Uber CEO says its service will probably shut down temporarily in California if it’s forced to classify drivers as employees
- Uber would likely shut down temporarily for several months if a court does not overturn a recent ruling requiring it to classify its drivers as full-time employees, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview with Stephanie Ruhle Wednesday on MSNBC.
- Uber and rival Lyft both have about a week left to appeal a preliminary injunction granted by a California judge on Monday that will prohibit the companies from classifying their drivers as independent workers.
- If the appeal doesn’t work out for Uber, it will bank on voters to determine its fate in voting on on Proposition 22, which would exempt drivers for app-based transportation and delivery companies from being considered employees.
Uber would likely shut down temporarily for several months if a court does not overturn a recent ruling requiring it to classify its drivers as full-time employees, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview with Stephanie Ruhle Wednesday on MSNBC.
“If the court doesn’t reconsider, then in California, it’s hard to believe we’ll be able to switch our model to full-time employment quickly,” Khosrowshahi said.
Uber and rival Lyft both have about a week left to appeal a preliminary injunction granted by a California judge on Monday that will prohibit the companies from continuing to classify their drivers as independent workers. Following the order will require Uber and Lyft to provide benefits and unemployment insurance for workers.
California’s attorney general and three city attorneys brought the lawsuit against the companies under the state’s new law, Assembly Bill 5, that aims to provide benefits to gig workers core to a company’s business by classifying them as employees. In his decision granting the preliminary injunction, the judge rejected the notion that drivers should be considered outside the course of the companies’ businesses, calling the logic “a classic example of circular reasoning.”
Uber and Lyft both said they would appeal the ruling during the ten day period before it goes into effect.
Rather than classify drivers as employees, Khosrowshahi has advocated for what he calls a “third way” that would maintain drivers’ independence while allowing companies to provide some protections without risking being viewed as full-time employers. In a New York Times op-ed ahead of the court ruling, Khosrowshahi said gig companies like Uber could pay into a fund that workers could dip into for paid time off on healthcare benefits based on the number of hours they work.
Khosrowshahi said on Wednesday that his Plan B if Uber can’t win on appeal would be to temporarily pause service in California. While he said Uber would later resume service in the state, it would likely be more centered in cities, which could mean limited availability in less concentrated areas like suburbs.
If the appeal doesn’t work out for Uber, it will be banking on voters to determine its fate. Khosrowshahi said if that’s the case, the service would likely shut down in California until November, when voters in the state decide on Proposition 22, which would exempt drivers for app-based transportation and delivery companies from being considered employees. Uber has argued its drivers prefer working as independent contractors, though California AG Xavier Becerra rejected that claim as a “bogus argument.”
Khosrowshahi emphasized that pausing service in the state would leave thousands of drivers without the income they would typically earn from Uber. Still, ridership has been down during the pandemic anyway, which the judge said made the injunction come at what is perhaps “the least worst time” for Uber and Lyft to adjust their business models.
Becerra said in an interview on CNBC Tuesday that he was unconcerned about the potential for Uber to leave the state as a result of the order.
“Any business model that relies on short-changing workers in order to make it probably shouldn’t be anywhere, whether California or otherwise,” he said.
Article via NBC
Adult film star Ron Jeremy charged with rape, sexual assault
Los Angeles County prosecutors say adult film star Ron Jeremy has been charged with raping three women and sexually assaulting a fourth
Adult film star Ron Jeremy was charged with raping three women and sexually assaulting a fourth, Los Angeles County prosecutors said Tuesday.
The counts make the 67-year-old Jeremy the third man to be charged, along with Harvey Weinstein and producer David Guillod, by a task force formed by District Attorney Jackie Lacey in 2017 to investigate sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry.
Jeremy, nicknamed “The Hedgehog,” is among the best known and most prolific actors in the history of the adult film industry, with thousands of credits to his name.
Jeremy, whose real name is Ronald Jeremy Hyatt, appeared in court Tuesday, wearing handcuffs and a face mask, but did not enter a plea. A judge delayed his arraignment until Friday and set his bail at $6.6 million.
Jeremy’s attorney Stuart Goldfarb said he is “absolutely innocent of the charges. It’s not a close call.”
Jeremy was charged with three counts each of forcible rape and forcible penetration by a foreign object and one count each of forcible oral copulation and sexual battery. If convicted of all the counts he could face 90 years in prison.
