Spanish politician shot in the face in Madrid

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:42:51 GMT

Spanish politician shot in the face in Madrid By Alicia Leon and Joseph Wilson | Associated PressMADRID — Veteran Spanish right-wing politician Alejandro Vidal-Quadras was shot in the face in broad daylight on a central Madrid street on Thursday. His life was not in danger, according to the hospital where he was rushed for treatment.Police said Vidal-Quadras was attacked at around 1:30 p.m. local time near his home and that he was conscious when taken to a hospital by emergency crews. A motive for the shooting wasn’t immediately disclosed.According to Spanish state news agency EFE, police believe the shooter fled the scene on a motorbike, wearing a black helmet.Four hours after the shooting, Madrid’s Gregorio Marañón hospital issued its first public medical report on Vidal-Quadras’ condition. The hospital said the gunshot had fractured his jawbone and that he will undergo surgery. It said he was in stable condition and that his life was not in danger.Vidal-Quadras, 78, was a long-time member of Spain’s c...

Cruise lays offs contract workers following series of setbacks

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:42:51 GMT

Cruise lays offs contract workers following series of setbacks SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Driverless ride hailing service Cruise announced Thursday it will be laying off an unspecified number of workers, KRON4 has confirmed. The layoffs are set to impact contract workers employed through third-party vendors and staffing agencies, a Cruise representative told KRON.Contingent workers who will be let go assisted with work that included cleaning, charging and maintaining the AV fleet, and customer support.It was first reported on Wednesday that Cruise layoffs were on the way. According to Forbes, Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt told company executives that layoffs were necessary during an hour-long meeting Monday. Dorsey’s Block, formerly Square, to slash 1,000 jobs That meeting, Forbes reported, was to discuss damage control measures following a series of damaging headlines about the General Motors backed autonomous vehicle service. In San Francisco, there has been a steady stream of incidents involving Cruise vehicles.In October, a Cruise vehicle ran over a ...

David DePape was caught up in conspiracies, defense says

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:42:51 GMT

David DePape was caught up in conspiracies, defense says SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — David DePape, the man who is accused of bludgeoning former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer, was caught up in conspiracies when he broke into her San Francisco home last year, his defense attorney said at his trial opened Thursday.The attack on then-82-year-old Paul Pelosi in the early hours of Oct. 28, 2022, sent shockwaves through the political world just days before last year’s midterm elections.Defense attorney Jodi Linker said Thursday she won't dispute that her client DePape attacked Paul Pelosi, an encounter caught on police body camera video. Instead, she will argue that he believed “with every ounce of his body" that he was taking action to stop corruption and the abuse of children by politicians and actors.“This is not a ‘whodunit.’ But what the government fails to acknowledge is the ‘whydunit,' and the why matters in this case,” she said.DePape pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on ...

Convicted sex offender arrested for child pornography in Redwood City

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:42:51 GMT

Convicted sex offender arrested for child pornography in Redwood City (KRON) -- A convicted sex offender who was having a medical issue was arrested for possession of child pornography Tuesday after firefighters came to his home and saw explicit images on his computer. Members of the Redwood City Fire Department responded to a report of subject having a medical issue on the 1400 block of Kentfield at around 7 p.m. TuesdayAfter trying to contact the resident at the door unsuccessfully, firefighters were given access to the apartment by the apartment manager. Inside, they located 75-year-old Redwood City resident Richard Winkler. He was suffering from a serious but not life-threatening medical issue in his bedroom, according to the Redwood City Police Department. Hollister man arrested in San Jose Cinco de Mayo shooting Firefighters noticed that Winkler had an explicit image of a naked juvenile on his computer screen. They notified the Redwood City Police Department.Redwood City PD officers who responded to the location determined that Winkler was a s...

California-based Z Gallerie closing all stores

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:42:51 GMT

California-based Z Gallerie closing all stores Z Gallerie, a Los Angeles-based furniture and home goods retailer, has announced that it is closing all its brick-and-mortar stores nationwide.“Thank you for shopping with our store teams over the years, you have inspired us,” the company said in a social media post on Wednesday.The company said its products will continue to be sold online.“Even though our retail stores are closing, our signature Z Gallerie style is available to you, our valued customers, 24/7 via our online channel so you can continue to get lost in the details and turn your home into a work of art.”An image from Z Gallerie's message announcing its closure. Nov. 8, 2023. (Z Gallerie)Z Gallerie has 21 locations in nine states, including five in California.On Oct. 16, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for a third time citing negative cash flow and mounting debt as high mortgage rates crippled home sales and sapped demand for its products, Bloomberg reported.The company was founded in 1979 as a poster shop...

