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Danny Masterson used drugging, Scientology to get away with rape, prosecutor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:40:51 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...

Guardians place Ramírez on bereavement list, recall Rocchio from Triple-A

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:40:51 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The Cleveland Guardians placed All-Star third baseman José Ramírez on the bereavement list Tuesday and recalled hot-hitting infielder Brayan Rocchio from Triple-A Columbus.The team made the moves ahead of a three-game series against the White Sox.Manager Terry Francona said Ramírez isn’t expected to rejoin the Guardians until they play the Mets in New York for a three-game set starting Friday. Ramírez, who is batting .285 with four homers and 22 RBIs, traveled to the Dominican Republic following the death of his grandmother.“She had a big hand in raising him,” Francona said. “So as much as we miss him, our thoughts and prayers are with him.”Josh Naylor, who has been on a hitting tear lately, will take Ramírez’s No. 3 spot in the batting order, while Gabriel Arias will start at third in the series opener. Naylor has homered in three straight games — all go-ahead shots in the eighth inning.This will be Rocchio’s second stint with Cleveland. Howev...

Man arrested for armed sexual assault, robbery on Md. hiking trail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:40:51 GMT

Montgomery County, Maryland, police arrested a man who is accused of armed rape and robbery Tuesday in Silver Spring.The incident happened shortly before 3 p.m. in the 10700 block of Columbia Pike, police said.Police said their preliminary investigation found that the man approached a woman on the Northwest Branch Trail, displayed a weapon, sexually assaulted her and stole her property. He then left the scene of the crime, according to officials.Police said they established a perimeter in the area and eventually caught the suspect on Devere Drive.This is a developing story. Stay with WTOP for the latest.Source

Sunny NHL playoffs: Every Stanley Cup semifinalist team is from the Sun Belt for the first time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:40:51 GMT

The NHL is about to stage a very non-traditional pair of conference finals. Every game will be played in the Sun Belt for the first time, with not an Original Six franchise in sight. “It’s the four best teams left. It doesn’t matter where they’re from, right?,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said Tuesday. “There’s that old tradition, the Original Six and someone’s usually there, but that’s just the way it falls this year.”Carolina will take on the Florida Panthers in the East final, with Game 1 on Thursday night. The Dallas Stars and the Golden Knights open the West final Friday night in Las Vegas. “It’s a lot more fun. It’s a lot more of a party, it really is,” first-year Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. “The traditional markets, you go to a game, and I’m Canadian, but you go to a game in Toronto … it’s very reserved, very corporate. You come to these games, it’s a party, and Vegas is the same.”DeBoer, who was Cassidy’s predecessor in Vegas and also coached at Florida, believe...

Esta niña de Illinois desapareció hace 6 años con su madre. Acaban de encontrarla en Carolina del Norte

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:40:51 GMT

(CNN) — Durante seis años, los seres queridos de Kayla Unbehaun la buscaron, con ayuda del público, después de que presuntamente fuera secuestrada en Illinois por su madre, quien no tenía la custodia de la menor.Ahora, de 15 años, la encontraron a salvo a más de 900 kilómetros de distancia, en Carolina del Norte, y se reunió con su padre en Illinois, según declaró este martes a CNN Samantha Booth, del Departamento de Policía de Asheville.Kayla Unbehaun, vista por última vez por su padre en 2017 cuando tenía 9 años, fue vista el sábado en Asheville, Carolina del Norte. Su madre está bajo arresto, dijeron las autoridades. Crédito:  Centro Nacional para Menores Desaparecidos y ExplotadosKayla tenía 9 años cuando su madre, Heather Unbehaun, la habría secuestrado en South Elgin, un suburbio de Chicago , Illinois, según dijo el Centro Nacional para Menores Desaparecidos y Explotados.El padre de Kayla, Ryan Iserka, había obtenido la custodia completa de la niña a principios de 2017 y...

