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Video points to power lines as possible cause of Maui fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:03 GMT

p Awakened by howling winds that tore through his Maui neighborhood, Shane Treu went out at dawn and saw a wooden power pole suddenly snap with a flash, its sparking, popping line falling to the dry grass below and quickly igniting a row of flames.He called 911 and then turned on Facebook video to livestream his attempt to fight the blaze in Lahaina, including wetting down his property with a garden hose. Maui fire death toll reaches 106 as first two victims identified “I heard ‘buzz, buzz,’” the 49-year-old resort worker recounted to The Associated Press. “It was almost like somebody lit a firework. It just ran straight up the hill to a bigger pile of grass and then, with that high wind, that fire was blazing.”Treu’s video and others captured the early moments of what would become the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Now the footage has emerged as key evidence pointing to fallen utility lines as the ...

Sailboat stays stuck at Stinson Beach as owner works to remove it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:03 GMT

Authorities are working with a boat owner to free a 33-foot-long, 10-ton sailboat stuck in the sand near Stinson Beach for more than two weeks.The boat ran aground on July 31 at Upton Beach, which fronts a neighborhood of beachside homes in the Stinson community, according to the Marin County Sheriff’s Office.The owner is living on the vessel, according to authorities, and could not be reached for comment.Sheriff’s Sgt. Adam Schermerhorn said the owner has declined assistance. Authorities are giving him time to come up with a plan, and the finances, to remove the vessel on his own, Schermerhorn said. He said the owner is “actively” working with a towing company.Schermerhorn said they are checking on the boat and its owner every few days and will continue to give him time to come up with a plan to move the vessel on his own.Boat ran aground on Stinson Beach. Bummer. pic.twitter.com/rD9JIT06gS— The West Marin Feed (@WestMarinFeed) August 1, 2023The county has not imposed a stric...

What is RICO, the law at the heart of Donald Trump’s Georgia criminal case?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:03 GMT

By Devan Cole | CNNWashington  — Former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants have been accused of breaking a variety of criminal laws in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case, but one crime ties all their alleged misconduct together: the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.The state law – which is commonly referred to as RICO – is similar to the federal version of the statue that targets so-called criminal enterprises. Georgia’s law allows prosecutors to pull an array of conduct – including activities that took place outside of the state of Georgia but may have been part of a broad conspiracy – into their indictments.Those convicted of racketeering charges also face steeper penalties, a point of leverage for prosecutors if they are hoping to flip potential co-conspirators or encourage defendants to take plea deals.RELATED: Former President Donald Trump’s fourth indictment, annotated“Federal RICO is a very big deal. It’s difficult to prove, and it’s used...

Todd Kent retires as UCSC’s winningest women’s basketball coach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:03 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — Todd Kent, the winningest coach in UC Santa Cruz women’s basketball history, has stepped down as the Banana Slugs’ coach after 13 seasons at the helm.The NCAA Division III school announced Tuesday that’s he’s retiring from coaching.“On behalf of the University of California, Santa Cruz and the Department of Athletics & Recreation, we would like to congratulate Todd on his career as the head coach of women’s basketball,” said Courtnie Prather, interim director of athletics & recreation, told goslugs.com. “Throughout his accomplished career, Todd has exhibited an unwavering commitment to his craft and all Banana Slugs, including student-athletes, alumni, and all UC Santa Cruz students.”Banana Slugs assistant Monica Armstrong has been promoted to interim head coach.Kent compiled a 169-148 career record and led the Banana Slugs to their first two NCAA Division III Tournament appearances in 2016 and ’17.UC Santa Cruz head coach Todd Kent argues with referee Rudy Domi...

Opinion: Every American has a stake in seeing Trump’s trial on TV

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:03 GMT

Two good writers presented opposing opinions in the New York Times last week concerning this important question: Should former president Donald Trump’s potential trial or trials —  particularly for his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election — be televised?The perspectives of both writers are reasonably persuasive and worth consideration. Steven Brill argues that transparency in our justice system is embodied in the Constitution and that citizens have the right to attend trials. He notes that 19th century courthouses were constructed with capacious galleries from which the public could witness justice at work.Brill argues that television is the “modern update” of that principle. In 1991 he started cable network Court TV, which has made state and other local trials widely available for public scrutiny.But Brill’s primary argument is embodied in the title of his column: “Americans Will Believe the Trump Verdict Only if They Can See It.” In our deeply divided nation, in which man...

