Global News Today

Beijing police name pianist Li Yundi in prostitution case.

A message on the force’s microblog said a suspect had been placed in administrative detention and an investigation opened on Thursday involving a woman identified by her surname Chen and a man named as “Li di,” with the first part of his personal name deleted as is standard in police cases.

The post was followed by another message depicting a piano keyboard and the words “one must definitely see clearly the difference between black and white.”

Li, 39, began playing piano as a small child and studied in China and Germany before becoming the youngest winner of the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2000 at age 18. He has since toured the world and recorded frequently, making him one of China’s best known international artists.

The official China Musicians Association also said it was expelling Li from the organization based on the Beijing Chaoyang District police notice that he had been arrested.

-ANT NEWS, AP-

Former President Donald Trump said he’s launching a new media company on Wednesday with its own social media platform.

Trump says his goal in launching the Trump Media & Technology Group and its “Truth Social” app is to create a rival to the Big Tech companies that have shut him out and denied him the megaphone that was paramount to his national rise.

“We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced,” he said in a statement. “This is unacceptable.”

TMTG has not set its sights low. In addition to the Truth Social app, which is expected to soft-launch next month with a nationwide rollout early next year, the company says it is planning a video-on-demand service dubbed TMTG+ that will feature entertainment programming, news and podcasts.

Truth Social’s terms of service, meanwhile, bar users from annoying any of the site’s employees and from statements that “disparage, tarnish, or otherwise harm, in our opinion, us and/or the Site.” It was not immediately clear who the “us” in that statement refers to.

In a release, the new venture announced it had been created through a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp., and said it seeks to become a publicly listed company.

DWA said it has raised roughly $293 million in cash, which it will use to grow TMTG’s ventures. Among the company’s biggest shareholders are several institutional investors, including Lighthouse Investment Partners, D. E. Shaw & Co., and Radcliffe Capital Management, according to an SEC filing. DWA said more details about the deal will be disclosed in upcoming filings.

The deal has an initial enterprise value, a measure that takes into account a company’s total debts and assets, of $875 million, according to the release. It still requires the approval of shareholders of both DWA and TMTG, as well as regulators.

Shares of Digital World Acquisition soared 94% to $19.32 in morning trading.

-AP-

According to The Verge, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is planning on announcing the company will be changing its name next week during their annual Connect conference. Various reports are saying that Zuckerberg is aiming to make the platform more than social media.

Although the company is looking to change its name, it’s unlikely that the app will undergo a name change. The name change is, what many are calling, an attempt to distance themselves from the negative spotlight it has received over the last few years.

If you were Mark Zuckerberg, what would you rename the company? Would you even rename it, or would you get rid of it entirely?

Most reactions to this news came with more scrutiny of the company and how this company name change won’t erase the negativity it earned over the past few years.

-kpel965.com-

For those seeking a bit of comfort in their pasta dish, nothing beats a thick square or two of homestyle baked lasagna swimming in tangy red sauce topped with a crispy crust of stretchy mozzarella cheese. The deep dish pasta casserole, layered with creamy ricotta and meat sauce, is deeply woven into America’s comfort food lexicon, served weekly in homes and at old-school red sauce joints across the country.

Check out these five area restaurants serving up stellar examples of the classic baked lasagna.

1. Campagnolo — Midtown

One of this restaurant’s most popular dishes just so happens to be the lasagna matta layered and topped with beef and pork bolognese, bechamel sauce, and mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. 

2. Nino’s Italian Restaurant — Cheshire Bridge

Nino’s is as old school as it gets in Atlanta. Located on Cheshire Bridge Road, this Italian restaurant has been doling out classic red sauce pasta dishes for over 52 years now. The menu includes a scrumptious, homestyle lasagna layered with bolognese sauce and mild Italian sausage, bechamel, and mozzarella cheese. Other notable dishes to try are the veal parmesan, spaghetti and meatballs, and fettucine with shrimp and scallops tossed in Pernod and saffron cream sauce.

3. Paolino Italian Restaurant — Oakhurst

The Oakhurst neighborhood has a real gem in Paolino, which opened in early 2020. It’s a sort of homecoming for the restaurant, which was once called Saba in the Mead Road space, before relocating to Emory Village in 2017. Now back in Oakhurst and renamed Paolino, the menu offers classic Italian-American dishes and pastas, including lasagna bolognese layered with ricotta and meat sauce and topped with mozzarella and pecorino cheeses and a vegetarian option comprising roasted squash, zucchini, carrots, and onions with melted cheese and ricotta.

