NAPA, Calif. (KRON) -- A teen boy was arrested for burglarizing an Arco Gas Station Friday night in Napa, police said in a Facebook post. He stole cash and various amount of items from the gas station's convenience store.
Police said the teen forced his way into the store through a window (picture below). The boy left droplets of his blood after forcing entry.
(Napa Police Department)
An "extensive" foot pursuit preceded the arrest, according to police. Officers located the suspect near Hartle Court.
The boy was taken to Juvenile Hall, police said. Since he is a minor, his name and identity is not being released.
The incident likely happened at the Arco located at 198 Soscol Ave since it is roughly half a mile away from Hartle Court. However, Napa police did not specify which Arco gas station in the city.
According to Arco's website, there are two locations in Napa. The other is at 2303 Jefferson St., which is 2.5 miles away from Hartle Court.
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (KRON) -- The owners of a small Walnut Creek salon and plant shop are trying to do what they can to help their stylists after thousands of dollars worth of their equipment was stolen. It happened early Wednesday morning at "Fringe and Fern" on South Main Street.
The owners believe this wasn't a random crime.
The owners told KRON4 they don't know who the people in the surveillance video were, but they think they scoped out the place. The owners said suspects knew exactly where all the expensive equipment was placed and where the some of the cameras were.
"To have someone walk into your space is an incredibly violating feeling. You just feel disgusting down to the core," owner Shelbie Jackson said.
Video of the moments at least two people broke into Fringe and Fern on South Main Street in Walnut Creek. Owners Shelbie and Blaine Jackson were just coming back from taking a few days off to celebrate their fifth anniversary.
They say they felt it was safe to leave their things behind. Now, they've lost thousands of dollars worth of equipment, including clippers, sheers, and all the blow dryers.
"All of our stylists and barbers have been doing hair for over a decade so they've accumulated very good quality stuff," Shelbie said.
But Blaine Jackson said the stylist community came out to help get them back on their feet.
They are now able to operate the salon again because of the support. They even started a fundraiser to help the stylist.
"So many customers and clients (direct messaging) us, some people just randomly sending me Venmo to donate to their stylist and shop," Shelbie said.
The owners said they are very grateful for all of the support, and they feel very loved by the community.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) - A mob of burglars using a U-Haul pick-up truck to ram through the metal barriers of a pharmacy in Oakland's Chinatown.
Thousands of dollars in damage racked up in just seconds.
Carl Chan spoke to KRON 4 on the situation, saying, “It is so unbelievable. Many pharmacies in the area are being targeted”
Chinatown Chamber of Commerce President Chan says this crime happened around three o'clock Thursday morning.
It was the second time the business' owner had been hit by burglars in the past week.
A crowbar was used to break into his other pharmacy at Pacific Renaissance Plaza early Tuesday morning, but this time the crime was much more destructive.
sot: “we are extremely sad to see that we are being targeted, and not only hurting our sales directly on the street but they are also targeting small businesses.”
The burglars at both drugstores stole mostly cough syrup and other over the counter medications.
Chan says these particular pharmacies cater primarily to Chinatown's seniors.
Chan suggests the police keep an eye on these types of businesses, especially late at night.
He says, “the entire city of Oakland, you know, many small businesses are already suffering, when we are seeing these types of attacks, it is hurting all of us.”
ASHLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- The Alameda County Fire Department battled a fire in Ashland Friday night. The fire was in the 1600 block of 165th Avenue, fire officials said on social media.
Crews found light smoke coming from a second-story unit of an apartment complex, Alameda Co. Fire said. The fire was contained to the kitchen area. It was first reported just before 9:15 p.m.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) - The weekend's almost here and the weather’s great!
If you want to hit the road but don't want to burn a whole tank of gas to get there, you might consider taking a trip to the farm.
But it's not what you might think, on Dine and Dish we're going to give you a taste of an oyster farm.
It's less than 40 miles from San Francisco, but a world away. And if the world is your oyster, what's better than going straight to the source.
When you spot a hog shack you might be surprised to see not hogs but oysters.
This is Hog Island Oyster Farm in Marshall along the Marin coastline.
People come here for the views and a shucking good time.
A boat oyster bar serves up raw and bbq bivalves plus cheese and beverages of your choice.
Gone are the days when you could fire up the grill and cook your own. These days, it's table service with reservations strongly recommended.
You could call it farm to table with garden grown salads. Baked bread and local cheese from Cowgirl Creamery. Ceviche made from local Pacific Halibut. But make no mistake, the fresh farmed oysters are the stars here.
Hog Island is open in San Francisco's Ferry Building, serving up some of these same oysters from the farm.
They've got a hog island in Napa if you're on a wine-tasting trip.
And the newest location for oyster aficionados is at Larkspur Landing.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The Golden State Warriors' second round opponent is set. They will face the Memphis Grizzles, following Memphis' Game 6 series-clinching 114-106 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night.
Game 1 between the Warriors and Grizzles is set for 12:30 p.m. PT in Memphis. That game will be shown on ABC.
The Grizzles won three of the teams' four meeting during the regular season. Guard Klay Thompson was not in the lineup for three of those games for the Warriors.
The Warriors are coming off a 4-1 series win over the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Stephen Curry averaged 28 points per game in the series despite coming off the bench for four of the five games.
The Grizzlies finished the regular season with a 56-26 record, earning the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference and home-court advantage in this series. They are led by athletic third-year point guard Ja Morant and feature a roster ripe with young talent.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) - Some Oakland tenants could be facing the highest rent hike in years.
Starting in July, the city of Oakland says landlords of rent-controlled properties can raise rent by 6.7%.
The city says it's to deal with inflation.
KRON4 spoke with affordable housing advocates about what this means, and what tenants can do about it.
"That's a devastating rent increase. We're not very pleased with that decision,” Shanti Singh, with the non-profit Tenants Together says now is not the time.
He says, "we're already at a crisis point and this is kinda adding insult to injury."
The Oakland rent adjustment ordinance allows an annual rent increase based on the consumer price index.
It takes effect every July 1st, this year the rent increase is 6.7%, raising a $2,000 rent, for example, to $2,134.
Last year, the CPI increase was 1.9%.
Singh told KRON4, "in Oakland, where the 6.7% is being justified as essentially 100% of the consumer price index. That's not really how rent control increases work in other cities. Other cities peg it at just the housing portion of inflation."
But Singh tells KRON it's not too late for tenants to do something about it, "if I were an Oaklander I would be calling up my city councilmember, I'd be calling my mayor, I'd be calling all my representatives and letting them know exactly what this is doing to me. That's the most important thing we can do right now, have tenants speak out."
Eddie Yturate is the co-chair of the Oakland Tenants Union, he says the city councilors can step in and stop the increase. "The city council can change and they can pass an emergency ordinance suspending the 6.7% allowable increase for this year," he told KRON.
He says over most types of inflation, people have no control but they can do something about rent. "So maybe we can't do anything about some of the other things like gasoline but we have the power in Oakland to do something about housing."
ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) -- A man was taken into custody after he stole a Porsche 911 Turbo in an armed carjacking, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said Thursday. ACSO released video of the man crashing the car, which you can watch HERE.
The suspect drove more than 100 miles per hour on San Leandro streets before crashing and fleeing the scene, police said. He was eventually caught and taken into custody.
ACSO used Airplane ALCO 2 during the incident and captured the video of the crash from above. Police recovered the gun that the suspect used. The victim and bystanders were all safe, police said.
Carjacking has become a problem in the Bay Area, with several incidentshaving been reported in San Francisco in recent weeks. On April 11, a 39-year-old woman had her sedan stolen by armed suspects on the 200 block of Rey Street.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- Some teachers, staff members and parents from Oakland Unified schools will be on the picket line Friday. The Oakland Education Association has authorized a one-day strike to protest the closure of several schools at the end of this school year.
KRON4 spoke to parents who are being impacted by the closures and plan to be at the strike.
Oakland Unified School District parents protested the closures back in February. Two months later, the fight continues.
The planned strike is in response to the school board's decision to close more than a dozen Oakland schools over the next two years.
"It's literally a breakup on the whole family in La Escuelita (Elementary School)," said Max Orozco whose son was in the first graduating class of the school.
La Escuelita is one of the school set to close. Orozco's daughter is currently in 4th grade there.
"It's hard to tell her that she won't be able to see all the friends that she met."
Orozco says he has not thought about where his daughter will go to school next year.
"No, we're going to continue fighting for La Escuelita."
Azlinah Tambu has two children at Parker Elementary, another school set to close. If the school closes, by default her children will be sent to two different schools more than 35 blocks away from each other. Tomorrow they won't be going to school, they'll be joining the OEA protest.
"My kids are going out there," she said. "We're making signs right now. We're rallying up other kids from the schools so we are out there."
She says she and other members of the community will continue to fight to keep the schools open for as long as they can.
"The fight is not over. The fight is not over yet so we're still trying to win back Parker, Community Day and La Escuelita, and then we're coming back next year to win over the other schools that have been listed for closure."
(KRON) – You might not immediately recognize that someone is on the autism spectrum. And when some of the behaviors are revealed, you may not understand what’s going on.
Mizpah and Kerry Rich have an autistic son – Joshua. They know that people on the autism spectrum can at times become overstimulated by too many sights and sounds, react erratically, or shut down altogether, particularly in public settings.
“We have to think and plan when we’re going out in public with him because we don’t know what to expect sometimes,” Mizpah said. “Then plan in case he does have a meltdown. We know what that looks like, but for a stranger, they may not understand.”
Many behaviors by someone on the spectrum can easily be misinterpreted. As Joshua grew and his behaviors revealed themselves, Mizpah and Kerry decided to start a nonprofit foundation called Joshua's Gift. The organization helps families cope and offers support, resources and options for family activities.
But as their son has gotten older, a new concern evolved. Joshua is now 20, but his cognitive ability is age four.
“Having a son, a Black son with autism, raises the level of fear when a stranger makes a call to police who may not be familiar with his behaviors,” Mizpah said.
