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Day of Central Valley street takeovers ends with fight at McDonald’s, police say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

A series of rowdy gatherings Sunday in the Central Valley cities of Delano and McFarland ended with a brawl inside a McDonald’s and a struggle between officers and suspects, the police said.The McFarland Police Department said it is investigating the use of force during the arrest of two people in the McDonald’s parking lot.The police press release gave this account of the events:1/ Officers from the California Highway Patrol and the Kern County Sheriff’s Office responded at 3:23 p.m. to Lake Woollomes, a reservoir amid agricultural fields east of Delano. Hundreds of vehicles had gathered there, and reckless driving was reported.2/ After being ousted from the Lake Woollomes area, the group moved to the Walmart in Delano. When city police officers arrived, some members of the crowd threw glass bottles and vandalized police cars, the report said.Related ArticlesCalifornia News | 20-year-old California driver doing donuts at intersection dies in crash, sher...

Heisman Watch: Oregon’s Nix leads while UW’s Penix loses ground as race enters final weekend

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Welcome to our weekly look at the Pac-12’s leading Heisman Trophy candidates via an assessment of the top players in the conference. Consider this one Heisman voter’s view of the regional landscape. The rankings are based on individual performance, value to the team and quality of competition.Heisman Trophy voting began Monday and, unfortunately, an outsized portion of the 900-plus voters might cast their ballots before conference title games this weekend.One reason for the early voting: The No. 2 betting favorite isn’t competing.LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels has produced a stellar season — he leads the country with 40 touchdown passes —  but the Tigers didn’t qualify for the SEC championship.Any voters committed to Daniels might not wait to assess Oregon quarterback Bo Nix and Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. in their showdown Friday night in Las Vegas.Don’t forget: Five of the Heisman’s six voting regions are based in the Eastern and Ce...

Sister of accused Bob Lee killer arrested for DUI, hit-and-run in SF

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Khazar Momeni, sister of the accused killer of Cash App founder Bob Lee, was arrested Monday in San Francisco for suspicion of DUI following a hit and run, the San Francisco Police Department confirmed. According to SFPD, officers responded Monday at 11:08 a.m. to Geary Street and Larkin Street on a report of a vehicle collision. At the scene, officers located the involved driver and witnesses. During the course of an investigation, officers developed probable cause to determine the driver, identified as 38-year-old Khazar Momeni of San Francisco, was driving under the influence.Khazar, who also goes by Khazar Elyassnia, is the sister of Nima Momeni who was charged with murder in connection to the fatal stabbing of Lee back in April. Walnut Creek man gets two-year sentence for installing cameras in Starbucks restroom Lee was found bleeding from stab wounds in the early hours of the morning on April 4 in San Francisco's Rincon Hill neighborhood. The tech ent...

Project to study influence of psychedelics announced by UC Berkeley, Harvard

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

(BCN) -- University of California, Berkeley and Harvard University announced this month that the two institutions received funding to begin research into how psychedelics have influenced art, literature and society. The initiative, called "Psychedelics in Society and Culture," will focus on the historical significance of psychedelics and will provide faculty and student researchers with grants of up to $100,000 to study related issues. The UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics (BCSP) and the Center for Interdisciplinary Critical Inquiry as well as Harvard's Mahindra Humanities Center will lead the initiative. Sister of accused Bob Lee killer arrested for DUI, hit-and-run in SF "The UC Berkeley Center for the Science of Psychedelics was founded to deepen our understanding of psychedelics," said Imran Khan, executive director of BCSP. "We can't fulfill this mission without studying psychedelics from multiple angles, whether that's scientific, journalistic, or humanis...

Elevator plummets at a platinum mine in South Africa, killing 11 workers and injuring 75

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — An elevator suddenly dropped around 200 meters (656 feet) while carrying workers to the surface in a platinum mine in South Africa, killing 11 and injuring 75 — 14 of them critically, the mine operator said Tuesday.It happened Monday evening at the end of the workers’ shift at a mine in the northern city of Rustenburg. All the injured workers were hospitalized.Mine operator Impala Platinum Holdings CEO Nico Muller said in a statement it was “the darkest day in the history of Implats.” He said an investigation had begun into what caused the elevator to drop and the mine had suspended all operations on Tuesday.Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe said there would be a government investigation into the tragedy. He visited the mine and was briefed, the government said.All 86 workers killed or injured were in the elevator, Implats spokesperson Johan Theron said. Some of the injured had “serious compact fractures,” he said. Theron said the elev...

