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Transgender man suing employer, union after being denied gender-affirming medical care

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:21 GMT

CHICAGO — A transgender man who was denied critical gender-affirming medical care by the by his former employer and union's health plan has filed a federal lawsuit.Morgan Mesi stated he was devastated when the health plan provided by his employer and union refused to cover his medically-necessary top surgery.He was a sales employee at Tenzing Wine & Spirits, LLC and Breakthru Beverage Illinois, LLC. Both companies are based in the Chicagoland area. Mayor says Elk Grove Village police officers used Taser before deadly shooting: report The medical treatment Mesi sought, including surgery, is standard treatment for gender dysphoria and widely recognized as medically necessary by the medical community. Mesi, a Chicagoan and transgender man, said the health plan’s refusal to cover his surgery allegedly caused him extreme distress.Mesi viewed the surgery as a matter of life and death, and said he was experiencing regular suicidal thoughts. His health care providers submitted ex...

Spurs waive Sir'Jabari Rice after signing David Duke Jr. to two-way contract

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:21 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Former Texas Longhorns guard Sir'Jabari Rice is looking for a new place to play in the NBA.After signing David Duke Jr. to a two-way contract with their G League affiliate in Austin, the Spurs waived Rice to make room on the roster. In four games with the Austin Spurs, Rice averaged 9.3 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per game. Rice transferred to Texas for the 2022-23 season after five years at New Mexico State and was an integral part of the Longhorns' run to the Elite Eight. He averaged 13 points per game for Texas last season and signed with the Spurs in July as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 NBA Draft. Two-way contracts allow teams to carry up to three extra players (in addition to the usual 15) that typically swing between the NBA team and its G League affiliate.Duke Jr. last played for the Delaware Blue Coats, the G League affiliate of the Philadelphia 76ers, where he averaged 21.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 31.5 minut...

Another defendant pleads guilty in $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:21 GMT

A 40-year-old man has pleaded guilty to participating in the $250 million Feeding Our Future fraud that exploited the Federal Child Nutrition Program during the COVID-19 pandemic.Ahmed Sharif Omar-Hashim, who is also known as Salah Donyale, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of wire fraud, according to a news release issued by the office of U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.As part of the Feeding Our Future scheme, Omar-Hashim in fall 2020 created a company called Olive Management, which claimed to serve meals to 3,000 children every day of the week at a site in St. Cloud, the news release said. The company took in nearly $7.5 million in federal aid funds.Between September 2020 and September 2021, Olive Management claimed to have served more than 1.6 million meals. Omar-Hashim and his co-conspirators submitted an attendance roster of 2,040 children who were served by the program. Only about 20 of those names matched children attending ...

Broncos’ depth at outside linebacker will be tested following Nik Bonitto’s injury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:21 GMT

Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph understands the reality of the team’s depth at outside linebacker.Second-year edge rusher Nik Bonitto will not play in Saturday’s game against the Detroit Lions due to a knee injury. While Baron Browning is fully healthy, outside linebacker Jonathon Cooper (ankle) was limited at practice this week, and rookie inside linebacker Drew Sanders, who has spent some time on the edge in recent weeks, is still getting up to speed.Not to mention, Ronnie Perkins was waived on Thursday after playing in five games.Joseph thinks the Broncos have enough at outside linebacker. And if they don’t, Denver has no choice but to work with what it has.“The game is Saturday night. We can’t draft anybody else right now,” Joseph said.Bonitto’s absence is a big loss for the Broncos. He has been an effective pass-rush unit in recent weeks and recorded a team-best seven sacks and 18 quarterback hits in 13 games (three starts).It remains to be seen if Cooper is 100% hea...

Orange County D.A. blasts L.A. while announcing home burglary arrests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:21 GMT

Authorities in Orange County have announced the arrests of 20 people, including five juveniles, allegedly tied to a prolific home burglary crew that hit dozens of homes.“As of now, we have 35 known burglaries tied to this crew,” said Sheriff Don Barnes at a Thursday news conference. “It is believed that there may be additional burglaries and our investigative teams will continue of their investigation.” Idaho goes ‘Animal Style’ for first In-N-Out Burger This investigation started last year when authorities connected a burglary in Yorba Linda to two others in unincorporated Santa Ana.  Eventually, more than 30 other break-ins in nine cities were linked to the same crew, officials said.Some of the crimes were captured on home surveillance video and, in some of the cases, the victims were still home at the time of the break-ins.The thieves made off with more than a half-million dollars’ worth of property including cash, guns and jewelry, authorities said. Nine of the 20 suspect...

