ReportWire

Tag: face

  • ‘It’s a game changer’: Artificial intelligence helps Iowa surgeon reconstruct teen’s jaw

    While waiting in a Des Moines, Iowa, exam room, Mya Buie nervously applies her lip gloss. Three months ago, the 17-year-old had multiple surgeries to reconstruct her jaw. In this moment, she is waiting to be seen for a postoperative checkup. She hasn’t liked medical settings since a shooting landed her in a Des Moines hospital’s intensive care unit for several days.”It was kind of scary. It was traumatic,” she said of the night her mother’s ex-boyfriend shot her in the face during a fight just days before her birthday.On the other hand, her surgeon, Dr. Simon Wright, has been looking forward to this appointment all week. He calls Buie one of his most memorable and brave patients.”I’m gonna take a look under your chin,” he says to Buie while carefully touching her face. The teenager was shot in the face with a .40-caliber bullet at close range. The impact of the bullet fractured and shattered her jaw into tiny fragments and permanently damaged four teeth.For years, Wright, a facial reconstruction trauma surgeon, has reconstructed facial bones by bending and molding titanium plates by hand to the injured area. It’s a time-consuming and often erroneous process.”There is always a level of dissatisfaction, and it doesn’t feel good to do something just good enough,” Wright said.The manual work has now been replaced with modern technology. Doctors used artificial intelligence to read a CT scan of Buie’s jaw, then a 3D printer turned that image into a custom jawbone plate.”It’s so much easier than trying to bend a plate to get it perfect,” Wright said. “It’s no question a game-changer.”Doctors say a customized jawbone plate allows for a more accurate fit, better aligns the jaw with a patient’s teeth, and cuts surgery time in half. What makes this process so unique: Buie’s customized plate was made in record time, a first for Des Moines trauma surgeons. “The ability to make a custom plate has been around for 10 years or more, but the ability to do it very quickly has not been,” Wright said.What would normally take several weeks took only a few days. The plate was created in a lab in Jacksonville, Florida, put on a plane to the Des Moines International Airport, then hand-delivered to the hospital on a Friday night before the teenager’s surgery first thing Saturday morning. “There is a lot of things that have to go right to do any kind of surgery at all, and to do something complicated like this, it’s really an inspiring thing to be part of,” Wright said, smiling. He also said this advancement serves as a reminder of the importance of supporting medical research because of its impact on people. “This came from the efforts of all kinds of people in different fields that have cross-pollinated. For example, 3D printing as a medical application, and at one point, it may not have begun with a medical endpoint in mind,” he said.For trauma patients, time is of the essence. For Buie, time does heal. The high school junior is back to school with plans to graduate early. Doctors expect her to make a full recovery. Her new jawbone plate will eventually fuse to bone and be as strong as ever. “I just thank God every day for giving me a second chance at life. I’m very grateful. I can tell my story and spread the word of God with this story, like a testament.” Buie will likely undergo additional surgeries. Next month, she will receive dental implants for her missing teeth.

    While waiting in a Des Moines, Iowa, exam room, Mya Buie nervously applies her lip gloss. Three months ago, the 17-year-old had multiple surgeries to reconstruct her jaw. In this moment, she is waiting to be seen for a postoperative checkup. She hasn’t liked medical settings since a shooting landed her in a Des Moines hospital’s intensive care unit for several days.

    “It was kind of scary. It was traumatic,” she said of the night her mother’s ex-boyfriend shot her in the face during a fight just days before her birthday.

    On the other hand, her surgeon, Dr. Simon Wright, has been looking forward to this appointment all week. He calls Buie one of his most memorable and brave patients.

    “I’m gonna take a look under your chin,” he says to Buie while carefully touching her face. The teenager was shot in the face with a .40-caliber bullet at close range. The impact of the bullet fractured and shattered her jaw into tiny fragments and permanently damaged four teeth.

    For years, Wright, a facial reconstruction trauma surgeon, has reconstructed facial bones by bending and molding titanium plates by hand to the injured area. It’s a time-consuming and often erroneous process.

    “There is always a level of dissatisfaction, and it doesn’t feel good to do something just good enough,” Wright said.

    The manual work has now been replaced with modern technology. Doctors used artificial intelligence to read a CT scan of Buie’s jaw, then a 3D printer turned that image into a custom jawbone plate.

    “It’s so much easier than trying to bend a plate to get it perfect,” Wright said. “It’s no question a game-changer.”

    Doctors say a customized jawbone plate allows for a more accurate fit, better aligns the jaw with a patient’s teeth, and cuts surgery time in half. What makes this process so unique: Buie’s customized plate was made in record time, a first for Des Moines trauma surgeons.

    “The ability to make a custom plate has been around for 10 years or more, but the ability to do it very quickly has not been,” Wright said.

    What would normally take several weeks took only a few days. The plate was created in a lab in Jacksonville, Florida, put on a plane to the Des Moines International Airport, then hand-delivered to the hospital on a Friday night before the teenager’s surgery first thing Saturday morning.

    “There is a lot of things that have to go right to do any kind of surgery at all, and to do something complicated like this, it’s really an inspiring thing to be part of,” Wright said, smiling. He also said this advancement serves as a reminder of the importance of supporting medical research because of its impact on people.

    “This came from the efforts of all kinds of people in different fields that have cross-pollinated. For example, 3D printing as a medical application, and at one point, it may not have begun with a medical endpoint in mind,” he said.

    For trauma patients, time is of the essence. For Buie, time does heal. The high school junior is back to school with plans to graduate early. Doctors expect her to make a full recovery. Her new jawbone plate will eventually fuse to bone and be as strong as ever.

    “I just thank God every day for giving me a second chance at life. I’m very grateful. I can tell my story and spread the word of God with this story, like a testament.”

    Buie will likely undergo additional surgeries. Next month, she will receive dental implants for her missing teeth.

    Source link

  • Brigitte Bardot, 1960s film icon turned animal rights activist, dies at 91

    Brigitte Bardot, the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later an animal rights activist, has died. She was 91.Bruno Jacquelin, of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the protection of animals, told The Associated Press that she died Sunday at her home in southern France, and would not provide a cause of death. He said no arrangements have yet been made for funeral or memorial services. She had been hospitalized last month.Bardot became an international celebrity as a sexualized teen bride in the 1956 movie “And God Created Woman.” Directed by her then-husband, Roger Vadim, it triggered a scandal with scenes of the long-legged beauty dancing on tables naked.At the height of a cinema career that spanned some 28 films and three marriages, Bardot came to symbolize a nation bursting out of bourgeois respectability. Her tousled, blonde hair, figure and pouty irreverence made her one of France’s best-known stars.Such was her widespread appeal that in 1969 her features were chosen to be the model for “Marianne,” the national emblem of France and the official Gallic seal. Bardot’s face appeared on statues, postage stamps and even on coins.‘’We are mourning a legend,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote Sunday on X.Bardot’s second career as an animal rights activist was equally sensational. She traveled to the Arctic to blow the whistle on the slaughter of baby seals; she condemned the use of animals in laboratory experiments; and she opposed sending monkeys into space.”Man is an insatiable predator,” Bardot told The Associated Press on her 73rd birthday, in 2007. “I don’t care about my past glory. That means nothing in the face of an animal that suffers, since it has no power, no words to defend itself.”Her activism earned her compatriots’ respect and, in 1985, she was awarded the Legion of Honor, the nation’s highest honor. Later, however, she fell from public grace as her far-right political views sounded racist, as she frequently decried the influx of immigrants into France, especially Muslims.She was convicted five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred. Notably, she criticized the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep during annual religious holidays like Eid al-Adha.Bardot’s 1992 marriage to fourth husband Bernard d’Ormale, a onetime adviser to former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, contributed to her political shift. She described the outspoken nationalist as a “lovely, intelligent man.”In 2012, she caused controversy again when she wrote a letter in support of Marine Le Pen, the current leader of the party — now renamed National Rally — in her failed bid for the French presidency. In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, Bardot said in an interview that most actors protesting sexual harassment in the film industry were “hypocritical” and “ridiculous” because many played “the teases” with producers to land parts.She said she had never been a victim of sexual harassment and found it “charming to be told that I was beautiful or that I had a nice little ass.” Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born Sept. 28, 1934, to a wealthy industrialist. A shy, secretive child, she studied classical ballet and was discovered by a family friend who put her on the cover of Elle magazine at age 14.Bardot once described her childhood as “difficult” and said her father was a strict disciplinarian.But it was French movie producer Vadim, whom she married in 1952, who saw her potential and wrote “And God Created Woman” to showcase provocative sensuality.The film, which portrayed Bardot as a bored newlywed who beds her brother-in-law, had a decisive influence on New Wave directors Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, and came to embody the hedonism and sexual freedom of the 1960s.The film was a box-office hit, and it made Bardot a superstar. Her girlish pout, tiny waist and shape were often more appreciated than her talent.”It’s an embarrassment to have acted so badly,” Bardot said of her early films. “I suffered a lot in the beginning. I was really treated like someone less than nothing.”Bardot’s unabashed, off-screen love affair with co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant further shocked the nation. It eradicated the boundaries between her public and private life and turned her into a hot prize for paparazzi.Bardot never adjusted to the limelight. She blamed the constant press attention for the suicide attempt that followed 10 months after the birth of her only child, Nicolas. Photographers had broken into her house only two weeks before she gave birth to snap a picture of her pregnant.Nicolas’ father was Jacques Charrier, a handsome French actor whom she married in 1959 but who never felt comfortable in his role as Monsieur Bardot. Bardot soon gave up her son to his father, and later said she had been chronically depressed and unready for the duties of being a mother.”I was looking for roots then,” she said in an interview. “I had none to offer.”In her 1996 autobiography “Initiales B.B.,” she likened her pregnancy to “a tumor growing inside me,” and described Charrier as “temperamental and abusive.”Bardot married her third husband, West German millionaire playboy Gunther Sachs, in 1966, but the relationship ended in divorce three years later.Among her films were “A Parisian” (1957); “In Case of Misfortune,” in which she starred in 1958 with screen legend Jean Gabin; “The Truth” (1960); “Private Life” (1962); “A Ravishing Idiot” (1964); “Shalako” (1968); “Women” (1969); “The Bear and the Doll” (1970); “Rum Boulevard” (1971); and “Don Juan” (1973).With the exception of 1963’s critically acclaimed “Contempt,” directed by Godard, Bardot’s films were rarely complicated by plots. Often they were vehicles to display Bardot’s curves and legs in scanty dresses or frolicking nude in the sun.”It was never a great passion of mine,” she said of filmmaking. “And it can be deadly sometimes. Marilyn (Monroe) perished because of it.”Bardot retired to her Riviera villa in St. Tropez at the age of 39 in 1973 after “The Woman Grabber.” She emerged a decade later with a new persona: An animal rights lobbyist. She abandoned her jet-set life and sold off movie memorabilia and jewelry to create a foundation devoted to the prevention of animal cruelty.Her activism knew no borders. She urged South Korea to ban the sale of dog meat and once wrote to U.S. President Bill Clinton asking why the U.S. Navy recaptured two dolphins it had released into the wild.She attacked centuries-old French and Italian sporting traditions including the Palio, a free-for-all horse race, and campaigned on behalf of wolves, rabbits, kittens and turtle doves.By the late 1990s, Bardot was making headlines that would lose her many fans. She was convicted and fined five times between 1997 and 2008 for inciting racial hatred in incidents inspired by her anger at Muslim animal slaughtering rituals.”It’s true that sometimes I get carried away, but when I see how slowly things move forward … and despite all the promises that have been made to me by all different governments put together — my distress takes over,” Bardot told the AP.In 1997, several towns removed Bardot-inspired statues of Marianne — the bare-breasted statue representing the French Republic — after the actress voiced anti-immigrant sentiment. Also that year, she received death threats after calling for a ban on the sale of horse meat.Environmental campaigner Paul Watson, who was beaten on a seal hunt protest in Canada alongside Bardot in 1977 and campaigned with her for five decades, acknowledged that “many disagreed with Brigitte’s politics or some of her views.”“Her allegiance was not to the world of humans,” he said. “The animals of this world lost a wonderful friend today.”Bardot once said that she identified with the animals that she was trying to save.”I can understand hunted animals because of the way I was treated,” Bardot said. “What happened to me was inhuman. I was constantly surrounded by the world press.” Ganley contributed to this story before her retirement. Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

    PARIS —

    Brigitte Bardot, the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later an animal rights activist, has died. She was 91.

    Bruno Jacquelin, of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the protection of animals, told The Associated Press that she died Sunday at her home in southern France, and would not provide a cause of death. He said no arrangements have yet been made for funeral or memorial services. She had been hospitalized last month.

    Bardot became an international celebrity as a sexualized teen bride in the 1956 movie “And God Created Woman.” Directed by her then-husband, Roger Vadim, it triggered a scandal with scenes of the long-legged beauty dancing on tables naked.

