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Aurora officers justified in shooting of man on RTD bus, DA says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:23 GMT

Four members of the Aurora Police Department will not face criminal charges for their role in the fatal shooting of a man on an RTD bus last year.Brian Mason, the 17th Judicial District Attorney, determined two officers were justified in using deadly force and two others were justified in using physical force on Alexander Collins, 35, who had just allegedly robbed a convenience store with a large knife.Collins’ “refusal to obey commands and his actions with a deadly weapon caused these officers to make a split-second and, indeed, reasonable judgment in a tense and quickly evolving situation,” Mason wrote in a decision letter to Aurora interim police Chief Art Acevedo.On Oct. 2, 2022, an Arapahoe County sheriff’s deputy was sent to a work-release program facility by Colfax Avenue and Moline Street to pick up Collins, who police said was violating rules and causing a disturbance.When the deputy arrived, he saw Collins armed with a large knife and called for bac...

Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon, feeling strong, off to a hot start

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:23 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Powering pitches over the fence, chasing down flyballs in right field, and running well on the bases, 36-year-old Charlie Blackmon might be on track for a comeback season.Being able to move without pain makes a big difference. Blackmon struggled late last season and it was apparent that he wasn’t moving well because of knee and hamstring issues. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in October.“Like a lot of players, you play through the nagging injuries, like Charlie did,” manager Bud Black said. “But I do think that he didn’t have his legs underneath him. That really affects you, more than you think. You use that lower half to create a foundation to hit. At this level, you need that. It’s the sturdiness of the lower half that creates power. Last year, I think injuries affected Charlie.”In 2021, Blackmon hit a career-low 13 home runs. Last season, he swatted 16 before July 27 but then entered the longest drought of ...

Simi Valley woman identified as second suspect in deadly West Hills shootout

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:23 GMT

A female suspect has been identified in connection with a shootout Saturday at a busy West Hills shopping center that left one person dead, and three others injured, authorities announced Monday.  The shooting happened around 3:45 p.m., with police responding to the scene on reports of gunfire exchanged involving multiple people at a shopping plaza near Fallbrook Avenue and Vanowen Street. A 45-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. A 35-year-old woman, a 35-year-old man and a 45-year-old man were hospitalized in serious or critical condition, LAPD said. After the shootout, police say 34-year-old Mark Connole of Woodland Hills, crashed his vehicle, fled the shooting and was picked up at the location by a female suspect, now identified as 33-year-old Amy Waters of Simi Valley.  “A pursuit ensued by marked police vehicles. Suspect Waters failed to pull over and violated numerous vehicle code violations putting the public at risk,” an LAPD news release state...

Former San Bernardino middle school teacher sentenced to 10 years for sharing child porn online

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:23 GMT

A Fontana man who previously taught math at a middle school in San Bernardino has been sentenced to ten years in prison for sharing child pornography online.Josue Gamaliel Vidal Quintanilla, 31, of Fontana, was sentenced in United States District Court on Monday and was ordered to serve 120 months in prison and pay $9,000 in restitution.Vidal previously worked as a math teacher at Shandin Hills Middle School, and was arrested in 2020 following a monthslong investigation involving the distribution of child pornography.He became the subject of an investigation in late 2019 after law enforcement officers received a tip regarding someone uploading child pornography onto the messaging apps Kik and Snapchat. The images reportedly involved sexually explicit material involving children, the United States Department of Justice said.Authorities tracked the IP address associated with the posts and were able to determine that it had been sent from Vidal's home in Fontana.Over the next year, aut...

Court orders South Bay construction company to stop dumping hazardous waste in Almaden Valley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:23 GMT

A Santa Clara County judge has ordered a San Jose-based construction company to stop dumping hazardous waste on protected agricultural land in rural Almaden Valley, county officials announced Monday.The court decision issued March 30 came in response to a request from Santa Clara County, which conducted an investigation of United Concrete Cutting, Inc. after receiving an anonymous complaint that the company had been pouring liquid concrete into carved-out holes on remote agricultural property.“All too often, we see that companies and people use protected agricultural land — land that is environmentally sensitive and important — for inappropriate industrial uses,” said Tony LoPresti, the chief assistant county counsel for Santa Clara County. “This case is not unique. But it’s a particularly egregious example of that.”The county’s investigation along with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control revealed United Concrete Cutting had crea...

Veto stands: Transgender pronouns OK in N. Dakota schools

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:23 GMT

By Trisha Ahmed | Associated Press/Report for AmericaTeachers in North Dakota can still refer to transgender students by the personal pronouns they use, after lawmakers on Monday failed to override the governor’s veto of a controversial bill to place restrictions on educators.House lawmakers fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to block the veto, days after Republican Gov. Doug Burgum’s office announced the veto and the Senate overrode it.The bill would have prohibited public school teachers and employees from acknowledging the personal pronouns a transgender student uses, unless they received permission from the student’s parents as well as a school administrator. It would have also prohibited government agencies from requiring employees to acknowledge the pronouns a transgender colleagues uses.Republican lawmakers across the U.S. have drafted hundreds of laws this year to push back on LGBTQ+ freedoms, particularly seeking to regulate aspects of transgende...

MLBPA reduces liquid assets after labor deal last spring

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:23 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The baseball players’ association reduced cash, U.S. Treasury securities and investments to $142.4 million on Dec. 31, down from $271.2 million at the start of the year in a decrease typical of the period that follows a collective bargaining agreement.The union increases liquid assets in the years ahead of bargaining in order to have money to distribute to players in the event of a work stoppage. The union made $5.26 million in loans to players of $2,500 to $25,000 each during 2022, listed as licensing advances payable over 36 months. The loans were repaid through a reduction of licensing distributions due in 2022.Union head Tony Clark earned $2.25 million last year, according to the union’s annual disclosure form filed with the U.S. Labor Department, dated March 31. That was the same as his 2021 salary.Bruce Meyer earned $1.36 million, up from $1 million. He was promoted last July to deputy executive director from senior director of collective bargaining and legal.S...

Rendon suspension reduced to 4 games by MLB, appeal dropped

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:23 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon says he is dropping his appeal after his suspension was reduced to four games by Major League Baseball for his interactions with a fan last week.Rendon spoke before the Angels opened a series in Seattle on Monday night and said the league had agreed to reduce his suspension from five games to four. The initial five-game suspension was handed down by MLB senior vice president Michael Hill earlier Monday and the appeal by Rendon was immediate.Rendon’s suspension will begin with Monday’s game and he will sit the entire series against Seattle.“It sucks. My emotions got the best of me. I’m usually pretty good about interacting with fans. Always like to chirp back at them, kind of have fun with it,” Rendon said in his first comments about the incident. Rendon grabbed a fan by the shirt through the bleacher guardrails after Thursday night’s 2-1 loss at Oakland. Rendon looks to have grabbed the fan’s shirt near his c...

Geraldine Brooks, Saeed Jones win Anisfield-Wolf prize

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:23 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Novels by Geraldine Brooks and Lan Samantha Chang and poetry by Saeed Jones are among this year’s winners of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, presented for literature “that confronts racism and explores diversity.” The journalist and activist Charlayne Hunter-Gault was honored for lifetime achievement.Besides Brooks’ “Horse,” Chang’s “The Family Chao” and Jones’ “Alive at the End of the World,” judges also cited Matthew F. Delmont’s nonfiction “Half American: The Epic Story of African Americans Fighting World War II at Home and Abroad,” “These remarkable books deliver groundbreaking insights on race and diversity,” jury chair Henry Louis Gates Jr. said in a statement Monday. “This year, we honor a profound and funny novel (‘The Family Chao’) centered in a Chinese restaurant, a brilliant story (‘Horse’) of 19th-century horseracing with contemporary echoes, a stunning poetry collection that captures who w...

Cueto exits early with injury after rough Marlins debut

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:23 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Johnny Cueto’s debut with the Miami Marlins didn’t last long.The 37-year-old right-hander exited with an undisclosed injury after allowing a three-run homer to Joey Gallo in the second inning of Miami’s series opener against the Minnesota Twins on Monday night.Cueto gave up four runs and three hits in one-plus inning. Max Kepler also went deep for the Twins leading off the game.The Marlins signed Cueto to an $8.5 million, one-year contract in January that includes a club option for 2024. The 15-year veteran took Pablo López’s spot in Miami’s rotation after López was traded to Minnesota for AL batting champion Luis Arraez.Kepler also left early because of right knee soreness. He hobbled off first base after reaching on an infield single in the fourth.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource