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Gov. Newsom says California will intervene in court case blocking San Francisco from clearing encampments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:50 GMT

By KATHLEEN RONAYNE | Associated PressSACRAMENTO — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday the state will intervene in an ongoing federal court case that’s barred San Francisco from cleaning up homeless encampments until more shelter beds are available, saying the judge has gone too far and is preventing the state from solving a critical problem.“I hope this goes to the Supreme Court,” Newsom said. “And that’s a hell of a statement coming from a progressive Democrat.”Newsom made his remarks during an interview with news outlet Politico in Sacramento. He previously blasted U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle but had not disclosed his administration’s plan to file an amicus brief supporting the city’s efforts to overturn the ruling.Ryu granted the injunction in December after homeless advocates argued the city had been violating the law by clearing homeless encampments without offering shelter and improperly throwing out peoples’ belongin...

Marin census data error prompts Bay Area population revision

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:50 GMT

The U.S. Census Bureau has corrected its Bay Area population data because of a mistake involving Marin County’s numbers, according to a Federal Register notice published Tuesday.The errors involved figures the bureau officially released in December, when it reported the population of the San Francisco-Oakland urban area as 3.2 million. The correction brings the figure to 3.5 million residents.The addition of about a quarter-million residents, as well as more than 100,000 homes, came from the San Rafael-Novato urban area, which had been counted separately by accident when it should have been deleted and merged with the San Francisco-Oakland urban area.Because of similar errors, the bureau also increased the populations of the Atlanta and New Orleans urban areas.The agency publishes a list of urban areas and their population and housing counts after every once-a-decade census. 

Barabak: Newsom is right in pledging a caretaker for U.S. Senate seat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:50 GMT

Two and a half years ago, Gavin Newsom put his foot in his mouth.On Sunday, California’s governor extricated it, saying anyone chosen to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat would be a placeholder until voters have their say in 2024.“Interim appointment,” Newsom said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” also reiterating his plan to appoint a Black woman, should an opening occur. “I don’t want to get involved in the primary.”There is, of course, no vacancy at the moment. But speculation swirls apace, given the fragile mental and physical state of California’s 90-year-old senator, Dianne Feinstein.That’s where race, politics and shifting circumstance converge.First, though, let us step back in time.In March 2021, Newsom was facing the gathering threat of a recall election. The effort would fail, resoundingly, but that result was many months away.The governor needed all the political help he could muster and there was a danger of losing support among Black voters, a key Democratic constituency. Some w...

Robber gets life sentence for killing California Jack in the Box employee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:50 GMT

A judge on Tuesday sentenced a San Gabriel man to life in prison without parole for the 2016 fatal shooting of an El Monte Jack in the Box employee during a botched robbery.On June 30, a jury found Louie Herrera guilty of the murder of 25-year-old Juan Vidal of El Monte with the special circumstance allegation that the killing was committed during an attempted robbery. They also found true the special allegation that he personally used a handgun in the crime.Jurors also convicted the 27-year-old Herrera of four robberies and two attempted robberies in 2015. The businesses he hit were Takashima at 220 W. Valley Blvd #108 in San Gabriel, Subway at 1020 E. Valley Blvd in Alhambra and the CVS at 1485 E. Valley Blvd. in Alhambra. He robbed customers and employees, too.In addition to the life sentence, Herrera received 25 years to life for using a gun to commit the murder.He was also sentenced to 24 years for the robberies, attempted robberies and the gun use allegation related to those c...

Fans react to *NSYNC reunion at MTV VMAS

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:50 GMT

The MTV VMAs continue to be one of the biggest nights in music and pop culture. This year was the award show’s 40th anniversary and was hosted by Nicki Minaj and featured performances by Olivia Rodrigo, Demi Lovato and Fall Out Boy.Additionally, there was a Hip Hop 50th Anniversary Medley that included DMC, Doug E. Fresh, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Lil Wayne, LL Cool J and Minaj.One of the biggest moments of the night however was *NSYNC reuniting on stage for the first time in 10 years. The group was last on TV together at the 2013 VMAs where they performed a medley of their songs moments before Justin Timberlake was awarded the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Before that the group had been together to receive their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and for a brief performance at Coachella alongside Ariana Grande, but without Timberlake.Timberlake took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share a short video of himself and his bandmates JC Chasez, Chris Kirkpatric...

