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

The Los Angeles Post

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World

Children face solitary confinement in cells at Illinois juvenile detention facility, ACLU says

Children as young as 11 are confined alone to cells the size of parking spaces up to 23 hours a day at a juvenile detention center in Southern Illinois, according to a lawsuit filed by ACLU of Illinois. Young people at the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center in Benton must ask staff permission to flush the toilet, and they can go days or weeks without access to schoolwork. Black mold grows on the walls, according to the lawsuit filed Friday, and there are no mental health professionals employed at the facility. The lawsuit seeks a court order

Children face solitary confinement in cells at Illinois juvenile detention facility, ACLU says
World

Caeleb Dressel fails to qualify for the world championships after 22nd place in 50 freestyle

Two years after winning five gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics, Caeleb Dressel has failed to qualify for the world championships. Dressel’s final attempt to make the U.S. team ended Saturday morning when he tied for 22nd in the preliminaries for the 50-meter freestyle at the national championships in Indianapolis. He clocked a time of 22.72 seconds in the frantic sprint from one end of the pool to the other, leaving him 1.07 behind top qualifier Ryan Held and 0.59 outside the top eight that advanced to the “A” final in the evening. Dressel did earn one

Caeleb Dressel fails to qualify for the world championships after 22nd place in 50 freestyle
World

IndyCar driver Simon Pagenaud walks away from a terrifying wreck at Mid-Ohio

IndyCar driver Simon Pagenaud walked away unharmed from a terrifying wreck during practice at Mid-Ohio on Saturday, when his car from Meyer Shank Racing rolled seven times through a gravel trap before coming to rest on its side. Pagenaud told his team over the radio that his breaks had failed, and he was going about 180 mph (290 kph) at the end of a straightway when he tried to make the corner of the road course. The car catapulted through the gravel and into the air, rolling several times as pieces ripped away, before finally coming to a stop with

IndyCar driver Simon Pagenaud walks away from a terrifying wreck at Mid-Ohio
World

Damian Lillard asks the Trail Blazers for a trade, sources tell AP

Damian Lillard has said repeatedly that he wants to contend for a championship. After 11 years in Portland, he has decided he needs to move elsewhere to make that happen. Lillard asked the Trail Blazers for a trade, a move that will end the seven-time All-Star’s tenure with that team, two people familiar with the matter said Saturday. Lillard will generate interest from the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets, among others, according to the people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no details were announced publicly. One of the people told the AP that Lillard’s

Damian Lillard asks the Trail Blazers for a trade, sources tell AP
Arts

Summer movie season is in full swing. Here's what's coming through Labor Day

The summer movie season goes into high-gear in July, with the arrival of the seventh “Mission: Impossible” movie followed by the “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” showdown on July 21. Not that you have to choose one or the other — as Tom Cruise said on Twitter, “I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than the one with Oppenheimer and Barbie.” August also promises a new take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and introduces a new DC superhero, Blue Beetle. Here’s a month-by-month guide of this summer’s new movies. Keep scrolling for more info

Summer movie season is in full swing. Here's what's coming through Labor Day
World

Sierra Leone’s main opposition calls for presidential election re-run after incumbent named winner

Sierra Leone’s main opposition party on Saturday demanded a re-run of last weekend’s presidential election after incumbent President Julius Maada Bio was declared the winner and swiftly sworn in for a second term in the West African nation. The opposition All People’s Congress party, or APC, accused Sierra Leone’s electoral commission of conspiring with Bio’s party to rig the results. In a statement, the party also called for the resignation of electoral commission chairman Mohamed Konneh and his entire team among others. “What culminated in the rogue announcement of fraudulent election results on June 25

Sierra Leone’s main opposition calls for presidential election re-run after incumbent named winner
World

Alex Palou dismisses 'dominance' of IndyCar despite 3 wins in his last 4 races

Alexander Rossi had bounced back from a mediocre weekend at Road America to turn some of the fastest laps in the opening IndyCar practice at Mid-Ohio when he was asked how one week transfers to the next — good or bad. “Just because you were good last weekend,” Rossi replied, “doesn’t mean you’re going to be good this weekend.” Unless you’re Alex Palou. Then you’re good every weekend. The 26-year-old Spaniard has won three of the past four races with the only outlier a fourth-place run in the Indianapolis 500, and he has yet to finish outside of the top

