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Today: January 21, 2025
Today: January 21, 2025
The Los Angeles Post

The Los Angeles Post

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Latest From The Los Angeles Post

World

Ireland's Leona Maguire keeps rolling with a 68, takes halfway lead at the KMPG Women's PGA

Leona Maguire of Ireland birdied four of her final six holes for a 3-under 68 and a one-shot lead over three players Friday at the halfway point of the KMPG Women’s PGA Championship at Baltusrol. The winner Sunday in Michigan for her second LPGA Tour title, the 28-year Maguire had five birdies and two bogeys in shooting her seventh straight round in the 60s, dating to the final round at the Mizuho Americas Open. At 5-under 137 at Baltusrol, Maguire had her first halfway lead in a major. The former Duke star is ranked 12th in

Ireland's Leona Maguire keeps rolling with a 68, takes halfway lead at the KMPG Women's PGA
Political

US intelligence report on COVID-19 origins rejects some points raised by lab leak theory proponents

U.S. officials released an intelligence report Friday that rejected some points raised by those who argue COVID-19 leaked from a Chinese lab, instead reiterating that American spy agencies remain divided over how the pandemic began. The report was issued at the behest of Congress, which in March passed a bill giving U.S. intelligence 90 days to declassify intelligence related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Intelligence officials under President Joe Biden have been pushed by lawmakers to release more material about the origins of COVID-19. But they have repeatedly argued China’s official obstruction of independent reviews has

US intelligence report on COVID-19 origins rejects some points raised by lab leak theory proponents
World

Prigozhin, the mercenary chief urging an uprising against Russia's generals, has long ties to Putin

Once a low-profile businessman who benefited from having President Vladimir Putin as a powerful patron, Yevgeny Prigozhin moved into the global spotlight with Russia’s war in Ukraine. As the leader of a mercenary force who depicts himself as fighting many of the Russian military’s toughest battles in Ukraine, the 62-year-old Prigozhin has now moved into his most dangerous role yet: preaching open rebellion against his country’s military leadership. Prigozhin, owner of the Kremlin-allied Wagner Group, has escalated what have been months of scathing criticism of Russia’s conduct of the war by calling Friday for an armed uprising to oust the

Prigozhin, the mercenary chief urging an uprising against Russia's generals, has long ties to Putin
World

De La Cruz gets first cycle for Reds since 1989

Rookie sensation Elly De La Cruz became the first Cincinnati Reds player in 24 years to hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat on Friday against the Atlanta Braves. De La Cruz doubled to open the second inning, had a two-run homer in the third, a run-scoring single to center in the fifth and tripled in the sixth for his fourth RBI of the night. The last hit increased the Reds’ lead to 11-7. The cycle is the franchise’s seventh overall — fifth since 1900 — and first since Eric Davis did it against San

De La Cruz gets first cycle for Reds since 1989
World

H. Lee Sarokin, judge who freed 'Hurricane' Carter, dies at 94

H. Lee Sarokin, a federal judge who freed boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter and in a landmark case famously said tobacco companies engaged in a “vast” conspiracy to conceal the dangers of smoking, has died in California, news outlets reported Friday. He was 94. Sarokin died Tuesday in La Jolla, a seaside community in San Diego where he and his wife lived in retirement, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Sarokin had pulmonary fibrosis and other ailments, his wife, Margie Sarokin, told the paper. Haddon Lee Sarokin was a New Jersey-born graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law

H. Lee Sarokin, judge who freed 'Hurricane' Carter, dies at 94
World

De La Cruz goes for cycle and Votto hits 2 clutch homers as streaking Reds stop Braves 11-10

Dazzling rookie Elly De La Cruz hit for the cycle, Joey Votto launched tying and go-ahead homers and the Cincinnati Reds extended their winning streak to 12 games Friday night with an 11-10 victory over the Atlanta Braves. In a wild matchup of National League division leaders, Cincinnati erased an early 5-0 deficit and halted Atlanta’s eight-game winning streak. The Reds’ winning streak is tied for the second-best in franchise history, matching the 1939 and 1957 teams for the club’s longest since 1900. De La Cruz became the first Cincinnati player in 34 years to hit for

