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California man pleads guilty to murder for life sentence, hopes federal prison will provide care for ‘extreme and debilitating’ back pain

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:12 GMT

SACRAMENTO — After years of waiting and failed petitions to the court, Brant “Two Scoops” Daniel now has a path towards receiving surgery for his “extreme and debilitating” back pain and a lipoma on his head.All he had to do was plead guilty to murder.In a Sacramento federal courtroom Wednesday morning, Daniel finalized his guilty plea on charges that he murdered 36-year-old Zachary Scott on a Salinas Valley State Prison yard on Oct. 29, 2016, a stabbing prosecutors say Daniel committed to maintain or improve his standing in the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. His defense team says they were ready to fight the charge in a February 2024 trial, but that Daniel changed his plea to spare his family the stress and clear a path to hopefully receiving surgery in federal prison.Days before Daniel changed his plea, his attorneys filed court paperwork seeking hurry along sentencing process, indicating Daniel will not try to argue against his mandatory life sentenc...

Bay Area arts: 8 cool live shows to see this holiday weekend

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:12 GMT

From the sublime Chanticleer Christmas show to Anita Baker and a Panto “Sleeping Beauty,” there are some terrific shows to see this weekend in the Bay Area. Here’s a look.Chanticleer cheer continesAs the story goes, Bay Area singer and musicology student Louis A. Botto was looking to address the Bay Area’s relative lack of Renaissance-era choral music performances when he assembled a group of like-minded vocalists in his San Francisco dining room. The resulting choir, Chanticleer, made its debut in San Francisco’s Mission Dolores in June 1978 and has gone on to become one of the Bay Area’s most cherished choral groups, one that has won worldwide acclaim for its stirring and glorious vocal performances. The group has since broadened its repertoire to embrace a wide range of international music styles; commissioned more than 90 premieres from more than 70 composers; and performed a fully staged opera, “Curlew River,” by Benjamin Britten. The group, which trains and t...

Illegally grown cocoa from Nigeria is entering the supply chain

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:12 GMT

By Taiwo Adebayo | Associated PressOMO FOREST RESERVE, Nigeria — Men in dusty workwear trudge through a thicket, making their way up a hill where sprawling plantations lay tucked in a Nigerian rainforest whose trees have been hacked away to make room for cocoa bound for places like Europe and the U.S.Kehinde Kumayon and his assistant clear low bushes that compete for sunlight with their cocoa trees, which have replaced the lush and dense natural foliage. The farmers swing their machetes, careful to avoid the ripening yellow pods containing beans that will help create chocolate, the treat shoppers are snapping up for Christmas.Over the course of two visits and several days, The Associated Press repeatedly documented farmers harvesting cocoa beans where that work is banned in conservation areas of Omo Forest Reserve, a protected tropical rainforest 135 kilometers (84 miles) northeast of the coastal city of Lagos in southwestern Nigeria.Trees here rustle as dwindling herds of criticall...

Mountain View: Two teens suffer major injuries after car crashes into tree

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:12 GMT

MOUNTAIN VIEW — Police said Tuesday that two teens suffered major injuries when their vehicle crashed into a tree in Mountain View.Reports of the crash came to dispatchers around 10 a.m. Tuesday. Upon arrival, officers found a car lodged against a tree in the driveway of a home near the area of Sonia Way and Miramonte Avenue, police said.JUST IN: We are at the scene of a collision at the intersection of Sonia Way and Miramonte Avenue. Traffic is currently shut down in both directions while we investigate. Please expect traffic delays in the area and seek alternate routes if feasible. pic.twitter.com/Ssn2HPH5t6— Mountain View Police (@MountainViewPD) December 19, 2023There were three teenagers at the scene and all were transported to a hospital. At least two of them suffered major injuries, according to police.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Panera ‘charged lemonade’ deaths put renewed focus on energy drink safety Crashes and Disasters | Arres...

Housing woes, economy leave shelters full of abandoned pets

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:12 GMT

By Michael Hill | Associated PressMENANDS, N.Y. — Kaine is a big, buoyant dog looking for a home. But lately, he’s spending a lot of time at the office.Animal shelters around the U.S. are bursting at the seams amid the rising cost of living, so the gray and white 7-year-old has been staying in a worker’s office at the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society while awaiting adoption.The shelter near Albany, New York, is “beyond full,” said CEO Ashley Jeffrey Bouck. That means Kaine — along with his crate, dog bed and chewy toys — has to share space with a staffer, a desk and file cabinets.“He is one of our ‘office fosters’ as we’re calling it,” Bouck said as she visited Kaine’s office recently. “They are here all day and all night. They are not going into a kennel because we don’t have a kennel for them to go into.”The number of animals entering shelters began to climb in 2021, after a pandemic-related dip. Adoptions h...

