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George Draper named Chief Training Officer for St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

ST. LOUIS - George W. Draper III, a retired Supreme Court judge, has been chosen as the Chief Training Officer in the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office. Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore announced the major addition to his team of prosecutors on Tuesday. Draper will take on a new position through the office with his primary responsibility being to train new attorneys. Draper is the 20th attorney to join Gore's office since he took over for outgoing Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. Missouri minister among those who died in chemical truck crash His family has deep ties to judicial systems around the St. Louis area. Draper's father was a chief trial assistant under Chief Thomas Eagleteon. His daughter is also a prosecutor in St. Louis County. Draper had been retired for a few months, but recently received a call from Gore's Office on the new job and wanted to help. "This city is better when this office works," said Draper. "I'm glad to be a part of that and I want to be a part of that." C...

Opinion: As a New Yorker in the 1980s and 90s, I knew Trump’s shady side all too well

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

Despair, anger, and confusion combined to overwhelm me in the wee hours of Nov. 9, 2016.So I took to my bed with a bottle of white wine I was saving for a special occasion. The wine wasn’t chilled, but I uncorked it anyway.When I woke up later that morning and saw the bottle standing 3-quarters empty, the reason for my upset came flooding back: The worst person imaginable was going to be president of the United States.Donald Trump got nearly 3 million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton but was still the winner thanks to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution and the Electoral College.While it’s maddening that our democracy has such a quirky provision, more maddening is the fact that tens of millions of Americans thought an obnoxious reality TV host was presidential timber.Some voters may not have known or didn’t care that their candidate loves to stir up trouble, including racial animus.As a New Yorker in the 1980s and 90s, I knew Trump’s shady side all too well.The man would go to gr...

Pac-12 bowl projections: Oregon to the playoff, Washington State to Las Vegas, Arizona drops out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

A few helpful reminders on the postseason selection process before we plunge into the latest Pac-12 bowl forecast:— The Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl will host the College Football Playoff semifinals, leaving the Pac-12 champion to participate in the Fiesta, Peach or Cotton bowls unless it qualifies for the CFP.— The Pac-12 is contractually tied to seven games: the New Year’s Six, Alamo, Las Vegas, Holiday, Sun, LA and Independence bowls.— The Alamo, Las Vegas and Holiday bowls can jump one team in favor of another as long as there is no more than a one-game difference in conference record. The second-tier bowls (Sun, LA and Independence) must select teams in order of conference record.The bowl projections will be published in this space each Tuesday.College Football Playoff/Sugar BowlTeam: Oregon (5-0)Home games remaining (four): WSU, Cal, USC, OSURoad games remaining (three): Washington, Utah, ASUComment: The Ducks will face six ranked opponents in the second half ...

Police responding to bomb threat at charter school in University Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

Police are responding to a bomb threat made against a charter school in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. The threat made via telephone against New Designs Charter School was received at about 8:17 a.m. Tuesday, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed to KTLA.Officers were sent to the school, located at 2303 S. Figueroa Way, to determine if the threat was credible. Check back for updates on this developing story.

'Ring of fire' solar eclipse to put on show for California this month

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

Californians will have a good view of the annular solar eclipse, aka a "Ring of Fire" eclipse, when it happens later this month. An annular solar eclipse occurs when the moon, while at its farthest point from Earth, passes between our planet and the sun.The dazzling event causes a dark circle that partially covers the sun but leaves an orange, fiery glow around the shadowed edges of the moon.This is set to occur on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 9:13 a.m. PST, and your ability to view the event will depend on the weather and your location.A crowd uses handheld solar viewers and solar eclipse glasses to safely view a solar eclipse. (National Park Service)"To see all phases of an annular eclipse, you must view it from somewhere along the path of annularity," NASA stated.California falls into the 70% to 80% maximum obscuration range, according to a NASA map, so residents and visitors should get a clear view depending on the weather. "However, even with cloud cover, the eerie daytime darkness ass...

