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Truck driver found guilty of killing 11 at Pittsburgh synagogue, faces death penalty

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:33 GMT

By Peter Smith | Associated PressPITTSBURGH — A truck driver who expressed hatred of Jews was convicted Friday of barging into a Pittsburgh synagogue and shooting everyone he could find, killing 11 congregants in an act of antisemitic terror for which he could be sentenced to die.The guilty verdict was a foregone conclusion after Robert Bowers’ own lawyers conceded at the trial’s outset that he attacked and killed worshippers at the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 27, 2018, in the deadliest attack on Jews in U.S. history. Jurors must now decide whether the 50-year-old should be sent to death row or sentenced to life in prison without parole as the federal trial shifts to a penalty phase expected to last several weeks.Bowers was convicted of all 63 criminal counts he faced, including hate crimes resulting in death and obstruction of the free exercise of religion resulting in death. His attorneys had offered a guilty plea in return for a life sentence, but prosecutors refused, opting i...

Father’s Day reality check: Dads can give really odd advice

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:33 GMT

Today is all about gauzy tributes to the deep, soulful wisdom of our beloved fathers, about proclaiming our eternal gratitude for Dad’s profound guidance on how to live and grow and thrive.Except most of us didn’t have THAT father.“Eighty percent of people don’t care about your problems, and the other 20% are glad you have them,” the decidedly unsentimental father of art dealer and erstwhile Laguna Beach city councilman Peter Blake once observed, setting him up for years of internal reckoning.Peter Blake  (File Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG) “You can’t run with the big dogs if you piss like a puppy” was the tough-guy motto of the Sartor family of — where else? — New Jersey. Their father’s alleged wisdom has provided material that  Lisanne Sartor and Colette Sartor of Los Angeles — identical twins, writers and filmmakers — mine to this very day.Colette Sartor and Lisanne Sartor (Courtesy Sartors) Diana Hong’s dad had a rather dark sense of humor. When...

Drive-by shooter targets Berkeley freeway landscape crew

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:33 GMT

BERKELEY — The California Highway Patrol was continuing to search Friday for a drive-by gunman who targeted a landscaping crew Wednesday morning on the University Avenue offramp from Interstate 80.None of the 14 workers were injured.The shooting happened about 11:50 a.m. Wednesday on the offramp from the westbound lanes of I-80.The CHP said 14 people employed by a landscaping company that contracts with Caltrans were working on the off-ramp.The CHP said a passenger in a white Ford Crown Victoria pointed a black handgun out a window and fired two shots at the crew as the car kept going.Detailed descriptions of the shooter and driver were not released. The CHP said the motive for the shooting was unclear.Traffic was not impacted by the shooting, the CHP said.Anyone with information about the suspects is asked to call the Oakland CHP office at 510-457-2875 and ask for Officer Corbell.There have been numerous shootings on East Bay freeways so far this year, including several that ...

Southern California water company to get $21 million to transform Delta island

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:33 GMT

Grazing cattle on an island in the central Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta could soon make way for Contra Costa County’s first rice fields and a mosaic of restored wetlands now that its owner has received a $20.9 million state grant.The company plans to restore nearly 5,000 acres of Webb Tract, including 3,000 in wetlands, 1,500 in rice fields and the rest in other habitats, such as grasslands and scrub.The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Conservancy Board recently approved funding for the restoration work at Webb Tract, which the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California proposed on land it purchased along with three other islands – Bouldin, Bacon and Holland – for $175 million in 2016. At the time, the district said it could use them to store construction equipment, but critics warned that it would make it easier for the governor’s proposed — and later scrapped — California Water Fix project to send more water to Southern California, with twin tunnels to...

