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Former Oakland police captain seeks damages, says he was “falsely blamed” in cover-up scandal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:25:28 GMT

OAKLAND — A former police captain who was accused in January of overseeing the cover-up of a sergeant’s misconduct has filed a legal claim with the city insisting he had nothing to do with the botched internal affairs probe.Wilson Lau had been the Oakland Police Department captain tasked with looking into Sgt. Michael Chung’s hit-and-run with a parked vehicle — an investigation that, by the end, omitted key details of Chung’s misconduct.The scandal came to light in a bombshell independent report that in February led to the firing of Chief LeRonne Armstrong, and delayed plans for OPD to be released from federal oversight, where the embattled department has remained for two decades.Lau, who last month was fired by East Bay Regional Parks police in the wake of the Oakland scandal, now says his subordinate officer “falsely blamed” him for ordering the cover-up.The former captain is seeking damages from the city, indicating in the suit that among...

Fox News: Fired producer adds CEO to lawsuit, claims lawyers deleted messages from phone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:25:28 GMT

By Marshall Cohen | CNNA former Fox News producer who claims the right-wing network pressured her to give false testimony escalated her own lawsuit against the company, adding CEO Suzanne Scott as defendant and accusing Fox’s lawyers of deleting messages from her phone.In explosive lawsuits filed last month, Abby Grossberg claimed Fox lawyers bullied her into protecting the network and its on-air personalities in her deposition for the Dominion Voting Systems’ case. Grossberg now accuses Scott of being complicit in the alleged coercion, according to her amended lawsuit.Fox News has previously said her lawsuits are “riddled with false allegations” and says its lawyers never acted improperly.The network fired Grossberg after she initiated the litigation.Grossberg worked for Maria Bartiromo during the 2020 election cycle, and some of the comments made on Bartiromo’s show are at the center of Dominion’s defamation case against Fox, which saw jury sele...

Letters: Deeper hate | Abortion debate | Focus on family | Overpopulation threat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:25:28 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Antioch racist textsdriven by deeper hateOne of the most unsettling things about the Antioch Police revelations is knowing that everyone’s beliefs inform their actions and decisions. This is true for every person regardless of their position or stature.The community these officers were paid to serve entrusted them to protect everyone and be the front line in administering fair, equal and impartial justice. It is unrealistic to believe that the decisions made and actions taken by these officers during the course of their duties were not informed by their negative, hostile and hateful beliefs.Barry GardinHaywardWe must do morethan stockpile pillsRe: “California stockpiling abortion medication” (Page A1, April 11).You reported that Gov. Newsom would stockpile pills following a Texas judge’s ruling suspending mifepristone, a pill commonly used to terminate a pregnancy. This is interes...

Letters: Drought’s end | Justice inequality | Stuck in time

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:25:28 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.End of drought bringsno peace of mindRe: “Bracing for flooding from record snowmelt” (Page A1, April 12).I felt a noticeable frustration when I read this article. Given the large amounts of snow and rain in California, you would think it was a good thing since California has been a target of drought and wildfires for decades, but now we see that places such as the Sierra and San Joaquin are flooding with water. Instead of just relying on levees and the river, water systems like those found in Monterey can be created.If California keeps its governing style of out-of-sight-out-of-mind, surely problems like this one and many more will reoccur forever.The California government needs to start taking a look at history and understand that in order to curb these problems one must prepare for them. Take notes on what was done before and apply them. If anything, we should be giving at least the farmers...

Suspect in Capitol threats, shootings in Roseville and Citrus Heights, arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:25:28 GMT

(KTXL) -- A suspect was arrested in connection with separate shootings in Roseville and Citrus Heights and for making "credible threats" against the California State Capitol on Thursday, according to Roseville Police. Police identified the suspect as Jackson Pinney, 30, of Hayward, who was last seen driving a pickup truck, although law enforcement advised the public about calling if they spotted the truck or a sedan that was connected to Pinney. Teenager killed, another injured in shooting near Stockton park According to police, Pinney is believed to have been involved in a shooting just before 9 p.m. along Auburn Boulevard in Citrus Heights that resulted in no injuries.Pinney is then reported to have continued driving into Roseville around 9 p.m., where he fired an unknown amount of shots near the intersection of Douglas Boulevard and Eureka Road.Roseville Police said that the lobby of the birthing center at Kaiser Permanente was struck by some of the shots, but no injuries were...

