Buchanan scores 28 off the bench, Boise State downs South Dakota State 83-82MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Connecticut couple has been charged in Minnesota with being part of a shoplifting ring suspected of stealing around $1 million in goods across the country from the upscale athletic wear retailer Lululemon. Jadion Anthony Richards, 44, and Akwele Nickeisha Lawes-Richards, 45, both of Danbury, Connecticut, were charged this month with one felony count of organized retail theft. Both went free last week after posting bail bonds of $100,000 for him and $30,000 for her, court records show. They're due back in Ramsey County District Court in St. Paul on Dec. 16. According to the criminal complaints, a Lululemon investigator had been tracking the pair even before police first confronted them on Nov. 14 at a store in suburban Roseville. The investigator told police the couple were responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses across the country, the complaints said. They would steal items and make fraudulent returns, it said. Police found suitcases containing more than $50,000 worth of Lululemon clothing when they searched the couple's hotel room in Bloomington, the complaint said. According to the investigator, they were also suspected in thefts from Lululemon stores in Colorado, Utah, New York and Connecticut, the complaint said. Within Minnesota, they were also accused of thefts at stores in Minneapolis and the suburbs of Woodbury, Edina and Minnetonka. The investigator said the two were part of a group that would usually travel to a city and hit Lululemon stores there for two days, return to the East Coast to exchange the items without receipts for new items, take back the new items with the return receipts for credit card refunds, then head back out to commit more thefts, the complaint said. In at least some of the thefts, it said, Richards would enter the store first and buy one or two cheap items. He'd then return to the sales floor where, with help from Lawes-Richards, they would remove a security sensor from another item and put it on one of the items he had just purchased. Lawes-Richards and another woman would then conceal leggings under their clothing. They would then leave together. When the security sensors at the door went off, he would offer staff the bag with the items he had bought, while the women would keep walking out, fooling the staff into thinking it was his sensor that had set off the alarm, the complaint said. Richards' attorney declined comment. Lawes-Richards' public defender did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday. “This outcome continues to underscore our ongoing collaboration with law enforcement and our investments in advanced technology, team training and investigative capabilities to combat retail crime and hold offenders accountable,” Tristen Shields, Lululemon's vice president of asset protection, said in a statement. "We remain dedicated to continuing these efforts to address and prevent this industrywide issue.” The two are being prosecuted under a state law enacted last year that seeks to crack down on organized retail theft. One of its chief authors, Sen. Ron Latz, of St. Louis Park, said 34 states already had organized retail crime laws on their books. “I am glad to see it is working as intended to bring down criminal operations," Latz said in a statement. "This type of theft harms retailers in myriad ways, including lost economic activity, job loss, and threats to worker safety when crime goes unaddressed. It also harms consumers through rising costs and compromised products being resold online.” Two Minnesota women were also charged under the new law in August. They were accused of targeting a Lululemon store in Minneapolis.SPRINGFIELD — In the days after former President Donald Trump was reelected, Illinois Democrats raised alarms about the ramifications of his second term and said they would consider whether the state needs to strengthen any of its progressive laws on reproductive rights and other issues that might be threatened by an unfriendly White House. But the Democratic-led Illinois General Assembly adjourned its final session of the year without taking any meaningful steps in that direction, with some lawmakers saying more time is needed to consider what might be done. Republicans countered by accusing Democrats of considering legislation based only on assumptions about potential actions by the Trump administration. During their five-day fall veto session — legislators left town a day early in the first week — lawmakers did pass a measure to phase out a subminimum wage for people with disabilities, and moved forward on another aimed at making it easier for the state’s child welfare system to have a child’s family member serve as their legal guardian. Some bigger issues were pushed into next year, among them legislation adjusting the state’s pension system and a proposal to consolidate the Chicago area’s transit agencies. Following a lame duck session scheduled for Jan. 2-7, a new General Assembly will be seated on Jan. 8, and after that Gov. JB Pritzker and lawmakers will also need to confront a projected budget shortfall of nearly $3.2 billion for next year’s state budget. Pritzker last week announced he was part of an initiative called Governors Safeguarding Democracy with Colorado Gov. Jared Polis to leverage states’ rights against threats following Trump’s reelection. But Pritzker didn’t go the route of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who directly asked his state’s general assembly to address Trump’s election in a special legislative session next month. Illinois’ Democratic lawmakers said figuring out exactly what to do will take some time, and that the just-completed session simply provided an opportunity to get discussions started. “So many people that we legislators represent, including ourselves, have so much anxiety about changes to come due to the incoming administration and we don’t know immediately what we can do in the state legislative arena, but we are already listening, talking about it and planning for it,” said Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, a Democrat from Chicago’s Northwest Side. “Those are complicated issues and once we start putting stuff on paper and talking about it publicly, we have to get it right.” Some of the issues being explored are in