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'Trust us. Believe in us," LAUSD superintendent tells parents ahead of new school year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:45 GMT

“Trust us. Believe in us.”That was the broader message from Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who appeared on KTLA 5 Morning News on Wednesday to discuss the district’s priorities for the upcoming school year.LAUSD is the nation’s second-largest public school district and serves more than 500,000 students. Classes resume on Monday, Aug. 14.“We’re dealing with three elements that are impacting the well-being of kids,” Carvalho said. “No. 1, academic performance continues to lag. We’re about six or seven years behind the appropriate grade level proficiency for students as a result of the [COVID-19] pandemic.”LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho (right) on KTLA 5 Morning News. Aug. 9, 2023. District-wide test results show proficiency in mathematics has fallen significantly since the start of the pandemic.In the 2018-19 school year, 33.5% of students met or exceeded standards. In 2021-2022, the most recent data available, the percentage dropped five p...

Starbucks to play 122 Taylor Swift playlist in stores: Report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:45 GMT

Starbucks is brewing up something special for Swifties who may feel melancholy that the U.S. leg of The Eras Tour is wrapping up for 2023. Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ could bring $320 million to Los Angeles economy, report says According to TMZ, the coffee giant is using this as a cause for celebration. They've rolled out a Swift playlist to use as a soundtrack inside its U.S. company-operated stores. The 122-song playlist is called "Starbucks Lovers" and it references the often mistaken line in her song "Blank Space." In the song, she sings "got a long list of ex-lovers," but fans thought she was saying "Starbucks lovers."Taylor Swift performs during the opener of her Eras tour in Glendale, Arizona, on March 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)It's no secret that Starbucks is a Swiftie. When The Eras Tour kicked off in March, the company matched each of the "Karma" singer's albums, or her eras, with the most popular beverage at the time. "The Eras as Starbucks drinks," Starbu...

Robbie Robertson dies at 80; legendary songwriter and guitarist with The Band helped reshape American music

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:45 GMT

By Hillel Italie | Associated PressRobbie Robertson, The Band’s lead guitarist and songwriter who in such classics as “The Weight,” “Up on Cripple Creek” and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down” mined and helped reshape American music, has died at 80.Robertson died surrounded by family, a statement from his manager said.From their years as Bob Dylan’s masterful backing group to their own stardom as embodiments of old-fashioned community and virtuosity, The Band profoundly influenced popular music in the 1960s and ’70s, first by literally amplifying Dylan’s polarizing transition from folk artist to rock star and then by absorbing the works of Dylan and Dylan’s influences as they fashioned a new sound immersed in the American past.The Canadian-born Robertson was a high school dropout and one-man melting pot — part-Jewish, part-Mohawk and Cayuga — who fell in love with the seemingly limitless sounds and byways of his adopted country and wrote out of a sen...

Utah man, suspected of threatening Biden, shot dead by FBI

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:45 GMT

By Lindsay Whitehurst and Sam Metz | Associated PressSALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man accused of making threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president was expected to land in the state Wednesday, authorities said.Special agents were trying to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City, when the shooting happened at 6:15 a.m., the FBI said in a statement.Robertson posted online Monday that he had heard Biden was coming to Utah and he was planning to dig out a camouflage suit and “clean the dust off the m24 sniper rifle,” according to court documents.In another post, Robertson refers to himself as a “MAGA Trumper,” a reference to former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.The posts indicated he did appear to own a long-range sniper rifle and numerous other weapons, as well as camouflage gear known as a “ghillie suit,” i...

