $6 billion in cuts to climate spending that Newsom proposed in January are still included. If those multi-year cuts stand it will mean significant hits to funding that previously was pledged to help speed California’s transition to non-polluting cars, clean up the water supply, decarbonize buildings and protect residents against the increasingly dire effects of extreme heat.The good news is that despite California’s projected budget shortfall jumping from January’s estimate of $22.5 billion to the new estimate of $31.8 billion, the state isn’t planning additional cuts for climate projects. That leaves intact a five-year plan to spend $48 billion on...

Appeals court revives lawsuit challenging California district attorney’s DNA collection program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:47:59 GMT

An appellate court has revived a lawsuit challenging the Orange County district attorney’s unregulated DNA program, which offers leniency to low-level defendants who “volunteer” to give their genetic material.The suit by two professors at UC Irvine, was rejected earlier on a technicality by a lower court, but revived Tuesday, April 11, by a three-member panel of the Fourth District Court of Appeal.At issue is whether the district attorney’s practice of taking DNA from misdemeanor defendants in exchange for dropping charges or reducing punishments denies them their legal rights.State and federal law allow DNA to be collected and stored in state and national databases for felony and some misdemeanor offenses, such as arson and some sexual crimes. Orange County, however, collects DNA locally for misdemeanors, such as driving under the influence.‘Spit and acquit’The program, dubbed by defense attorneys “spit and acquit,” has helped local prosecutors amass a private database of more than...

This 2022 California GOP congressional candidate plans to run as a Democrat in 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:47:59 GMT

It’s not uncommon for political candidates who lost their races to run again.Brian Hawkins is among them. But this time, the San Jacinto councilmember plans to switch parties and run as a Democrat for an Inland congressional seat.Hawkins on Tuesday, May 9, filed papers to run in California’s 41st Congressional District in 2024. He hopes to unseat Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, in a district representing Calimesa, Canyon Lake, Indian Wells, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Menifee, Norco, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Wildomar and parts of Corona, Eastvale and Riverside.Lake Elsinore Councilmember Tim Sheridan, a Democrat, also has declared his intention to run in the 41st next year.Hawkins ran in 2022 as a Republican against Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Indio, in the 25th Congressional District. Ruiz defeated Hawkins, 57% to 43%, in a district in which Democrats hold a 17 percentage point edge in voter registration.Hawkins echoed conservative ideals on the campaign trail last year.“Let’s go ...

U.S. Marshals Spied on Abortion Protesters Using Dataminr

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:47:59 GMT

Dataminr, an “official partner” of Twitter, alerted a federal law enforcement agency to pro-abortion protests and rallies in the wake of the reversal of Roe v. Wade, according to documents obtained by The Intercept through a Freedom of Information Act request.Internal emails show that the U.S. Marshals Service received regular alerts from Dataminr, a company that persistently monitors social media for corporate and government clients, about the precise time and location of both ongoing and planned abortion rights demonstrations. The emails show that Dataminr flagged the social media posts of protest organizers, participants, and bystanders, and leveraged Dataminr’s privileged access to the so-called firehose of unrestricted Twitter data to monitor constitutionally protected speech.“This is a technique that’s ripe for abuse, but it’s not subject to either legislative or judicial oversight,” said Jennifer Granick, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, ...

12-year-old girl shot while sleeping in DC

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:47:59 GMT

A girl was shot by a stray bullet early Monday while sleeping inside an apartment in D.C., police tell WTOP.It happened at 4 a.m. in the 2600 block of Naylor Road in Southeast, D.C. police said.The 12-year-old was sleeping in bed when she was shot in the leg. The bullet came into the apartment through a window.The child is in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police tell WTOP.The shooting is under investigation but there’s no word on any suspect.It’s at least the second case of a girl being struck by a stray bullet in D.C. overnight. A 10-year-old girl sustained critical injuries after being shot while riding inside a vehicle at 9 p.m. on Sunday.Source

Verve Therapeutics: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:47:59 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — BOSTON (AP) — Verve Therapeutics Inc. (VERV) on Monday reported a loss of $52 million in its first quarter.The Boston-based company said it had a loss of 84 cents per share.The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 78 cents per share.The biotechnology firm posted revenue of $1.4 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on VERV at https://www.zacks.com/ap/VERVSource

Biden y líderes del Congreso podrían reunirse el martes para abordar el techo de la deuda

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:47:59 GMT

Es probable que el presidente Joe Biden y los líderes del Congreso reanuden las conversaciones el martes en la Casa Blanca sobre el límite de la deuda, dijo el presidente el domingo, mientras la nación continúa acercándose a su autoridad legal de endeudamiento sin acuerdo. conocimiento.Inicialmente, se suponía que la reunión sería el viernes, pero se pospuso abruptamente para que las conversaciones a nivel de personal pudieran continuar antes de que Biden y los cuatro líderes del Congreso se reunieran por segunda vez. Funcionarios del gobierno y del Congreso dijeron el domingo que no se ha concretado una reunión, aunque el martes era la opción más probable ya que Biden regresa a Washington el lunes y tiene previsto partir para la cumbre del Grupo de los 7 en Japón el miércoles.Biden no detalló mucho progreso en las conversaciones, pero dijo que tenía la esperanza de que se pudiera llegar a un acuerdo con los republicanos para evitar lo que sería un incumplimiento de pago de deuda si...

Vivani Medical: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:47:59 GMT

EMERYVILLE, Calif. (AP) — EMERYVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Vivani Medical, Inc. (VANI) on Monday reported a loss of $6.3 million in its first quarter.The Emeryville, California-based company said it had a loss of 12 cents per share._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on VANI at https://www.zacks.com/ap/VANISource