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Florida ban on property purchases by citizens of China and some other countries is challenged

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A new law that bans citizens of China and some other countries from purchasing property in large swaths of Florida violates federal housing discrimination laws, a lawyer representing Chinese nationals living and working in the state told a federal judge Tuesday. While other states have laws that prevent foreigners from buying agricultural land, American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Ashley Gorski said Florida’s law is extreme and amounts to blanket discrimination against Chinese citizens by equating them to the Chinese Communist Party. She said there is no evidence that Chinese nationals pose a security threat.The ACLU is seeking an injunction to block enforcement of the measure, which went into effect July 1. “This is a highly unusual law,” she told Judge Allen Winsor. “Florida’s law is truly extraordinary.” The law applies to properties within 10 miles (16 kilometers) of military installations and other “critical infrastructure” and also affects...

1 dead, 1 critical after Wauconda crash involving trike

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

WAUCONDA, Ill. — A woman is dead and a man is in critical condition after a crash involving a SUV and a three-wheeled motorcycle Tuesday afternoon.According to the Lake County Sheriff's Office (LCSO), deputies were called to the area of Route 12 and Lake Shore Drive in unincorporated Wauconda at around 1 p.m. for a traffic crash with injuries.After deputies arrived on scene, they found a 69-year-old man and a 63-year-old woman — both from Northbrook, Illinois — critically injured.LCSO's preliminary investigation showed a Ford Escort, driven by a 65-year-old Downers Grove woman, was stopped on the inside lane of southbound Route 12 due to a mechanical issue. A three-wheeled Harley-Davidson, driven by the 69-year-old Northbrook man, was travelling in the inside lane of southbound Route 12 and hit the Ford.Deputies said the collision caused the Harley-Davidson to roll several times, and led to the 69-year-old man and his passenger, the 63-year-old woman from Northbrook, to be thrown fr...

Rotterdam motel to house migrants after closing to current residents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

ROTTERDAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A number of people are scrambling to find a new place to stay after the Super 8 Motel on Carman Road in Rotterdam told everyone Tuesday morning they had to be out by Wednesday.Town Board member Joe Mastroianni said he had numerous calls and texts about the issue and went to the motel to gain more information. He spoke with the manager, who confirmed that they have a one-year agreement to house migrants. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! "We just had a planning board meeting here in Rotterdam earlier this evening and quite a few people showed up because they wanted to make their voices heard that they feel like we should do something," Mastroianni said.Mastroianni said he shared the community's frustrations to Schenectady County Manager Rory Fluman who issued the following statement:We were recently made aware that a local motel contracted with the City of New York to host a group of asylum seekers....

Amazon warehouse construction continues in Granville

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

GRANVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Construction is continuing on the new Amazon warehouse in Granville. Officials said the construction is in the home stretch and should be completed soon. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! A hiring event is scheduled to take place in August. The building is expected to be officially open in the fall.

In-N-Out Burger to require doctor’s note for employees to wear masks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

In-N-Out Burger, the California-based restaurant chain, will soon prohibit employees at its locations in five states from wearing a mask unless they obtain a doctor’s note, a company customer service representative confirmed Tuesday.The rule will go into effect Aug. 14 for employees at the chain’s locations in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Texas and Utah, according to internal company emails leaked on social media last week. Employees who then choose to wear a mask will be required to use an N95 provided by the company.In-N-Out Burger did not immediately respond to email and phone messages Tuesday.In California, which has a law preventing employers from banning masks, and in Oregon, In-N-Out will continue to allow employees to wear masks if they choose, but they may only wear the N95s provided by the company.In October 2021, In-N-Out had to temporarily shut down its San Francisco location because it refused to comply with the city’s requirement that all restaurants check vaccine cards ...

Disney Concert Hall, Lobero Theatre named among most beautiful theaters in the world

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

A night at the opera at one of the world's most beautiful theaters is just a short drive away if you live in Southern California.Architectural Digest has just named its 11 "Most Beautiful Theaters" in the world, with one of downtown L.A.'s most recognizable landmarks being honored, as well as another historic venue in Santa Barbara also cracking the list.The Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles was named to the list. Officially christened in 2003, the venue, designed by legendary architect Frank Gehry, is "a frequently cited example of deconstructivist architecture," the magazine writes. Home to the L.A. Philharmonic, the iconic venue, with its sweeping design and stainless steel curves that glow like a literal beacon in the sunlight, is also widely considered one of the "most acoustically sophisticated concert halls in the world."Gehry, 94, is a world-renowned architect who has designed and built buildings across the globe, each thoughtfully unique from one another, whi...

