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Thousands of prisoners to get free college paid for by the government

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:00:57 GMT

The graduates lined up, brushing off their gowns and adjusting classmates’ tassels and stoles. As the graduation march played, the 85 men appeared to hoots and cheers from their families. They marched to the stage – one surrounded by barbed wire fence and constructed by fellow prisoners.For these were no ordinary graduates. Their black commencement garb almost hid their aqua and navy-blue prison uniforms as they received college degrees, high school diplomas and vocational certificates earned while they served time.Thousands of prisoners throughout the United States get their college degrees behind bars, most of them paid for by the federal Pell Grant program, which offers the neediest undergraduates tuition aid that they don’t have to repay.That program is about to expand exponentially next month, giving about 30,000 more students behind bars some $130 million in financial aid per year.The new rules, which overturn a 1994 ban on Pell Grants for prisoners, begin to address...

'Ballet of drones' highlight final night of Bordeaux Wine Festival

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:00:57 GMT

Hundreds of drones lit up the sky for guests at the Bordeaux Wine Festival in France over the weekend.The show was choreographed to music and illuminated the skies for two nights on Friday and Saturday, according to the Bordeaux Wine Festival's website.It was the first year the wine festival used a "ballet of drones" to entertain residents and guests. Drones highlight the final night of the Bordeaux Wine Festival in France (Fellus Nicolas via Storyful)Video footage of the 400 drones making an image of a bottle pouring wine into a glass was posted on Twitter by Fellus Nicolas.The Bordeaux Wine Festival also mentioned that the show was "respectful to the environment" and left no residue behind.

Screen To Table: Inside The New Netflix Bites Pop-Up

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:00:57 GMT

An all-star chef lineup including Curtis Stone, Ming Tsai, Andrew Zimmern, Rodney Scott, and pizzanista Ann Kim opened the doors to the colorful new Netflix Bites pop-up on Fairfax Avenue on Tuesday. The 106-seat eatery and bar dedicated to the network’s celebrity chefs will debut to the public on Friday, June 30, at the new Short Stories Hotel.Both Stone and Tsai worked the patio passing out signature appetizers like woodfired lamb ribs with leek and ash yogurt as well as hamachi sashimi. Drinkmasters mixologist Kate Gerwin was pouring Everything But The Alley Cat from episode #2 (Mount Gay dark rum, homemade coconut guava elixir, toasted orgeat, milk, and fresh lime juice) alongside a cornbread old fashioned.The whole hog at Netflix Bites (Michele Stueven)Kim worked the pizza oven while pitmaster Rodney Scott supervised the slow smoke of a whole hog, which was served southern style with white bread and collards. Zimmern, who is perhaps more famous for his exotic taste in bizarre f...

Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett drowns at Florida beach

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:00:57 GMT

DESTIN, Fla. (AP) — Quarterback Ryan Mallett, who played five seasons in the NFL, died in an apparent drowning Tuesday at a Florida Panhandle beach. He was 35.FILE – Baltimore Ravens quarterback Ryan Mallett in Jacksonville, Fla., Sept. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File) Mallett was a football coach at White Hall High School in his native Arkansas, and the school district confirmed his death in a post on its website on Tuesday.The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department said first responders were called to the beach at a tourist condo complex in Destin around 2:12 p.m.; a group of about 10 people who had been on a sandbar were having trouble swimming back to the beach. Mallett, who was among them, went under the water and was not breathing when he was pulled out.The sheriff’s office said a rip current was thought to have been a factor.Mallett played for the University of Michigan for one season before finishing his college career at Arkansas. He passed...

California city donates police cars to Mississippi town

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:00:57 GMT

Several former Manhattan Beach police cars are about to go back into use — in Mississippi.The Manhattan Beach Police Department recently donated five decommissioned vehicles to the town of Pickens, Mississippi.Pickens is a small town in central Mississipp. It’s population was 920 people, according to 2020 census data. Manhattan Beach, by contrast, has about 35,500 residents, census data shows.The Manhattan Beach City Council approved the donation at a meeting last month. Officials held a ceremony last week to commemorate the gift, which was part of the city’s fleet replacement program.This was Manhattan Beach’s first time donating police vehicles to a town in another state, city spokesperson Alexandria Latragna said.When Manhattan Beach Mayor Richard Montgomery met his Pickens counterpart, Paulette Moore, earlier this year at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington D.C., the two city leaders discussed the former city’s plan to decommission old MBPD vehicles and buy new ones, acc...