De La Cruz goes for cycle and Votto hits 2 clutch homers as streaking Reds stop Braves 11-10
Political

Justice Department proposes December trial date for Trump in classified documents case

The Justice Department asked a judge on Friday night to postpone until December the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump for retaining classified documents. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon earlier this week set an initial trial date of Aug. 14 for Trump, who faces 37 felony counts accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents and obstructing Justice Department efforts to get them back. Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith’s team asked Cannon to reschedule the trial for Dec. 11. They said the delay was necessary because the case involves classified information and will require Trump’s lawyers

Justice Department proposes December trial date for Trump in classified documents case
Arts

Riccardo Muti becomes Chicago Symphony Orchestra's music director emeritus for life

Riccardo Muti will become the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s music director emeritus for life starting next season. The announcement was made on the stage of Orchestra Hall on Friday night after a performance of Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis,” the start of Muti’s final subscription weekend as music director. His tenure began with the 2010-11 season. Muti repeats the Beethoven on Saturday night and Sunday, then closes his tenure Tuesday night with a free concert in Millennium Park. Muti, who turns 82 in July, is scheduled to conduct the CSO for six weeks in each of the next two seasons.

Riccardo Muti becomes Chicago Symphony Orchestra's music director emeritus for life
Science

US and Canada start the process of determining how the Titanic-bound submersible imploded

Authorities from the U.S. and Canada began the process of investigating the cause of the fatal Titan submersible implosion even as they grappled with questions of who was responsible for determining how the tragedy unfolded. A formal inquiry has not yet been launched because maritime agencies are still busy searching the area where the vessel was destroyed, killing all five people aboard, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday. Debris was located about 12,500 feet (3,810 meters) underwater, several hundred feet away from the Titanic wreckage it was on its way to explore. The U.S. Coast Guard led the initial search

US and Canada start the process of determining how the Titanic-bound submersible imploded
World

Librarian gathering in Chicago includes training to battle book bans in communities and schools

Book bans and how to fight them will be a major focus of the American Library Association’s annual meeting this weekend in Chicago. Librarians may attend sessions aimed at helping them confidently counter book challenges, fight legislative censorship and ensure “access to information and the freedom to read.” All day Saturday, attendees are invited to climb atop a giant chair to read their favorite banned book. “With an unparalleled rise in challenges and bans and legislation suppressing access to books and learning materials in libraries, schools, and universities, it is more important than ever to join forces

Librarian gathering in Chicago includes training to battle book bans in communities and schools
World

Previous passengers recall ill-fated Titan: 'I 100% knew this was going to happen'

Talk to someone who rode on the Titan submersible, and they’re likely to mention a technological glitch: the propulsion system failed or communications with people on the surface cut out. Maybe there were problems balancing weights on board. They are also likely to mention Stockton Rush, the OceanGate Expeditions CEO who died on the fatal trip this week. He has been described by past passengers as both a meticulous planner and an overconfident pioneer. In the wake of the Titan’s fatal implosion near the Titanic shipwreck on Sunday, some people who embarked on the company’s deep-sea expeditions described experiences that

Previous passengers recall ill-fated Titan: 'I 100% knew this was going to happen'
World

Dodgers edge defending champion Astros 3-2 as LA fans rain down boos on Altuve and Bregman

Michael Busch doubled in the go-ahead in the fourth inning, Mookie Betts homered and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Houston Astros 3-2 in an acrimonious game on Friday night. The first interleague meeting since 2021 between the defending World Series champion Astros and the Dodgers, who led baseball with 111 wins last season, was filled with rancor. Most of the players from Houston’s 2017 championship team are gone, but that didn’t stop Dodgers fans from expressing their lingering resentment from the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal that season, when Houston beat Los Angeles in a seven-game World

Dodgers edge defending champion Astros 3-2 as LA fans rain down boos on Altuve and Bregman
World

Follow the timeline of the Titan submersible's journey from departure to discovery