Man shot while allegedly trying to steal puppy in Oakland is criminally charged

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:45 GMT

OAKLAND — A man suspected of trying to steal a dog at gunpoint from a 64-year-old man in West Oakland — but who ended up getting shot in a struggle for the weapon — has been charged with two felony crimes, according to authorities and court documents.The 32-year-old Oakland man, who was wounded in the arm and leg during the Aug. 4 incident, was charged Monday with attempted second degree robbery and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence.He has pleaded not guilty and has a pre-trial hearing scheduled for Aug. 16. He was being held at Santa Rita Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.According to police and court records, the suspect and the other man are acquaintances and were in a dispute over the ownership of a Cane Corso puppy. Authorities said the older man is the rightful owner of the dog, which is an Italian breed of mastiff.Police said that about 11:45 a.m. Aug. 4, the suspect tried to rob the 64-year-old man of the puppy at gunpoint in the 1100 block of 14th Street in West...

Dam partially bursts in Norway, sparking floods, evacuations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:45 GMT

By Jan M. Olsen | Associated PressCOPENHAGEN, Denmark — A dam in southern Norway partially burst Wednesday following days of heavy rain that triggered landslides and flooding in the mountainous region and forced downstream communities to evacuate, officials said.Authorities initially considered blowing up part of the dam at the Braskereidfoss hydroelectric power plant to prevent communities from being inundated. But the idea was scrapped after water later broke through the structure, police spokesman Fredrik Thomson told reporters.“We hope that we will get a gradual leveling of the water and that we will get an even leveling.”The power plant on the Glåma, Norway’s longest and most voluminous river, was under water and out of operation.Huge volumes of water were pouring over the western parts of the concrete dam, Thomson said.For hours, the water gathered behind the dam. Then a parking lot next to the power station was flooded, and soon water started pouring through...

Stanford coach Taylor amid Pac-12 collapse: ‘I can’t imagine’ playing outside Power 5

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:45 GMT

STANFORD – As the Stanford football team walked off the field following practice Tuesday night, one of the players saw the assembled media members and shouted “We’re going Independent!”He quickly announced he was kidding, but it was a nod to the program’s uncertain future after five Pac-12 teams announced last week that they were leaving the conference after the 2023-24 season, leaving only Stanford, Cal, Washington State and Oregon State.Cardinal coach Troy Taylor didn’t know where the team would end up, but he was confident it would work out.“I have a lot of faith that we have an incredible brand at Stanford and we’ll land somewhere really good,” Taylor said. “Just looking forward to finding out where it is, just like you guys.”The reported possibilities for the football team range from joining an existing conference such as the ACC or Mountain West, staying in the Pac-12 by adding teams, or going Independent like Notre Dame.Taylor said that it was important that Stanford stay in ...

MacroGenics: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:45 GMT

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — MacroGenics Inc. (MGNX) on Wednesday reported second-quarter net income of $57.5 million.The Rockville, Maryland-based company said it had net income of 92 cents per share. Losses, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to 36 cents per share.The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 52 cents per share.The biopharmaceutical company posted revenue of $13.1 million in the period, which missed Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $27.1 million._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MGNX at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MGNXSource

US commits to releasing more endangered red wolves into the wild, settling lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:45 GMT

The U.S. government will settle a lawsuit with conservation groups and commit to releasing more endangered red wolves into the wilds of North Carolina, where nearly three dozen of the canine species are believed to still run free. The conservation groups sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2020 after it stopped releasing captive-bred wolves. Eastern North Carolina is the only place in the world where they roam wild outside of zoos and wildlife refuges.The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the lawsuit on behalf of the Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife and the Animal Welfare Institute. A settlement agreement was reached Wednesday, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in North Carolina. “For 25 years, North Carolina was home to one of the most successful predator reintroductions in the world,” Ramona McGee, a Southern Environmental Law Center attorney, said in a statement. “This settlement puts us on a path to restoring the red wolf to its righ...

BRP Group: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:45 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — BRP Group, Inc. (BRP) on Wednesday reported a second-quarter loss of $23.9 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.On a per-share basis, the Tampa, Florida-based company said it had a loss of 40 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, were 27 cents per share.The results matched Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for earnings of 27 cents per share.The company posted revenue of $297.2 million in the period, which beat Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $286.5 million.BRP Group shares have dropped nearly 3% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $24.47, a fall of 15% in the last 12 months._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BRP at ...