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A California scholar’s research into a flowering shrub took him to Mexico and a violent death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:24 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For four years, Gabriel Trujillo trekked the breadth of the United States and south into Mexico in search of a flowering shrub called the common buttonbush. The plant is native to the varied climates of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Trujillo, a 31-year-old Ph.D. student at the University of California, Berkeley, wanted to know why it thrived in such a range of places, and whether the evolution of the species held possibilities for future habitat conservation and restoration efforts.The research was tragically cut short last week in Mexico, where Trujillo’s father said he was shot seven times. Authorities discovered his body on June 22 in the state of Sonora, in northwest Mexico, days after his fiancée reported him missing.‘THE WRONG PLACE’Trujillo drove across the Arizona border into Nogales on June 17. He spoke to his father the next day and he and his fiancée, Roxanne Cruz-de Hoyos, chatted in the morning the day after that. He told her he was going out to collec...

A judge rejects Donald Trump’s request to toss out defamation claims by columnist E. Jean Carroll

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s claims that absolute presidential immunity and free speech rights shield him from the defamation claims of a New York columnist were rejected Thursday by a federal judge.The writer, E. Jean Carroll, can continue to press claims that Trump owes her at least $10 million in damages for comments he made before and after she won a $5 million sexual abuse and defamation verdict against him last month, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan said in a written opinion.Trump tried to dismiss the lawsuit on grounds that he is entitled to absolute presidential immunity, his statements were not defamatory and that his statements were opinion protected by free speech rights.Kaplan said Trump surrendered absolute presidential immunity as a defense by failing to assert it years ago when the lawsuit was filed. The lawsuit was delayed until recently as appeals courts considered legal issues surrounding it.Trump countersued Carroll this week, claiming that she has libele...

600 arrested and 200 police officers hurt on France’s 3rd night of protests over teen’s killing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:24 GMT

NANTERRE, France (AP) — Protesters erected barricades, lit fires and shot fireworks at police in French streets overnight as tensions grew over the deadly police shooting of a 17-year-old that has shocked the nation. More than 600 people were arrested and at least 200 police officers injured as the government struggled to restore order on a third night of unrest.Armored police vehicles rammed through the charred remains of cars that had been flipped and set ablaze in the northwestern Paris suburb of Nanterre, where a police officer shot the teen identified only by his first name, Nahel. On the other side of Paris, protesters lit a fire at the city hall of the suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and set a bus depot ablaze in Aubervilliers. The French capital also saw fires and some stores ransacked.In the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, police sought to disperse violent groups in the city center, regional authorities said.President Emmanuel Macron planned to leave an EU summit in Brusse...

Death toll rises to 12 in Ukraine's Kramatorsk after Russian strike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:24 GMT

Rescuers have pulled another body from the ruins of a restaurant in eastern Ukraine's city of Kramatorsk, taking to 12 the death toll following a Russian missile strike, Ukraine's emergency services said on Thursday (29 June)Three children were among the dead, while 60 more people were wounded, the authorities said.

Aahana Pereira Talks Advertising and Living Out of Her Comfort Zone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:24 GMT

In the sphere of creative copywriting, Aahana Pereira has emerged as a global powerhouse. The diversity of her cultural exposure, coupled with an innate understanding of the human mind, is uniquely encapsulated in each of her creative pursuits. A native of Mumbai, India, she transcended geographical boundaries to lend her creative genius to brands in Asia and America, earning a revered spot in the global advertising panorama.In her illustrious career, Aahana has added a range of accolades to her name, spanning from Markies Awards to multiple film festivals for the Chypre Film. Her creative journey, fuelled by the inspiration drawn from advertising legends like John Caples, David Abbot, and David Ogilvy, led her to work in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Shanghai, New York, and LA.Though successful, her story is not one of smooth sailing but rather a testimony of constant learning, evolving, and conquering challenges. She candidly shares that innovation—though rewarding—often means treading unc...