4. Nonna’s Family Kitchen — Presidential Parkway

This family-owned and operated spot on Presidential Parkway serves up homestyle Italian classics, whether via takeout, delivery, or grabbing a seat outside. Order everything from pizza, eggplant parmesan, and fresh-made tagliatelle with bolognese sauce here. There’s even an option to order take-and-bake-meals, too. This includes Nonna’s hearty lasagna bolegnese, which can be enjoyed freshly prepared or as a take-and-bake meal at home. The lasagna layers pork and pancetta bolognese sauce and quattro formaggio, romano, and mozzarella cheeses.

5.Casseroles — Morningside

Casseroles in Morningside makes its business on take-and-bake, one-dish meals and is a frequent stop for busy Atlantans looking to whip up a quick and hearty dinner at home. Order small, medium, or large dishes here feeding up to 10 people, which come either refrigerated or frozen. The beef bolognese lasagna is one the shop’s most popular dishes on the regular menu. It’s layered with carrots, celery, and onions and ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, then topped with a rich and beefy tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. Simply reheat at home.

-atlanta.eater.com–

Gwinnett police are looking to collect your unused prescription drugs as part of a national drug take back initiative. 

The drug take back initiative offers the community an opportunity to drop off potentially dangerous prescription medication in a safe an responsible way. GCPD says unused prescription drugs are usually flushed down the toilet or disposed of in the trash, which leads to the potential for contamination of the local water supply and contamination through soil absorption at landfills. 

On Saturday, GCPD will hold collection points at police headquarters and each of the department’s six precincts from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. The collection sites also reduce the risk of accidental poisoning, theft and drug abuse.

The collection sites can accept tablets, capsules, patches and other forms of prescription drugs for proper disposal. Liquids, syringes, sharps and other drugs will not be accepted. 

No appointment is necessary. People who drop off will not be asked questions about their medical history or how they came into possession of the medications. 

Copyright 2021 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.

Gwinnett County Public Schools has whittled down the list of candidates for the district-wide Teacher of The Year honor to just 25 educators, the school system announced Wednesday.

The list of semifinalists announced on Tuesday include 11 elementary school teachers, eight middle school teachers and six high school educators.

• Lee Allen of Archer High School — Algebra Teacher (Grade 9)

• Lucas Findlay of Baggett Elementary School — STEM and Robotics Teacher (Grades K-5)

• Taniesha Pooser of Berkmar Middle School — Orchestra Teacher (Grades 6-8)

• Erin Thompson of Brookwood High School — AP Statistics and Gifted Accelerated Pre-calculus Teacher (Grades 9-12)

• Jennifer Gebczyk of Camp Creek Elementary School — Music Teacher (Grades K-5)

• Jafria Wooden of Corley Elementary School — Early Intervention Program and English to Speakers of Other Languages Teacher (Grades K-5)

• Katrina Beaty Clavon of Dacula Middle School — Special Education Teacher – Interrelated Resource – Language Arts (Grade 6)

• Diane Cawthon of Ferguson Elementary School — Special Education Teacher – Autism Spectrum Disorder (Level 1) (Grades K-5)

• David Wise of Gwinnett Online Campus — Earth Science Teacher (Grade 6)

• Laurie C. Duke of Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology — Chorus, Orchestra, and AP Music Theory Teacher (Grades 9-12)

• Kanisha Sherman of Hull Middle School — Mathematics Teacher (Grade 6)

• Verenice Romo of Knight Elementary School — Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Teacher (Grade 5)

• Vema Adams-Edwards of Lovin Elementary School — Special Education Teacher – Interrelated Resource – Language Arts and Mathematics (Grades K-2)

• Kumari Baker of Mason Elementary School — Special Education Teacher – Interrelated Resource (Grades 3 and 5)

• Katie Kangas of McClure Health Science High School — Algebra I and AP Statistics Teacher (Grades 9-12)

• Gretchen P. Galvin of Mountain View High School — Autism Mentor and Special Education Teacher – Autism Spectrum Disorder (Level 4) (Grades 9-12)

• Dr. LaTonya Parker of Norcross Elementary School — Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies Teacher (Grade 5)

