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Fire breaks out at a towing company in East St. Louis

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:37 GMT

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - A fire at an East St. Louis business had firefighters scrambling Friday morning. The blaze at Petroff Towing near Interstates 55 and 64 had thick black smoke and flames. No one was hurt. The blaze damaged an office and the storage area for the towed vehicle. Several of the towed vehicles were also destroyed.One worker, Marcus Lampley, who worked at an adjacent building, says he first saw the smoke and dialed 911. Top story: Mishandled evidence leads to murder case dismissal A tow truck driver for Petroff Towing said he was in the company parking lot when he saw the smoke and alerted a fellow worker in the office. He said he was just glad to be alive.The driver said the company towed vehicles for the Illinois State Police.The East St. Louis Fire Department believed the fire was an accident, but the cause is still under investigation.

California men sentenced to years in federal prison for crime spree

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:37 GMT

A man from South Los Angeles was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in federal prison for committing six armed robberies against businesses across the southland during a two-week crime spree, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.Colin Powell Lacey, 29, from Hyde Park, was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to “one count of conspiracy to commit interference with commerce by robbery” during an August 2022 court date, a news release said.The crimes occurred in late 2021 and Lacey mainly targeted 7-Eleven locations in Southern California.“From Nov. 13, 2021, to Nov. 29, 2021, Lacey participated in the robbery of six businesses – five of which were 7-Eleven convenience stores. During the robberies, Lacey typically entered the stores, pointed a handgun at the store’s cashier and stole money – usually hundreds of dollars in cash belonging to the business,” a news release said.Lacey didn’t act alone in his armed robberies. Kyle Richard Williams, a 26-year-old man from Inglewood, wa...

Marvin Amparo Santana changes the way bodegas are made in the U.S and it’s about time.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:37 GMT

Marvin Amparo Santana, the founder of The Continent Times and Continent Post changes the way Bodegas are made in the U.S.Amparo Santana, 30, is a Dominican-American businessman and entrepreneur born in Hato Mayor del Rey, a small town of the Dominican Republic, located about an hour and half away from Punta Cana.Postidal is an innovative American tech startup, which focuses on retail shopping and automatic self-out bodegas will operate its bodegas with a user-friendly powerful AI for auto pay. These bodegas are said to be open 24/7 all year.It’s about time bodegas change their appearance. They have stayed pretty much the same since the early 1900s, whereat cities like New York, people would regularly buy from small stores rather than go daily to a supermarket. Postidal has already launched its online beta marketplace for its bodegas and soon will open its first physical bodegas in the Bronx and in Houston TX, sometime around fall of 2023.Unlike the traditional bodegas, postidal bode...

Living Life On Her Terms: Manisha Singh’s Story Of Pain, Perseverance, and Regaining Power

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:37 GMT

Mindful Agency’s Head Writer Manisha Singh broke through cultural expectation, prejudice, and personal strife to carve a path in the fine arts. A talented Journalist, Author, Poet, TV & Radio Presenter, Pageant Queen and Mental Health advocate, Singh’s desire to empower her community through an intersectional lens – is finally coming to fruition. Photo Credit: Adeeba Khan – @ms.deeviousbeauty“Kiran means ray of sunshine,” she beams – her smile almost as bright as the fiery pink hair tied back into a pompadour that sits atop her head. Manisha Singh is talking about the middle name that was handed down to her by her estranged mother. Despite this nod to her upbringing, she’s stepped out the shadows of her family’s expectations of living a conservative, traditional life. Singh is pierced, tatted, and a massive proponent of 4/20; but more importantly she’s discovered her own individual value others failed to see in her, while finding the self-love that eludes the b...

Tips for Connecting With an Old Friend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:37 GMT

Reuniting with an old friend can be one of life’s greatest joys. Whether it’s a friend from school, a former colleague, or an old flame, there are many reasons why you might want to reconnect with someone from your past. However, many people don’t know where to start when it comes to getting back in touch with someone and it can be overwhelming at times. The good news is that you don’t have to do it all on your own. There are actually plenty of resources that can assist you throughout the search process, you just need to know how to take advantage of them. If you’re in need of advice, keep reading for some valuable tips for connecting with an old friend.What are some tips for connecting with an old friend?Using a people search online is your best bet when you want to find an old friend. A people search engine is an online tool that helps you search for people by name, address, phone number, and other personal information. By entering just one piece of information, ...

