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2 models found dead in downtown Los Angeles: What we know 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:58 GMT

Police are searching for any clues that could help them find the perpetrator or perpetrators involved in the killings of two models in downtown Los Angeles in the span of one week. The first woman whose death was announced was identified as 31-year-old model and real estate agent Maleesa Mooney. She was found dead in her luxury apartment in Bunker Hill on Tuesday by officers conducting a welfare check after she abruptly stopped answering calls or texts from her family.  Authorities looking into whether car seen on surveillance video has connection to LASD deputy’s death “When a week went by, we just knew something was off,” said Bailey Babb, Maleesa Mooney’s cousin. “Her messages weren’t delivering and we knew something was up because we all have a special relationship with Maleesa.” Maleesa Mooney as seen in an undated photo. (Courtesy: Jourdin Pauline)Police did not release any details about any possible injuries or a possible cause of death for Mooney, howe...

Letters: Levi’s attendees | Congress and climate | Baby steps | Romney’s principles | Keys to patriotism | GOP playbook

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:58 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Santa Clara must reinin Levi’s attendeesWhile Santa Clara makes a killing off the concerts at Levi’s Stadium, the concertgoers are a nuisance to the surrounding communities.They come and park in our communities for free parking, are loud and raucous while the city turns a blind eye. The city needs to enforce no parking zones and allow designated-parking-only for concerts and events at Levi’s.Enough of this nonsense.Kedar VaidyaSanta ClaraCongress must do morefor the climate fightRe: “State sues oil giants over shifts in climate” (Page A1, Sept. 17).It’s about time the oil companies got sued for all the damage that they have done.And it’s not surprising that oil company executives and their cohorts are countering with major backlash to this lawsuit.Ryan Meyers, senior vice president and general counsel for the American Petroleum Institute, stated, “Climate policy is for Congress to debat...

4 more Iowa athletes plead guilty to underage gambling. Cases go on for six athletes with ISU ties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:58 GMT

Four former University of Iowa athletes who faced criminal charges in connection with a state investigation into illegal sports wagering have pleaded guilty to underage gambling in agreements reach with prosecutors in Iowa City.Football players Arland Bruce IV, Reggie Bracy and Jack Johnson and basketball player Ahron Ulis originally were charged with tampering with records for allegedly falsifying information used to register accounts on mobile sports wagering apps.Bruce, Bracy, Johnson and Ulis finalized plea deals last week. Bruce, Bracy and Ulis were fined $645. Johnson has agreed to pay a fine of the same amount, but a sentencing document for him did not appear in electronic court records Monday.The same plea deals and fines were announced Sept. 6 for Iowa football player Aaron Blom, Iowa baseball player Gehrig Christensen and Iowa State football players Dodge Sauser, Hunter Dekkers and Jake Remsburg.Blom, Christensen and Sauser are no longer members of their teams. Dekkers and...

The outlook for colorful fall foliage in the DC area? Not spectacular — and short-lived

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:58 GMT

We’ve gotten a little taste of fall around the D.C. area lately, meaning leaf peeping season is near. But the area’s drought may have a big impact on how colorful the view will be.“We’ll definitely see some color. I don’t think it’s going to be a spectacular year, ” said Melissa Nash, a forester in Garrett County, Maryland.“When we have a dry year, we just don’t see those spectacular bold bright colors.”Nash explained that a lack of rain stresses the trees, and they don’t hold onto their leaves quite as long, which reduces the chances of bold golden yellow, orange and cranberry hues across the mountains of Maryland.Nash said we will be able to enjoy some color change this fall, but it won’t come close to normal years, and nowhere near the spectacular show mother nature put on in 2022.According to Nash, “instead of seeing those colors last, we’re going to see an abrupt change and the leaves are going ...

Arlington Co. police warn residents about scam calls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:58 GMT

Police in Arlington County, Virginia, are dealing with scammers targeting residents.It starts with a phone call from someone who claims to be with law enforcement.“They’ll tell the individual that they’ve missed jury duty and, as a result, a warrant will be issued for their arrest unless they pay a fine,” said Ashley Savage, a public information specialist at the county’s police department.And that’s how they try to get you. Savage said scammers aim to catch you off-guard.“I think what really the scammers are looking to do is to play on the fears of individuals,” Savage said. By posing as an authority figure, “that really puts fear in the individual that they need to move quickly.”With scams like this, police often see perpetrators asking victims to pay with gift cards or Bitcoin over the phone, Savage told WTOP. She said this is one indication of a scam.“We want you to also be mindful that individuals, unfortunately,...

