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Strike Day 7: $1 billion estimate is 'ridiculous' fiction, Oakland teachers union says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:54:24 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- On Day 7 of the Oakland teachers strike, their union blasted school district officials for tallying up a "ridiculous" price tag for the union's contract demands. The Oakland Education Association union wrote, "The district told the news media that OEA’s Common Good agenda would cost in excess of 'a billion dollars.' Typical of OUSD’s bargaining – or lack of it, this is a number and statement not backed by any facts." "We have no idea how OUSD came up with that ridiculous number," said Kampala Taiz-Rancifer, OEA vice president. "Our Common Good goals are largely about ensuring educators, parents, students and other stakeholders have a voice in the decision-making process. We also have proposed the addition of a small number of additional staff to support our most impacted community schools," Taiz-Rancifer said. A standoff between the Oakland Unified School District and Oakland Education Association union has left 34,000 students wondering if their ...

What to know about Twitter’s new CEO Linda Yaccarino

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:54:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk is welcoming a veteran ad executive to the helm of Twitter, the social media site the billionaire Tesla CEO had been running since he bought it last fall.Musk announced Friday that he’s hiring Linda Yaccarino to be the new CEO of San Francisco-based Twitter, which is now called X Corp. He said Yaccarino’s role will be focused mainly on running the company’s business operations, leaving him to focus on product design and new technology.Here’s what to know about Yaccarino.VETERAN AD EXECYaccarino, 60, has worked as an advertising executive for decades. She came to NBCUniversal in 2011, just as Comcast was completing its merger with NBC, and oversaw integrating the companies’ ad sales platforms. There, her most recent title was chairman, advertising and client partnerships. She oversaw all market strategy and advertising revenue, which totaled nearly $10 billion, for NBCUniversal’s entire portfolio of broadcast, cable and digital ...

Nigerian court asked to stop president-elect’s inauguration, extend incumbent’s tenure

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:54:24 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A court in Nigeria has been asked to stop the planned inauguration of the country’s next president and to extend the incumbent’s tenure, court documents obtained Friday show.Five Nigerians made the request to the Federal High Court in Abuja, arguing that President-elect Bola Tinubu was illegally declared the winner of the Feb. 25 presidential election and therefore should not be sworn into office on May 29.The petition is among several challenges to the ruling party’s victory and raised concerns in the West African nation about a possible constitutional crisis should President Muhammadu Buhari remain in office until the case is decided.Chuks Nwachuku, the plaintiffs’ lawyer, said Tinubu’s being declared president-elect was unconstitutional because he failed to win at least 25% of the votes cast in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.To be elected president, the Nigerian Constitution requires a candidate to win both the highest number of votes ...

Axel Witsel quits international soccer, ends 15-year career with Belgium

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:54:24 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Veteran midfielder Axel Witsel is the latest member of Belgium’s so-called Golden Generation to end his international career.The 34-year-old Witsel made 130 appearances in a 15-year career with Belgium, scoring 12 goals. He said on Friday he wants to dedicate more time to his family and focus on his career with Spanish club Atletico Madrid.“Good luck to the new generation who I am sure will make us live again incredible moments,” Witsel said on social media.In March, new Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco dropped Witsel in his first squad since being appointed with a mission to rebuild. Tedesco insisted at the time that the door remained open for Witsel to return.Tedesco replaced Roberto Martinez, who led Belgium to a third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup and was in charge for six years. Martinez stepped down after the Red Devils failed to progress to the knockout stage last year in Qatar.Belgium was ranked No. 1 by FIFA for four years during Martinez’s tenure b...

Astros star Jose Altuve to begin injury rehab assignment at Triple-A

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:54:24 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Houston Astros star Jose Altuve is moving a step closer to returning from a broken right thumb.Altuve was set to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Sugar Land on Friday.The eight-time All-Star and 2017 AL MVP broke his thumb when he was hit by a pitch playing for Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. He had surgery March 22, and general manager Dana Brown said after the operation he’d be out at least eight weeks. This is the longest Altuve has been sidelined. He batted .300 with 103 runs, 28 homers and 18 steals for the World Series champion Astros last season.Mauricio Dubón has played well in his absence, with a .287 average entering Friday’s game against the Chicago White Sox.Sugar Land was scheduled to play El Paso, San Diego’s Triple-A club.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Canadian diver charged with University of Utah dorm room rape

