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A Batman researcher said ‘gay’ in a talk to schoolkids. When asked to censor himself, he quit

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Marc Tyler Nobleman was supposed to talk to kids about the secret co-creator of Batman, with the aim of inspiring young students in suburban Atlanta’s Forsyth County to research and write.Then the school district told him he had to cut a key point from his presentation — that the artist he helped rescue from obscurity had a gay son. Rather than acquiesce, he canceled the last of his talks.“We’re long past the point where we should be policing people talking about who they love,” Nobleman said in a telephone interview. “And that’s what I’m hoping will happen in this community.” State laws restricting talk of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools have proliferated in recent years, but the clash with Nobleman shows schools may be limiting such discussions even in states like Georgia that haven’t officially banned them. Some proponents of broader laws giving parents more control over schools argue they extend to discussion of sex and gender even if the s...

State governors from Arizona, New Mexico seek stronger economic ties with Taiwan

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Governors from the Southwestern United States are pursuing stronger business ties with Taiwan in hopes of attracting new foreign investments and jobs to their landlocked states. Trade missions this week have taken New Mexico. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and Arizona counterpart Katie Hobbs, both Democrats, to the self-governing island of Taiwan.Hobbs said her goal was to encourage ongoing investments to make Arizona a hub for semiconductor manufacturing. She met Monday with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. executives and suppliers, visiting their plant as well as water treatment facilities. Arizona leaders have been touting that the state will be the home of a Taiwanese microchip manufacturer’s first U.S. plant, generating 12,000 construction jobs. Construction started in 2021 on that sprawling facility that will utilize precision trademark technology for semiconductor fabrication with the capacity to produce 20,000 wafers per month. Once completed and ope...

Left behind and grieving, survivors of Libya floods call for accountability

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

DERNA, Libya (AP) — Abdel-Hamid al-Hassadi survived the devastating flooding in eastern Libya, but he lost some 90 people from his extended family.The 23-year-old law graduate rushed upstairs along with his mother and his elder brother, as heavy rains lashed the city of Derna on the evening of Sept. 10. Soon, torrents of water were washing away buildings next to them. “We witnessed the magnitude of the catastrophe,” al-Hassadi said in a phone interview, referring to the massive flooding that engulfed his city. “We have seen our neighbors’ dead bodies washing away in the floods.”Heavy rains from Mediterranean storm Daniel caused the collapse of the two dams that spanned the narrow valley that divides the city. That sent a wall of water several meters high through its heart.Ten days after the disaster, al-Hassadi and thousands of others remain in Derna, most of them waiting for a word about relatives and loved ones. For Hassadi, it’s the 290 relatives still missing. The fl...

Parkland school shooting survivor develops Joy, an app built on AI that helps people heal

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

Kai Koerber was a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a gunman murdered 14 students and three staff members there on Valentine’s Day in 2018. Seeing his peers — and himself — struggle with returning to normal, he wanted to do something to help people manage their emotions on their own terms. While some of his classmates at the Parkland, Florida, school have worked on advocating for gun control, entered politics or simply took a step back to heal and focus on their studies, Koerber’s background in technology — he’d originally wanted to be a rocket scientist — led him in a different direction: to build a smartphone app. The result was Joy, which uses artificial intelligence to suggest bite-sized mindfulness activities for people based on how they are feeling. The algorithm Koerber’s team built is designed to recognize how a person feels from the sound of their voice — regardless of the words or language they speak. “In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, the first ...

Warmth in the forecast; as the Autumnal Equinox approaches, so does "Chicagohenge"

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

Showers delayed the Cubs game Tuesday; showers and isolated thunderstorms possible Wednesday

Critical raw materials: Securing the EU's supply and sovereignty 

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

Last week, MEPs adopted their position on boosting the supply of strategic raw materials, crucial to secure the EU’s transition to a sustainable, digital and sovereign future, Plenary session, ITRE.The Critical Raw Materials Act is intended to make the EU more competitive and autonomous. It will cut red tape, promote innovation along the entire value chain, support SMEs and boost research and the development of alternative materials and more environmentally-friendly mining and production methods.Strategic PartnershipsIn their negotiating position ahead of talks with the Council, MEPs highlight the importance of securing strategic partnerships between the EU and third countries on critical raw materials, in order to diversify the EU's supply, on equal footing, with benefits for all sides. They want to pave the way for long-term partnerships with knowledge- and technology-transfer, training and upskilling for new jobs with better working and income conditions, as well as extraction an...

