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Do not call: 49 states sue telecom company over billions of robocalls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:52 GMT

Attorneys general across the U.S. joined in a lawsuit against a telecommunications company accused of making more than 7.5 billion robocalls to people on the national Do Not Call Registry.The 141-page lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix against Avid Telecom, its owner Michael D. Lansky and company vice president Stacey S. Reeves. It seeks a jury trial to determine damages.The lawsuit arises from the nationwide, bipartisan Anti-Robocall Multistate Litigation Task Force of 51 attorneys general and the District of Columbia. It was formed last year to investigate and take legal action against telecommunications companies routing volumes of robocall traffic.Attorney General Rob Bonta said an estimated 577,879,156 robocalls were made to California phone numbers between December 2018 and January 2023.The lawsuit said Avid Telecom used spoofed or invalid caller ID numbers, including more than 8.4 million calls that appeared to be coming from government and law enforc...

El Cerrito murder suspect was part of a prolific carjacking crew responsible for at least two dozen robberies around Bay Area, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:52 GMT

OAKLAND — A city resident recently arrested in connection with an El Cerrito homicide is also under investigation for alleged involvement in a Bay Area robbery crew responsible for at least two dozens heists, a kidnapping, and multiple shootings.Malachi Cox, 21, of Oakland, was arrested earlier this month in Citrus Heights, on suspicion of murdering 18-year-old Sincere Martin, a former De Anza High and El Cerrito High school football player. Contra Costa prosecutors have not yet reviewed the case against Cox and decided whether to charge him, but he remains jailed on suspicion of violating his parole for a prior conviction, court records show.But while Cox remains behind bars, police in two counts are investigating his possible connection to not just Martin’s homicide but a group responsible for eight carjackings and a string of robberies around the East Bay.Police have identified at least three suspected members of the group, all young men in their teens or early 20s, w...

Police say car collides with gates of Downing Street, where UK prime minister lives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Police say a car has collided with the gates of Downing Street in central London, where the British prime minister’s home and offices are located.The Metropolitan Police force says there are no reports of injuries. Police said a man was arrested Thursday at the scene on suspicion of criminal damage and dangerous driving.Video footage posted on social media showed a white car with its trunk open up against the tall metal gates.It was not immediately clear whether the crash was deliberate.Source

4 charged with concealing body after woman found dead outside Northern Virginia hospital

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:52 GMT

The body of 33-year-old Brenda Ochoa Guerrero was found in the passenger side of her car in the parking lot of Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, according to Fairfax County police. (Courtesy Fairfax County police)Police in Fairfax County, Virginia, say three men and a woman have been charged with felony of concealment of a dead body after a woman with a gunshot wound was found dead in her car in a hospital parking lot last month.In a news release Thursday, police identified the four people charged as 43-year-old David Littlefield, 36-year-old Eric Thompson and 35-year-old Eric Rubio, all of Alexandria, as well as 29-year-old Yuris Pineda Gallegos, of Maryland.Rubio and Littlefield are being held without bond.The body of Brenda Ochoa Guerrero, 33, was found in the passenger side of her car on April 13 at about 10:45 a.m., after a community member called police to report seeing an unconscious woman in a car in the parking lot of Mount Vernon Hospital on Holland Road.Last month, authorities...

Twitter’s launch of DeSantis’ presidential bid underscores platform’s rightward shift under Musk

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Two years ago, signing a bill intended to punish Twitter and other major social media companies, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted the platforms as “suppressing ideas” during the COVID-19 pandemic and silencing conservative voices.What a turnaround.The new Elon Musk-owned version of Twitter helped DeSantis launch his bid for the Republican presidential nomination Wednesday. Though it was marred by technical glitches and skewered by the candidate’s critics, the forum nevertheless underscored Twitter’s unmistakable shift to the right under Musk, who bought it for $44 billion and took over in October.“The truth was censored repeatedly, and now that Twitter is in the hands of a free speech advocate, that would not be able to happen again on this Twitter platform,” DeSantis said during the Twitter Spaces event.Musk, co-hosting the event, responded to the praise by saying, “Twitter was indeed expensive, but free speech is priceless.”While Musk has promote...