L.A. County lays to rest 1,900 unclaimed remains in annual ceremony

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:21 GMT

The remains of more than 1,900 people were laid to rest Thursday during a ceremony in Los Angeles County.A tradition that has spanned more than 125 years, the yearly Ceremony of the Unclaimed Dead honors those who died in the Los Angeles area but whose remains were never claimed by loved ones.The ceremony is held to offer a respectful and compassionate end to those who died and ensure that no soul is truly forgotten.Los Angeles County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn lay flowers at the grave where the remains of 1,900 people were laid to rest during L.A. County annual Ceremony of the Unclaimed Dead on Dec. 14, 2023. (Los Angeles County Department of Health Services)At the Los Angeles County Crematorium Cemetery in Boyle Heights, local faith leaders led the non-denominational event, laying to rest 1,937 remains into a single communal grave.The burial is coordinated by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, the Department of Health Services, the Office of Decedent Affairs...

Loved ones mourn man fatally stabbed on Metro train in South L.A.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:21 GMT

A family remains devastated after a young man was fatally stabbed on a Metro train in South Los Angeles earlier this week.The victim, Jalil Sosa Illera, 27, was onboard when, during a verbal altercation, he was stabbed multiple times by a suspect, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.Illera later died from his injuries at the hospital.His mother, Brigitte Rangel, recalls the last conversation she had with her son before he was murdered.“I said, ‘Okay, enjoy. I love you. I’ll talk to you later,’” Rangel recalls. “He goes, ‘All right, Mommy.’ Then 15 minutes later, [the stabbing] happened.”One of five children, Illera's family from New York is struggling to cope with the devastating loss.Jalil Sosa Illera, 27, in a family photo.Jalil Sosa Illera, 27, in a family photo.Jalil Sosa Illera, 27, and his siblings in a family photo.Suspect wanted after allegedly stabbing a man to death aboard a Metro train in South L.A. on Dec. 12, 2023. (Los Angeles Police Department)A man was kil...

This winter's El Niño could be one of the strongest in decades. What it could mean for California

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:21 GMT

The 2023-24 El Niño is likely to be one for the record books. In an update released Thursday, the Climate Prediction Center said this winter's El Niño was slightly favored to be "historically strong." The national forecasters gave it about a 54% chance of being one of the five strongest since 1950. El Niño is back: What it could mean for California’s winter Those odds are up from last month, when the Climate Prediction Center gave this year's El Niño a 35% chance of being among the strongest ever, like the one we saw 2015-16 or 1997-98.But a super-strong El Niño doesn't necessarily mean super-strong impacts, like storms, flooding or heavy snow. "While stronger El Niño events increase the likelihood of El Niño-related climate anomalies, it does not imply expected impacts will emerge in all locations or be of strong intensity," says the Climate Prediction Center. What are they expecting to happen this winter? As with any weather, it depends on where you live. The precipitation outl...

80s synth-pop pioneers Men Without Hats back with new music, Anaheim show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:21 GMT

Every generation naturally feels as if the music of their youth was the best era of them all. As more time elapses, however, it becomes harder to deny the oversized influence and enduring appeal of the 1980s.From arena-packing hard rock acts like Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe and Journey, to new wave pioneers The Cure, Duran Duran and U2, cassette-hoarding kids of the 80s never need to revisit the music from their childhood - because it never went away.Many of the top acts from that era are still enjoying heavy rotation on the radio and still packing venues across the U.S. and around the globe. Case in point: Depeche Mode’s recent four-night residency in Los Angeles (two nights at the Kia Forum and two nights at Crypto.com Arena).Carved into the Mount Rushmore of 1980s hits is “The Safety Dance” from Canadian synth-pop band Men Without Hats. This complex analog jam and its quirky video took the world by storm, landing at No. 1 on the Billboard Dance Chart and even inspiring a “Weird Al” ...

The Holiday Cannabis Accessory Guide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:21 GMT

The Christmas season has arrived and just like every year, we have the perfect cannabis accessories to please the cannabis enthusiast in your life. It was a great year for cannabis accessories. That was whether you were talking about all the cool new stuff or standard bearers getting upgrades. There were plenty of both. So that means we’re able to go all over the place with this list to cover a variety of products. And for all the good out there, there is a bunch of garbage. Anything on this list we can vet. Just because something isn’t on this list doesn’t mean it’s not awesome. We promise you can have faith in these products and they are all available now.  Storz and Bickel VentyCourtesy of Storz and BickelI’ve personally been using Storz and Bickel products for 18 years. I imagine that the first analog Volcano I hit in the dorm before the digital upgrade still works to this day. But we’re not talking about coffee table vaporizers, we’re talking about Storz and Bickel’s...