the areas of environmental protections, immigration and health care access, along with abortion, LGBTQ+ and workers’ rights. State Rep. Bob Morgan, a Democrat from Deerfield, believes he and his colleagues will be working on issues that address “preemptive, proactive protections” for Illinoisans. Morgan, who has a special interest in gun safety issues following a deadly mass shooting in his district at the 2022 Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, questioned whether President Joe Biden’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention would be on the chopping block and how that would affect Illinois. “When we start talking about policy to keep people safe, it really puts the pressure on states like Illinois to really figure out what can we do to reduce gun violence, and the opportunity to rely on the federal government will no longer be there,” Morgan said. Morgan was a main sponsor of Illinois’ sweeping gun ban that took effect in January 2023, but earlier this month was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge who was appointed to the bench during Trump’s first term. House Republican leader Tony McCombie, who has been critical of the Democratic call for a legislative response to Trump’s approaching presidency, said Thursday she was against having a lame duck session if the Democrats don’t intend to pass any meaningful measures. “We do not need more time for out-of-touch Democrats to dream up harmful legislation,” said McCombie, of Savanna. “We need bipartisan legislation that focuses on the issues Illinois families care about most.” Republican Rep. Charlie Meier said Democrats shouldn’t be changing laws or passing laws “just because America’s doing what America does” by electing a new president. “They’re going to try to think what he might do before he even does it to create another law on the Illinois citizens that we may not need,” said Meier, of Okawville. “We are a state that has written so many laws, so many rules, that we are about the worst in unemployment in the country.” Among the measures lawmakers did move to Pritzker’s desk during the brief session was a heavily debated bill to phase out subminimum wage for disabled workers over the next five years. Federal law allows some employers to pay disabled workers less than minimum wage. In Illinois, some disabled workers are paid less than a dollar an hour, according to the bill’s advocates. Erin Compton, a student who identified as having an intellectual disability, testified in favor of the bill in committee, saying she has held several jobs including in research and as a ticket scanner for the Cubs. “Some people say that having a job isn’t for me, because I’m not smart enough or good enough to work, but I was given opportunities to work in the community and have to have a fair wage,” Compton said. Pritzker praised the legislation, calling it an “unprecedented, crucial leap forward” for disabled people to earn a fair wage. “Far too often, people with disabilities still endure barriers to employment and discrimination in the workplace,” he said in a statement. “Many are paid subminimum wages that devalue their contributions and diminish their likelihood to secure meaningful work and participate in other life-enhancing activities.” While the bill passed with bipartisan support, opponents including Republican Sen. Chapin Rose of Mahomet warned it could lead to a loss of opportunities for some disabled people. Another measure that has bipartisan support provides additional incentives for relatives of children in the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to maintain a home for the youths as an alternative to the children being placed in foster care with nonfamily members. It passed with no opposition in the Senate on Thursday after passing 113-0 in the House last spring. But because of an amendment that was attached to the bill by the Senate, it has to go back to the House for what will likely be the bill’s final vote. The legislation requires DCFS to seek federal funding to start a “kinship navigator program” to assist relatives who are caregivers with the agency and increase financial support to those relatives. According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which pushed for the measure, more than 10,000 children in DCFS care live with relatives, but over 60% of these caregivers are denied the foster care benefits necessary to care for a youth being placed in their household because state law requires them to meet complex standards that were put in place decades ago. “Current licensing procedures create unnecessary roadblocks to financial assistance for relatives serving as caregivers,” Sen. Mattie Hunter, a Chicago Democrat who was a chief sponsor of the measure, said in a statement. “Research shows children are better off when they can maintain connections to their families and traditions. We need to provide these families with the support they need to make this possible.” The veto session was also an opportunity for lobbyists, unions and other advocates to make last-minute pushes to get their bill proposals on lawmakers’ agendas. On the second day of the veto session, thousands descended on the state Capitol for a rally highlighting their concerns over changes made to Illinois’ beleaguered pension system 13 years ago. Workers hired after Jan. 1, 2011, were placed into a “Tier 2” system that offered reduced benefits compared with other employees hired before that date. The overall goal of creating the Tier 2 plan was to shrink a pension debt that now runs to about $141 billion. But benefits paid out under the Tier 2 system at some point won’t equal to what Social Security would provide to those employees, a violation of a federal “safe harbor” law. This would require Illinois to pay large sums in Social Security taxes instead of operating its own pension system which, while still costly, allows the state more flexibility. At the rally, proponents cheered and bellowed chants calling for equality in the state’s pension system. “We are union people. We believe people doing the same job, a fair day’s work, deserve a fair day’s pay, whether that’s in your paycheck, your benefits or your retirement security in a pension,” Pat Devaney, secretary-treasurer of the Illinois AFL-CIO, said to the crowd. “So what happened over the years? Politicians, state governments, local governments came up with