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How Ageism Awareness Day aims to overcome persistent bias – Press Enterprise

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October 9 is Ageism Awareness Day, an initiative launched in 2022 by the American Society on Aging (ASA), a national membership organization.     

You might wonder why we need another day to allocate to a cause. That is because ageism is everywhere and detrimental to our health and well-being, financial security and the American economy. It is considered the most widespread and socially acceptable form of prejudice. 

The impact of ASA’s initiative has caught on in a big way. It has been promoted with thousands of blogs, webinars, newsletters and campaigns, with state and local proclamations, features on national and local news as well as with over 100 partners and advocates. Clearly, the need is there and the time is right.  

So, let’s talk about ageism. It is how we think – how we feel – and how we act towards others based on age, according to the World Health Organization. It applies to older and younger people. For this column, we are focusing on older people.

Here are a few different types of ageism.

Internalized ageism. This is a personal one, a feeling we have about ourselves as we age. Examples are, “I am just too old to start a painting class, exercise or learn to play chess.”   

Implicit ageism. This is a bias we are unaware of that includes our attitudes, feelings and behaviors toward those in our age group. An example is, “We need an energetic, creative and young person to be our new membership chair.”

Interpersonal ageism. These are the comments and behaviors that happen when people get together. It can be positive or negative. My observation is that the latter is more prevalent. Examples are “act your age” or “that style is too young for you.” 

Cultural ageism. These are negative messages about aging that are normalized in movies, literature, songs, jokes, news commentaries, advertisements and more. An example is a commercial showing an older man using his video-calling smartphone as if it were a voice-only telephone.

Let’s test some of our knowledge about older adults:

Q. Ageism typically is a U.S. problem.

False. According to a United Nations report on ageism, roughly one out of two people across the world is believed to hold ageist attitudes that lead to poor physical and mental health and reduced quality of life for older persons. 

Q. Ageism and age stereotypes are often internalized at a young age.

True. By age three, children are familiar with these stereotypes that are reinforced over their lifetime. There is now a curriculum for educators to dispel stereotypes of aging for school-age children, developed by the National Center to Reframe Aging.  

Q. Older adults are costing our economy too much money.

False. They support our economy. Data from 2018 indicates that 56 cents of every dollar was spent by the age 50 and older population. Furthermore, AARP reports this group has contributed $9 trillion to our economy and is projected to grow through 2050.

Q. Marketers and advertisers are allocating a significant amount of their budgets to target older consumers.

False. An estimated five to ten percent of marketing budgets are devoted to reaching adults aged 50 and older. When older adults do appear in advertisements, they often are presented in a negative light. 

Q. Older people who have a more positive self-perception of aging live 7.5 years longer than those with a less positive attitude.

True. Research from Becca Levy, Professor of Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, found that how you think about age can increase or decrease your lifespan by up to 7.5 years. This “surpasses the longevity gained from low blood pressure or low cholesterol or by maintaining a healthy weight or abstaining from smoking and exercising regularly” according to a report from Yale. 

Here are a few words and phrases you may read or hear that have ageist implications.  

  • Referring to people in older adult communities as patients, they are residents, even in assisted living environments.  
  • Description of all older adults as frail, weak and vulnerable.
  • Referring to the growing demographic of older adults as the “silver tsunami,” “gray wave” or the “demographic cliff,” suggesting that older people are a natural disaster.  
  • And then there is the word “still.”  Expressions of “still working,” or “still exercising,” suggesting that you are the exception since more adults cannot do what you are doing.  That’s a big assumption.   

Let’s take the time to increase our awareness of ageism and check our own beliefs and actions. At the same time, if you see or hear something, do something. That might be an email or letter to the media, a business, legislator or organization. It might be a conversation with a friend or relative. Here are some suggestions on how to respond provided by Changing the Narrative, a communication organization to end ageism. Happy Ageism Awareness Day!  Stay well and as a reminder, kindness is a universal language.

Helen Dennis is a nationally recognized leader on issues of aging and the new retirement with academic, corporate and nonprofit experience. Contact Helen with your questions and comments at Helendenn@gmail.com.  Visit Helen at HelenMdennis.com and follow her on facebook.com/SuccessfulAgingCommunity

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Man fatally stabbed in Riverside, son arrested – Press Enterprise

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A man is suspected of fatally stabbing his father Saturday, Sept. 27, in Riverside before barricading himself inside a home and later being taken into custody.

It occurred around 4:15 p.m. in the 3400 block of Bahia Place during a possible mental health crisis, according to Riverside Police Department spokesperson Officer Ryan Railsback.

The neighborhood is northeast of UC Riverside and south of Blaine Street.

The man who was stabbed was taken to the hospital in critical condition, and later died, Railsback said.

.The identities of the victim and suspect were not immediately made public. Railsback said the victim was in his 70s while the suspect is in his 30s.

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British department store Harrods warns customers that some personal details taken in data breach

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LONDON — Harrods, the luxury British department store, has warned some customers that their personal data may have been taken in a breach of its online systems.

The company said late Friday that some names and contact details of its online customers were taken after one of its third-party provider systems was compromised.

“We have informed affected customers that the impacted personal data is limited to basic personal identifiers including name and contact details, but does not include account passwords or payment details,” it said in a statement.

It added that incident was “isolated” and has been contained, without providing more details.

Harrods said that the data breach wasn’t connected to an incident in May, when it restricted internet access across its sites as a precautionary measure following an attempt to gain unauthorized access to its systems.

Four people were arrested in July on suspicion of their involvement in cyberattacks against Harrods and two other leading British retail chains, Marks & Spencer and the Co-op and Harrods. The suspects were bailed pending further inquiries.

Several other cyberattacks have targeted high-profile British businesses in recent months.

Last week, Jaguar Land Rover, Britain’s biggest automaker, said that its production lines will remain shut down until at least Oct. 1, after a cyberattack in August.

On Friday, the BBC and other British media reported that hackers stole information about thousands of children from Kido, a London nursery chain, and posted some of the children’s photos and details on the darknet.

The Metropolitan Police force said that inquiries about “a ransomware attack on a London-based organization” were ongoing and no arrests have been made.

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Moldovans cast ballots in a tense election plagued by Russian interference claims

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CHISINAU, Moldova — Moldovans are heading to the polls to cast ballots in a tense parliamentary election plagued by claims of Russian interference, a vote seen as a choice between integration with the European Union or a drift back into Moscow’s fold.

Sunday’s pivotal vote will elect a new 101-seat parliament, after which Moldova’s president nominates a prime minister, generally from the leading party or bloc, which can then try to form a new government. A proposed government then needs parliamentary approval.

The tense race pits the governing pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity, or PAS, which has held a strong parliamentary majority since 2021 but risks losing it, against several Russia-friendly opponents but no viable pro-European partners, leaving uncertainty over potential outcomes and the geopolitical course the country will take.

Moldova is landlocked between Ukraine and European Union member Romania. The country of about 2.5 million people has spent recent years on a westward path and gained candidate status to the EU in 2022, shortly after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Days before Sunday’s vote, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean warned that Russia is spending “hundreds of millions” of euros as part of an alleged “hybrid war” to try to seize power, which he described as “the final battle for our country’s future.”

“I call on every Moldovan at home and across Europe: We cannot change what Russia does, but we can change what we do as a people,” he said. “Turn worry into mobilization and thoughtful action … Help stop their schemes.”

The alleged Russian strategies include a large-scale vote-buying operation, cyberattacks on critical government infrastructure, a plan to incite mass riots around the election, and a sprawling disinformation campaign online to diminish support for the pro-European ruling party and sway voters towards Moscow-friendly ones.

Russia has repeatedly denied meddling in Moldova and dismissed the allegations last week as “anti-Russian” and “unsubstantiated.”

Authorities have warned that Moldova’s election day could be targeted by false bomb threats, cyberattacks, temporary power outages, and street violence by trained individuals. In a crackdown before the vote, law enforcement officers have carried out hundreds of raids, in which scores have been detained.

Moldova’s large diaspora is expected to play a decisive role in Sunday’s outcome. In last year’s presidential run-off — which was also viewed as a choice between East and West — a record number of 327,000 voters cast ballots abroad, more than 82% of whom favored pro-Western President Maia Sandu, and ultimately secured her reelection.

A key opponent of PAS in Sunday’s election is the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc, a group of political parties that wants “friendship with Russia,” and “permanent neutrality.” Others include the populist Our Party, which wants “balanced foreign policy” between East and West, and the Alternativa Bloc, which claims to be pro-European, but critics say would seek closer ties to Moscow.

In recent years, as the country has lurched from crisis to crisis, Moldovans have faced rampant inflation, increasing costs of living and high poverty rates, which may have diminished support for the pro-European ruling party, which Sandu founded in 2016.

Most local polls indicate that PAS will win the most votes, but they don’t include Moldova’s large diaspora, and about a third of voters remain undecided. In the 2021 parliamentary election, turnout was just over 48%.