Feds accuse Minneapolis police of rights violations after George Floyd’s killing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:33 GMT

By Jim Salter and Mark Vancleave | Associated PressMINNEAPOLIS — The Justice Department alleged Friday that Minneapolis police have systematically discriminated against Black and Native American people for years and often violated constitutional rights following a sweeping investigation that began after George Floyd was killed.The two-year probe found that Minneapolis officers used excessive force, including “unjustified deadly force,” and violated the rights of people engaged in constitutionally protected speech. The investigation also found that both police and the city discriminated against people with “behavioral health disabilities” when officers are called for help.“We observed many MPD officers who did their difficult work with professionalism, courage and respect,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told a news conference in Minneapolis. “But the patterns and practices we observed made what happened to George Floyd possible.”Garland said officers routinely disregarded the safe...

Mother and 12-year old daughter killed in Santa Clara car crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:33 GMT

SANTA CLARA — A mother and her 12-year-old daughter died Wednesday afternoon after their Tesla hit a tree in Santa Clara, according to authorities.Santa Clara police responding to reports of a single-car crash at 2:03 p.m. Wednesday found that a white 2021 Tesla Model Y had struck a tree.Both occupants, a 44-year-old woman and the child, were pronounced deceased at the scene, according to police. They were both Los Gatos residents.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | San Jose: Pedestrian killed in collision near McKee Road and Jackson Avenue Crashes and Disasters | Two carjacking suspects dead in San Leandro crash after trying to outrace Alameda County sheriff’s deputies Crashes and Disasters | Speed camera bill gets Assembly approval, now it’s up to Senate, Gov. Newsom Crashes and Disasters | Southbound lanes of I-280 in San Mateo County reopen after fatal collision Crashes and Disasters | Mountain ...

Early morning residential fire in San Jose under control

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:33 GMT

(KRON) – The San Jose Fire Department received contained a two-alarm house fire early Friday morning. At 2:44 a.m., San Jose fire received a report of a two-story house engulfed in flames. The house fire, which was determined to be a two-alarm fire, was located in the 19000 block of Graystone.The fire was under control by firefighters at 5:30 a.m. No injuries were reported.The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.This is a developing story. Stick with us for updates.

Warriors name Mike Dunleavy Jr. as new GM

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:33 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The Golden State Warriors announced Friday morning they have named Mike Dunleavy Jr. as their new general manager. KRON4 celebrates Founder’s Day of Caring Dunleavy Jr. has been with the Warriors' front office for six years and spent the last two years as Golden State's vice president of basketball operations. He replaces longtime general manager Bob Myers, who stepped down from his position earlier this year.KRON On is streaming news live 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%; }Dunleavy Jr. previously had a 15-year career in the NBA, some of which he spent time playing for the Warriors between 2002 and 2007.

New UAW President Shawn Fain issues strongest warning yet about strikes against 3 Detroit automakers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:33 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The new president of the United Auto Workers gave his strongest warning yet Friday that the union is preparing for strikes against Detroit’s three automakers when contracts expire in September.In a Facebook Live appearance to address members, Shawn Fain said the union is in a strong position to make major gains in talks with Stellantis, Ford and General Motors, “but only if our members get organized and are ready to strike.”Fain repeated the union’s goals of winning back cost-of-living pay raises and pensions lost as the industry faced financial peril in 2009. They also want general pay raises and elimination of tiers of workers who are paid different wage rates, many for doing the same jobs. The union also wants to represent workers at joint-venture electric vehicle battery plants and get them top wages.Whether there are strikes depends on how the companies react, Fain said, repeating that the automakers have made billions in the past 10 years but haven&#...

Former North Carolina health official is picked to be new CDC director

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:24:33 GMT

FILE - Secretary of the North Carolina Department Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen speaks during a briefing on the state's coronavirus pandemic response Tuesday, Dec.22, 2020 at the N.C. Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh, N.C. The White House announced Friday, June 16, 2023, that Cohen will be the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She succeeds Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who last month announced she was resigning effective June 30. (Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP, File)(AP/Travis Long) FILE - Secretary of the North Carolina Department Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen speaks during a briefing on the state's coronavirus pandemic response Tuesday, Dec.22, 2020 at the N.C. Emergency Operations Center in Ralei...