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Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten released from prison a half-century after grisly killings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:40 GMT

By CHRISTOPHER WEBER (Associated Press)LOS ANGELES (AP) — Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten, a former homecoming princess who at 19 helped carry out the shocking killings of a wealthy Los Angeles couple at the direction of the violent and manipulative cult leader, walked out of a California prison Tuesday after serving more than 50 years of a life sentence. Van Houten, now 73 years old, “was released to parole supervision,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement. She left the California Institution for Women in Corona, east of Los Angeles, in the early morning hours and was driven to transitional housing, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.“She’s still trying to get used to the idea that this real,” Tetreault told The Associated Press.Days earlier Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would not fight a state appeals court ruling that Van Houten should be granted parole. He said it was unlikely the state Sup...

Amazon union is sued by organizers and former leaders seeking a new election for union officers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:40 GMT

By HALELUYA HADERO (Associated Press)New York (AP) — A group including former leaders of the fledgling union that organized an Amazon warehouse in New York is suing the union, accusing it of violating its own constitution and asking the court to force an election for union officers. The complaint, filed Monday in U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of New York, comes as the upstart Amazon Labor Union – the only certified group representing Amazon workers – struggles to recapture the momentum that led to its surprise victory last year following a series of setbacks. Since that win, the group has lost union elections at two other Amazon facilities and abandoned efforts at a third warehouse in California. Some prominent members have resigned quietly or left in protest over internal strife and disagreements. Media reports have also recounted a physical fight between union president Chris Smalls and a former member of the group. Another prominent leader, Derrick...

A book about Cape Cod sharks and Greg Skomal’s career tracking them is now out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:40 GMT

The region’s top expert on great white sharks takes a deep dive into the apex predators returning to Cape Cod and New England beaches — and his career tracking them — in a new book released on Tuesday.“Chasing Shadows” by shark researcher Greg Skomal, written with science author Ret Talbot, is the story of Skomal’s life tracking and tagging white sharks. The book explores the species’ resurgence along the Cape and the fascinating conservation success story.After great whites disappeared from the Cape decades ago because of the decimated seal population, the federal government put in protections that led to an explosion of seals. As a result, the sharks started to return to hunt seals.Skomal told the Herald that his first “wake-up call” to the fact that great white sharks were coming back to New England and spending time close to shore was in 2004 when a female shark named “Gretel” was trapped in a lagoon across from M...

French kiss off: Ticketmaster halts Taylor Swift ticket sales in France 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:40 GMT

NEW YORK — The trouble between Ticketmaster and Taylor Swift’s”Eras” tour isn’t over — with the latest snafu impacting fans hoping to score tickets in France.On Tuesday, after some fans reported issues with accessing Ticketmaster’s site, sales for six of Swift’s upcoming shows in Paris and Lyon were abruptly postponed. An explanation wasn’t immediately clear, but in posts on Ticketmaster’s French Twitter several hours after the pause began, the ticket seller cited a problem with a third-party provider.Ticketmaster directed The Associated Press to the Twitter statement. In the posts, Ticketmaster maintained that tickets to the France shows are still available and that the provider was “working to resolve this matter as soon as possible.”The company added that any codes that were not used for ticket purchases on Tuesday will remain valid — and that impacted fans “will be notified directly of the new on-sale date and tim...

‘Patchwork’ of parking rules makes it tough to park in Boston, councilor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:40 GMT

A mixed bag of parking regulations in Boston and staffing shortages in the city’s parking enforcement division have created exasperating experiences for residents who need to leave their cars on city streets, city councilors said.Frustrations aired at a City Council meeting on digitizing parking rules come as a top Boston transportation official said the Wu administration plans to issue new draft regulations for the city’s transportation department within the year, is in the process of auditing thousands of residential parking permits, and hopes to create a digital map of parking signs by next June.East Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta said East Boston, Charlestown, and the North End are extremely dense and experiencing “exponential growth.” That leads to tough parking situations for many residents, she said.“I know this is something that is felt across Boston,” Coletta said. “Anecdotally, on-street parking regulations in my district are almost like an ad hoc patchwork of regu...