The wrecks of the Titanic and the Titan sit on the ocean floor, separated by 1,600 feet (490 meters) and 111 years of history. How they came together unfolded over an intense week that raised temporary hopes and left lingering questions. THE BUILDUP The Polar Prince, a Canadian icebreaker ship, steamed out of Newfoundland on Friday, June 16, towing the experimental Titan submersible and carrying the five-man team headed to explore the iconic ocean liner’s watery gravesite. Three missions involving other teams had been scrapped due to bad weather in the previous four weeks, but the latest OceanGate Expeditions group

Follow the timeline of the Titan submersible's journey from departure to discovery
Political

Kansas' attorney general is moving to block trans people from changing their birth certificates

Transgender people born in Kansas could be prevented from changing their birth certificates to reflect their gender identities if the state’s conservative Republican attorney is successful with a legal move he launched late Friday. Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a request in federal court asking a judge to end a requirement for Kansas to allow transgender people to change their birth certificates. U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree imposed the requirement in 2019 to settle a lawsuit filed by four transgender Kansas residents against three state health department officials over a policy that critics said prevented transgender

Kansas' attorney general is moving to block trans people from changing their birth certificates
World

Native Hawaiian drag queens in Las Vegas showcase islands' gender-fluid heritage

Drag queens donning the white, red and blue of the Hawaiian flag shimmied across the stage to a throbbing techno remix of “Aloha Oe,” a song composed by Hawaii’s last reigning monarch. Spectators roared as a performer shook her hips in a Tahitian-style dance. All the dancers were “mahu” — a Hawaiian term for people with dual male and female spirit and a mixture of gender traits. They starred in a drag show this week called “Mahu Magic” on the sidelines of a Native Hawaiian convention in Las Vegas to remind the world of the respected

Native Hawaiian drag queens in Las Vegas showcase islands' gender-fluid heritage
World

Oh, brother! Trevor and Tylor Megill both demoted to minors on successive days

Tough times for the Megill boys. One day after Milwaukee Brewers reliever Trevor Megill was sent down to the minors, younger brother Tylor was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse by the struggling New York Mets on Friday. For one California family, a double dose of disappointing news. Trevor Megill was optioned Thursday to Triple-A Nashville, clearing a roster spot for Milwaukee setup man Matt Bush when he was reinstated from the injured list Friday. Bush missed two months with an injury to his right rotator cuff. The 29-year-old Megill was 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA in 14

Oh, brother! Trevor and Tylor Megill both demoted to minors on successive days
World

Russian mercenary chief who called for rebellion confirms he and his troops reached city in Russia

The owner of the Wagner private military contractor who called for an armed rebellion aimed at ousting Russia’s defense minister confirmed in a video that he and his troops have reached Rostov-on-Don. The city is home to the Russian military headquarters that oversees the fighting in Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed early Saturday that his forces had crossed into Russia from Ukraine, where they have played a crucial role in the war. The video posted on social media was the first confirmation that he was in Rostov. He has long feuded with the Defense Ministry and late Friday claimed that the

Russian mercenary chief who called for rebellion confirms he and his troops reached city in Russia
World

Judge agrees to narrow but not lift gag order in University of Idaho student slayings case

An Idaho judge has denied a request from roughly two dozen news organizations to lift a gag order in the criminal case of a man accused of stabbing four University of Idaho students to death. The judge did, however, significantly narrow the gag order in response to the news organizations’ concerns. The ruling was handed down late Friday afternoon. In it, 2nd District Judge John Judge said it was legally prudent to restrict attorneys from making some statements about the case in order to preserve Bryan Kohberger’s right to a fair trial. Still, Judge also said

Judge agrees to narrow but not lift gag order in University of Idaho student slayings case
World

As Greece's center-right heads for a landslide, fringe parties jostle to squeeze into Parliament