“We were concerned there could be a real bad outcome for him. So we thought this is an opportunity to educate and develop relationships with first responders,” Kerry said.
That’s why the family recently created a new program called “Code Joshua.” It has two components. The first is reaching out and educating first responders about autism and what it looks like. The Rich’s worked with inclusion films, and with the help of the San Jose Police Department, put together an educational video.
Producer Joey Travolta, a former special education teacher whose nephew was on the autism spectrum, proudly pointed out that people who did lights, camera and sound for the film were on the spectrum.
“A lot of people don’t believe that people on the spectrum can do that,” he said.
Part two of Code Joshua is a family registry system. Families would register with local first responders under “Code Joshua,” deciding what information they want to include, such as a picture and behavior.
“For our son, his stemming is flapping of hands or loud vocalizations, or he may plug his ears or he might run away from an officer and not follow commands because he doesn’t understand the commands,“ Mizpah said.
If Code Joshua is put into action, the process would kick in even before the emergency crews leave the station. Dispatch would send the information right to their computers.
San Francisco Fire is also interested in exploring Code Joshua. ..
“Just imagine they are in a fire building and we’re trying to extricate them out,” said San Francisco Fire Department Captain Mike Day. “With folks on the spectrum, they’re on sensory overload as it is. When we respond to calls, we come in.. lights, siren, often-times wearing gloves. That is just all very overwhelming for those folks”
The Rich family hopes that one day their idea goes nationwide and even grows to encompass other disabilities. If you would like to donate and support Joshua’s Gift, click HERE.
BENICIA, Calif. (KRON) -- Two people were arrested by Benicia Police Department detectives for stealing lottery tickets from a local store in an armed robbery. The incident happened in the 1500 block of East 5th Street on April 16.
Police said one of the arrestees brandished a gun at the clerk while the other took the lottery tickets. Benicia detectives worked with California State Parole officers to find and arrest the two suspects.
While they were investigating this robbery, detectives found other lottery tickets that are believed to have been taken in a robbery in Fairfield. Officers found the weapon used in the crime, an airsoft Glock-style handgun.
In Oakland, police have reported a sharp increase in armed robberies. One of these robberies happened at the Oakanna dispensary near Lake Merritt, culminating in one of the store's owners being shot.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- A fire has broken out Thursday evening in the area of Oakland's Lake Merritt, according to video sent from a KRON4 viewer. Fire officials in the city have yet to announce the fire.
The viewer tweeted a video of the fire at 8:03 p.m. The fire happened when there was still daylight in the area. The exact location of the fire and how the fire started have not yet been determined.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- Candidates running for mayor in San Jose, are facing off in a debate Wednesday evening at the SAP center.
The city will need to elect a new mayor in June after mayor Sam Liccardo concludes his second and final term.
However, city officials say as the city has grown in size with the tech, they’re not seeing enough voters at the polls.
San Jose City Clerk, Toni Taber, is calling the city's mayoral election in June, the most important election. A vote that she says will affect people's daily life. She says the voter turnout is expected to be low.
“People don’t really get excited to vote in the local elections,” Taber said.
Taber says in 2018, only 41% of San Jose residents turned out for the mayoral election.
“41% of the people, choose the mayor for the city of a million people, so we really encourage people to let their voice be heard," Taber added.
She says the city has seen a much higher voter turnout in the past. In November 2020, the most recent presidential election, 73% of San Jose registered voters hit up the polls.
“I would like to see 70% at least, I would like 100%, honestly I would like everybody to vote,” she said.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – Oakland business owners are pleading for help from the community after their shop was vandalized three separate times. The break-ins led to costly repair bills and concern for their employees.
It happened at “Got Juice,” a local hangout opened by Brendon McCoy and his highschool friend.
“We are Oakland natives,” McCoy said. “We went to Oakland schools. We’re products of this place so we don’t want to believe it’s coming from this community, because we know so many people. It is bewildering because you don't know where it is coming from.”
McCoy says after the first break-in, they beefed up security. Then, after the second time, they put in a reinforced door.
“They finally went through the window... Blood all over,” he said. “ I am concerned for safety. We have young people opening and closing the business.”
McCoy said they have reached out to police, but realize they are busy with other crimes in the city far more serious theirs.
“We are not a corporation,” McCoy said. “We are local. We feel it. It hurts. We don’t have a stockpile of money. It is a lot and inconvenient.”
He hopes that sharing his story will better his luck and prevent further break-ins.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The Golden State Warriors punched their ticket to the second round of the NBA Playoffs Wednesday night with a 102-98 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Stephen Curry and Gary Payton II made clutch shots down the stretch to seal the win for Golden State.
The game was close throughout, as neither team built a lead larger than than 10 points. Denver led 78-70 after the third quarter, but Golden State opened the fourth strong and took the lead on a Payton 3-pointer.
Payton made another go-ahead basket with 2:10 remaining in the game, putting the Warriors ahead 92-90. He and Curry combined to score Golden State's final 14 points of the game.