Iulian Groza, executive director of the Institute for European Policies and Reforms think tank, says the higher the turnout, the more likely it is that PAS can secure a majority.

“Any party in government has a tendency to erode in public support, and in the last four years, Moldova has experienced multiple crises,” he said. “After four years … despite various crises we had, I think we can say very clearly that Moldova resisted in the face of this Russian aggression.”

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3 killed and 8 injured in North Carolina waterfront bar shooting

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SOUTHPORT, N.C. — Three people were killed and at least eight others wounded late Saturday when someone opened fire from a boat into a crowd gathered at a waterfront bar in a coastal town in North Carolina, authorities said.

The shooting erupted about 9:30 p.m. near a popular stretch of bars and restaurants on Southport’s waterfront, a historic port town about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Wilmington. Investigators said the assailant piloted a small boat close to shore, stopped briefly and fired into the crowd before speeding away.

Roughly half an hour later, a U.S. Coast Guard crew spotted a person matching the suspect’s description pulling a boat from the water at a public ramp on nearby Oak Island. The person was detained and turned over to Southport police for questioning, officials said.

Authorities have not identified the suspect or said what might have led to the attack. Investigators from multiple agencies — including the State Bureau of Investigation and the Coast Guard — remained on the water and at the scene Sunday collecting evidence and interviewing witnesses.

Officials did not immediately release the names of those killed or say provide information on the conditions of those who were wounded.

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Wisconsin Planned Parenthood pauses abortions amid federal Medicaid funding cut

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MADISON, Wis. — Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will stop scheduling patients for abortions starting next week as it works to find a way to provide the service in the face of Medicaid funding cuts in President Donald Trump’s tax and spending bill, the nonprofit said Thursday.

Abortion funding across the U.S. has been under siege, particularly Planned Parenthood affiliates, which are the biggest provider.

The organization warned earlier this year that about half its clinics that provide abortion could be closed as a result of a ban on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood for services other than abortion.

The measure was part of the tax and spending law President Donald Trump signed in July. Initially, a judge said reimbursements must continue, but a federal appeals court this month said the government could halt the payments while a court challenge to the provision moves ahead.

Planned Parenthood services include cancer screenings and sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment. Federal Medicaid money was already not paying for abortion, but affiliates relied on Medicaid to stay afloat.

The remaining Planned Parenthood clinics in Louisiana – where abortion is banned – are scheduled to shut down at the end of this month.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin said in a statement that it is trying to see as many patients as possible between now and Tuesday. The federal law takes effect Wednesday. It is not scheduling patients beyond that date and the organization believes the move will allow it to continue seeing other Medicaid patients. The organization said it was working with providers across the state to make sure patients are referred quickly and receive timely care.

It is also considering taking legal action, the group said.

“Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin will continue to provide the full spectrum of reproductive health care, including abortion, as soon and as we are able to,” Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin President and CEO Tanya Atkinson said in the statement. “In the meantime, we are pursuing every available option through the courts, through operations, and civic engagement.”

The abortion landscape has been shifting frequently since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that allowed states to ban abortion. Currently, 12 states do not allow it at any stage of pregnancy, with limited exceptions, and four more ban it after about six weeks’ gestation.

The bans have resulted in more women traveling for abortion and an increased reliance on abortion pills. Prescribers in states where they’re allowed have been shipping the pills to places where abortion is banned, a practice that is facing some legal challenges and is expected to attract more.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court in July struck down the state’s 1849 near-total ban on abortion, saying it was superseded by newer state laws regulating the procedure. The same day it ruled in that case, the court dismissed a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin asking it to find the law unconstitutional.

Wisconsin’s abortion ban was in effect until 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide nullified it. Legislators never officially repealed it, however, and conservatives argued that the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Roe reactivated it.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin stopped providing abortions after that ruling for 15 months before resuming them as the lawsuit over the state law played out. It has been providing abortions at three clinics in Wisconsin for the past two years.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin serves about 50,000 people across the state. About 60% of them are covered by Medicaid, the organization said.

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Mulvihill reported from Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

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3 dead, 8 injured after shooter in boat opens fire on North Carolina waterfront bar: Official

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Three people were killed and eight others injured after a person on a boat fired shots at a waterfront bar in the coastal North Carolina city of Southport, a city spokeswoman told ABC News.

The shooting began at the Southport Yacht Basin at about 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, when someone on a boat coming up Cape Fear opened fire on the American Fish Company, an outdoor bar venue, said ChyAnn Ketchum, the city’s public information officer. The boat then proceeded up the Intracoastal Waterway, she said.

The city posted a notice on its Facebook page warning of “reports of an active shooter” just before 10 p.m. along the waterfront, advising residents to avoid the area and stay in their homes.

“Shortly after 10:00 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard observed a single individual matching the description of the shooter, loading their boat at the public boat ramp at NE 55th Street in Oak Island,” Ketchum said in a statement.

She added,” The Coast Guard crew detained this suspect, who is now being held by the Oak Island Police Department, and will be turned over to the Southport Police Department for questioning, with assistance from the State Bureau of Investigation.”

Southport is a city of about 4,300 people near the mouth of the Cape Fear River.

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U.S. to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical drugs, kitchen cabinets, furniture and heavy trucks

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President Trump announced Thursday that the U.S. would impose a new round of tariffs, including a 100% tariff on pharmaceutical drugs, a 30% tariff on upholstered furniture, a 50% tariff on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, and a 30% tariff on heavy trucks. 

In social media posts to Truth Social, Mr. Trump said the new tariffs would take effect Oct. 1. 

Mr. Trump said in his posts that the 100% tariff on “any branded or patented Pharmaceutical Product” would not apply to companies building manufacturing plants in the U.S., which he defined as either “breaking ground” or being “under construction.”

In 2024, America imported nearly $233 billion in pharmaceutical and medicinal products, according to the Census Bureau. The prospect of prices doubling for some medicines could send shockwaves to voters as health care expenses, as well as the costs of Medicare and Medicaid, potentially increase.

Still, some experts think the new pharma tariffs could end up having only a modest impact, noting that generic drugs are exempt. The loophole for drugmakers with operations in the U.S. is also likely to soften the blow, Neal Shearing, group chief economist with Capital Economics, said in a report.

“Many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies either already have some production in the U.S. or have announced plans to build production in the near future,” he said. “Add in the fact that pharmaceuticals is the one area where we think there may have been significant inventory accumulation this year, as importers have sought to front-run potential tariffs, and the impact on the effective tariff rate is likely to be small.”

Higher costs for home furnishings?

Trump argued that foreign manufacturers of furniture and cabinetry were “flooding” the U.S. with their products and that tariffs must be applied “for National Security and other reasons.” 

The new tariffs on cabinetry could further increase the costs for homebuilders at a time when many people seeking to buy a house feel priced out by the mix of housing shortages and high mortgage rates.

Last month, Mr. Trump announced on social media that a “major Tariff Investigation” was being conducted on furniture coming into the U.S. and said that within the next 50 days, the investigation would be completed, and a tariff rate would be announced. 

The president said the 25% tariff on “all ‘Heavy (Big!) Trucks’ made in other parts of the world” was “in order to protect our Great Heavy Truck Manufacturers from unfair outside competition.” 

“Large Truck Company Manufacturers, such as Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, Mack Trucks, and others, will be protected from the onslaught of outside interruptions,” Trump posted.

Throughout much of 2025, the Trump administration’s broad tariffs defied predictions that they would fuel inflation, but that respite seems to have ended after economic data this month showed the duties are now driving prices upward. The Consumer Price Index in August rose at a rate of 2.9% from a year ago, up from an annual pace of 2.3% in April, when Mr. Trump first launched a sweeping set of import taxes.

Nor is there evidence that the tariffs are creating factory jobs or more construction of manufacturing facilities. Since April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that manufacturers cut 42,000 jobs and builders have downsized by 8,000.

“There’s no inflation,” Mr. Trump told reporters Thursday. “We’re having unbelievable success.”

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YouTube to start bringing back accounts of creators banned for misinformation

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YouTube creators whose accounts were banned for violating previous policies against COVID-19 and election misinformation will be given the chance to rejoin the platform, said Alphabet, YouTube’s parent company, on Tuesday.

In a letter submitted in response to subpoenas from the House Judiciary Committee, attorneys for Alphabet said the decision to bring back banned accounts reflected the company’s commitment to free speech. 

“No matter the political atmosphere, YouTube will continue to enable free expression on its platform, particularly as it relates to issues subject to political debate,” the letter read, noting that a number of accounts were kicked off the platform between 2023 and 2024 for violating misinformation rules that don’t exist anymore. Now, it said, “YouTube will provide an opportunity for all creators to rejoin the platform if the Company terminated their channels for repeated violations of COVID-19 and elections integrity policies that are no longer in effect.”