With the formerly ascendant, Nazi-inspired Golden Dawn party broken, its leadership in prison, and the anti-Western left defanged, Greece’s political fringes are looking more gauche than sinister. Still, up to five small parties — three on the far right and two on the far left — could conceivably reach the 3% support needed to enter Parliament in Sunday’s repeat elections, despite a swing back to mainstream politicians as the scars of Greece’s 10-year financial crisis gradually heal. That would increase the parties in Parliament from five to a maximum nine, sapping the majority of the center-right

As Greece's center-right heads for a landslide, fringe parties jostle to squeeze into Parliament
World

Want a climate-friendly flight? It's going to take a while and cost you more

When it comes to flying, going green may cost you more. And it’s going to take a while for the strategy to take off. Sustainability was a hot topic this week at the Paris Air Show, the world’s largest event for the aviation industry, which faces increasing pressure to reduce the climate-changing greenhouse gases that aircraft spew. Even the massive orders at the show got a emissions-reduction spin: Airlines and manufacturers said the new planes will be more fuel-efficient than the ones they replace. But most of those planes will burn conventional, kerosene-based jet fuel. Startups are working feverishly on

Want a climate-friendly flight? It's going to take a while and cost you more
Science

UK village marks struggle against US Army racism in World War II

The village of Bamber Bridge in northwestern England is proud of the blow it struck against racism in the U.S. military during World War II. When an all-Black truck regiment was stationed in the village, residents refused to accept the segregation ingrained in the U.S. Army. Ignoring pressure from British and American authorities, pubs welcomed the GIs, local women chatted and danced with them, and English soldiers drank alongside men they saw as allies in the war against fascism. But simmering tensions between Black soldiers and white military police exploded on June 24, 1943, when

UK village marks struggle against US Army racism in World War II
Science

UK village marks struggle against US Army racism in World War II

The village of Bamber Bridge in northwestern England is proud of the blow it struck against racism in the U.S. military during World War II. When an all-Black truck regiment was stationed in the village, residents refused to accept the segregation ingrained in the U.S. Army. Ignoring pressure from British and American authorities, pubs welcomed the GIs, local women chatted and danced with them, and English soldiers drank alongside men they saw as allies in the war against fascism. But simmering tensions between Black soldiers and white military police exploded on June 24, 1943, when

UK village marks struggle against US Army racism in World War II
Political

'Rage giving' prompted by the end of Roe has dropped off, abortion access groups say

The ” rage giving ” did not last. Abortion access groups who received a windfall of donations following the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade one year ago say those emergency grants have ended and individual and foundation giving has dropped off. After the Dobbs decision, some major funders of abortion access also have ended or shifted funding from organizations working in states where abortion is now banned, said Naa Amissah-Hammond, senior director of grantmaking with Groundswell Fund, which funds grassroots groups organizing for reproductive justice. Women’s health and foster care nonprofits, who expected increased demand in areas where

'Rage giving' prompted by the end of Roe has dropped off, abortion access groups say
World

Israeli security forces kill Palestinian gunman who opened fire at military checkpoint

A Palestinian assailant opened fire at an Israeli military checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on Saturday before being shot and killed, Israeli police said, the latest incident in months of escalating violence. The Palestinian gunman approached Israeli troops stationed at the Qalandiya checkpoint outside Jerusalem early in the morning, pulled out an M16 rifle and opened fire, the Israeli police said. Israeli security forces said they shot back, killing the suspected assailant. According to the Israeli rescue service, two security guards in their 20s were hospitalized with minor wounds — at least one from bullet fragments.

Israeli security forces kill Palestinian gunman who opened fire at military checkpoint
World

UK village marks 80th anniversary of fight against US Army racism in World War II

The village of Bamber Bridge in northwestern England is proud of the blow it struck against racism in the U.S. military during World War II. When an all-Black truck regiment was stationed there, residents refused to accept the segregation ingrained in the U.S. Army. Ignoring pressure from British and American authorities, pubs welcomed the GIs, local women chatted and danced with them, and English soldiers drank alongside men they saw as allies in the war. But simmering tensions between Black soldiers and white military police exploded on June 24, 1943, when a dispute outside a

UK village marks 80th anniversary of fight against US Army racism in World War II

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