schemes to underfund the pensions, take pension holidays, use other gimmicks to cause stress in the system.” The state’s perennial pension problems are among several budgetary matters that will likely be taken up in the coming months by the legislature, along with how to deal with a $730 million fiscal cliff for Chicago-area public transit once federal pandemic aid dries up in early 2026 and whether to set aside more state funding for Chicago’s public school system. Other unresolved issues include gun safety measures that Democrats haven’t been able to bring over the finish line. Legislation often referred to as “Karina’s Bill,” named after Chicago resident Karina Gonzalez, who, along with her 15-year-old daughter, was shot and killed by her husband last year, would require police to remove guns from people who have orders of protection against them, clarifying when and how authorities can confiscate such firearms. As it stands, firearms aren’t always taken from people in those situations even if the firearm owner’s identification card is revoked. Illinois lawmakers could weigh a proposal to create a statewide office to help under-resourced public defenders. One of the proposal’s goals is to address the lack of public defense resources in rural areas, many of which don’t even have a public defender’s office. The measure also seeks to address disparities in the resources allotted to county prosecutors and public defenders. For example, Cook County’s 2024 budget provided about $102 million for its public defender’s office, and about $205 million for its state’s attorney’s office. Other unresolved issues range from whether to allow all dispensaries to sell medical cannabis to legalizing medical aid in dying, often referred to as physician-assisted suicide or medically assisted death. This proposal would give mentally competent, terminally ill adults the right to choose to end their lives by allowing these patients the right to access life-ending prescription medication. Gov. JB Pritzker, Sen. Dick Durbin and others speak about U.S. EPA grants on Nov. 15. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
Opendoor: Beaten And Forgotten
After two Lone Star Conference wins, including defeating former No. 4 Lubbock Christian, Texas Woman's basketball team is ranked No. 2 in both national polls this week. TWU (9-1, 2-1) held steady at No. 2 on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll this week. On the D2CSC Media National Poll this week, the Pioneers moved up from No. 12 to No. 2. Grand Valley State (9-0) remained at No. 1 on both polls. On the WBCA Top 25, MSU Billings (9-1) remained at No. 3, Gannon (12-1) moved up to No. 4 from No. 6, and Bentley (9-1) remained in fifth place. On the D2CSC poll, Bentley moved up from No. 8 to No. 3, Cal State-Dominguez Hills (10-1) jumped from 10th to fourth, and Carson Newman (8-1) moved up one spot to No. 5. Each week, the D2CSC also releases a regional poll. After their win over Lubbock Christian (9-1), the Pioneers moved back into No. 1 in the South Central Region. LCU dropped to No. 2, and UT Tyler (6-1) fell one spot to No. 3. All three top teams received at least one first-place votes. The Pioneers average 65.4 points per game with an average scoring margin of 12.2 over their opponents. On average, the Pioneers are holding their opponents to 53.2 points per game, which ranks second in the LSC. TWU will not play again until Dec. 17 and 19, when the Pioneers travel to Western New Mexico and Sul Ross State for a pair of LSC road games. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request.Loneliness can occur when someone is feeling socially isolated, excluded, or misunderstood. It’s a serious public health concern and is something that many people experience daily, including healthcare workers, and their patients. Long-term loneliness can have an immense impact on physical and mental health, with some studies suggesting it can increase the likelihood of early death by as much as 26 percent . It is therefore important that healthcare workers and nurses across all settings can recognise the telltale signs of loneliness , both in their patients and co-workers, and that they are equipped with the knowledge and resources to offer the best support and treatment possible. To offer guidance, the patient safety and compliance experts at Radar Healthcare have compiled a list of effective ways healthcare professionals can combat loneliness within themselves and their peers. This information has been shared with Digital Journal . Larger break rooms for enhanced communication Offering healthcare workers a larger space for enhanced communication will allow those working unsociable and long hours together the space to communicate and unwind while having breaks from work. It is also beneficial if break rooms have access to windows that can be opened in order to let fresh air and sunlight in during long and overnight shifts. Supportive and comfortable spaces As well as providing larger break rooms, it is also important for healthcare workers to have additional spaces that contain access to comfortable furniture, relaxing lighting, or views of the outside world. These comfortable environments will provide more of a relaxing zone for healthcare workers to unwind and where healthcare professionals can provide emotional support to one another. Plants Studies have indicated that biophilic design (the presence of indoor plants) can improve concentration and productivity ( by up to 15 percent ), reduce stress levels, and boost your mood. This is why healthcare professionals should implement lots of greenery into their social spaces whilst at work in order to enhance their mood and reduce stress whilst taking a break from their busy and often long working hours. Outside eating areas It is important that healthcare professionals make the most of their breaks away from work in order to recharge and relax before continuing on in a stressful environment. One way healthcare workers can combat loneliness and improve their social interactions whilst in a working environment is to spend more time socialising outdoors. Eating a meal or having a picnic outside with co-workers is a beneficial way to take in the much-needed fresh air and also remove themselves from the normal work setting. Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news.Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.
