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Man who shot Black teen on his porch pleads not guilty

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:25 GMT

By Margaret Stafford and Jim Salter | Associated PressLIBERTY, Mo. — The 84-year old man who shot Ralph Yarl when the Black teenager went to his door by mistake pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a case that has shocked the country and renewed national debates about gun policies and race in America.Andrew Lester walked into the courtroom with a cane and spoke quietly during Wednesday’s hearing, his first public appearance since last week’s shooting. Authorities say he shot Yarl, a 16-year-old honor student, first in the head, then in the arm after Yarl came to his door because he had confused the address with the home where he was supposed to pick up his younger brothers.The case is among three in recent days involving young people who were shot after mistakenly showing up in the wrong places. A 20-year-old woman was killed in upstate New York when the car she was in pulled into the wrong driveway. In Texas, two cheerleaders were shot after one of them mistakenly got into a...

Letters: Ideological attacks | Senate problem | Alzheimer’s treatment | Benefiting from Trump

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:25 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Don’t let ideologicalattacks derail DARe: “DA dropped the ball on shooting charges” (Page A6, April 18).Ninfa Woods letter to the editor ignores most of the filed charges in your article, “3 charged with fatal freeway shooting” (Page A1, April 15), and then says Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price should be recalled.Let’s review the facts. DA Price announced that her prosecutors had filed murder charges against all three men. Adding in felony firearms charges could lead to 42 years each upon conviction. They have not ruled out adding future gang enhancements upon reviewing all evidence.After three months, Price, who received 53% of the vote in November, seems to be on a collision course for an undeserved recall. Recall elections are expensive; Gov. Gavin Newsom’s cost California $276 million. They are also the last bastion of hope for conservatives to unseat progressive winner...

Florida expands ‘Don’t Say Gay’; passes 3 more anti-LGBTQ bills

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:25 GMT

By Anthony Izaguirre and Brendan Farrington | Associated PressTALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis added more wins to his agenda targeting the LGBTQ+ community as a state board approved an expansion of what critics call the “Don’t Say Gay” law Wednesday, and the House passed bills on gender-transition treatments, bathroom use and keeping children out of drag shows.The Board of Education approved a ban on classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades, expanding the law that bans those lesson up to grade 3 at the request of DeSantis as he gears up for an expected presidential run.The rule change would ban lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity from grades 4-12, unless required by existing state standards or as part of reproductive health instruction that students can choose not to take. That’s the time when students are becoming aware of their sexuality.The proposal will take effect after a proce...

After community pressure, South Berkeley gets key bus service back

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:25 GMT

Since the start of the pandemic, South Berkeley has lacked reliable public transportation options for traveling across the city.In August 2020, AC Transit, the East Bay’s biggest bus operator, suspended Line 80 that traveled along Ashby Avenue, Sixth Street and Pierce Street — some of the area’s most dense, diverse and low-income residential and commercial corridors — due to low ridership and revenue losses during the pandemic. Many locals found themselves forced to get around by car, bicycle or foot to the host of schools, shopping centers, healthcare providers and other transit hubs nearby.Of the 1,000 riders Line 80 previously serviced daily, the Ashby segment was the most popular, accounting for around 40% of passengers before the bus went into West Berkeley and El Cerrito, according to Michael Eshelman, AC Transit’s service planning manager.Now, a bus is finally slated to fill that gap.The AC Transit Board of Directors unanimously voted last week to extend the Line 7 bus route,...

Sexual assault suspect sought by Rohnert Park police

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:25 GMT

(KRON) -- The Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety is searching for a man who committed sexual assault on Sunday.According to police, the incident happened at about 8:27 p.m. on the south sidewalk of Fairway Drive. The suspect reportedly got off his black bicycle and groped an adult female pedestrian before attempting to assault her. The suspect then fled the scene. San Jose shooting updated to homicide after victim dies from injuries The suspect was described as a Hispanic or mixed-race male with a short, heavyset build. He was wearing a black beanie and a black jacket. Anyone with information is asked to call (707) 584-2600. All information provided will be considered confidential.