At 90, Broadway legend Chita Rivera recalls a life working with Fosse, Sondheim, Bernstein

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:00:57 GMT

Chita Rivera originated three of the most iconic roles in Broadway history: Anita in “West Side Story,” Velma in “Chicago,” and the title role in “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”She’s been nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning for “Spider Woman” and “The Rink,” while picking up a lifetime achievement Tony in 2018, too. She was the first Latina to receive a Kennedy Center Honor and she’s got a Presidential Medal of Freedom to wear, too.Broadway legend Chita Rivera’s new memoir “Chita” tells the story of her life and career which includes creating the original Broadway roles of Anita of “West Side Story,” Velma in “Chicago,” and the title role of “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” (Image courtesy of HarperOne)Chita Rivera, an original cast member as Anita in the Broadway musical production of “West Side Story” is seen here in a photo from 1957. Her 2023 memoir “Chita” tells the story of her life and career. (Photo by As...

Large housing development on track on former grazing land

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:00:57 GMT

New homes – some 440 of them – will soon sprout on a large swath of open space at Antioch’s southernmost edge.That’s only one part of the long-planned 1,177-home development – the largest single residential project in the city in nearly a decade. But on Tuesday, the council gave the green light for the design concepts and use permit of only the first of the three-phase project.Dubbed The Ranch, the Richland Communities’ phase 1 development was approved on a 4-to-1 vote, with Mayor Pro Tem Tamisha Torres-Walker – who questioned the project’s lack of affordability – casting the sole “no” vote.Torres-Walker said the project was never meant for working-class people and “that’s unfortunate.”“I wish it would have been a more thoughtful development process,” she said.The Ranch has faced many challenges before being allowed to develop in what is known as the Sand Creek focus Area — 2,712 acres of rolling hills and flatland mainly occupied by grazing cattle and wildlife. Early on, envi...

Are the US malaria cases in Florida and Texas a cause for concern?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:00:57 GMT

By Katia Hetter | CNNThe US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an alert this week to clinicians that there are locally acquired cases of malaria in Florida and Texas, with four cases identified in Florida and one in Texas over the past two months. While thousands of Americans become sickened by malaria every year, the vast majority of cases are acquired outside of the United States. These cases represent the first time that malaria has been transmitted within the US in 20 years, according to the CDC.Malaria is a mosquito-borne disease that leads to about 241 million infections worldwide every year, with 95% of cases in Africa in what’s known as the World Health Organization African Region. The disease is relatively rare in the US, and many readers have questions.What is malaria, and what are its symptoms? Can it be spread through casual contact? How is it diagnosed and treated? Are there vaccines available or other ways to prevent malaria? Why are there now cases in t...

NHL Draft: Why the Sharks should select their next great centerman at No. 4

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:00:57 GMT

The San Jose Sharks might have the opportunity to draft Russian winger Matvei Michkov – thought by some to be the second-most skilled player available — with their first pick in the opening round of today’s NHL Draft.Just don’t ask Mike Grier if he’s talked to Michkov face-to-face.Asked Tuesday if he had an opportunity to speak with the 18-year-old Michkov to help get to know him a bit better, the Sharks general manager wouldn’t answer, at least not directly.“We’ve already done all our meetings with the Russian players,” Grier said.Was the somewhat mysterious Michkov included in that group, Grier was asked.“We met with all of the Russian players that we wanted to meet with,” Grier reiterated.Grier was a bit more expansive when talking about centers Will Smith, born in Massachusetts, and Sweden’s Leo Carlsson, two players who would be at the very top of this year’s draft board – and ones from other years as well — if not for Bedard and Adam Fantilli (and Michk...

PetSmart to pay nearly $1.5M in California lawsuit

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:00:57 GMT

(KRON) -- PetSmart has agreed to pay $1.46 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the company of overcharging customers, false advertising and unfair competition. SFMTA awarded $30M for zero-emission vehicles The lawsuit, originally filed by Santa Cruz County, includes other Bay Area counties such as Contra Costa, Sonoma, Alameda and Marin counties. San Diego, Los Angeles and Ventura counties are also a part of the lawsuit.“The law in California is clear: businesses must be accurate in charging for goods and services," said Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton. "For customers, it’s important to monitor items scanned at a register and scrutinize your receipts to make sure you are not being overcharged.”PetSmart will pay $1,250,000 in civil penalties, $100,000 in restitution to support consumer protection enforcement efforts and $110,000 for investigative costs accumulated by the counties, according to the DA. PetSmart must implement additional audit and price accura...