Cost of housing migrants in state-funded hotels, motels unclear as Massachusetts witnesses influx

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:40 GMT

A Republican state lawmaker accused the Healey administration of providing a “woefully incomplete” response to a request for the costs associated with housing migrant families in 38 hotels and motels on an emergency basis.A spokesperson for Gov. Maura Healey pushed back against Rep. Peter Durant, saying the Spencer Republican agreed to a pared-down “narrative” answer to a records request asking for the number of hotels and motels contracted with the state to house migrant families and the total cost to taxpayers.Durant said the administration did outline the cities and towns that currently have state-contracted hotels for migrants, undocumented immigrants, refugees, and displaced families. But there is “so much more that we requested, and so much more information that we need,” he said.“This is about what we’re spending in taxpayers’ dollars to house, feed, secure those who are in the country illegally,” said Durant, who is running for a state Senate seat in Central Mass...

Missing hiker in Yosemite National Park found dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:40 GMT

YOSEMITE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - The body of the missing hiker in Yosemite has been recovered, according to the family.24-year-old Petaluma native Hayden Klemenok tragically went missing at Yosemite National Park on Sunday, July 2, during a hike with friends. Missing Yosemite hiker’s family conducts own search to bring him home His family traveled to Yosemite shortly after in an effort of locating him but revealed on Tuesday that their effort was met with devastating news."On Sunday morning, we were notified that Hayden had been located. Due to the complexity of his location, it took another 24 hours to formally recover him. While a few further steps remain in the investigation, Hayden's cause of passing is presumed to be an accidental drowning," the family posted on Facebook.The family added that memorial service plans are in the works.Taylor McKinnie, Hayden's sister says he was a recent graduate of San Diego State and a lifelong athlete.

Amtrak, Metrolink service to resume after second landslide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:40 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- The tracks through San Clemente are set to reopen for passenger rail service next week after a month-long emergency closure due to a landslide in the area, the Orange County Transit Authority said.The landslide, which prompted a partial-stoppage of service along the Los Angeles to San Diego rail corridor, occurred behind a historic San Clemente landmark on Monday, June 5 -- about a week after the tracks reopened following a previous collapse of the same hillside.Following the landslide, crews worked to build a temporary barrier to protect the track. The barrier is about 250 feet long and 12 feet high, the transit company said, with the piles set roughly 32 feet beneath the ground.According to OCTA, the emergency work has since been completed. The rail line has been cleared to open for passenger service, like the Pacific Surfliner and Metrolink, to resume from Oceanside to Irvine on Monday, July 17. Nevada license plate that’s short for ‘Go back to California’ ...

Police: Items believed connected to jail escapee still being found; reward increases

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:40 GMT

WARREN, Pa. (AP) — Authorities searching for a homicide suspect who used bedsheets to escape from a northwestern Pennsylvania jail last week say items found in the last 24 hours lead them to believe he is still in the area.Authorities added that reward money in the case has more than doubled.Lt. Col. George Bivens of the Pennsylvania State Police earlier said campsites and small stockpiles believed to be related to escapee Michael Burham had been found, and he said Tuesday that searchers “are still finding some items that we do believe are connected to him.”“Those lead me to believe that there is still a likelihood that he is here; I also look at the absence of proof that he has gone anywhere else,” Bivens told reporters in a regular late afternoon news conference at the Youngsville, Pennsylvania, municipal building.Burham, 34, fled the Warren County Prison late Thursday by climbing on exercise equipment, climbing through a window and then down a rope fashioned from jail beddi...

Montreal police raid illegal magic mushroom store on opening day, arrest four people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:40 GMT

Montreal police on Tuesday raided a store selling illegal magic mushrooms and arrested four people, but a spokesperson for the shop said he expected it to reopen within 24 hours.The first FunGuyz location in Quebec opened in Montreal Tuesday offering pills, dried fungi and chocolate bars, all containing the psychedelic agent psilocybin, a substance subject to sale and possession bans in Canada.Hours later, Montreal police confirmed they had launched an operation against the store in the city’s Village neighbourhood, making four arrests.The store spokesperson, who identified himself as Edgras Goban, described the raid as a “simple” product seizure and “waste of taxpayers’ money.” FunGuyz, he said, has already been the target of police raids in Ontario, where it has 10 franchises. He said the company has “been through this multiple times before.” The spokesman has been identified in media reports as the co-owner of Ontario-based FunGuyz ...