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Driver left with costly insurance bill following alleged car crash scam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:28 GMT

A Southern California driver was left with a sky-high insurance bill after he claimed a Yucaipa man crashed into his vehicle intentionally.“He knows what he’s doing and he knows how to not be at fault for them,” said Jeremy Perales, a victim who said he was struck by the suspect, Christopher Phelps, 40.Christopher, along with his wife, Kimberly, 40, were arrested on Wednesday and accused of intentionally causing car crashes that were posted on a YouTube channel.The couple is accused of causing collisions in an attempt to collect fraudulent insurance payouts, according to the California Department of Insurance.A YouTube channel under the name “BLU3 GHO57" allegedly housed around 162 videos of “vehicle collisions, attempted or near collisions, road rage incidents, and other content involving the couple,” officials said.It was in April 2022 when Perales said his insurance premium shot up after an accident involving Christopher.A rear dashcam video of the crash was posted on Christopher...

LAUSD, union workers reach 'historic' deal after 3-day strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:28 GMT

A tentative deal was reached Friday to end a labor dispute involving the Los Angeles Unified School District and tens of thousands of union workers who staged a three-day strike this week, the district announced.The deal includes a series of retroactive raises going back to 2021 as well as pay bumps this coming July and January that will collectively hike worker pay by about 30%, said Max Arias, executive director of SEIU Local 99.The deal also sets the district's minimum wage at $22.52; provides a one-time $1,000 raise for any worker who was employed in 2020 in appreciation of their work during the COVID-19 pandemic; and creates a $3 million educational and professional development fund for union members, district Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said at a news conference.The tentative agreement will be moved to union members to vote on its approval. "This week, the eyes of our entire nation were on the cooks, custodians and classroom aides who make education possible in Los Angeles...

Gusty winds, dry weather for the weekend; rain returns next week 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:28 GMT

Southern California will see a respite from the persistent rain this weekend, but the dry conditions will be accompanied by strong winds, according to the National Weather Service. Wind gusts of up to 55 mph are expected in wind-prone areas such as the Interstate 5 corridor and Antelope Valley. The gusty northerly winds will most likely make their way into some coastal areas, and will stick around through the weekend and into Monday.  “Hazardous driving conditions, downed trees and power outages are possible,” said NWS. A wind advisory is in effect for Northern Ventura and Los Angeles counties until 9 a.m. on Sunday. Another storm that will bring more rain and mountain snow will hit the area on Wednesday. Those showers will continue into Thursday, with drier conditions for Southern California by Friday. “It will be pretty heavy at times,” said KTLA meteorologist Kacey Montoya. “The shower activity will be lightening up quite a bit on Thursday, but still a chance of rain i...

How one Northern California city convinced Stan Lee to move the home of the Fantastic Four

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:28 GMT

(KTXL) — Some of the most famous cities in comic books are fictional, particularly the homes for DC characters Batman and Superman. In the Marvel Universe, most of its characters, including Spider-Man, Captain America and Iron Man, reside in cities that actually exist. But the Fantastic Four – the quartet of Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch and The Thing – originally resided in a fictional city named Central City, California. The birthplace of the Fantastic Four changed after a campaign brought legendary comic book writer Stan Lee to Stockton in 1986. Campaign launched to bring production of new Fantastic Four film to Stockton Stockton’s entry to the Marvel UniverseIn a special ceremony on Feb. 26, 1986, Lee, the creator of Fantastic Four, stood on the steps of Stockton City Hall and officially proclaimed the city as “the birthplace of the Fantastic Four.”According to Visit Stockton, Lee signed autographs and posed for pictures at Al’s Comics after the ceremon...

What It Means for Trump's Campaign to Start in Waco

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:28 GMT

Every revolutionary movement needs martyrs. The modern U.S. militant right­ has long had its own, and the most important among them have been dead for three decades: the 70-plus men, women, and children killed in the spring of 1993 at the conclusion of a 51-day government siege at a compound outside the Central Texas city of Waco. They were members of an armed Christian sect, unfamiliar and isolated, and for many Americans, Waco was another footnote in the country’s long history of violence. In the worldview of right-wing militancy, however, Waco is foundational: a gory testament to the dangers of gun control and the deadly power of federal authorities. Waco fueled the rise of the militia movement in the 1990s and inspired the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995; it continues to influence contemporary militant thinking. All of this should be borne in mind when Donald Trump holds the first official rally of his 2024 presidential campaign in Waco on Saturday.In the run-up to the rally, Trum...