    At the height of a cinema career that spanned some 28 films and three marriages, Bardot came to symbolize a nation bursting out of bourgeois respectability. Her tousled, blonde hair, figure and pouty irreverence made her one of France’s best-known stars.

    Such was her widespread appeal that in 1969 her features were chosen to be the model for “Marianne,” the national emblem of France and the official Gallic seal. Bardot’s face appeared on statues, postage stamps and even on coins.

    ‘’We are mourning a legend,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote Sunday on X.

    Bardot’s second career as an animal rights activist was equally sensational. She traveled to the Arctic to blow the whistle on the slaughter of baby seals; she condemned the use of animals in laboratory experiments; and she opposed sending monkeys into space.

    “Man is an insatiable predator,” Bardot told The Associated Press on her 73rd birthday, in 2007. “I don’t care about my past glory. That means nothing in the face of an animal that suffers, since it has no power, no words to defend itself.”

    Her activism earned her compatriots’ respect and, in 1985, she was awarded the Legion of Honor, the nation’s highest honor.

    Later, however, she fell from public grace as her far-right political views sounded racist, as she frequently decried the influx of immigrants into France, especially Muslims.

    She was convicted five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred. Notably, she criticized the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep during annual religious holidays like Eid al-Adha.

    Bardot’s 1992 marriage to fourth husband Bernard d’Ormale, a onetime adviser to former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, contributed to her political shift. She described the outspoken nationalist as a “lovely, intelligent man.”

    In 2012, she caused controversy again when she wrote a letter in support of Marine Le Pen, the current leader of the party — now renamed National Rally — in her failed bid for the French presidency.

    In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, Bardot said in an interview that most actors protesting sexual harassment in the film industry were “hypocritical” and “ridiculous” because many played “the teases” with producers to land parts.

    She said she had never been a victim of sexual harassment and found it “charming to be told that I was beautiful or that I had a nice little ass.”

    Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born Sept. 28, 1934, to a wealthy industrialist. A shy, secretive child, she studied classical ballet and was discovered by a family friend who put her on the cover of Elle magazine at age 14.

    Bardot once described her childhood as “difficult” and said her father was a strict disciplinarian.

    But it was French movie producer Vadim, whom she married in 1952, who saw her potential and wrote “And God Created Woman” to showcase provocative sensuality.

    The film, which portrayed Bardot as a bored newlywed who beds her brother-in-law, had a decisive influence on New Wave directors Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, and came to embody the hedonism and sexual freedom of the 1960s.

    The film was a box-office hit, and it made Bardot a superstar. Her girlish pout, tiny waist and shape were often more appreciated than her talent.

    “It’s an embarrassment to have acted so badly,” Bardot said of her early films. “I suffered a lot in the beginning. I was really treated like someone less than nothing.”

    Bardot’s unabashed, off-screen love affair with co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant further shocked the nation. It eradicated the boundaries between her public and private life and turned her into a hot prize for paparazzi.

    Bardot never adjusted to the limelight. She blamed the constant press attention for the suicide attempt that followed 10 months after the birth of her only child, Nicolas. Photographers had broken into her house only two weeks before she gave birth to snap a picture of her pregnant.

    Nicolas’ father was Jacques Charrier, a handsome French actor whom she married in 1959 but who never felt comfortable in his role as Monsieur Bardot. Bardot soon gave up her son to his father, and later said she had been chronically depressed and unready for the duties of being a mother.

    “I was looking for roots then,” she said in an interview. “I had none to offer.”

    In her 1996 autobiography “Initiales B.B.,” she likened her pregnancy to “a tumor growing inside me,” and described Charrier as “temperamental and abusive.”

    Bardot married her third husband, West German millionaire playboy Gunther Sachs, in 1966, but the relationship ended in divorce three years later.

    Among her films were “A Parisian” (1957); “In Case of Misfortune,” in which she starred in 1958 with screen legend Jean Gabin; “The Truth” (1960); “Private Life” (1962); “A Ravishing Idiot” (1964); “Shalako” (1968); “Women” (1969); “The Bear and the Doll” (1970); “Rum Boulevard” (1971); and “Don Juan” (1973).

    With the exception of 1963’s critically acclaimed “Contempt,” directed by Godard, Bardot’s films were rarely complicated by plots. Often they were vehicles to display Bardot’s curves and legs in scanty dresses or frolicking nude in the sun.

    “It was never a great passion of mine,” she said of filmmaking. “And it can be deadly sometimes. Marilyn (Monroe) perished because of it.”

    Bardot retired to her Riviera villa in St. Tropez at the age of 39 in 1973 after “The Woman Grabber.”

    She emerged a decade later with a new persona: An animal rights lobbyist. She abandoned her jet-set life and sold off movie memorabilia and jewelry to create a foundation devoted to the prevention of animal cruelty.

    Her activism knew no borders. She urged South Korea to ban the sale of dog meat and once wrote to U.S. President Bill Clinton asking why the U.S. Navy recaptured two dolphins it had released into the wild.

    She attacked centuries-old French and Italian sporting traditions including the Palio, a free-for-all horse race, and campaigned on behalf of wolves, rabbits, kittens and turtle doves.

    By the late 1990s, Bardot was making headlines that would lose her many fans. She was convicted and fined five times between 1997 and 2008 for inciting racial hatred in incidents inspired by her anger at Muslim animal slaughtering rituals.

    “It’s true that sometimes I get carried away, but when I see how slowly things move forward … and despite all the promises that have been made to me by all different governments put together — my distress takes over,” Bardot told the AP.

    In 1997, several towns removed Bardot-inspired statues of Marianne — the bare-breasted statue representing the French Republic — after the actress voiced anti-immigrant sentiment. Also that year, she received death threats after calling for a ban on the sale of horse meat.

    Environmental campaigner Paul Watson, who was beaten on a seal hunt protest in Canada alongside Bardot in 1977 and campaigned with her for five decades, acknowledged that “many disagreed with Brigitte’s politics or some of her views.”

    “Her allegiance was not to the world of humans,” he said. “The animals of this world lost a wonderful friend today.”

    Bardot once said that she identified with the animals that she was trying to save.

    “I can understand hunted animals because of the way I was treated,” Bardot said. “What happened to me was inhuman. I was constantly surrounded by the world press.”

    Ganley contributed to this story before her retirement. Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

    Source link

  • Brigitte Bardot, 1960s film icon turned animal rights activist, dies at 91

    Brigitte Bardot, the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later an animal rights activist, has died. She was 91.Bruno Jacquelin, of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the protection of animals, told The Associated Press that she died Sunday at her home in southern France, and would not provide a cause of death. He said no arrangements have yet been made for funeral or memorial services. She had been hospitalized last month.Bardot became an international celebrity as a sexualized teen bride in the 1956 movie “And God Created Woman.” Directed by her then-husband, Roger Vadim, it triggered a scandal with scenes of the long-legged beauty dancing on tables naked.At the height of a cinema career that spanned some 28 films and three marriages, Bardot came to symbolize a nation bursting out of bourgeois respectability. Her tousled, blonde hair, figure and pouty irreverence made her one of France’s best-known stars.Such was her widespread appeal that in 1969 her features were chosen to be the model for “Marianne,” the national emblem of France and the official Gallic seal. Bardot’s face appeared on statues, postage stamps and even on coins.‘’We are mourning a legend,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote Sunday on X.Bardot’s second career as an animal rights activist was equally sensational. She traveled to the Arctic to blow the whistle on the slaughter of baby seals; she condemned the use of animals in laboratory experiments; and she opposed sending monkeys into space.”Man is an insatiable predator,” Bardot told The Associated Press on her 73rd birthday, in 2007. “I don’t care about my past glory. That means nothing in the face of an animal that suffers, since it has no power, no words to defend itself.”Her activism earned her compatriots’ respect and, in 1985, she was awarded the Legion of Honor, the nation’s highest honor. Later, however, she fell from public grace as her far-right political views sounded racist, as she frequently decried the influx of immigrants into France, especially Muslims.She was convicted five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred. Notably, she criticized the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep during annual religious holidays like Eid al-Adha.Bardot’s 1992 marriage to fourth husband Bernard d’Ormale, a onetime adviser to former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, contributed to her political shift. She described the outspoken nationalist as a “lovely, intelligent man.”In 2012, she caused controversy again when she wrote a letter in support of Marine Le Pen, the current leader of the party — now renamed National Rally — in her failed bid for the French presidency. In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, Bardot said in an interview that most actors protesting sexual harassment in the film industry were “hypocritical” and “ridiculous” because many played “the teases” with producers to land parts.She said she had never been a victim of sexual harassment and found it “charming to be told that I was beautiful or that I had a nice little ass.” Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born Sept. 28, 1934, to a wealthy industrialist. A shy, secretive child, she studied classical ballet and was discovered by a family friend who put her on the cover of Elle magazine at age 14.Bardot once described her childhood as “difficult” and said her father was a strict disciplinarian.But it was French movie producer Vadim, whom she married in 1952, who saw her potential and wrote “And God Created Woman” to showcase provocative sensuality.The film, which portrayed Bardot as a bored newlywed who beds her brother-in-law, had a decisive influence on New Wave directors Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, and came to embody the hedonism and sexual freedom of the 1960s.The film was a box-office hit, and it made Bardot a superstar. Her girlish pout, tiny waist and shape were often more appreciated than her talent.”It’s an embarrassment to have acted so badly,” Bardot said of her early films. “I suffered a lot in the beginning. I was really treated like someone less than nothing.”Bardot’s unabashed, off-screen love affair with co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant further shocked the nation. It eradicated the boundaries between her public and private life and turned her into a hot prize for paparazzi.Bardot never adjusted to the limelight. She blamed the constant press attention for the suicide attempt that followed 10 months after the birth of her only child, Nicolas. Photographers had broken into her house only two weeks before she gave birth to snap a picture of her pregnant.Nicolas’ father was Jacques Charrier, a handsome French actor whom she married in 1959 but who never felt comfortable in his role as Monsieur Bardot. Bardot soon gave up her son to his father, and later said she had been chronically depressed and unready for the duties of being a mother.”I was looking for roots then,” she said in an interview. “I had none to offer.”In her 1996 autobiography “Initiales B.B.,” she likened her pregnancy to “a tumor growing inside me,” and described Charrier as “temperamental and abusive.”Bardot married her third husband, West German millionaire playboy Gunther Sachs, in 1966, but the relationship ended in divorce three years later.Among her films were “A Parisian” (1957); “In Case of Misfortune,” in which she starred in 1958 with screen legend Jean Gabin; “The Truth” (1960); “Private Life” (1962); “A Ravishing Idiot” (1964); “Shalako” (1968); “Women” (1969); “The Bear and the Doll” (1970); “Rum Boulevard” (1971); and “Don Juan” (1973).With the exception of 1963’s critically acclaimed “Contempt,” directed by Godard, Bardot’s films were rarely complicated by plots. Often they were vehicles to display Bardot’s curves and legs in scanty dresses or frolicking nude in the sun.”It was never a great passion of mine,” she said of filmmaking. “And it can be deadly sometimes. Marilyn (Monroe) perished because of it.”Bardot retired to her Riviera villa in St. Tropez at the age of 39 in 1973 after “The Woman Grabber.” She emerged a decade later with a new persona: An animal rights lobbyist. She abandoned her jet-set life and sold off movie memorabilia and jewelry to create a foundation devoted to the prevention of animal cruelty.Her activism knew no borders. She urged South Korea to ban the sale of dog meat and once wrote to U.S. President Bill Clinton asking why the U.S. Navy recaptured two dolphins it had released into the wild.She attacked centuries-old French and Italian sporting traditions including the Palio, a free-for-all horse race, and campaigned on behalf of wolves, rabbits, kittens and turtle doves.By the late 1990s, Bardot was making headlines that would lose her many fans. She was convicted and fined five times between 1997 and 2008 for inciting racial hatred in incidents inspired by her anger at Muslim animal slaughtering rituals.”It’s true that sometimes I get carried away, but when I see how slowly things move forward … and despite all the promises that have been made to me by all different governments put together — my distress takes over,” Bardot told the AP.In 1997, several towns removed Bardot-inspired statues of Marianne — the bare-breasted statue representing the French Republic — after the actress voiced anti-immigrant sentiment. Also that year, she received death threats after calling for a ban on the sale of horse meat.Environmental campaigner Paul Watson, who was beaten on a seal hunt protest in Canada alongside Bardot in 1977 and campaigned with her for five decades, acknowledged that “many disagreed with Brigitte’s politics or some of her views.”“Her allegiance was not to the world of humans,” he said. “The animals of this world lost a wonderful friend today.”Bardot once said that she identified with the animals that she was trying to save.”I can understand hunted animals because of the way I was treated,” Bardot said. “What happened to me was inhuman. I was constantly surrounded by the world press.” Ganley contributed to this story before her retirement. Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

    PARIS —

    Brigitte Bardot, the French 1960s sex symbol who became one of the greatest screen sirens of the 20th century and later an animal rights activist, has died. She was 91.