The company in its letter also said it “values conservative voices on its platform and recognizes that these creators have extensive reach and play an important role in civic discourse” and added that YouTube “recognizes these creators are among those shaping today’s online consumption, landing ‘must-watch’ interviews, giving viewers the chance to hear directly from politicians, celebrities, business leaders, and more.”

The move is the latest in a cascade of content moderation rollbacks from tech companies, who cracked down on false information during the pandemic and after the 2020 election but have since faced pressure from President Trump and other conservatives who argue they unlawfully stifled right-wing voices in the process.

It comes as tech CEOs, including Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai, have sought a closer relationship with the Republican president, including through high-dollar donations to his campaign and attending events in Washington.

YouTube in 2023 phased out its policy to remove content that falsely claims the 2020 election, or other past U.S. presidential elections, were marred by “widespread fraud, errors or glitches.” Claims of fraud in the 2020 election have been debunked.

The platform in 2024 also retired its standalone COVID-19 content restrictions, allowing various treatments for the disease to be discussed. COVID-19 misinformation now falls under YouTube’s broader medical misinformation policy.

Among the creators who have been banned from YouTube under the now-expired policies are prominent conservative influencers, including Dan Bongino, who now serves as deputy director of the FBI. For people who make money on social media, access to monetization on YouTube can be significant, earning them large sums through ad revenue.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and other congressional Republicans have pressured tech companies to reverse content moderation policies created under former President Joe Biden and accused Biden’s administration of unfairly wielding its power over the companies to chill lawful online speech.

In Tuesday’s letter, Alphabet’s lawyers said senior Biden administration officials “conducted repeated and sustained outreach” to coerce the company to remove pandemic-related YouTube videos that did not violate company policies.

“It is unacceptable and wrong when any government, including the Biden Administration, attempts to dictate how the Company moderates content, and the Company has consistently fought against those efforts on First Amendment grounds,” the letter said.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has also accused the Biden administration of pressuring employees to inappropriately censor content during the COVID-19 pandemic. Elon Musk, the owner of the social platform X, has accused the FBI of illegally coercing Twitter before his tenure to suppress a story about Hunter Biden.

The Supreme Court last year sided with the Biden administration in a dispute with Republican-led states over how far the federal government can go to combat controversial social media posts on topics including COVID-19 and election security.

Asked for more information about the reinstatement process, a spokesperson for YouTube did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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A Texas teen stabbed his twin sister to death. It’s a mystery why.

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In the early morning hours of Sept. 29, 2021, Benjamin Elliott, then 17 years old, walked into his twin sister Meghan’s bedroom. It was something he had done hundreds of times. But on this morning, he had a knife in his hand and stabbed her in the neck while she was asleep. He would later say he was sleepwalking. When he realized what he had done, he immediately called 911.

“I just killed my sister,” Benjamin told the emergency operator. “Oh my God … I thought it was a dream.”

Benjamin’s parents Kathy and Michael Elliott faced a heartbreaking and unimaginable reality: their beloved daughter, Meghan, was dead, and her adoring twin brother — their son — was accused of intentionally murdering her. They could not imagine why, and neither could investigators. Correspondent Erin Moriarty investigates the extraordinary case of “The Boy Who Killed His Twin,” for the 38th season premiere of “48 Hours,” now streaming on Paramount+.

“What makes you so sure that you stabbed your sister while you were sleepwalking?” Moriarty asked Benjamin Elliott in a jailhouse interview earlier this year.

“I would never have done that,” he replied. “I loved her. … She was my best and closest friend.”



Texas teen confesses to stabbing twin in 911 call: “I just killed my sister.”

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Benjamin’s family, relatives and closest friends agreed. “He and Meghan are so close, you could never picture anything bad happening between them,” Drue Whittecar, a longtime family friend of the Elliotts, told Moriarty.

“And how did she feel about Ben?” Moriarty asked.

“She loved him,” Whittecar replied. “She looked up to him. … You would see her walk up next to him when she would feel uncomfortable and just kinda stand by him.”

Moriarty also interviewed the prosecutors, Megan Long and Maroun Koutani.

“Were you able to find any evidence that there was a problem with … these twins?” Moriarty asked. “No,” Long replied. “We definitely looked into it and tried.”

So how could such a seemingly loving relationship between the twins end in an unfathomable tragedy?

That’s what Benjamin’s parents — Kathy, a senior manager with the Girl Scouts of America, and Michael, a stay-at-home dad — and their eldest daughter, Elizabeth, wanted to know.

The Elliotts initially feared that a mental health crisis was the cause. But it turned out that Benjamin, and some close relatives of the Elliotts, had a history of sleepwalking. In fact, a boyhood friend of the Elliott twins told their parents about a slumber party years earlier, when they found Benjamin eating a donut on a couch — while he was asleep.

Benjamin’s defense attorneys, Cary Hart and Wes Rucker, asked Dr. Jerald Simmons, a neurologist and sleep disorder expert, to examine Benjamin. Simmons was initially skeptical. But after interviewing Benjamin, and hearing about his and his family’s history of sleepwalking, Simmons conducted two sleep studies on him, with the teenager hooked up to devices that monitored his every movement. Simmons went from skeptic to believer.

He determined that Benjamin fell quickly into what is known as slow-wave sleep, or when people can sleepwalk. That’s important because on the night Meghan was killed, Benjamin spent hours scrolling the web on his cell phone, except for a 24-minute period when his phone was inactive. Simmons believes that Benjamin was sleepwalking during that period, and unintentionally stabbed Meghan to death. 

“Do you believe Ben killed his sister without even realizing he was doing it in his sleep?” Moriarty asked Simmons.

“Yes,” he replied. “Ben definitely killed his sister. He did it, there’s no question, he’s the one that had the knife and he stabbed her. But … he didn’t do this voluntarily. There was no motivation.”

Surprisingly, sleepwalking has proved to be a successful — albeit rare — criminal defense. For example, a Canadian man, Kenneth Parks, was accused of driving 14 miles to his mother-in-law’s home, where he killed her. He claimed he was sleepwalking the entire time and was acquitted. And North Carolina father Joseph Mitchell, accused of strangling one of his children, said he was sleepwalking during the killing. He was also found not guilty.

The Elliotts were relieved, and frightened, at finally having an explanation. “It’s scary as hell,” Kathy Elliott said, adding, “if that can happen to us, then that could happen to anybody with a sleep problem.”

They hoped Simmons’ findings would end the investigation into Benjamin. After all, prosecutors admitted they could find no reason for the fatal stabbing.

But prosecutors were still not convinced. They questioned Benjamin’s account of that night, his demeanor during an interrogation with a homicide detective and that he said he stabbed his sister once. That was important because the medical examiner determined Meghan had two wounds to her neck — and one was four inches deep and severed key arteries, which prosecutors believed should have left blood spatter at the scene.

Despite receiving Simmons’ findings, prosecutors charged Benjamin with intentionally murdering his twin, and earlier this year, Benjamin stood trial.

The Elliotts had lost their daughter. No one knew why. Now, they faced losing their son. 

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9/27: Saturday Morning – CBS News

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9/27: Saturday Morning – CBS News










































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Hurricane Humberto intensifies in the Atlantic; Why is Finland so happy?

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Angel City FC falls to Racing Louisville on late goal – Orange County Register

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Angel City FC conceded a goal to Sarah Weber in the 66th minute, losing 1-0 to Racing Louisville on Saturday night at Lynn Family Stadium.

The moment came when Emma Sears forced a turnover deep in Angel City’s end and drove a low cross that Weber redirected past Anderson for the winner.

Despite controlling long stretches, Angel City couldn’t turn possession into chances, finishing with two shots on target to Louisville’s four while holding 63.2% of the ball. Keeper Angelina Anderson made three saves.

Angel City fell to 6-6-10 (24 points). Louisville improved to 8-5-9 (29).

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Angels show better record, but progress remains in question – Press Enterprise

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ANAHEIM — As the Angels limp to the end of the season, the positive spin will undoubtedly be to point to their improvement over last year.

The Angels, who were 72-88 heading into the penultimate game of the season on Saturday night, are guaranteed to win at least nine more games than when they were 63-99 in 2024.

That is misleading, though.

“If we said we’re nine or 10 games better, we shouldn’t use that as the benchmark, because wins and losses that we’re judging right now aren’t the ultimate decider of that,” interim manager Ray Montgomery said.

While the record is obviously the ultimate metric that determines whether you make the playoffs or not, for all the teams that don’t make the playoffs, there are other ways to evaluate how good a team is and how much better it needs to be.

The Angels came into Saturday’s game with a run differential of minus-155, which is 45 runs worse than the second-worst team in the American League. In the National League, the only worse teams are the Colorado Rockies (minus-420) and Washington Nationals (minus-204).

In 2024, the Angels’ run differential was minus-162.

This year’s team won more games primarily because of a 28-21 record in one-run games. Last year, the Angels were 22-26 in one-run games.