Prosecutors allege Jeremy raped a 25-year-old woman at a West Hollywood home in May 2014, sexually assaulted a 33-year-old woman and a 46-year-old woman in separate incidents at a West Hollywood bar in 2017, and raped a 30-year-old woman at the same bar in July of last year.
Goldfarb said witnesses who spoke to both detectives and his own investigator have cast doubt on the allegations. The lawyer said Jeremy often gropes women with their consent during public appearances, and suggested his long life as an adult performer makes him less likely to have committed sexual crimes.
“There is absolutely no reason for him to ever be aggressive with women,” Goldfarb said. “He’s had more women than you can count.”
He added that the bail amount was “horrendously high.”
Jeremy was investigated by the Hollywood task force after it was formed during a wave of sexual misconduct allegations that began in late 2017 with media reports about Weinstein that launched the #MeToo era.
The task force has investigated more than 20 men, but Jeremy is just the third to be charged.
Prosecutors have begun efforts to bring Weinstein to California to face charges of rape and sexual assault. He is being held in a New York prison after being convicted of similar charges earlier this year. He has denied engaging in any non-consensual sex.
On Monday, Guillod, a producer on the 2017 film “Atomic Blonde” and the 2020 Netflix movie “Extraction,” was arrested in Santa Barbara County and charged with 11 felonies, most of them rape counts, that were investigated by Lacey’s task force.
Guillod’s attorney Philip K. Cohen said in a statement that “for the past eight years, Mr. Guillod has denied these allegations” and an “overwhelming amount of evidence has been collected over the course of this investigation disputing these charges.”
Los Angeles prosecutors charged “That ‘70s Show” actor Danny Masterson last week with the rapes of three women, though that investigation preceded the formation of the Hollywood task force. Masterson denied the charges and his attorney said he will be vindicated.
Another allegation against Jeremy from 2016, was declined by the task force because of insufficient evidence.
In recent years, Jeremy has appeared in more mainstream entertainment, including music videos and reality television shows like “The Surreal Life.”
Article via ABCNews
Angelina Jolie wants judge removed in Brad Pitt divorce
Angelina Jolie asked Monday that the private judge overseeing her divorce from Brad Pitt be disqualified from the case because of insufficient disclosures of his business relationships with one of Pitt’s attorneys.
In a filing in Los Angeles Superior Court, Jolie argues that Judge John W. Ouderkirk should be taken off the divorce case that she filed in 2016 because he was too late and not forthcoming enough about other cases he was hired for involving Pitt attorney Anne C. Kiley.
It says that during the Jolie-Pitt proceedings, Ouderkirk has “failed to disclose the cases that demonstrated the current, ongoing, repeat-customer relationship between the judge and Respondent’s counsel.”
It goes on to say that Pitt’s attorney “actively advocated for Judge Ouderkirk’s financial interests in moving — over the opposing party’s opposition — to have his appointment (and his ability to continue to receive fees) extended in a high profile case.”
An email to Kiley and Pitt’s lead attorney Lance Spiegel seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Pitt and Jolie, like other high-profile couples, are paying for a private judge in their divorce case to keep many of its filings and the personal and financial details within them sealed, though some legal moves must be made within standard court procedure.
Jolie’s filing emphasizes that a private judge must follow the same rules of disclosure and conflict of interest that other judges must.
The filing says “it doesn’t matter if Judge Ouderkirk is actually biased. Under California law disqualification is required so long as a person aware of the facts ‘might reasonably entertain a doubt’ about Judge Ouderkirk’s ability to remain impartial.”
Jolie’s attorneys have sought in private proceedings to have Ouderkirk disqualify himself, but the filing says Pitt’s side has insisted on keeping him.
Pitt and Jolie were declared divorced, and the Pitt was dropped from her name, in April 2019, after their lawyers asked for a bifurcated judgment, meaning that two married people can be declared single while other issues, including finances and child custody, remain.
Because most of the documents have been sealed, it is not clear what issues remain unresolved, but Jolie filed papers in 2018 saying Pitt wasn’t paying sufficient child support, which his attorneys disputed, calling the filing an effort to manipulate media coverage of the split.
