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Man sentenced for anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime in Kansas City

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City man was sentenced Thursday to nearly 22 years in federal prison for committing a hate crime when he shot and wounded a teenager because of the victim's sexual orientation, prosecutors said.Malachi Robinson, 25, pleaded guilty in July to violating federal hate crime laws when he shot the 16-year-old eight times on May 29, 2019. He was sentenced Thursday to 21 years and 10 months in federal prison without parole.The teenager survived after spending two weeks in the hospital but underwent several surgeries and physical therapy and still has bullets in his body, prosecutors said. Top Story: Severe storms possible Thursday afternoon and evening Court documents said the two met by chance and were walking near Swope Park when Robinson suggested they go into a wooded area to engage in a sex act. But Robinson wrote separately to his girlfriend that he “might shoot this boy” because of his sexual orientation.When the teenager changed his mind and tried ...

A’s break fans’ hearts again with Vegas relocation news

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

By JANIE McCAULEY (AP Baseball Writer)OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Ryan Thibodaux arrived in the Bay Area in 1995 from Texas and instantly became a fan of the Oakland Athletics. The one-time Astros fan cheered slugger Mark McGwire, who hit 52 home runs the following year. He saw the glory days of Dave Stewart and Dennis Eckersley; of Eric Chavez, Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada; of $2 BART rides and bargain bleacher seats in the third deck. The A’s “converted me over pretty quickly,” he said. All these years later, Thibodaux and many Oakland fans already were heartbroken about the state of their struggling team — small crowds, bad baseball and dismal winters watching top players being traded away or lost in free agency. Now, the greatest disappointment yet: Yes, the A’s are leaving for Las Vegas. “This has seemed to be inevitable for a year or so, at least,” Thibodaux said Thursday. “I’m still more saddened than I thought I would ...

Dan Bongino, ‘Unfiltered’ Fox News host, leaving network

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News is parting ways with weekend host Dan Bongino, after the former Secret Service agent turned conservative pundit said Thursday they couldn’t agree on a new contract.“It’s not some big conspiracy,” Bongino said on his podcast. “There’s no acrimony. This wasn’t like some WWE brawl that happened. We just couldn’t come to terms on an extension.”Bongino hosted the Saturday night show “Unfiltered” and said that while he was given the chance to do a last show this weekend, he decided against it.The blunt-talking former New York police officer began doing commentary on Fox a decade ago, joining as a contributor in 2019 and beginning his Saturday night show in 2021.His “Canceled in the USA” program on Fox Nation will also end, and the streaming service will no longer air his daily radio show. Bongino may still appear as a guest on Fox shows, the network said.“We thank Dan for his...

Denver isn’t tracking how much it spends responding to homeless encampments, city auditor finds

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

Denver does such an insufficient job of tracking how much money it spends on enforcing its camping ban, cleaning up homeless encampments and conducting street outreach to unhoused people that the city auditor’s office says it had to do its own math.Using numbers provided by 10 city agencies, Denver Auditor Tim O’Brien and his staff found that from the beginning of 2019 through June 2022, the city spent an estimated $13.65 million responding to encampments, including $8.18 million on outreach and $2.49 million to regularly clean up, or sweep, those settlements and move residents on to other places.But O’Brien emphasized, as part of a report released Thursday by the Denver Auditor’s Office, that the estimate is likely well below actual spending because it doesn’t include figures from the Denver Police Department and most agencies did not provide a full 3½ years of expenses.“Members of the community on every side of this issue have been asking for tr...

Denver attorney Michael Sawaya publicly censured after romantic, business relationship with client

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

Longtime Denver personal injury attorney Michael Sawaya was publicly censured this week over professional misconduct connected to a business deal he made with a client with whom he had a romantic relationship, according to state disciplinary records.Sawaya was publicly disciplined for failing to give his client a written cost estimate and for entering into a business deal with the client while representing him in the same matter, according to a summary of the case published by the Office of Presiding Disciplinary Judge, which handles professional discipline for attorneys in Colorado.“From time to time lawyers just don’t quite realize what would be considered an unethical activity,” Sawaya said Thursday. “I’d been practicing for 45 years. I just didn’t realize how this would appear to someone. It’s a very technical ethical issue about when, if there is an arguable interest that you’ve taken in someone’s case, that you have to specifically have them sign off on that....

