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California school district to pay $2.25M to settle suit involving teacher who had student’s baby

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:30 GMT

REDLANDS, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California school district will pay $2.25 million to settle the latest lawsuit involving a teacher who became pregnant by one of at least two students she was accused of sexually abusing.The settlement brings to $8.25 million the amount paid by Redlands Unified School District to Laura Whitehurst’s victims since her 2013 arrest, the Southern California News Group reported Sunday.In August 2016, the district agreed to pay $6 million to a former student who impregnated Whitehust while she was his teacher.The latest lawsuit was filed in 2021 by another former student who alleged he was preyed upon and sexually abused at Redlands High School by Whitehurst in 2007 and 2008 when he was 14, according to the plaintiff’s attorney, Morgan Stewart. Whitehurst admitted to police in 2013 she had sex with the youth 10 to 15 times in her classroom and at her apartment, a police report stated.Redlands Unified spokesperson Christine Stephens said Friday that the di...

Novak Djokovic wins the first set of the US Open final against Daniil Medvedev

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:30 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Novak Djokovic has won the first set 6-3 against Daniil Medvedev in the U.S. Open men’s final.Djokovic started quickly in search of what would be his 24th Grand Slam singles title, breaking Medvedev’s serve in the second game en route to a 3-0 lead. Their meeting Sunday is a rematch of the 2021 final in Flushing Meadows. Medvedev won in straight sets that day for his lone Grand Slam title, denying Djokovic what would have been the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969.The match is being played with the roof closed at Arthur Ashe Stadium because of the potential for more bad weather.___AP tennis coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/tennisThe Associated Press

Michigan State suspends Mel Tucker after allegations he sexually harassed rape survivor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:30 GMT

Michigan State suspended football coach Mel Tucker without pay on Sunday, less than 24 hours after allegations became public in a USA Today report that he sexually harassed activist and rape survivor Brenda Tracy during a phone call last year.Michigan State President Teresa K. Woodruff and athletic director Alan Haller announced the suspension pending the results of an investigation into the allegations.The school hired an outside Title IX attorney to investigate Tracy’s complaint and the investigation concluded in July, according to the USA Today report. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 5-6 to determine if Tucker violated the school’s sexual harassment and exploitation policy, the newspaper reported.Secondary coach Harlon Barnett will serve as the team’s interim coach and former coach Mark Dantonio was named associate head coach while Tucker awaits his fate with the program.Tucker is in the third year of a $95 million, 10-year contract and if he is fired for cause, the school ...

In Toronto, Paul Simon takes a bow with a new career-spanning documentary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:30 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — After a three-and-a-half-hour documentary on his life, Paul Simon had only sympathy for the audience. “You’re probably exhausted,” Simon told the crowd after the premiere of Alex Gibney’s “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon” on Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival. The 81-year-old Simon, himself, hadn’t watched the film before its debut, and he didn’t watch it Sunday, either. “I’ll get up the courage to see it, no doubt,” he promised. The film, which is seeking distribution at TIFF, is an expansive look at Simon’s decades-spanning career, from growing up in Queens, New York, with Art Garfunkel to the success of “Graceland,” the sensational 1986 album he made with South African musicians. “In Restless Dreams,” which takes its name from a lyric in “The Sound of Silence” (“In restless dreams I walked alone”), also intimately captures Simon painstakingly assembling his latest album, “Seven Psalms,”...

Tribute paid to Kansas high school football photographer who died after accidental hit on sidelines

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:30 GMT

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas high school football team paid tribute to their longtime photographer following her death Friday, four days after an accidental hit on the sidelines of a junior varsity game she was photographing. Linda Gregory died a few hours before Friday’s game, her husband Mel Gregory announced on Facebook. The 69-year-old woman had fallen backward and struck her head on concrete while taking pictures Sept. 4 at the junior varsity matchup between Wichita Northwest High School and rival Bishop Carroll High. Critically injured, she had been on life support all week waiting to donate her organs ever since the inadvertent hit during a blocking play by two players.Mel Gregory, who owned a local photography business with his wife and was her photography partner, joined several other family members at Northwest’s game against Heights High School on Friday just as the couple had done for years, the Wichita Eagle reported. All the players wore “LG” stickers on t...

