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California sheriff blasted for joining Gov. Ron DeSantis’ border ‘coalition’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:50:57 GMT

Immigrant rights advocates are denouncing Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco for signing a letter promoted by Republican presidential hopeful and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that calls for tighter security on the U.S.-Mexico border.DeSantis’ gubernatorial office Thursday, June 22, announced a “coalition” of more than 90 sheriffs, including Bianco, “who are united in the struggle to keep our communities safe from the ravages of our collapsed southern border.”The announcement featured a letter signed by the sheriffs that praised DeSantis for recognizing “how the porous border has had far-reaching impacts and has stepped in to support public safety.”“We can no longer sit by and watch our nation become overrun by gang activity and drug-related violence, ,” read the letter, which bears the emblems of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and other departments whose sheriffs were signatories.“The undersigned Sheriffs join together to partner with Governor DeSantis and the state of Flo...

8th-grade California teacher arrested on suspicion of molesting 2 girls, possessing child porn

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:50:57 GMT

An eighth-grade history teacher at McKinley School in Pasadena on Friday denied charges that include allegations he molested two girls and possessed explicit pictures of one of them.Pasadena police arrested Michael Joseph Medina, 35, of Glendale on Thursday. The District Attorney’s Office charged him on Tuesday with seven counts of lewd acts on a child under 14, three counts of lewd acts with a child where the suspect was at least 10 years older than the child, and four counts of possession of child pornography.He pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment Friday at Pasadena Superior Court, Greg Risling, a spokesman for the DA’s Office, said. Medina will return to court  Aug. 3.Both victims are 14. Investigators didn’t say where they believe the crimes occurred.One victim was one of his students and several of the alleged crimes happened before she was 14, police said.“The child porn consisted of sexually explicit photos of the victim and were found on the suspect’s cel...

Something’s eating your garden seedlings? Here are the usual suspects

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:50:57 GMT

Q. Something has been eating my seedlings out of my vegetable garden. Most of them have just disappeared overnight. How can I figure out which creatures are responsible and how to stop them?Seedlings are attractive to more than a few critters. During the day, birds will pull out tender young plants. They can be easily be deterred by row covers or bird netting. Nighttime thieves are a little trickier to figure out.Rabbits are very destructive to vegetable gardens. (I am sympathetic to Mr. MacGregor, Peter Rabbit’s nemesis.) Once the sun goes down, the cotton-tailed marauders emerge in surprisingly large numbers to devour everything within reach. I once foolishly planted over 100 pansy plants in my yard, only to lose all of them to bunnies in one night. If rabbits are the problem, fencing can help. Motion-activated sprinklers and rabbit repellents may work as well. Trapping and/or poisoning may be tempting, but barriers and repellents are more effective. Snails and slugs, also nocturn...

Should laptops expire? Campaign aims to make electronics last longer to save money and the planet

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:50:57 GMT

With summer vacation in full swing, many California school districts are already sprucing up campuses in preparation for the next school year.For some districts, that revamp includes tossing piles of Chromebooks with fully functioning hardware into the trash or recycling bin.The Google laptops are popular with schools and families due their simplicity and low price. But Chromebooks also come with a built-in “death date,” when software support ends. And once that date hits, the devices no longer receive updates needed to, say, run security programs or access state testing websites, which essentially renders them useless for students and teachers.More than a dozen Chromebook models will hit their death dates in three months unless Google voluntarily steps in to extend them. The end also is nigh for tons of Chromebooks that school districts shelled out millions for in 2020, when they were scrambling to help students go fully remote during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.“It creates a...

California residents help convince Norwegian government to safeguard friendly ‘spy whale’ known as Hvaldimir

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:50:57 GMT

OneWhale, a nonprofit led by two Orange County residents, recently got much needed support from officials in Norway in an effort to save an overly friendly beluga whale by creating a reserve in a Norwegian fjord.The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries agreed to officially call the marine mammal a “tame whale.”A photo provided by OneWhale shows Hvaldimir, a beluga whale, in the waters off Norway in April 2023. The whale seems attracted to humans, leading researchers to speculate that he once spent time in captivity. (Courtesy of Rich German, OneWhale)A photo provided by OneWhale shows Hvaldimir, a beluga whale, in the waters off Norway in April 2023. He has recently been seen in the waters of Sweden, leading scientists to wonder why he is moving south. (Courtesy of Rich German, OneWhale)A photo provided by OneWhale shows Hvaldimir, a beluga whale, in the waters off Flatanger, Norway in September 2023. The whale seems attracted to humans, leading researchers to speculate that he once s...

