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Prosecutor to seek death penalty in Missouri officer's death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri prosecutor has announced plans to seek the death penalty against a Kansas City man charged with fatally shooting a police officer during a traffic stop.Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson said Tuesday that Joshua Rocha could qualify under Missouri law for the punishment because the July 2022 killing of North Kansas City police officer Daniel Vasquez was "wantonly vile,” the victim was a law enforcement officer and Rocha was seeking to avoid arrest, The Kansas City Star reports.Rocha is charged with first degree murder and armed criminal action in the killing. Special prosecutor requested for child abuse case involving former Department of Corrections employee According to a probable cause statement, Rocha told police after his arrest that he shot the 32-year-old officer because he didn’t want to go to jail or have his vehicle towed.Rocha told police he was on his way to buy ammunition for a rifle he had in the vehicle when he was stopped.Vas...

Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul, Lil Yachty hit with SEC charges for endorsing cryptocurrencies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

Lindsay Lohan, Jake Paul and rapper Lil Yachty are among the eight celebrities who have been hit with charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission for illegally touting cryptocurrencies and violating security laws, the commission announced Wednesday. Other celebrities charged include rapper Soulja Boy, Austin Mahone, Ne-Yo, Akon and adult film star Kendra Lust, a news release said. The commission hit multiple celebrities with charges since they didn’t disclose that they were paid for their endorsements of Tronix (TRX) and BitTorrent (BTT), cryptocurrencies created by entrepreneur Justin Sun.Sun was also hit with multiple charges from the commission.“This case demonstrates again the high-risk investors face when crypto asset securities are offered and sold without proper disclosure,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement.“As alleged, Sun and his companies not only targeted U.S. investors in their unregistered offers and sales, generating millions in illegal proceeds at th...

2023 Remarkable Women Nominee: Athena Hayley

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

L.A.’s Skid Row is often associated with homelessness and despair.But Athena Hayley, and the nonprofit she started, show up there weekly to bring food and hope to those struggling on the streets. That is why Athena is nominated as one of KTLA's Remarkable Women of 2023. KTLA’s Lauren Lyster has her story.

Draymond Green shares thoughts on Wiggins’ absence and ‘disgusting’ online rumors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

With the regular season winding down, it’s about time for the Warriors to address a potential reality of starting the playoffs without two of their key players.Can the Warriors contend for a title without Andrew Wiggins and Gary Payton II? Payton, out with a core injury, has resumed on-court activity and could return to game action before the remaining nine regular season games are up. Wiggins is completely missing in action and out indefinitely as he tends to an undisclosed family matter.Draymond Green, on his podcast, shared his thoughts on whether the Warriors have a fighter’s chance without the two wing defenders.“To answer that, it would be tough,” he said. “Two of your best wing defenders — Donte (DiVincenzo) is an incredible wing defender as well — but it would be tough. Two guys, super athletic guys on the team because that’s huge. Especially when you get into the playoffs playing against different schemes. But sometimes you ne...

Letters: Bad choice | Health care | Don’t blame Trump | Wage gap

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Orinda forced into badchoice on housingA front-page story (“Cities struggle to balance state’s housing orders with wildfire risks,” March 20) implies, incorrectly, that Orinda had to choose between safe wildfire evacuation and compliance with the state mandates for affordable and other housing.In fact, the central flaw in Orinda’s EIR is, as mentioned in the article, that it failed to consider alternative distributions of new housing that would have reduced congestion at known “chokepoints.” I provided Orinda with a spreadsheet showing that a different distribution of new housing, with less new housing downtown, would have reduced congestion and also met the state mandates for affordable and other housing.Unfortunately, the City Council had allowed its staff to box the council into a corner, by not allowing a decision until the deadline, leaving the city with a Hobson’s Choice of missing the deadline to ...

Suspects cased Macy’s in downtown Walnut Creek for a year before brazen $92k Rolex smash and grab, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

WALNUT CREEK — A 20-year-old Vallejo man has been charged in connection with a 2022 smash and grab in a Walnut Creek mall where three suspects made off with $92,285 worth of Rolex watches.The charges filed March 2 include one count of second-degree robbery, one count of grand theft and one count of burglary. Police arrested another suspect last year, a 19-year-old Vallejo man, and are still working to identify a third suspect in the June 18, 2022 incident.A judge issued a warrant for the 20-year-old man’s arrest on March 6. Jail and court records indicate he has not yet been arrested or appeared in court.Last week, 19-year-old Jamonni Simon pleaded no contest to second-degree burglary in connection with the same incident. He was sentenced to 180 days on house arrest and two years probation, records show.On June 18, 2022, three men, two of them wearing masks, used hammers to smash display cases and steal five Rolex watches from the Macy’s on Broadway Plaza in Walnut...

As peril swirls around Trump, DeSantis steps up attacks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

By Steve Contorno | CNNFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis has stylized himself as a political brawler willing to take on all comers, from Disney and the corporate media to high school students wearing masks.But his brewing battle with Donald Trump was for months a one-sided affair.That changed this week when DeSantis for the first time leaned into the burgeoning rivalry in earnest. In public remarks, DeSantis goaded the former president’s legal troubles and invited comparisons between their leadership style and character. He doubled down by granting a lengthy interview to Piers Morgan, a noted Trump supporter-turned-critic, and didn’t push back as the British television host assailed the former president as untruthful and intensely jealous of his one-time ally’s political success.The two laughed over Trump’s attempts to nickname DeSantis.“You can call me whatever you want,” DeSantis said in an excerpt of the interview published in the New York Post, “...

Landlords fail to shout down Oakland’s eviction moratorium at raucous meeting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

OAKLAND — Despite a protest by unhappy property owners that briefly halted an Oakland City Council meeting Tuesday, the city is not yet willing to end its moratorium on evictions.The landlords and their allies created an uproar Tuesday when Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas announced that the council had no plans on its agenda to discuss ending the pandemic-era protections.Their shouting grew so disruptive that Bas, the council president, asked security to begin escorting the rowdiest participants out of the chamber.Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan said an email had previously circulated among landlords falsely suggesting that a discussion of the moratorium was on the council’s agenda.Before the meeting, protesters outside City Hall demanded an end to the ban — enacted by cities and counties across the Bay Area in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent tenants who couldn’t pay rent from being kicked out of their homes.“It’s been three year...

Brandon Crawford returns to SF Giants’ lineup, on track for Opening Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The loudest cheers in the Giants’ spring stadium Wednesday afternoon came a few minutes before first pitch, in response to a few words that hadn’t been heard in almost two weeks. “Your starting shortstop,” the stadium speakers boomed, “Brandon Crawford.”Crawford, 36, returned to the position he is expected to assume on Opening Day, one week from Thursday, for the first time since March 10. After being shut down with inflammation in his left knee, Crawford has maintained that he would be ready to make his 12th consecutive Opening Day start at shortstop, and he showed no signs Wednesday that he wouldn’t be ready to go at Yankee Stadium on March 30.Crawford reached base in both his trips to plate, but it was his defensive work that was the true test for his knee. It’s the side-to-side and stop-and-go movements while making plays at shortstop when the discomfort flares up most, he said.“I got a couple pretty good ...

Santa Clara standout Brandin Podziemski declares for NBA Draft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:00 GMT

Santa Clara could be sending a player to the NBA Draft for the second consecutive year.Sophomore standout Brandin Podziemski, the University of Illinois transfer whose unexpected emergence earned him West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year honors alongside Gonzaga’s Drew Timme, announced on Wednesday that he was declaring for the NBA Draft while maintaining his collegiate eligibility.Podziemski is expected by pundits, including Sports Illustrated, to be a late-first or early-second round pick.“This past year has been filled with the best experiences of my life both on and off the court… I’m excited to get to work to prepare for this next challenge,” he said in a Twitter post. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard is known for his sweet left-handed shot, slick passing abilities and a knack for being in the right spot at the right time. He led the WCC in rebounding with 8.8 boards per game this year. He also averaged 19.9 points and 3.7 assists, making him one of three players in Division I...