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Teacher shortages continue to affect local schools

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:00 GMT

RENSSELAER, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The return to school is one month away for Capital Region students, and some districts continue to face a teacher shortage with concerns over recruitment and retention. Dr. Amy Prabhakaran, Director of Pupil and Personnel Services for Rensselaer City Schools, said the district saw challenges hiring special education teachers, along with other teaching positions, ahead of the new school year. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! “It looks like we’re in pretty good shape to fill the teaching positions but it is still notably less applicants," Prabhakaran said. "A fewer pool of people to look at and determine that goodness of fit. It’s more challenging than it has been in past years.”According to New York State United Teachers, enrollment in state teaching programs declined 53 percent since 2009. Prabhakaran said the district is also seeing challenges hiring for student support positions like school psycho...

3 passengers dead after charter bus crashes on Pennsylvania interstate, state police say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:00 GMT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A charter bus carrying up to 50 people crashed and hit another vehicle on a Pennsylvania interstate, killing three bus passengers, state police said.The wreck happened during heavy rain around 11:50 p.m. Sunday on southbound Interstate 81 just north of Harrisburg, state police said. The bus drove off the roadway, struck an embankment and rolled onto its right side before hitting the back of a car that was stopped in the right lane of traffic, according to a crash report.The three passengers were declared dead at the scene, the police report said, and others suffered injuries that ranged from minor to severe. Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center received 28 patients from the crash, spokesperson Scott Gilbert said in an email. As of Monday morning, two people were admitted as inpatients, 16 were being treated in the emergency department and 10 had been discharged. He said the hospital was told several other people were taken to another hospital. A D...

Dispute between 3 women in vehicle ends with deadly stabbing in Hollywood

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:00 GMT

A dispute inside a vehicle led to a stabbing that left one woman dead and another injured in Hollywood Monday morning. Police responded to reports of a stabbing in the 7200 block of West Sunset Boulevard around 1:45 a.m., according to a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson. Police investigate a fatal stabbing in Hollywood on Aug. 7, 2023. (KTLA)Preliminary information indicated that three women were inside a vehicle when the suspect, described only as a 23-year-old woman, stabbed both of the victims during a verbal dispute. The two victims were described as a 43-year-old woman and a 24-year-old woman. Both were transported to a local hospital, where the 43-year-old died from her injuries, according to authorities. Shooting leaves 2 dead following street takeover reports in South Los Angeles There was no word on the condition of the second victim.The suspect was taken into custody and no other suspects were outstanding, police said. Homicide detectives were taking over the i...

Los Angeles city workers to join strikes of 'hot labor summer'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:00 GMT

Hot labor summer continues as yet another large group of workers have announced plans to strike. Los Angeles city workers are planning to go on a 24-hour strike Tuesday, according to multiple reports. Striking workers will picket at Los Angeles City Hall and LAX, worker union SEIU Local 721 indicated on Twitter.They join hotel workers, UPS workers, writers and actors in using strikes — or the threats of strikes — to negotiate for better wages and benefits from their employees.The L.A. city worker strike would be the first in 15 years, the Los Angeles Times reports. SEIU Local 721 said about 11,000 people will participate, including "sanitation workers, heavy duty mechanics, traffic officers and engineers," the Times added. The workers are "vital to the function of services for millions of Angelenos every day and to our local economy," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement issued in response to the strike announcement."They deserve fair contracts and we have been bargainin...

Swim in the Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:00 GMT

After a two-year closure of Hearst Castle, the landmark is allowing people to come over for a swim. The pool was once visited by Hollywood legends like Joan Crawford, Howard Hughes and Charlie Chaplin.You have the chance to go behind the scenes and swim in the San Simeon, California, pool. But it'll cost you. First, you have to be a member of the Foundation at Hearst Castle, which costs $500 annually. After that, you can book a reservation for $1,000, which gives you access to the iconic Neptune pool. Those who qualify and are interested can book their reservation online. There are a limited amount of tickets available. The first swim event is the Hollywood at Hearst Castle Neptune Pool Swim on Aug. 19. Hollywood insiders like Nigel Lythgoe, the executive producer of "American Idol" and the creator of "So You Think You Can Dance," "Grace and Frankie" actress June Diane Raphael and her husband, actor Paul Scheer from "The League," and more will be in attendance. No more than 50 peop...