The overall OPS improved from .671 to .698, but the ERA slipped from 4.57 to 4.87. The strikeout rate for the hitters got worse, from 24% to 27%, while the walk rate stayed the same. For the pitchers, the strikeout and walk rates both remained almost the same.

Before Friday’s game, Montgomery acknowledged the flaws, without discounting that they are improving. He also said a rash of injuries late in the season has contributed to their September slide.

“It depends on where you’re looking for the progress,” Montgomery said. “The wins and losses are a little bit better. I don’t want to discount that. Winning 70 or winning 72 doesn’t feel like it’s progress in any way. But coming off of last year and where we’re trying to get to, I think you could look at some of the health and wellness and rosters we’ve been putting out at different times.”

The Angels have indeed limped to the end with an injury-ravaged roster. Shortstop Zach Neto missed the last three weeks. First baseman Nolan Schanuel missed about a month. Relievers Reid Detmers and Robert Stephenson were gone at the end. Starters Tyler Anderson and José Soriano also didn’t make it through the end of the season.

“The disappointing thing is that it’s not getting to the finish line necessarily the way we would have liked,” Montgomery said, “with a chance to be in some environments and play against some teams that are going to the postseason.”

On the bright side, Montgomery said the Angels saw a core of players further establish themselves.

“There’s a tangible core,” Montgomery said. “You can say, if we build around this core and we add to it with the right type of players, and certainly you have to have depth to the ends of the earth, I think there’s a good chance that this team is a lot better position a year from now.”

SILSETH’S PERFORMANCE

Right-hander Chase Silseth, who was on the injured list in the minors for much of the season, has helped put himself back on the radar with his performance since he’s been back in the majors.

Silseth has a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings, with 13 strikeouts. On Friday night, he pitched a perfect inning, with two strikeouts. The Houston Astros whiffed on six of their 10 swings against him, including four of five against his sweeper.

“I think last night was pretty indicative of the best we’ve seen of him,” Montgomery said.

Silseth, 25, still could factor into the Angels’ rotation plans, although the bullpen seems more likely. He’ll be out of options next season.

NOTES

The Angels placed right-hander Luis Garcia on the injured list because of an oblique strain. They recalled left-hander Sammy Peralta. …

Catcher Travis d’Arnaud (concussion) has shown significant improvement this week. “He took some swings in the age,” Montgomery said. “He’s moving a lot better. He’s feeling a lot better.” D’Arnaud, who has been diagnosed with five concussions, in his career, is not permitted to speak to the media while he’s on the concussion list. Montgomery said he’s heard nothing from d’Arnaud suggesting that the latest concussion would impact d’Arnaud’s future. D’Arnaud, 36, is signed through next season. …

The season finale on Sunday will start at 12:07 p.m., which is about an hour earlier than normal. Major League Baseball schedules all the games to start at roughly the same time on the final day so no team gets a competitive advantage in games that have an impact on the final standings.

UP NEXT

Astros (TBD) at Angels (LHP Sam Aldegheri, 0-1, 8.00), Sunday, 12:07 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network West, 830 AM

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Reputed Mexican Mafia figure accused in cartel case strikes plea deal

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To hear prosecutors tell it, Jose Landa-Rodriguez was public enemy No. 1.

A reputed Mexican Mafia member called “Fox,” Landa-Rodriguez was charged in three cases between 2011 and 2018. The allegations included a murder plot, overseeing rackets in the Los Angeles County jails and pursuing an alliance between his U.S. prison gang and a drug cartel from his home state of Michoacán.

For the record:

6:56 a.m. Sept. 27, 2025The original version of this story misstated Landa-Rodriguez’s sentence. He will serve two more years in prison, not seven.

Landa-Rodriguez, 60, was acquitted in one federal case. But still facing life on state charges, he struck a plea deal that will see him deported back to Mexico after serving two more years in prison.

On Thursday, Landa-Rodriguez pleaded no contest in Los Angeles County Superior Court to making criminal threats and was sentenced to time served, his lawyer Nicholas Rosenberg said.

L.A. County prosecutors had charged that Landa-Rodriguez, while incarcerated in a federal penitentiary for illegally reentering the country, sanctioned the killing of a rival’s underling.

According to trial testimony, Landa-Rodriguez was locked in a power struggle with another reputed Mexican Mafia member, Arthur “Turi” Estrada, over who would collect money from drug sales on California prison yards.

Landa-Rodriguez used coded language in an email to order a hit on an Estrada underling, prosecutors alleged. “Do not let him get into our backyards,” he wrote, according to prosecutors.

Federal authorities alleged Landa-Rodriguez set his eyes on a racket far more lucrative than prison drug deals. In 2013, he was accused of trying to establish a methamphetamine pipeline with a cartel from his home state in western Mexico, La Familia Michoacana.

According to recorded phone calls, La Familia’s leaders feared extradition and wanted the Mexican Mafia to protect them if they ended up in U.S. prisons. In exchange, the cartel promised a bottomless supply of cheap drugs that the Mexican Mafia could sell on American streets.

Landa-Rodriguez was discussing the deal with a cartel representative in recorded prison calls when another Mexican Mafia member, Ralph “Perico” Rocha, heard about the negotiations. Facing extortion charges, Rocha had secretly cut a deal for a reduced sentence. He inserted himself into the talks, arranging meetings in a bugged office building that allowed federal agents to record every word.

Suspicious that he was working for the authorities, Landa-Rodriguez told the cartel to stay away from Rocha. They were all indicted anyway.

The case against Landa-Rodriguez and four other Mexican Mafia members was roiled when it emerged that Rocha had secretly recorded himself disparaging his government handlers. Landa-Rodriguez was acquitted of all charges in 2019.

But the verdict didn’t mean Landa-Rodriguez walked out of jail.

In 2013, prosecutors alleged in a second federal indictment, Landa-Rodriguez seized control of the Los Angeles County jail system, the country’s largest. According to prosecutors, he oversaw the lucrative schemes the Mexican Mafia uses to extract money from the 6,000 or so Latino prisoners who make up more than half of the county’s male inmate population.

Landa-Rodriguez allegedly received a one-third cut of all drug sales within the jails, leading prosecutors to dub their investigation “Operation Dirty Thirds.” He was also accused of profiting from an extortion racket called “the kitty.”

Landa-Rodriguez’s former right-hand man, Luis “Hefty” Garcia, testified in 2022 that every Latino inmate was required to contribute $1.50 worth of items — food, clothing or hygiene supplies — for every $7 spent at the commissary. The “kitty” is then resold, creating a secondary market within the jails that is cheaper than the commissary.

“It may sound like a small amount,” Garcia said, “but in the big picture, it’s a large amount of money.”

Every week, Garcia testified he collected $1,500 to $2,500 from “kitty” sales at Men’s Central Jail, $1,000 from Twin Towers and about $3,200 from the jail complex in Castaic known as Wayside, Garcia testified. This adds up to about $23,000 a month.

After seven years of litigation, hearings and the trial of a co-defendant — Landa-Rodriguez’s former lawyer — Landa-Rodriguez pleaded guilty to racketeering in March.

In his plea agreement, he admitted the Mexican Mafia engaged in murder, kidnapping, extortion, robbery and witness tampering to “promote a climate of fear” within the jails. He also acknowledged putting an unnamed rival on the “green light list” — the Mexican Mafia’s hit list — in 2015.

In a sentencing memo, lawyer Vitaly Sigal said his client has been incarcerated since 1998. When Landa-Rodriguez was last free, Sigal wrote, “Bill Clinton was the president of the United States, the internet was a relatively new concept that needed to be accessed via dial-up modem [and] the top-grossing movie in the world was Titanic.”

Sigal said Landa-Rodriguez plans to return home to Michoacán after serving his time and accepting deportation.

The cartel with which Landa-Rodriguez once negotiated, now rebranded as La Nueva Familia Michoacana, was designated by the U.S. Treasury Department in April as a foreign terrorist organization.

In August, Mexican authorities handed over Servando Gómez Martinez, a La Familia leader called “La Tuta,” to face drug trafficking charges in New York.

But according to his lawyer, Landa-Rodriguez has no interest in prison politics or transnational criminal alliances. He dreams of returning to his family’s ranch, Sigal wrote, where he lived before coming to the United States at 15, before he ever joined a South L.A. gang or knew the inside of a jail cell.

Today, “he seeks no power, status or conflict,” Sigal wrote. “Only the quiet dignity of growing old in the company of loved ones.”

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Shooting for the moon. How Elon Musk’s SpaceX is faring

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A rundown of the challenges and opportunities facing the privately held company, which moved its headquarters to Texas last year but retains design, manufacturing and other operations at its Hawthorne hub.

While the world’s richest man might have breathed a sigh of relief after his Starship rocket completed a stellar launch last month, Elon Musk can’t afford to celebrate just yet.