Jolie, 44, and Pitt, 56, were a couple for 12 years and married for two when Jolie filed for divorce in 2016. They have six children.
Article via PageSix
Family sues LAPD officer accused of fondling dead woman’s breasts
A 27-year-old Los Angeles police officer accused of fondling a dead woman was sued Tuesday by her family, court documents show.
The lawsuit accuses Officer David Rojas of fondling 34-year-old Elizabeth Baggett’s breasts and “feeling her nipples, without limitation,” as well as showing the body camera video of it to others. The lawsuit alleges invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence, mishandling of human remains and other offenses.
Baggett’s family filed the lawsuit against the city, Rojas and defendants Does 1-20 in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeking unspecified damages in a jury trial.
“I just want justice for my daughter because of this horrible disgusting act,” Baggett’s mother, Janet Bagget said. “I live in fear that the video will surface and another devastation will be added to what is already unbearable.”
The family’s attorney, Gloria Allred, read a statement from Baggett’s 15-year-old son during a news conference Tuesday announcing the lawsuit.
“My trust in the police to do the right thing has been violated by this disgraceful act that was my mother,” the statement said.
Rojas, who has been on the force for four years, remains employed by the Los Angeles Police Department. But he has been suspended, LAPD spokesman Officer Mike Chan said. The department did not have a comment on the lawsuit, which does not name the agency as a defendant.
Rojas, 27, allegedly touched Baggett’s breast while he was alone in the room with the corpse on Oct. 20. He and his partner had responded to the downtown Los Angeles home where she died.
Rojas had allegedly disabled his LAPD body camera, but the act was caught on video when he turned it back on because the devices have two-minute buffering periods to capture what happens right before they are activated, according to a person briefed on the incident who previously spoke to The Associated Press. The person wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss the case and previously spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
Rojas was charged in January with having sexual contact with human remains without authority. He has pleaded not guilty and faces up to three years in state prison if convicted. He is out on bond and scheduled to return to court Sept. 15, online records show.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers, has declined to pay for Rojas’ legal bills. The officer’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.
via: https://ktla.com/news/local-news/family-sues-lapd-officer-accused-of-fondling-dead-womans-breasts/
Photo Credit: buzzfeednews.com
3 military members among 9 charged in child prostitution sting in Texas
KILLEEN, Texas — Police in Texas have arrested nine people, including three in the military, in a child prostitution sting.
On Saturday, the Killeen Police Department Special Victim’s Unit in partnership with the Texas Department of Public Safety Human Trafficking Program, concluded the two-day sting.
The overall goal of the joint effort was to locate and arrest subjects who were willing to make overt efforts to pay minors to engage in sexual acts.
During the operation, nine suspects, three of whom are in the military, contacted officers through various social media platforms and made agreements for sexual acts with girls they believed were 15 or 16 years of age, according to police.
The agreements were for fees that included money, drugs, and/or alcohol.
The suspects were apprehended without incident when they arrived at a predetermined location.
The operation concluded with seven felony prostitution charges, two misdemeanor prostitution charges, and two guns were confiscated.
The suspects arrested are listed below:
- Anthony Xavier Antwon, 25, of Fort Hood, Felony Prostitution under 18
- Javier Perez, 40, of Austin, Felony Prostitution under 18
- Brian Harley Flynn, 21, of Temple, Felony Prostitution under 18
- Brandon Anthony Lee, 25, of Killeen, Felony Prostitution under 18
- Dustin Edward Johnson, 42, of Lott, Felony Prostitution under 18
- Timmy Jones Jr., 30, of Fort Hood, Felony Prostitution under 18
- Shaun Paul Moore, 39, of Kempner, Felony Prostitution under 18
- Rakeem Jamal Nelson, 28, of Killeen, Class A Prostitution
- Pierre Jean, 32, of Killeen, Class A Prostitution
The Killeen Police Department would like to remind citizens, “If you see something, say something.” Please report any suspicious activity involving human trafficking to your local 9-1-1 emergency center.
Photo Credit: Bell County Jail
People flee as gunman opens fire at Bronx basketball tournament; 4 injured
MOTT HAVEN, The Bronx — Video of a shooting in the Bronx last week shows people running from a gunman as he opens fire near a crowded basketball tournament.
The NYPD released surveillance video of the suspect on Tuesday.
