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Texas announces takeover of Houston schools, stirring anger

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:25 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas officials on Wednesday announced a state takeover of Houston’s nearly 200,000-student public school district, the eighth-largest in the country, acting on years of threats and angering Democrats who assailed the move as political. The announcement, made by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s education commissioner, amounts to one of the largest school takeovers ever in the U.S.It also deepens a high-stakes rift between Texas’ largest city, where Democrats wield control locally and state Republican leaders have sought increasing authority in the wake of election fumbles and pandemic restrictions.Other big cities including Philadelphia, New Orleans and Detroit in recent decades have gone through state takeovers, which are generally viewed as last resorts for underperforming schools and are often met with community backlash. Critics argue that past outcomes show little improvement following state interventions. The state began making moves toward a take...

Chinese businessman arrested in $1 billion fraud conspiracy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A business tycoon long sought by the government of China and known for cultivating ties to Trump administration figures including Steve Bannon was arrested Wednesday in New York on charges that he oversaw a $1 billion fraud conspiracy.Guo Wengui, 54, and his financier, Kin Ming Je, faced an indictment in federal court in Manhattan charging them with various crimes, including wire, securities and bank fraud. Guo was charged in court papers under the name Ho Wan Kwok.U.S. prosecutors said the indictment stemmed from a complex scheme in which Guo lied to hundreds of thousands of online followers in the United States and around the world before misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars.Kin Ming Je, 55, has not been arrested. Guo was expected to appear in court Wednesday. His attorney did not immediately comment.The top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, said in a release that Guo was charged with “lining his pockets with the money he s...

Swiss bank drags down big lenders as fears spread to Europe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:25 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Shares in the globally connected Swiss bank Credit Suisse plunged Wednesday and dragged down other major European lenders as fears about deeper problems in the world banking system spread in the wake of bank failures in the United States.At one point, Credit Suisse shares lost more than a quarter of their value, hitting a record low after the bank’s biggest shareholder — the Saudi National Bank — told news outlets that it would not inject more money into the bank, which was beset by problems long before the U.S. failures.The turmoil prompted an automatic pause in trading of Credit Suisse shares on the Swiss market and sent shares of other European banks tumbling, some by double digits. That fanned new fears about the health of financial institutions following the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the U.S.Speaking Wednesday at a financial conference in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, Credit Suisse Chairman Axel Lehmann defended the bank, sa...

St. Louis prosecutor: Ouster effort is politically motivated

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:25 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The elected prosecutor in St. Louis, under intense criticism after a visiting teenage athlete lost her legs in a crash blamed on a man who remained free from jail despite multiple bond violations, is accusing Missouri’s attorney general of seeking her ouster for political gain.Democratic Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner filed a court response late Tuesday to Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s lawsuit that seeks to remove her from office. Bailey’s effort includes criticism that too many cases, including homicides, go unpunished, that victims and their families are left uninformed, and that Gardner’s office is too slow to take on cases brought by police.Criticism of Gardner escalated last month after 17-year-old Janae Edmondson, a volleyball standout from Tennessee, was struck by a speeding car as she and her family walked to their hotel following a tournament game in downtown St. Louis. The driver, 21-year-old Daniel Riley, was out on bon...

Rap artist Hurricane Chris acquitted in man’s death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:25 GMT

SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — A Louisiana jury has acquitted rapper Hurricane Chris, known for the hit “A Bay Bay,” in the 2020 death of a man shot several times at a gas station in Shreveport.The panel late Tuesday found the 34-year-old artist, whose real name is Christopher Dooley, not guilty of second-degree murder in the slaying of Danzeria Farris Jr., 32, and illegal possession of stolen things, news outlets reported. A Caddo Parish Grand Jury indicted Dooley in October 2020 in connection with the June 19, 2020 slaying of Farris who was shot several times at a Texaco station. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital.Dooley had been on trial in state district court for more than a week before Tuesday’s verdict. Prosecutors called several witnesses, while the defense presented two, including Dooley.“I wanna thank God, my attorneys at the Washington & Wells Law Firm, and my family for standing with me as my life was on the line,” Dooley told The Shade Room. “They ...