Police in El Salvador arrest soccer club officials after deadly stampede

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:52 GMT

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — Police in El Salvador have arrested the president of soccer club Alianza, as well as other club officials and stadium personnel, in connection with a stampede that left 12 fans dead last weekend.The Attorney General’s Office said Thursday that Alianza President Pedro Hernández and club security manager Edwin Abarca Ventura were among several people arrested. It was not immediately clear who their lawyers were.They were expected to make their initial court appearances in the coming days and could face charges of manslaughter, causing injury and public havoc.Authorities said hundreds of fans were enraged Saturday night when they weren’t allowed to enter the stadium despite having tickets. They pushed until they knocked down an entrance gate, and people were crushed and suffocated under the pressure.Prosecutors believe organizers of the game illegally sold more tickets than they should have. National Civil Police chief Mauricio Arriaza Chicas said they ...

Geraint Thomas celebrates his 37th birthday by retaining Giro lead; Roglic into 2nd

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:52 GMT

VAL DI ZOLDO, Italy (AP) — Geraint Thomas celebrated his 37th birthday with another strong ride in the mountains to retain the pink jersey in the 18th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday.Thomas crossed immediately behind Primoz Roglic, who moved up from third place to second.Joao Almeida dropped from second to third overall after losing 21 seconds over the 161-kilometer (100-mile) route from Oderzo to Val di Zoldo, which included two first category climbs followed by two second-category climbs in the finale — including an uphill finish.Thomas — the 2018 Tour de France champion — now leads Roglic by 29 seconds and Almeida by 39 seconds.Italian champion Filippo Zanna won the stage ahead of fellow breakaway rider Thibaut Pinot in a two-man sprint.With only two more climbing stages remaining before the mostly ceremonial finish in Rome on Sunday, Thomas is poised to become the oldest Giro winner in history — beating the record of Fiorenzo Magni, who was 34 when he won in 1955.Chris Ho...

Mannie Fresh brings Cash Money hits to Célébrez en Rosé in Columbia, Maryland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:52 GMT

Hear our full chat on my podcast “Beyond the Fame with Jason Fraley.”After two years at National Harbor near D.C., the Célébrez en Rosé music festival is changing locations to Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods in Columbia, Maryland, this weekend.This year’s lineup includes Mannie Fresh, Ginuwine and Jacquees for a pink-themed party at 1 p.m. on Sunday.“Anything could happen with me,” Fresh told WTOP. “With my energy, sometimes I go from a DJ to performing some of my songs, then back to a DJ. The good thing is that I wear a whole bunch of hats, so expect a whole lot.”That’s right: DJ Fresh will be spinning records like he does with his voice, pronouncing his name like a turn-table scratch: “Fre-e-e-fresh.”“That was just a play off what Eminem did doing scratches with his mouth,” Fresh said.Born in New Orleans in 1969, Fresh made hip-hop history by meeting Baby (a.k.a. Birdman) to form the rap duo Big Tymers, who eventually...

Gobernador de Carolina del Sur promulga ley de aborto que prohíbe el procedimiento a las seis semanas de gestación

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:52 GMT

(CNN) — El gobernador de Carolina del Sur, el republicano Henry McMaster, firmó este jueves el proyecto de ley 474 del Senado, la Ley de Latido Fetal y Protección contra el Aborto, un proyecto de ley que prohibiría la mayoría de los abortos tan pronto como a las seis semanas de embarazo, según un comunicado de la oficina del gobernador.“Con mi firma, la Ley de Latido Fetal y Protección frente al Aborto ya es ley y empezará a salvar las vidas de los menores no nacidos inmediatamente”, dijo el gobernador McMaster. “Es un gran día para la vida en Carolina del Sur, pero la lucha no ha terminado. Estamos preparados para defender esta legislación contra cualquier desafío y estamos seguros de que tendremos éxito. El derecho a la vida debe ser preservado, y haremos todo lo posible para protegerlo”, añadió el gobernador en el comunicado de prensa.Esta ley de castidad de 150 años podría impulsar la próxima batalla por el aborto en Estados UnidosLa ley prohíbe la ...

Judge to discuss lawsuit about cause of Marshall Fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:52 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Thursday, a Boulder County judge will hold a status hearing for a lawsuit against Xcel Energy.According to the Boulder County District Court, the class action lawsuit was filed against Xcel Energy by a Boulder business owner who alleges that downed power lines in the area near Eldorado Springs Drive and Foothills Highway may have sparked the Marshall Fire.The lawsuit mentioned that a witness videotaped sparks flying out of a malfunctioning powerline located near a Shell gas station. It also states that Xcel Energy owns and operates all powerlines and utility equipment near Highway 93 and Marshall Road. Boulder County changes alert, warning systems after Marshall Fire Additionally, it quotes an Xcel spokesperson acknowledging that wires could have touched and “arced.” The document said arcing is the electrical breakdown of a gas, which often occurs when an electric current is exposed to air between two conductors, causing a prolonged surge of electricity and heat th...