2 men wrongly convicted in 2004 Lancaster shooting declared innocent

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

Two men who served nearly 17 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of attempted murder were declared innocent Thursday by a California judge. Under a new law, the state is required to pay them each $140 for every day they spent behind bars, or about $900,000.The verdicts for Dupree Glass and Juan Rayford concluded a new trial that began in October after a state appeals court panel vacated their convictions and they were freed in 2020. The trial included a dramatic confession by the actual shooter, Chad Brandon McZeal, a gang member who’s serving a life sentence for murder in an unrelated case, the defense team said.After the judge ruled, the men hugged each other and their attorneys. Outside the courthouse, the men were cheered by family members and supporters. Rayford, clutching his baby daughter, called it an “amazing” feeling to have their records finally wiped clean and their reputations restored.“I thought about this day for so long. I thought about it when I was locked...

Your savings account should be earning 5%. It isn't

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

After nine rate hikes over the last year, interest rates for savings accounts should be at the highest level in 15 years -- close to 5%.Chances are, you aren't earning anywhere close to that.More likely you're earning closer to the average 0.39% being offered by many big banks.Less than half of 1%.What's up with that?To put it bluntly, big banks don't need your money -- they're flush with cash. So they have no incentive to raise savings rates in tandem with the Federal Reserve's rate increases.Oh, they'll charge top dollar for loans. The average interest rate for credit card balances is now about 24%.But savings? Bupkis.If you want the best rate for savings, you'll probably have to look past big banks.Check out savings accounts offered by American Express or newfangled offerings from tech companies such as Apple, which is offering a 4.15% rate.For the best deal for savings, you may want to look to money market accounts. They offer many of the features of savings accounts with the fl...

Hemet Police Department begins using drones in trial program

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

The Hemet Police Department announced Wednesday that it launched the new Drone as a First Responder program which aims to provide law enforcement with essential information when responding to emergencies.The drone will be equipped with video cameras to provide aerial coverage of an incident for officers on the ground. The drone will also “provide detailed documentation of crime and accident scenes and search for lost or missing persons,” a news release said.  “The concept is to utilize a UAS to fly to any reported emergency and arrive before police officers on the ground. An Air Support Officer will operate the UAS remotely and immediately communicate with field personnel via radio,” Alan Reyes, a department spokesperson, said in a statement. LAPD may no longer send armed officers to these police calls “The video feed is also immediately available to every officer in the field via vehicle computer or smartphone application, so officers can see for themselves what they are res...

Oakland A's could move to Las Vegas before new ballpark is constructed

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

The Oakland Athletics, soon to be the Las Vegas A's, could have a temporary home in southern Nevada ahead of the construction of a billion-dollar baseball stadium west of the Las Vegas Strip, Dave Kaval, president of the organization told 8newsnow.com Thursday."We have an agreement with the Aviators ... to play at their stadium temporarily," Kaval said, referring to the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators who play at Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin. "We're really deferring to Major League Baseball to kind of help us make that decision."Kaval said the Aviators, an A's affiliate, will be staying in the area."It's going to be like the Golden Knights and the Silver Knights," said Kaval. "Having two teams in town at the same time. It's going to be great for player development."Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin, Nevada (Las Vegas Aviators)The new ballparkKaval said the team finalized a deal last week to buy a 49-acre site across from T-Mobile Arena next to the Las Vegas Strip where the A’s plan to ...

Five-bedroom home sells in Pleasanton for $2.3 million

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:10:37 GMT

8354 Moller Ranch Drive – Google Street ViewA spacious house located in the 8300 block of Moller Ranch Drive in Pleasanton has new owners. The 3,339-square-foot property, built in 1998, was sold on March 15, 2023. The $2,275,000 purchase price works out to $681 per square foot. The property features five bedrooms, three baths, a garage, and three parking spaces. It sits on an 8,407-square-foot lot.These nearby houses have also recently changed hands:A 2,056-square-foot home on the 8100 block of Moller Ranch Drive in Pleasanton sold in January 2023, for $1,460,000, a price per square foot of $710. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Knollbrook Drive, Pleasanton, in September 2022, a 2,003-square-foot home was sold for $1,550,000, a price per square foot of $774. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In July 2022, a 4,337-square-foot home on Laurel Creek Drive in Pleasanton sold for $3,100,000, a price per square foot of $715. The home has 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms.