By Jonathan Allen | Reuters TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The U.S. government planned to carry out the 13th and final execution under President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday evening, just five days before President-elect Joe Biden takes office with a promise to try to end the death penalty. Dustin Higgs, 48, was convicted and sentenced to death in 2001 for overseeing the kidnapping and murder of three women on a federal wildlife reserve in Maryland in 1996: Tanji Jackson, Tamika Black and Mishann Chinn. The U.S. Department of Justice plans had planned to execute him at 6 p.m. with lethal injections of pentobarbital, a powerful barbiturate, at its death chamber in its prison in Terre Haute, Indiana. But more than an hour later the department was still fighting legal challenges delaying the
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DALY CITY – A person was found dead at the scene of an apartment fire in Daly City on Friday, authorities said. The fire was reported about 8:10 a.m. at 85 Kent Court, near the intersection of Serramonte and St. Francis boulevards, the North County Fire Authority said in a news release. Firefighters arrived to find smoke billowing from the second floor of a three-story apartment building. The fire was contained to one unit on the second floor, the fire authority said. Once the fire was extinguished, one person was found dead inside the unit, the fire authority said. The Daly City Police Department and the fire authority are conducting a joint investigation to determine the cause of the fire and whether any foul play was involved, the police department said in a news release. Related Artic...
Read MoreLos Angeles County reported 15,051 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, Jan. 15, bringing the total number of cases to 989,028 according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The county reported 258 new fatalities linked to coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths to 13,489 since tracking began. There were 191 fewer patients hospitalized by the virus as of Thursday. The total number of patients in L.A. County hospitals is 7,715 with 22% in ICU. The breakdown of people infected with the coronavirus by age is as follows: 0-4: 17,967 5-11: 43,590 12-17: 54,380 18-29: 222,491 30-49: 310,733 50-64: 175,943 65-79: 68,738 Older than 80: 25,112 Data posted each day is preliminary and subject to change, officials emphasize. More information may become available as in...
Read MoreNorthern Trust’s corporate headquarters at 50 S. La Salle St. | Google Street ViewThe Chicago-based bank cites pressure from record low interest and warns workers that bonuses will be reduced. Chicago-based Northern Trust, its earnings pressured by record low interest rates, said Friday it is laying off 500 people from its worldwide staff. The reductions represent about 2.5% of the bank’s global headcount of 20,700 employees. Spokesman Doug Holt did not say how many of the cuts will be in Chicago, where he said Northern Trust had 6,500 people working at the end of 2020. “Given current market conditions, we are compelled to make a number of difficult staffing decisions,” Holt said. “These decisions are designed to ensure our resources are being used in the most prudent manner to meet our c...
Read MoreAdobe Stock imageSALT LAKE CITY — The Millard County Sheriff’s Office is investigating what caused a car to crash in an extremely rural area of Millard County Friday, killing two people and leaving another seriously injured. Lt. Rob Clark said investigators are still trying to determine what caused the car to crash on a remote gravel road about 33 miles north of a paved highway near Gandy. “We’re uncertain how the crash happened at this time,” Clark said. “It is a very, very rural area. ... It’s way out in the hills.” One of the four passengers was able to either flag down another motorist or walk to a residence, where he was told he could find help at the home of a deputy, Clark said. “Someone guided this gentleman to this deputy’s house,” Clark said of the unnamed deputy. “He was (off-d...
Read MoreJennifer Liu, M.D., MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center. (Courtesy photo)As you age, you will notice different changes in your mind and body, like memory loss, vision changes and fatigue. A common change in both older men and women that isn’t as openly discussed is changes in bladder function. With age, the elastic bladder tissue can toughen and become less stretchy, and pelvic floor muscles can weaken. When this happens, problems with bladder emptying and urinary incontinence (leaking urine by accident), can occur. Incontinence in both men and women According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 40% of women older than 65 have urinary incontinence. Women experience unique health events throughout their lives that affect the urinary tract and pelvic floor
Read MoreCubs avoid arbitration with four players, including Javy Baez, Kris Bryant and Willson Contreras
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty ImagesOutfielder Ian Happ was the only arbitration-eligible player who was unable to come to an agreement by Friday’s deadline. The Cubs avoided arbitration on Friday with Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras and Zach Davies. The team reached one-year contracts with Baez ($11.65 million), Bryant ($19.5 million), Contreras ($6.65 million) and Davies ($8.63 million), according to league sources. Baez and Bryant enter their final year of club control before entering free agency at the conclusion of the 2021 season. The Cubs have already made a few significant moves this offseason by trading ace Yu Darvish and non-tendering Kyle Schwarber and could still make a few more before the start of Spring Training. The team is still in the process of deciding which ...
