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‘Bling Ring’ suspect convicted in multimillion dollar burglaries of celebrities’ homes

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:54 GMT

(CNN) — A Southern California man has been convicted on three counts related to the “Bling Ring,” a group that burglarized the homes of celebrities in 2018, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.A jury on Wednesday found Benjamin Ackerman guilty of three counts of first-degree residential burglary, the court docket shows. Ackerman pleaded no contest in July to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, 11 counts of first-degree residential burglary and 25 counts of money laundering, as well as several special allegations, the prosecutor’s office said.He plans to appeal, his lawyer said.Ackerman and others targeted homes of Southern California celebrities including Jason Derulo, Adam Lambert and Usher Raymond, the Los Angeles Police Department said.Upon arrest, Ackerman was found in possession of 2,000 pieces of stolen property including jewelry, art, handbags and wine, police said. He targeted high-end homes and gained acc...

How Chicago Cubs’ Justin Steele and his fiancee, Libby, are dealing with her debilitating illness during a breakout season

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:54 GMT

Libby Murphy figured the constant extreme exhaustion she experienced was part of being a new mom.Spring training was underway, about seven months after the birth of her son, Beau, who shares a July birthday with his dad and Murphy’s fiance, Chicago Cubs left-hander Justin Steele. Usually active, Murphy felt especially fatigued and even nauseous after workouts. Something seemed off.That was merely the beginning of her ordeal.Seven months later, Murphy and Steele continue to navigate the daily challenges stemming from Murphy’s chronic Lyme disease and the journey to a diagnosis that often produced more questions than answers.On a breezy late August day at a coffee shop near the Chicago home where she and Steele live during the season, a reflective Murphy explained why they felt it was important to share their story publicly.“It’s a debilitating disease and it leaves you alone — and luckily I have the support I do and the resources I do — but for man...

Libya evacuates flooded city as searchers look for 10,000 missing after death toll passes 11,000

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:54 GMT

DERNA, Libya (AP) — Libyan authorities evacuated residents from an inundated city Friday and limited access to it, as searchers dug through mud and hollowed-out buildings for 10,000 people missing and feared dead in flooding that has already killed more than 11,000. Authorities warned that disease and explosives shifted by the waters could claim yet more lives.Two dams collapsed in exceptionally heavy rains from Mediterranean storm Daniel early Monday, sending a wall of water several meters (feet) high gushing down a valley that cuts through the city of Derna.The unusual flooding and Libya’s political chaos contributed to the enormous toll. The oil-rich state has been split since 2014 between rival governments in the east and west backed by various militia forces and international patrons.The disaster has brought rare unity, as government agencies across Libya’s divide rushed to help the affected areas. But relief efforts have been slowed by the destruction after several bridges tha...

U.S. auto strike expected to affect Canada in deeply integrated industry

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:54 GMT

TORONTO — A limited strike by autoworkers in the United States is expected to affect the sector in Canada as the industry in both countries is deeply integrated.About 13,000 U.S. workers went on strike Friday at the three big U.S. auto companies after they failed to reach a new contract.Members of the United Auto Workers union began picketing at a General Motors assembly plant in Wentzville, Mo., a Ford factory in Wayne, Mich., near Detroit, and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio.The automakers rely on operations and suppliers in Canada and the U.S. as components criss-cross the border before they are assembled into a finished vehicle.The strike comes as Unifor holds contract talks in Canada with the U.S. automakers.The Canadian union is in bargaining with Ford Motor Co. ahead of its contract expiry on Sept. 18. Unifor hopes a deal with Ford can serve as a blueprint for workers at the other automakers.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2023.The Cana...

Finland joins Baltic neighbors in banning Russian-registered cars from entering their territory

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:54 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Finland on Friday joined the three Baltic countries in banning vehicles with Russian license plates from entering their territory, a joint move in line with a recent interpretation of the European Union’s sanctions against Moscow over its war on Ukraine.The Nordic EU member’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen said the ban would stop private cars from entering Finland as of Friday midnight, Finnish broadcaster YLE said.Earlier this week, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania imposed the measure. Estonia said the decision followed “the additional interpretation of the sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation published by the European Commission” on Sept. 8. As for the exclave of Kaliningrad, which is surrounded by Lithuania, Russian citizens will be able to continue transiting through the southernmost Baltic state by train.Under the EU’s decision, motor vehicles registered in the Russian Federation are no longer allowed to enter the territory of the 27-member bloc,...