Serial Bay Area shoplifter arrested 90 times

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:12 GMT

PLEASANT HILL, Calif. (KRON) -- With handcuffs around his wrists, December started out typical for Jesse Leonardo Otero. Getting nabbed by police for shoplifting is part of Otero's regular routine. The habitual serial shoplifter looked surprised during his most recent arrest in Pleasant Hill, however, when something out-of-the-ordinary happened. A KRON4 news reporter held up a camera and asked, "Jesse, don't you get sick of getting arrested?" Otero, 44, appeared to be at a loss for words, other than spewing vulgarities at the reporter. "What the f**k?" he said. Otero has been arrested 90 times over the years. The homeless man is well known to East Bay law enforcement officers, and like other repeat offenders, he survives by stealing from stores.Jesse Otero swears at a news reporter while he is arrested in Pleasant Hill on Dec. 8, 2023. (KRON4 Photo) Otero is a troubled man who supports his drug addiction by trespassing, shoplifting, and selling stolen property, police said. He is ap...

Oregon State, Washington State eye affiliate membership in West Coast Conference, AP sources say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:12 GMT

Oregon State and Washington State are working on a deal to become affiliate members of the West Coast Conference for basketball and other Olympic sports for two years, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Wednesday.A deal could be done as soon as this week, according to the people who spoke on condition of anonymity because details had not been finalized. WCC university presidents were expected to meet by Thursday to consider the proposed arrangement, which was first reported by CBS Sports.Earlier this month, Oregon State and Washington State announced a football scheduling agreement with the Mountain West Conference for next season as they try to survive the collapse of the Pac-12, with the other 10 schools all leaving for other leagues next summer. The Beavers and Cougars will play six football games against Mountain West opponents and pay the league $14 million as part of the scheduling agreement,.The schools had discussions about expanding the ...

Airman killed in Osprey crash remembered as a leader and friend to many

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:12 GMT

DALTON, Mass. (AP) — A U.S. Air Force staff sergeant from Massachusetts who was one of eight service members lost when a CV-22 Osprey crashed off the coast of Japan was remembered at his funeral on Wednesday as outstanding and a leader and a friend to many. Jake Galliher, 24, of Pittsfield, was a husband and dad, a brother and son, with bright plans for the future, said the Rev. Christopher Malatesta at the service at the St, Agnes Parish in Dalton.“The Air Force has core values. Jake had those values. Integrity first, service before self, excellence in all that we do,” Malatesta said. “The Air Force has defined in Jake what most of us already knew: He was outstanding and spectacular. He was fun and loveable. He was truly honorable.”Galliher’s remains were the first to be found after the Osprey went down Nov. 29 during a training mission just off Yakushima Island in southwestern Japan. A week later, the U.S. military grounded all its Osprey V-22 aircraft after a preliminary i...

Encuentran en Roma un mosaico de 2.300 años de antigüedad hecho con conchas y corales

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:12 GMT

(CNN) — Una excavación de cinco años en la ladera del Monte Palatino de Roma arrojó un tesoro la semana pasada cuando los arqueólogos descubrieron una sala de banquetes de lujo que data alrededor del siglo I o II a. C., con un mosaico de pared de tamaño considerable, intacto y de colores brillantes.Se estima que la obra tiene alrededor de 2.300 años y forma parte de una mansión aristocrática más grande, ubicada cerca del Foro Romano, que ha estado bajo excavación desde 2018.Con casi cinco metros de largo y con representaciones de enredaderas, hojas de loto, tridentes, trompetas, cascos y criaturas marinas mitológicas, la escena del mosaico fue creada minuciosamente usando nácar, conchas, corales, fragmentos de vidrio precioso y motas de mármol. La pieza está enmarcada por cristales policromados, travertino esponjoso y exóticos azulejos azules del antiguo Egipto.Lo que hace que este descubrimiento sea “incomparable”, dijo la arqueóloga Alfonsina Russo, jefa del Parq...

Stock market today: Wall Street slams the brakes for a rare slowdown following record-setting rally

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:12 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street slammed the brakes on its big rally following disappointing profit reports from companies and warnings that the market had simply gone too far, too fast. The S&P 500 fell 1.5% Wednesday for its worst loss since beginning a monster-sized run shortly before Halloween. The Dow dropped 1.3% from its record high, while the Nasdaq composite sank 1.5%. FedEx tumbled after cutting its revenue forecast. Weakness for FedEx could damage hopes that the economy can conquer high inflation without a recession. But a pair of economic reports were also stronger than expected, and a cooler-than-expected report on U.K inflation helped Treasury yields ease.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street’s monster-sized rally since Halloween is easing off the accelerator Wednesday following mixed reports showing disappointing profits at companies but unexpected strength for the economy. The S&P 500 fell 0.8% after shedding ...