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While a criminal case against a Tesla driver ends, legal and ethical questions on Autopilot endure

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A criminal prosecution against a Tesla driver in Los Angeles County will end on Tuesday, the final step of a case believed to be the first time in the U.S. prosecutors brought felony charges against a motorist who was using a partially automated driving system.But the conclusion of driver Kevin Aziz Riad’s case is offering little solace to Lorena Ochoa, whose spouse was one of two people killed in the 2019 crash in a Los Angeles suburb. She believes both Tesla and Aziz Riad, who received probation as punishment, should face harsher consequences.Aziz Riad faces a restitution hearing on Tuesday, where a judge will determine how much money he owes the families of Gilberto Alcazar Lopez and Maria Guadalupe Nieves-Lopez. Aziz Riad was using Autopilot, and the case has raised legal and ethical questions about the technology, particularly as Tesla sales grow and more automakers equip cars with similar systems. The victims’ families have separately filed civil...

Mother expected to plead guilty after her 6-year-old son used her gun to shoot his Virginia teacher

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — The mother of a 6-year-old who shot his teacher in a Virginia classroom is expected to plead guilty Tuesday to charges related to the attack, seven months after her son used her handgun to critically wound the educator.Deja Taylor, who was charged in April with felony child neglect and a misdemeanor count of recklessly storing of a firearm, is scheduled to appear at a morning plea hearing in Newport News.The January shooting shocked the nation and roiled this shipbuilding city near the Chesapeake Bay. The case against Taylor is one of three legal efforts seeking accountability, including the teacher’s $40 million lawsuit that accuses the school system of gross negligence. Police said the first grader intentionally shot teacher Abby Zwerner as she sat at a reading table during a lesson. Zwerner, who was hit in the hand and chest, spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and has endured multiple surgeries. Moments after the shooting, according to search wa...

A look at the 19 people charged in Georgia indictment connected to Trump election scheme

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump and 18 other associates were charged Monday in Georgia as part of a sweeping indictment alleging they schemed to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss and stop the peaceful transition of power.The indictment, brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, follows an investigation that lasted more than two years and marks the fourth criminal case brought against the former president.Those charged in Monday’s indictment face a slew of charges, including racketeering, violating the oath of a public officer, forgery, false statements and other offenses. Prosecutors say they must all surrender to authorities by Aug. 25.Here’s a look at the 19 defendants charged in the indictment:DONALD TRUMP: Then-President Donald Trump fixated on Georgia after the 2020 general election, refusing to accept his narrow loss in the state and making unfounded assertions of widespread election fraud there. He also called top state officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp, ...

Federal officials plan to announce 2024 cuts along the Colorado River. Here’s what to expect

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal officials this week are expected to ease water cuts for 2024 under a slightly improved outlook for the Colorado River’s health, though long-term challenges remain.The river provides water for seven U.S. states, 29 Native American tribes and two states in Mexico. It also supports a multibillion-dollar farm industry in the West and generates hydropower used across the region. Years of overuse by farms and cities and the effects of drought worsened by climate change has meant much less water flows today through the Colorado River than in previous decades.The U.S. government in 2021 announced cuts that hit Arizona particularly hard. Last year, those cuts grew more severe thanks to continued drought, poor precipitation and less runoff from the river’s Rocky Mountains source. A wetter winter and conservation measures have helped improve the river’s health a bit this summer, but experts warn a drier future is ahead.WHAT CUTS ARE EXPECTED? The Bureau of...

Trump and 18 allies charged in Georgia election meddling as former president faces 4th criminal case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

By KATE BRUMBACK and ERIC TUCKER (Associated Press)ATLANTA (AP) — Donald Trump and 18 allies were indicted in Georgia on Monday over their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state, with prosecutors using a statute normally associated with mobsters to accuse the former president, lawyers and other aides of a “criminal enterprise” to keep him in power.The nearly 100-page indictment details dozens of acts by Trump or his allies to undo his defeat, including beseeching Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to find enough votes for him to win the battleground state; harassing a state election worker who faced false claims of fraud; and attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of electoral college electors favorable to Trump. In one particularly brazen episode, it also outlines a plot involving one of his lawyers to tamper with voting machines in a rural Georgia county and steal data from a votin...