Steve Kerr moved Curry back into the starting lineup for Game 5, demoting Kevon Looney to the bench. Curry had come off the bench in the series' first four games after returning from a foot injury. He responded to the starting bump with a game-high 30 points. Payton added 15 off the bench.
Denver's MVP candidate Nikola Jokic gave the Warriors problems all night, finishing with 30 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists. However, he was limited to 32 minutes with foul trouble.
While Jokic was out, his backup, former Warrior Demarcus Cousins, added 19 points off the bench. The centers spearheaded an impressive Denver rebounding effort. The Nuggets out-rebounded the Warriors 50-37.
In the Western Conference semifinals, the Warriors will play the winner of the Minnesota Timberwolves' series against the Memphis Grizzlies. Memphis leads 3-2, and Game 6 will be played Thursday night in Minnesota.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala is out of Wednesday's Game 5 first-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets due to a left cervical disc injury, the team announced on Twitter.
He is expected to miss at least one week, according to head coach Steve Kerr. The left cervical disc is in the neck area.
Iguodala, 38, played 13 minutes in the Warriors' 126-121 Game 4 loss in Denver. He did participate in practice on Tuesday and stayed late shooting, but he was not healthy even to play Wednesday.
With Iguodala's absence, someone off the bench is expected to fill those minutes. It's possible rookie Jonathan Kuminga could fill those minutes, but Kerr didn't want to fully commit to that.
"We have to feel each game. Figure out what we need and go with our gut," Kerr said of replacing Iguodala's minutes.
Iguodala is in his 18th season in the NBA -- seven of those seasons with the Warriors. He was named the 2015 NBA Finals MVP when the team won its first championship since 1975.
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco unveiled a new mural this morning. They partnered with Wells Fargo to create the artwork that depicts 12 important, but often unrecognized Asian American and Pacific Islander community leaders.
The corner of Jackson Street and Grant Avenue in San Francisco's Chinatown now tells the stories of Asian American and Pacific Islander Leaders.
"Its been a journey.. year long process," Chinese Cultural Center Executive Director Jenny Leung said. "We reached out to youth in the community to have it be a youth nominated process.. So that we could highlight stories that haven't been recognized, shared or told that. Stories our youth haven't heard about"
Some five thousand students made the nominations. Community panelists then came together to make the final decisions on who would be included.
Activists like Cynthia Choi, artists, poets and literary heroes like Judy Yung are featured beside a depiction of the I Hotel Manilatown Center and Reverend Norman Fong.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin who represents the area, says the Manilatown tenant eviction of the 1970's was a real turning point for San Francisco pro tenant movements. It also marked when the AAPI community came of age in political activism in San Francisco.
"This is sacred ground with sacred heroes in it," Peskin said. "Knowing those heroes are being recognized today is profoundly important."
Hero Betty Ann Ong is also featured. She was the American Airlines flight attendant who first alerted the country of the 9/11 terror attacks. Sponsors of the project say following the rise in anti Asian violence made the mural an important collaboration.
"It's been a difficult few years for everyone so it's important we celebrate contributions of the community and make it a lasting legacy in Chinatown," Cynthia Sugiyama with Wells Fargo said.
Wells Fargo has a long-standing commitment to the Asian community, spanning back to the gold rush. It was one of the first California companies to service Chinese customers in their native languages.
Wells Fargo says this mural collaboration with the Chinese Cultural Center is an example of their commitment to the financial success of AAP communities.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- Oakland A's President Dave Kaval took to Twitter Tuesday to feud with local media members and critics. Kaval went back and forth with 95.7 radio host Damon Bruce in the morning and attempted to highlight empty seats at the San Francisco Giants' Oracle Park during their Bay Bridge Series game against the A's in the evening.
Kaval's exchange with Bruce centered around what he said is unfair media coverage that the City of Oakland gets, compared to San Francisco. He called out local media several times throughout the day for not covering what he described as the Giants' "attendance woes."
"Are you going to cover the attendance woes at @OracleParkSF? Why have you all of a sudden taken such a big interest in the @Athletics?" Kaval tweeted at Bruce.
The A's are averaging an MLB-low 7,942 fans at their games in 2022, according to numbers on ESPN's website. Their third home game of the season against the Baltimore Orioles drew just 2,743 fans. Comparatively, the Giants are 11th in MLB, averaging 32,184 fans at the game. MLB listed attendance as 32,898 at Oracle Park Tuesday night.
Oakland lost several of its top players before the 2022 season, including deals that sent first baseman Matt Olson to Atlanta, third baseman Matt Chapman to Toronto and starting pitcher Sean Manaea to San Diego. The A's lost to the Giants 8-2 Tuesday, dropping to 9-9 on the season.
PALO ALTO, Calif. (KRON) -- The Palo Alto Police Department is investigating an incident that took place at the Stanford Shopping Center Tuesday afternoon in which a woman was robbed of $2,500 worth of items. The victim recognized the suspect as someone she shared an acquaintance with.
A police investigation revealed that the victim had just bought $2,500 worth of items from Nordstrom and was leaving the register when she was verbally accosted by the female suspect. The incident happened around 4:45 p.m.