The SpaceX rocket, the largest ever built, is expected to undergo its 11th test launch in October, hoping to replicate its August success, which came after three disappointing flights.

What’s more, Musk still faces big hurdles at his rapidly expanding space business — what was once the world’s most valuable private company, at $400 billion, until it was recently topped by OpenAI.

A lunar-lander version of Starship in development is a key element of NASA’s Artemis mission to land Americans back on the moon in a space race with the Chinese. And an even larger version of the 403-foot-tall rocket is seen as a foundation for SpaceX’s future commercial launch business.

In pursuit of its goals, SpaceX is seeking to increase the launch frequency of Starship at its Texas test site and of its Falcon 9 reusable rocket at Vandenberg Space Force Base — but is facing opposition over environmental issues.

Here’s a rundown of the challenges and opportunities facing the privately held company, which moved its headquarters to Texas last year but retains design, manufacturing and other operations at its Hawthorne hub, where it employs more than 5,000 workers.

The company did not respond to a message seeking comment.

What did SpaceX achieve with its Starship flight last month?

SpaceX’s goal has been to have the Starship spacecraft atop its massive rocket achieve a controlled landing in the Indian Ocean, while the reusable Super Heavy booster is similarly brought down. The first two flights this year were partially successful when the booster was caught by robotic “chopstick” arms on the launchpad in South Texas. but the upper stages were lost. A third flight saw both stages lost after separation. But last month, each stage performed as expected, prompting an exuberant Musk to post, “Great work by the Spacex team!” on his social network X.

Why is it so critical for the Starship test flights to make constant progress?

NASA’s Artemis program to return astronauts to the moon relies on a version of the Starship upper stage called the Human Landing System that SpaceX is building. The plan is to have the craft dock in lunar orbit with a Lockheed Martin capsule that is launched by NASA’s SLS rocket built by Boeing and other contractors. The SpaceX craft will then ferry the astronauts to the moon and back to the lunar orbiting capsule. SpaceX must first demonstrate it can refuel the lander in Earth orbit in a complicated procedure after takeoff so it can carry out its lunar mission.

Given engineering challenges SpaceX is facing, can it meet the mission deadlines?

The Artemis I mission in 2022 sent a remote capsule around the moon, and the Artemis II mission, which might launch in February and doesn’t involve SpaceX, will send four astronauts on a lunar fly-by. The current official target date for Artemis III is no earlier than mid-2027, but members of a NASA safety panel warned this month that they doubt the lunar lander will be ready in time. Laura Forczyk, executive director of space industry consultancy Astralytical, said she wouldn’t be surprised if the mission doesn’t launch until 2030, given multiple issues beyond SpaceX’s own technological challenges. “I hope that they prove me wrong, but when it comes to human spaceflight everything is delayed,” she said.

What other SpaceX programs are reliant on the development of Starship?

SpaceX primarily provides launch services to commercial and military satellite customers with its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, which has a payload of up to 23 metric tons. Its larger Falcon Heavy boosts that to nearly 64 metric tons, while a fully resusable Starship could launch up to 150 metric tons. A planned larger version of the rocket would add even more payload. That kind of capacity, coupled with the ability to have controlled landings, would radically lower launch costs — making feasible such things as cargo deliveries to any point on Earth, manufacturing in space and colonizing not only the moon but perhaps Mars, Musk’s dream for decades. Musk recently posted on X that Starship could account for as much as 98% of orbital payloads by 2027.

How will Starship boost SpaceX’s plan to build out its Starlink satellite network, which provides internet access across the globe?

SpaceX has launched nearly 10,000 Starlink satellites with its Falcon 9 rocket, and last month Starship deployed dummy versions of its soon-to-be-released third version of the satellites, which are larger and more powerful. With plans to launch tens of thousands more satellites, Starship is critical to that endeavor. The payload of a Falcon 9 is fewer than 30 of the current satellites, while Starship could launch more than 100 of the next generation.

What obstacles is SpaceX facing with its launch plans?

The Federal Aviation Administration this year approved a request by SpaceX to increase the number of its Starship test flights at its South Texas launchpad to 25. A coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit in 2023 alleging the government failed to conduct a full environmental review of the launches, but that lawsuit was dismissed this month. The Center for Biological Diversity told The Times that it is assessing its options, including an appeal. SpaceX paid nearly $500,000 this year to resolve Environmental Protection Agency allegations that it discharged cooling water after launches and engine tests into nearby wetlands.

Isn’t SpaceX facing opposition over additional Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy flights from Vandenberg Space Base?

Yes. The California Coastal Commission in August unanimously voted against SpaceX’s plan to increase annual launches from 50 to 95 per year at the Santa Barbara County complex, citing sonic booms and other concerns. SpaceX launches spy satellites for the government there but also Starlink internet satellites. The military argues all of the launches benefit national security objectives, meaning it is unlikely the vote will delay the company’s plans. A Vandenberg spokesperson said the base expects to maintain “a steady space and test-launch cadence for the remainder of the year” but couldn’t provide exact figures.

What about SpaceX’s plans to get into the mobile communications business?

SpaceX bought $17 billion worth of wireless spectrum this month, giving the company the capacity to provide mobile service anywhere around the world. Last week, it asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch 15,000 satellites in support of what it said may become a hybrid network with ground-based cell towers. SpaceX has already partnered with T-Mobile — which had its own spectrum and is offering a service that allows customers to text when they are off the grid.

Does that mean I could end up having SpaceX as my cellular provider?

Unlikely. Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s chief operating officer, speaking at a conference this month, said the company will work with chip and device makers to make the spectrum available on phones — and then work with telecom companies to provide almost “wholesale capacity to their customers.”

Craig Moffett, a telecommunications analyst at MoffettNathanson, said that the spectrum allows SpaceX to cover the more than 500,000 square miles of U.S. territory without mobile service. “Cell towers, by and large, cover all the populous areas of the country, but for rural customers, there are still significant parts of the day when you might be out of reach of the network,” he said.

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Flood advisory active for San Bernardino County until Saturday evening – Press Enterprise

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San Bernardino County is under an updated flood advisory which was issued by the National Weather Service on Saturday at 3:39 p.m. The advisory is in effect until 6:45 p.m.

According to the NWS Las Vegas NV, “Ongoing flooding caused by previous and ongoing rainfall expected.”

“Minor flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas,” according to the NWS. “Turn around, don’t drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles.”

Your guide to weather alerts: advisories, watches, and warnings

  • Flash flood warning: Take action!

A flash flood warning is issued when a flash flood is imminent or occurring. If you are in a flood-prone area, move immediately to high ground. A flash flood is a sudden violent flood that can take from minutes to hours to develop. It is even possible to experience a flash flood in areas not immediately receiving rain.

  • Flood warning: Take action!

A flood warning is issued when flooding is imminent or occurring.

  • Flood advisory: Be aware:

A flood advisory is issued when flooding is not expected to be bad enough to issue a warning. However, it may cause significant inconvenience, and if caution is not exercised, it could lead to situations that may threaten life and/or property.

  • Flood watch: Be prepared:

A flood watch is issued when conditions are favorable for flooding. It doesn’t guarantee that flooding will occur, but it signifies that the possibility exists.

Be flood-ready: Expert guidance from the NWS for your safety

Floods can pose a significant threat, especially if you live in a flood-prone area or find yourself camping in a low-lying region. To ensure your safety, the NWS offers essential flood safety guidelines:

Seek higher ground:

If you’re in a flood-prone area, or if you’re camping in a low-lying spot, move to higher ground as a first step.

Adhere to evacuation orders:

If local authorities issue an evacuation order, heed it promptly. Prior to leaving, secure your home by locking it.

Disconnect utilities and appliances:

If time allows, disconnect your utilities and appliances. This reduces the risk of electrical hazards during flooding.

Avoid basements and submerged areas:

Avoid basements or rooms submerged in water with electrical outlets or cords. Preventing electrical accidents is crucial.

Swift evacuation for your safety:

If you notice sparks or hear buzzing, crackling, snapping, or popping noises, evacuate immediately. Avoid any water that may be charged with electricity.

Refrain from walking in floodwaters:

Never attempt to walk through floodwaters. Even just 6 inches of swiftly moving water can forcefully knock you off your feet.

Seek high ground if trapped:

Should you become trapped by moving water, reach the highest point possible and dial 911 to contact emergency services.

During heavy rainfall, there is a risk of flooding, especially in low-lying and flood-prone areas. Remember to never drive through water on the road, even if it seems shallow. According to the NWS, as little as 12 inches of rapidly flowing water can carry away most cars. Stay safe by being prepared and informed.

Mastering wet roads: Safety tips for heavy rainfall

Heavy rainfall may lead to flooding if prolonged or if there is excessive runoff. Excessive runoff can be a result of saturated ground and/or rainfall intensity. Follow these recommendations from the NWS to stay safe in heavy rain:

Beware of swollen waterways:

Avoid parking or walking in close proximity to culverts or drainage ditches, as the swiftly moving water during heavy rain can potentially carry you away.