The shooting happened around 8:10 p.m. on Aug. 3 near St. Ann’s Avenue and East 147th Street in Mott Haven, according to police.
More than 100 people had gathered at a nearby park to watch the basketball tournament when gunshots rang out, authorities said.
Four people were shot, though they all survived, per the NYPD.
The video shows several people running away from the scene and then a man turns back, pulls a gun from his bag and apparently opens fire as bystanders around him try to get out of the way.
Photo Credit: NYPD
12-year-old girl raped in back of livery cab, driver arrested
BROOKLYN — A 12-year-old girl was raped in the backseat of a livery cab in Brooklyn Monday, according to police.
Authorities said the girl was put in the livery cab by her parents in Fort Greene at around 5 p.m. Monday to be driven home.
During that ride, the driver parked the car, entered the rear of the vehicle with girl and raped her, police said.
The driver then got back in the driver’s seat and brought the girl to her destination in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
At 8:45 p.m. Monday, police responded to NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull and met with the girl’s parents.
The driver, Rafael Martinez, 32, was arrested Tuesday. He is charged with rape, criminal sex act, sex abuse, endangering the welfare of a child, menacing and assault.
Photo Credit: pix11.com
10-year-old boy takes car, crashes into 2 houses during police chase
(WHIO/CNN) — Police said a 10-year-old boy took a car, led officers on a wild chase and crashed into two homes during the pursuit in Ohio.
The child was staying at a family friend’s house and took the keys to a car after everyone else went to sleep early Monday, according to the Sidney Police Department.
An officer spotted the car traveling the wrong way on a one-way street but didn’t realize a 10-year-old was behind the wheel.
The officer started the pursuit after the driver didn’t stop and drove off “in a reckless manner,” police said.
During the chase, the driver slammed into two houses and caused significant damage. He also hit several vehicles before coming to a stop.
Police were then able to take the child into custody. No injuries were reported.
“With the speeds that the 10-year-old was able to get the vehicle up to, we’re just lucky there were no other cars in the area or pedestrians out,” said Capt. William Shoemaker.
Police said they have a policy not to pursue vehicles driven by an underage person like in this incident. However, police said they did not know a 10-year-old was the driver of the car until after the pursuit had ended.
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Nurse quits from Georgia school after packed hallway photo goes viral
A nurse in the Georgia school district that went viral for a crowded hallway photo says she quit over concerns that not enough was being done to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Amy Westmoreland said she was forced to make a tough choice when she learned that face masks would be optional in the Paulding County School District, CNN reported.
“I work in the clinic, not the classroom, but my biggest fear was infecting the children or a fellow staff member,” she told news station WSB-TV. “I didn’t feel comfortable.”
She said her decision was validated by a photo that emerged from North Paulding High School, where many students were seen without masks during the first week of classes.
The image was taken by a 15-year-old student, Hannah Watters, who was suspended for posting it to Twitter.
Nine people, including six students, tested positive for the virus following the return of classes, the outlets reported.
“I find it very heartbreaking, and it was obviously some sort of validation, but it was not the validation that I necessarily wanted to see,” Westmoreland told CNN.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/11/nurse-quits-from-georgia-school-after-packed-hallway-photo-goes-viral/
Photo Credit: AP
Florida father and son, both doctors, die from COVID-19
A Florida father and son — who both dedicated their lives as doctors to helping patients — died from coronavirus-related complications within weeks of each other.
Dr. Jorge A. Vallejo, 89, and his middle son, Dr. Carlos Francisco Vallejo, 57, were hospitalized the same day in late June after their family believes the younger physician caught the virus from one of his patients, the Miami Herald reported.
Carlos, who was an internist, cared for dozens of patients on the front lines before he fell sick with the disease.
His family said he lived in Hialeah close to his father, whom he saw often and provided care for, the outlet reported.
The elder Vallejo, who was a retired obstetrician, died six days later after he was admitted to Palmetto General Hospital.
Meanwhile, Carlos succumbed to the virus on Aug. 1 after spending 42 days in the intensive care unit at Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston.
“We just lost basically both of our anchors of our whole entire family,” Jessica Vallejo, who was Jorge’s grandaughter and Carlos’ niece, told the Herald.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/11/florida-father-and-son-both-doctors-die-from-coronavirus/
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Jessica Vallejo