Lil Nas X documentary ‘Long Live Montero’ goes beyond his ‘provocative’ art at TIFF

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:30 GMT

TORONTO — A new documentary that follows Lil Nas X on his first tour aims to show a deeper side of the genre-transcending artist. “Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero,” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, follows the singer after the success of his 2019 single “Old Town Road,” the longest-running No. 1 single on the Billboard charts. Lil Nas X, born Montero Lamar Hill, speaks candidly in the doc about coming out as gay and navigating his newfound success in hip-hop and country — two genres that have not historically been welcoming of LGBTQ+ musicians. Hill says the film shows a “real side” of him that is more nuanced than the lighthearted and comedic nature he’s known for on social media. “This is like the end of an era of my life going right into the next one,” Hill said at the red carpet premiere of the documentary on Saturday.“It’s a bittersweet moment because sometimes you get lost and you have to...

Police search for 60-year-old man last seen on Near West Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:30 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are searching for a missing man who was last seen on the city's Near West Side.According to Chicago police, Vincent Williams, a 60-year-old man who was last seen in the 1900 block of West Ogden Avenue, has been missing since Sunday, Sept. 3. Police notified the public about his disappearance on Saturday evening and say he may be in need of medical attention.Williams has brown eyes and black hair and police say he stands 5-foot-8 and weighs around 152 lbs. Police did not provide a description of the clothes Williams was wearing at the time of his disappearance.Anyone with information on the whereabouts of 60-year-old Vincent Williams is asked to call Area Three SVU detectives at (312)744-8266. Mail carrier robbed while on postal route in Grand Crossing Tips for police can also be filed at CPDtip.com. Tips can be left anonymously.

Spanish soccer president Luis Rubiales resigns after nonconsensual kiss at Women's World Cup final

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:30 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Suspended Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales has resigned from his post after kissing a player on the lips without her consent in a scandal which overshadowed Spain winning the Women's World Cup for the first time.Rubiales announced his resignation Sunday in a message posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.“After my swift suspension by FIFA, and the rest of the cases building against me, it is clear that I cannot return to the post,” Rubiales said in his statement.Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso during the awards ceremony after Spain beat England to win the title on Aug. 20 in Sydney, Australia. Spanish state prosecutors accused Rubiales of sexual assault and coercion after the unwanted kiss, the country’s prosecutors’ office said Friday, two days after Hermoso formally accused him of sexual assault.He had already been suspended from his job by FIFA for his conduct at the final and, after soccer’s world body opened a disciplinary case, remained defiant and...

Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis apologize for 'pain' their letters on behalf of Danny Masterson caused

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:30 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis apologized Saturday for character letters the celebrity couple wrote on behalf of fellow “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson before he was sentenced for rape this week.A judge in Los Angeles on Thursday sentenced Masterson to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women in 2003.In a video posted on Instagram, Kutcher and Kunis said they were sorry for the pain they may have caused with the letters, which were made public Friday.Kutcher said the letters that asked for leniency “were intended for the judge to read and not to undermine the testimony of the victims or retraumatize them in any way. We would never want to do that and we're sorry if that has taken place.”Kutcher said Masterson’s family approached them after the actor was convicted in the rapes in May and asked them to write character letters describing “the person that we knew for 25 years.” The letters were posted online by The Hollywood Reporter and other digita...

3 CPD officers hospitalized after dog attack in West Garfield Park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:30 GMT

CHICAGO — Police say three officers were taken to the hospital after they were bitten by dogs in West Garfield Park on Sunday.According to police, it happened while officers were conducting an investigation in the 4000 block of West Wilcox Avenue just after 11:20 a.m. 4 men critical after Grand Crossing shooting Police say during the investigation, a woman attempted to intervene. During the encounter, two dogs were let loose by an unknown individual. The dogs then allegedly bit three of the officers, before an officer shot one of the dogs.The three officers were taken to the hospital in good condition, police say. 2 Uptown businesses vandalized, spray-painted by at least 10 people The condition of the dog who was shot is currently unclear, according to police.Officers say one woman is in custody, however, it is unclear how she was involved.Anyone with information on the attack can leave a tip for police at CPDtip.com. Tips can be left anonymously.