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Actor Danny Masterson used drugs, Scientology to get away with raping women, prosecutor tells jury

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:59 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Danny Masterson drugged women’s drinks so he could rape them, then relied on his prominence in the Church of Scientology to avoid consequences for years, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday in closing arguments at the actor’s trial. “The defendant drugs his victims to gain control. He does this to take away his victims’ ability to consent,” Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson told the jury of seven men and five women. “You don’t want to have sex? You don’t have a choice. The defendant makes that choice for these victims. And he does it over and over and over again.”The 47-year-old former star of “That ’70s Show” is on rape trial for a second time after the first ended in a mistrial in December, with a jury hopelessly deadlocked on all counts. Masterson has pleaded not guilty to raping three women at his home between 2001 and 2003. His attorney, Philip Cohen, who briefly began his own closing and will continue in the afternoon, told jurors that inconsiste...

Four years after a car accident nearly ended his career, Braden Shattuck reaches the PGA

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:59 GMT

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) — Braden Shattuck can’t quite explain why he was so intent on spending a not-insignificant portion of his childhood hitting 30-yard pitch shots from one side of his family’s backyard in the Philadelphia suburbs to the other.Where some might see monotony, Shattuck saw opportunity. There was something about the feel of that first plastic set of clubs in his hands. Something about the challenge of firing to an imaginary pin. Something about the game that gripped him early and never let go.“He was obsessed with (golf),” Scott Shattuck said of his son. “We had to almost drag him inside the house.”So yes, Shattuck always believed there was a chance he’d make it to the sport’s biggest stage. Yet the 4-year-old who took delight in tearing up his parents’ yard deep into the twilight couldn’t have imagined the circuitous route that brought the now-28-year-old to the 2023 PGA Championship.The 12-footer for par that Shattuck drained...

Wounded man who invaded Senate with knife sentenced to prison for Capitol riot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:59 GMT

An Alabama man was sentenced on Tuesday to nearly two years in prison for storming the U.S. Capitol and invading the Senate floor with a knife on his hip and a gaping wound on his face.A police officer shot Joshua Matthew Black in his left cheek with a crowd-control munition outside the Capitol during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021. The bloody hole in his face didn’t stop Black from occupying the Senate with other rioters after lawmakers evacuated the chamber.“Black was a notorious offender during the attack on the Capitol,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing. “The nation was shocked and appalled at the events of January 6, and perhaps no other incident sparked as much as outrage and distress as Black and other rioters’ occupation of the Senate Chamber.”Prosecutors had recommended a five-year prison sentence for Black, 47, of Leeds, Alabama, a suburb of Birmingham.U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced Black to 22 months in prison followed by two years of supervised relea...

Biden administration clarifies 1872 Mining Law; says Nevada lithium mine can proceed

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:59 GMT

RENO, Nevada (AP) — The Biden administration says it has completed a court-ordered review that should ensure construction continues at a Nevada lithium mine, despite legal challenges brought by conservationists and tribal leaders.At the same time, in a broader response to recent U.S. court rulings that more strictly interpret a Civil War-era mining law, the Interior Department announced Tuesday it is taking steps to clarify mineral rights under the 1872 law to reflect the “realities of the 21st century.”The moves come after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a proposed copper mine in Arizona last year. The Appeals Court is considering a related appeal filed by environmentalists and Native American tribes challenging construction of the huge Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada near the Oregon line.Lithium is a key element needed to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles — a centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s “clean energy” agenda intended to expedite a transit...

Potomac River earns ‘B’ grade from clean water advocacy group

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:59 GMT

In the 1960s, the Potomac River was declared a “national disgrace” by President Lyndon B. Johnson.Decades later, the condition of the river has earned a “B” from the Potomac River Conservancy.At a news conference Tuesday, the Potomac Conservancy released its report on the health of the river that runs into the Chesapeake Bay.Among the findings in the report, the decline of industrial and agricultural pollution has resulted in improved health of the river. Hedrick Belin, President of the Potomac Conservancy explained “that pollution reduction really drives a number of the other successes we were able to report on, whether it’s for wildlife or for people.”Fish and wildlife, including bald eagles, have rebounded, according to the report, and Belin said that includes the appearance of bottlenose dolphins in the southern end of the river.“Those dolphins are coming into the Potomac to raise their young in the shallow tidal waters,” he ...

