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Oakland mayor: Commissioner's service 'no longer needed' on embattled police commission

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:59:56 GMT

(BCN) -- Former Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte is no longer on the embattled Oakland Police Commission after Mayor Sheng Thao on Tuesday told Harbin-Forte her services are no longer needed. The former Alameda County Superior Court judge was not going to seek another term, she said. Her term expired in October 2022, and she remained in the seat at the discretion of the mayor. Two factions have developed on the commission, prompting demands for resignations from both sides. Harbin-Forte called for the resignation of Oakland City Councilmember Kevin Jenkins for alleged ethics violations related to his questioning of Police Commission chair Tyfahra Milele and tactics by his office. ‘Confrontation’ with police during search warrant leaves one dead in Richmond Police Commissioners Regina Jackson and Marsha Peterson have demanded that Harbin-Forte and Milele resign. Harbin-Forte said she will continue her efforts for constitutional policing and for an independent police commission in ...

San Mateo Sutter Health vows to reopen therapy pool

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:59:56 GMT

(BCN) -- Following backlash from the community, Sutter Health in San Mateo is reopening a warm therapy pool two years ahead of schedule. In 2020, Sutter had announced that it was permanently closing the therapy pool located at the Mickelson Arthritis and Rehabilitation Center as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mickelson therapy pool was historically used for short-term physician-prescribed physical therapy. It was also available for "open access" for self-directed therapy, a service that was open to community members with a doctor's release for a monthly fee, according to a joint letter from state and local elected officials to Sutter Health CEO Warner Thomas in May. Debris from implosion of Titanic-bound submersible is returned to land Among the letter's signatories was San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa, who has led the effort to reopen the pool since its closure. In February 2020, Sutter cut the open-access hours for community use. According to the lette...

Victims of gynecologist convicted of sex crimes urge judge to impose maximum prison term

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:59:56 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Eleven victims of a gynecologist who practiced at prestigious New York hospitals before he was convicted of sexually abusing women over several decades made emotional statements about their continuing pain as they asked a federal judge Wednesday to keep him behind bars as long as possible.Many of the women spoke anonymously in Manhattan federal court as they described in detail the sexual abuse they suffered during visits to Robert Hadden, 64, whose career at prominent hospitals including Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital spanned from the late 1980s until 2012.“Robert Hadden is a sexual predator disguised in a white coat,” said one woman, who spoke under the pseudonym Emily Anderson.Many of them thanked Judge Richard M. Berman, who will announce the sentence for Hadden on July 24, when the sentencing hearing that began with victim statements on Wednesday continues. Berman responded by praising the women as “brave” and “eloqu...

Utah woman accused of killing husband before writing book about grief sued for over $13 million

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:59:56 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A lawsuit against a Utah woman who wrote a children’s book about coping with grief after her husband’s death and now stands accused of his fatal poisoning was filed Tuesday, seeking over $13 million in damages for alleged financial wrongdoing before and after his death.The lawsuit was filed against Kouri Richins in state court by Katie Richins, the sister of Kouri Richins’ late husband Eric Richins. It accuses the woman of taking money from the husband’s bank accounts, diverting money intended to pay his taxes and obtaining a fradulent loan, among other things, before his death in March 2022. Kouri Richins has been charged with murder in her late husband’s death. “Kouri committed the foregoing acts in calculated, systematic fashion and for no reason other than to actualize a horrific endgame — to conceal her ruinous debt, misappropriate assets for the benefit of her personal businesses, orchestrate Eric’s demise, and profit from hi...

Why did a Russian government plane land in DC?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:59:56 GMT

On Tuesday afternoon, a Russian-built Ilyushin Il-96-300, from the Russian government’s fleet of aircrafts, landed at Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia.It was not an unprecedented event, but some of the related details don’t add up.Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the plane “will take out Russian diplomats who were ordered by the U.S. authorities to leave the country in connection with the completion of a three-year stay.”But questions arose about the size and type of plane, allegedly sent to retrieve only diplomats.State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, when asked about it on Tuesday, responded, “I’m not going to speak to the exact numbers. I’ll let the Russian Federation decide whether they want to speak to the number of what are, of course, their diplomats. I’d say diplomatic personnel routinely rotate in and out of assignments. That’s what happened here.”But is that really what’s happening? A former covert U.S. intelligence operative ...

Golden Knights trade Reilly Smith to the Penguins and re-sign Ivan Barbashev for 5 years

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:59:56 GMT

The Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights are already preparing to try to repeat, trading a longtime franchise cornerstone and keeping their best trade deadline pickup.Vegas on Wednesday traded Reilly Smith to the Pittsburgh Penguins and re-signed fellow forward Ivan Barbashev to a five-year contract worth $25 million. The moves came hours before the start of NHL draft.Barbashev, a key contributor on the Golden Knights’ title run with 18 points in 22 games, was expected to be one of the top players available in free agency. Instead, the 27-year-old Russian power forward will count $5 million against the salary cap through 2028.That was exactly Smith’s cap hit, making this another set of bold moves by Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon, who has shown a willingness to take risks in the name of getting younger and winning championships — and not worrying about sentimentality.Smith, 32, was one of six original Vegas players left from the team’s inaugural season that i...

Microsoft CEO Nadella tells a judge his planned Activision takeover is good for gaming

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:59:56 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told a judge Wednesday that Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard will be good for the gaming industry, remarks that came as he defended the deal against an attempt by federal regulators to block it.Nadella said Microsoft’s goal is to get Activision games on as many platforms as possible, much as Microsoft has with its traditional software products.“I love their console games, I love their PC games and I particularly love their mobile games,” Nadella said. Microsoft doesn’t yet have much of a footprint in mobile gaming.The judge interjected to ask if Nadella plays Activision’s Candy Crush on mobile, and the CEO drew laughter from the courtroom when he said he does.Nadella also said Microsoft has no interest in shutting out rival Sony’s PlayStation by making popular Activision games exclusive to Microsoft’s own Xbox system.“There should be no ambiguity in our support for t...

Bowser asks DC inspector general to look into sexual harassment allegations

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:59:56 GMT

Mayor Muriel Bowser has asked the D.C. Office of the Inspector General to take a look at sexual harassment allegations surrounding her former chief of staff.In a letter sent June 27, Bowser asked Inspector General Daniel Lucas to consider if an outside review by his office might be helpful in determining “whether policies in place today work or need updating.”The request comes after the Mayor’s Office of Legal Counsel determined former Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and Chief of Staff John Falcicchio “more than likely” sexually harassed a female subordinate employee. The report concluded Falcicchio made unwanted sexual advances toward the employee while she was in his apartment, exposed himself to her and sent thousands of messages between September 2022 and March 2023, including a graphic video and unwanted sexually explicit remarks.Falcicchio has not publicly addressed the allegations.Bowser’s letter Tuesday asked the inspect...

A look at some of Simone Biles’ career highlights as she plans a return to competition

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:59:56 GMT

USA Gymnastics announced Wednesday that Simone Biles plans to return to competition at the U.S. Classic outside Chicago in August. Here are some of the highlights of her career:— 2016 Olympic all-around champion— 5-time world all-around champion (2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019)— 7-time U.S. national champion (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021)— 7-time Olympic medalist (tied for the most by an American female gymnast)— 25-time world championship medalist (record for a female gymnast)— 32-time U.S. championship medalist— undefeated in individual all-around competitions since the 2013 U.S. championships— 2-time AP Female Athlete of the Year (2016, 2019)— 4 elements named after her (one on vault, one on balance beam and two on floor exercise) in the Code of Points after she completed them in competition.___2024 Paris Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Good news for the 4th: Colorado one of 'most independent' states

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:59:56 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Colorado is one of the best places in the country to celebrate Independence Day, and a new study says that fits. Financial adviser site WalletHub released an analysis Wednesday judging the country's most independent states. In the absence of a foreign crown, analysts had to think of other things citizens might be dependent on: consumer finances, the government, the job market, international trade and personal vices. WalletHub used 39 individual measurements ranging from credit card debt to alcohol abuse rates. Camping ban gets unanimous approval in Douglas County Colorado has some distinct advantages from its high place on the nation's economic totem pole, with high education and income levels. It ranks fifth best in the nation for financial dependency, eighth for government dependency, 15th for job market dependency and sixth for international trade dependency. Only in one measurement did it rank average, 24th overall for vice dependency. In American Revolution ...