The suspect, who was accompanied by another woman, grabbed the victim's bags out of her hands and ran out of the store. She then got into a car, which was driven by the other woman, and fled eastbound on Sand Hill Road towards El Camino Real. There were no weapons involved.
The victim described the suspect as a Black woman in her 20s, who stood about 5-foot-1, 140 pounds. She was wearing a black tank top, black jeans and sandals. The other woman was described as a Black woman in her 20s wearing an orange shirt, black jacket, blue jeans and a white mask. They were driving a gray Toyota Camry.
Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call (650) 329-2413.
ANTIOCH, Calif. (KRON) -- Cell phone video shows a fight inside a sixth grade classroom at Park Middle School in Antioch on Monday.
A parent at the school says it happened while a classroom full of students were left unattended. A sixth grader's mother says this isn't the first fight either.
She says it's a regular occurrence and just like many other parents, she's worried that the school isn't doing enough to stop these fights from happening.
"The fact that there was no teacher there, that was the whole problem with all of this, that's the most unacceptable thing about this," the parent said.
A concerned parent who didn't want to share their identity out of fear of retaliation against their child says the teacher of that classroom didn't show up for school Monday morning and no substitute was provided.
"See this all the time coming from her school but this time there was no one there to break up the fight, there was no adult supervision, no staff member running across a courtyard that had seen it from a distance. I mean sometimes it happens at lunch but you know someone somewhere will break it up but there nothing, nothing being done at all," she said.
She says this behavior shouldn't be tolerated at the school, yet it happens repeatedly and oftentimes, it's the same students allegedly starting the fights.
The parent says she's now worried about what is and isn't being taught at the middle school.
"My concerns are that my child is not getting an education, not an academic education, maybe an education in how to fight," the parent added.
KRON4 called and emailed the Antioch Unified Superintendent and her office several times but the requests have gone unanswered. KRON4 also reached out to each of board trustees but have not heard back yet.
EAST BAY, Calif. (KRON) -- The East Bay Municipal Utility District voted to put in mandatory drought measures that will put limits on water usage and penalties if households go over those limits.
The East Bay Municipal Water District customers must start conserving water or else face penalties. This is effective immediately
The board approved the move into stage two drought at its Tuesday meeting. District spokesperson Andrea Pook breaks down what happens next.
"We are asking them to conserve water at a level of 10 percent and that is district wide," she said.
Pook says the board stopped short of putting in a drought surcharge or rate hike to help pay for extra water supplies tabling it until a meeting in May.
However, the board will start an excessive water use penalty ordinance. That puts a limit of 1646 gallons per household. If you go over that daily rate, it is $2 per unit.
Pook says all of this is not to punish households but to make them face the reality of a three year state wide drought.
"The most important thing, what we do really matters and it counts, collectively we can make a difference."
VALLEJO, Calif. (KRON) -- The van stolen from the Coach Sarna League last month is back in the league's possession.
League founder Ryan Sarna says the van was located a few blocks from where the non-profit youth flag football league plays its games.
It was recovered by the Solano County Sheriff's office just a few weeks after it was stolen from a car dealership last month.
The van was awaiting a catalytic converter replacement, which was stolen before it was originally donated to the league.
"The fact that they were able to find it, and we do have it back in our possession now, albeit it needs to be fixed is a blessing," Sarna said.
Sarna says the repairs will total at least $8,000. Fortunately, the community has raised nearly $5,000 to help out.
The Vallejo police activities league and the service organization the Native Sons of the Golden West have also partnered to donate a second van to the youth league.
"It's an older van. Its the one behind me, but we're really happy to have it," the founder added.
Both vans will be used to transport kids and equipment to and from games. This month, the co-ed league launched it's second season serving low-income youth, and will run for ten weeks.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) -- Five people were displaced by a fire in Santa Cruz County Tuesday morning, Cal Fire's San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit said on social media. Firefighters responded to the fire off of San Andreas Road. around 3:00 a.m.
Images from Cal Fire CZU.
The fire destroyed two mobile trailers. Red Cross was called to assist those who were displaced. The flames spread into greenhouses, but multiple fire agencies responded and eventually controlled the blaze.
(KTLA) - Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer has filed a defamation lawsuit against the San Diego woman who accused him of sexual assault. Bauer also named one of the woman’s attorneys, Fred Thiagarajah, in the lawsuit, alleging he made “knowingly false statements” about the player in the media.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Bauer said on Twitter.
Earlier this year, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office decided not to pursue criminal charges against Bauer, citing insufficient evidence.
The fate of the Cy Young-winning pitcher remains unknown, as Major League Baseball has extended his leave through April 29. He last pitched on June 29, 2021, just months after the Dodgers acquired him from the Cincinnati Reds.
The woman accused Bauer of choking her into unconsciousness, punching her repeatedly and having anal sex with her without her consent during two sexual encounters at his home in Pasadena.
Bauer denied the allegations, saying the two engaged in rough sex at her suggestion and followed guidelines they agreed to in advance. Each encounter ended with them joking and her spending the night, Bauer has said.
