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2 charged in insurance fraud scheme that allegedly denied employees wages in O.C.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:06 GMT

An Orange County business owner and his office manager have been charged in an insurance fraud scheme that apparently put employees at risk and denied them wages, according to the California Department of Insurance.Bobby Levell Gilbert, Jr., owner of B&J Tree Service, faces 96 felony counts of wage theft, denial of workers’ compensation benefits to employees, workers’ compensation fraud, failure to pay taxes and perjury, officials said.His office manager, Bertha Rubi Sanchez, 30, of Anaheim, was also charged with multiple felonies for her alleged role in the scheme.An investigation found that Gilbert allegedly took advantage of his workers by denying them what they earned “for his own enrichment,” according to the Department of Insurance.A total of 32 workers were either denied wages or workers’ compensation benefits they were entitled to when injured on the job, or both.Between October 2013 and August 2021, Gilbert, 66, of Santa Ana and Sanchez allegedly conspired to underrepor...

Colorado market massacre suspect fit to stand trial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:06 GMT

By Jesse Bedayn | Associated Press/Report for AmericaBOULDER, Colo. — A judge ruled Friday that the man accused of killing 10 people at a Colorado supermarket in a 2021 rampage is mentally competent to stand trial.The decision allows the prosecution of Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa to move forward. Judge Ingrid Bakke ruled that Alissa, who has schizophrenia, is able to understand court proceedings and contribute to his own defense.Bakke presided over a hearing last week to consider an August determination by experts at a state mental hospital that Alissa was competent after previous evaluations found otherwise. Alissa’s defense attorney asked for the hearing to debate the finding.In her ruling, Bakke said she was convinced that, following forced medication, Alissa was more communicative and had a “far improved capacity to elucidate his reasoning and decision-making.” That’s a critical component of competency, which partly hinges on Alissa being able to make informed ...

Ex-San Jose Sharks coach fired by WHL team for making ‘derogatory comments of a discriminatory nature’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:06 GMT

Former San Jose Sharks coach Kevin Constantine was fired as coach of the Wenatchee Wild this week shortly he was suspended indefinitely by the Western Hockey League for making “derogatory comments of a discriminatory nature.”Constantine, 64, was let go by the Wild on Thursday, just one day after he received the suspension from the WHL.In its first season in Washington state after moving from Winnipeg, Manitoba, the major junior team said associate head coach Chris Clark and assistant coach Andrew Sarauer would continue to direct the club while it searches for a new permanent head coach.Constantine was suspended on Sept. 24 pending an independent investigation that found he violated the WHL’s standard of conduct policies. The league said he will not be eligible to apply to the commissioner for reinstatement until 2025 at the earliest.“The WHL holds our players and staff to a very high standard of conduct at all times,” WHL Commissioner Ron Robison said in a statement on Wednesday. “W...

Recent Oakland homicide victim ID’d as new father

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:06 GMT

OAKLAND — A man shot and killed in August has been identified by authorities and his family.Jordan Emmanuel was shot in East Oakland on the morning of Aug. 2 and got himself transportation to Highland Hospital. He died about 20 minutes after walking into the hospital, wearing just one shoe and suffering gunshot wounds, authorities said.A GoFundMe page by Emmanuel’s family says that he left behind a 6-month-old daughter and was “senselessly killed” while driving to work. Police confirmed Emmanuel was inside a vehicle when he was shot.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Livermore rancher gets 7 years for killing his brother over PG&E bill Crime and Public Safety | Rodeo couple charged with torturing 2-year-old and infant, murder of toddler in latest horrific Bay Area child abuse case Crime and Public Safety | Judge denies request to release accused Oakland child killer to Sacramento and Vacaville Crime and Pub...

Report: Kilauea volcano produces 320+ quakes in 24 hours

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:06 GMT

By Jillian Sykes | CNNIncreased seismic activity from one of Hawaii’s – and Earth’s – most active volcanoes led to roughly 320 earthquakes in 24 hours, according to the United States Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.The reported earthquakes beneath the highest point of Kīlauea, which is not erupting as of Friday, began Wednesday as the volcano started showing signs of elevated unrest, according to a USGS news release.Most of the earthquakes came from the ongoing seismic swarm in a region south of Kilauea’s summit caldera at depths of up to 2 miles beneath the surface, the observatory reported.Officials said “significant hazards” remained around Halemaʻumaʻu, including “crater wall instability, ground cracking and rockfalls that can be enhanced by earthquakes” in an area closed off from the public.Inflation, or ground surface swelling, at the summit of Kīlauea has nearly returned to the level seen shortly before the last eruption on September 10, when the volcano erup...