RCC to host FAFSA event Dec. 12NoneEAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The game had suddenly gone sideways for the Minnesota Vikings , their 11-point lead on the Chicago Bears having evaporated in the closing seconds. They straightened it out in overtime, no sweat, because Sam Darnold simply hasn't been fazed. Save for his occasional rash of turnovers, in games the Vikings still managed to win, Darnold proved again on Sunday in defeating the Bears that he's directing a passing attack with the potential to be one of the NFL 's most potent. “I think he’s a mentally tough guy. I think he’s a physically tough guy. I think he’s confident in the guys around him, and I think he’s confident in our system,” coach Kevin O'Connell said after the 30-27 victory. “I think when he just continues to play quarterback at a high level, I think we’re a tough team.” After the defense forced the Bears to punt on the opening possession of overtime, Darnold led the Vikings on a 68-yard drive to set up the game-ending field goal while overcoming a 7-yard sack on the first play and two subsequent setbacks with a false start and a holding penalty. On third-and-10 from the 21, he hit Jordan Addison near the sideline for 13 yards. On first-and-15 from the 29, Darnold threaded a throw to Justin Jefferson for 20 yards after he'd muscled his way through Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson on a post route for the clutch catch after he'd been all but silenced all afternoon by a defense determined to constantly bracket him with double coverage. On second-and-11 from the 48, Darnold connected with a wide-open T.J. Hockenson underneath for 12 yards. Then two plays later off a second-and-8 play-action fake, he found Hockenson again on a deep corner route for 29 yards to put Parker Romo in prime position for the walk-off winner. “Just execute. It’s as simple as that. Just one play at a time," said Darnold, who went 22 for 34 for 330 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover. “I think I tell the guys that every single time in the huddle, but that’s my mindset every single time I’m out there on the field, especially in that situation.” Even when Jefferson continues to draw an extraordinary amount of coverage , the Vikings with Addison, Hockenson, Aaron Jones and the rest of their crew running O'Connell's system have proven they have an offense that can go win a game when it's required. That wouldn't be possible without Darnold, whose career rebirth has helped spark the Vikings (9-2) become one of the league's biggest surprises in what's now its most difficult division. “He’s cool, calm, collected,” Hockenson said. "That’s what you want as the leader of the huddle.” The Vikings' defense ranks ninth in the league on third downs, allowing a conversion rate of 34.5% after limiting the Bears to a 6-for-17 performance. The Vikings are tied for first on fourth downs with an allowance of 36.4% after the Bears went 2 for 3. Both conversions came in the fourth quarter during touchdown drives. The Vikings also rank fourth in the NFL in opponent points per drive (1.52). The Vikings had seven possessions that crossed the 20-yard line in Chicago, but only three of them yielded touchdowns. Their lone turnover was the type of game-altering giveaways they've struggled to eliminate this month, a fumble by Aaron Jones at the 1-yard line that ruined a promising first drive. The Vikings are tied for 20th in the league in red zone touchdown rate (53.9%) and are 17th in goal-to-go touchdowns (72%). Addison had eight catches for 162 yards, both career highs, and a touchdown on nine throws from Darnold. The second-year wide receiver has had a quieter season than his rookie year, but he stepped up in a significant way on an afternoon when Jefferson was as smothered by the opposing secondary as ever. TE Johnny Mundt had the onside kick glance off his shin as he charged toward the coverage, and the first kicking team recovery in the NFL this season helped the Bears extend the game. Mundt also had the false start on the overtime drive. His lone catch was a 7-yard gain when he was stopped short of the goal line, one play before the lost fumble. Mundt played 33 of 71 snaps and Hockenson took 48 snaps with Oliver out. The Vikings lost LT Cam Robinson (foot) and LB Ivan Pace (hamstring) to injuries in the first quarter against the Bears, and O'Connell said on Monday those players were still in "evaluation mode." Oliver (ankle) will have an opportunity to return after being sidelined last week. 101.7 — Darnold's passer rating, which ranks ninth in the NFL. Darnold has posted a 100-plus passer rating in nine of 11 games this season. He had only 12 such performances in 56 career starts before joining the Vikings. The Vikings have four of their next five games at home, starting with Arizona (6-5) this week, Atlanta (6-5) on Dec. 8 and a rematch with Chicago (4-7) in a Monday night game on Dec. 16. AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
Five trade targets the Heat should pursue to make a push in the Eastern Conference | Sporting News
