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Last trial in Governor Whitmer kidnapping plot heads to closing arguments

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

A jury is set to hear closing arguments Wednesday in the fourth trial connected to a scheme by anti-government extremists to kidnap Michigan’s governor and inspire a civil war just ahead of the 2020 presidential election.William Null, twin brother Michael Null and Eric Molitor are the last of 14 men to face charges in state or federal court.They were not among the main group of six people charged with a kidnapping conspiracy in federal court. Instead, they’re accused of having a supporting role by participating in militia-style drills and taking rides to see Whitmer’s vacation home in Antrim County.Molitor, 39, and William Null, 41, acknowledged the road trips but told jurors they didn’t really understand the purpose. William Null said he was regularly exposed to “crazy talk” by pot-puffing plot leaders Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. and didn’t think it was too serious until conversations turned to explosives.Michael Null, 41, declined to testify in...

China’s ‘full-time children’ move back in with parents, take on chores as good jobs grow scarce

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — When she first moved to the Chinese tech hub of Shenzhen after graduating from college, Marguerite Wang imagined she would spend her career working hard in a big city. Instead, she’s living with her parents in her hometown in northeastern China. A record of more than one in five young Chinese are out of work, their career ambitions at least temporarily derailed by a depressed job market as the economy struggles to regain momentum after its long bout with COVID-19.Wang, who was laid off from a gaming company in December, is among an estimated 16 million young Chinese who, daunted by the difficulties of finding decent jobs, have moved back home. She asked that her English nickname be used out of concern that speaking to foreign media might hurt her job prospects. After spending six months unsuccessfully applying for jobs in Shenzhen, the 29-year-old did something she had never imagined doing: she asked to move back home. Now she spends her days watching soa...

Stock market today: Asian shares slide after tech, rising oil prices drag Wall St lower

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

NEW YORK — Stocks fell Wednesday in Asia after a slide for technology stocks dragged Wall Street lower ahead of a key report on U.S. inflation. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.3% to 17,970.01 and the Shanghai Composite index sank 0.9% to 3,109.88. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index shed 0.4% to 32,656.85, while the Kospi in Seoul edged 0.2% lower, to 2,532.69. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gave up 0.8% to 7,146.40. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 lost 0.6% to 4,461.90. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1%, to 34,645.99 The Nasdaq composite dropped 1% to 13,773.61.Software giant Oracle helped lead the losses for tech stocks after reporting its revenue for the latest quarter fell just short of what analysts expected. Its stock tumbled 13.5%, even though its profit topped expectations. Oracle’s forecast for how much revenue it will make in the current quarter also wasn’t as strong as some analysts expected.Apple dropped 1.8% after it unveiled the latest models of its phones and...

Hudson River swimmer deals with fatigue, choppy water, rocks and pollution across 315 miles

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

CASTLETON-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. (AP) — The Hudson River snakes through forests and rushes over boulders in the Adirondack Mountains before settling into a wide, slow flow closer to New York City. It stretches 315 miles (507 kilometers) from source to end.Lewis Pugh is about to finish swimming all of it.The 53-year-old endurance swimmer plans to finish the last miles of his month-long river journey Wednesday at the lower tip of Manhattan. After countless crawl strokes, Pugh has powered through fatigue and sore shoulders. He has dodged tugboats and bobbing plastic garbage. He insists that any discomfort is worth it to highlight the Hudson and the importance of clean rivers.“There is no other river in the whole world where at the source, you’ve got beavers, you’ve got bears, you’ve got vultures,” Pugh told The Associated Press before a leg of his swim recently. “And then at the end, you come underneath the George Washington Bridge and you breathe to your left-hand side and you see thes...

Mosquitoes, long the enemy, are now bred to help prevent the spread of dengue fever

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) — For decades, preventing dengue fever in Honduras has meant teaching people to fear mosquitoes and avoid their bites. Now, Hondurans are being educated about a potentially more effective way to control the disease — and it goes against everything they’ve learned.Which explains why a dozen people cheered last month as Tegucigalpa resident Hector Enriquez held a glass jar filled with mosquitoes above his head, and then freed the buzzing insects into the air. Enriquez, a 52-year-old mason, had volunteered to help publicize a plan to suppress dengue by releasing millions of special mosquitoes in the Honduran capital.The mosquitoes Enriquez unleashed in his El Manchen neighborhood — an area rife with dengue — were bred by scientists to carry bacteria called Wolbachia that interrupt transmission of the disease. When these mosquitoes reproduce, they pass the bacteria to their offspring, reducing future outbreaks.This emerging strategy for battling dengue was pio...