2 Las Vegas teens charged with murder in death of retired Bell Police Chief

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

Two teens from Las Vegas have been arrested and are facing murder charges in connection with the fatal hit-and-run of 64-year-old Andreas “Andy” Probst, a retired chief of police for the city of Bell, as he was riding his bike in a residential area of Las Vegas last month.  The incident, which authorities at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department are calling intentional, occurred on Aug. 14 near Tenaya Way and Centennial Parkway in a neighborhood community approximately 16 miles from the Las Vegas Strip. Officers arrived at the scene just after 6 a.m. and found the 64-year-old cyclist suffering from life-threatening injuries. Probst was taken to UMC Trauma where he later died of his injuries.  On August 29, LVMPD detectives learned of a video circulating on social media showing the fatal hit-and-run, which was taken by the teen passenger in the car.  “The video showed how the driver intentionally sideswiped a sedan as they traveled northbound on Tenaya. A f...

Man armed with sledgehammer dies during confrontation at Long Beach school

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

A man with a sledgehammer died during a confrontation while attempting to enter a Long Beach elementary school on Tuesday.The suspect was only identified as an adult male by the Long Beach Police Department.Officers responded to calls of a home invasion robbery on the 6700 block of Orizaba Avenue around 2:27 p.m.The suspect, who was armed with a sledgehammer, had walked over to the nearby parking lot of McKinley Elementary School.As the man attempted to climb a fence and enter the school grounds, a group of males pulled him down and detained him while awaiting officers. At some point during the confrontation, he became unresponsive, authorities said.Police are investigating after a man died during a confrontation while attempting to enter a Long Beach school on Sept. 19, 2023. (KTLA)Police are investigating after a man died during a confrontation while attempting to enter a Long Beach school on Sept. 19, 2023. (KTLA)Police are investigating after a man died during a confrontation ...

Kotsay ejected as A’s lose sixth straight

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

By JANIE McCAULEY | AP Baseball WriterOAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Even out on Puget Sound during an off-day fishing excursion last week, Luis Castillo did his share of winning: He pulled in the most salmon and left Mariners manager Scott Servais in awe and admiring his skill set yet again.No surprise to anybody in Seattle the way Castillo’s spectacular season is going.“I’m a guy who loves to fish,” Castillo explained with a smile after his latest pitching gem. “There’s always been the saying out there that in the sea life is sweeter. It was a happy moment with Scott and the pitching coach. We had a beautiful morning.”J.P. Crawford homered in the ninth inning and Jarred Kelenic hit a pair of RBI singles to support Luis Castillo’s eighth consecutive winning decision, leading Seattle past the Oakland Athletics 7-2 on Tuesday night.Castillo (14-7) struck out eight over seven innings, topping 200 Ks while pushing toward 200 innings — a mark that will mean more to him given it shows how depend...

Danville woman gets 22 months for embezzling $1.7 million from Men’s Wearhouse

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:00:00 GMT

OAKLAND – A 52-year-old Danville woman will serve nearly two years in prison for embezzling over $1.7 million from her former employer, Men’s Wearhouse, and its parent company, Tailored Brands, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.Gina Suzanne Lonestar’s 22-month sentence comes after she pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in May, prosecutors said in a news release. U.S. District Court Judge Jon S. Tigar ordered Lonestar to begin serving her sentence on Jan. 5, 2024.The scheme started in December 2010, when Lonestar was working as a director in the facilities department of Men’s Wearhouse. Prosecutors said Lonestar created a phony vendor and then submitted and approved invoices claiming that the vendor was performing inspections and handyman work at stores throughout the state.Over the course of eight years, Lonestar defrauded Men’s Wearhouse and Tailored Brands of more than $1.7 million, which was paid to her joint checking account, prosecutors said. During that time,...