Bouie: Reactionary Republican lawmakers won’t stop at banning abortion

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:03 GMT

There is no way to regulate and control pregnancy without regulating and controlling people. States that have enacted abortion bans in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling last year in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health have also considered the establishment of new regimes for the surveillance and criminalization of anyone who dares to circumvent the state’s dictates for the acceptable use of one’s body.This is why the war on abortion rights is properly seen as a war on bodily autonomy and why the attack on reproductive freedom has moved hand in hand with a renewed attack on the gay, queer and transgender community. It’s all part of the same tapestry of reaction. And this reactionary impulse extends to the means of the anti-abortion political project as well as its ends.The same lawmakers who want to rob their constituents of the right to bodily autonomy have also begun to treat democracy as an obstacle to avoid, not a process to respect. If the people stand in the way of ending abor...

13 Canada geese die after landing in La Brea Tar Pits; 2 are recovering

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:03 GMT

Wildlife rehabilitation technician, Jennifer Martines checks on one of the flock of Canada Geese, that mistakenly landed in the sticky goo at La Brea Tar Pits, suffering serious injuries and deaths on July 31st.Of the 7 geese transported to the International Bird Rescue Center in San Pedro, 5 did not survive, one is still not stable and this goose passed the water repellent check up and was able to rejoin other birds in the outdoor water area on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)One of the flock of Canada Geese, that mistakenly landed in the sticky goo at La Brea Tar Pits, suffering serious injuries and deaths on July 31st is now on the mend.Of the 7 geese transported to the International Bird Rescue Center in San Pedro, 5 did not survive, one is still not stable and this goose, on the right, passed the water repellent check up and was able to rejoin other birds in the outdoor water area on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. (Photo by Brittany Murray, P...

Another California district may require schools to tell parents if their child is transgender

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:03 GMT

Orange Unified School District is set to consider a policy this week that would require certain school officials to notify parents if their child is “requesting to be identified or treated” as a different sex or gender.As the proposed policy is written now, situations that would warrant parental notification include requests to use different names or pronouns as well as requests to change sex-segregated programs such as athletic teams or changing facilities that differ from the student’s “assigned biological sex at birth.”The policy says it would be up to a principal or designee, certified staff or school counselor to inform parents or guardians within three school days once the district administrator or certified staff becomes aware that a child might be transgender.“This proposed Board Policy is recommended in order to support the fundamental rights of parents/guardians to be informed of and involved in important aspects of their student’s education during the school year,” the ag...

Texas sheriff’s corporal arrested on suspicion of fatal hit-and-run crash on California freeway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:03 GMT

A now-former sheriff’s corporal was arrested in Texas on suspicion of a hit-and-run crash last week that killed a man refueling his vehicle along the 215 Freeway in Riverside, authorities said Tuesday.In the early hours of Monday, Aug. 7, the driver of a Honda Ridgeline pickup truck was heading south along the freeway south of the 91 Freeway/60 Freeway interchange when the vehicle drifted into the right shoulder and struck the victim, who was putting gasoline into his disabled Chevrolet truck on the side of the road, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Javier Navarro. The victim was killed in the collision and the driver fled south down the freeway.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | California cop ordered to stand trial on assault charge for 2018 on-duty shooting Crime and Public Safety | Ex-Mississippi police officers plead guilty to torturing Black men Crime and Public Safety | Judge rules retrial of ex-Philadelphia offi...

Meet Olivia and Mazie, OCFA-sponsored search-and-rescue dogs aiding in Maui

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:42:03 GMT

Olivia and Mazie, a pair of experienced detection dogs from the Orange County-based Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 5, have journeyed to Maui along with their local handlers to help in the massive recovery efforts following the deadly wildfires that have devastated the island.Olivia, a 9-year-old Belgian Malinois, and Mazie, a six-and-a-half-year-old Black Lab, are being joined by their handlers and search team members, 48-year-old Eric Darling and 58-year-old Julie Kirk-Purcell. They are prepared for a 14-day mission, but the deployment could turn out to be longer.The search and rescue task force is sponsored by the Orange County Fire Authority.Julie Kirk-Purcell, an Irvine Valley College art professor and Olivia, a 9-year-old Belgian Malinois who turns ten next month, and previously worked the 2022 Hurricane Ian disaster in Florida and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Division. (Courtesy of OCFA) Retired firefighter Eric Darling and Mazie, a six-and-a-ha...