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US arrests two in connection with 'secret' Chinese police station in NY

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

Federal authorities in New York made two arrests Monday in connection with the establishment of a Chinese-government run police station in Manhattan where officials allegedly monitored pro-democracy activists.The clandestine station, run by China’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS), was announced alongside a complaint charging 34 individuals accused of working at a “troll farm” run by the MPS designed to target Chinese dissidents online.While it appears in some cases the office was helping Chinese citizens with services such as driver licenses, consular activities require approval by U.S. authorities, and law enforcement said Monday that the station's employees were not registered as foreign agents.“New York City is home to New York's finest, the NYPD. We don’t need or want a secret police station in our great city,” Breon Peace, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, said in a press conference.“Just imagine the NYPD opening an undeclared, secret police station in Beiji...

Missing California teen believed to be held 'under duress' by man, former detective says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

(NewsNation) — A California teen who has been missing since Jan. 1, is believed to be alive and possibly held captive, a private investigator says.Sixteen-year-old Alinka Castaneda left her family’s home in Carson, California, and was seen "entering an unknown vehicle" at 5 a.m. that day, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. A neighbor’s camera recorded her leaving, and her family hasn’t seen her since.While her brother thought perhaps this was her first attempt at running away, time and distress calls appear to be signs of how much danger she could be in.Castaneda's family has received three disturbing calls from her."In this phone call, she actually shared with her sister and her mom that she didn't know where she was then and wouldn't be allowed to leave. She sounded like she was under duress and stressing out," Moses Castillo, a retired LAPD detective and a private investigator working on her case, told NewsNation. The Sheriff's Department said the girl cont...

What should parents do over the summer to counter pandemic learning loss?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

(The Hill) -- The fast-approaching summer offers a precious opportunity for parents of students suffering severe learning loss from the coronavirus pandemic.Schools and policymakers have been scrambling since the 2022 Nation’s Report Card last fall showed that students lost decades of progress in reading and math when they missed out on in-person classes. Now, students are set to leave the classroom again for three months. Summer learning loss is not a new concept in education, but the focus on how to keep students academically and socially engaged for the vacation has new urgency as parents look for ways to ensure their children don’t fall further behind. “I would say this is absolutely even more of a concern because so many of our kids, you know, really lost time learning time,” said Jodi Grant, the executive director of Afterschool Alliance. Some of the more common tips parents have seen for years regarding summer learning are making sure their children play outsid...

DeSantis floats building prison on land next to Disney World

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

(The Hill) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said Monday that the state might consider building a prison or potentially another amusement park next to land owned by Disney amid his administration's ongoing feud with the entertainment giant.The governor’s clash with Disney started when the company came out against his education plan that limits the instruction of gender identity and sexuality in public schools. In response, DeSantis signed a bill that dissolved the private government that oversaw Walt Disney World in the state.But outgoing Disney-friendly members of the board that oversees the district approved an agreement with the company that gave it developmental authority over its theme park. New board members handpicked by DeSantis said the agreement stripped them of their ability to oversee the park’s development.Now DeSantis, who is weighing a 2024 presidential campaign, is publicly floating how to respond.“If you look at this whole special district, Walt Disney Corporation obv...

Austin ISD to appeal state intervention of its special education department

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – Austin Independent School District leaders began the process of appealing the state appointment of a conservator management team to oversee its special education operations on Monday. “We understand the severity of this problem and take full ownership in addressing it,”said Superintendent Matias Segura. ‘We want to ensure the best possible alignmentbetween our efforts as a district and the efforts of the state for the ultimate benefit of ourstudents.”The Austin school district has been under investigation by the Texas Education Agency since 2021 for repeatedly missing state and federal deadlines to evaluate students suspected of needing special education services.The agency heightened its intervention on March 31 – announcing its plan to add a state-appointed management team to oversee the district special education operations.The district has since held multiple meetings with parents and stakeholders explaining the impact of a more severe intervention from the state...