• Jenny Stark of North Gwinnett Middle School — Media Specialist (Grades 6-8)

• Andy Edwards of Peachtree Ridge High School — Music Technology Teacher (Grades 9-12)

• Kelly Powell of Puckett’s Mill Elementary School —Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies Teacher (Grade 4)

• Alexis Pritchett of Shiloh Middle School — Science Teacher (Grade 8)

• Justice Ejike of Sweetwater Middle School — Physical Science Teacher (Grade 8)

• Bianca Woods of Trickum Middle School — Social Studies Teacher (Grade 6)

• Becca Brown of Winn Holt Elementary School — 4th Grade Teacher

The semifinalists were chosen from a field of 139 school-level teachers of the year from all of GCPS’ schools.

The district plans to announce its 2020-2021 Gwinnett County Teacher of the Year on Dec. 7 during a virtual celebration.

-gwinnettdailypost-

Rapper, music producer and clothing entrepreneur Kanye West put his ranch and business properties in northwestern Wyoming up for sale. The listing came days after West listed his seven commercial properties in Cody for more than $3.2 million.

The West Ranch, formerly known as Monster Lake Ranch, went on the market Monday for $11 million. The property sprawls across six square miles (16 square kilometers) of open land and tree-studded hills and outcrops about six miles (10 kilometers) south of Cody.

The ranch, which leases additional land owned by the U.S. government, listed for $13.3 million before West bought it in 2019 though it’s unknown how much he paid for the property. Wyoming law does not provide for public disclosure of real estate sale amounts.

It wasn’t clear if the property sales mean West is leaving Wyoming or just reorganizing his business there. Has has no listed contact information or publicist with contact information.

-AP-

Cross-country traveler Gabby Petito, 22, had been on a cross-country trip with Laundrie, visiting Colorado, Utah and other states. She was reported missing Sept. 11 by her parents after she did not respond to calls and texts for several days while the couple visited national parks in the West.

Tuesday, a Wyoming coroner announced Gabby Petito was strangled

She died three to four weeks before her body was found Sept. 19 near an undeveloped camping area along the border of Grand Teton National Park in remote northern Wyoming, Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue said in a news conference.

It wasn’t clear if the determination might lead to additional charges against Petito’s boyfriend and traveling partner, Brian Laundrie, who is considered a person of interest in her disappearance and remains unaccounted for.

Blue declined to say more about the autopsy or the case overall, saying he was prevented by Wyoming law that limits what coroners can release.

The three to four weeks her body was believed to be in the wilderness, however, put her death around the Aug. 27-30 period investigators believe Petito and Laundrie had traveled to the area.

-AP-

The Brooklyn Nets won’t play Kyrie Irving until he can play in all their games, unwilling to let questions about his vaccination status linger into the season.

The Nets announced Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, that Irving would not play or practice with them until he could be a full participant, ending the idea that he would play in only road games. Without mentioning his vaccination status, general manager Sean Marks said Irving has made a decision that keeps him from being able to perform with the team. 

“Kyrie’s made it clear that he has a choice in this matter and it’s ultimately going to be up to him what he decides,” Marks said. “We respect the fact that he has a choice, he can make his own and right now what’s best for the organization is the path that we’re taking.”

Teams aren’t allowed to reveal private details of players’ health. But asked Tuesday if Irving was vaccinated, Marks said: “If he was vaccinated, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. I think that’s probably pretty clear.”

Marks conceded that the Nets weren’t as strong without Irving, though they may still be good enough.

Teammates had said they were supportive of Irving’s decision, but Marks seemed to indicate there was concern for the fan reaction. New York was hit hard in early March 2020 by the virus and the Nets’ arena became a vaccination site this spring.

-AP-

Queen Elizabeth II was seen using a walking stick at a major public event for the first time Tuesday, when she attended a Westminster Abbey service marking the centenary of the Royal British Legion, an armed forces charity.

The queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, handed her the mobility device after they both stepped out of a limousine for the service in central London. The queen, who wore a royal blue wool coat with a matching hat, smiled and appeared to move freely as she walked to her seat in the church.

The queen and Anne joined a congregation that included serving military personnel, veterans and their families from the U.K. and Commonwealth countries.

The 95-year-old monarch was photographed using a cane 2003, although that was after she underwent knee surgery.

-AP-