Polis vetoes bill to delay wolf introduction

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:40:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Gov. Jared Polis has vetoed a bill that could have added years of delays to wolf reintroduction in Colorado.In a veto letter dated Tuesday, Polis said the proposed law "is unnecessary and undermines the voters’ intent." It would have prohibited the state-led wolf reintroduction until certain federal conditions were final, which could have been years from now if they were challenged in court."The management of the reintroduction of gray wolves into Colorado is best left to the Parks and Wildlife Commission as the voters explicitly mandated," Polis wrote. Polis signs law for ‘Stop the Bleed’ kits in schools Colorado Farm Bureau said it was "gravely disappointed" by the veto. The group said the proposed delays "afforded ranchers the tools they needed to achieve conservation success and mitigate wolf-livestock conflict," according to a statement.The Colorado Cattlemen's Association released a similar rebuke."Unfortunately, Governor Polis’ choice to veto this bill will ...

Over 800% of average precipitation measured in parts of Colorado

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:40:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Thanks to last week's soggy storm system, parts of Eastern Colorado saw over 800% of average precipitation over the last week.The graph below from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows the percent of average precipitation for May 9-15 in Colorado. The pink color in parts of the Denver metro area and the Front Range shows areas that had more than 800% of average within that timeframe. Most of the eastern half of Colorado saw at least 200% to 400% of the average represented by the purple color. May brings record-breaking rainfall to Denver The average precipitation for a week in May in Denver ranges from 0.5 to an inch of rainfall accumulation. Western Colorado did not see a lot of rain over the past week, with some areas seeing below 2% of the average. There is still drought in the eastern half of Colorado, so these big rainfall totals will help significantly. May rainfall totals have been impressive so far for many spots in eastern Colorado. Cen...

On the night watch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:40:51 GMT

It’s an hour before dawn breaks over the North Sea. Aboard the KV Bergen, the officer of the watch is wide awake. The 93-meter long Norwegian Navy Coast Guard vessel is on patrol, 50 miles out to sea. The sky is dark, the sea darker. But off the starboard bow, bright lights gleam through the rain and mist. Something huge and incongruous is looming out of the water, lit like a Christmas display.  “Troll A,” says Torgeir Standal, 49, the ship’s second in command, who is taking the watch on this bleak March morning. It’s a gas platform — a big one.  When it was transported out to this desolate spot nearly 30 years ago, Troll A — stretching 472 meters from its seabed foundations to the tip of its drilling rig — became the tallest structure ever moved by people across the surface of the Earth. Last year, Troll, the gas field it taps into, provided 10 percent of the EU’s total supply of natural gas — heating homes, lighting streets, fueling ind...

Secret Service investigating how an intruder entered national security adviser Jake Sullivan’s home undetected

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:40:51 GMT

(CNN) — The US Secret Service is investigating how an intruder entered US national security adviser Jake Sullivan’s home last month without being detected by Secret Service agents guarding his home.Sullivan, who has 24/7 Secret Service protection, was unharmed in the incident, according to Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, who said the agency takes the matter seriously.Sullivan encountered the person inside his Washington, DC, home in the early morning hours one day in late April, according to a source familiar with the matter, and he told investigators he believed the person was intoxicated.There was no threat made, the source said, and the person left Sullivan’s home without the Secret Service detail noticing.The Washington Post first reported the incident.Guglielmi said in a statement that the “Secret Service is examining a security incident that took place at a protectee site. While the protectee was unharmed, we are taking this matter seriously and have open...

Referees, umpires rally for stricter penalties for attacking or threatening sports officials

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:40:51 GMT

Referees and umpires called for change on Tuesday, asking for stronger protections from parents upset over their children’s games during a rally held outside the Massachusetts State House. The rally came on the same day that a hearing was held on the same topic. Referees and umpires said the issue has been ongoing for several years, with parents and players alike disrespecting and sometimes physically attacking officials. The animosity, in turn, has led to a major shortage of officials. “We want people to understand that we want to be protected and we feel, as an official, that we need safety features as well,” said Mark Rully of the Massachusetts Baseball Umpires Association. Rully has been officiating youth sports for more than 30 years. Speaking this week, he said threats and even physical attacks against officials are on the rise. “As an umpire, I train new umpires and we used to have questions about calling balls and strikes and now those questions...