Maintain safe driving distances:

Use the two-second rule to maintain a safe distance from the car in front of you and allow an extra two seconds in heavy rain.

Reduce speed and drive cautiously:

On wet roads, reducing your speed is crucial. Ease off the accelerator gradually and avoid abrupt braking to prevent skidding.

Choose your lane wisely:

Stick to the middle lanes to minimize the risk of hydroplaning. Outer lanes are more prone to accumulating water.

Visibility matters:

Enhance your visibility in heavy rain by activating your headlights. Be particularly vigilant for vehicles in blind spots, as rain-smeared windows can obscure them.

Watch out for slippery roads:

Be extra careful during the first half hour after rain begins. Grime and oil on the road surface mix with water to make the road slippery.

Keep a safe distance from large vehicles:

Don’t follow large trucks or buses too closely. The spray created by their large tires reduces your vision. Take care when passing them as well; if you must pass, do so with caution.

Mind your windshield wipers:

  • Heavy rain can overload the wiper blades. When visibility is so limited that the edges of the road or other vehicles cannot be seen at a safe distance, it is time to pull over and wait for the rain to ease up. It is best to stop at rest areas or other protected areas.
  • If the roadside is your only option, pull off as far as possible, preferably past the end of a guard rail, and wait until the storm passes. Keep your headlights on and turn on emergency flashers to alert other drivers of your position.

In the face of heavy rain, these precautions can make a significant difference in ensuring your safety on the road. Remember to stay informed about weather conditions and heed guidance from local authorities for a secure journey.

Originally Published:

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Ducks sign Mason McTavish to 6-year contract – Press Enterprise

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The wait is over for the Ducks and center Mason McTavish, who agreed to a six-year contract extension worth $42 million Saturday.

That signing comes more than a week after training camp opened, at which point McTavish, last season’s leading goal scorer (22) and power-play goal scorer (6), was back home in Ottawa training on his own. He and New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes had been the final A-list restricted free agents to remain unsigned.

McTavish, 22, was drafted third overall in 2021 and won gold at the U18 and U20 levels with Canada. As a Duck, his best play came last season as the Ducks grasped strings at the fringe of a playoff race. They’ve missed the playoffs in seven straight campaigns, the longest drought in the Western Conference.

They are banking on emergent talents like McTavish, Leo Carlsson, Jackson LaCombe and Lukáš Dostàl to right their ship. Last season, they flirted with a .500 record under Greg Cronin, who was replaced by four-time Stanley Cup champion Joel Qunneville over the summer.

The novelty of a big-name head coach was soon offset by the familiar feeling of a protracted contract dispute with a restricted free agent.

Two other top-10 selections for the Ducks, Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale, held out into camp two seasons ago. It set in motion a sequence that saw both players traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in separate deals made 18 months apart.

Now, with McTavish in the fold, fans can see what the Ducks will look like in the early part of the campaign. Despite still having considerable cap space, general manager Pat Verbeek said he was actively looking to add when camp began.

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Riverside Community Hospital will build 11-story tower in $912 million expansion – Press Enterprise

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Riverside Community Hospital is getting a massive upgrade.

The Magnolia Avenue hospital in downtown Riverside will see a major expansion with the addition of an 11-story patient tower and parking structure to meet the Inland Empire’s growing health care needs, officials announced this month.

The tower will house the labor and delivery, postpartum and antepartum and radiology departments, plus a pharmacy and endoscopy suite. It will have 220 medical-surgical beds and 54 intensive-care beds, a hospital news release states. Three floors of the tower will hold future patient rooms and additional operating rooms.

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An artist’s rendering shows the inside of the new patient tower at Riverside Community Hospital. A $912 million expansion will include the 11-story tower. (Courtesy of HCA Healthcare)

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“This expansion marks an incredible milestone for the city of Riverside and the communities we serve,” hospital CEO Peter Hemstead said in the release. “Our region is under bedded. This new tower will not only enhance our ability to meet the growing needs of our patients but also ensure this community has access to the highest standard of care, now and in the future.”

Hemstead cited state Public Health Department research, which reports just over one (1.63) bed for every 1,000 people in the Inland Empire — well below the national average of less than 2.35 hospital beds per 1,000 people, according to research from analysts Trilliant Health.

“As the demand for quality care continues to grow, this expansion ensures that our residents will have access to the resources, specialists, and support they deserve — right here at home,” Riverside City Councilmember Philip Falcone said in the release.

Hospital spokesperson Cassandra Jones said the cost of the expansion — including the 459,496-square-foot tower, parking structure, emergency room entrance redesign and new campus driveways — will be about $912 million.

The tower will be built on the site of the hospital’s current parking garage, parallel to the hospital’s seven-story patient G Tower, Jones said. When the new parking structure — on which construction already has started — is completed in December 2026, the former parking area will be demolished.

Groundbreaking for the new tower is set for winter, Jones said.

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Denmark reports new drone sightings at military facilities

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BERLIN — The Danish defense ministry said Saturday that “drones have been observed at several of Danish defense facilities.”

The new drone sightings overnight Friday into Saturday come after there were several drone sightings in the Nordic country earlier this week, with some of them temporarily shutting down Danish airports.

Several local media outlets reported that one or more drones were seen near or above the Karup Air Base, which is Denmark’s biggest military base.

The defense ministry refused to confirm the sighting at Karup or elsewhere and said that “for reasons of operational security and the ongoing investigation, the Defense Command Denmark does not wish to elaborate further on drone sightings.”

The ministry clarified later to public broadcaster DR that reports of additional drone activity at Skrydstrup Air Base and the Jutland Dragoon Regiment referred to sightings that didn’t occur overnight from Friday to Saturday. Its earlier statement seemed to imply that timing, and was widely reported.

The ministry couldn’t be reached immediately for confirmation, but a statement on its website referring to the incidents at the base and barracks was dated Thursday — though it didn’t directly confirm the sightings took place that day.

Tensions have been running high in Denmark in recent days after various reports of drone activity, and hundreds of possible sightings reported by concerned citizens couldn’t officially be confirmed. Nonetheless, the public has been asked to report all suspicious activity to police.

On Saturday, DR and several other local media reported that in Karup, there were drones in the air both inside and outside the fence of the air base at around 8 p.m. on Friday, quoting Simon Skelkjær, the duty manager at the Central and West Jutland Police.

DR said that for a period of time, the airspace was closed to civil air traffic, but that didn’t have much practical significance as there is currently no civil aviation in Karup.

The repeated unexplained drone activity, including over four Danish airports overnight Wednesday into Thursday and a similar incident at Copenhagen Airport, has raised concerns about security in northern Europe amid suspected growing Russian aggression.

Flights were grounded in the Danish capital for hours on Monday night.

The goal of the flyovers is to sow fear and division, Danish Minister of Justice Peter Hummelgaard said Thursday, adding that the country will seek additional ways to neutralize drones, including proposing legislation to allow infrastructure owners to shoot them down.

For the upcoming European Union summit next week, the Denmark’s defense ministry said on X that the country’s government had accepted an offer from Sweden to “lend Denmark a military anti-drone capability,” without giving further details.

In neighboring Germany, several drones were reported in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, which borders Denmark, from Thursday into Friday night.

The state’s interior minister, Sabine Sütterlin-Waack, said that “the state police are currently significantly stepping up their drone defense measures, also in coordination with other northern German states,” German news agency dpa reported. She didn’t provide further details, citing the ongoing investigations.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told reporters on Saturday afternoon that his ministry is working on new anti-drone rules that aim to detect, intercept and — if needed — also shoot down drones.

On Thursday, European defense ministers agreed to develop a “drone wall” along their borders with Russia and Ukraine to better detect, track and intercept drones violating Europe’s airspace.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that in regard to frequent attacks on infrastructure and data networks, “we are not at war, but we are no longer living in peace either.” He didn’t allude to a certain country as the actor behind those attacks.

“Drone flights, espionage, the Tiergarten murder, massive threats to individual public figures, not only in Germany but also in many other European countries. Acts of sabotage on a daily basis. Attempts to paralyze data centers. Cyberattacks,” he added during a speech at the Schwarz Ecosystem Summit in Berlin on Friday, dpa reported.

What became known as the “Tiergarten murder” in Germany refers to the case of Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted of the Aug. 23, 2019, killing of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya and later claimed asylum in Germany. Krasikov was returned to Russia as part of a massive prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia in 2024.

One of the six runways at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport was closed for about 45 minutes early Saturday afternoon after reports of a drone sighting around noon (1000 GMT), military police spokesman Doron Wallin told The Associated Press. Aircraft were redirected to another runway.

Wallin said no drone or drone pilot was found and the runway was reopened. He said that such reported sightings are a regular occurence, with 22 so far this year.