    Bruno Jacquelin, of the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the protection of animals, told The Associated Press that she died Sunday at her home in southern France, and would not provide a cause of death. He said no arrangements have yet been made for funeral or memorial services. She had been hospitalized last month.

    Bardot became an international celebrity as a sexualized teen bride in the 1956 movie “And God Created Woman.” Directed by her then-husband, Roger Vadim, it triggered a scandal with scenes of the long-legged beauty dancing on tables naked.

    At the height of a cinema career that spanned some 28 films and three marriages, Bardot came to symbolize a nation bursting out of bourgeois respectability. Her tousled, blonde hair, figure and pouty irreverence made her one of France’s best-known stars.

    Such was her widespread appeal that in 1969 her features were chosen to be the model for “Marianne,” the national emblem of France and the official Gallic seal. Bardot’s face appeared on statues, postage stamps and even on coins.

    ‘’We are mourning a legend,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote Sunday on X.

    Bardot’s second career as an animal rights activist was equally sensational. She traveled to the Arctic to blow the whistle on the slaughter of baby seals; she condemned the use of animals in laboratory experiments; and she opposed sending monkeys into space.

    “Man is an insatiable predator,” Bardot told The Associated Press on her 73rd birthday, in 2007. “I don’t care about my past glory. That means nothing in the face of an animal that suffers, since it has no power, no words to defend itself.”

    Her activism earned her compatriots’ respect and, in 1985, she was awarded the Legion of Honor, the nation’s highest honor.

    Later, however, she fell from public grace as her far-right political views sounded racist, as she frequently decried the influx of immigrants into France, especially Muslims.

    She was convicted five times in French courts of inciting racial hatred. Notably, she criticized the Muslim practice of slaughtering sheep during annual religious holidays like Eid al-Adha.

    Bardot’s 1992 marriage to fourth husband Bernard d’Ormale, a onetime adviser to former National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, contributed to her political shift. She described the outspoken nationalist as a “lovely, intelligent man.”

    In 2012, she caused controversy again when she wrote a letter in support of Marine Le Pen, the current leader of the party — now renamed National Rally — in her failed bid for the French presidency.

    In 2018, at the height of the #MeToo movement, Bardot said in an interview that most actors protesting sexual harassment in the film industry were “hypocritical” and “ridiculous” because many played “the teases” with producers to land parts.

    She said she had never been a victim of sexual harassment and found it “charming to be told that I was beautiful or that I had a nice little ass.”

    Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot was born Sept. 28, 1934, to a wealthy industrialist. A shy, secretive child, she studied classical ballet and was discovered by a family friend who put her on the cover of Elle magazine at age 14.

    Bardot once described her childhood as “difficult” and said her father was a strict disciplinarian.

    But it was French movie producer Vadim, whom she married in 1952, who saw her potential and wrote “And God Created Woman” to showcase provocative sensuality.

    The film, which portrayed Bardot as a bored newlywed who beds her brother-in-law, had a decisive influence on New Wave directors Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, and came to embody the hedonism and sexual freedom of the 1960s.

    The film was a box-office hit, and it made Bardot a superstar. Her girlish pout, tiny waist and shape were often more appreciated than her talent.

    “It’s an embarrassment to have acted so badly,” Bardot said of her early films. “I suffered a lot in the beginning. I was really treated like someone less than nothing.”

    Bardot’s unabashed, off-screen love affair with co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant further shocked the nation. It eradicated the boundaries between her public and private life and turned her into a hot prize for paparazzi.

    Bardot never adjusted to the limelight. She blamed the constant press attention for the suicide attempt that followed 10 months after the birth of her only child, Nicolas. Photographers had broken into her house only two weeks before she gave birth to snap a picture of her pregnant.

    Nicolas’ father was Jacques Charrier, a handsome French actor whom she married in 1959 but who never felt comfortable in his role as Monsieur Bardot. Bardot soon gave up her son to his father, and later said she had been chronically depressed and unready for the duties of being a mother.

    “I was looking for roots then,” she said in an interview. “I had none to offer.”

    In her 1996 autobiography “Initiales B.B.,” she likened her pregnancy to “a tumor growing inside me,” and described Charrier as “temperamental and abusive.”

    Bardot married her third husband, West German millionaire playboy Gunther Sachs, in 1966, but the relationship ended in divorce three years later.

    Among her films were “A Parisian” (1957); “In Case of Misfortune,” in which she starred in 1958 with screen legend Jean Gabin; “The Truth” (1960); “Private Life” (1962); “A Ravishing Idiot” (1964); “Shalako” (1968); “Women” (1969); “The Bear and the Doll” (1970); “Rum Boulevard” (1971); and “Don Juan” (1973).

    With the exception of 1963’s critically acclaimed “Contempt,” directed by Godard, Bardot’s films were rarely complicated by plots. Often they were vehicles to display Bardot’s curves and legs in scanty dresses or frolicking nude in the sun.

    “It was never a great passion of mine,” she said of filmmaking. “And it can be deadly sometimes. Marilyn (Monroe) perished because of it.”

    Bardot retired to her Riviera villa in St. Tropez at the age of 39 in 1973 after “The Woman Grabber.”

    She emerged a decade later with a new persona: An animal rights lobbyist. She abandoned her jet-set life and sold off movie memorabilia and jewelry to create a foundation devoted to the prevention of animal cruelty.

    Her activism knew no borders. She urged South Korea to ban the sale of dog meat and once wrote to U.S. President Bill Clinton asking why the U.S. Navy recaptured two dolphins it had released into the wild.

    She attacked centuries-old French and Italian sporting traditions including the Palio, a free-for-all horse race, and campaigned on behalf of wolves, rabbits, kittens and turtle doves.

    By the late 1990s, Bardot was making headlines that would lose her many fans. She was convicted and fined five times between 1997 and 2008 for inciting racial hatred in incidents inspired by her anger at Muslim animal slaughtering rituals.

    “It’s true that sometimes I get carried away, but when I see how slowly things move forward … and despite all the promises that have been made to me by all different governments put together — my distress takes over,” Bardot told the AP.

    In 1997, several towns removed Bardot-inspired statues of Marianne — the bare-breasted statue representing the French Republic — after the actress voiced anti-immigrant sentiment. Also that year, she received death threats after calling for a ban on the sale of horse meat.

    Environmental campaigner Paul Watson, who was beaten on a seal hunt protest in Canada alongside Bardot in 1977 and campaigned with her for five decades, acknowledged that “many disagreed with Brigitte’s politics or some of her views.”

    “Her allegiance was not to the world of humans,” he said. “The animals of this world lost a wonderful friend today.”

    Bardot once said that she identified with the animals that she was trying to save.

    “I can understand hunted animals because of the way I was treated,” Bardot said. “What happened to me was inhuman. I was constantly surrounded by the world press.”

    Ganley contributed to this story before her retirement. Angela Charlton in Paris contributed to this report.

    Source link

  • Democrats release Epstein estate photos ahead of key Justice Department deadline

    Democrats serving on the House Oversight Committee released dozens of photos on Friday from the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including some of President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton. Some of the photos show Trump alongside women whose faces were blacked out. No additional context for the redactions was provided in the initial press release. “These disturbing photos raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Democrats are “selectively releasing cherry-picked photos with random redactions to try and create a false narrative.”Trump told reporters Friday that he had not seen the photos and downplayed their significance.“He was all over Palm Beach. He has photos with everybody. I mean, there are hundreds and hundreds of people that have photos with him, so that’s no big deal. I know nothing about it,” Trump said. Neither Trump nor Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing by Epstein’s known victims.Garcia didn’t specifically say whether the women whose faces were redacted in the photos were victims of abuse. He told reporters, “Our commitment from day one has been to redact any photo, any information that could lead to any sort of harm to any of the victims.”Garcia said that the photos were released in the interest of transparency. He said the panel is in the process of reviewing the rest of the 95,000 photos received from Epstein’s estate on Thursday evening, and the public should expect more pictures to come out. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee defended Trump and took aim at the Clintons. Rep. James Comer, who chairs the committee, issued a statement warning that they will initiate proceedings to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress if they fail to appear for their depositions next week or schedule a date for early January. Comer said it has been more than four months since they were subpoenaed as part of the committee’s Epstein probe. Friday’s developments are renewing focus on the yearslong controversy ahead of next week’s Dec. 19 deadline for the Justice Department to release another trove of documents related to Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation and his death behind bars in 2019. The release of those files was required by Congress in a near-unanimous vote last month. The DOJ has promised maximum transparency, but some fear the documents will be overly redacted.More from the Washington Bureau:

    WASHINGTON —

    Democrats serving on the House Oversight Committee released dozens of photos on Friday from the estate of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, including some of President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton.

    Some of the photos show Trump alongside women whose faces were blacked out. No additional context for the redactions was provided in the initial press release.

    “These disturbing photos raise even more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world,” Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement.

    White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said Democrats are “selectively releasing cherry-picked photos with random redactions to try and create a false narrative.”

    Trump told reporters Friday that he had not seen the photos and downplayed their significance.

    “He was all over Palm Beach. He has photos with everybody. I mean, there are hundreds and hundreds of people that have photos with him, so that’s no big deal. I know nothing about it,” Trump said.

    Neither Trump nor Clinton has been accused of wrongdoing by Epstein’s known victims.

    Garcia didn’t specifically say whether the women whose faces were redacted in the photos were victims of abuse. He told reporters, “Our commitment from day one has been to redact any photo, any information that could lead to any sort of harm to any of the victims.”

    Garcia said that the photos were released in the interest of transparency. He said the panel is in the process of reviewing the rest of the 95,000 photos received from Epstein’s estate on Thursday evening, and the public should expect more pictures to come out.

    Republicans on the House Oversight Committee defended Trump and took aim at the Clintons.

    Rep. James Comer, who chairs the committee, issued a statement warning that they will initiate proceedings to hold the Clintons in contempt of Congress if they fail to appear for their depositions next week or schedule a date for early January. Comer said it has been more than four months since they were subpoenaed as part of the committee’s Epstein probe.

    Friday’s developments are renewing focus on the yearslong controversy ahead of next week’s Dec. 19 deadline for the Justice Department to release another trove of documents related to Epstein’s sex trafficking investigation and his death behind bars in 2019. The release of those files was required by Congress in a near-unanimous vote last month. The DOJ has promised maximum transparency, but some fear the documents will be overly redacted.

    More from the Washington Bureau:


    Source link

  • Broncos’ search for tight end help continues as NFL trade deadline nears

    The Broncos are in the market for help at tight end.

    Where, ultimately, Denver finds it at this point is an open question.

    The Broncos, at the moment, are down to two healthy players on their 53-man roster in Evan Engram and Adam Trautman, and a pair of project-types on their practice squad in rookie Caleb Lohner and Patrick Murtagh.

    Sean Payton’s offense has seen its depth dwindle quickly in recent days.

    Lucas Krull originally hoped to return from injured reserve after the minimum four weeks due to a foot injury, but instead, he ended up having surgery Monday to repair a metatarsal fracture. He’s now expected to miss in the neighborhood of eight more weeks, a source told The Denver Post, which means most of the remaining regular season.

    Nate Adkins, meanwhile, sustained a left knee injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win against Dallas. The injury appeared to happen without contact on a play that resulted in a touchdown pass from Bo Nix to Troy Franklin. The severity of Adkins’ injury has not been revealed.

    The Broncos, though, attempted to address their depth at the position Monday when, multiple sources confirmed to The Post, they put in waiver claims for both Ben Sims and Brenden Bates.

    Sims had been waived by Green Bay and Bates by Houston.

    Denver, however, lost out on both because teams higher in the waiver priority — Minnesota and Cleveland, respectively — also put claims in and thus were awarded the players.

    So now Denver is looking for other routes to fill the position. One part of the equation is that Trautman will likely see his playing time increase again.

    The veteran played just 30.9% of Denver’s offensive snaps against the New York Giants in Week 7, tied for his lowest usage in two-plus seasons with the Broncos. He’d seen an overall decline in playing time as Adkins got up to speed after a training camp ankle injury that cost him the first two games of the season.

    Adkins had been playing between 30-40% of Denver’s offensive snaps and provided some versatility — an ‘F’ tight end who could play out of the backfield, in the passing game and as a blocker.

    “He’s too good of a football player for us. We’re going to need him,” Payton said at the outset of the season when Denver opted not to put him on injured reserve.

    Now the Broncos may have to examine options externally.

    They could look to a familiar face from training camp like Caden Prieskorn, who just recently signed with Cleveland’s practice squad.

    Or they can try to work via the trade market with the NFL’s trading deadline just a week away.

    Among tight ends around the league who have reportedly drawn interest, could be available or generally make sense as potential trade targets, is a list that includes Cleveland’s David Njoku, Baltimore’s Mark Andrews, Tennessee’s Chig Okonkwo, and New Orleans’ Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau. There are, of course, others around the league, including a pair Denver just faced in former Broncos veteran Chris Manhertz and Daniel Bellinger with the Giants. Bellinger is in the final year of his rookie deal and had the best game of his career against the Broncos.

