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Police start enforcing homeless encampment ban

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The anti-street camping ordinance targeting homeless encampments has now gone into effect in the city of San Diego. Five officers spent Monday morning contacting homeless campers in Balboa Park warning them they are breaking the rules, offering assistance and then ultimately removing their camps. Several people were detained because of prior warrants; others were simply warned.  “It’s not acceptable to be out here living on the streets. It’s not safe, it’s not safe for the individual and it’s not safe for the community,” said Capt. Shawn Takeuchi with San Diego Police Department.   12-year-old paddleboarder killed in Mission Bay crash The ordinance prioritizes ending encampments in parks and near schools first. Homeless advocates say the new action is the talk of the homeless community, who is wondering where to go next. “The ordinance is from downtown all the way over to Old Town and now people are heading to the beaches,” said Mama Heather, a homeless advocate....

How to visit Cabrillo National Monument for free this week

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- All national parks in the U.S. will be free of charge on Friday, Aug. 4.The reason: to honor the third anniversary of the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act, legislation that provides money to better infrastructure as well as more recreation opportunities in national parks and other public lands.So what that means locally is that visitors will be able to visit Cabrillo National Monument at no cost.The national monument at 1800 Cabrillo Memorial Drive in Point Loma honors Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo's voyage of exploration. In 1542, the soldier and explorer became the first European to set foot on what is now the West Coast of the U.S., according to the park's website. Padres fans reach new high after breaking record for sellout games The national monument offers breathtaking views of the San Diego area, and features access to tidepools, the Old Point Loma Lighthouse and a statue of Cabrillo himself.After Aug. 4, there will be two more free entrance days: National Public Lan...

Lawyers for tech consultant Nima Momeni say he was not angry with slain Cash App founder Bob Lee

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Attorneys for Nima Momeni, the tech consultant charged in the death of Cash App founder Bob Lee, said Monday that the two men had a cordial relationship and the defendant had no reason to kill him. The comments from Momeni’s lawyers came during a preliminary hearing, where the prosecution presents its evidence and a judge decides if there is enough to move ahead to trial. The hearing will continue Tuesday, when Momeni’s defense is expected to lay out more of their arguments. Prosecutors have said that Momeni, 38, planned the April 4 attack that left Lee dying on a desolate San Francisco street. They said he drove Lee to a secluded spot and stabbed him three times after a dispute related to Momeni’s sister, Khazar. But Tony Brass, one of four defense attorneys present Monday, said it was not Lee but another man whom Momeni suspected of acting inappropriately with his younger sister. “What you see is cordial, a cordial relationship between Nima Momeni ...

Ontario police groups, legal advocates call for different approaches to proposed bail reform

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

Days after new federal Attorney General Arif Virani was sworn-in as part of a wide-ranging cabinet shuffle, police associations in Ontario are calling for legislation on bail reform to be strengthened while legal advocates are calling for an alternative approach.Throughout the past several months, we’ve seen higher-profile instances of violent crime such as the death of on-duty OPP Const. Grzegorz (Greg) Pierzchala south of Hamilton, a life-threatening stabbing onboard a TTC Line 1 train by Eglinton station and an arson at an apartment in Toronto’s east end.Suspects in the cases were arrested and the charges haven’t been proven in court, but all of the cases along with several others allegedly involved people out on bail. The body of incidents have been cited by many in the public safety sector as a need for bail reform.Among those leading the charge locally is the Toronto Police Association. President Jon Reid said his organization is involved since an incident where two offi...

Phoenix has ended 31-day streak of highs at or above 110 degrees as rains ease a Southwest heat wave

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — A record string of daily highs over 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) in Phoenix ended Monday as the dangerous heat wave that suffocated the Southwest throughout July receded slightly with cooling monsoon rains.The historic heat began blasting the region in June, stretching from Texas across New Mexico and Arizona and into California’s desert. Phoenix and its suburbs sweltered more and longer than most, with several records including the 31 consecutive days of 110 degrees Fahrenheit-plus (43.4 degrees Celsius) weather. The previous record was 18 straight days, set in 1974. The streak was finally broken Monday, when the high topped out at 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42.2 Celsius) at 3:10 p.m. “The high temperature for Phoenix today is 108 degrees,” Jessica Leffel, meteorologist for the National Weather Service, said at 5 p.m. “The record streak of 31 straight days of 110+ degree temperatures has ended.,” the weather service said on social media. “The high tempe...