E-40 and Sacramento Kings release joint statement

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:25 GMT

(KRON) -- Bay Area rapper Earl "E-40" Stevens and the Sacramento Kings appear to have settled their differences. The two parties released a joint statement on Wednesday afternoon. 'Not right' sports NBA world reacts to Draymond Green suspension Both parties agreed that, contrary to speculation, Stevens was not standing excessively while in his ticketed courtside seat on Saturday night. However, the outcome resulted in a misunderstanding between the Kings and the rapper, and E-40 was ultimately escorted from the game.The basketball team and rapper agreed after "a series of thoughtful and transparent conversations" that there was a "miscommunication" regarding what happened in his courtside seat on Saturday night. KRON On is streaming now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%...

Supreme Court Allows Rodney Reed to Keep Up His Fight for DNA Testing

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:25 GMT

In a 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Texas death row prisoner Rodney Reed to continue pursuing DNA testing that could finally prove his innocence.“The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling today is a critical step toward the ultimate goal of getting DNA testing in Rodney Reed’s case,” Parker Rider-Longmaid, one of Reed’s attorneys, said Wednesday. “We are grateful that the court has kept the courthouse doors open to Mr. Reed.”Reed, who is Black, was sent to death row for the murder of a 19-year-old white woman named Stacey Stites, whose body was found on the side of a country road outside Bastrop, Texas, in 1996. Sperm recovered from Stites’s body was matched to Reed. Prosecutors called this evidence the “Cinderella’s slipper” that revealed her killer. But Reed insisted he was innocent. He said he’d been having a clandestine affair with Stites, who was engaged to a white cop from a neighboring town. That officer, Jimmy Fennell, denied the possibility of an affair, claim...

Sacramento’s Mike Brown unanimous Coach of the Year winner

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:25 GMT

When he was introduced last June as coach of the Sacramento Kings, Mike Brown didn’t make any grand proclamations or wild predictions.He talked about work. He talked about culture. He talked about winning.“One of the main reasons I was brought here,” Brown said that day, “was to bring some leadership.”Ask around, and no coach did a better job leading this season than Brown. He was announced Wednesday as the unanimous winner of the NBA’s Coach of the Year award, an easy call after his first season in Sacramento saw the Kings end a 17-year playoff drought. All 100 voters from a panel of reporters and broadcasters had Brown atop their ballot.“These honors don’t come around often so you’re very appreciative of them,” Brown said on the TNT broadcast of the announcement. “I’m really appreciative of being in Sacramento. The fans, the city has been fantastic.”Brown won the award for the second time, adding this trophy to the one he got after he and LeBron James led Clevela...

Antetokounmpo won’t play for Bucks in Game 2 of Heat series

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:25 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo won’t play for the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said at his pregame availability that Antetokounmpo won’t be available due to the bruised lower back that knocked the two-time MVP out of the Bucks’ 130-117 Game 1 loss on Sunday.“(We were) hopeful that he would play and also aware that he might not,” Budenholzer said. “The guys are ready. The group’s focused and in a good place.”Antetokounmpo had been listed as doubtful in the injury report Tuesday but was upgraded to questionable Wednesday. Antetokounmpo left the Bucks’ Game 1 loss for good early in the second quarter.“He’s continued to improve, but organizationally and talking and working with him and the sports performance group, the decision was made,” Budenholzer said. “He’s out. The guys that are ready and the guys that are availa...

Soto, Padres beat Atlanta 1-0 to end Braves’ win streak at 8

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:25 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Struggling Juan Soto homered and Nick Martinez pitched seven strong innings as the San Diego Padres beat NL East-leading Atlanta 1-0 Wednesday to snap the Braves’ winning streak at eight.The Braves, who had the longest active winning streak in the majors, were shut out for the first time this season.The Padres won for just the second time in eight games and will welcome back superstar Fernando Tatis Jr. on Thursday in the opening game of a four-game series at Arizona. Tatis finished an 80-game PED suspension on Wednesday, but won’t be added to the active roster until Thursday, when the Padres will make a corresponding move. San Diego is looking for an infusion of energy from Tatis, an electrifying player who will be in right field when he returns, rather than shortstop, where he was an All-Star in 2021. San Diego’s superstar-laden roster had scored just one run in its previous three games, all loses, and hadn’t had a lead since Saturday night...