Man who attacked Capitol with tomahawk gets 7 years

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:06 GMT

By Michael Kunzelman | Associated PressWASHINGTON — A Texas man who attacked the U.S. Capitol with a metal tomahawk — and is now the face of a website selling merchandise portraying jailed rioters as “political prisoners” — was sentenced Friday to seven years behind bars.Shane Jenkins, 46, tried to smash a Capitol window with his tomahawk during the Jan. 6, 2021, siege. He also repeatedly threw makeshift weapons at police officers, hurling a desk drawer, a flagpole, a metal walking stick and a wooden pole with a spear-like point.A website touts Jenkins as the founder of a group that seeks to “shed light on the January 6th defendants and the treatment they have faced from the government.” The website sells T-shirts, hoodies, hats, tote bags and other merchandise with Jan. 6-themed slogans, including “Free the J6 political prisoners” and “Want my vote? Help the J6ers.” Another shirt for sale features former President Donald Trump’s...

Amazon lanza los primeros satélites del Proyecto Kuiper con el objetivo de crear una megaconstelación (y competir con SpaceX)

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:06 GMT

(CNN) — Amazon se unió oficialmente a la carrera por construir constelaciones de satélites que puedan cubrir todo el planeta con conectividad a Internet, una iniciativa que sitúa a la empresa tecnológica en competencia directa con SpaceX y su sistema Starlink.Los dos primeros prototipos de satélites para la red de Amazon, llamados Proyecto Kuiper, se lanzaron a bordo de un cohete de United Launch Alliance desde Cabo Cañaveral, Florida, a las 2:06 p.m. ET de este viernes.“Llevamos a cabo pruebas exhaustivas aquí en nuestro laboratorio y tenemos un alto grado de confianza en el diseño de nuestro satélite, pero no hay sustituto para las pruebas en órbita”, dijo Rajeev Badyal, vicepresidente de tecnología del Proyecto Kuiper, en un comunicado. “Es la primera vez que Amazon pone satélites en el espacio, y vamos a aprender muchísimo independientemente de cómo se desarrolle la misión”.Mira el lanzamiento de 22 satélites Starlink de SpaceX desde Cabo Cañaveral...

Here’s how the DC region’s birthrate looks compared to the nation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:06 GMT

The birthrate across the United States has been dropping for a while.According to new figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 2007 and 2022, the nationwide rate went down from 14.3 births per 1,000 people to 11.1 birthsThat is a 22.9% decrease.“In the wake of the Great Recession, U.S. fertility tanked,” said Brad Wilcox, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia. “That was not a surprise to anyone, because when the economy is in distress, people tend to have fewer babies.”However, the downward trend continued even after the economy rebounded.“It has kind of left us scratching our heads about what is driving fertility down,” Wilcox said.While the D.C. region had a similar decrease compared to the national figures between 2007 and 2022, it was not as steep as the 22.9% drop that was seen across the country.In D.C. and Virginia, the drop was about 22%, and it was 19% in Maryland, according to the CDC.Wilcox sai...

Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara will miss the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:06 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara will miss the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on Friday to repair the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.“I give this game my all,” the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner said in a social media post. “I give this city my all, and so I promise I will not take a day off as I push to be back better than ever.”Alcantara started experiencing discomfort in his arm during a Sept. 3 outing against Washington in which he pitched eight innings. His injury was initially reported as a forearm strain, but was later diagnosed as a UCL sprain — an injury that typically requires Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery. His timeline for return was unknown as he’d hoped to rejoin Miami for a late-season playoff push. Alcantara experienced forearm tightness following rehab outing with Triple-A Jacksonville on Sept. 21, and the setback ended his season.“Very frustrating for me, a guy who likes to compete,” Alcant...

Denver brewery celebrates gold-medal win at Great American Beer Festival

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:02:06 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado breweries brought home the most hardware in recent memory at last month's Great American Beer Festival, which brings in more business.Colorado brought home 40 medals during the festival, the most since 2017 and up from 26 the year before. One of the gold-winning breweries, Seedstock Brewery, brought home an award for its Marzen beer. These Halloween pop-up bars are open in Denver The brewery is one of 14 in the state that took home gold, bringing in full bars and a ton of business.Adam McIlvenna, Seedstock's owner, is fairly humble about the big win. "I can actually say right now that I have the best Marzen in the country, which is still really weird to say, and I’m not really good at that kind of thing, but it feels good," McIlvenna said.German-style beers like the Marzen are the brewery's specialty. "We’re mostly known for lagers here — long fermentation, a lot of time aging. So we try to make sure we give all of the beers as much time as they need. We d...