    Depth issues can force a team’s hand in making a move, but Payton has previously cautioned against the idea that a trade deadline acquisition can change a team’s fortunes.

    There’s not much time to learn a system, and Payton, in particular, is protective of the locker room culture the Broncos have developed.

    Parker Gabriel

    Source link

  • A judge told Gov. Jared Polis not to comply with an ICE subpoena. Polis’ attorneys say he still wants to.

    Gov. Jared Polis is still trying to find a way to comply with a federal immigration subpoena, four months after a Denver judge ruled that doing so would violate Colorado law.

    In repeated court filings, including one submitted Friday, Polis’ private attorneys have said they intend to turn over records on 10 businesses that employed several sponsors of unaccompanied children to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

    They’ve asked a Denver judge, who previously prohibited some state employees from complying with ICE’s subpoena, to dismiss the case and clear the way for them to turn over a more limited batch of records.

    The recent filings represent the second attempt by Polis to comply with the April immigration enforcement subpoena. The governor’s first attempt was blocked by District Court Judge A. Bruce Jones in June, after Jones sided with a senior state employee who’d sued Polis earlier that month to stop the state from fulfilling the subpoena.

    The employee, Scott Moss, argued that providing the requested records would violate state laws that limit what information can be shared with federal immigration authorities.

    But though Jones preliminarily sided with Moss, his ruling is complicated. He prohibited Polis from directing a specific division of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to comply with the subpoena. But he said he couldn’t prevent Polis from directing others to comply with the subpoena, even though Jones said doing so would still likely violate the law.

    The records that Polis now says he intends to turn over to ICE are in the custody of another labor department division not covered in Jones’ order.

    In an email Tuesday, Polis spokeswoman Shelby Wieman declined to comment on the case or why Polis is still seeking to provide records to ICE. She pointed to the administration’s recent legal filings.

    The administration has previously said it wanted to support ICE’s efforts to check on unaccompanied minors without legal status, though the governor’s office has not provided any evidence that it has sought assurances that ICE wasn’t seeking the information purely for immigration enforcement efforts.

    David Seligman, whose law firm has supported the case, criticized the governor’s decision to seek the lawsuit’s dismissal while indicating his intention to turn over records to ICE. While ICE wrote that it wanted detailed employment records so it could check on the well-being of unaccompanied children, Seligman and Moss, the employee who brought the lawsuit, have argued that the agency only wants the information so it can arrest and deport the children’s sponsors.

    “It is absolutely absurd that this governor would be going out of his way to comply with and cooperate with ICE in light of everything that we’re seeing right now,” Seligman said.

    Moss has since left the department, and Polis’ lawyers now argue that no one associated with the case has a legal standing to challenge compliance with the subpoena. They’ve also argued that they can turn over the records because the employers’ addresses and contact information can be found online.

    The records are only part of the broader swath of personal details that ICE initially requested, and they cover only six of the 35 sponsors for which ICE first sought records. The sponsors are typically family members of children without legal status, who care for the minors while their immigration cases proceed.

    The administration has similarly told ICE officials that it intends to comply with part of the subpoena once the lawsuit is concluded. In a July 11 email, Joe Barela, the head of the Department of Labor and Employment, wrote to a special agent in ICE’s investigative branch that the agency planned to “provide your office with the names and contact information for those 10 employers.”

    The labor department has already complied with three ICE subpoenas this year, including in one “erroneous” case that apparently ran afoul of state law.

    Jones must now rule on whether to dismiss the lawsuit or let it proceed. Between June and early September, Recht Kornfeld, the private law firm Polis hired to represent him in the lawsuit, has billed the state for more than $104,000, according to records obtained by The Denver Post through a public records request.

    The Colorado Attorney General’s Office has said it was unable to represent Polis because of legal advice it provided to the governor related to complying with the subpoena. The office has declined to characterize the nature of that advice.

    The subpoena was sent to the state labor department in April as part of what ICE described as essentially a welfare check of unaccompanied minors in the state. The subpoena sought employment and personal records for the children’s sponsors.

    Initially, administration officials decided not to comply with the subpoena because of the state’s laws limiting such contact. But Polis abruptly changed course and decided to turn over the records, prompting Moss to sue.

    Seth Klamann

    Source link

  • Strong surf, winds wash out Ponce Inlet jetty walkway months after repairs

    Strong surf, winds wash out Ponce Inlet jetty walkway months after repairs

    THE PONCE INLET JETTY HAS NOW BEEN WASHED AWAY. TAKE A LOOK AT THIS PHOTO THAT SHOWS THE AFTERMATH OF THE ROUGH SURF AND HIGH TIDE ALONG THE VOLUSIA COUNTY COAST. YOU SEE THE ROCKS AND THEN THE WOOD JUST TOSSED ALL AROUND HERE AS WESH TWO SPENCER TRACY EXPLAINS, THIS WASHOUT COMES AFTER MONTHS OF REPAIR. LINDSAY. THE HIGH SURF IS CLEARLY VISIBLE. CHECK OUT THE WAVES, JUST HOW BIG THEY ARE, AND I THINK THE BIGGER PICTURE IS SHOWING THOSE WAVES CRASHING AGAINST THAT JETTY WALKWAY. AND THAT’S WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE DAMAGE TO IT. AND WE’VE HEARD FROM SOME FISHERMEN THAT TELL US IT’S AFFECTING THEIR LIVELIHOOD, THAT THEY’RE NOT ABLE TO GO OUT THERE RIGHT NOW. AT THIS MOMENT, WE KNOW THE COUNTY STAFF BUILT THIS TEMPORARY WOODEN WALKWAY, MUCH TO THE DELIGHT OF THE FISHERMEN WHO FREQUENT THE AREA. A COUNTY SPOKESPERSON SAYS THE WALKWAY WAS DAMAGED RECENTLY AND CLOSED, BUT THESE CONDITIONS HAVE TAKEN THE WHOLE THING. THE COUNTY PLANS TO EXTEND THE CONCRETE JETTY, BUT IT’S A LENGTHY PROCESS REQUIRING FEDERAL APPROVAL FROM THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS. IT’S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF HOW THIS NASTY WEATHER IS IMPACTING THE COAST. WE LIVE IN IN DAYTONA BEACH SHORES ON THE RIVER, AND MY HUSBAND’S BEEN IN THAT HOUSE SINCE THE 70S AND NEVER HAS THE WATER BEEN THAT HIGH. WHEN THERE’S NOT A STORM, A HURRICANE. SO SWIMMING IN THE WATER ALONG VOLUSIA SHORELINE WAS PROHIBITED YESTERDAY AS THE COUNTY WAS UNDER A DOUBLE RED FLAG WARNING. THAT’S ALL BECAUSE OF THE STRONG RIP CURRENTS AND AS WELL AS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF DEBRIS. THEY’RE ASKING PEOPLE NOT TO TOUCH SEAWEED THAT WASHES UP, SAYING IT PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN RENOURISHMENT. THE COUNTY SAYS ONCE THE WEATHER GETS BETTER, THAT’S WHEN THEY PLAN TO HAVE CREWS GO OUT THERE AND REPAIR THAT JETTY. BUT AS YOU CAN SEE RIGHT NOW, THAT’S DEFINITELY NOT HAPPENING TODAY. AS YOU CAN SEE, THE RIP CURRENTS ARE STILL REALLY STRONG. AND AS WE WERE HEADING INTO THE INLET, OFFICIALS TOLD US THAT RIGHT NOW THEY’RE UNDER A RED FLAG WARNING. SO THEY’RE STILL URGING PEOPLE NOT TO GO IN THE WATER AS IT CAN BE DANGEROUS. I’M COVERING VOLUSIA COUNTY IN PONCE INLET.

    Strong surf, winds wash out Ponce Inlet jetty walkway months after repairs

    Updated: 9:34 AM EDT Oct 12, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    The Ponce Inlet jetty walkway, which reopened in May, was washed out to sea Saturday morning due to high surf and windy weather along the coast.The whole section of the jetty had been getting clobbered by high surf for a few days.It had been closed following Hurricane Milton and reopened in May.The county had finished work on the wooden portion of the walkway in time for Memorial Day, bringing smiles to the faces of fishermen who frequent the area.However, the high surf conditions and wind washed it out to sea Saturday morning.The county said it had been closed since Hurricane Imelda damaged it a little more than a week ago.Many people have been asking why not drive pilings into the ground and make the whole thing concrete?The short answer is that this walkway has always been temporary.The county plans to extend the concrete deck, but has to get plans approved by the Army Corps of Engineers before work can begin.A county spokesperson said staff will be out clearing debris once conditions improve.

    PONCE INLET, Fla. —

    The Ponce Inlet jetty walkway, which reopened in May, was washed out to sea Saturday morning due to high surf and windy weather along the coast.

    The whole section of the jetty had been getting clobbered by high surf for a few days.

    It had been closed following Hurricane Milton and reopened in May.

    The county had finished work on the wooden portion of the walkway in time for Memorial Day, bringing smiles to the faces of fishermen who frequent the area.

    However, the high surf conditions and wind washed it out to sea Saturday morning.

    The county said it had been closed since Hurricane Imelda damaged it a little more than a week ago.

    Many people have been asking why not drive pilings into the ground and make the whole thing concrete?

    The short answer is that this walkway has always been temporary.

    The county plans to extend the concrete deck, but has to get plans approved by the Army Corps of Engineers before work can begin.

    A county spokesperson said staff will be out clearing debris once conditions improve.

    Source link

  • New California law banning officers, agents from covering their faces sparks enforcement debate

    California has become the first state to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while on duty.Governor Gavin Newsom signed what sponsors have called the “No Secret Police Act” into law on Saturday.The law, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2026, makes exceptions for the use of motorcycle or other safety helmets, sunglasses, or other standard law enforcement gear not designed with the purpose of hiding anyone’s identity. The California Highway Patrol is also exempt. Officers who violate the law could face charges or lose their qualified immunity.The bill was a direct response to recent immigration raids in California, where federal agents wore masks while making arrests.”ICE. Unmask. What are you afraid of? What are you afraid of? What are you afraid of? You’re going to go out and you’re going to do enforcement. Provide an ID,” Newsom said Saturday at a news conference in Los Angeles.Right now, it’s not clear how or if state can enforce the ban on federal agents.Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X Saturday saying California has no jurisdiction over the federal government. “I’ve directed our federal agencies that the law signed today has no effect on our operations. Our agents will continue to protect their identities,” he said in a post to X. As for local jurisdictions, Sgt. Amar Gandhi with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said lawmakers are creating a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.”This will have no consequence to quite literally anybody. They have no jurisdiction over federal authorities. When is the last time you walked outside and saw a patrolman in a mask? It doesn’t happen,” he said. “It’s absolutely stupid and useless. This doesn’t affect anybody it’s intended to effect.”Advocacy groups like NorCal Resist said they are looking forward to learning about how the new law will be enforced. They sent a statement reading in part, “We are encouraged to see steps being taken to end these disturbing, secret police tactics that have created terror in our immigrant communities.”The White House also sent a statement to KCRA 3. It reads in part, “ICE officers wear masks to protect themselves and their families from being doxed. ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals are simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens.”Newsom signed the bill along with several others aimed at protecting California’s immigrant communities.The package of legislation would require that families be notified when immigration agents come on school campuses and require a judicial warrant or court order before giving student information or classroom access to ICE.The new legislation would also require a warrant or court order before allowing agents access to emergency rooms and other nonpublic areas of a hospital. And it would clarify that immigration information collected by a health care provider is medical information.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    California has become the first state to ban most law enforcement officers, including federal immigration agents, from covering their faces while on duty.

    Governor Gavin Newsom signed what sponsors have called the “No Secret Police Act” into law on Saturday.

    The law, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2026, makes exceptions for the use of motorcycle or other safety helmets, sunglasses, or other standard law enforcement gear not designed with the purpose of hiding anyone’s identity. The California Highway Patrol is also exempt.

    Officers who violate the law could face charges or lose their qualified immunity.

    The bill was a direct response to recent immigration raids in California, where federal agents wore masks while making arrests.

    “ICE. Unmask. What are you afraid of? What are you afraid of? What are you afraid of? You’re going to go out and you’re going to do enforcement. Provide an ID,” Newsom said Saturday at a news conference in Los Angeles.

    Right now, it’s not clear how or if state can enforce the ban on federal agents.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X Saturday saying California has no jurisdiction over the federal government.

    “I’ve directed our federal agencies that the law signed today has no effect on our operations. Our agents will continue to protect their identities,” he said in a post to X.

    As for local jurisdictions, Sgt. Amar Gandhi with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said lawmakers are creating a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.

    “This will have no consequence to quite literally anybody. They have no jurisdiction over federal authorities. When is the last time you walked outside and saw a patrolman in a mask? It doesn’t happen,” he said. “It’s absolutely stupid and useless. This doesn’t affect anybody it’s intended to effect.”