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are bringing Trump's DOGE to Capitol HillNone
This Broken Tesla Cybertruck Went Viral. Now It’s Heading to Auction.With more than half of the 16 teams still mathematically alive to make the conference championship game, the Big 12 will command a lot of attention in the final week of the regular season. No. 14 Arizona State and No. 17 Iowa State would play for the Big 12 title and likely College Football Playoff spot on Dec. 7 if they both win Saturday and there's a four-way tie for first place. There are seven other teams that begin this week with hopes, slim in most cases, of getting into the game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Last week it was No. 19 BYU and No. 23 Colorado that had the inside track to the championship game. Arizona State beat the Cougars and Kansas knocked off the Buffaloes, and here we are. "Everybody counted us out, I think, two weeks ago," Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said after his team beat Utah 31-28. "We didn't flinch. We didn't waver. And we just keep fighting." The Cyclones were national darlings the first half of the season as they won seven straight games to match the best start in program history. Back-to-back losses to Texas Tech and Kansas followed. Now they've won two straight heading into "Farmageddon," their rivalry game against Kansas State at home. "Right now they've got the pen and they continue to write the story," Campbell said of his players, "and I hope they will continue to write it the way they've got the ability to write it. Unwavering. Tough, mentally tough, physically tough. This group has stood for it every step of the way." Arizona State has been an even better story than the Cyclones. The Sun Devils have six more wins than they did last season, when they went 3-9. They were picked to finish last in their first year in the Big 12. They'll go for their fifth straight victory when they play at Arizona on Saturday. "These guys came off no momentum and everybody doubting them, and everybody is still doubting them. That's what makes this special," second-year coach Kenny Dillingham said. "Hopefully the expectations become higher. I don't know if there's a way we can exceed expectations more than we're exceeding them right now." Checking in on five of the Top 25: The Ducks were idle Saturday after clinching a spot in the Big Ten championship game with their win at Wisconsin on Nov. 16. Oregon can go 12-0 in the regular season for the first time since 2010 if it beats Washington at home this week. Oregon's only two losses last season came against the Huskies, both decided by three points. The first was a top-10 matchup in the regular season and the second was a top-five matchup in the Pac-12 championship game. The Ducks are 19 1/2-point favorites this time, according to BetMGM Sportsbook. The Buckeyes' showdown with upstart Indiana combined with Michigan's dropoff after winning the national championship have lowered the volume on this week's meeting with the Wolverines at the Horseshoe. If Michigan beats Ohio State a fourth straight time and it keeps the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten championship game and playoff ... well, there'll be lots of noise in Columbus then. The Lone Star Showdown returns to the gridiron for the first time since 2011, when Texas and Texas A&M were in the Big 12. The Longhorns head to No. 20 Texas A&M on a four-game win streak. The Aggies have lost two of three after Saturday's four-overtime loss at Auburn. The winner advances to the Southeastern Conference championship game against Georgia. The Broncos are tied with Notre Dame for the second-longest active win streak, at nine games, and they seem to have adopted a survive-and-advance mantra. They trailed 23-point underdog Wyoming in the fourth quarter before winning 17-13 and clinching a spot in the Mountain West championship game. They won their previous game, 42-21 against San Jose State, but didn't pull away until the fourth quarter. Two weeks ago they beat a three-win Nevada team 28-21. Just when you think Illinois is about to cash in for the season, they do what they did against Rutgers. The Illini were down 31-30 when they lined up for a 58-yard field goal with 14 seconds left. Ethan Moczulski missed. But wait. Rutgers called timeout before the snap, and Bret Bielema thought better of trying another kick and sent his offense back on the field. Luke Altmyer passed to Pat Bryant for the winning 40-yard touchdown. The Illini won't play for the Big Ten title, but they have a chance for nine wins and a nice bowl. Ohio State played in three of the five regular-season top-five matchups and won three of them. The Buckeyes lost to Oregon and beat Penn State and Indiana. ... Kansas' 37-21 win over Colorado made the Jayhawks the first FBS team with a losing record to beat three straight Top 25 opponents. The Jayhawks, who were 2-6 a month ago, will be bowl eligible if they win at Baylor. ... Nebraska ended the longest power conference bowl drought with its 44-25 win over Wisconsin. The Cornhuskers haven't played in a bowl since 2016. Get local news delivered to your inbox!
Nov 22 (Reuters) - Global credit ratings agency Moody's upgraded Saudi Arabia's rating to "Aa3" from "A1" on Friday, citing the country's efforts to diversify beyond its oil economy. The world's leading oil exporter is investing billions of dollars to achieve its Vision 2030 plan, which focuses on reducing its reliance on oil and spending more on infrastructure to boost industries like tourism, sports and manufacturing. Saudi Arabia is also working to attract more outside investment to ensure its ambitious plans stay on track. Last month, the country's investment minister sought to reassure investors at a conference in Riyadh that Saudi remains lucrative for investment despite a year marked by regional conflict. With lower oil prices and production, the government's earnings have decreased. As a result, the kingdom is rethinking its spending, which means some Vision 2030 projects will be delayed or scaled back, while others would get more priority. "Continued progress will, over time, further reduce Saudi Arabia's exposure to oil market developments and long-term carbon transition," Moody's said in a statement. The rating agency also revised the country's outlook to stable from positive, citing uncertainty regarding global economic conditions and oil market developments. In September, S&P revised Saudi Arabia's outlook to positive from stable on the back of strong non-oil growth outlook and economic resilience. Sign up here. Reporting by Anandita Mehrotra in Bengaluru Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab
Laura Bozzo, known for her controversial approach to the media, maintains a prominent presence in the entertainment world. However, a less known aspect of his story is his academic training at the Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal (UNFV). His studies in Law at said university constitute a fundamental pillar in his professional career. Despite criticism, Bozzo has demonstrated a consistent commitment to his education and career in the legal field. Her time at UNFV not only trained her as a lawyer, but also allowed her to achieve a high academic degree that distinguishes her in her field. In this article, we will explore his career at UNFV, his professional development, and the milestones that marked his academic and work life. Laura Bozzo is well known for her time on Peruvian and Mexican TV. Photo: Diario Las Américas What university degree did you study at UNFV? Laura Bozzo graduated in Law from the Federico Villarreal National University. Her admission to this prestigious institution was not through the usual admission exam, but rather through a transfer from the Sacred Heart Women’s University, where she had already completed general studies. This decision marked the beginning of his career in the legal field and allowed him to acquire a solid foundation in his academic training. What is the academic degree you managed to achieve and what other profession did you follow in Venezuela? In addition to graduating from a law degree, Laura Bozzo obtained a doctorate in Law and Political Science at the same university. His training was complemented by a postgraduate degree in philosophy at the Central University of Venezuela, which allowed him to deepen his knowledge and skills in the legal field. This combination of studies gives you a unique perspective in your professional practice. Her role as a teacher in Constitutional Law and her contribution to education Laura Bozzo not only limited herself to studying, but also got involved in teaching. He worked as a teacher in subjects such as Constitutional Law, Theory of the State and Criminal Law. Additionally, he participated in the creation of the School of Political Science at UNFV around 1984, which contributed to the academic development of future generations of lawyers. His dedication to education left a significant mark in the academic field. His life in the midst of controversy and the problems he had with justice Despite her solid academic training, Laura Bozzo’s life has been marked by various controversies. In 2021, the Attorney General’s Office in Mexico requested his arrest from Interpol for an alleged tax crime. This fact highlights the complexity of his public figure, who has received both admiration and criticism. Controversies have influenced his image, but they have not overshadowed his professional career. Reflections on her career as a lawyer Laura Bozzo is an example of how academic training can coexist with a public life full of challenges. His career in law and his commitment to education are aspects that, despite the controversies, stand out in his career. The combination of her training and her experience in the media makes her a unique figure in the field of entertainment and law. Join our entertainment channelSpam is endemic to everyone’s email inbox. Some of Australia’s biggest companies have been caught and fined, yet they keep doing it. Andy Schmulow reports. Mathew Comyn, CEO of Commbank, announced this week his bank will be charging a $3 fee for “assisted withdrawals”. Three dollars to take your own cash out of the bank. Cash, I would remind you, which is “currency of the realm”. This is the same guy who bemoaned “ excessive profits tax as “insidious populism” and labelled criticism of profitable businesses as “fact-free rhetoric” that is damaging trust in public institutions. ” Ok, fair point Matthew. I’ll be sure that my rhetoric is not “fact-free”: your bank was labelled as the “gold medallist for misconduct” by the Hayne Royal Commission, for it propensity to commit fraud, theft, and engage in dishonesty and wicked venality on an industrial scale. Like CBA’s insurance division, CommInsure, that routinely denied death and disability cover to the dying and dead. A financial advice service that routinely forged customer’s signatures