Alex Palou dismisses 'dominance' of IndyCar despite 3 wins in his last 4 races
World

Hurricanes retain Fast and Raanta, while Rangers add Wheeler and Quick as NHL free agency opens

The Carolina Hurricanes were able to retain two players — goalie Antti Raanta and forward Jesper Fast — before the NHL’s free agent signing period began on Saturday. The New York Rangers, meantime, were quick out of the gate in signing two free agents, forward Blake Wheeler and goalie Jonathan Quick. Wheeler signed a one-year deal worth $800,000 plus another $300,000 in incentives a day after the former Jets captain was placed on unconditional waivers by Winnipeg for the purpose to have the remainder of his contract bought out. The Rangers announced Wheeler’s signing while a person familiar with the

Hurricanes retain Fast and Raanta, while Rangers add Wheeler and Quick as NHL free agency opens
World

Climate activists disrupt London Pride march to protest corporate sponsorship

The technicolor, dance-filled London Pride march briefly came to a halt Saturday as climate activists blocked a Coca-Cola float to protest event organizers accepting sponsorship money from “high-polluting industries.” Seven members of the group Just Stop Oil were arrested for public nuisance offenses, police said. The demonstration was the latest in a long line of actions by the group to stop traffic or disrupt high profile events as part of its campaign to stop new oil and gas projects. Two protesters were arrested earlier in the week after charging onto the pitch of the Ashes Test cricket

Climate activists disrupt London Pride march to protest corporate sponsorship
World

Venus Williams is back at Wimbledon at age 43 and ready to play on Centre Court again

Asked two days before her 24th Wimbledon begins whether she’s still excited to play tennis at this level, Venus Williams quickly answered: “It’s so much fun.” The next question Saturday was about being on tour without her younger sister, Serena, who wrapped up her career at last year’s U.S. Open. The reply: “Not as much fun.” There is still a big-swinging, Grand Slam-winning member of the Williams family in women’s tennis, and it’s 43-year-old Venus, who recently returned to action after about five months away with a hamstring injury she called “a nightmare.” That followed a

Venus Williams is back at Wimbledon at age 43 and ready to play on Centre Court again
Political

An anti-Trump video shared by the DeSantis campaign is 'homophobic,' says a conservative LGBT group

A prominent group that represents LGBT conservatives says a video shared by Ron DeSantis ′ presidential campaign that slams rival Donald Trump for his past support of gay and transgender people “ventured into homophobic territory.” The “DeSantis War Room” Twitter account shared the video on Friday — the last day of June’s LGBTQ+ Pride Month — that features footage of Trump at the Republican National Convention in 2016 saying he would “do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens.” Trump had been pledging protection from terrorist attacks weeks after the shootings at the Pulse

An anti-Trump video shared by the DeSantis campaign is 'homophobic,' says a conservative LGBT group
World

Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Elena Delle Donne headline WNBA All-Star reserves

WNBA career triple-double leader Alyssa Thomas of Connecticut was selected an All-Star reserve by the league’s coaches on Saturday. Thomas, who will be making her fourth all-star appearance, is the first WNBA player with three triple-doubles in a season. She accomplished it in the span of seven days, including two in back-to-back games. She’s joined by Sun teammate DeWanna Bonner, who is making her fifth All-Star appearance. Atlanta teammates Allisha Gray and Cheyenne Parker will be making their first appearances in the game. So will Indiana’s Kelsey Mitchell and Seattle’s Ezi Magbegor. Other reserves chosen were Washington’s Elena Delle Donne,

Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Elena Delle Donne headline WNBA All-Star reserves
World

NYC school officials say yeshivas run by Hasidic community fail to teach students in core subjects