205 people killed in work zones in Texas last year, only one was a construction worker

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- More than 200 people died in Texas last year in construction zones. That's actually a 16% decrease, but still far too many. The Texas Department of Transportation is hoping you will "Be Safe and Drive Smart to help End The Streak" of deadly crashes on roads in Texas."I'm one of thousands of road workers in Texas working hard to build and maintain our roadways," said Bo Wilson, who was speaking alongside representatives from TxDOT, Austin Police, the Texas Department of Public Safety and Austin-Travis County EMS for National Work Zone Awareness Week. Wilson has been with TxDOT for more than 20 years and had a dangerous close call last year. His crew had just taken a break for lunch, when a distracted driver crashed full speed into the construction zone he was working on Highway 71 in Bastrop County."Once DPS got there, he told them that he had just finished the phone conversation said his phone on his console, and it slid down into the floorboard and he reached over ...

Country star Keith Urban set to return to Minnesota State Fair Grandstand

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

Country star Keith Urban will return to the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand on Aug. 26.Tickets are priced from $87 to $52 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday through Etix or by calling 800-514-3849.Urban, 55, has been a consistent presence on the country charts since his first hit, 1999’s “It’s a Love Thing.” He has landed at No. 1 with more than 20 singles, including “Somebody Like You,” “Days Go By,” “Better Life,” “You Look Good in My Shirt,” “Without You,” “Long Hot Summer” and “Blue Ain’t Your Color.”In 2020, Urban released his 11th album and seventh chart-topper, “The Speed of Now Part 1.” It spun off the singles “We Were,” “God Whispered Your Name” and the Pink duet “One Too Many,” which also landed on the charts in Canada, Australia, England and the Netherlands. In the time since, he has issued a series of one-off singles, including the hits “Wild Hearts” and “Brown Eyes Baby.”Urban is a familiar face to local concertgoers, and has played Target Center, Winstock County Music Fe...

Charles Barkley also thinks the Timberwolves’ late playoff start times are absurd

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

“Inside the NBA” host Ernie Johnson was running through TNT’s tripleheader schedule Sunday when he hit the Timberwolves-Nuggets start time and paused to ask Charles Barkley why the NBA hall of famer had a “befuddled” look on his face.“I have a problem with that game starting at 10:30 (Eastern time) in Denver,” Barkley said. “I have a problem with that.”Four games each were played on Saturday and Sunday to kick off the NBA playoff schedule. On Saturday, the first game tipped off at noon, with the nightcap taking place at 7:30 p.m. Central. Barkley felt a similar schedule should have been followed on Sunday. But instead, the early window was left open. The action started with a 2 p.m. Central game between Memphis and the Los Angeles Lakers.Charles Barkley is not a fan of the 8:30 PM local start time for T'Wolves-Nuggets."We got to have some respect for the fans at some point. It ain't fair for the people in Denver to b...

Former Gophers star Brock Faber makes playoff debut for Wild a week after turning pro

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

DALLAS — In some ways, Brock Faber is still very much living the college life, even after signing a professional contract with the Wild last week.He still lives with his roommates in their Dinkytown apartment near the University of Minnesota campus. He still doesn’t have a car so he has to bum rides from teammate Matt Boldy. He still thinks about how the Gophers men’s hockey team came within a few minutes of winning an NCAA championship a week ago.The heartbreaking end to his collegiate career paved the way for the start of his professional career.“It’s hard not to think about,” Faber said. “This is obviously a pretty great distraction being able to play for the Wild.”He immediately reconsidered his use of the word “distraction” because of how it might come across. Truthfully, for Faber, it’s much more than that as he embarks on what he hopes is a long playoff run with the Wild.“I’m bought in,” he said. &#...

Village of Catskill issues boil water order

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:55 GMT

CATSKILL, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Village of Catskill has issued a boil water order for Allen Street, North Allen Street, and 9W up to the Central Hudson. The boil water order is for drinking and cooking water. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! According to the Water and Sewer Department, there was a water main break on Allen Street. The order is in full effect until further notice.