Here’s how an AI tool may flag parents with disabilities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:25 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — For the two weeks that the Hackneys’ baby girl lay in a Pittsburgh hospital bed weak from dehydration, her parents rarely left her side, sometimes sleeping on the fold-out sofa in the room.They stayed with their daughter around the clock when she was moved to a rehab center to regain her strength. Finally, the 8-month-old stopped batting away her bottles and started putting on weight again.“She was doing well and we started to ask when can she go home,” Lauren Hackney said. “And then from that moment on, at the time, they completely stonewalled us and never said anything.”The couple was stunned when child welfare officials showed up, told them they were negligent and took their daughter away.“They had custody papers and they took her right there and then,” Lauren Hackney recalled. “And we started crying.”More than a year later, their daughter, now 2, remains in foster care. The Hackneys, who have developmental disabilities, are struggling to understand how taking t...

See Lyric Opera's shows for the 2023-2024 season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:25 GMT

CHICAGO - Touting it as "a richly curated slate of musical events," the Lyric Opera has announced the details for their upcoming 2023-2024 slate of performances.It will start in September of this year and run through April 2024 with a collection of performances for fans of the historic opera company that will be staging its 69th season.Performances of "The Flying Dutchman" will start the season along with an opening gala featuring "An Evening with Audra McDonald." Other musical shows include "The Daughter of the Regiment," "Jenůfa." "Cinderella," "Champion," "Aida," and Mozart's "Requiem." "Opera is at a very challenging moment, and I am proud of how our entire company is rising to that challenge every day. Despite the painful new economic realities of producing grand opera, Lyric will present a varied and compelling 2023/24 Season that keeps our main pillars front and center: presenting the best singers in the world, bringing exciting and thought-provoking large-scale productions ...

CPD: 6 armed robberies conducted in under 2 hours on Southwest Side

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Six armed robberies were conducted in just under two hours Wednesday morning on the Southwest Side.A victim was pistol-whipped in one of the robberies. Police did not give additional information on the suspects, other than saying two were involved and they are not in custody.In one of the incidents, the suspects returned to the exact same block around an hour later and conducted another armed robbery. Alert issued after 2 liquor stores broken into, cash stolen on Northwest Side The following is a timeline of the incidents, per Chicago police.6:02 a.m. in the 4600 block of South Albany — A 49-year-old man was in a parked vehicle when two suspects exited a black sedan and robbed him at gunpoint.6:03 a.m. in the 2400 block of West 47th Street — A 37-year-old man was robbed and pistol-whipped. He denied treatment at the scene.6:07 a.m. in the 1700 block of West 47th Street — A 51-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint.7:10 a.m. in the 1700 block West 47th Street — A 57-year-old...

3 goats found as strays by Chicago Animal Care and Control

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:25 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago Animal Care and Control is looking for the owner of three goats after they were found as strays.On Tuesday evening, the agency posted on Facebook that one of their officers had "quite the day."Three stray goats were brought in. CACC did not say where they were located, but the goats seem to be enjoying their stay.Courtesy CACC"As much fun as they seem to be having, we are pretty sure they just want to go back home," they wrote on Facebook. The Ultimate Chicago playlist: 400 songs from local artists The agency, located at 2741 S. Western Ave., is asking the owner to call them at 312-747-1406.

Singer Bobby Caldwell dies at 71 after being 'floxed'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:25 GMT

(KTLA) – Singer Bobby Caldwell, famous for his R&B hits "What You Won't Do For Love" and "Open Your Eyes," has died. He was 71.His wife, Mary Caldwell, announced his passing on Twitter on Wednesday morning. She said he had been suffering from health issues for the past six years."Bobby passed away here at home. I held him tight in my arms as he left us. I am forever heartbroken," she tweeted." Thanks to all of you for your many prayers over the years. He had been 'FLOXED,' it took his health over the last 6 years and 2 months. Rest with God, my Love."According to Regenerative Medicine L.A., being "floxed" means "your body has suffered from mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress due to an adverse effect from a fluoroquinolone antibiotic." Caldwell's team revealed to TMZ that the "Real Thing" singer had a bad reaction to a prescribed antibiotic and said it caused his Achilles tendon to rupture, which caused him to suffer from nerve damage.Fluoroquinolone antibiotics are us...