Four-bedroom home sells for $1.9 million in Pleasanton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:24 GMT

1975 Foxswallow Circle – Google Street ViewA house located in the 1900 block of Foxswallow Circle in Pleasanton has a new owner. The 1,923-square-foot property, built in 1971, was sold on May 12, 2023, for $1,852,000, or $963 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a garage. It sits on a 6,999-square-foot lot, which also has a pool.Additional houses have recently changed hands nearby:On Brooktree Way, Pleasanton, in June 2022, a 1,790-square-foot home was sold for $1,550,000, a price per square foot of $866. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In May 2023, a 2,047-square-foot home on Brooktree Way in Pleasanton sold for $1,795,000, a price per square foot of $877. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 2,047-square-foot home on the 1800 block of Rosetree Court in Pleasanton sold in May 2023, for $1,779,500, a price per square foot of $869. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

Las Vegas hosts Connecticut following Carrington’s 23-point showing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:24 GMT

Connecticut Sun (12-4, 6-3 Eastern Conference) at Las Vegas Aces (13-1, 7-0 Western Conference)Las Vegas; Saturday, 3 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Connecticut plays the Las Vegas Aces after DiJonai Carrington scored 23 points in the Sun’s 89-81 loss to the New York Liberty.The Aces have gone 8-0 at home. Las Vegas is the best team in the Western Conference at limiting opponent scoring, allowing 77.4 points while holding opponents to 40.8% shooting.The Sun are 7-1 on the road. Connecticut ranks third in the WNBA giving up 78.2 points while holding opponents to 42.4% shooting.The teams meet for the third time this season. In the last matchup on June 8 the Sun won 94-77 led by 41 points from DeWanna Bonner, while Kelsey Plum scored 16 points for the Aces.TOP PERFORMERS: A’ja Wilson is scoring 19.6 points per game and averaging 9.4 rebounds for the Aces.Alyssa Thomas is averaging 14.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, eight assists and 2.1 steals for the Sun.LAST 10 GAMES: Aces: 9-1, averaging...

Macron calls crisis talks after another night of violence across France, with more than 600 arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:24 GMT

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron will chair a government crisis meeting later Friday following another night of violence after a teenager was shot dead by police.Macron was in Brussels Thursday to attend the European Council summit and will join his fellow EU leaders for early Friday talks but will leave late morning to attend the ministerial meeting at 1 p.m., Playbook Paris reported. The president was “kept fully informed of events” while in Brussels, one of his advisers said.For three nights in a row, there has been unrest across France after a 17-year-old was killed by police in a Paris suburb. For local authorities, law enforcement, and young people in the impoverished banlieues, the shadow of the 2005 riots that rocked French suburbs for weeks looms large. French authorities on Thursday mobilized 40,000 security forces throughout the country, including 5,000 in Paris. The interior ministry announced that 667 people had been arrested and 249 members of ...

Under-fire minister Zac Goldsmith quits with blast at UK climate ‘apathy’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:24 GMT

LONDON — Minister Zac Goldsmith quit the British government Friday with a stinging attack on Rishi Sunak’s environmental record. His exit comes a day after MPs took him to task for sticking up for Boris Johnson.In a highly-critical letter to the U.K. prime minister, the environment minister — who once ran for London mayor and was placed in the House of Lords by Johnson — said “this government’s apathy in the face of the greatest challenge we have faced makes continuing in my current role untenable.” The dramatic exit comes after Goldsmith, a longstanding environmentalist, was criticized by a cross-party committee for his role in backing Johnson. The privileges committee argued Thursday that allies of the former prime minister had led a “coordinated campaign to interfere with” its work investigating Johnson’s conduct. Goldsmith was criticized for retweeting a social media post branding the committee a “kangaroo court.” The committ...

EU leaders resume migration talks but Poland and Hungary’s governments slow progress

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:14:24 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders opened a second day of migration talks Friday as Poland and Hungary continued to block progress after they were outvoted earlier this month on a plan to share refugees arriving in Europe among the 27 member countries.Some leaders said that Poland and Hungary seemed to be fighting a battle started years ago, when well over 1 million migrants entered Europe, most of them refugees fleeing Syria, in 2015 and sparked one of the bloc’s biggest crises. Others said the two simply must not be permitted to break EU rules.“My feeling was there’s a lot of bitterness about the debates on migration from 2015,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told reporters at EU headquarters in Brussels. “If you just say no to everything and everybody else tries to compromise that doesn’t really work out.”Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said that “Hungary was totally adamant” about having the issue removed altogether from the leader’s final summit commu...