Commission approves amendment to Spanish scheme, including a €340 million annual budget increase, to support films and other audiovisual works

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

The European Commission has approved, under EU state aid rules, an amendment to a Spanish scheme, including a €340 million annual budget increase, to support the production of Spanish and international films and other audiovisual works.The scheme was originally approved by the Commission in May 2014 (SA.37516), and amended in December 2015 (SA.40170) and in December 2020 (SA.57608). Under the scheme, Spanish and international film and audiovisual work producers receive support in the form of tax deductions in their corporate tax due in Spain.Spain notified the Commission of the following amendments to the existing scheme: (i) an annual  budget increase by €340 million, bringing the annual budget to €400m; (ii) an increase of the maximum amount of tax deduction that the beneficiaries can apply to €20m per film (from €10m); (iii) the setting of a maximum of €10m of tax deduction per series episode; and (iv) the extension of the duration of the scheme until 31 December 2026.The Commiss...

Substitute teacher charged with sexual offense against minor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

A 28-year-old substitute teacher and assistant football coach is facing charges of contact with a minor for sexual offense and possession of child pornography and authorities believe that there may additional victims.  David Vernon Prince Jr., a resident of Carson who has worked at schools in the Los Angeles and Long Beach areas, was arrested on Aug. 12, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department.  Prince, who has since been released on $45,000 bail, was booked on charges of distribution or showing pornography to a minor, possession of child or youth pornography and contact with a minor for sexual offense.  The 28-year-old, described as a Black male, standing 6 feet tall and weighing 228 pounds, is believed to target minor females.   Thieves caught on camera robbing Nike store in East Los Angeles “Investigators identified one minor victim within the City of Los Angeles. It is believed that there are additional victims,” the release state...

Man charged in Riverside County shooting that left 1 person injured 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

A man was arrested on Monday after he was implicated in a shooting in Riverside County last month that left one person injured. On July 13, 2023 at 2:50 p.m., Riverside county deputies responded to the intersection of Bob Hope Drive and Casino Way in Rancho Mirage regarding a shooting involving several occupied vehicles. Three vehicles were struck by gunfire, and an occupant of one of the vehicles sustained minor injuries, according to a Riverside County Sheriff news release. The victim was treated and released at the scene. Police arrested 26-year-old Adrian Fuentes of Indio and booked him at the John Benoit Detention Center for three counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

Bay Area organizations raise funds for Maui

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (KRON) – People across the State of California and the Bay Area are rallying together to help thousands of people displaced from the wildfires on Maui.The Bay Area has many ties to Hawaii. Within hours of news getting out about the deadly wildfire on Maui, organizations figured out a way to get supplies and aid over. Supplies just touched down on Maui from Hope Hanger, a food pantry in Mountain View. The organization partnered up with Vive Church to send items to people who survived the massive wildfire."Diapers, boxes of wipes, supplies. Anything you would need. We got a list from the shelters,” said Michelle Stewart, executive director of Hope Hangar. The organization also created the Maui Hope Fund, raising more than $9,000 so far. Hawaii mourns the dead in ferocious wildfires; officials warn full toll not yet known "We don't really realize how much the island of Maui and that area specifically has impacted families across the world and to the Ba...

West Nile Virus found in multiple Bay Area counties

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:00 GMT

(KRON) – More cases of West Nile Virus have been found throughout Contra Costa County and Santa Clara County. We are still in the thick of mosquito season, so people are being warned to stay proactive in preventing more of the insects from breeding.In South San Jose and Sunnyvale, the Santa Clara County Vector Control District will be spraying for mosquitoes. These pests are breeding in standing water so it’s important to check even the smallest objects where water has collected near your homes and dump that water out. The Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District explains that the bugs can breed in a space even as small as a bottle cap. Baseball equipment stolen from Rodeo little league Now consider unused pools or water fountains, and you have yourself a lot more room for the unwelcome pests to procreate and multiply. And the district reports West Nile Virus activity is intensifying.We know mosquitoes carry the virus and spread it to people and animals. There were f...