Opinion: For the sake of students, end the ‘college marketplace’ myth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:50 GMT

Virtually every policy that governs our higher education system is based on a dangerous myth — that students do, and should, meticulously shop around for colleges nationwide and pick the best fit.That’s the classic image: The prospective college student visits a slew of colleges and completes an array of applications. Then, they debate their options. Finally, parents pack up the car and drive across the country to drop their child off at college.The entire college selection apparatus — including college rankings, recruitment, marketing and entrance exams — fuels this “marketplace” perception. And following the U.S. Supreme Court’s curtailment of race-conscious admissions, most policy discussions have focused on ensuring students of color can still access and choose between highly selective colleges.Here’s the reality: Only 1 in 5 undergraduate students travel outside their home state for college, according to research I conducted with the Institute for College Access & Success, ...

GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert escorted out of “Beetlejuice” musical in Denver after “causing a disturbance”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:50 GMT

U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert was escorted out of a Sunday night performance of the “Beetlejuice” musical in downtown Denver, accused by venue officials of vaping, singing, recording and “causing a disturbance” during the performance.In an incident report shared with The Denver Post on Tuesday afternoon, officials with Denver Arts & Venues wrote that two patrons were asked to leave the city-owned Buell Theatre during the performance of the touring Broadway show. They previously were issued a warning during the intermission regarding behavior that prompted three complaints from other theatergoers, the report says.The report does not name Boebert as one of the patrons or identify the other person. But her campaign office — while disputing the behavior alleged — confirmed that she was escorted from the Buell on Sunday night during the “Beetlejuice” show.The incident report states that after receiving the intermission warning, about five minutes into the second act security officials rec...

Montgomery Co. police makes case for drone first responders to Wheaton residents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:50 GMT

The police department in Montgomery County, Maryland, hopes it will be able to use drones to respond to some 911 calls starting this fall.It is called the “Drone as First Responder” program and, ahead of asking the county’s council to green light the program, the police department is seeking the support of the communities in which the drones will be tested.“We need to start thinking [about] how can we use technology to try to help achieve our mission of high-quality service to you all here in the room,” said Capt. Jason Cokinos, director of special operations at the Montgomery County Police Department.Speaking to a room of residents at the Wheaton Community Center on Tuesday night, Cokinos said a “staffing crisis” for the department has them looking to better response times and help the department decide whether or not patrol officers need to respond to a scene.The department would need $350,000 to start the pilot program which would likely place drones in Wheaton and Si...

International crews in Moroccan to recover bodies days after deadly 6.8 quake earthquake struck

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:50 GMT

IMI N’TALA, Morocco (AP) — The stench of death wafted through the village of Imi N’Tala high up in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains four days after a deadly earthquake struck, slicing off a chunk of mountain, killing residents and razing the hamlet to the ground.Bulldozers, rescue crews and Moroccan first responders work around the clock trying to dig through the wreckage to unearth the eight to ten corpses still underneath.“The mountain was split in half and started falling. Houses were fully destroyed,” Ait Ougadir Al Houcine said as rescuers worked on recovering bodies, including his sister’s. “Some people lost all their cattle. We have nothing but the clothes we’re wearing. Everything is gone.”The scene in Imi N’Tala, which mainly houses herders and famers and where 96 residents perished in Friday’s earthquake, mirrors that of dozens of places situated along the treacherous mountain roads south of Marrakech: Men in donated djellabas neatly arrange ru...

China upgrades relationship with Venezuela to ‘all weather’ partnership

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:00:50 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China announced Wednesday it was upgrading its diplomatic ties with Venezuela to an “all weather” partnership, a label reserved for a select few of its diplomatic partners.Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is on a state visit in Beijing, his fifth as president, according to state broadcaster CCTV. He met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. One of the best known of China’s select all-weather strategic partnerships is with Pakistan, where it has invested $25.4 billion over the past decade. About 7 million people have left Venezuela during a complex political and humanitarian crisis that has been ongoing for the past decade. The country is reliant on oil as its main export but has faced U.S. sanctions. Last year, the Biden administration eased part of its sanctions on the country.Maduro has cultivated China throughout his years in power. His country has received support from China in loans, cash and investment worth tens of billions of dollars.Source