3 young Palestinian men were shot in Vermont. Their families thought the US would be safer.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Far away from the war in Gaza, three students were enjoying another visit to Vermont, celebrating Thanksgiving and a pair of family birthdays. But the place their Palestinian families thought would be safe was anything but.Hisham Awartani, Kinnan Abdalhamid and Tahseen Ali Ahmad, all age 20, were out for a walk while visiting one of the victims’ relatives when a white man with a handgun shot them, police said. Awartani’s uncle, Rich Price, was hosting the young men. His sister lives in the occupied West Bank, and he says people often ask him if he’s worried about her and his nephews and niece. “And the reality is, as difficult as their life is, they are surrounded by an incredible sense of community,” Price said. “And tragic irony is not even the right phrase, but to have them come stay with me for Thanksgiving and have something like this happen speaks to the level of civic vitriol, speaks to the level of hatred that exists in some corners of this...

Finland will close its border with Russia over migrant concerns

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — Finland said Tuesday it will close its last remaining border crossing with Russia amid concerns that Moscow is using migrants as part of “hybrid warfare” to destabilize the Nordic country following its entry into NATO.Finland already had shut seven of the eight checkpoints on its 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border with Russia this month following a surge in arrivals of migrants from the Middle East and Africa. Helsinki has accused Moscow of ushering them toward the frontier — through thick forests in the south to the rugged Arctic landscape in the north.Since August, a trickle of asylum-seekers have arrived at the normally heavily controlled border, which makes up a significant part of NATO’s northeastern flank and acts as the European Union’s external border in the north. This month, Finnish authorities say about 900 crossed from Russia, an unusual increase.“The government has decided to close all the crossing points on the entire eastern border,” Prime Ministe...

No. 4 Florida State heads to ACC title game looking to add to ‘Sod Cemetery’ and ‘finish for 13’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Kneeling in the south end zone at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida State running back Trey Benson tried to cut out a chunk of grass with scissors. It wasn’t working on the orange-painted turf, so teammate Jared Verse stepped in to help.Together, and despite a police officer trying to dissuade them from finishing the task, they found success with their bare hands. They ripped out a keepsake destined for the program’s famed “Sod Cemetery” in Tallahassee.It could be the first of several souvenirs for the fourth-ranked Seminoles (12-0) over the next month.Nearly a year after several key players opted to stay in school and chase championships — Verse and star quarterback Jordan Travis led the way — FSU is on the verge of another one. The ‘Noles will play No. 15 Louisville (10-2) in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina.Florida State has a spot in the College Football Playoff on the line, and even with Travis now a spectator because of a gruesome ...

Young man gets life sentence for Canada massage parlor murder that court declared act of terrorism

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — A Canadian man who pleaded guilty to the murder of a Toronto massage parlor employee received a life prison sentence Tuesday for what a judge described as an act of terrorism related to an internet subculture that fuels sexual loneliness into rage and misogyny. The man, who cannot be named because he was 17 years old at the time of the February 2020 stabbing that killed 24-year-old Ashley Noelle Arzaga and seriously wounded another woman identified only by the initials J.C., also was sentenced to three years for attempted murder, to be served concurrently.He pleaded guilty last year to both first-degree murder and attempted murder charges. The judge said the life sentence included no chance of parole for 10 years. In June, Justice Sukhail Akhtar ruled that the massage parlor attack amounted to an act of terrorism due to its links to so-called “incel″ ideology, which stands for “involuntary celibate.″ It is promoted through a fringe online subculture domina...

Troy Trojans once again rebound from rough start to make Sun Belt title game, facing App State

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

The Troy Trojans lost on a Hail Mary the last time they faced Appalachian State and were perfect the rest of the way.Once again, the Trojans have rebounded strongly from a down-to-the-wire defeat and a 1-2 start to earn the right to host the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game. The opponent on Saturday just happens to be those Mountaineers (8-4).“I’m happy that App State won and we get to play them in the championship game, because who doesn’t love a good comeback story and a redemption story?” Troy safety Dell Pettus said.This season, the Trojans (10-2) have won nine straight games since losing in back-to-back weeks, 42-13 at then-No. 15 Kansas State and 16-14 to No. 24 James Madison. Last year they wrapped up coach Jon Sumrall’s first season with an 11-game winning streak, a Sun Belt championship and a No. 19 ranking — the first time Troy has finished a season ranked.The Trojans didn’t have quite the Hail Mary moment this time. But they fell to James Madison after missing one 49...