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Senators fight over control of St. Louis police, prosecutor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:52 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri's governor would play a major role in St. Louis policing and prosecution under a bill praised by Republicans as a way to fight crime and criticized by Democrats as an attempt to take away local control from the Black-led city.Debate on the bill, which would give the governor the power to appoint a special prosecutor for five years along with a police board, is expected to last hours Tuesday in the GOP-led Senate.Republican lawmakers are pushing the legislation in the name of fighting crime in St. Louis — a racially diverse, heavily Democratic city long vexed by violent crime. They blame crime on the city's first Black prosecutor, Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, as well as 10 years of local control of the city's police force. 6 deaths in Illinois dust storm, police need help identifying 2 victims “While there are certainly differences of opinions in this chamber as to the causes of violent crime in the city of St. Louis, there can be no doubt that ...

Rocky Mountain National Park to move to cashless fee collection next month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:52 GMT

Beginning on June 1, Rocky Mountain National Park will transition to a fully cashless fee system and only accept mobile or electronic payments for entrance and permit fees. Visitors who are only able to pay with cash may purchase a prepaid pass from the Rocky Mountain Conservancy Nature Store at Beaver Meadows, Fall River or Kawuneeche Visitor Centers.Entrance fees are an important source of revenue used to improve the visitor experience in national parks, including road and facility repairs and maintenance, trail improvements, installation of accessible exhibits, visitor and resource protection services and more.Related ArticlesOutdoors | Rocky Mountain National Park announces summer seasonal Hiker Shuttle operations begin May 26 Outdoors | Yet another hassle awaits Rocky Mountain National Park visitors this year Moving to a cashless system allows parks to be better stewards of visitor dollars by reducing the amount of time park staff spend managing ...

3 victims in single-engine plane crash in Big Bear identified 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:52 GMT

The three passengers who were killed when the small plane they were on crashed in Big Bear on Monday have been identified. The three passengers have been identified as 60-year-old Stormie Seibold of Temecula, 62-year-old Jimmy Fitzpatrick of Perris and 79-year-old Robert Carty of Lake Havasu, Arizona.Crews arrived on the scene at the corner of Paradise Way and Maltby Boulevard in Big Bear around 2 p.m. on Monday after a crash was reported there. The single-engine Beechcraft A36 crashed in a small field about one mile east of Big Bear Airport, which, according to preliminary investigation from the NTSB, is thought to be the plane’s destination. No one on the ground was injured. “There was no fire and no structural damage, which is pretty amazing considering how many houses are in that area,” Battalion Chief Luke Wagner of the Big Bear Fire Department said. Sky5 view of the plane crash scene in Big Bear, California. May 1, 2023. (KTLA)Sky5 view of the plane crash ...

Did a woman really have a 'full body orgasm' during an L.A. Phil performance? Accounts differ

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:52 GMT

A different kind of crescendo highlighted a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony at the Los Angeles Philharmonic on Friday.Those attending the symphony at Walt Disney Concert Hall reported hearing a woman in the audience moaning as if she were having an orgasm, the L.A. Times first reported.Magnus Fiennes, a composer and music producer, was among the witnesses.“A woman in the audience had loud and full body orgasm during the 5th's second movement,” Fiennes tweeted. “(The) band politely carried on.”Twitter user @LoneWolfTronCat posted a recording of the moaning.Sharon Su, a classical pianist, tweeted that she checked with someone who works at the L.A. Phil and they "confirmed” the incident occurred.But what exactly happened is still open to debate.One audience member who was seated near the moaning woman offered this account:“Pretty quickly, she sort of fell onto her partner’s shoulders, and then onto his lap. And then her body went limp,” the concertgoer, who requested a...

LA Weekly and Geojam’s Desert Parties Were for the Ages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:52 GMT

The Coachella valley was bustling the last two weekends with the official start of festival season, and LA Weekly and Geojam brought the heat, lighting up the desert with parties that kept guests grooving, the drinks flowing and the vibes pulsing — all weekend long.The parties were hosted by world-renowned skater Nyjah Huston, who manned the DJ table, along with special musical guests DJ Pee Wee (Anderson .Paak), Autograf, Greg Gatsby and AMÉMÉ, keeping attendees dancing til the break of dawn. (Huston is an investor in Geojam and LA Weekly.)Nyjah Huston. Photo by Jared Ayotte @jaredayotteThe attending were a list of who’s-who including Tyga, Coi Leray, Lil Nas X, Sway Lee, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Trevor Wallace, Yung Pinch, Benny Blanco, SG Lewis, Surf Mesa, Isaak Presley, Lewis Hamilton, Anderson .Paak, Pink Pantheress and Damian Lillard, just to name a few.All weekend, guests were treated to sundries and gifts from premium brands, making sure they were fed, quenched, pampered and ...