    Advocacy groups like NorCal Resist said they are looking forward to learning about how the new law will be enforced. They sent a statement reading in part, “We are encouraged to see steps being taken to end these disturbing, secret police tactics that have created terror in our immigrant communities.”

    The White House also sent a statement to KCRA 3. It reads in part, “ICE officers wear masks to protect themselves and their families from being doxed. ICE officers act heroically to enforce the law and protect American communities with the utmost professionalism. Anyone pointing the finger at law enforcement officers instead of the criminals are simply doing the bidding of criminal illegal aliens.”

    Newsom signed the bill along with several others aimed at protecting California’s immigrant communities.

    The package of legislation would require that families be notified when immigration agents come on school campuses and require a judicial warrant or court order before giving student information or classroom access to ICE.

    The new legislation would also require a warrant or court order before allowing agents access to emergency rooms and other nonpublic areas of a hospital. And it would clarify that immigration information collected by a health care provider is medical information.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    Source link

  • Protester found not guilty of assault despite top Border Patrol official’s testimony

    U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino — the brash agent who led a phalanx of military personnel into MacArthur Park this summer — was called as a witness Wednesday in a federal misdemeanor assault case against a protester, who allegedly struck a federal agent.

    Bovino, one of the faces of President Trump’s immigration crackdown that began in Los Angeles and is now underway in Chicago, took the stand to testify that he witnessed an assault committed by Brayan Ramos-Brito in Paramount on June 7.

    But a jury acquitted the defendant early Wednesday afternoon after a little over an hour of deliberations. The not guilty verdict came shortly after Bovino was questioned by the defense about previous comments he made referring to undocumented immigrants as “scum.”

    During the two-day trial a number of videos were displayed showing a Border Patrol agent shove Ramos-Brito, but none clearly illustrated his alleged attack on the agent.

    Outfitted in his green Border Patrol uniform, Bovino was the lone Border Patrol agent to testify that he witnessed Ramos-Brito drag his arm back and strike an agent with an open palm in the chest.

    Ramos-Brito and his attorneys declined to comment after the verdict, but were seen celebrating the acquittal in the downtown federal courthouse. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment.

    The case could prove to be an ominous bellwether for embattled U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli, who has struggled to win indictments against those charged with committing crimes while protesting the president’s aggressive immigration crackdown in Southern California.

    Prosecutors originally brought felony charges against Ramos-Brito, which were reduced to misdemeanors. Charges against a man arrested alongside him were dismissed earlier this year.

    The incident that ended in Ramos-Brito’s arrest occurred during a skirmish between federal law enforcement agents and locals frustrated by Trump’s immigration policies.

    On a cross-examination, federal public defender Cuauhtemoc Ortega questioned Bovino about being the subject of a misconduct investigation a few years ago and receiving a reprimand for referring to undocumented immigrants as “scum, filth and trash.”

    Bovino denied referring to undocumented immigrants that way and said he was referring to “a specific criminal illegal alien” — a Honduran national who he said had raped a child and reentered the United States and had been caught at or near the Baton Rouge Border Patrol station.

    “I said that about a specific individual, not about undocumented peoples, that’s not correct,” he said.

    Ortega pushed back, reading from the reprimand, which Bovino signed, stating that he was describing “illegal aliens.”

    “They did not say one illegal alien,” Ortega said. “They said you describing illegal aliens, and or criminals, as scum, trash and filth is misconduct. Isn’t that correct?”

    “The report states that,” Bovino said.

    Ortega said that Bovino was warned if he committed any instance of misconduct again, “you could be fired.”

    Since June, more than 40 people have been charged with a range of federal offenses, including assaulting officers and interfering with immigration enforcement, at either downtown protests or the scene of immigration raids throughout the region this summer, the U.S. attorney’s office in L.A. said this week.

    Ramos-Brito’s case was the first to go to trial.

    In closing arguments, Ortega accused the Border Patrol agent at the center of the case of lying and Bovino of “trying to cover up for him.” He cited Bovino’s past reprimand as evidence that he harbors bias.

    But prosecutors pushed back on that, with Asst. U.S. Atty. Patrick Kibbe arguing that the defense “wants you to believe that there’s some grand conspiracy against the defendant Mr. Ramos Britos. These officers don’t know him.”

    Kibbe acknowledged that Bovino’s prior statements were unprofessional.

    “Does it have anything to do with what he saw on June 7? No,” Kibbe said. “This is not about immigration enforcement… it’s about whether the defendant struck Agent Morales.”

    The case centers around a protest outside the Paramount Business Center, across the street from Home Depot.

    Already tensions were high, with federal officials raiding a retail and distribution warehouse in downtown L.A. in early June, arresting dozens of workers and a top union official.

    At the Paramount complex, which houses Homeland Security Investigation offices, protesters began arriving around 10 a.m on June 7. Among them was Ramos-Brito.

    Several videos played in court Tuesday showed Ramos-Brito and another man cursing at Border Patrol agents and stepping inches from their faces with balled fists. At one point, Ramos-Brito approached multiple Border Patrol agents who appeared to be Latino and said “you’re a f—ing disgrace if you’re Mexican.”

    Kibbe said that while many protesters were “passionately” demonstrating, Ramos-Brito crossed a line by striking U.S. Border Patrol Agent Jonathan Morales.

    “There’s a constitutional right to protest peacefully. It is a crime to hit a federal officer,” Kibbe said.

    Federal public defender M. Bo Griffith, however, said Ramos-Brito was the victim of an assault, not the other way around.

    Both social media and body-worn camera footage played in court clearly show Morales shove Ramos-Brito first, sending him flying backward into the busy intersection of Alondra Blvd. While footage shows Ramos-Brito marching back toward the agent with his fists balled, no angle clearly captures the alleged assault.

    Aside from Morales, three other agents took the stand Tuesday, but none said they saw Ramos-Brito hit Morales. None of the agents who testified were outfitted with body-worn cameras that day, according to Border Patrol Asst. Chief Jorge Rivera-Navarro, who serves as chief of staff for “Operation At Large” in Los Angeles.

    Some of the Border Patrol agents swarming L.A. in recent months come from stations that don’t normally wear body-worn cameras, according to Navarro. He testified that he has since issued an order that led to cameras being distributed to agents working in L.A.

    The clash that led to the assault charge started when Ramos-Brito stepped to U.S. Border Patrol Agent Eduardo Mejorado, who said he repeatedly asked Ramos-Brito to move to the sidewalk as the protest was blocking traffic. Video shows Mejorado place his hand on Ramos-Brito’s shoulder twice, and the defendant swatting it away.

    At that point, Morales, a 24-year veteran of the Border Patrol, said he thought he needed to step in and de-escalate the situation between his fellow agent and Ramos-Brito. He did so by shoving Ramos-Brito backward into the intersection, according to video played in court. Morales said Ramos-Brito then charged at him while cursing and threw a punch at the upper part of his chest and throat.

    On cross-examination, Griffith confronted Morales and Mejorado with inconsistencies between descriptions of the event they previously gave to a Homeland Security Investigations officer and their testimony in court. It was not the first time such a discrepancy affected the case.

    Federal prosecutors previously dropped charges against Jose Mojica, the other protester who was arrested alongside Ramos-Brito, after video footage called into question the testimony of an immigration enforcement agent.

    According to an investigation summary of Mojica’s arrest previously reviewed by The Times, Mejorado claimed a man was screaming in his face that he was going to “shoot him,” then punched him at the Paramount protest. The officer said he and other agents started chasing the man, but were “stopped by two other males,” later identified as Mojica and Ramos-Brito.

    Video played in court Tuesday and previously reported by The Times shows that sequence of events did not happen. Ramos-Brito and Mojica were arrested in a dogpile of agents after Ramos-Brito allegedly struck Mojica. There was no chase.

    Questioned about Mojica’s case in July, a Homeland Security spokesperson said they were unable to comment on cases “under active litigation.”

    Defense attorneys said Ramos-Brito sustained multiple contusions on his face, neck and back and had cuts and scrapes on his body from being dragged across the pavement later.

    According to his attorneys, Ramos-Brito’s only prior interaction with law enforcement was for driving without a license.

    On Tuesday morning, U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson had to remove 21 potential jurors from the pool, several of whom said they could not be impartial due to their views on immigration policy.

    Many of the potential jurors said they were first or second generation immigrants from the Philippines, Colombia, Bulgaria, Jamaica and Canada.

    “I believe that immigrants are part of this country and I’m kind of partial with the defendant,” said one man, a landscaper from Lancaster.

    Brittny Mejia, James Queally

    Source link

  • Stockton residents celebrate reopening of Victory Park pool

    Stockton residents are celebrating the reopening of the historic Victory Park pool, which has been closed since 2013 due to maintenance problems deemed beyond repair by city officials.”We’re excited,” said Judy Limon, a Stockton resident.The reopening includes the 75-foot pool, a splash pad, and other facilities. Susana Patterson, another Stockton resident, said she learned how to swim in that pool 47 years ago. “So now we get to come here and celebrate the reopening of the pool,” said Patterson.Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi said it was a community effort to bring the pool back.”I get a little teary-eyed about it,” said Fugazi. “It’s been 12 years and the community has just said, ‘Don’t forget about us.’”In 2016, voters passed a sales tax to fund recreation facilities, including the pool project. Construction finally began last October.”A lot of people have been waiting and looking at the calendar every day,” said Susana Limon.For the community, the pool represents more than just a place to swim. “That’s the best part, seeing the joy on the kids’ faces and delight because they deserve to be able to be in the pool and experience this,” said Carrie Patterson.Swimming at the Victory Park pool will be free through Labor Day weekend.After this weekend, admission will be $3 per person. The pool will be open only on weekends from 12 to 6 p.m. through September.Although summer is just about over, officials say that’s how the construction schedule worked out. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    STOCKTON, Calif. —

    Stockton residents are celebrating the reopening of the historic Victory Park pool, which has been closed since 2013 due to maintenance problems deemed beyond repair by city officials.

    “We’re excited,” said Judy Limon, a Stockton resident.

    The reopening includes the 75-foot pool, a splash pad, and other facilities.

    Susana Patterson, another Stockton resident, said she learned how to swim in that pool 47 years ago.

    “So now we get to come here and celebrate the reopening of the pool,” said Patterson.

    Stockton Mayor Christina Fugazi said it was a community effort to bring the pool back.

    “I get a little teary-eyed about it,” said Fugazi. “It’s been 12 years and the community has just said, ‘Don’t forget about us.’”

    In 2016, voters passed a sales tax to fund recreation facilities, including the pool project. Construction finally began last October.

    “A lot of people have been waiting and looking at the calendar every day,” said Susana Limon.

    For the community, the pool represents more than just a place to swim.

    “That’s the best part, seeing the joy on the kids’ faces and delight because they deserve to be able to be in the pool and experience this,” said Carrie Patterson.

    Swimming at the Victory Park pool will be free through Labor Day weekend.

    After this weekend, admission will be $3 per person.

    The pool will be open only on weekends from 12 to 6 p.m. through September.

    Although summer is just about over, officials say that’s how the construction schedule worked out.

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel

    Source link

  • Colorado’s legislature has filled a third of budget shortfall by slashing tax breaks. Here’s what comes next.

    More than $250 million down, another $530 million to go.

    That’s how much of a projected $783 million state budget hole the Colorado legislature filled by the time a special session called to address the impact of the federal tax bill ended Tuesday afternoon — and the larger amount that still remains. Erasing the rest of the red ink will fall to Gov. Jared Polis, who plans to rebalance this year’s budget in the coming days through a mix of cuts to state funding and a big dip into the rainy-day fund.

    Over six days, the legislature’s majority Democrats fulfilled their part of a plan worked out with the governor’s office: to pass legislation that is expected to generate enough revenue to close about a third of the shortfall projected for the state’s budget in the current fiscal year, which began July 1. They ended tax breaks and found other ways to offset declining state income tax revenue, while leaving spending cuts largely for Polis to decide.

    “What we did here in this special session is soften the blow,” said Sen. Jeff Bridges, a Greenwood Village Democrat who chairs the legislature’s budget committee. “But when the federal government cuts $1.2 billion in revenue from the state with a stroke of a pen, after we’ve already cut $1.2 billion (from the budget) in the regular session, that’s a tough deficit to come back from in a way that doesn’t impact the people of Colorado.”

    The special session ended with 11 bills going to Polis for final approval. Five sought to fill the budget gap, largely by ending tax incentives for businesses and high-income earners.

    The single largest revenue-raising measure, House Bill 1004, will auction off tax credits that can be claimed in future tax years for a discount. Backers expected that bill to bring in an additional $100 million to state coffers this year, at the expense of about $125 million in future years.

    Together, those measures add up to $253 million in revenue to reduce the projected deficit — money that Democrats say represents averted cuts to Medicaid, schools and hospitals.

    “Colorado legislators stepped up and helped protect children’s food access and minimized the devastating cost increases to health insurance premiums across the state, to the best of our ability,” Polis, who signed two of the new bills earlier Tuesday, said in a statement.

