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The mystery of a ‘ghost’ author, a prophetic novel and some social media sleuths

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:46:40 GMT

By Liz Ohanesian, special to Southern California News GroupMargaret O’Donnell couldn’t be found.The author of “The Beehive,” a 1980 novel of speculative fiction dealing with the kind of feminist issues that would later feature in Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” O’Donnell had disappeared from view. And after the folks at Richmond, Virginia-based Valancourt Books spent three months trying to locate the author or her estate in order to reprint the book, whose themes they thought resonated even more in a post-Roe world, they were ready to abandon the search.Hers is a very common name in Ireland. They’d tried public documents in Ireland and the U.K. and probate searches and newspaper archives. They searched using information gleaned from the book’s dust jacket, including her alma mater and the fact that she was involved in Ireland’s movement to legalize contraception.It didn’t help that there was another woman named Margaret O’Donnell, an editor of poetry anthologies, who turned...

16-year-old skateboarder killed in crash

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:46:40 GMT

WARNER SPRINGS, Calif. — A teenager was killed Sunday after he was hit by vehicle while riding his skateboard in Warner Springs, the California Highway Patrol said.According to CHP, the incident happened around 8:05 p.m. on southbound State Route 79, North of Peralta Drive.A 70-year-old man was driving a Mitsubishi vehicle southbound on SR-79 and was unable to avoid a skateboarder who was traveling northbound in the southbound lane, CHP Public Information Officer Jared Grieshaber said in a news release. Police to begin enforcement of homeless encampment ban on Monday The skateboarder, a 16-year-old boy, was transported to Inland Valley Hospital where he was later pronounced dead. according to CHP.The driver of the Mitsubishi and a passenger, a 70-year-old woman, were not injured in the crash.The investigation into the incident is still ongoing, but CHP said that alcohol or drugs did not appear to be a factor in the crash.The identity of the teenager was not publicly released.

Second arrest made in connection to deadly shooting; victim identified

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:46:40 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A second arrest has been made in connection with a deadly shooting near City Heights earlier this month, San Diego police announced.The incident happened around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 22 near Chollas Parkway and 54th Street in the Redwood Village neighborhood.According to SDPD, officers found a man suffering from at least one gunshot wound in a ravine upon arrival to the scene. The victim, identified by 29-year-old Stephen Toney, was transported to a nearby hospital where he was later pronounced dead.During their initial investigation, SDPD said officers learned that the victim had been involved in an argument with two other men prior to the shooting.Last week, the second of the two suspects was arrested in connection to the deadly shooting, according to SDPD. Family identifies fatal wrong-way crash victim as loving father of six Peter Santiago, 29, was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the shooting on Thursday. He was taken into custody at his residence i...

Alabama health care providers sue over threat of prosecution for abortion help

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:46:40 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Health care providers in Alabama, where abortion is almost entirely illegal, filed a lawsuit Monday against the state’s attorney general that seeks to prevent him from prosecuting people who help women travel outside the state to receive an abortion. The providers say Attorney General Steve Marshall has made statements suggesting that anti-conspiracy laws could be used against groups that provide assistance for Alabama women to travel to states where abortion is legal. The lawsuit, filed in federal court by two former abortion clinics and an obstetrician, seeks a legal ruling that state laws can’t be used to prosecute people who provide referrals and appointment help. A similar lawsuit filed Monday by Yellowhammer Fund, a group that once provided financial assistance to women seeking abortions, seeks to clarify it can’t be prosecuted for providing monetary help.“What the attorney general has tried to do via these threats is to effectively extend Alabama’s abo...

Pee-wee Herman actor and creator Paul Reubens dies from cancer at 70

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:46:40 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian whose Pee-wee Herman character — an overgrown child with a tight gray suit and an unforgettable laugh — became a 1980s pop cultural phenomenon, has died at 70.Reubens, who’s character delighted fans in the film “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and on the TV series “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” died Sunday night after a six-year struggle with cancer that he kept private, his publicist said in a statement.“Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years,” Reubens said in a statement released Monday with the announcement of his death. “I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”Created for the stage, Pee-wee with his white chunky loafers and red bow tie would become a cultural constant in both adult and children’s entertainment for much of the 1980s, though an indecent exposure arrest in ...

