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Authorities charge 9 current and former California police officers in corruption case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:52 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Nine current or former Northern California police officers were charged Thursday in a federal corruption investigation that found evidence they committed civil rights violations and fraud in an effort to get a pay raise and lied on reports to cover up use of excessive force, U.S. authorities said.Ismail J. Ramsey, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, filed four indictments that outlined charges including wire fraud, deprivation of rights under color of law, conspiracy against rights, and conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids. Nine police officers and one community service officer are named in the charges, though only two are charged in multiple indictments.The investigation centered on the departments in Antioch and Pittsburg, two cities in the San Francisco Bay Area. Only three of the officers remain employed by the departments and were not on active duty, officials said. Arrest warrants were served Thursday in California, Texas and Hawai...

Hilary grows into major hurricane in Pacific off Mexico and could bring heavy rain to US Southwest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:52 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Hilary strengthened into a major storm Thursday evening off Mexico’s Pacific coast, and it could bring heavy rain to the southwestern U.S. by the weekend.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Hilary’s maximum sustained winds had risen to 120 mph (195 kph), making it a Category 3 hurricane. The storm was expected to grow into a Category 4 hurricane Friday while on a projected path that threatened landfall on the central Baja California peninsula by Sunday or possibly keep just offshore while heading for Southern California.Hilary was centered about 445 miles (715 kilometers) south of Los Cabos on the southern tip of the Baja peninsula. It was moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph), but was expected to take a more northward heading in the coming days.The hurricane center said that as Hilary moves onto or brushes the Baja pensinsula, it could possibly survive briefly as a tropical storm or tropical depression and cross the U.S. border.No tropical ...

CP NewsAlert: Evacuations ordered for hundreds more properties in West Kelowna, B.C.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:52 GMT

Wildfire evacuation orders have been expanded to hundreds more properties that are being threatened by a blaze near the City of West Kelowna, with thousands of others placed on alert.Central Okanagan Emergency Operations ordered the evacuations of 763 more properties late Thursday, increasing the total to 831.More coming.Brieanna Charlebois, The Canadian Press

Connecticut kitten mystery solved, police say: Cat found in stolen, crashed car belongs to a suspect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:52 GMT

MERIDEN, Conn. (AP) — Police who found a kitten in a stolen car say they have located the animal’s owner: A juvenile suspect who fled and was arrested after the car crashed. The Meriden Police Department said on its Facebook page Thursday that the gray-and-white male cat has been returned to the suspect’s mother. The department said the youth said nothing to officers about the pet, which was found under a seat. Instead, police were led to the owner by someone who responded to the department’s Facebook post earlier this week looking for the animal’s owner. In the meantime, a number of people contacted authorities looking to adopt the cat, police said. Police said they found the feline while searching for evidence after the stolen vehicle collided with a patrol car during an Aug. 10 chase. Officers were pursuing the vehicle on suspicion that it had been used in armed robberies in several nearby communities hours earlier. After the crash, six suspects fled but w...

Trump cancels press conference on election fraud claims, citing attorneys’ advice

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump now says he won’t be holding a press conference next week to unveil what he claims is new evidence of fraud in the 2020 election in Georgia, citing the advice of lawyers. No compelling evidence of the wide-scale fraud Trump alleges has emerged in the two-and-a-half years since the election. Republican officials in the state — where three recounts confirmed Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden — have long said he lost legitimately. “Rather than releasing the Report on the Rigged & Stolen Georgia 2020 Presidential Election on Monday, my lawyers would prefer putting this, I believe, Irrefutable & Overwhelming evidence of Election Fraud & Irregularities in formal Legal Filings as we fight to dismiss this disgraceful Indictment,” he wrote on his social media site Thursday evening. He added, “Therefore, the News Conference is no longer necessary!”Trump had announced that he would be holding the event hours after a grand ...