    The legislature’s Joint Budget Committee expects to meet Thursday to hear Polis’ plan to address the remaining $500 million or so, including mid-year spending cuts. 

    As part of his call for a special session on Aug. 6, Polis announced a statewide hiring freeze. He said in an interview before the session started that he hoped to avoid cuts to K-12 education, but he has left all other options on the table, including Medicaid program spending. 

    The plan also factors in a significant use of reserves to offset some of the remaining gap.

    Partisan debates

    Over the past week, Republicans fought the Democrats’ bills, but strong Democratic majorities in both legislative chambers all but preordained the outcome. 

    “Not only did we increase taxes, we’re balancing the budget on the back of small businesses,” said Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, a Brighton Republican on the budget committee.

    One of the bills heading to Polis would erase a fee paid by the state to businesses for collecting sales taxes — an outdated subsidy, according to Democrats, and an unnecessary new burden now put on businesses, according to Republicans.

    Republicans said before the session that they’d likely challenge several bills in court over allegations that they violate provisions in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights that require voter approval for tax increases. Kirkmeyer and Rep. Rick Taggart, a Grand Junction Republican who’s also on the budget committee, said bills going to the governor that would eliminate some tax credits and allow the sale of tax credits against future collections seemed particularly vulnerable to a challenge under TABOR.

    Debate throughout the special session took a distinctly partisan edge. Democrats laid the cuts on congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump and called the federal tax bill a de facto theft of benefits from the poorest Coloradans to benefit the wealthiest.

    Republicans countered that the federal bill delivered much-needed tax cuts, and they said Democrats sought to yank those away instead of cutting partisan priorities.

    Legislators begin to gather in the Senate Chambers before the start of another day of the special legislative session at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on Aug. 26, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

    Bills on wolves, artificial intelligence

    Other bills passed sought to respond to different aspects of the federal bill, formerly known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” as well as other priorities.

    Lawmakers stripped general fund money away from the voter-approved program to reintroduce wolves in the state, though releases are expected to continue this winter. They tweaked ballot language for a measure about taxes for universal school meals to allow that money to go to general food assistance, as well, if voters approve it in November.

    Nick Coltrain, Seth Klamann

    Source link

  • FBI affidavit details bloody attack aboard cross-country flight out of San Francisco

    FBI affidavit details bloody attack aboard cross-country flight out of San Francisco

    For roughly one minute, a Florida man unexpectedly rained blows upon an unsuspecting passenger aboard a cross-country flight heading from San Francisco toward Washington, D.C., on Monday afternoon, a federal agent alleged.

    Blood from the victim, asleep at the time and unprepared for the vicious assault, splashed onto the sleeves of the suspect’s lime green windbreaker, an FBI special agent claimed in an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Stains splattered onto nearby seats, walls and windows as blood flew from the victim’s head and face, the agent wrote.

    The victim’s screams ultimately saved him, as a bystander stepped in, subdued the attacker and held him at bay for the remaining three hours until the assailant was arrested upon landing, the agent alleged.

    Florida resident Everett Chad Nelson faces federal assault charges in the incident. The victim’s name was not released.

    A call to Nelson’s court-ordered public defender was not immediately returned. Nelson is due back in court Dec. 11.

    The FBI received an alert from the Transportation Security Administration at 9:26 a.m. about a disturbance aboard a roughly five-hour United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Dulles Airport in Virginia.

    Nelson was seated about four rows from the back of the 82-seat plane. He was returning to his seat after using the restroom at the front of the plane about two hours into the flight when he stopped at the 12th row.

    The affidavit alleges that he “began physically attacking a sleeping male passenger by punching him repeatedly in the face and head until blood was drawn.”

    The victim suffered bruises on his eyes and a gash on his nose, according to the FBI agent.

    Another passenger eventually broke up the fight, according to the affidavit and United Airlines media relations. The victim was treated by a doctor aboard the plane.

    Nelson was eventually moved to the front of the aircraft and monitored by the passenger who had earlier stopped him, according to the affidavit and United.

    “Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one passenger was restrained after becoming physically aggressive toward another customer,” United Airlines wrote in a statement.

    United said the flight landed on time and was met by paramedics and law enforcement at the gate.

    The Federal Aviation Administration said it was conducting its own investigation of the incident. Airlines have been besieged by unruly passengers this year, the FAA said, citing roughly 1,700 incidents to date.

    Andrew J. Campa

    Source link

  • Colorado state senator violated ethics rules by appearing intoxicated at public meeting, committee finds

    Colorado state senator violated ethics rules by appearing intoxicated at public meeting, committee finds

    Sen. Faith Winter violated Colorado Senate ethics rules when she appeared to be intoxicated at an April public meeting, a legislative committee ruled Monday.

    On a bipartisan 4-1 vote, the Senate Ethics Committee found that Winter failed to uphold the public’s trust in the legislature when she drank alcohol before taking part in a contentious community meeting in Northglenn. Winter, a Broomfield Democrat and the Senate’s assistant majority leader, previously apologized for her conduct at the meeting, where her speech appeared slurred. After it ended, police intervened to help her find a ride home.

    Democratic Sens. Julie Gonzales and Dylan Roberts and Republican Sens. Paul Lundeen and Bob Gardner agreed that Winter violated ethics rules. Democratic Sen. James Coleman was the lone no vote.

    Before the vote, Gonzales said it was up to the committee to decide what was acceptable conduct by a legislator and that holding office is an honor.

    “That’s what each one of us is expected to uphold,” she said.

    The committee recommended that Senate leadership issue a letter to Winter addressing her conduct at the Northglenn meeting and her substance use. She should be invited to address the full Senate when the chamber reconvenes in January, the members said. They also recommended that, should Winter’s conduct again raise ethics concerns because of substance use, she should face immediate action from the full Senate instead of another ethics committee process.

    Winter, who voluntarily resigned a committee chair position and entered substance-use treatment in the days after the April meeting, attended Monday’s hearing at the state Capitol but was not invited to speak.

    She did not immediately return a request for comment as the hearing concluded. In a letter to the committee last month, Winter apologized again and acknowledged that she had a drink before the Northglenn meeting.

    But she asked that the complaint be dismissed and noted the culture of alcohol use in the Capitol. Gardner, a Colorado Springs Republican who previously appeared conflicted about what actions to take in response to Winter’s behavior, said he was particularly troubled by Winter’s reference to the Senate’s culture as “justification” for her actions.

    Seth Klamann

    Source link

  • Officials talk of restricting masks at protests after violence outside L.A. synagogue

    Officials talk of restricting masks at protests after violence outside L.A. synagogue

    The violent protest Sunday at a synagogue has prompted Mayor Karen Bass to say Los Angeles should consider rules governing demonstrations and the wearing of masks by those protesting.

    Bass on Monday did not offer a proposal but said the city needed to look at the issue — including “the idea of people wearing masks at protests.” A number of pro-Palestinian protesters had their faces covered Sunday.

    The mayor, at an afternoon news conference, also said she was seeking city and state funding for additional security measures at places of worship in the city. Hours after the clashes, she ordered the LAPD to increase patrols in the heavily Jewish Pico-Robertson area where the protest occurred and at religious venues.

    Masks have been a part of many pro-Palestinian and some pro-Israeli protests over the war in Gaza, including on college campuses.

    When a mob attacked a pro-Palestinian camp at UCLA in May, it was difficult to identify suspects because many wore masks that hid their identities. Police said they would use technology that captures facial images and outlines and compares them with other photos on the internet and social media to put names to faces.

    It is unclear how the government could restrict mask use at protests.

    During the 2020 George Floyd protests, some health officials urged demonstrators to wear masks to protect against COVID-19. Although coronavirus cases have fallen dramatically since then, masks can still offer protection, especially to those who have underlying health problems.

    Earlier this month, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was considering a mask ban on the New York subway, saying she was concerned about people with face masks committing antisemitic acts.

    “We will not tolerate individuals using masks to evade responsibility for criminal or threatening behavior,” Hochul told reporters at a news conference. “My team is working on a solution. But on a subway, people should not be able to hide behind a mask to commit crimes.”

    New York Mayor Eric Adams supported the idea, telling reporters that “cowards cover their faces.”

    Some civil liberties advocates opposed the idea.

    “Mask bans were originally developed to squash political protests and, like other laws that criminalize people, they will be selectively enforced — used to arrest, doxx, surveil, and silence people of color and protesters the police disagree with,” Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement, according to the Associated Press.

    North Carolina has also been talking about a mask ban, citing Gaza war protests. But there has been pushback from some health professionals and people with underlying health problems.

    One North Carolina resident told the Washington Post: “I’ve thought I should wear masks with something printed on it like ‘immune deficient’ or ‘cancer patient.’ But we should not have to do that.”

    A new proposal now includes health exemptions.

    There have been no formal proposals in Los Angeles, and it’s unclear whether the City Council would support the idea.

    But a local Anti-Defamation League official expressed support Monday for a mask restriction. Jeffrey Abrams, the ADL’s Los Angeles regional director, stood on stage alongside Bass at the afternoon news conference and said the city needed to do more to protect the community.

    “Just as Mayor Bass said, we need to look at every available legal tool, as the city attorney looks at existing anti-masking laws in the state of California,” Abrams said.

    The Sunday protest was condemned by top officials including Bass, President Biden and Gov. Gavin Newsom.

    A pro-Palestinian protester gets in a car surrounded by pro-Israeli counterdemonstrators near Adas Torah synagogue Sunday.

    (Zoë Cranfill / Los Angeles Times)

    The protest began Sunday afternoon at the Adas Torah synagogue in the heavily Jewish Pico-Robertson neighborhood but eventually spread into nearby areas over several hours. Fistfights broke out between pro-Palestinian demonstrators — who said they were protesting an event at the synagogue promoting the sale of stolen Palestinian land — and supporters of Israel.

    “Yesterday was abhorrent, and blocking access to a place of worship is absolutely unacceptable,” Bass said Monday. “This violence was designed to stoke fear. It was designed to divide. But hear me loud and clear: It will fail.”

    “Intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American,” the president said in a statement. “Americans have a right to peaceful protest. But blocking access to a house of worship — and engaging in violence — is never acceptable.”

    The law enforcement sources said the event was advertised in Friday’s issue of the Jewish Journal promising to provide information on “housing projects in all the best Anglo neighborhoods in Israel.” “Anglo” is a direct translation from Hebrew meaning “English-speaking.” The ad does not specify where in Israel the real estate is.

    Protest fliers posted on social media said, “Our Land Is Not For Sale,” and condemned “land theft,” according to an Instagram post from the Southern California chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement, which did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

    Hussam Ayloush, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations office in Los Angeles, said the site of the demonstration was chosen not because it was in front of a synagogue but because of the event it was hosting.

    The protest “was in response to the blatant violations of both international law and human rights from agencies that seek to make a profit selling brutally stolen Palestinian land as the Israeli government continues its eight-month-long genocidal campaign and ethnic cleansing in Gaza,” he said in a statement.

    “Elected officials and the mainstream media have politicized this incident as religious discrimination as opposed to a human rights issue,” Ayloush added.

    Rabbi Hertzel Illulian, founder of the JEM Community Center in Beverly Hills, arrived at Adas Torah on Sunday to worship during afternoon prayer and was confronted by a group yelling into megaphones. Some synagogue visitors were blocked from going inside, he said.

    “We could not pray well because these people outside were screaming,” he said.

    Karen Garcia, Richard Winton, Hannah Fry, Nathan Solis

    Source link

  • All hidden face locations in Hellblade 2

    All hidden face locations in Hellblade 2

    You’ll find hidden stone faces scattered throughout Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2. Finding these collectibles — and focusing on them — will open a new path leading to a tree containing a bit of lore.

    Our Hellblade 2 guide will show you where to find all 17 hidden faces in Senua’s Saga. We’ll break them down by chapter below. When you open the Chapters screen, you’ll be able to select a subsection of each chapter. We’ll also note which subsection the hidden stone faces appear in if you want to go back and find any you missed.

    Hidden faces rewards in Hellblade 2

    Each hidden face you find will reveal a secret path when you focus on it. Down that path, you’ll find a small tree — a version of Yggdrasil. Focusing on the tree will give you a snippet of lore.

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    Finding all 17 hidden stone faces will earn you the “Glimpses of the Gods” achievement. It’ll also unlock a new section in the Extras menu — Landdisasteinar Stories — where you can listen to the stories again.

    Chapter 1: Reykjanesta hidden faces

    There are no stone faces in chapter 1, “Reykjanesta.”

    Chapter 2: Freyslaug hidden faces

    There are two stone faces to find in chapter 2, “Freyslaug.” There is one during “Return Home” and one during “Meeting the Stranger.”

    Return Home stone face location

    After you solve the first rune puzzle, the “Return Home” section starts with Senua’s memory of home. After you find her mirror and learn to fight with it, you come back to the real(er) world.