Woman reportedly pounding on doors, attacking victim, in Southern California is shot to death by resident

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:50:57 GMT

A 44-year-old woman was shot and killed by a man in east Long Beach after he saw her attacking another woman Saturday morning, June 24, authorities said.The shooting occurred in the 600 block of Roycroft Avenue, just south of Seventh Street and Wilson High School, about 1 a.m., police said.Long Beach police said they began receiving calls from the area a half hour earlier with reports the woman was following residents home and banging on front doors and windows, police said.Neighbors told ABC 7 Los Angeles that the woman was  demanding to come inside or claiming residents owed her money.They told officers the woman did not live in the neighborhood, police said.The woman then ran up to a resident pulling into her driveway and prevented her from getting out of her vehicle, witnesses told the station. She then pulled the victim out and began hitting her with a stick.The victim screamed for help, prompting neighbors to come outside, one of whom had a handgun, the station reported.The wo...

Caretaker arrested in connection with deaths of two elderly California women

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:50:57 GMT

A caretaker has been arrested in connection with the deaths of two women at a Diamond Bar home Saturday morning, June 24, authorities said.Jianchun Li, 40, was employed and lived at a home on the 23800 block of Sapphire Canyon Road where the women were found just past 8 a.m. Saturday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a Saturday evening update.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Police investigate deadly overnight shooting in Oakland Crime and Public Safety | 2 women believed to be victims of a homicide are ID’d by Fresno County coroner Crime and Public Safety | Bay Area man convicted of killing two cops wants you to know he’s not a snitch Crime and Public Safety | Goat herder discovers human remains near Oakland Zoo Crime and Public Safety | Teen charged with murder and robbery in the death of Oakland baker Jen Angel, whose friends called for ‘restorative justice’ af...

Jumbo-Visma unveils Tour de France squad focused on helping Vingegaard retain his title

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:50:57 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard will be backed by some of the best riders in the world as he bids to retain his title.Team Jumbo-Visma’s selection of riders for cycling’s biggest race was unveiled Monday. It provides a well-balanced roster of experience and huge talent that will offer Vingegaard close protection on the flat, and crucial assistance in the mountains. Wout van Aert, Dylan van Baarle, Sepp Kuss, Tiesj Benoot, Christophe Laporte, Nathan Van Hooydonck and Wilco Kelderman will be supporting Vingegaard.The Tour starts Saturday at the Spanish city of Bilbao.“We exceeded our wildest dreams last year with six stage victories, the polka dot jersey, and most importantly, the green and yellow jersey,” sports director Merijn Zeeman said. “This year we are dreaming big, too. Our ambition is to bring the yellow jersey back to Paris. We have a super strong team led by our leader Jonas Vingegaard, and we believe in our plan.”The Dutch team ha...

Rothesay International Results

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:50:57 GMT

MondayAt Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis ClubEastbourne, Great BritainPurse: €723,655Surface: GrassEASTBOURNE, GREAT BRITAIN (AP) _ Results Monday from Rothesay International at Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club (seedings in parentheses):Men’s SinglesRound of 32Sebastian Baez, Argentina, def. Nuno Borges, Portugal, 6-3, 6-4.Jeffrey John Wolf, United States, def. Tomas Martin Etcheverry (6), Argentina, 6-2, 6-4.Source

Las ganancias del precio del petróleo se desvanecen, pero el gas y el trigo suben después del fin de semana de agitación en Rusia con el Grupo Wagner

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:50:57 GMT

(CNN) — Los precios del petróleo estuvieron estables este lunes, mientras que los precios del gas natural y el trigo subieron a medida que los inversores reaccionaron a la breve y caótica insurrección del fin de semana en Rusia.Los mercados se centraron en gran medida en si la agitación en Moscú podría interrumpir el suministro mundial de materias primas. Rusia es el segundo mayor exportador mundial de petróleo y el mayor exportador de trigo.Los futuros del petróleo crudo de EE.UU. subieron brevemente un 1,3%, antes de renunciar a esas ganancias y negociar sin cambios. El crudo Brent, el punto de referencia internacional, también cambió poco después de ganar un 0,6% anteriormente. Ambos contratos perdieron casi un 4% la semana pasada.“Dado que el evento de corta duración de este fin de semana en Rusia parece haber terminado, no esperamos ver un aumento tan significativo en los precios del petróleo”, escribieron los analistas de Rystad Energy en una nota.“Sin embargo, creemos q...