Inland Empire residents endure heatwave amid power outage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

More than 900 Southern California Edison customers in the Inland Empire were forced to endure a power outage that lasted nearly 30 hours amid an oppressive heatwave bringing triple-digit temperatures to the area.  Nate Chripczuk is back inside his San Bernardino home now, but the piano instructor said staying inside his house during the outage wasn’t possible, forcing him to cancel his classes.  “I had to cancel them because I had no power. It was too hot,” he told KTLA.  The outage started at around 3:30 p.m. Sunday.  “The heat from the day was so bad here in the house that we couldn’t bear it,” Chripczuk added. “We had to stay in the car until 2:45 or something in the morning until we thought it was kind of cool enough.”  It was a challenge for the piano instructor to keep his pets cool and take care of his mother, who can’t be in the heat for too long due to underlying health issues. The power wasn’t restored until Monday night at around 8:30 p.m. While Chripc...

Former Orange County basketball coach sentenced for sexually assaulting young girls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

A former Orange County basketball coach was convicted Tuesday of sexually assaulting four young girls.Costa Mesa resident, Carlos Francisco Juarez, 48, was found guilty by a jury of 10 felony counts of lewd act upon a child under 14, seven felony counts of lewd act upon a child and two felony counts each of oral copulation of a minor under the age of 16 and sexual penetration by foreign object of a minor, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.Juarez faces a maximum sentence of 150 years to life in prison. He was arrested back in April 2019.The four victims were between 11 and 14 years old when the reported sexual acts took place between 2005 and 2010, according to authorities.Juarez primarily coached for club basketball teams including SoCal Swoosh and O.C. Mustangs and also worked at Aliso Niguel, Costa Mesa, Mater Dei, and Tustin high schools.In 2005, an 11-year-old victim took private lessons from Juarez at a Tustin gymwhere Juarez had the girl “practice tople...

Bicyclist hit and killed by falling tree branch near Gilroy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

SANTA CLARA COUNTY – A bicyclist died after a large tree branch fell and hit her Tuesday northeast of Gilroy, authorities said.Officers were dispatched to the area of Roop and Leavesley roads at 1:23 p.m. for a report of a tree that had fallen onto a bicyclist, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release.An investigation determined that the bicyclist, a 65-year-old Gilroy woman, had been riding southbound on Roop north of Leavesley when a large tree branch fell and hit her, the CHP said. She was then knocked to the ground and pinned under the branch.The bicyclist was taken to Regional Medical Center in San Jose, where she died of her injuries, the CHP said. The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office will release the woman’s identity once it is confirmed and her next of kin is notified.The CHP said it was not clear what time the incident occurred or what caused the branch to break.Roop Road runs along the southern border of Coyote Lake Harvey Bear Ranch County ...

Defense: ‘Team chemistry’ fanned runaway sex abuse allegations against ‘good and dedicated’ San Jose State trainer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:11:25 GMT

SAN JOSE — The former sports trainer accused of sexually assaulting more than two dozen female athletes over more than a decade is no “sociopath, predator or charlatan,” his lawyer told a federal jury Tuesday on the opening day of a long-awaited criminal trial into allegations at the center of a scandal that rocked San Jose State University.Instead, Scott Shaw is “a good and dedicated trainer” whose legitimate treatment was misunderstood by mostly teenage girls, his lawyer said. The allegations against Shaw were fanned by “team chemistry” among female athletes primed to support each other, he said, along with explosive media stories and FBI agents setting out to prove Shaw was guilty.“Once this fire got started, Scott Shaw’s career burst into flames, and no one was interested in the job of putting it out,” defense lawyer Dave Callaway told the jury of 8 women and 4 men.The opening statements in San Jose’s federal court — just two blocks from the university campus —...