Later on Saturday, Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee, said at a NATO meeting in Riga, Latvia, that “Russian aircraft and drones, on top of the already existing measures will now find the resolute response of the newly established and already operational Eastern Sentry activity, which further strengthen NATO’s ability to react quickly and decisively against this kind of reckless behavior.”

“Russia bears full responsibility for these actions,” Dragone said. “Today, I express full and unequivocal solidarity with all allies whose airspace has been breached. The alliance’s response has been robust and will only continue to strengthen,” he said.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs said that “the immediate priority today is clearly air defense.”

“Russia continues a pattern of provocations, most recently recklessly violating the airspace of Poland and Estonia,” Rinkēvičs said.

___

Sylvie Corbet in Paris, and Mike Corder in The Hague, Netherlands, contributed to this report.

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Trump finds new trade targets — pharmaceuticals, kitchen cabinets and heavy trucks

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WASHINGTON — Naturepedic, a mattress and furniture company based outside Cleveland, has been planning to introduce an upscale upholstered headboard late this year or early in 2026.

But President Donald Trump has thrown those plans into disarray. On Thursday night, the president announced on social media that he was slapping a 30% tax on imported upholstered furniture. Naturepedic ships its headboards in from India and Vietnam.

So what is the company to do?

“Do we continue forth … and hope for the best?’’ asked Arin Schultz, Naturepedic’s chief growth officer. “Or do we feel like we’re priced out and drop it altogether?’’ And if Naturepedic decides to continue with the rollout, “do we eat the cost or pass it on’’ to customers?

Across the United States, lots of executives were asking themselves similar questions as they came to work Friday morning.

Upholstered furniture, after all, wasn’t the only import in Trump’s crosshairs Thursday night. In addition, the president posted on his Truth Social platform, he’s plastering import taxes – tariffs – of 100% on pharmaceutical drugs, 50% on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities and 25% on heavy trucks.

And he’s not waiting around to do it. The tariffs, he said, would take effect Wednesday.

Trump also raised eyebrows by justifying the levy on vanities and sofas as necessary for national security. “It’s hard to see how a kitchen cabinet industry is essential to winning the next war,’’ said Mary Lovely, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Thursday’s social media barrage was j ust the latest in Trump’s push to upend American trade policy, which for decades pushed for lower trade barriers around the world.

In place of an open market, Trump has built a tariff wall around the U.S. economy, slapping double-digit taxes on imports from almost every country on earth and targeting products (steel, aluminum, autos) with specific taxes of their own.

Trump says the tariffs will protect U.S. industries from foreign competition, encourage companies to bring production to the United States and raise money for the U.S. Treasury.

They certainly have become a moneymaker for the federal government. Since fiscal year 2025 began last Oct. 1, the U.S. Treasury has collected $172 billion in customs duties, up by $96 billion (or 126%) from the same period in fiscal 2024. Still, tariffs account for less than 4% of federal revenue.

Businesses, lawyers and trade analysts are still wondering what to make of Trump’s Thursday night tariffs. “We’ve only seen the President’s Truth Social posts,” said Dan McCarthy, principal in McCarthy Consulting and a former official with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in the Biden administration. “We need to see the details.’’

For example, Naturepedic isn’t sure whether the 30% levy on upholstered furniture will be stacked atop a separate and earlier 50% tariff on goods from India.

Here’s what we know so far:

The president has been threatening tariffs of 200% or more on pharmaceuticals. “It’s to force Big Pharma to move jobs and put new factories into the U.S,’’ said Barry Appleton, a senior fellow at the Center for International Law at New York Law School. “So it’s industrial policy.”

In recent decades, drugmakers have moved many operations overseas – to take advantage of lower costs in China and India and tax breaks in Ireland and Switzerland.

The COVID-19 experience – when countries were desperate to hang onto their own medicine and medical supplies — underscored the dangers of relying on foreign countries in a crisis, especially when a key supplier is America’s geopolitical rival China.

The stock prices of pharmaceutical companies actually rose after Trump’s announcement Thursday night. The 100% tariff was lower than it might have been. And Trump said the tariffs would not apply to companies “breaking ground” or being “under construction.”

Several big drugmakers like Merck & Co. Inc., Eli Lilly and Co. and Johnson & Johnson have already announced U.S. expansion plans.

In his tariff announcement, Trump did not mention generic drugs, which account for the vast majority of U.S. prescriptions.

Still, analysts warn, the tariffs are likely to mean higher prices. “The people who are punished the most are Americans who need the drugs so badly, especially those who don’t have full health care plans,” Appleton said. He called the tariff is a “simplistic but drastic” approach to a complicated problem. “We don’t know how it’s going to go, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to do well for consumers,” he said.

The tariffs on kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and upholstered furniture come as the White House is investigating whether imports of lumber and other wood products pose a threat to U.S. national security. A report on that investigation is due Nov. 26 and could mean more and broader tariffs.

The levies are likely to hurt big furniture exporters China and Vietnam.

But they’re also likely to drive up the cost of new homes and apartments and of do-it-yourself redecorating projects.

Homeowners are already scaling back due to high costs and a shaky economy. According to the Labor Department, the price of living room, kitchen and dining room furniture has risen nearly 10% over the past year.

“Adding significant costs to furniture, cabinets, vanities and building materials will make the American dream of owning a home significantly more expensive,” said Jonathan Gold, the National Retail Federation’s vice president of supply chain and customs policy. “The speed at which these tariff announcements are made and implemented continues to wreak havoc on retail supply chains. The uncertainty makes it difficult for retailers to properly plan and mitigate the impact of tariffs.”

Charles Clevenger, a supply chain specialist at the consultancy UHY, said tariffs on pharmaceuticals make sense because so much production has shifted away from the United States to Europe and Asia. Likewise, North Carolina and other states in the American South have also lost furniture factories to cheaper competitors in the China.

But he was surprised by the tariffs on heavy trucks because “we do have a rather robust industry’’ – with manufacturers like Paccar (parent company of Peterbilt and Kenworth).

But Appleton at New York Law School suspects the tariff is aimed at Mexico, where many heavy trucks are made. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a trade deal negotiated in Trump’s first term, is coming up for negotiation. “I don’t think that (the tariff) was done by accident, Appleton said. “They wanted to put some more pressure onto the Mexicans” to make concessions in the talks.

Using Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, Trump had launched investigations into whether imports of pharmaceuticals, lumber and heavy trucks posed a threat to U.S. national security.

He’d justified his broader tariffs another way: by declaring national emergencies under a 1977 law. But two courts have ruled that Trump overstepped his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose import taxes. The Supreme Court is hearing the case on appeal.

Robert Lawrence, a professor of International trade and investment at Harvard University, said that using Section 232 gives the president a Plan B if the courts strike down his IEEPA tariffs. “He now has insurance and shows that he’s going to be able to get away with raising tariffs, even if he loses that case.”

But Ted Murphy, co-leader of the trade practice at the Sidley Austin law firm, said: “It’s hard to discern much of a plan … What the administration does is they identify a problem and then the solution is a big tariff. The question is whether that’s really as nuanced or strategic as it could be. There could be a strategy but it’s hard to discern from a tweet.’’

___

Anderson reported from New York.

AP Health Writer Tom Murphy contributed to this story.

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Tina Turner statue unveiled in Tennessee community where she grew up

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BROWNSVILLE, Tenn. — A 10-foot statue of rock n’ roll queen Tina Turner was unveiled Saturday in the rural Tennessee community where she grew up — before becoming a Grammy-winning singer, an electrifying stage performer, and one the world’s most recognizable and popular entertainers.

The statue was revealed during a ceremony at a park in Brownsville, located about an hour drive east of Memphis. The city of about 9,000 people is near Nutbush, the community where Turner went to school as a child. As a teen, she attended high school just steps from where the statue now stands.

The statue shows Turner with her signature wild hairdo and holding a microphone, as if she was singing on stage. It was designed by sculptor Fred Ajanogha, who said he tried to capture her flexibility of movement on stage, how she held the microphone with her index finger extended, and her hair style, which he compared to the “mane of a lion.”

Turner died May 24, 2023 at age 83 after a long illness in her home in Küsnacht near Zurich. Her Grammy-winning singing career included the hit songs “Nutbush City Limits,” “Proud Mary,” “Private Dancer,” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero,” from the film “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.” Her movie credits also include “Tommy” and “Last Action Hero.”

Turner teamed with husband Ike Turner for hit records and live shows in the 1960s and ’70s. She survived her troubled marriage to succeed in middle age with the chart-topping “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” released in 1984.

Her admirers ranged from Mick Jagger to Beyoncé to Mariah Carey, and she was known as the the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”

The unveiling was part of the 10th-annual Tina Turner Heritage Days, a celebration of her life growing up in rural Tennessee, before she moved away as a teenager. The statue was sculpted in clay and cast in bronze, and it took about a year to complete.