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:54:24 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A University of Utah diver has been arrested and charged with raping a young woman in her dorm room during the first week of the school year last fall.Prosecutors have charged Ben Smyth, a Canadian diver in his second year at Utah, with sodomy, sexual abuse and rape. In an indictment filed this week, detectives say Smyth went to a woman’s dorm room after confirming she was alone last August. He asked her to play “truth or dare” and then allegedly raped her while she resisted physically, said she “did not want to do that,” shook her head no and told him she was in pain.When detectives interviewed him, he initially denied knowing the woman but later acknowledged having sex with her and that she was in pain.The indictment, which does not name the woman, also says that when detectives went to serve Smyth with a protective order to keep him away from the woman, a roommate said he had moved out. A private investigator later told detectives that Smyth had returned to ...

Chief: Officers fatally shot man who attacked officer in cruiser

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:54:24 GMT

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Virginia police officers shot and killed a man who had attacked a third police officer inside his cruiser, the police chief said.A Fairfax County police officer was investigating a U-Haul truck at a gas station in the Alexandria area that had been reported stolen and approached a man standing beside the truck Thursday, police Chief Kevin Davis said at a news conference.Police say the officer informed the man that he was going to be detained in connection with the stolen truck. The man then shoved the officer through the open door of his cruiser and got on top of the officer, attacking him, Davis said. The cruiser then reversed out of control into the parking lot of a neighboring McDonald’s restaurant, where it hit a parked car.At that point the officer broadcast calls for help saying the man had his gun, Davis said.Two uniformed officers arrived. One fired several rounds and the other ran toward the vehicle, pulled the man off the officer being attacked and fi...

Here we go again? Flyers push back at narrative recycled players run the show

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:54:24 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The head of the Philadelphia Flyers understood the optics of a franchise going on 48 years since winning a Stanley Cup deciding to hire more former Flyers in the front office to try and win one.But the Flyers did it anyway.“I know some people are thinking,” Comcast Spectacor chairman Dan Hilferty said, “here they go again, hiring two former Flyers isn’t a fresh start.”The Flyers on Friday introduced Keith Jones — yeah, their former long-time broadcaster — as team president and stamped general manager Danny Briere as one of the leaders of the franchise. Jones and Briere each played for the Flyers and both have remained connected to the franchise in retirement.They both remember when the Flyers were an elite franchise — Briere as a star postseason player that led them to the last Stanley Cup Final in 2010 and Jones as a sharp-witted analyst affectionately known as “Jonesy” that watched it happen from the broadcast booth.But it’s been a long time since t...

More than 150 bear sightings reported to wildlife department

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:54:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Temperatures are rising, spring is in full bloom and bears are waking up from their long winter's naps. That means they're hungry and are looking for food. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said it has received 173 reports of bear activity in 25 counties so far this year. Many of the calls are coming from residential areas as bears are attracted by the smell of food from unsecured trash cans and bird feeders. “Every time a bear gets a treat, a bird feeder, a hummingbird feeder, or trash, it teaches the bear that people mean food,” said Matt Yamashita, CPW’s area wildlife manager for Area 8 which covers Aspen, Glenwood Springs and Eagle and Pitkin counties. “People who think that it’s one time, no big deal, are totally wrong. It is a big deal when you compound that ‘one time’ with how many ‘one timers’ they get from your neighbors, too. It adds up.” Mountain lion punctures 11-year-old girl’s face The video in the player above shows how smart bears are as this one got int...

Newly elected pet mayors taking office in Louisville

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:54:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The most adorable mayors in the history of Louisville will be sworn in Tuesday. Meet Arlo and Hops, the newly elected co-pet mayors.Their job as co-pet mayors is to spread a sense of community and positivity while educating the youth on the power of voting and bringing awareness to local pet charities. Meet Duncan: Denver Zoo’s newest Asian elephant bachelor The Youth Advisory Board began the Pet Mayor Project based on that mission and began the election in April.There were over 80 candidates, some of them dogs or cats, even a rabbit and a guinea pig. Polls were closed on April 25, and the vote count was a tie. It was decided that the two would be co-pet mayors for a two-year term, and they will be officially sworn in at the City Council meeting on May 16.Meet the mayorsArlo was rescued from a shelter and had some physical challenges from a bad breeding situation, according to a press release from the City of Louisville. He enjoys naps, spreading cheer and perform...