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UC Riverside grad sues Elon Musk for defamation over posts that falsely ID’d him in protest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:34 GMT

A UC Riverside graduate who says he was harassed after Elon Musk amplified posts on his social media platform X/Twitter that falsely placed the man at a confrontation involving far-right protesters sued the billionaire for defamation in a lawsuit filed Monday.Benjamin Brody, 22, is represented by Mark Bankston, a Texas attorney who won a defamation case last year against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones in a lawsuit brought by families of the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting. Brody is seeking a jury trial in Austin, Texas, and unspecified damages of at least $1 million.Attorneys for Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment left through a spokesperson.In June, video posted to X showed a confrontation involving protesters near a Pride festival in Oregon. Some of those involved wore the same colors of the Proud Boys extremist group, according to The Oregonian.On X, some users falsely identified one of the participants as Brody, highlighting his post-college plans to work fo...

Cal State student workers get OK to move forward with union vote

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:34 GMT

By Helena San Roque | CalMattersCalifornia State University student workers are one step closer to unionizing after announcing Wednesday, Oct. 4 that the California Public Employment Relations Board has deemed there is enough student support to trigger a union vote.After vetting thousands of union cards submitted by student assistants, the board notified the CSU Employees Union on Sept. 27 that they met the threshold following a wave of organizing this past year. Over 19,300 student assistants will soon vote on forming one of the largest student worker unions in U.S. history. Their ranks would more than double the size of the employees’ union, which already represents 16,000 support staff across the 23 campuses.Student assistants work at front desks and in back offices in many capacities throughout the campuses, such as information technology, financial aid, and facilities management. Both undergraduate and graduate students can hold these positions.Student assistants say unionizing...

What to do if you and your pet cross paths with a coyote

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:34 GMT

You’re walking your dog early in the morning, as usual. But as you amble up the sidewalk, you spot a furry brown shape up ahead. You tighten the leash, worried about an aggressive stray dog. Then you get a closer look.It’s a coyote.If you spend any time on social media, whether it’s your neighborhood’s Facebook page or NextDoor.com, it seems like coyote sightings have increased exponentially in the last few years. Not only that, but the canids, many claim, are multiplying by the day, and some areas are being overrun, threatening public safety.But is that really the case?“No,” says Seth Riley, chief wildlife ecologist for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, which is part of the National Park Service. “I’ve been hearing that exact same thing over 23 years.”Riley’s NPS colleague, Jeffrey Brown, who also is a wildlife ecologist and has been studying coyotes recently, says the uptick in sightings is likely related to the fact that so many people have doorbell cameras now...

Opinion: ‘Theft tax’ is costing California families more than $500 per year

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:34 GMT

Unless you have hundreds of dollars a year to waste, and it doesn’t bother you to see lives wasted through treatable addiction, it is time to demand action from Sacramento politicians whose failed policies have accelerated California’s costly plague of retail thefts and functionally abandoned those suffering from drug addictions.The Department of Homeland Security estimates that organized retail theft costs the average family more than $500 a year to make up for the cost of massive theft, which in California totals $7.83 billion per year in direct losses and another $568 million in lost tax revenue in 2022 alone — and 2023 is looking to be worse.For some small businesses, the cost is far higher — with many businesses now being forced to close, citing the cost of retail thefts. National grocery and pharmacy stores are closing in high-crime areas, meaning many neighborhoods face the loss of vital services, and local communities must make up for the lost tax base with highe...

California cop, survivor of Las Vegas mass shooting, killed in freeway crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:34 GMT

A Manhattan Beach police officer who survived the 2017 Las Vegas music festival mass shooting died Wednesday, Oct. 4, when a car collided with his police motorcycle, throwing him to the ground, officials said.On 10-4-23, at about 5:15am, Manhattan Beach Police Department Motorcycle Officer Chad Swanson was involved in a fatal on duty traffic collision on the 405 Freeway. pic.twitter.com/C3eZjNojHI— Manhattan Beach PD (@manhattanbchpd) October 4, 2023Officer Chad Swanson, 35, was likely still headed in to work when the driver of one car apparently hit another on the northbound 405 Freeway on the edge of Carson near Del Amo Boulevard at around 5:15 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. The second driver appeared to lose control and careened into Swanson.Manhattan Beach police Lt. Kelly Benjamin said Swanson was married with three sons.“We’re hurting, we’re grieving,” Benjamin said.https://t.co/Is0QhERz6d— Manhattan Beach PD (@manhattanbchpd) October 4, 2023A me...