Karen Cook said she traveled from Georgia to attend the event with her friend, a cousin of Turner’s, to honor the legendary performer.

“She’s a great artist, I love her music,” said Cook, 59. “My mom listened to her a lot. It’s a big deal and a great thing for the community to have Tina Turner in her small town.”

About 50 donors gave money for the statue, including Ford Motor Co., which donated $150,000. Ford is building an electric truck factory in nearby Stanton.

The statue stands near a museum honoring Turner at the the West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center in Brownsville. The museum opened in 2014 inside the renovated Flagg Grove School, a one-room building where Turner attended classes in Nutbush. The school closed in the 1960s and was used as a barn before the dilapidated building was moved by tractor-trailer from Nutbush to Brownsville.

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A new Ebola outbreak in Congo kills dozens as health officials warn of lack of funds

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GOMA, Congo — As a deadly new Ebola outbreak kills dozens in southern Congo, health authorities and organizations are sounding the alarm, warning they lack the funds and resources to mount an effective response to the crisis.

The World Health Organization said Wednesday that 57 cases and 35 deaths have been reported since the outbreak was announced by Congolese authorities on Sept. 4. The fatality rate is over 61%.

It is the first Ebola outbreak in 18 years in Kasai province, a remote part of Congo characterized by its poor road networks. It is located more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) from the nation’s capital of Kinshasa.

“We urgently need our partners and donors to step up and support this lifesaving response to ensure we can contain the outbreak quickly and protect the most vulnerable communities,” said Susan Nzisa Mbalu, head of communications for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Africa, IFRC.

Earlier this week, the IFRC said it is appealing for 20 million Swiss francs ($25 million) to help contain the outbreak and aiming to reach 965,000 people with urgent assistance. It warned that health facilities are overwhelmed and lack the resources to provide care, with clean water and protective equipment running critically low.

According to the IFRC, the only treatment centre in the Bulape health zone, where the epicenter of the outbreak has been declared and the majority of cases are concentrated, is already at 119% capacity.

Health officials are particularly concerned about the impact of U.S. funding cuts, especially since the U.S. has a history of supporting Congo’s past Ebola outbreaks, including a 2021 effort when the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, provided up to $11.5 million to support efforts across Africa.

IFRC’s Nzisa Mbalu said it is still early to fully assess the level of donor support for the Ebola response, adding that the organization has so far allocated 1.75 million swiss francs ($2.2 million) in emergency funds to respond to the outbreak.

Despite the absence of USAID, Mathias Mossoko, the Ebola Response Coordinator in Bulape, said that the U.S. government has provided “some small support,” though he could not provide specific details.

WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told the AP on Thursday that the organization’s only current funding for the outbreak response is a $2 million emergency fund and around $2.3 million from the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Gavi vaccine alliance.

That is far below the WHO’s projected cost of around $20 million to respond to the outbreak over the next three months.

“Without immediate support, gaps in operations will persist, jeopardizing efforts to contain the outbreak and protect vulnerable communities,” Jasarevic said.

The Congolese authorities’ current national response plan is estimated at $78 million.

Treating Ebola demands “enormous resources,” even for a single patient, said Jean Paul Mbantshi, the chief medical officer of the Bulape health zone. He said the zone desperately needs ambulances to transport patients from remote areas to the hospital before they become highly contagious. Health workers also require more protective equipment, medicine, and additional vaccines.

“All this costs money, we need more support,” Mbantshi said.

According to the WHO, just 1,740 people in three health zones of Kasai province — Bulape, Bulambae and Mweka — have been vaccinated as of Sept. 21. The Bulape zone alone has a population of more than 212,000, according to 2020 figures from the United Nations.

WHO said the vaccination campaign has not been implemented as fast as desired because of logistical challenges. A lack of storage infrastructure in Bulape, for instance, has forced officials to transport vaccines in small batches, causing delays.

Amitié Bukidi, chief medical officer of the Mweka health zone, said the response is still in the early stages, with the majority of cases occurring outside of health centers.

“We would like to expand our community outreach, especially by raising awareness among opinion leaders, to reach farmers who are hardest to reach,” Bukidi said, adding that his team needs motorcycles to reach remote, hard to access areas.

“The need is still very great,” he said. “If USAID were to be involved, that would be good.”

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Banchereau reported from Dakar, Senegal.

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The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

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Prince William says 2024 was the hardest year of his life

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LONDON — Prince William has told “Schitt’s Creek” star Eugene Levy that 2024 was the hardest year of his life.

The royal made an appearance on Levy’s show “The Reluctant Traveler” and spoke about last year, which saw his wife Kate, the Princess of Wales, and his father King Charles III both undergoing cancer treatment.

“I’d say 2024 was the hardest year I’ve ever had,” William was shown telling Levy in a preview of the Apple TV+ episode. “Life is said to test us as well, and being able to overcome that is what makes us who we are.”

The preview of the episode, to be aired on Oct. 3, features William showing Levy around Windsor Castle and the pair chatting over a pint at a pub.

Kate said in January that her cancer was in remission, and she has taken on many more public engagements in recent months. Earlier this month she and William played key roles in the royal welcome for President Donald Trump’s U.K. state visit.

Charles has also returned to public duty after stepping away for months last year to focus on his initial treatment and recovery.

The king and the princess have not revealed what type of cancer they were treated for.

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Some Walmart, Trader Joe’s pasta meals may be contaminated with listeria linked to deadly outbreak, USDA says

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture is warning consumers not to eat certain ready-to-eat pasta meals sold at Walmart and Trader Joe’s stores because they may be contaminated with listeria bacteria previously linked to a deadly outbreak tied to pre-made chicken fettuccine Alfredo meals.

In an announcement Thursday, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) issued a public health alert for Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs & Marinara Sauce sold at Walmart in refrigerated 12-ounce clear plastic trays. The products have best-by dates of Sept. 22 through Oct. 1 and may still be in consumers’ refrigerators.

In an update on Friday, the FSIS added to its public health alert some meals sold at Trader Joe’s, the Trader Joe’s Cajun Style Blackened Chicken Breast Fettuccine Alfredo, sold in 16-ounce plastic tray packages with “best if used by” dates of Sept. 20, Sept. 24 or Sept. 27. The products contain the establishment number “P- 45288” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The stores possibly affected are in Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, Trader Joe’s said Friday. 

The affected meals from Walmart contain the establishment numbers “EST. 50784” and “EST. 47718” inside the USDA mark of inspection on the label. They were sent to Walmart stores nationwide.

Listeria-Pasta Dishes

This image provided by U.S. Agriculture Department shows Marketside Linguine with Beef Meatballs & Marinara Sauce.

U.S. Agriculture Department via AP


“The health and safety of our customers is always a top priority. We have removed this product from our impacted stores and we are working with the supplier to investigate,” a Walmart spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News on Friday. 

There have been no reported illness complaints for the product in question and consumers should discard the meals if they have them and can receive a full refund at any Walmart store. Trader Joe’s told customers to discard the product or return it to their local store for a full refund.

“We are issuing this guidance in an abundance of caution because testing of another brand with a shared ingredient source indicated this product may have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes,” Trader Joe’s said on its website. “There have been no positive Listeria tests for the Trader Joe’s product itself, and there have been no reports of illness associated with these production codes.”

No recall has been issued, but FreshRealm, a large food producer that distributed the products, said they advised Walmart this week to pull the meals from store shelves. Additional products may be identified, according to the FSIS. 

The meals may be contaminated with the same strain of listeria that caused an outbreak tied to chicken fettuccine Alfredo meals sold at Walmart and Kroger stores. Four people were killed and at least 20 were sickened in the outbreak, which federal health officials updated on Friday evening. The outbreak led to a large recall this summer.

“FreshRealm held beef meatball marinara linguine meals after they tested positive for the outbreak strain,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in its update Friday. “Pasta that went into the beef meatball marinara linguine meals has tested positive for Listeria, but additional information is pending to determine if the samples taken from the pre-cooked pasta is the same strain making people sick. Do not eat affected foods, return them or throw them out.”

FreshRealm conducted tests that detected the listeria in linguine used in the meatball dish, company officials said. The strain matched the listeria identified in the chicken fettuccine Alfredo outbreak, the company said.

“We have long maintained that the source of the listeria was likely an ingredient supplied by a third party,” the company said in a statement.

The pasta came from Nate’s Fine Foods of Roseville, California. The company did not immediately respond to questions from The Associated Press.

Listeria infections can cause serious illness, particularly in older adults, people with weakened immune systems, and those who are pregnant or their newborns. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, tiredness, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions, according to the CDC.

About 1,600 people get sick each year from listeria infections and about 260 die, the CDC says. Federal officials in December said they were revamping protocols to prevent listeria infections after several high-profile outbreaks, including one linked to Boar’s Head deli meats that led to 10 deaths and more than 60 illnesses last year. 

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