and stole money out of their accounts. Most of that criminality took place in the retail division, during the years when Comyn was the CEO. And let’s not forget the 53,000 breaches of money-laundering laws, the purported “software error”, the slap on the wrist and the insider who said “no one gave a rat’s arse”. But instead of approaching his tenure as CEO with some measure of humility, in light of the bank’s past failings, Commbank has now hit on another route to gouge customers: charging them to withdraw cash. And make no mistake, this latest rort will hit the poorest and most vulnerable customers hardest: the elderly, First Australians, Australians who live in rural and remote areas, those who are digitally excluded, and those with low levels of financial literacy. One of the big spam offenders is Commbank, back in the headlines for another ill-conceived customer “service” initiative. The bank has just been fined $7.5m for being spammer rats. Fined for spewing out 170 million emails that breached the law. Treasurer Jim Chalmers was not amused and apparently ‘leaned on’ the bank to rethink its plans, according to the AFR ($) . Are the executives of the bank, the Chief Technology Officer, not paid enough to ensure that, at the very least, they have a working unsubscribe function on emails? That they don’t send spam to people who have already unsubscribed? It’s not rocket surgery, it’s the law! This fine comes after the bank paid $3.55m 18 months ago for the exact same breaches! But wait, there’s more: guess how many “assisted withdrawals” Commbank could cover for the $11,050,000 in fines they’ve paid for being spammer rats? Three million, six hundred and eighty-three thousand!! So, here’s some free business coaching for the Martin Place crew: you can make more profit by not breaking the law than you can by breaking the law and gouging your most vulnerable customers. And it’s not just CommBank engaging in practices unbecoming a good corporate citizen. Woolworths is at it again. Not content to be running one half of a duopoly, sucking down a return on equity that is fourteen times higher than the average for supermarkets in the United States and more than twenty times higher than the average in Europe, being integral to the cost-of-living crisis sweeping Australia. Their outgoing CEO, Brad Banducci, has presided over a company that’s been exposed as a serial bully when dealing with suppliers and exposed for repeatedly jacking up prices, then marginally lowering them to claim they’re being discounted. As a result, the ACCC is now suing Woolworths for misleading and deceptive conduct. They, too, are serial law-breakers. In 2020, they were fined $ 1m for being spammer rats – the biggest fine for spam up to that date in Australia. A few weeks ago, I received spam from Woolworths Everyday Rewards – despite unsubscribing multiple times. I called them to complain, and they confirmed that they had on record that I had unsubscribed. They promised to have someone call back to address my complaint. That was three weeks ago, and I’ve heard not a word. So, I posted the story on LinkedIn and tagged the CEO (Amanda Bardwell – Banducci’s successor) and the Everyday Rewards MD, Hannah Ross. Now, you might be saying that if Ms Bardwell and Ms Ross were doing their job, they would both be concerned about avoiding more multi-million-dollar fines. And no doubt would have reached out to me immediately to understand what went wrong, why I wasn’t contacted, and explain what steps they would take to ensure this never happened again. Alas, no! Bardwell has ignored the posts, and Ross, despite her division having already paid a million dollars of shareholders’ funds in unnecessary fines, responded by giving me the flick and blocked me on LinkedIn. No wonder they don’t obey the law. Does their arrogance run that deep? I have now complained to the Australian Communications and Media Authority ( ACMA ), hoping they will take account of the fact that Woolworths is a serial lawbreaker, and double or triple the fine. The last time I wrote about the dirty data rats who routinely breach the Spam Act 2003, I wrote about WebCentral – an uncontrollable serial spammer. Since then, the good news is that the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner ( OAIC ) has initiated an investigation into WebCentral – although this is slow-going. WebCentral keeps responding with bald-faced lies about how often they breached the Spam Act, which is obviously an intentional effort to frustrate and prevaricate. In not such good news, I am still waiting for the OAIC to initiate an investigation against one of the worst data rats of all: Aussie Home Loans (a division of Lendi ). They sent me spam text messages and emails in late 2023. I had never been a customer of either company. I merely made one enquiry on one occasion, once, eleven – yes, ELEVEN – years ago. National Privacy Principle 11.2 states that customer data must not be retained for an unreasonable length of time. How long is reasonable? Maybe it’s six months? Maybe it’s a year? Heck, maybe it’s 18 months? But no one could argue that 11 years is a reasonable amount of time. I tagged David Hyman, CEO of Lendi, in my LinkedIn posts. Not a word from him. But a stream of drivel from Aussie trying to explain how they were still in possession of my data after 11 years. And this is where we get to the core of the issue: my data and your data. It is our data. It belongs to us. It is our property. It does not belong to Woolworths or ConBank or WebCentral or Aussie Home Loans. These companies need to be taught the hard way that they must respect our data and privacy and uphold the law. Unfortunately, however, that doesn’t work fining the company. Fining the company is a cost to shareholders, not a cost to Matty Comyn (CBA) or Amanda Bardwell (Woolworths) or Joe Demase (WebCentral) or David Hyman (Aussie HomeLoans). Unless and until we visit consequences on CEOs for repeated breaches of data and marketing laws, nothing will change.