Walters: Gov. Newsom’s rocky relationship with labor unions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:34 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom describes himself as a “progressive” and has said his vision for California includes a highly unionized workforce.However, his relationship with the state’s public and private employee unions has been a rocky one. Sometimes he and union leaders sing from the same hymnal, but they occasionally are at odds, particularly when labor is feuding with corporate interests that Newsom is also cultivating.That syndrome was displayed last weekend when he vetoed two of union leaders’ high priority measures, including one that would have given unemployment benefits to striking workers, but then chose a former union leader, Laphonza Butler, to fill a U.S. Senate seat that became vacant when Dianne Feinstein died.The juxtaposition drew a sharp retort from Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, who resigned from the Legislature last year to become head of the California Labor Federation.“Don’t get distracted,” Gonzalez Fletcher posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Gov. Newsom has vetoed th...

Relentless Max Verstappen can clinch his 3rd F1 title as early as the sprint at the Qatar Grand Prix

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:34 GMT

Max Verstappen can win his third straight Formula One title at the Qatar Grand Prix. And he can do it on Saturday.Verstappen will secure the title if he finishes sixth or higher in the sprint race Saturday, which could leave Sunday’s main Grand Prix race as something of an afterthought. Winning the title in a sprint — a 19-lap contest that F1 refuses to call a “race” — could be a little awkward for the series and for Verstappen. He has previously argued the format should be scrapped.“It’s not proper racing, it’s more like gambling,” he said after the season’s first sprint in Azerbaijan in April. “I think I will have more success in Vegas if I go to the casino. I like racing, I’m a pure racer and I think this is more for the show.”It’s been a relentlessly dominant season from the Dutch driver, who has had the fastest car with Red Bull but has also left his teammate Sergio Perez far behind in the standings. Perez is the last driver with a mathematical cha...

Palmeiras – Boca, por un lugar en la final de la Libertadores: previa, a qué hora y cómo verlo en vivo

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:34 GMT

(CNN Español) — Palmeiras y Boca definirán este jueves quién será el rival del Fluminense en la final de la Copa Libertadores de América, luego de que los cariocas vencieran como visitante a Internacional por 2 a 1, en la otra semifinal disputada este miércoles en Porto Alegre..En la ida disputada en Buenos Aires, Boca y Palmeiras igualaron en 0, en un partido donde los xeneizes fueron superiores y estuvieron cerca de ganarlo. Valentín Barco, por talento para generar jugadas de riesgo, junto a Equi Fernández, por despliegue y anulando a sus rivales en la marca, fueron las figuras del encuentro. Edinson Cavani, que mostró su gran jerarquía en las asistencias y clase en la ofensiva, estuvo cerca de marcar.En la visita se vio un equipo minimizado, superado por Boca, con sus habituales figuras como Raphael Veiga, Mayke, Artur y Rony que no lucieron dado el gran trabajo del equipo argentino en el bloque defensivo.La FIFA anunció que el Mundial 2030 se disputará en seis países y com...

4-day school weeks are on the rise in Colorado

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:34 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — More U.S. school districts are adopting a four-day week, including in Colorado.In more than 13,000 school districts nationwide, nearly 900 operate on a truncated schedule. That's up from 100 in 1999 and 662 in 2019. Does your school rank among the best in the Denver area? The figures are according to Paul Thompson, an associate professor of economics at Oregon State University, who tracks and researches shortened school weeks.Thompson counted four-day school weeks in 25 states during the 2022-23 school year. Compared to the 2018-19 school year, his research showed more four-day school weeks around the country, including in Colorado.More districts adopt 4-day school weeksThompson counted 105 Colorado school districts with four-day weeks during the 2018-19 school year. That increased to 120 by last school year — some 67% of Colorado's 178 school districts.Colorado previously led the U.S. in its number of school districts with four-day weeks. But as of last year's cou...

What happened to Nathaniel Holmes? Investigation Discovery to highlight missing case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:20:34 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Six years ago, Nathaniel Holmes' mother watched her 17-year-old son walk into Hidden Lake High School in Westminster. That was the last time she saw him. On Sunday, Investigation Discovery's series "Disappeared" is highlighting Holmes' story.On Dec. 19, 2017, Holmes entered the school but left shortly after. According to ID's preview, he left during the first period. He called his mother and told her a friend of his father would pick him up, but reports show that didn’t happen. Holmes had asked a woman at a local park to borrow her phone to make a call. This was the last time anyone heard from him. Holmes is still considered a missing person. Family of teen missing for 5 years hopes for help On Sunday, Oct. 8, Holmes' story will be aired on season 11 of "Disappeared" in an episode called "Descent into Darkness."Nathaniel Holmes at age 17 (Credit: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)An age progression illustration of what Nathaniel Holmes, who was 1...