These Canadians moved to Hollywood to write and act. Now they’re on strike

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:46:40 GMT

Canadian actors and screenwriters who are part of historic dual labour strikes in Hollywood say they are fighting for the future of their industries – on both sides of the border. But the uncertainties around the bitter disputes that have darkened film and TV sets have left some of them with creeping financial and professional anxiety.Members of two unions – the Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists – seek guarantees including improved compensation and protections from the use of artificial intelligence.The writers strike began in May and the actors joinedmid-July.Among affected members are many Canadian transplants who have joined the picket lines to demand a fair deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the big studios and streamers.Here’s a look at how homegrown actors and writers employed in the United States are coping. Kristian Bruun, actorWere it not for the SAG strik...

Man dead after falling from cliff in Burlington’s Mount Nemo Conservation Area

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:46:40 GMT

A man has died after falling from a cliff in the Mount Nemo Conservation Area.Halton Region police say the man was hiking with friends on Sunday when he fell from a cliff in the conservation area in Burlington, Ont.They say emergency crews, including paramedics and firefighters, responded.Police say the man died at the scene.They say he was a 58-year-old from Kitchener, Ont.

MLB pays $185 million in settlement of minor leaguers’ minimum wage lawsuit

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:46:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball has paid its $185 million settlement of a lawsuit by minor leaguers alleging violations of minimum wage laws.Under terms of the settlement agreed to last year, about 24,000 players from 2009-22 were potentially eligible to share the money, with estimated payments to players averaging in the $5,000 to $5,500 range. MLB said Monday it had transferred the money to JND Legal Administration, which is expected to make the payments by Aug. 14. Minor leaguers unionized last September and agreed this spring to a five-year labor contract that more than doubled player salaries.The settlement covers all players with minor league contracts who played in the California League for at least seven straight days starting on Feb. 7, 2010, through the settlement’s preliminary approval last Aug. 26; players who participated in spring training, extended spring training or instructional leagues in Florida from Feb. 7, 2009, through last Aug. 26; and players who partic...

Leading anti-abortion group rips DeSantis for not pushing for national ban

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:46:40 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A leading anti-abortion organization criticized Republican Ron DeSantis on Monday for not supporting a national ban on the procedure, calling the Florida governor’s position “unacceptable” as he seeks the GOP nomination for president. The president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, an influential player in conservative politics, took issue with DeSantis’ statements in a recent interview in which he declined to back a national abortion ban. SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser said the anti-abortion movement and Americans across the U.S. deserve a president who will “boldly advocate” for a ban on abortion at 15 weeks of pregnancy. “A pro-life president has a duty to protect the lives of all Americans. He should be the National Defender of Life,” she said. “Gov. DeSantis’s dismissal of this task is unacceptable to prolife voters. A consensus is already formed. Intensity for it is palpable and measurable. There are many pressing legislative issues fo...

Xplore to offer faster rural satellite internet following Jupiter 3 launch

Published Fri, 07 Feb 2025 14:46:40 GMT

Canadian rural internet provider Xplore Inc. plans to offer faster satellite internet to those in remote locations this fall following the launch of the Jupiter 3 satellite into space.The New Brunswick-based telecommunications company said the technology will provide a homegrown alternative to broadband internet service offered to rural Canadians through SpaceX’s Starlink low-earth orbit satellites.Xplore president and chief commercial officer Rizwan Jamal said his company’s new broadband service will include speeds of 100 megabits per second, which is double the maximum speed it currently offers for satellite internet.Other perks include professional installation, no upfront hardware costs and 24/7 Canada-based customer support.“This brand new satellite … is going to be like a superhighway that is ready to take on traffic,” said Jamal.“There’ll be no cars on the highway at the beginning, so I think that the first customers that get on board...