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Connecticut couple has been charged in Minnesota with being part of a shoplifting ring suspected of stealing around $1 million in goods across the country from the upscale athletic wear retailer Lululemon. Jadion Anthony Richards, 44, and Akwele Nickeisha Lawes-Richards, 45, both of Danbury, Connecticut, were charged this month with one felony count of organized retail theft. Both went free last week after posting bail bonds of $100,000 for him and $30,000 for her, court records show. They're due back in Ramsey County District Court in St. Paul on Dec. 16. According to the criminal complaints, a Lululemon investigator had been tracking the pair even before police first confronted them on Nov. 14 at a store in suburban Roseville. The investigator told police the couple were responsible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses across the country, the complaints said. They would steal items and make fraudulent returns, it said. Police found suitcases containing more than $50,000 worth of Lululemon clothing when they searched the couple's hotel room in Bloomington, the complaint said. According to the investigator, they were also suspected in thefts from Lululemon stores in Colorado, Utah, New York and Connecticut, the complaint said. Within Minnesota, they were also accused of thefts at stores in Minneapolis and the suburbs of Woodbury, Edina and Minnetonka. The investigator said the two were part of a group that would usually travel to a city and hit Lululemon stores there for two days, return to the East Coast to exchange the items without receipts for new items, take back the new items with the return receipts for credit card refunds, then head back out to commit more thefts, the complaint said. In at least some of the thefts, it said, Richards would enter the store first and buy one or two cheap items. He'd then return to the sales floor where, with help from Lawes-Richards, they would remove a security sensor from another item and put it on one of the items he had just purchased. Lawes-Richards and another woman would then conceal leggings under their clothing. They would then leave together. When the security sensors at the door went off, he would offer staff the bag with the items he had bought, while the women would keep walking out, fooling the staff into thinking it was his sensor that had set off the alarm, the complaint said. Richards' attorney declined comment. Lawes-Richards' public defender did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday. “This outcome continues to underscore our ongoing collaboration with law enforcement and our investments in advanced technology, team training and investigative capabilities to combat retail crime and hold offenders accountable,” Tristen Shields, Lululemon's vice president of asset protection, said in a statement. "We remain dedicated to continuing these efforts to address and prevent this industrywide issue.” The two are being prosecuted under a state law enacted last year that seeks to crack down on organized retail theft. One of its chief authors, Sen. Ron Latz, of St. Louis Park, said 34 states already had organized retail crime laws on their books. “I am glad to see it is working as intended to bring down criminal operations," Latz said in a statement. "This type of theft harms retailers in myriad ways, including lost economic activity, job loss, and threats to worker safety when crime goes unaddressed. It also harms consumers through rising costs and compromised products being resold online.” Two Minnesota women were also charged under the new law in August. They were accused of targeting a Lululemon store in Minneapolis.West Bengal: Raj Bhavan Forms Panel To Probe Reports Of Governor CV Ananda Bose Unveiling His Own Bust
Lucknow: Services at Lari cardiology were disrupted for an hour late on Sunday night after the death of a 60-year-old patient, Abrar Ahmad, led to allegations of medical negligence . The patient's family claimed that Abrar, suffering from severe chest pain, arrived at the emergency ward on a two-wheeler with his younger son. They alleged that doctors administered three to four injections, after which he began bleeding from his nose and mouth. IPL 2025 mega auction IPL Auction 2025: Who went where and for how much IPL 2025: Complete list of players of each franchise Despite the family's repeated pleas for help, the doctors did not attend to him, the family said. A video shared on social media showed Abrar on a hospital bed, begging for treatment as staff allegedly refused assistance. The family accused staff members of pushing them out of the ward when they began recording the incident. Abrar passed away shortly after. On Monday, his son Saif Khan filed a complaint at Wazirganj police station, seeking action against Dr Neeraj Kumar and fixing accountability for the incident. Meanwhile, KGMU spokesperson Dr Sudhir Singh clarified that Abrar had a history of severe heart disease and underwent angioplasty in 2018. He was advised regular follow-ups but did not return for consultations. When Abrar was brought to the emergency ward in a critical state of heart failure, doctors provided oxygen support and conducted necessary tests. However, all ICU ventilator beds at the Lari cardiology department were occupied. The team attempted to stabilise him and recommended urgent transfer to a higher facility, providing a referral letter and ambulance. Despite their efforts, the patient could not be saved. The university has expressed condolences for the loss.No. 23 Alabama women beat Alabama State 83-33 at Emerald Coast Classic