Eighteen private Jewish schools run by New York City’s politically powerful Hasidic community deprived thousands of students the required secular education in English, math, science and social studies that they need to function successfully outside their religious enclaves, according to findings from an eight-year investigation by New York City school officials. The eight-year investigation — which critics say was long delayed because of politics — concluded that many of the religious schools, or yeshivas, were not providing “substantially equivalent instruction” in core subjects as do public schools — as mandated by state law. In a letter

NYC school officials say yeshivas run by Hasidic community fail to teach students in core subjects
World

Twitter users run into service issues after Elon Musk imposes daily limits on reading tweets

Thousands of people logged complaints about problems accessing Twitter on Saturday after owner Elon Musk limited most users to viewing 600 tweets a day — restrictions he described as an attempt to prevent unauthorized scraping of potentially valuable data from the site. The crackdown began to have ripple effects early Saturday, causing more than 7,500 people at one point to report problems using the social media service, based on complaints registered on Downdetector, a website that tracks online outages. Although that’s a relatively small number of Twitter’s more than 200 million worldwide users, the trouble was

Twitter users run into service issues after Elon Musk imposes daily limits on reading tweets
Health

Australia is the first nation to let patients with depression or PTSD be prescribed psychedelics

Australia is now the first country to allow psychiatrists to prescribe certain psychedelic substances to patients with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. Beginning Saturday, Australian physicians can prescribe doses of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, for PTSD. Psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms, can be given to people who have hard-to-treat depression. The country put the two drugs on the list of approved medicines by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. Scientists in Australia were surprised by the move, which was announced in February but took effect July 1. One scientist said it puts Australian “at the forefront

Australia is the first nation to let patients with depression or PTSD be prescribed psychedelics
World

Knicks are trading former lottery pick and fan favorite Obi Toppin to Pacers, AP source says

The New York Knicks are trading Obi Toppin to the Indiana Pacers, dealing away a former lottery pick who was loved by fans but never as much by coach Tom Thibodeau. The Knicks will get back two second-round picks, a person with knowledge of the details told The Associated Press on Saturday. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade is not yet official. It was first reported by ESPN. Toppin was the No. 8 pick in the 2020 draft after winning national player of the year honors at Dayton. But

Knicks are trading former lottery pick and fan favorite Obi Toppin to Pacers, AP source says
World

Denny Hamlin wins pole for NASCAR Cup Series' first street race in downtown Chicago

Denny Hamlin won the pole Saturday for the NASCAR Cup Series’ first street race, edging Tyler Reddick on the tricky course in downtown Chicago. Hamlin led the way for the race Sunday with a lap of 88.435 seconds at an average speed of 89.557 mph on the 12-turn, 2.2-mile course. It’s his third pole of the season and No. 39 for his career. Reddick was second at 88.479 seconds, followed by Shane van Gisbergen in his first NASCAR event and Christopher Bell. Daniel Suárez rounded out the top five in 89.322 seconds. With Hamlin, Reddick and Bell,

Denny Hamlin wins pole for NASCAR Cup Series' first street race in downtown Chicago
World

June's greatest Sho: A look back at Ohtani's best month in the majors

Shohei Ohtani’s walkup music most of last season was the theme to “The Greatest Showman.” After the Los Angeles Angels star’s June, he should consider returning to it. The Japanese two-way phenom has amazed fans, teammates and opponents since coming to the majors in 2018. June, though was “The Greatest Sho” at the plate. “I’m in a good spot right now,” Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara when asked if he was pitching and hitting at his best. “Hitting-wise, I feel like it is up there for sure.” Ohtani hit 15 home runs, the most in

June's greatest Sho: A look back at Ohtani's best month in the majors
Political

Trump returns to campaign rallies, draws thousands to small South Carolina city ahead of July 4

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday marked a return to the large-scale rallies of his previous presidential campaigns, speaking to thousands gathered in the streets of a small South Carolina city on a blazing day ahead of the July 4 holiday. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be to kick off the Fourth of July weekend than right here on Main St., with thousands of hardworking South Carolina patriots who believe in God, family and country,” Trump said to a roaring crowd standing on asphalt as temperatures climbed into the 90s. It wasn’t immediately clear how many