Hitting a Wall Searching for Lost Relatives? TruePeopleSearch Gives You Answers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:37 GMT

A phone call, an email, a text message, a letter, social media, or an in-person visit are some of the ways you can reconnect with a friend, relative, or colleague. If all these options don’t work for you because you have no information on their whereabouts, then a reliable people’s directory might help.As humans, we love to reminisce about our childhood or other events. We may recall happy memories of a relative who baked great cookies or a friend who inspired your love of music. Life happens, and like all of us, you have lost contact with them. But before you think they are lost forever, TruePeopleSearch can help you find them from anywhere in the nation. TruePeopleSearch is an incredible platform where you can find anyone with just their first and last name.TruePeopleSearch is a free online tool to find the address, contact number, email, and even social media accounts of people you are looking for. All you have to do is enter their first and last name, and click on th...

An Exclusive Interview with Bringar CEO Balachandar Karthikeyan on His Journey and the Company’s Chatbot App

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:37 GMT

Balachandar Karthikeyan, a 28-year-old tech entrepreneur from India, has been making waves in the tech industry with his impressive contributions to WhatsApp, Signal, and his own chatbot company, Bringar. Despite not being the best-performing student in school or college, Balachandar taught himself programming and hacking skills through books and online resources. His talent and hard work paid off when he discovered a security bug in WhatsApp and reported it to the team, leading to a collaboration with the co-founder and team. In addition to his work with WhatsApp and Signal, Balachandar founded Bringar, a chatbot company that has reached 25 million users globally and is one of the few chatbot companies worldwide to run without external investment. In this interview, we’ll learn more about Balachandar’s journey and his innovative contributions to the tech industry.Q: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in the tech industry?A: Of course, I’...

Digital Meets Culture: No Standing and Outer Edge Partner for an Unforgettable Web3 Experience

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:37 GMT

 Leading digital marketing agency, No Standing is excited to announce its partnership with Outer Edge in anticipation of their upcoming four-day event – Outer Edge LA (formerly NFT LA). Both No Standing and Outer Edge share a passion for uniting the worlds of Web2 and Web3. This collaboration represents their joint commitment to staying at the forefront of technology and cultural advancements. The partnership opens the door for long-term collaboration opportunities as both companies continue to lead and innovate in the rapidly evolving digital landscape.Outer Edge LA is an immersive experience taking place this week, from March 20th to 23rd, 2023. The event is set to explore the convergence of Web3, digital collectibles, and the creative industry across arts, sports, music, and entertainment from around the world in the vibrant city of Los Angeles.The partnership has also entailed No Standing managing the digital advertising for the event. As a cutting-edge full-service digita...

12 years later, apartment project at center of Bay Area housing battles cleared to move forward

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:37 GMT

After more than a decade, one of the Bay Area’s most contentious housing battles has finally come to a close.Over objections from neighbors who sued to halt a 315-unit apartment project slated for the East Bay suburb of Lafayette, the California Supreme Court this week declined to review a lower court’s decision that the development meets state environmental requirements and construction can begin.Pro-housing advocates cheered the move while at the same time highlighting the 12-year fight as an example of the region’s challenges in building more desperately needed homes.“This decision is a win for housing, but the fact that this project has taken so long is exactly why we have such a catastrophic housing shortage,” Sonja Trauss, founder of YIMBY Law, said in a statement.Save Lafayette, the neighborhood group that sued to stop the development, known as Terraces of Lafayette, said officials and courts who have backed the project are ignoring the increased...

Ex-USAF officer gets prison time for actions in Capitol riot

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:37 GMT

By Michael Kunzelman | Associated PressWASHINGTON — A retired Air Force officer who stormed the U.S. Capitol dressed in combat gear and carried zip-tie handcuffs into the Senate gallery was sentenced on Friday to two years in prison.Larry Brock, 55, of Grapevine, Texas, joined other rioters on the Senate floor only minutes after then-Vice President Mike Pence, senators and their staff evacuated the chamber to escape the mob attacking the building on Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. District Judge John Bates also sentenced Brock to two years of supervised release after his prison term and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service. Brock, who declined to speak in court before the judge imposed his sentence, remains free until he must report to prison at a date to be determined.Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.Bates convicted Brock in November after a trial without a jury. Brock waived his right to a jury trial.Th...