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At least 17 Los Angeles street gangs are behind a sudden spike in brazen robberies in which robbers follow people home from high-end locations and make off with expensive jewelry or other goods, police officials said Tuesday. The gangs, mostly based in South Los Angeles, independently staged robberies and sometimes used spotters to target people wearing luxury watches or driving pricey cars, Capt. Jonathan Tippet, who spearheads an LAPD "follow-home robbery" task force, told the city Police Commission. Michael Moore, chief of the LAPD, said they don't believe the robberies are spontaneous. "We believe that many times, these offenders are...

With their options rather limited, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Board of Governors have just decided that Will Smith will not be able to attend the Oscars for 10 years for slapping Chris Rock on-stage at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27. “The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards,” said AMPAS president David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson of Smith’s “unacceptable and harmful behavior”...

Some turbines killed multiple eagles and because the carcasses are not always found, officials said the number killed was likely higher than the 150 birds cited in court documents. Wind energy company pleads guilty after at least 150 eagles killed in U.S. Some turbines killed multiple eagles and because the carcasses are not always found, officials said the number killed was likely higher than the 150 birds cited in court documents. NextEra Energy was sentenced to probation and ordered to pay more than $8 million in fines and restitution after at least 150 eagles were killed over the past decade....

********* Joe Biden will extend the pause on federal student loan payments once again, this time likely through the end of August 2022, several news outlets have reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to Fortune's request for confirmation of the change. But if the moratorium on loan payments and interest accrual is extended, it will be the fifth time since it was first enacted in March 2020 under President Donald Trump to help those who might be struggling to make payments during the coronavirus pandemic. The pause does not apply...

President Biden said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin should face trial for war crimes after horrifying images emerged over the weekend of the aftermath of civilian massacres carried out by Kremlin forces in Ukraine. “You may remember I got criticized for calling Putin a war criminal,” Biden told reporters as he arrived back in Washington after spending the weekend in Delaware. “Well, the truth of the matter, you saw what happened in Bucha. This warrants — he is a war criminal.”

ormer President Donald Trump in a new interview called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to release information regarding alleged dealings between Eastern European oligarchs and Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son.

Actor and director Sean Penn said Saturday that if the Academy Awards planners said no to a virtual appearance by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, people should consider boycotting the awards show altogether. During an appearance with CNN’s Jim Acosta, Penn — who is currently in Warsaw, Poland — said that if producers turned down the chance to have Zelensky appear, it would be “the most obscene moment in all of Hollywood history,” and he promised to “smelt” his own Oscars in public if that was what it took to drive the point home.

The Biden Administration is poised to announce a new tax on the wealthy that could send Elon Musk into orbit. Biden’s “Billionaire Minimum Income Tax” proposal would set a 20 percent tax rate floor on Americans worth more than $100 million — hitting not only their stated income, but also their unrealized gains on stock holdings and other forms of wealth.

In what appeared to be an off-script opening to her speech, the vice president said: 'The Governor and I and we were all doing a tour of the library here and talking about the significance of the passage of time. Right?' 'The significance of the passage of time,' she repeated. 'So, when you think about it, there is great significance to the passage of time in terms of what we need to do to lay these wires, what we need to do to create these jobs,' Harris continued. She went on: 'And there is such great significance to the passage...

Never Trumper Adam Kinzinger is vowing to keep Trump from becoming president again if he runs in the 2024 elections. He says Trump “cannot be president again.”Kingziner says: “If Donald Trump gets the Republican nomination there are many of us that will move heaven and earth to ensure he doesn’t win. I think that’s the most important thing. He cannot be president again.”[snip]

Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon is under fire after distributing material instructing children to “tuck” their genitals and put “your testicles inside your body.” Tucking is not just for males, the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital assures in its instructional guide that. “Tucking is moving the penis, testicles, or both out of the way. This makes the genital area look smoother and flatter,” the document notes. “Tucking can reduce any concerns you have about your body, how your clothes fit and how safe you feel in public. People of all genders can tuck.” The guide includes a disclaimer, warning readers that...

In a move that would lessen the U.S. dollar's dominance of the global petroleum market, Saudi Arabia is talking with China about pricing oil sales to Beijing in yuan, The Wall Street Journal reported. The move, which WSJ learned from people familiar with the situation, would mark another shift by the world's top crude exporter toward Asia. "The dynamics have dramatically changed," one Saudi official told WSJ. "The U.S. relationship with the Saudis has changed; China is the world’s biggest crude importer and they are offering many lucrative incentives to the kingdom.

Ukrainian police said Sunday that a U.S. video journalist was killed in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, which has been devastated by Russian attacks as Moscow’s invasion enters its third week. Although the police statement described the filmmaker, Brent Renaud, as a New York Times staffer, he is a former contributor who was not on assignment in Ukraine at the time, according to the Times. .....

Vice President Kamala Harris awkwardly laughed Thursday when asked about the Ukrainian refugee crisis during a joint press conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Warsaw. During her trip to Poland, a reporter asked Harris what the United States would be doing to set up a permanent infrastructure for accepting Ukrainian refugees fleeing Ukraine due to the Russian invasion. The reporter also asked Duda whether he's asked the U.S. to accept more refugees, after which Harris started laughing.

VISA & MASTERCARD HALT OPERATIONS IN RUSSIA

WNBA champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia and could face up to 10 years in prison after customs officers found "vapes" containing hashish oil in her luggage back in February, reports say.

Pfizer Vaccine Goes Into Liver Cells and Is Converted to DNA: Study CLINICAL STUDY The messenger RNA (mRNA) from Pfizer’s COVID vaccine is able to enter human liver cells and is converted into DNA, according to Swedish researchers at Lund University. The researchers found that when the mRNA vaccine enters the human liver cells, it triggers the cell’s DNA, which is inside the nucleus, to increase the production of the LINE-1 gene expression to make mRNA. The mRNA then leaves the nucleus and enters the cell’s cytoplasm, where it translates into LINE-1 protein. A segment of the protein called the...

An activist from Louisville, Kentucky, was charged with attempted murder on Monday after shooting at mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg in his campaign office, police said on Tuesday, according to NBC News. Quintez Brown, 21, was also arrested on four counts of wanton endangerment in connection with the incident, the Louisville Metro Police Department said. The department did not provide details on any possible motive, but said it is believed the suspect acted alone. According to the Courier Journal, Brown is a well-known civil rights activist in Louisville who also previously served as a former intern and editorial columnist for the...

P.J. O'Rourke, the prolific author and satirist who re-fashioned the irreverence and “Gonzo” journalism of the 1960s counterculture into a distinctive brand of conservative and libertarian commentary, has died at age 74. O'Rourke died Tuesday morning, according to Grove Atlantic Inc. Books publisher and president Morgan Entrekin. He did not cite a specific cause, but said O'Rourke had been ill in recent months. O'Rourke was a Toledo, Ohio, native who evolved from long-haired student activist to wavy-haired scourge of his old liberal ideals, with some of his more widely read take downs appearing in a founding counterculture publication, Rolling Stone....

Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly has resigned after weeks of criticism for his handling of anti-vaccine mandate protests that have paralysed the city. Protesters have occupied the downtown core of Canada's capital for 19 days, halting traffic and enraging residents. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday invoked the Emergencies Act as a "last resort" in response to the protests. Mr Sloly, 55, is expected to confirm his resignation after the Ottawa Police Services Board meeting later today. A former Canadian men's soccer player, Mr Sloly took over at the Ottawa Police Service in 2019, more than three decades after joining the...