Trump returns to campaign rallies, draws thousands to small South Carolina city ahead of July 4
World

65-year-old Bernhard Langer takes a 2-shot lead in the US Senior Open at SentryWorld

Bernhard Langer took a two-stroke lead Saturday in the U.S. Senior Open at difficult SentryWorld in the 65-year-old German star’s bid to break the PGA Tour Champions’ career victory record. Fan favorites Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly —both from Madison, 100 miles to the south — were right behind, with Retief Goosen and Y.E. Yang the only other players under par with a round left on the punishing tree-lined course with thick rough and tricky greens. Langer shot his second straight 3-under 68 to reach 6 under. The 2010 U.S. Senior Open winner at Sahalee

65-year-old Bernhard Langer takes a 2-shot lead in the US Senior Open at SentryWorld
World

Fowler leads the Rocket Mortgage Classic at 20 under in a bid to end drought

Rickie Fowler has put himself in a position to win a PGA Tour title again. He’s hoping to take advantage for a change. Fowler birdied six of his last eight holes Saturday to surge into the Rocket Mortgage Classic lead at 20 under, giving him another chance to end a four-year PGA Tour victory drought. “I’m not scared to fail,” said Fowler, who had an 8-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over Adam Hdwin at Detroit Golf Club. “I’ve dealt with plenty of that.” Indeed. Two weeks ago in Los Angeles in the U.S. Open, Fowler

Fowler leads the Rocket Mortgage Classic at 20 under in a bid to end drought
World

Fired New Mexico State basketball coach Greg Heiar hired by a Missouri junior college

Former New Mexico State basketball coach Greg Heiar has been hired to coach Mineral Area College, a junior college in Missouri, four months after he was fired in the wake of the Aggies’ hazing scandal. Heiar was dismissed from New Mexico State in February following hazing allegations within the team that shut down the program for the season. The Aggies were 9-15 overall and 2-16 in the Western Athletic Conference when the season was stopped. New Mexico State agreed to pay $8 million to settle a lawsuit involving two basketball players who said they were

Fired New Mexico State basketball coach Greg Heiar hired by a Missouri junior college
World

After fall of Roe, emboldened religious conservatives lobby to restrict abortion in Africa

Nowhere in the world has a higher rate of unsafe abortions or unintended pregnancies than sub-Saharan Africa, where women often face scorn for becoming pregnant before marriage. Efforts to legalize and make abortions safer in Africa were shaken when the U.S. Supreme Court ended the national right to an abortion a year ago. Within days, Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio declared that his government would decriminalize abortion “at a time when sexual and reproductive health rights for women are being either overturned or threatened.” But some U.S.-based organizations active in Africa were emboldened, especially in

After fall of Roe, emboldened religious conservatives lobby to restrict abortion in Africa
World

Israel's air force attacks Syria and Syrian air defense missile explodes over northern Israel

Israel carried out airstrikes on areas near the central Syrian city of Homs early Sunday causing material damage but no casualties, the Syrian military said in a statement. Syrian state media quoted an unnamed military official as saying the air defenses shot down some of the missiles fired by Israeli warplanes flying over neighboring Lebanon. Israeli authorities did not comment on the airstrike on Homs but said one of the Syrian air defense missiles exploded over northern Israel without causing any damage. Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee later said that Israel’s military retaliated for the firing of

Israel's air force attacks Syria and Syrian air defense missile explodes over northern Israel
Health

What to know about Fourth of July holiday origins and traditions

The Fourth of July is Americana at its core: parades and cookouts and cold beer and, of course, fireworks. Those pyrotechnics also make it an especially dangerous holiday, typically resulting in more than 10,000 trips to the emergency room. Yet fireworks remain at the center of Independence Day, a holiday 247 years in the making. Here are five things to know about July Fourth, including the origin of the holiday and how fireworks became part of the tradition. WHAT’S THE ORIGIN OF INDEPENDENCE DAY? The holiday celebrates the Second Continental Congress’ unanimous adoption of the Declaration

What to know about Fourth of July holiday origins and traditions

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