Person found dead in car on U.S. 101 in San Jose

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:00 GMT

An individual was found dead on U.S. 101 in San Jose on Friday night, according to the California Highway Patrol.At just past 11:30 p.m., CHP reported a white Hyundai Genesis was stopped on the left-hand shoulder of U.S. 101 near Yerba Buena Road. A coroner was called to the scene, but details behind the death were not immediately.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Former Sacramento Kings player gets 10 years in prison for NBA benefit fraud

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:00 GMT

NEW YORK — Terrence Williams, who played briefly for the Sacramento Kings in 2012, was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a federal judge Thursday for defrauding the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefit Plan of $5 million between 2017 and 2021.Williams, a first-round pick by the then-New Jersey Nets in the 2009 NBA draft, was also ordered to forfeit more than $650,000 and pay $2.5 million in restitution.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | San Jose flooring company owner sentenced for shorting workers $1 million in overtime wages Crime and Public Safety | Wells Fargo accused of new fake-accounts scam in racketeering, identity-fraud lawsuit Crime and Public Safety | Man arrested after California sheriff’s department receives 7,000 spam calls Crime and Public Safety | Sam Bankman-Fried faces potential gag order after witness-tampering allegations Crime and Public Safety | Businessman gets over 5 years in priso...

California home prices could jump 7%. Where might biggest gains occur?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:00 GMT

“Crystal Ball” helps decipher numerous forecasts that ponder the future ups and downs of the economy.Buzz: It could be another rollercoaster ride for California home values as one forecast calls for price dips reversing to a 7.3% gain over the next 12 months.Source: My trusty spreadsheet reviewed the June report for CoreLogic’s home-price indexes, looking at what happened to values in 12 big markets and what might come next. This “paired sales” index is based on a study of price changes tied to individual transactions compared with other yardsticks that only track median sales prices.The trendCalifornia’s home prices fell 2.2% in the year ended in June with losses found in all but one of a dozen markets tracked. The dip follows statewide prices soaring 35.5% in the previous 24 months.This turnabout can be largely tied to plummeting affordability on the heels of Federal Reserve rate hikes. The central bank morphed in early 2022 from a home-price pumper – using historically cheap mone...

‘Heartless’ jail time for Bay Area mother of newborn twins

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:00 GMT

A petition for resentencing will be heard Monday in Solano County Superior Court for a mother of newborn twins who was denied bail July 28 after being convicted of fraud.Patricia Anne McCleese, 33, who left the courtroom in tears after the denial, will face Judge Carlos R. Gutierrez in a bid to convince the judge to “recall” her jail sentence of two years and eight months.Chief Deputy Public Defender Oscar Bobrow said after the July 28 hearing that an appellate court might be interested in the bail denial “given the gravity of the impact on the children who were just born.”Bobrow added that in his 40-year legal career he had “not seen a judge be this heartless” and the denial of bail “seems unduly harsh.” Gutierrez responded by pointing out  Bobrow has never been a judge.Guiterrez was requested by Division 5 of the First Appellate District to file a response granting or denying McCleese’s request to be released on her own recognizance with bail, pending appeal. The judge must respon...

White California mom claims Southwest Airlines thought she was human trafficking when traveling with her Black daughter, according to lawsuit

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:00 GMT

By Jamiel Lynch|  CNNA mother is suing Southwest Airlines for racial discrimination, saying she was accused of human trafficking when traveling with her biracial child.Mary MacCarthy, who is White, traveled from California to Denver with her daughter, who is Black, to attend her brother’s funeral in October of 2021, according to the lawsuit filed Thursday.“Unbeknownst to Ms. MacCarthy, while they were in the air, a Southwest employee called the Denver Police Department to report Ms. MacCarthy for suspected child trafficking for no reason other than the different color of her daughter’s skin from her own,” the suit alleges.As MacCarthy and her daughter were walking down the jet bridge, they were confronted by Denver police officers, it continues.“The officers began questioning Ms. MacCarthy and made it clear that they were given the racially charged information that Ms. MacCarthy’s daughter was possibly being trafficked by her simply because Ms. MacCarthy is White and her daughter is...