Today in Sports – T. Woods wins his 1st Players Championship

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:28 GMT

March 261944 — St. John’s, coached by Joe Lapchick, cruises by DePaul 47-39 to become the first back-to-back winner of the National Invitation Tournament.1946 — Hank Iba’s Oklahoma A&M Aggies beat North Carolina 43-40 for their second straight NCAA men’s basketball title. Bob Kurland scores 23 points, including the first two dunks in NCAA tournament history.1949 — Alex Groza leads Kentucky to a 46-36 victory over Oklahoma State for the NCAA championship.1952 — Kansas’ Clyde Lovelette scores 33 points to lead the Jayhawks to a 80-63 win over St. John’s for the NCAA basketball title.1972 — The Los Angeles Lakers beat Seattle 124-98 to finish the season at 69-13, the best record in NBA history, until the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls finish at 72-10.1973 — Bill Walton scores 44 points to help UCLA win its record seventh NCAA basketball championship with an 87-66 triumph over Memphis State.1974 — George Foreman knocks out Ken Norton in the second round in Caracas, Venezuela, to retain the w...

Turkey’s Erdoğan urges end of Ukraine war in call with Putin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:28 GMT

Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday called for the “immediate cessation” of the war in Ukraine during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.Erdoğan also “thanked President Putin for his positive stance regarding the extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative” and added that the two countries “could take further steps” when it comes to economic cooperation, the Turkish presidency’s communications directorate said in a statement on Saturday.The Black Sea grain deal, which allowed the export of foodstuffs from Ukraine to resume after Moscow’s unlawful invasion of the country blocked several ports, was extended last weekend. The grain agreement was originally signed last summer by Kyiv and Moscow under the auspices of the United Nations.The Kremlin said in a statement following the Putin-Erdoğan phone call that the two leaders also discussed the situation in Syria.They emphasized “the need to continue the pr...

Swiss finance minister defends rushed takeover of Credit Suisse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:28 GMT

The takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS was necessary to avoid disruptions of Switzerland’s banking system, Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter said on Saturday.“Credit Suisse would not have survived Monday,” she said in an interview with Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung published Saturday.She argued that the use of emergency law to allow a rapid merger between the country’s two largest banks was needed to stabilize the situation. “Without a solution, payment transactions with [Credit Suisse] in Switzerland would have been significantly disrupted, possibly even collapsed, and wages and bills could no longer have been paid,” she said.Last weekend, UBS was forced by Swiss authorities to take over its longtime domestic rival Credit Suisse for 3 billion Swiss francs.To justify the move, which angered Credit Suisse shareholders, Keller-Sutter argued that the federal government “only went as far as was absolutely necessary to achieve the g...

Homes destroyed in Scituate fire on Minot Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:28 GMT

The morning will show that multiple homes have burned to the ground in Scituate after flames jumped from house-to-house in the Minot Beach area.Scituate, Hanover, Hull, Duxbury, Rockland, Plymouth and Hanson firefighters all responded. People were displaced but no injuries are being reported.MEMA’s Plymouth County coordinator was on scene and the plume from the blazes could be seen on radar.Scituate fire Chief John Murphy estimated that the fire started sometime between 7:30 p.m. Friday. “Upon arrival, we had three homes well underway with flames,” Murphy told WCVB. “Everybody was evacuated.”This is a developing story …Burned out remnants of homes along the Glades section of Minot beach after a multi alarm fire on March 25, 2023 in , Scituate, MA. . (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)Homes burn along the Glades section of Minot beach at a multi alarm fire on March 24, 2023 in , Scituate, MA. . (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)Homes burn along the Glades sec...

Ontario doctors blast province for ending health care for uninsured residents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:53:28 GMT

The Ontario Medical Association is blasting the province for its plans to end a program that provides health care services for people without health insurance and is calling on the government to extend it until a new solution can be worked out.Board Chair Dr. Cathy Faulds says the government notified the association on Friday that the Physician and Hospital Services for Uninsured Persons program will end on March 31.Faulds says the government decision will hurt the province’s marginalized residents, who already face extra societal barriers and would have to rely on the good will of individual doctors to receive health care if the program winds down as planned.She says the OMA wants the government to extend the program temporarily and develop a long-term solution that addresses the medical needs of uninsured residents.The Ontario Ministry of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision.Ontario established the program in 2020 near the start of the ...