    Hellblade 2 route to the Return Home stone face location

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    You’ll cross a gruesomely decorated bridge to more of the village and have to pass through a house with a man hanging from a hook inside.

    Hellblade 2 route to the Return Home stone face location

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    When you get back outside, continue along the path until you reach the torch you see ahead of you.

    Hellblade 2 Return Home stone face location

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    The first stone face is impossible to miss — you have to focus on it to open the path.

    Meeting the Stranger stone face location

    Hellblade 2 route to the Meeting the Stranger stone face location

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    After you rescue Fargrimr from the draugar, he’ll lead you away from the village. Not far into your walk, you’ll come to a broken bridge.

    Hellblade 2 Meeting the Stranger stone face location

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    When you reach it, look to the left. You’ll spot the next hidden face along an outcropping of rock there.

    Chapter 3: Raudholar hidden faces

    There are five stone faces to find in chapter 3, “Raudholar.” There are two during “Red Hills” and three during “On the Hill.”

    Red Hills stone face location 1

    Hellblade 2 route to Red Hills stone face location 1

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    Not long into your walk with both Fargrimr and Thorgestr, you’ll walk down a hill while Fargrimr starts to tell you about his village. You’ll come to the ruins of a few scattered buildings.

    Hellblade 2 route to Red Hills stone face location 1

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    Take a right as soon as you enter the clearing. There’s a path there that will lead back and to the right.

    Hellblade 2 Red Hills stone face location 1

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    It will bring you to a small, circular clearing. Look to the left to find the next stone face.

    Red Hills stone face location 2

    In the same area, go back to the main path. This time, head to the left.

    Hellblade 2 Red Hills stone face location 2

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    Walk away from the main path again, and you’ll pass what’s left of a house. Keep walking straight back from that house to find the next hidden face.

    On the Hill stone face location 1

    After your trip through the dark and horror-filled forest, you’ll have another conversation with Fargrimr. He’ll set you on your trip to finding the hiddenfolk.

    Hellblade 2 route to On the Hill stone face location 1

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    The path with lead you through a shallow puddle. Just past that, watch for the path to split.

    Hellblade 2 On the Hill stone face location 1

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    Take the left fork, and you’ll be looking directly at the next hidden face.

    On the Hill stone face location 2

    After you complete the first of the hiddenfolk’s puzzles, head through the gate you just opened.

    Hellblade 2 On the Hill stone face location 2

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    On your way up the hill, just a little past the first puzzle, you’ll spot the next stone face in the stones on your right.

    On the Hill stone face location 3

    After the second hiddenfolk puzzle, pass through the gate. The path will lead you up and then down a hill, and you’ll have to drop off a pair of ledges.

    Hellblade 2 route to On the Hill stone face location 3

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    In the next clearing, the main path goes off to the left and past another shallow puddle. Over on the right side, look for another pair of ledges to climb.

    Hellblade 2 On the Hill stone face location 3

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    At the top, the next stone face will be immediately next to you on the right.

    Chapter 4: Huldufolk hidden faces

    There are four stone faces to find in chapter 4, “Huldufolk.” There are three during “Enter the Caves” and one during “Act of Sacrifice.”

    Enter the Caves stone face location 1

    Hellblade 2 route to Enter the Caves stone face location 1

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    When you enter the caves at the beginning of “Enter the Caves,” you’ll squeeze through a narrow passage and then drop off a ledge. Just past that, you’ll have to crouch through a small doorway.

    Hellblade 2 Enter the Caves stone face location 1

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    As you pass through, keep an eye on your left to find the next stone face in the wall.

    Enter the Caves stone face location 2

    Continue along and you’ll find the first brazier. Lighting that one reveals a ramp up to the main path. Keep following it through the tunnels until you reach the second, already-lit brazier.

    Hellblade 2 Enter the Caves stone face location 2

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    When you loop around to the right to reach the brazier and extinguish it, it’ll reveal the doorway to the next section. Instead of dropping down, turn around. The next hidden face was, well, hidden behind a section of rock that you passed on your way.

    Enter the Caves stone face location 3

    Hellblade 2 route to Enter the Caves stone face location 3

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    Just past that second brazier, you’ll come to a hole in the floor that you have to drop through. When you land, you’ll be in waist-deep water.

    Hellblade 2 Enter the Caves stone face location 3

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    As soon you land, turn around. The tunnel extends behind you, and that’s where you’ll find the next hidden face.

    Act of Sacrifice stone face location

    Hellblade 2 route to the Act of Sacrifice stone face location

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    After a long and tense trip through the dark while being led by the hiddenfolk’s lights, you’ll eventually come to a naturally lit cave with floating boulders. There’s a hole with floating rocks to the right — the way out — and another to the left. The left one is where you’re heading.

    Hellblade 2 Act of Sacrifice stone face location

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    As you approach the edge of the hole, look to your left to find the next hidden face.

    Chapter 5: Bardarvik hidden faces

    There are six stone faces to find in chapter 5, “Bardarvik.” There is one during “To the Sea,” two during “Sjavarrisi,” and three during “Another Question.”

    To the Sea stone face location

    At the start of “To the Sea,” you’ll be walking with Fargrimr and Thorgestr along some cliffs. The hiddenfolk will start talking to Senua and the men will disappear so she can reflect on the beauty of the place.

    Hellblade 2 To the Sea stone face location

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    Keep following the path until you cross a small stream. To the right, there’s a tiny waterfall. The next hidden face is just to the right of it.

    Sjavarrisi stone face location 1

    Hellblade 2 route to Sjavarrisi stone face location 1

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    A short time later, you’ll run into Astridr and her people. Once the tension is diffused, you’ll begin walking with her. Not long into the walk, Astridr will squeeze through a narrow gap in the rock.

    Hellblade 2 Sjavarrisi stone face location 1

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    Before you follow her through, look to the right to find the next hidden face.

    Sjavarrisi stone face location 2

    After you solve the first rune puzzle in Bardarvik, you’ll get back on the main path.

    Hellblade 2 Sjavarrisi stone face location 2

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    Just a little way farther along, the path will go right up to the cliff edge and you might be able to spot Astridr in the distance. Look to the right to find the next stone face.

    Another Question stone face location 1

    The next hidden face can actually be found during the second rune puzzle here. Go through to puzzle until you find the middle rune — the curved or ψ-shaped one.

    Hellblade 2 route to Another Question stone face location 1

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    After you find it, you’ll head to a second cove. Before you start flipping stones around on your way to the third rune, drop down to the beach. Behind the shipwreck directly ahead of you, there’s a narrow gap that leads into a tunnel.

    Hellblade 2 Another Question stone face location 1

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    Follow the tunnel to the end — there’s a lorestangir down at the beach. Just as you exit the tunnel, turn around. You would’ve run right past the hidden face on your way through.

    Another Question stone face location 2

    Once you solve the second rune puzzle and head into the beach cave, you’ll go into a dreamy underwater sequence where the hiddenfolk share Sjavarrisi’s story.

    Hellblade 2 route to Another Question stone face location 2

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    When that’s done, Senua will find herself back on the (a?) beach. Head up the hill into the town. You’ll pass by a lit torch and then turn to walk downhill. At the second torch you pass, there will be a pole with cowbells hanging from it. Just past that, take a right to head behind the house.

    Hellblade 2 Another Question stone face location 2

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    You’ll find the next hidden face between the fence and the house’s roof.

    Another Question stone face location 3

    Hellblade 2 route to Another Question stone face location 3

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    From that stone face, turn around and head back to the main path. Take a right to start following it again, and then take the first left off of it.

    Hellblade 2 Another Question stone face location 3

    Image: Ninja Theory/Xbox Game Studios via Polygon

    The dimly lit path will go path a house and snake through some low walls before leading you past another lorestangir. Keep following it to the end where you’ll find a house. Walk around to the right side and to the torch at the back. Turn to the left to find the final hidden face.

    Chapter 6: Borgarvirki hidden faces

    There are no stone faces in chapter 6, “Borgarvirki.”

    Jeffrey Parkin

    Source link

  • Foxtrot and Dom’s Face a Lawsuit While Former Vendors Scramble For Solutions

    Foxtrot and Dom’s Face a Lawsuit While Former Vendors Scramble For Solutions

    The debris continues to fall in Chicago where earlier this week, the city saw all 15 Foxtrot convenience stores and two Dom’s Kitchen & Market locations suddenly close. Ex-employees have filed a class-action lawsuit against Outfox Hospitality, claiming they weren’t given proper notice of mass layoffs.

    Protestors assembled Friday morning outside of Foxtrot’s commissary in Pilsen, but legal experts remain divided on whether Outfox will be held legally accountable. Earlier this year, unionized ex-workers at the Signature Room won their lawsuit that accused restaurant management of violating the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, a safe measure requiring companies to file a notice of mass layoff with the government. Eater reviewed an email sent to some ex-Foxtrot workers dated 11 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, and signed by Outfox CEO Rob Twyman notifying employees that their jobs would be immediately eliminated and stating the message was following state law. The letter does not mention the 60-day notice the law stipulates and came after the stores closed.

    Outfox formed after Chicago-based Dom’s and Foxtrot combined last year. Foxtrot debuted as a delivery-only app in 2016 that expanded into the convenience store space opening locations in Texas, and the D.C. area. Dom’s debuted in 2021 in Lincoln Park. Both entities had major designs on scaling. In the aftermath of the closures, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing — which former employees told Eater to look out for — has yet to pop up, clouding the picture of what went wrong. Outfox hasn’t responded to media inquiries and former vendors tell Eater they haven’t heard anything from them either. They now join the graveyard of Chicago grocery brands like White Hen Pantry, Dominick’s Finer Foods, and Moo & Oink.

    Grabbed and gone.
    John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

    But as the legal theater begins to play out, workers are setting up online fundraisers and scrambling for jobs. In Chicago, the 17 potential real estate vacancies (liquidation could slow things down), are creating a feeding frenzy. Independent grocers, liquor shop owners, and would-be restaurant owners are contacting their real estate agents, hoping to cut deals with landlords on some prime retail spaces on the North Side.

    Fresh Market Place in Bucktown is an independent grocer that’s become a champion of local vendors, where many chefs from Chicago’s top restaurants shop.

    “I would, at the very least, I would listen to an offer,” Fresh Market GM Kostas Drosos says. “I definitely will inquire — or maybe I have inquired already.”

    The demand for the Foxtrot and Dom’s locations contrasts with what’s happening on the West and South sides, where residents have clamored for more investment. The city has struggled to find a tenant in Englewood to replace Whole Foods. Locals seeking an upscale retailer with a similar cachet were rendered disappointed by the pending arrival of Yellow Banana, a division of Ohio-based Save A Lot. Some Chicagoans aren’t missing Foxtrot or Dom’s. You can’t miss what you never had.

    Meanwhile, Fancy Plants Cafe owner Kevin Schuder spent much of the week trying to reach Dom’s and Foxtrot, hoping to connect them with the Great Chicago Food Depository. He’s had no luck, and his frustrations spiked after a Sun-Times report saying workers were instructed to throw away food. Drosos compares that to when Stanley’s, a tiny independent market on the corner of North and Elston Avenue, was razed in anticipation of the Lincoln Yards development. He remembers handing out business cards and hiring a few Stanley’s workers in the two weeks before its closure in 2019.

    “Stanley’s put in notice two weeks out and said ‘Come on in, guys!’” Drosos recalls. “They were giving away the food — come in, we’re going to be closing and we’re giving discounts.”

    Foxtrot and Dom’s shared some similarities, but it wasn’t a precise fit. Both wanted to attract upscale restaurant customers. They recruited chefs for cooking demonstrations and sold gourmet items with the chefs’ names. The latter was ripped from Trader Joe’s playbook. The concerns were detailed nicely earlier this month in an article by Adam Reiner in Taste.

    But as Foxtrot raced for scale, with locations in high-rent areas like Fulton Market, execs may have skipped a step in establishing community roots, something Drosos says is integral to Fresh Market’s success. In Andersonville, Foxtrot attempted to open near Andale Market, a small independent shop that stocked specialty items from the kind of vendors Foxtrot desired. Locals pushed back.

    That disconnect with Foxtrot and its community might be why Palita Sriratana says her sales at Fresh Market and Here Here Market exceeded her brand’s sales at Foxtrot. In November, her company Pink Salt was selected through Foxtrot’s Up and Comer competition, recognizing vendors selling new snacks, dips, and coffees — stuff Foxtrot wanted to scale and sell nationwide. Sriratana makes a Thai chili jam, which belongs in the same genre as chile crunch, David Chang be damned.

    Sriratana describes the terms of winning as restrictive. They sounded like the stringent restrictions reality TV show contestants face; to be considered, candidates couldn’t already be in “major retailers.” There were “unrealistic” deadlines as Pink Salt geared up for the holiday gift-giving season — Foxtrot wanted enough jars of jam to stock at 54 stores versus the eight stores initially ordered. Sriratana says “she held her breath” and carried on with production. She says the system feels “predatory to a very vulnerable group of small makers.” Pink Salt is currently free from any restrictions.