Victim found shot in East Oakland shopping center parking lot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:52 GMT

OAKLAND — A person was shot Tuesday afternoon in an East Oakland shopping center parking lot, authorities said.Shortly before 4:15 p.m., police responded to a report of a possible shooting in the 3900 block of Alameda Avenue, a police spokesperson said in an emailed statement.When officers arrived, they found a person suffering from gunshot wounds to a leg in the lot between Home Depot and 24 Hour Fitness.First responders provided care to the victim before taking them to a hospital. The victim’s condition was not immediately available Tuesday evening.Police did not share information about a possible motive, any shooting suspects or an associated vehicle, or disclose any possible connection to recent attempts by armed suspects to take personal property from victims, as mentioned in a police advisory to residents last month.For information leading to the arrest of a suspect, police are offering up to $5,000. Anyone with information may call police at 510-238-3426 or Crime ...

Palo Alto: Teen arrested on suspicion of arson

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:52 GMT

PALO ALTO – A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of setting a fire that heavily damaged two classrooms at a Palo Alto community center, police said Tuesday.Firefighters were first called just after midnight Sunday to the Cubberley Community Center at 4000 Middlefield Road for a report of a fire alarm, according to the Palo Alto Police Department. They checked the area but did not find a fire.Roughly 50 minutes later, a passerby reported seeing and smelling smoke at the community center, police said. Firefighters returned and found a fire burning in the B-wing.Crews contained the blaze. No injuries were reported.An initial investigation revealed the fire had been set adjacent to a pair of classrooms operated by the Palo Alto Unified School District for post-secondary classes, according to police. The fire then spread and severely damaged the classrooms.Police and fire investigators, along with district officials, identified a 16-year-old boy as a suspect in the case, poli...

Judge rejects Rep. Zephyr’s bid to return to Montana House floor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:52 GMT

By Amy Beth Hanson and Matthew Brown | Associated PressHELENA, Mont. — Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the transgender Montana lawmaker silenced after telling Republicans they would have blood on their hands for opposing gender-affirming health care for kids, was barred from returning to the statehouse House floor in a Tuesday court ruling that came just hours before the Legislature planned to wrap up its biennial session.District Court Judge Mike Menahan said it was outside his authority to overrule lawmakers and return Zephyr to the House floor. He cited the importance of preserving the Constitution’s separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches.“Plaintiffs’ requested relief would require this Court to interfere with legislative authority in a manner that exceeds this Court’s authority,” Menahan wrote in his ruling.Attorneys for the state of Montana had asked the judge to reject an emergency motion from Zephyr’s lawyers chall...

Boy arrested after fire burns 2 classrooms at Palo Alto community center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:52 GMT

(KRON) -- A 16-year-old boy was arrested after he was accused of setting a fire that burned two classrooms at Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto. The Palo Alto Police Department said the boy also set a small fire at an elementary school's picnic table.The Palo Alto Fire Department responded to the community center, located at 4000 Middlefield Road, just after midnight on Sunday after its fire alarm went off. Crews originally did not discover the fire, but at 12:53 a.m. a passerby reported seeing smoke. Man who allegedly cut someone’s face with box cutter on BART arrested The fire department returned and extinguished a fire burning in the B-Wing of the community center. PAPD said that an investigation revealed that the fire had been set intentionally adjacent to two classrooms. The fire "severely damaged" the two classrooms, which are used for post-secondary education classes by the Palo Alto school district.Police and fire investigators worked with the school district to ide...

Mets-Tigers series-opening game postponed due to rain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:10:52 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — The New York Mets and Detroit Tigers were rained out on Tuesday night.The series-opening game was postponed about an hour after the scheduled start. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Wednesday.New York Mets star pitchers Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer are returning to the mound in the series against one of their former teams.The 40-year-old Verlander is scheduled to make his Mets debut on Thursday against the Tigers, who drafted the right-hander No. 2 overall in 2004 and traded him to Houston in 2017. Verlander’s season-opening start was delayed due to a back injury.The 38-year-old Scherzer is due to pitch Wednesday night for the first time since April 19, when he was ejected for violating MLB’s foreign substance policy. Scherzer, who pitched for the Tigers from 2010-14 before signing with Washington, is returning from a 10-game suspension.Mets left-hander Joey Lucchesi and Tigers left-hander Joey Wentz are scheduled to start in the first game of the ...