Former Alabama correctional officer convicted in 2018 inmate beating

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:52 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A jury on Thursday convicted a former Alabama prison sergeant of federal charges in connection with the 2018 beating of an inmate.Devlon Williams, 37, a former sergeant with the Alabama Department of Corrections, was convicted of deprivation of rights under color of law, falsification of records and obstruction of justice, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.Prosecutors said Williams repeatedly punched and kicked an inmate at Staton Correctional Facility who was on the ground and not resisting or posing a threat. Williams also hit the inmate multiple times with a collapsible baton, prosecutors said.“This defendant is being held accountable for using excessive force against an inmate and preparing a false report to cover-up his unlawful behavior,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.“Prisoners, like everyone else, have the right to be free from such needless and extreme violence,” Clarke s...

Alcohol-free brewery in Naperville partners with non-violence organizations in Chicago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:52 GMT

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — The folks at Go Brewing in Naperville are doing what they love, making their lineup of small-batch craft beers.The owner's claim to fame is making beverages that taste great, but in the words of Joe Chura, won't leave you feeling like crap. WGN’s Mike Lowe skydives with Golden Knights "The main reason is I had an issue with alcohol," Joe said.Conceived during the height of the pandemic, when Joe and his wife, Heather, like so many of us, felt socially isolated, they started to drink in excess."My family had issues with alcohol," Joe said. "It revolves around every celebration."It was hard at first, Joe said, but got easier. The trouble was non-alcohol beer had very few to choose from and they were lacking in variety and taste.So they started brewing their ownThey brought on some partners and after a lot of hard work, the brewery and beautiful tap room emerged. They also serve pizza and pretzels and invite food truck operators on occasion, as well as offer live m...

How Cubs, PAWS Chicago used City Series to find a few dogs new homes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:52 GMT

CHICAGO — The second City Series in 2023 hit during the "Dog Days of Summer," and that took on literal meaning at Wrigley Field on Wednesday.That's because an organization was hoping to find some canines a new home, doing so with the Cubs' help in a time of need. With the shelters filling up with animals over the summer months, PAWS Chicago held an adoption day in conjunction with the MLB franchise on Wednesday ahead of the second game between the Cubs and the White Sox. The idea was done with the aid of Lindsay Hawkins, the wife of Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins, and Emma Hendricks, the wife of pitcher Kyle Hendricks. "They had come through PAWS in the last year and they wanted to get more deeply involved," said PAWS Chicago CEO Susanna Wickham. "So they approached us about creating this event."For it, the organization brought six dogs for adoption to the event with Cubs-themed names: Gallagher, Hawkins, Hendricks, Ivy, Swanson, and Wrigley. Both Emma and Kyle Hendricks along ...

After extended Leagues Cup break, Austin FC primed for playoff run with 11 matches left

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:52 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin FC gets back to Major League Soccer action Saturday on the road against St. Louis City FC, and while losing early in Leagues Cup wasn't exactly what head coach Josh Wolff wanted, he acknowledged the team got a much-needed break.MLS play continues Saturday across the league as Leagues Cup wraps up, and now with just about the entire roster healthy and match-ready, Wolff said it's now or never with the last 11 games of the regular season.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters"Most of our players are going to be available going forward," Wolff said. "This was a chance to get a break, but we kept them in a fairly decent routine. By no means was a long break our objective, but we'll take advantage of it as it happens. We're getting back to a healthy space."Austin FC hasn't played since being eliminated from Leagues Cup play by FC Juarez on July 29, so the c...

Retirees win St. Jude Dream Home in Dardenne Prairie

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:08:52 GMT

DARDENNE PRAIRIE, Mo. – Patricia McBride and her husband were watching FOX 2 months ago when they saw a four bedroom, two-and-a-half bath St. Jude Dream Home in Dardenne Prairie and decided to take a chance.“Watching Channel 2 when we had it and said, ‘Yeah, let’s give it a shot,’” Patricia said. “We did and thought no more about it.”Patricia went online and was one of 16,000 people to buy a $100 ticket for a chance at the $700,000 home. All proceeds from the contest are donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.Cut to Thursday morning on FOX 2 News in the Morning, when Patricia had her name drawn on air as the Dream Home winner.“Actually, received a text before I got the call,” she said. “My niece texted before I got the call, and she said, ‘Did you just win a home?’ Then my husband hands me the phone, and this woman said she was from St. Jude and asked me my name, and I just could not believe it. Oh my God, I just could not believe it.”Patricia and her husband are both reti...