FBI releases surveillance video of Bay Area woman being kidnapped in Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:25:28 GMT

(KRON) -- The FBI San Francisco released new surveillance videos Thursday showing a group of men kidnapping a Bay Area woman in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, Mexico.Monica De Leon Barba, 29, of San Mateo, is a United States citizen who was living in Mexico before she was abducted. On November 29, 2022, she was walking her puppy home down a sidewalk when five men forced her into a van. Her whereabouts are still unknown."The FBI is requesting the public’s assistance in locating Monica and returning her safely to herfamily. We believe these videos may help generate new public tips to assist in our investigation,"said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp. "The FBI is offering a reward of up to$40,000 for information leading to Monica’s recovery. If you know anything, please comeforward to law enforcement."Monica De Leon Barba (Image courtesy FBI)The FBI said the first video shows De Leon Barba walking with her dog. The second video depicts the kidnappers and their vehicles. "This video in...

Antioch police chief speaks on 'racially abhorrent' officer texts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:25:28 GMT

ANTIOCH, Calif. (KRON) -- After more information was released on Wednesday about racist text messages sent by Antioch Police Department officers, APD Chief Steve Ford released a statement condemning the messages on Thursday. "I condemn -- in the strongest possible terms -- the racially abhorrent content and incomprehensible behavior being attributed to members of the Antioch Police Department in media reports," Ford said in part. ‘You want to go outside?’: Antioch mayor blows up at contentious city council meeting KRON4 reported Wednesday that officers sent texts such as, "I will bury that n***** in my field. It was a hard R on purpose." The texts were released in a 21-page report by the county district attorney's officeThere are 14 officers involved in the text messaging. Some officers are witnesses in a murder case in Contra Costa County. Some messages also targeted Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe. In one exchange, an APD officer wrote that he would buy a prime rib dinner for someon...

Falcon chicks in nest at Alcatraz, UC Berkeley part of same family tree

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:25:28 GMT

Peregrine falcon chicks hatched recently on both Alcatraz Island and at a famous University of California at Berkeley landmark, and while they're in different nests, they're part of the same family tree. The falcons have lately been a source of interest locally. On Tuesday, hundreds of people at UC Berkeley attended a party to watch the hatching of falcon chicks in a nest at the Campanile bell tower, the third-largest bell-and-clock tower in the world. Live-streamed video on an outdoor screen at the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) showed the latest eggs to hatch at a nest where a female falcon named Annie has lived since 2017. Bob Lee stabbing suspect’s company website goes offline in wake of arrest The webcams set up at the tower to watch the falcons have been popular enough that the school has held public naming contests when Annie has new chicks, including a female falcon born in 2018 that got the winning name Lawrencium in honor of an element di...

1 dead after shooting on I-580 in Oakland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:25:28 GMT

(KRON) -- The California Highway Patrol said it is investigating a freeway shooting that happened late Wednesday night on I-580 in Oakland. Officers said they responded to the shooting just before midnight.  22 arrested in San Jose sex crimes sweep operation A preliminary investigation showed that the shooting happened on the freeway before the vehicles exited onto Oakland city streets including Lakeshore Avenue and Lake Park Avenue where one person was subsequently pronounced dead at the scene, officials told KRON4. I-580 was closed at 14th Street until around 3 a.m. At this time, California Highway Patrol officers said they are only aware of one victim. This shooting comes after reports of a violent weekend in Oakland, including another shooting on I-580 in Oakland on Sunday.This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.

In Pentagon Leak, the Problem Is What’s Classified, Not What Gets Out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:25:28 GMT

Only death and taxes are certain in life, Ben Franklin wrote in 1789, though he could have done us a favor by also noting that we can count on our government to make exaggerated claims about the unauthorized publication of classified documents.Like clockwork, after a set of secret national security documents burst into public view last week, the Washington Post reported a “high level of panic” at the upper echelons of the Department of Defense, with officials “stunned” and “infuriated.” According to Politico, one Pentagon aide even said he was “sick to [his] stomach” over the alleged betrayal. The Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation, while John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesperson, warned, “This is information that has no business in the public domain. It is not intended for public consumption, and it should not be out there.”The intelligence documents appear to have entered the public domain in an unusual way — someone began sharing them, starting lat...