Taylor Swift, Chiefs and Jets spike Sunday Night Football ratings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

The Taylor Swift effect is real.Sunday Night Football ratings are something out of a broadcaster's wildest dreams.The Kansas City Chiefs' nail-biting win over the New York Jets averaged about 27 million viewers on NBC and Peacock according to NBC Sports.Swift was spotted in a box suite and was seated alongside Patrick Mahomes' wife, Brittany. Also in the suite were her pals Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively as well as actor Hugh Jackman.Taylor Swift, second from left, and Brittany Mahomes, second from right, watch a play between the New York Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs during the second quarter of an NFL football game Oct. 1, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)This makes the game the most-watched Sunday show since Super Bowl LVII this past February. NBC Sports noted that this is also a 22% increase from last year's Week 4 game, which was when the Chiefs took on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tom Brady was still playing at that time.How does Swift play into this?Well, t...

Clippers meet the press at Media Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

The 2023-24 Los Angeles Clippers are hoping for a full season of good health and good fortune in their quest for the franchise's first NBA title. KTLA's David Pingalore reports from Media Day at the team's Playa Vista training facility.

Oakland’s Burdell offers elevated soul food and a love letter to grandma

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

It’s inspiring to eat at a place that clearly means so much to a chef on deep, personal levels.Oakland’s new Burdell is a fine dining, soul food restaurant from Geoff Davis, a veteran of True Laurel, James Syhabout’s The Dock and the Michelin-starred Cyrus. Davis has planned this moment for a long time, perhaps fretfully, as he wondered in a 2020 blog post: “Can Black food be served in a fully-funded, beautiful restaurant space, with great service and with great ingredients and beverages? Will it be celebrated nationally? What compromises will it take to achieve this?”It’s too early to answer the national-celebrity question, but the good news is Burdell has made a confident, thought-provoking debut. The basic idea is that the chef is reinterpreting the food of his grandparents – the name’s from his grandmother, Burdell Demby – in dishes like roasted pork neck, greens with berbere and Cathead Sourdough Biscuits with cider-honey butter. But there are othe...

Pumpkinpalooza: We tasted, rated 14 of Trader Joe’s autumnal specialties

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

Except for Half Moon Bay, no one does pumpkin season like Trader Joe’s. The autumnal array of products, which seems to have arrived earlier than ever, includes a sizable number of returning bestsellers and a few new options. We bought two grocery bags’ worth of snacks and treats and put them to the test. Here are the results:THE CLEAR FAVORITESPumpkin Cranberry Crisps ($3.99) and Pumpkin Cream Cheese ($2.49): This duo scored the highest in our informal tasting. The crackers, which are a seasonal variation on Trader Joe’s Raisin Rosemary Crisps and Fig & Olive Crisps, are a sophisticated snack, and would be terrific for a Thanksgiving appetizer tray. “Crisp, munchable, good texture” — with a nice pop from the cranberry — summed up the views. We served them with the seasonal cream cheese, but as one taster noted, “They could pair well with a soft cheese like a mascarpone or a goat.” All our tasters thought the cream cheese was ...

Charlotte Sena’s alleged kidnapper caught after his predawn visit to her family’s home, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:55 GMT

By MICHAEL HILL and LISA BAUMANN | Associated PressMOREAU, N.Y. (AP) — The suspect in the kidnapping of a 9-year-old girl who vanished during a family camping trip in upstate New York was caught after he left a ransom note at her family’s home, police said.This photo provided by her family on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023, shows Charlotte Sena, 9, who vanished during a camping trip in upstate New York. (Family photo via AP) Charlotte Sena was “safe and in good health” Monday after a massive two-day search ended with her rescue and the arrest of a person suspected in her abduction, police said. The man, who lived in a neighboring town, was identified as Craig Nelson Ross Jr., 47.Charlotte disappeared while riding her bike Saturday at Moreau Lake State Park, north of Albany.Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday night during a news conference that investigators were able to identify a fingerprint from a ransom note allegedly left by the suspect. “What happened was extraordinary,” she said.Sh...