The allegations came to light last summer when the woman sought a protective order against the pitcher. She said in court documents that the two had met on Instagram when she tagged him in a photo while he pitched during a game against the San Diego Padres.
A judge denied an extension to the protective order.
The Pasadena Police Department opened up a criminal investigation against Bauer, which was reviewed by the DA's Office, but ultimately prosecutors determined there wasn't enough evidence to win a conviction.
(The Hill) - A federal judge in Louisiana says he intends to block the Biden administration’s plans for rescinding Title 42, siding with GOP-led states that had asked for the courts to force the White House to temporarily retain the pandemic-era border policy.
The decision from Judge Robert Summerhays, an appointee of former President Trump, will prevent the Biden administration from carrying out its plans to end Title 42 on May 23 and once again allow migrants to seek asylum.
The order, though temporary, is a victory in a suit initially filed by Louisiana, Missouri and Arizona that now includes some 20 GOP-led states.
It’s not yet clear what the terms of the order will be, as a summary of the hearing — which was not open to the public — said “the parties will confer regarding the specific terms to be contained in the Temporary Restraining Order and attempt to reach agreement.”
Started by the Trump administration at the beginning of the pandemic, Title 42 has been used more than 1.5 million times by the Biden administration to rapidly expel migrants without letting them seek asylum.
It’s something many Democrats have said is a violation of U.S. law.
“The Trump-initiated Title 42 was part of his anti-immigrant hate and fear agenda that used the pandemic as an excuse to deny asylum seekers their legal rights to due process. It must end now,” Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said after the group’s meeting at the White House.
The states made the request as part of a broader suit arguing the Biden administration violated the Administrative Procedures Act by failing to allow for a comment period on its revocation.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, didn’t use such notice and comment rulemaking to put the order in place, with the Trump administration instead using a sunset clause requiring the CDC to review the order every 60 days.
The court ruling comes as Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is set to make appearances before three different House committees this week, including the House Judiciary Committee, where ranking member Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has outlined plans to grill him over plans for the withdrawal of Title 42.
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died in the Oct. 21 shooting on the New Mexico movie set and director Joel Souza was injured. Baldwin claims he was told the gun was not loaded and only held dummy rounds after a crew member yelled out “cold gun.” The fatal shooting is under investigation.
Body camera video from investigators provides new insight into the tragic shooting.
First interactions between Baldwin and police
The newly released body camera footage shows some of the first interactions between Baldwin and investigators following the shooting. Baldwin appears shaken yet calm during his encounters with officers.
In one of the body camera videos, a detective asks if Baldwin is OK, to which he replies, “No, I’m not, actually.”
Baldwin speaks with investigators. (Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)
Baldwin cooperated with police. They asked him to come to their station to answer questions.
“You tell me what to do,” Baldwin said.
Later, police spotted blood on Baldwin's costume, though the actor said it was fake blood. Officers asked that he remain in his costume, and the actor complied.
"Please tell me she's still alive"
Blurred police body camera footage shows director Joel Souza in a hospital bed after he was shot. Moments before doctors removed the bullet lodged in his shoulder, Souza told the officer what happened.
"The armorer handed the actor a gun," Souza said, referring to armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed and Baldwin. "I don't know if she said it was cold or clean, but she handed him a gun and there was a bang — a louder bang than I've heard come from a blank before."
Souza also described the moment he realized he was hit.
An investigator holds up what appears to be a pill bottle containing the bullet pulled from Souza's body. (Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)
"Very loud bang, felt like somebody kicked me in the shoulder," Souza said. "Then I was down on my a** and I see the cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins, with blood coming out of her back."
This all took place before Souza was told Hutchins died from her wound. He asked the officer if he knew if Hutchins was OK, but the officer didn't. About 15 minutes later, while under the influence of medicine, Souza again asked about Hutchins:
Souza: Is Halyna still alive?
Female doctor: We're going to have to find out in just a little bit, OK?
Souza: Please tell me she's still alive.
Male doctor: I'm sure she's fine. She's just not here.
Souza: This is like a movie.
Female doctor: What's your movie about Joel? The one you're filming?
Souza: It's called "Rust."
Rehearsal video shows Baldwin handle gun
Alec Baldwin holding a gun on the set of "Rust" (Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)
Police released clips from the film showing Baldwin remove a gun from his coat and point it just off-camera. It's unclear if this is the same gun involved in the shooting, but it is not from the same day. Investigators and witnesses said the gun went off when rehearsing a similar scene.
Baldwin has said he did not pull the trigger and the gun fired on its own.
New Mexico’s Occupational Health and Safety Bureau recently fined the production $137,000 and found it was an assistant director, David Halls, who handed the gun to Baldwin, not armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed. The report also found Halls knew of at least two instances when guns went off accidentally on set.
A spokesperson for "Rust" disputed that account, and said the fine would be appealed.
Body camera footage paints picture of set
The shooting happened on Bonanza Creek Ranch, a Santa Fe property depicting an old ranch along the New Mexico foothills. More than 120 films have been created there, dating back to the 1950s.