New Yorkers Voted to Put Environmental Rights in Their Constitution — but the Attorney General is Fighting Back

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:42:51 GMT

New Yorkers Voted to Put Environmental Rights in Their Constitution — but the Attorney General is Fighting Back COHOES, N.Y. — In a small city in upstate New York, just a few miles from Albany, the Norlite hazardous waste incinerator sputters and groans. The sound punctures the eerie silence of a deserted public housing complex next door, separated from the plant by only a fence and some railroad tracks. No children play on the jungle gym here anymore, and no families bustle in and out of front doors. Last year, after mounting concern from the community over Norlite’s air emissions, the Cohoes Housing Authority began relocating all residents of the 70-unit Saratoga Sites complex. The city now plans to raze the homes. For more than 30 years, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, or DEC, has attempted to force Norlite to comply with state environmental laws, issuing the plant hundreds of thousands of dollars in penalties. But even dozens of violations dating back to the 1990s have failed to stop Norlite from polluting. Last year, when New York Attorney General Letitia...

Chicago White Sox announcer Jason Benetti moving to Detroit for TV play-by-play

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:42:51 GMT

Chicago White Sox announcer Jason Benetti moving to Detroit for TV play-by-play DETROIT (AP) — Longtime Chicago White Sox announcer Jason Benetti is moving to Detroit to become the TV play-by-play voice of the Tigers. The Tigers organization announced that Benetti has signed a multiyear contract to take over as lead announcer for the team’s broadcasts starting next season. “One of the top voices in sports is coming to the 313!” the Tigers posted Thursday on “X,” the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Benetti joined the White Sox booth in 2016 and took over as lead announcer when Ken “Hawk” Harrelson retired in 2019. Benetti posted a message to White Sox fans on “X,” “I love you dearly.” He also said he was excited for the new opportunity with the Tigers and can’t wait to bring the team’s “energy to Tigers’ fans around the globe.” ___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlbSource

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts lower as oil recovers some of its sharp losses

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:42:51 GMT

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts lower as oil recovers some of its sharp losses NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting lower Thursday following its recent big swings.The S&P 500 fell 0.3% after slowly flipping from an early, small gain. It’s been listless this week, coming off a sharp reversal after months of losses gave way to its best week of the year last week.Even though its recent moves have been modest, if the S&P 500 can eke out a gain for the day, it would mark a ninth straight for its longest winning streak in 19 years.The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 124 points, or 0.4%, as of 1:42 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%.The Walt Disney Co. was strong after becoming the latest big U.S. company to report better profit for the last quarter than analysts expected. It rose 7.2% after saying it added more Disney+ streaming subscribers than Wall Street had forecast, while also increasing its target for annual cost savings.Tapestry climbed 4% for another one of the bigger gains in the S&P 500 after the maker of high-end sh...

In growing tide, civilians flee north Gaza or shelter at hospital as Israel, Hamas battle in city

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:42:51 GMT

In growing tide, civilians flee north Gaza or shelter at hospital as Israel, Hamas battle in city DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Crowds of Palestinian families stretching as far as the eye could see walked out of Gaza City and surrounding areas toward the south Thursday to escape Israeli airstrikes and ground troops battling Hamas militants in dense urban neighborhoods. Others joined tens of thousands taking shelter at the city’s biggest hospital, not far from the fighting.Gaza’s largest city is the focus of Israel’s campaign to crush Hamas following its deadly Oct. 7 incursion — and the Israeli military says Hamas’ main command center is located in and under the Shifa Hospital complex. The militant group and hospital staff deny that claim. Growing numbers of people have been living in and around the hospital complex, hoping it will be safer than their homes or U.N. shelters in the north, several of which have been hit repeatedly. Israeli troops were around 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the hospital, according to its director.The accelerating exodus to the south came as Is...

Comienza el juicio federal contra el hombre acusado de atacar a Paul Pelosi

Published Mon, 16 Dec 2024 15:42:51 GMT

Comienza el juicio federal contra el hombre acusado de atacar a Paul Pelosi (CNN) — El juicio federal de David DePape, el hombre acusado de atacar en su casa de San Francisco el año pasado al marido de la expresidenta de la Cámara de Representantes, Nancy Pelosi, acaba de comenzar.La selección del jurado para el juicio concluyó el lunes, dijo Liz Noteware, directora de operaciones de la sala del Tribunal de Distrito de los Estados Unidos para el Distrito Norte de California. Está previsto que el juicio finalice la próxima semana.DePape se ha declarado inocente de los cargos federales relacionados con el ataque a Paul Pelosi, incluido el asalto a un familiar inmediato de un funcionario federal y el intento de secuestro de un funcionario federal. Se enfrenta a un máximo de 30 y 20 años, respectivamente, si es declarado culpable de esos cargos.Las teorías conspirativas toman fuerza tras el ataque a Paul PelosiEntre los que se espera que testifiquen se encuentran los agentes de policía que respondieron a la agresión, el neurocirujano que trató a Pelosi po...