Rubiales denies wrongdoing to Spanish judge investigating his kiss of a player at Women’s World Cup

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:54 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish soccer federation, denied any wrongdoing when questioned by a judge investigating his kissing a player on the lips last month at the Women’s World Cup, Spain’s state prosecutors’ office said Friday.Judge Francisco de Jorge earlier this week ordered Rubiales to answer questions at Spain’s National Court.Rubiales kissed Spain forward Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the awards ceremony after Spain beat England to win the title on Aug. 20 in Sydney, Australia. He said she had consented to the kiss, but Hermoso has denied that repeatedly.Spanish state prosecutors formally accused Rubiales last week of sexual assault and an act of coercion. According to Hermoso, Rubiales pressured her to speak out in his defense immediately after the scandal erupted.The state prosecutors’ office said Rubiales denied both accusations when answering questions by the judge in an hour-long hearing that was closed to the public.Neith...

Putin meets the leader of Belarus, who suggests joining Russia’s move to boost ties with North Korea

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:54 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted a meeting Friday with his Belarusian ally, who suggested that Minsk could could join Moscow’s efforts to revive an old alliance with Pyongyang after this week’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko made the proposal as he met with Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the Russian leader said he would brief him about the talks with Kim on Wednesday at the Vostochny spaceport in Russia’s Far East.“I would like to inform you about the discussion on the situation in the region, which was quite important, and also to touch on the most acute issue, the situation in Ukraine,” Putin said at the start of the meeting.Lukashenko responded by saying that “we could think about three-way cooperation,” adding that “I think a bit of work could be found for Belarus to do there as well.”Kim on Friday continued his trip by visiting an aircraft factory in Komsomol...

Around 3,000 jobs at risk at UK’s biggest steelworks despite government-backed package of support

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:54 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Around 3,000 workers at Britain’s biggest steelworks face the prospect of losing their jobs as part of a government-backed package Friday to make the plant “greener.”In an announcement, the British government confirmed widespread speculation that it is to pump up to 500 million pounds ($620 million) into the Port Talbot steelworks in south Wales. Tata, the Indian conglomerate that owns the steelworks, will use the funding to help switch the plant’s two coal-fired blast furnaces to electric arc versions that can run on zero-carbon electricity.“This proposal is a landmark moment for maintaining ongoing U.K. steel production, supporting sustainable economic growth, cutting emissions and creating green jobs,” said Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt.Tata, which employs around 8,000 people across the U.K., will also invest around 750 million pounds into the project, but cautioned that the plans will lead to consultations over a “deep potential restructuring” — code for j...

Belgium requires a controversial class program. Now schools are burning and the country is worried

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:54 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — A series of school arsons in Belgium believed to be connected to a controversial school program in some parts of the country is prompting authorities to strengthen their police response.Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden on Friday called for a halt to the attacks in the French-speaking Wallonia region hours after another school was set on fire, the sixth in the Charleroi area since the start of the week. “We don’t touch our schools,” the minister wrote on the X social network, formerly known as Twitter. “Arson attacks in Brussels and Wallonia must stop. I have therefore asked the federal police to provide support to local areas to avoid any escalation.”Signs protesting the so-called Evras project were discovered on some of the schools.The Evras program is described as a tool designed to help children and teenagers develop their relational and sexual lives. This school year, some 100,000 pupils in the Wallonia-Brussels federation ages 11-12 and 15-16 will have to at...

Alabama will mark the 60th anniversary of the 1963 church bombing that killed four Black girls

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:55:54 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama on Friday will mark the 60th anniversary of one of the most heinous attacks during the Civil Rights Movement, the 1963 bombing of a church that killed four Black girls in 1963.U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the nation’s highest court, will give the keynote address at the remembrance Friday morning at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.On the morning of Sept. 15, 1963, dynamite planted by Ku Klux Klan members exploded at the church, killing the girls and shocking the nation. The large, prominent church was targeted because it was a center of the African American community and the site of mass meetings during the Civil Rights Movement.The girls were gathered in a downstairs washroom to freshen up before Sunday services when the blast rocked the church. The explosion killed 11-year-old Denise McNair, and Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins, all 14. A fifth girl, Sarah Collins Rud...