Read MoreTHE CHATBOTS IN INSURANCE PLAYBOOK: Case studies on how three insurers are using chatbots to boost customer acquisition, slash claims processing times, and increase staff productivity
Summary List Placement This is a preview of The Chatbots in Insurance Playbook from Business Insider Intelligence. Purchase this report. Business Insider Intelligence offers even more fintech coverage with Fintech Pro. Subscribe today to receive industry-changing finance news and analysis to your inbox. Incumbent insurers are using chatbots to transform from passively engaging customers to putting customer engagement at the forefront of their business models. The insurance sector has been far behind other sectors of financial services when it comes to delivering on customer engagement — but today, insurers are tapping advances in chatbot technology to deliver frequent and individualized customer interactions. Advancements in automation, machine learning (ML), and natural language processi
Read MoreBy Lisa Respers France | CNN Dustin Diamond, who played the role of Screech on the popular 1990s high school comedy “Saved by the Bell,” is hospitalized with cancer, his manager told CNN Friday. Diamond’s health is “serious” and he is undergoing testing at an undisclosed Florida hospital to determine the type and severity of the cancer, according to his rep. An actor and stand-up comedian, Diamond is best known for his performance as Samuel “Screech” Powers in the teen series that was recently reimagined by the Peacock streaming service with some of the original stars, though not Diamond. His 2009 book “Behind the Bell,” in which Diamond shared backstage stories about shooting “Saved by the Bell,” stirred controversy. He also faced some legal troubles, serving three months in jail for sta...
Read MoreDoom Eternal – on the list (pic: Bethesda)A reader reveals how he did with his goal of completing a game a month from his backlog in 2020 and what he’s got left for 2021. Last year I explained how it was a new year’s resolution for me to complete more games, having finished only one game the previous year and giving up on games too quickly. The first part of the year was a success, as you can see in the first part of this Reader’s Feature. This feature is the follow up for the rest of the year, starting in July. July The first game I completed in July was the remake of Ratchet & Clank. It’s a bit weird, but in a good way. For example, one of the weapons is the Groovitron. A gun that fires a disco ball causing all nearby enemies to start dancing uncontrollably. Primarily I’d
Read MoreThe U.S. Department of Homeland Security is developing a new unit to probe use of the Optional Practical Training work permit for foreign students, and to recommend investigations of students and employers. The OPT program, widely used in the Silicon Valley technology industry and often a pathway to the H-1B visa intended for jobs requiring specialized skills, allows foreign students to work in the U.S. for up to three years. Homeland Security announced the new Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit this week, saying the agency “is currently unable to evaluate the impact OPT has had on U.S. workers and foreign students who have obtained work authorization.” The “OPT Employment Compliance Unit” will be wholly focused on wages, hours and compensation in the program, Homeland Security said
Read MoreThe Central Coast Section executive committee approved plans this week for prep sports teams to return to practice amid the coronavirus pandemic as soon as Saturday, but teams must adhere to strict social distancing rules. A handful of sports are scheduled to return to play Jan. 25, though no competition can be held until local stay-at-home orders are lifted, and the section left it up to leagues to move the seasons of all sports as they see fit. The CCS prioritized practice and physical activity for young athletes, knowing that competition will not necessarily be feasible in all sports this winter and spring. “First and foremost, let’s get kids out and be active,” CCS commissioner Dave Grissom said Friday. “From a social-emotional wellbeing standpoint, our kids generally are struggling. T
Read MoreLike many other organizations, the Academy is using the pandemic as an excuse to make changes long overdue. The Best International Feature shortlist — which will be announced February 9, along with eight other category shortlists — is expanding from 10 to 15, which means more films than ever will be viewable for final-nominations voting. In the first phase, each participating voter in the general committee, which is drawn from a swath of Academy branches, has a list of a dozen movies they must see in order to vote by secret ballot (and give more obscure features a fighting chance). The Academy also is abandoning, for now, the controversial addition of three handpicked titles (often festival and critics’ favorites) by the International Executive Committee to the larger general committee’s ...
Read MoreThe Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors met in closed session on Friday with Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer to discuss new potential restrictions or other mitigation tactics to slow the spread of new coronavirus infections, though the conclusions of those conversations is still unclear. The board still had not emerged from closed session as of 4 p.m. Friday. Within Los Angeles County, about 219,000 healthcare workers have received their first vaccine doses while about 60,000 have had their second dose, according to Dr. Paul Simon, chief science officer for the county Department of Public Health. Simon anticipates 200,000 more healthcare workers will be fully vaccinated by the end of the month, at which point the county hopes to start inoculating residents over the
Read MoreLiv Tyler reveals she had Covid: ‘Being isolated in a room alone for 10 days is trippy to say the least’
Liv Tyler revealed she had battled coronavirus (Picture:REX/@misslivalittle/Instagram)In a lengthy Instagram post, Liv Tyler has revealed that she had Covid-19 and had to isolate from her family for 10 days. The Lord of the Rings and Armageddon actress was struck down with the virus on New Year’s Eve and was forced to isolate from her family for 10 days.Sharing a gorgeous photo of her finally being able to reunite with her children after isolation, Liv said: ‘Suddenly on The morn of the last day of 2020… boom it took me down. It comes on fast, like a locomotive. Owchie. ‘With it Feelings of fear, shame and guilt swirling through you , who could you have gotten it from and who could you have infected…Terrifying.’ Tyler revealed that thankfully no one else in her family or bubble ...
Read MoreWhile many offices are closed across the region because of the pandemic, Beyond Meat, the popular maker of plant-based burgers and sausage, has signed a $178 million lease in El Segundo for a new headquarters. The 391,000-square-foot building at 888 N. Douglas St. is being developed by Culver City-based Hackman Capital Partners and is expected to be completed this spring. The 1930s facility once housed a bus manufacturing plant for Pickwick Stage Co., and later served as an airplane manufacturing facility for Douglas Aircraft Co., according to Connect California, a commercial real estate news outlet. The 12-year lease is reportedly one of the largest in Southern California since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat’s founder and CEO, said the El Segundo facility, on a 30-a
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