Rockies’ Kris Bryant hits winning home run against Cubs in second game back from injury

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

On his first try, Kris Bryant made loud, clean contact and got punished with a waste of 405 feet. On his second try, he accidentally halved his swing and was rewarded.As backward as those results were when Bryant came to bat twice with the bases loaded Tuesday night, he stuck to the first approach later on. In his second game back from the injured list, Bryant delivered a go-ahead solo home run in the sixth inning against his former team, and the Rockies held on for a 6-4 win over the Cubs at Coors Field.Colorado (52-92) snapped a five-game losing streak thanks to Bryant’s three RBIs, multiple don’t-you-dare outfield arms and Justin Lawrence’s save. Chicago stranded the tying runs on base in a tense ninth that ended with a Lawrence strikeout.“They’re obviously in the playoff hunt,” Bryant said. “Just to do it against some old friends and kind of make it a little bit harder for them, it feels great. They look great over there. They’ve got a great team. B...

Family tied up, held at gunpoint by masked robbers in Orange County

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

An Orange County family was held at gunpoint earlier this week when four armed robbers broke into their home, used a stun gun on one of the victims, then tied them up and demanded to know where they kept their valuables, authorities announced Tuesday.  Officers with the Westminster Police Department responded to the 8900 block of Pebble Beach Circle on Sept. 11 around 10:40 p.m. after a woman called 911 and whispered that she needed help.  When police arrived at the residence, they spotted four male suspects armed with handguns running from the home.  One of the suspects, now identified as 29-year-old Banning resident Danny Sommay, was taken into custody outside the residence after throwing his firearm over a brick wall. The gun was recovered and found to be a loaded 9mm handgun that had been reported stolen, a Westminster PD news release stated. Inside the home, police found five victims, identified only as an adult male and female, an elderly woman, a 14-year-old bo...

Pitcher Julio Urías scrubbed from Dodger Stadium

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

The Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be moving on from embattled pitcher Julio Urías.When the team returned from a six-game road trip on Monday, Urías, who is currently on administrative leave, had been largely scrubbed from Dodger Stadium, the Los Angeles Times reports.The veteran pitcher's clubhouse locker was removed and two large murals featuring Urías at the entrances to left and right field were covered or painted over.A large sheet covers a mural showing Julio Urias and other Dodgers players at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 12, 2023. (KTLA)Also, no Urías apparel could be found at team stores and kiosks, L.A. Times reports.“It’s sad on every level,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters before Monday night’s game against the San Diego Padres, adding that the decision to remove Urias’ locker was “an organizational thing.”Urías, 27, was arrested on domestic violence charges by officers with the Exposition Park Department of Public Safety on Sept. 3. Exposition Park is the site of BMO Stadi...

Sunol school board meeting devolves into chaos, audience thrown out as Pride flag banned

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

A meeting in the tiny district of Sunol, a small unincorporated community south of Pleasanton, descended into chaos Tuesday night as the entire audience was thrown out shortly before the three-person school board passed a resolution that will prevent the district from flying the Pride flag.The board meeting, which packed over 100 people from both sides of the issue into a small cafeteria covered in student posters and walk-a-thon posters, frequently turned into a volley of shouts and insults. Hecklers shouted abuse at board members and each other. Board members engaged in intense, semi-civil debates. During the course of the evening, the board president, Ryan Jurgensen, demanded on multiple occasions that sheriff’s deputies physically remove “disruptive” attendees from the meeting.In the end, prior to a final vote, all attendees were thrown out of the room as the cafeteria devolved into complete anarchy. They were not allowed to return.Tensions were high the entire evening. Bo...

Pittsburg murder investigation nets nine arrests

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:59:00 GMT

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY – An investigation into a fatal shooting earlier this summer in Pittsburg resulted in the arrests of nine people Monday, but at least one other suspect remains at large, police said.The Pittsburg Police Department worked with other local and federal law enforcement agencies to serve 10 warrants shortly after 5 a.m. in the cities of Antioch, Oakley, Pittsburg and Pleasant Hill, the police department said in a news release.Nine people were arrested on suspicion of crimes including murder, as well as for firearms violations and drug-related offenses, police said, adding that many of them are believed to be directly involved in or associates of an East Contra Costa County gang.The warrants stemmed from an investigation into a fatal shooting on July 14 in the 2100 block of Crestview Drive. Police said several suspects shot into a moving vehicle, killing Trevon Richardson, 24, of Antioch, and seriously injuring another man.At least one other suspect is still being soug...