Federal investigators subpoena Pennsylvania agency for records related to chocolate plant explosion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:58 GMT

Federal safety investigators issued a subpoena to Pennsylvania’s public utility regulator on Monday for documents related to a fatal explosion at a chocolate factory, escalating a months-long legal dispute over the state agency’s authority to share the sensitive information.The National Transportation Safety Board said the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has refused to provide unredacted inspection and investigation reports for UGI Utilities Inc., the natural gas utility at the center of the probe into the March 24 blast at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in West Reading. The powerful natural gas explosion leveled one building, heavily damaged another and killed seven people. Investigators have previously said they are looking at a pair of gas leaks as a possible cause of or contributor to the blast.The interagency dispute over five years’ worth of UGI records involved a conflict between state and federal law. The Public Utility Commission said it could not provide the ...

Family says 14-year-old daughter discovered phone taped to back of toilet seat on flight to Boston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:58 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — The family of a 14-year-old girl who allegedly discovered a phone taped to the back of a toilet seat on a recent flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Boston said they believe she was targeted by a member of the crew.During the Sept. 2 American Airlines flight 1441, the girl was told by a male member of the crew to use the first-class bathroom. The crew member entered just before 14-year-old, told her the seat was broken but not to worry about it and then re-entered the bathroom after she left, her family said in a written statement.After using the toilet, the girl realized that a largely obscured iPhone had been affixed to the back of the toilet seat, apparently to record her. She took a picture of this with her own phone before leaving the bathroom.“These events have left our daughter — and entire family — shocked and profoundly disturbed,” the family wrote in a statement.Paul Llewellyn, a lawyer representing the family, said they have not yet filed a lawsuit.Law...

Cardinals, Gannon try to move past the sting of a 21-point collapse in loss to the Giants

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:58 GMT

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The first gut punch of the Jonathan Gannon era has arrived for the Arizona Cardinals.The Cardinals (0-2) blew a 21-point, third-quarter lead in a 31-28 loss to the New York Giants on Sunday, which was the biggest collapse for the franchise since 2011 and the biggest comeback for the Giants since 1949.For a team looking to outperform low expectations this season, it was a brutal afternoon.“I am really sick to my stomach,” Cardinals running back James Conner said Sunday. “I am hurt. I am not discouraged, but I am hurt, for sure. We are in this thing together. Our offense put a couple more points up than we did last week. Still wasn’t enough. “We didn’t complete the mission.”New York’s comeback denied quarterback Joshua Dobbs his first NFL win as a starter and Gannon’s first NFL win as a head coach. To his credit, Gannon didn’t blame his players for the loss, instead putting the onus squarely on the coaching staff.“We got outplayed in t...

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills return to the basics in rebounding from season-opening dud

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:58 GMT

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Every so often, the head-strong Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills need a reminder that each player needs to stick to their individual role, or as coach Sean McDermott often preaches — their one-eleventh.It’s a lesson that appeared to be reinforced over the past week in which Allen and the Bills finally began resembling the efficient well-oiled machine that’s won three straight AFC East titles in a 38-10 rout of the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. It was a much-needed showing, especially, following a season-opening dud at the New York Jets.And maybe this time, the lesson will stick for a team that continues having Super Bowl aspirations despite no longer being the chic pick to win it all as Buffalo was a year ago.A little humility helps, McDermott said.“I know I keep talking about humble and hungry, I just believe in that,” McDermott said, following the win. “The minute you get over your skis in this league is the minute you get bit. And today’s a great teacher....

African-born vintner ready to bring her vino to the drinking masses in Maryland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:34:58 GMT

Maryland wine aficionados will get a taste of a new vintage next month from an African-born vintner. Ifeoma Clyopatra Onyia is opening Clyopatra Winery and Vineyard in Laurel, Maryland, next month, and according to the winery’s website, she will be the first African winery owner in the U.S.Onyia told WTOP that her dream is coming true as she sat in front of her very own vineyard on Brooklyn Bridge Road.“Being the first person doing a lot of things, you get a lot of pushback. You get a lot of, ‘Are you sure you know what you’re doing? Do you think you can succeed?'” Onyia said. “I had somebody asked me a question saying, ‘So who are you going to sell your wine to?’ I looked at him and I said the same people you sell your wine to.”She grew up in Udi, Nigeria, with seven siblings and eventually went to school in England before settling in Maryland, where she began a nursing home care company. But wine was always on her mind.“I...