Prince George’s Co. Schools sues TikTok, other social media sites

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:59 GMT

The mental health of students is a growing concern among parents and schools, and more and more focus is being put on social media platforms and the role they might play. Now another local school system is doing what others around the country have done: filing a lawsuit.Prince George’s County, Maryland, Public Schools has filed a federal lawsuit against Meta, Snap Inc., Byte Dance and Google alleging public nuisance, negligence and gross negligence. The nearly 200-page lawsuit accuses the social media companies — which run Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube — of intentionally targeting children with platforms designed to be addictive.The county said the end result is that those companies continue to rake in profits while schools and parents deal with the fallout that comes from their impact. In particular, the lawsuit cites increases in eating disorders, depression and suicidal ideations among teenagers.Meta sent a lengthy response to WTOP from Antigone Davis, Meta’...

Virtual Care Center in Denver is modernizing patient care

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:59 GMT

Denver (KDVR) -- Virtual Care Center in Denver is providing a new approach to healthcare. HealthONE's center has about 65 employees and can monitor and assist patients at nine hospitals in Colorado and Kansas.Tracie Klassen is the Vice President of Nursing Operations at Virtual Care Center. She says one area of the center handles patient admission and discharge virtually. Patients and staff have the option to connect over a screen. "Our virtual nurses can "beam" into the room and their face will be on the television," Klassen said.Another group uses Artificial Intelligence and predictive analytics to go over patient labs and vitals from different hospitals. If there is an alert, they can jump in. Miller moths are here, and ‘they’re everywhere!’ "I take a deep dive, read the doctors' notes, nurses' notes, check the trends on the lab and the vitals, see what's going on. Then I try to see if I can come up with interventions," said Michael Hayden, a virtual registered nurse.The cente...

Rep. Lauren Boebert files for divorce from husband

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:59 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert has filed for divorce from her husband, according to a statement from the congresswoman.Boebert, who was first elected in 2020, said the divorce was "truly about irreconcilable differences." "I’ve always been faithful in my marriage, and I believe strongly in marriage, which makes this announcement that much more difficult," she said in her statement. Best places to live in the US: 3 cities in Colorado Boebert also said she does not intend to discuss the matter further, out of respect for her children.Read the full statement from Boebert:It is with a heavy weight on my heart that I have filed for divorce from my husband. I am grateful for our years of marriage together and for our beautiful children, all of whom deserve privacy and love as we work through this process. I’ve always been faithful in my marriage, and I believe strongly in marriage, which makes this announcement that much more difficult. This is truly about irreconcilable...

Denver has had 5 times more rain than Seattle this May

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:59 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- It has been an unusually rainy May in Denver with over 4 inches of accumulation so far. Denver has had about five times more rainfall than the rainy city of Seattle this May.Denver has had measurable rain at Denver International Airport for the last six days straight, while in Seattle, only a small amount of light rain fell at the airport Monday evening. From May 10-15, Denver picked up 4.57 inches of rainfall. In Seattle, the 6-day total is only 0.12 inches.Due to the rain Monday night, Seattle's May total is now .91 inches. Denver's is up at 4.65 inches making it the 11th-wettest May on record so far. With half of the month still to go and several rain chances in the 7-day forecast, it is likely that this May will finish in the top 10 wettest on record in Denver. An average May in Denver brings about 2.16 inches of rain, making it the wettest month of the year in Denver. This year, Denver has doubled the average May rainfall in just the first half of the month. Th...

Manager of Petland store in SW Miami-Dade speaks out after suspect is caught on surveillance video stealing puppy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:20:59 GMT

There was canine trouble at a South Florida pet store after, police said, a man, dressed similarly to store employees walked out of store carrying a puppy he did not pay for.The thief new exactly what he wanted and was sneaking by pretending to be an employee. He then made his way to the back of the store towards the kennel area that used to house a French bulldogs. The man then made a mad dash with a high dollar dog. The pet thief was caught on camera racing out of a store with a French bulldog tucked under his right arm.“It’s honestly pretty sad,” said Damian Tejeda, the manager at Petland.Tejeda told 7News he has no doubt that the dog is in distress now that it is in the hands of a criminal. “They’re just trying to do it off purely profit, and that’s what a lot of people don’t understand about dogs, is that they have a lot of emotional connection to us and stuff like that, so it’s very difficult for a puppy to go from one situation ...