    “I feel sad for the brands that opened [production orders] and took out loans to meet their scale,” Sriratana says.

    Here Here, founded in 2021, aimed to give vendors like Sriratana more control. Disha Gulati founded the startup in 2021 to give chefs including Rick Bayless and Stephanie Izard a digital marketplace for sauces, pasta, and spices, It allowed lesser-known names a chance to establish their brands nationally. Over the past few days, Gulati and Drosos have been inundated with requests from former Foxtrot vendors wanting shelf space. Both say they’ll expedite the process to help. Gulati says she spends much of her time connecting vendors so they could better share their experiences and succeed. She feels that’s why they feel a “strong sense of community on our platform.”

    Foxtrot had an eye toward upscale customers.
    Garrett Sweet/Eater Chicago

    Gulati was careful not to villainize Outfox, saying she doesn’t know what pressures they faced: “Them going under might have been inevitable,” she says.

    But when discussing how Outfox closed without warning without informing vendors, Gulati says: “One hundred percent they should have done it differently.”

    Justin Doggett has sold his Kyoto Black bottled cold brew coffees at Foxtrot since 2021 when the store reps approached him saying they wanted to stock his coffee. He never worried about Foxtrot reverse engineering his Kyoto-style cold brews: “It’s fairly unique, it’s a very niche product,” he says.

    Foxtrot represented his biggest wholesale customer — all 15 Chicago Foxtrots stocked Kyoto Black. The sudden loss of the marketplace has forced Doggett to launch a campaign to grow his monthly subscription base, where customers would buy coffee directly from him. He says he’s had zero contact with Foxtrot since the announcement and feels blindsided.

    “Their closure represents a loss of thousands of dollars of sales per month,” Doggett wrote in a Facebook post from Tuesday, April 23. “It also devastates my brand presence. People would order from me directly all the time because they first had my coffee at Foxtrot.”

    Doggett says he made $120 in coffee deliveries on Monday. If this was in June, prime cold brew season, that delivery could have been larger. He’s looking for 800 new monthly customers; basically converting his Foxtrot customers to direct customers.

    Some independent coffee shops, the same ones that Foxtrot sought to compete with, are helping out. Side Practice Coffee and Drip Collective have offered to sell Kyoto Black while Doggett adjusts. He knows that he won’t make up for the loss immediately. He also stressed that the workers he interacted with treated him well and shouldn’t be conflated with the corporate business.

    History has repeated itself for Sriratana who has experience with start-ups suddenly closing; Pink Salt was also the name for her Thai food stall inside Fulton Galley, a food hall in Fulton Market. It closed in 2019, without warning, after being open for five months. The space — located less than a half mile west from Outfox’s headquarters — is now a Patagonia store.

    “My experience with Fulton Galley made me not trust the partnership with Foxtrot and pushed me to really value independent businesses — I cannot stress that enough,” she says.

    Ashok Selvam

    Source link

  • Beverly Hills school district expels 8th graders involved in fake nude scandal

    Beverly Hills school district expels 8th graders involved in fake nude scandal

    Five Beverly Hills eighth-graders have been expelled for their involvement in the creation and sharing of fake nude pictures of their classmates.

    The Beverly Hills Unified School District board of education voted at a special meeting Wednesday evening to approve stipulated agreements of expulsion with five students. According to a source close to the investigation, the expelled students were attending Beverly Vista Middle School. Under a stipulated agreement, the students and their parents do not contest the punishment and no hearing was held.

    The names of the students were not released, and the agreements are confidential. Typically, however, such agreements specify how long a student is expelled and what the terms are for their return to the district.

    According to Supt. Michael Bregy, the five students who were the focus of its investigation were the “most egregiously involved” in the creation and sharing of the images, which superimposed pictures of real students’ faces onto simulated nude bodies generated by artificial intelligence. The victims, the district said, were 16 eighth-grade students.

    Shared through messaging apps, the images outraged parents and school officials, prompting Bregy to tell parents in a message last month that he was prepared to impose “the most severe disciplinary actions allowed by state law.” The students involved were identified and disciplined in less than 24 hours, but the district did not move to expel them until it completed its investigation.

    The Beverly Hills Police Department and the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office are still investigating the incident, but no arrests have been made or charges brought. California’s laws against possessing child pornography and sharing nonconsensual nude pictures do not specifically apply to AI-generated images, which legal experts say would pose a problem for prosecutors.

    The fake nudes circulated briefly among Beverly Vista students in late February, school officials say. They haven’t specified how the images were made, other than to say it involved generative A.I.

    Dozens of A.I.-powered apps are available online to “undress” someone in a photo, simulating what a person would look like if they’d been nude when the shot was taken. Other A.I.-based tools allow you to “face swap” a targeted person’s face onto another person’s nude body.

    Versions of these programs have been available for years, but the earlier ones were expensive, harder to use and less realistic. Today, AI tools can clone lifelike images and quickly create fakes; even using a smartphone, it can be accomplished in a matter of seconds.

    In a message to parents Thursday evening, Bregy said, “This incident has spurred crucial discussions on the ethical use of technology, including AI, underscoring the importance of vigilant and informed engagement within digital environments. In response, our district is steadfast in its commitment to enhancing education around digital citizenship, privacy, and safety for our students, staff, and parents which was immediately reemphasized at all schools following the incident.”

    No specific policy change has been announced in response to the incident, but the district had already prohibited students from using cell phones on campus.

    Bregy said that the nude images, which were reported to school officials Feb. 21, were contained within 24 hours.

    “We recognize that kids are still learning and growing, and mistakes are part of this process,” he said in the message. “However, accountability is essential, and appropriate measures have been taken.”

    Jon Healey

    Source link

  • Billie Eilish literally signed Melissa McCarthy’s face during SAG Awards

    Billie Eilish literally signed Melissa McCarthy’s face during SAG Awards

    Melissa McCarthy was the ultimate fangirl at the SAG Awards on Sunday when she asked Billie Eilish for an autograph onstage.But not just any autograph.Related video above: Billie Eilish’s new album is almost ready to goEilish ended up signing her name – with permanent marker – right on McCarthy’s forehead while the pair presented the award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series.McCarthy had originally asked Eilish to sign her gown because she was “trying to be more present in making memories.”The “What Was I Made For” singer politely declined, telling her she didn’t want to “ruin” her dress. McCarthy resorted to her backup plan, which is how they landed on her face somehow being the perfect canvas for an autograph.While McCarthy attempted to continue gushing over Eilish while she was mid-signature, the singer hilariously covered McCarthy’s mouth as the audience bellowed with laughter.The hilarious stunt came after the “Little Mermaid” actress began the pair’s presenting bit by talking about how much of a fan of Eilish she is.”We’ve actually met before,” McCarthy said, going on to correct herself that they’ve actually met three times. “And you’ve met my daughters. And one of my dogs.”She went on to gush that she actually met Eilish “in utero” before she was even born, because Eilish’s mother, Maggie Baird, was McCarthy’s improv teacher years ago.”And guess who she was pregnant with,” McCarthy said. “It was you!”The only question that remains is exactly how long it will take for McCarthy to wash off that permanent marker from her face… if she even has any plans to do so.

    Melissa McCarthy was the ultimate fangirl at the SAG Awards on Sunday when she asked Billie Eilish for an autograph onstage.

    But not just any autograph.

    Related video above: Billie Eilish’s new album is almost ready to go

    Eilish ended up signing her name – with permanent marker – right on McCarthy’s forehead while the pair presented the award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a comedy series.

    McCarthy had originally asked Eilish to sign her gown because she was “trying to be more present in making memories.”

    The “What Was I Made For” singer politely declined, telling her she didn’t want to “ruin” her dress. McCarthy resorted to her backup plan, which is how they landed on her face somehow being the perfect canvas for an autograph.

    While McCarthy attempted to continue gushing over Eilish while she was mid-signature, the singer hilariously covered McCarthy’s mouth as the audience bellowed with laughter.

    The hilarious stunt came after the “Little Mermaid” actress began the pair’s presenting bit by talking about how much of a fan of Eilish she is.

    Matt Winkelmeyer

    Billie Eilish and Melissa McCarthy onstage during the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on Feb. 24, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Getty Images)

    “We’ve actually met before,” McCarthy said, going on to correct herself that they’ve actually met three times. “And you’ve met my daughters. And one of my dogs.”

    She went on to gush that she actually met Eilish “in utero” before she was even born, because Eilish’s mother, Maggie Baird, was McCarthy’s improv teacher years ago.

    “And guess who she was pregnant with,” McCarthy said. “It was you!”

    The only question that remains is exactly how long it will take for McCarthy to wash off that permanent marker from her face… if she even has any plans to do so.

    Source link

  • Parents find stickers on their kids. They say a South El Monte teacher was putting “calming patches” on them

    Parents find stickers on their kids. They say a South El Monte teacher was putting “calming patches” on them

    Preschool students at a head start school in South El Monte thought a teacher was rewarding them with colorful stickers she placed on their bodies, but parents say they were actually mood-calming patches fixed on their children without their consent.

    Parents at Options for Learning head start said they noticed behavioral changes in their children over the last several weeks, including erratic mood swings and changes in their sleep pattern, which they believe are caused by the patches.

    In a statement, Options for Learning said they met with a parent of a student and fired a school employee in response to the incident.

    “The safety and well-being of the children in our programs are at the core of all we do,” the statement said. “Our investigation is ongoing, and an incident report has been submitted to [the California State Community Care Licensing], which will conduct its own investigation. We are reinforcing child safety with all our teachers and classroom staff. We will be meeting with other parents in the class to address their concerns.”

    The controversy began Nov. 15 when a grandfather picked up his grandson from the head start school and noticed something on the boy’s back, according to parents who shared details of the incident in a group chat.

    The boy’s mother noticed a strong herbal aroma on the patch, and shared a picture of it with the other parents.

    Another parent, Stephanie Rodriguez, received the picture in the group chat, and showed the picture to her 4-year-old son Ethan and his face lit up when he recognized it.

    “His face was like an addict’s face,” Rodriguez said. “He said, ‘Oh yeah, that’s the sticker. That’s the koala sticker.’”

    He pointed to his foot and said his teacher would put it there and take it off before the end of the school day.

    The California Department of Social Services, the state agency that licenses child care facilities, confirmed they are investigating the South El Monte head start, but could not comment on the ongoing investigation.

    The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said it was aware of the parent’s complaints, which have been compiled in a report and assigned to a detective. In a statement, the department said it cannot comment about the investigation.

    This was not an isolated incident, according to parents. Their children recognized pictures of the patches when the parents would show them on their phones. Some children even grabbed their parent’s phones and tried to smell the picture, according to Rodriguez.

    The specific brand of patch the children recognized, Zen Patch Mood Calming Stickers, are promoted as including essential oils meant to calm children, and the product claims the patches are all-natural. Online advertisement for the patches describe them as “safe, effective and chemical free.” The online reviews are mixed, with some reviewers saying the patches help regulate moods and others calling them a “complete waste of money.”

    Fox 11 News first reported on the incident at Options for Learning.

    But many parents said they noted red flags leading up to this incident.

    Rodriguez said that her son fell at school earlier this year and hit his head, but staff didn’t immediately call her, and instead let him take a nap. When she asked the staff why no one called her they said that a teacher advised against it.

    “I said that was the wrong decision,” Rodriguez said.

    Nathan Solis

    Source link

  • Suspect is arrested in attack on grandfather pushing grandchild in stroller

    Suspect is arrested in attack on grandfather pushing grandchild in stroller

    A man suspected of attacking two victims, including a man who was punched while pushing his grandchild in a stroller, was arrested Wednesday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

    Angel Sanchez Jr., 29, of Santa Barbara, was arrested in Oxnard about 2:15 p.m., the sheriff’s department announced in a news release. Sanchez was booked on suspicion of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury.

    Sheriff’s officials received calls about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday about two separate unprovoked attacks. The first victim was a boy and the second a 60-year-old grandfather who was punched in the face while pushing a stroller near the 26000 block of Agoura Road and Lost Springs Drive/Cottonwood Grove Trail, authorities said.

    Both victims were Asian American/Pacific Islander, but authorities have not determined if they were the victims of a hate crime and the motive remains under investigation.

    In a video from news station KTLA-TV, the assailant can be seen walking directly toward the victim while he was pushing a stroller. The victim is then punched in the face and he and the stroller fall to the ground, according to the video. Authorities did not release any details about the victims’ condition following the attack.

    The assailant, who is seen wearing a backward baseball hat and a dark T-shirt, quickly walked away from the victims after the attack.

    He then drove away in a silver 2005 Honda Odyssey with Nevada license plates, 183W80, authorities said.

    Sanchez could face additional charges when the case is presented to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office for filing, said the sheriff’s department.

    Anyone with information about the assault can contact the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station at (818) 878-1808 or the detective on the case at (818) 878-5523.

    Nathan Solis

    Source link