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2nd Flordell Hills city clerk sentenced for stealing from struggling municipality

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:42 GMT

ST. LOUIS – A former employee in the St. Louis County municipality of Flordell Hills was sentenced Wednesday for stealing nearly $160,000 over several years, well over the city’s annual budget.Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Donna Thompson, the former assistant city clerk, and Maureen Woodson, the former city clerk, used two different schemes to steal from the struggling city and enrich themselves, leaving the city unable to pay its bills.Flordell Hills is six square blocks and has a population of about 800 people, with an annual budget of approximately $400,000. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 54% of its residents live below the poverty line.Woodson, 68, was hired in 2010; Thompson, 76, in 2012. Both women were fired in May 2022 as a result of their crimes and indicted in August 2022. Top Story: St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner resigns Thompson and Woodson both pleaded guilty in February 2023 to one count of ...

St. Louis man arrested for child sex charges in Panama City Beach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:42 GMT

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — A St. Louis man is in the Bay County Jail Tuesday facing child sex charges.According to a news release by the Panama City Beach Police Department, Aldin Saric, 23, was in town for work. He allegedly met a girl on Snapchat, figured out where she and her family were vacationing, and tried to buy drugs from her.Authorities said he then arranged to meet her for sex. When Saric arrived, the parents said they were there to greet him.PCBPD said they tracked Saric to the Boardwalk Beach Resort, arrested him, and booked him into the Bay County Jail for solicitation of a minor and traveling to meet a minor for sex.

In push for environmental justice, Colorado crafting rules to better track air pollution in low-income, minority communities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:42 GMT

Colorado’s top air quality regulators this week will try to define what it means to live in a community that is disproportionately impacted by poor air quality and what steps should be taken to protect the people who live there from the toxins that roll out of factories and into the air they breathe.The proposed rules would put more stringent air-quality monitoring in place for specific pollutants in areas such as Commerce City, north Denver, Pueblo and other parts of the state. Businesses that contribute to air pollution would be required to pay fees to help pay for the monitoring.Those who have worked on the new rules say Colorado is taking a historic step, and is poised to become just the second state in the country to adopt environmental justice rules. New Jersey adopted such rules in April.“I’m really proud that we are that groundbreaking place in being the second in the nation to adopt this kind of law because I think it does demonstrate Colorado’s comm...

French philosopher Pierre Levy believes that the West should not be involved in the war in Ukraine.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:42 GMT

Western countries are indirectly involved in the Ukrainian war, I do not share the initial analysis that was spread in the West that the war was unleashed by the Russian president. In fact, the Russians started the war for a reason - writes Marie Aubert .Since 2014, they have been extremely concerned about the future of their country, which the West looked down on. So we need to put this in perspective, it's not just a war that started in February 2022.”Furthermore, the philosopher provides statistical data on the financial and military assistance that the West provides to Ukraine. In his opinion, such moves only prolong military actions:“I’m showing you the data taken from the Kiel Institute of Germany. The total amount of aid from the United States is $71 billion, from EU countries – $62 billion, and from other countries – $23 billion. This includes all types of assistance: military, financial, humanitarian, etc. In my opinion, we are only adding fuel to the fire and prolonging mi...

More than 140 people charged in O.C. burglaries and robberies in past year, DA says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:42 GMT

More than 140 people have been charged in connection with Orange County burglaries and robberies in the last year, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.Of those, 24 defendants are allegedly part of five different burglary crews charged in the last two weeks alone.Additionally, seven newly charged defendants are facing hate crime enhancements for allegedly targeting Asian homeowners, officials said.Many of the crimes that were filed in the last year involve suspects with multiple strikes under California’s Three Strikes Law.One crew tied to 13 incidentsIn the latest case, 12 people were charged in 13 home invasions and burglaries in Brea, Irvine, Yorba Linda and Orange. Seven are facing hate crime charges and five are facing life sentences for kidnapping to commit robbery, officials said. That crew is believed to have ties to Riverside and Los Angeles counties and is suspected in other crimes across Southern California.The arrests, which began last week, w...

Draymond Green says Golden State Warriors would still be chasing NBA title repeat if he hadn’t punched Poole

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:42 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green believes the Warriors would still be playing if it hadn’t been for him.Speaking to Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s alternate broadcast of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday night, Green said the blame for the Warriors’ shortcomings fall directly on him for splintering the locker-room trust 10 months ago.Everything changed for the Warriors when Green punched Jordan Poole in the face and, days later, video of the chemistry-shattering jab leaked to the public.Green took a backseat during the first few months of the season, trying to allow time to heal the wounds he caused. But as he walked on eggshells trying to pick his spots to speak out, the Warriors floundered.Instead of a title defense from the top of the league, Golden State was around .500 all season, barely avoided the play-in and ultimately fell in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers in the West semifinals.Green said he started to feel more empowered to use his voice ...

Suspect sought after shooting death in Hayward, reward offered

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:42 GMT

(KRON) -- A woman was fatally shot and a man was critically injured at a residence in Hayward on Thursday. Police are searching for the suspect in the shooting who is still at large, according to the Hayward Police Department. Walgreens to pay San Francisco $230 million for its roles in the opioid epidemic Police were called to the 100 block of Cassia Drive after several 911 calls reported gunshots in the area. Officers found two gunshot victims inside of the residence, and both were taken to a local hospital to be treated. The first victim is a 30-year-old woman, and she died at the hospital. Police confirmed her identity as Monique Aldridge of Hayward. The second victim is a 28-year-old man from Oakland, and he is still in critical condition at the hospital. Police are not releasing his name at this time. KRON On is streaming now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-containe...

Brown, Crump voice support for class action lawsuit against Wells Fargo for alleged racist practices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:42 GMT

(KRON) -- Notable local leaders are lending their voices in support of a class action lawsuit being brought against Wells Fargo bank for alleged racist lending practices. Former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown is joining noted civil rights attorney Ben Crump to support the suit. The suit accuses Wells Fargo of denying loans to and discriminating against minority mortgage applicants over the pandemic. The suit estimates that 750,000 people could have been impacted by the racist lending practices. KRON On is streaming now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }Crump says the company should settle with the people who were impacted most by their unfair lending practices, including "marginalized minorities who continued to pay their high-interest payments to Wells Fa...

Volunteer police officer hospitalized after getting stung on face during Los Angeles bee swarm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:42 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A volunteer police officer responding to a report of a bee swarm was hospitalized after getting stung multiple times on his face and collapsing onto the street in a Los Angeles neighborhood. A TV news helicopter recorded dramatic video of the attack Monday afternoon in the Encino area as the man flailed around while trying to swat the bees away. He tripped and fell, hitting his head on the ground. The uniformed volunteer officer was treated for a fractured eye socket and bee stings to his face and eyes, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement Tuesday. He was in stable condition, the statement said.The officer and his partner were assisting with traffic control when the attack occurred, police said. A professional bee-removal service was called to the neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley northwest of downtown LA, the city’s fire department said. Source

At least 80 calls to National Archives since 2010 about mishandling classified information

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Archives has been called more than 80 times in the past decade-plus about classified materials found in the papers of former members of Congress and other U.S. officials, according to newly released congressional testimony.That figure underscores the weaknesses in how the U.S. government tracks and safeguards its most important secrets. Investigations are underway into the classified materials found in the holdings of former President Donald Trump and in later searches of files held by President Joe Biden before he won the White House and Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence. Officials from the National Archives testified in March before the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating the discoveries of those records and considering new legislation. The committee released the testimony on Wednesday.Archives officials said most of the 80-plus calls came from libraries where former members of Congress donated their papers for future research...