New wildfire near Spokane, Washington, prompts mandatory evacuations

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A fast-moving wildfire that ignited near Spokane Monday is prompting mandatory evacuations, Washington state officials said. The West Hallett Fire started about 1:30 p.m. about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) southwest of Spokane and had high potential for growth, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources said.At least 20 homes are threatened. Some people in the area were told to evacuate immediately, with others warned to be set to leave, KREM-TV reported. Fourteen planes were dropping water and retardant on the flames, which had burned more than 200 acres (81 hectares) by about 5:30 p.m., DNR officials said. No structure loss has been reported, officials said.The American Red Cross opened a shelter Monday afternoon at Cheney High School.The Associated Press

Hearing on hot-button education issues signals Nebraska conservatives’ plans for next year

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Just two months after one of Nebraska’s most contentious legislative sessions, lawmakers signaled Monday that more angry debate is likely next year over legislation to determine how schools deal with race, LGBTQ+ issues and other hot-button issues that have proved divisive in other Republican-controlled states like Florida.Sen. Dave Murman, the conservative chairman of the Nebraska Legislature’s Education Committee, held a hearing that mostly discussed the use in schools of social-emotional learning, or SEL, that has become a lightning rod among conservatives who say schools use it to promote progressive ideas about race, gender and sexuality, and that a focus on students’ well-being takes attention away from academics.The decades-old concept seeks to teach students how to manage their emotions, make good decisions, share and collaborate. But several witnesses invited by Murman made far-fetched claims that it’s being used to teach critical race...

Man gets 40 years for prison escape bid months before expected release date from 7-year sentence

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

PEARL, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi man was sentenced Monday to 40 years in state prison for breaking out of a correctional facility and holding two people at gunpoint last year, just months before he was to have completed a seven-year sentence. Shunekndrick Huffman, 21, pleaded guilty to two counts of kidnapping and a circuit court judge sentenced him to 40 years in state prison, Rankin County District Attorney Bubba Bramlett said Monday. Huffman, who escaped from the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility in August 2022, had nearly completed the seven-year sentence for aggravated assault with an expected release date in December of that year.After Huffman fled the prison, he broke into a nearby home and held three people at gunpoint for hours, according to authorities. They said Huffman then stole a car from one of those held hostage before crashing it and fleeing on foot. He was later found hiding in a trash can and captured two miles (3.2 kilometers) from the prison, WLBT-TV re...

Brightly flashing ‘X’ sign removed from the San Francisco building that was Twitter’s headquarters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A brightly flashing “X” sign has been removed from the San Francisco headquarters of the company formerly known as Twitter just days after it was installed.The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection said Monday it received 24 complaints about the unpermitted structure over the weekend. Complaints included concerns about its structural safety and illumination. The Elon Musk-owned company, which has been rebranded as X, had removed the Twitter sign and iconic blue bird logo from the building last week. That work was temporarily paused because the company did not have the necessary permits. For a time, the “er” at the end of “Twitter” remained up due to the abrupt halt of the sign takedown. The city of San Francisco had opened a complaint and launched an investigation into the giant “X” sign, which was installed Friday on top of the downtown building as Musk continues his rebrand of the social media platform.The chaotic rebrand of Twitter’s building ...

Oklahoma parents, faith leaders and education group sue to stop US’s first public religious school

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:52 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A group of parents, faith leaders and a public education nonprofit sued Monday to stop Oklahoma from establishing and funding what would be the nation’s first religious public charter school.The lawsuit filed in Oklahoma County District Court seeks to stop taxpayer funds from going to the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School. The Statewide Virtual Charter School Board voted 3-2 last month to approve the application by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City to establish the school, and the board and its members are among those listed as defendants.The vote came despite a warning from Oklahoma’s Republican attorney general that such a school would violate both state law and the Oklahoma Constitution.The Rev. Lori Walke, senior minister at Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City and one of the plaintiffs in the case, said she joined the lawsuit because she believes strongly in religious freedom.“Creating a religious public charter school is no...