On the day of the shooting, the area was covered in yellow crime scene tape with evidence bags scattered on the ground. While talking to police, Baldwin mentioned that the crew had a separate campus to get ready at before traveling to this particular area with the old church where investigators say Baldwin pulled the trigger.
The "Rust" set. (Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office)
The new body camera footage shows evidence bags scattered on the ground. Authorities reported finding hundreds of rounds of ammunition on the set. Among them were reportedly a mix of dummy rounds, blanks and what seemed to be live rounds.
They believe there was “some complacency” in how guns were handled on the movie set. Souza described the gun that Baldwin handled in the old church as an “Old West six-shooter” sort of weapon.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- The fight over school closures and mergers in Oakland continues - this time with the teacher’s union organizing a strike.
Educators plan on picketing Friday morning. However the Oakland Unified School District superintendent is calling this decision illegal.
Teachers and staff of Oakland schools will be picketing in front of school sites Friday starting at 6:30am. The teachers plan on voicing their opinion over school closures instead of being in class with students.
The Oakland Education Association took to twitter posting their plan for a teacher’s strike on Friday.
Union president Keith Brown says school closures is a racist move.
“Closing schools disproportionally harms Black students, so we are taking on a fight that is a civil rights fight," Brown said.
The district plans on merging and closing schools, starting in June to avoid budget shortfalls and improve the quality of education.
In a letter to Brown, OUSD superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell demanded a cease and desist from moving forward with the Teachers strike stating:
“Any strike, other withholding of unit member services, or other concerted activity that disrupts the education of District students would be unlawful and an unfair labor practice, a violation of the current collective bargaining agreement between the District and OEA.”
In contrast, Brown says the strike is legal because OUSD is violating an agreement that was made by the district and union after a seven-day strike in 2019.
“An agreement that there must be a year of engagement before closing schools which the district has violated,” Brown added.
Johnson-Trammell’s letter goes on to say that a strike will hurt the district financially and impact students losing out on another day of in-person learning.
Gregorio Gutierrez who teaches sixth and seventh grade at Westlake Middle School says he plans on taking part in the strike. He also plans on picketing at the Port of Oakland Friday afternoon to try to shut down operations there.
“In order to bring about that economic impact on the city and to open people’s eyes to the fact that not only is this unjust, but it’s bigger than just Oakland," Guiterrez said.
A spokesperson from the Port Oakland says the port is aware of the picket and supports free speech. However they stated:
"So many jobs depend upon the Port including truck operators, dock workers, construction workers, warehouse handlers, retailers and everyone all along the supply chain. Therefore, anything that hurts the Port, hurts local jobs.”
OUSD says it’s prepared to take legal action if the union proceeds with the teacher’s strike, including seeking an injunction the California Public Employment Relations Board.
"Elon is the singular solution I trust," Dorsey said. "I trust his mission to extend the light of consciousness. Elon's goal of creating a platform that us 'maximally trusted and broadly inclusive' is the right one."
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and one of the world's richest men, offered to buy all outstanding shares of the company at $54.20 a share on April 14. He has said that his acquisition of Twitter is a way to protect free speech.
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated,” he said in a statement on Monday.
"While you, your company, employees, and diverse fans face authoritarian, anti-business, and culture war attacks from extremists in Florida, we in Fort Bend are more ready to welcome the Disney family with thousands of good paying jobs and billions of dollars of investments," Fort Bend County Judge KP George wrote.
DeSantis signed a law that will dissolve Reedy Creek Improvement District, which is a private government controlled by Disney (why does Disney have its own private government in Florida in the first place? You can find the answer to that here).
It's a law many believe is nothing more than retaliation for Disney's public criticism of Florida's signed bill that critics call the "Don't Say Gay" law, which bars teaching sexual orientation and gender identity in schools before fourth grade.
"I invite you to visit Fort Bend County and see for yourself why our community is the best place for a new Walt Disney World Resort," George said.
Meanwhile, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced he wants to create a Texas version of the "Don't Say Gay" law that aims to give parents more rights when it comes to what their kids learn in school. Patrick said this bill would be a priority in the 2023 session.
(INSIDE CALIFORNIA POLITICS) — Candidate for U.S. Senate Dan O’Dowd joined Inside California Politics co-host Nikki Laurenzo to discuss his single-issue campaign. The tech entrepreneur and founder of Green Hills Software says he has no issues with the job Senator Alex Padilla has done and he has no plans to campaign against Padilla. O’Dowd’s campaign solely surrounds his quest for regulators to ban Tesla’s full self-driving feature.
O’Dowd recently launched a multi-million-dollar ad campaign against Tesla and that feature. He told Laurenzo he has no issues with Tesla, nor Elon Musk, but that his sole issue is with the safety of that technology.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will tackle a dispute between public school officials and a former high school football coach who wanted to kneel and pray on the field after games.
The case before the justices on Monday involves Joseph Kennedy, a former football coach at Bremerton High School in Bremerton, Washington. For years, the coach would kneel at the center of the field following games and lead students in prayer. The school district eventually learned what he was doing and asked him to stop.
Kennedy's lawyers say the Constitution's freedom of speech and freedom of religion guarantees allow him to pray on the field, with students free to join. But the school district says Kennedy's religious speech interfered with students' own religious freedom rights, could have the effect of pressuring students to pray and opened the district itself to lawsuits. The school district says it tried to work out a solution so Kennedy, who is Christian, could pray privately before or after the game, including on the field after students left, but Kennedy's lawsuit followed.
The case comes to the court at a time when conservative justices make up a majority of the court and have been sympathetic to the concerns of religious individuals and groups, such as groups that brought challenges to coronavirus restrictions that applied to houses of worship.
But cases involving religion can also unite the court. Last year, for example, the court unanimously sided with a Catholic foster care agency that said its religious views prevent it from working with same-sex couples. Already this term in an 8-1 decision the justices ruled for a Texas death row inmate who sought to have his pastor pray aloud and touch him while his execution was carried out.
The case from Bremerton, meanwhile, has already caught the justices' attention. In 2019 the justices declined to get involved in the case at an earlier stage. But four justices were critical of lower court rulings for the school district, writing that an appeals court's “understanding of the free speech rights of public school teachers is troubling.”
Kennedy started working at Bremerton High School in 2008, and it was his practice at the end of games — after the players and coaches from both teams would meet at midfield to shake hands — to pause and kneel to pray. Kennedy said he wanted to give thanks for what his players had accomplished and for their safety, among other things.
Kennedy initially prayed alone on the 50-yard line at the end of games, but students started joining him and over time he began to deliver a short, inspirational talk with religious references. Kennedy says he never required players to join or asked any student to pray. He also led the team in prayer in the locker room before games, a practice that predated him.
The school district didn't learn of Kennedy's practice until 2015. It told him then that he needed to stop praying with students or engaging in overtly religious activity while still “on duty” as a coach. After Kennedy continued to pray on the field, he was placed on paid leave. His contract expired and he didn't reapply to coach the following year, the school says.
A decision is expected before the court begins its summer recess.
The case is Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, 21-418.
(NewsNation) — An investigation is underway at a New Jersey high school that could potentially be linked to what's known as a cancer cluster.
After some digging, a man who attended Colonia High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey, discovered more than 100 former students and staff members had been diagnosed with the same sort of brain tumor diagnosed in his wife, his sister and himself.
Al Lupiano says it’s been a rough road, but he keeps moving forward with hopes of preventing more tragedy. The environmental scientist has been a driving force behind an investigation into Colonia High School, a place where he says 117 people with primary brain tumors and 70 with rare cancers either attended or worked at in prior years.
“My wife and my sister were diagnosed the same day in August, I had been diagnosed many years earlier; the fact that all three of us had a rare primary brain tumor, just started setting off bells and whistles in my head,” Lupiano told NewsNation on Sunday.
“When I started looking into it, I quickly amassed 15 of our classmates with these rare brain tumors. I went on Facebook on March 7, and I asked for the people on Facebook to help me find others. And today we now stand at 117 individuals with primary brain tumors, and another 70 with very rare cancers.”
Lupiano says he can’t rule out all other possibilities, but adds that when looking at the numbers and where people lived in respect to the school, they did not have anything else in common.
“The only link that I was able to find over and over is all of these individuals as well as teachers and staff said I had taught or I had attended Colonia High School at some point in my life,” Lupiano said.
“Many people chalk these things up to just bad luck. I tend to not see that. I look at coincidences. And when coincidence start adding up, it's no longer a coincidence. It's a pattern. And I saw a pattern developing here. And I said I was going to use very basic science to see if it panned out. And the further I dug into this problem, the more I found patterns emerging.”
When Lupiano’s doctor discovered that both he and his wife had the same type of tumor, he says the odds were like seeing a married couple both being struck by lightning.
“He said he had never seen in his practice, had never read about it in any books, of two individuals that happened to be married to each other having a primary brain tumor such as ours, an acoustic neuroma, which has an incident rate of one in 100,000. The chance of two of us coming together and having this was too much for him to ignore,” Lupiano said.
Both the school and local government agencies are looking into the concerns, but Lupiano feels discouraged by the hands-off approach he says state and federal agencies have taken so far.
“I'm a little frustrated, because we're getting a lot of warm wishes, and 'We're willing to help' from state and federal agencies. But as of yet, they're not willing to get involved,” Lupiano said. “They're taking more of a wait-and-see approach. And I think the time has come for them to have boots on the ground and actively participate in the sampling of air, water and soil.”
As the days and weeks go on, Lupiano is becoming more and more concerned. His sister, who passed away from impacts of her brain tumor, has children who also attend the school.
“The thought of them having to go through what the rest of us have lived through is just daunting,” Lupiano said. “The sooner we get answers, the sooner we can find out if there’s an ongoing problem, and the better everyone will be for it.”
For his family and everyone involved with Colonia High School, Lupiano is demanding answers and action.
“I think it's time to get federal and state agencies actively involved. Stop arguing if this is a cancer cluster or not, and start getting into the school and determining if there's a problem.”
