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California judge dismisses criminal charges against PG&E in 2020 fatal fire

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

REDDING, Calif. (AP) — A California judge on Wednesday dismissed all charges against Pacific Gas & Electric in connection to a 2020 fatal wildfire sparked by its equipment that destroyed hundreds of homes and killed four people, including an 8-year-old child.The utility also reached a $50 million settlement agreement with the Shasta County District Attorney’s Office, officials from both announced in separate statements. The wind-whipped blaze began on Sept. 27, 2020, and raged through rugged terrain and small communities west of Redding, killing four people, burning about 200 homes and blackening about 87 square miles (225 square kilometers) of land in Shasta and Tehama counties.In 2021, state fire investigators concluded the fire was sparked by a gray pine tree that fell onto a PG&E distribution line. Shasta and Tehama counties sued the utility, alleging negligence. They said PG&E failed to remove the tree even though it had been marked for removal two years earli...

3 activists arrested after their fund bailed out protestors of Atlanta’s ‘Cop City’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Police on Wednesday arrested three Atlanta organizers who have been aiding protesters against the city’s proposed police and fire training center, striking at the structure that supports the fight against what opponents derisively call “Cop City.”The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced its agents and Atlanta police had arrested three leaders of the Atlanta Solidarity Fund, which has bailed out protesters and helped them find lawyers.Charged with money laundering and charity fraud are Marlon Scott Kautz, 39, of Atlanta; Savannah D. Patterson, 30, of Savannah; and Adele MacLean, 42, of Atlanta.State investigators said they found evidence linking all three to financial crimes. Police executed warrants Wednesday morning at a house owned by Kautz and MacLean that is emblazoned with anti-police graffiti in an otherwise gentrified neighborhood east of downtown Atlanta.Attorney Don Samuel, who is representing the three activists, said Wednesday afternoon that he h...

‘Ted Lasso’ finale proved its whole point – that those who are stuck can overcome (SPOILERS)

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Roy Kent cries. Nate Shelley apologizes. Rebecca Welton lets her anger go. Trent Crimm finishes his book. Keeley Jones embraces her strength. And the kind-to-a-fault but often lost Ted Lasso finally — after three seasons, but arguably after nearly a lifetime — figures out exactly where he needs to be.Criticized by some for losing its way in its third season, “Ted Lasso” ended up exactly on brand — by taking a sharply drawn crew of characters who had lost their ways and gotten stuck, and freeing them from shackles that were often of their own making. “Can people change?” Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) wonders. The answer, after Wednesday, is a resounding “probably.” “Perfect is boring,” Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) says at one point in the season ( and likely series ) finale. And if there had been a travel guide to the three seasons of the Apple TV+ show, that quote might well have sat opposite the title page. “Ted Lasso” has been a Whitman’s Sampler of pa...

Woman assaulted while jogging in Scarborough, man wanted

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

Toronto police are attempting to identify a man wanted for assaulting a woman while she was jogging in the Port Union neighbourhood of Scarborough.Officers were called to the Port Union Road and Lawrence Avenue East area around 4 p.m. on Monday for reports of an assault.It’s alleged that a woman was out for a run in the area when a man approached her from behind and assaulted her. He then fled to the Rouge Hill Go Station and boarded a westbound train.Around the same time, police were notified that the man approached other women in the Starspray Boulevard and Lawrence Avenue East area.It’s alleged that the male suspect would run up to women and try and start up a conversation with them.Police said the man is described as in his late 20s, with dreadlocks and a large lower lip.He was last seen wearing a black and red hooded sweatshirt with “Friday the 13th” and the “Jason Voorhees” character, black pants, Ewing runners, and black sunglasses.Suspect ...

Bolivia: Trustee probing bankrupt bank died by suicide, no foul play found in fall from building

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — The trustee of a bankrupt bank in Bolivia who died after falling from the 15th floor of an office building killed himself, a forensic investigation concluded Wednesday, casting new doubts on a case that has gripped Bolivia amid accusations of a cover up and as the country faces an economic downturn and President Luis Arce grapples with corruption accusations.“We have investigated all hypotheses and have scientifically and technically demonstrated that the death of Carlos Alberto Colodro was a suicide,” Government Minister Carlos Eduardo del Castillo said Wednesday in a news conference. “The cameras show Mr. Colodro entering the 15th floor completely alone.”But the family of Colodro, who was found dead Saturday, disputed the findings, insisting he was the victim of foul play, as former presidents from differing political leanings — including Arce himself — demand an impartial investigation.The investigation into Colodro’s death was “hasty and not corrobor...

Escaped Ohio inmate caught after attempting to order $1 burger from McDonald's

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

AKRON, Ohio (WJW) — An escaped inmate was taken back into custody Wednesday morning after he was recognized attempting to order a hamburger. Jason Lyle Conrad — who'd been on the run since Tuesday morning after escaping from a transport vehicle transfer — was captured by authorities Wednesday morning following a short foot chase in Akron, Ohio, the U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio reported. Suspect arrested in I-76 road rage shooting The 39-year-old is now back at Summit County Jail, but it was a tip from McDonald's employees that led to his capture. Jason Lyle Conrad (Summit County Sheriff's Office)According to 911 recordings released by the Akron Police Department, employees identified the man, who'd pulled up in street clothes riding a bike around 8:30 a.m., from his tattoos and his limp. He reportedly tried to order a burger for $1 but was told the restaurant did not offer those. He then rode off. Summit County Sheriff's photoAnother 911 call revealed he was spo...

Man left blinded by ball thrown at Angels Stadium sues MLB team

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) - A man is suing the Los Angeles Angels nearly a year after he said he was hit in the face and eye by a souvenir ball during a game in Anaheim.David Mermelstein, 55, attended a June game at Angels Stadium with his friends in an effort to take his mind off recent personal tragedies: his father, a Holocaust survivor, had just died and he was diagnosed with brain cancer, according to the civil complaint.“Things went horribly wrong,” the complaint reads. MLB pitcher has skull fracture, concussion after taking line drive to the head After Juan Lagares — then an Angels outfielder — caught the third out of the top of the 6th inning, the Gold Glove winner “randomly hurled the ball into the stands at high velocity,” striking the unsuspecting Mermelstein on the left side of his face and eye, the complaint read.David Mermelstein damaged eye is seen in a photo provided by his attorney on May 31, 2023. The plaintiff, who was sitting in the outfield bleachers, had looked down...

Former 'Family Feud' contestant found guilty in wife's slaying

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

QUINCY, Ill. (AP) — A jury Wednesday convicted a former contestant on the television game show “Family Feud” of first-degree murder and home invasion in the slaying of his estranged wife in western Illinois.Timothy Bliefnick, 40, was found guilty in the Feb. 23 shooting death of Rebecca Bliefnick.The Adams County Circuit Court jury in Quincy deliberated about four hours after Timothy Bliefnick did not testify and the defense did not call any evidence. Adams County sheriff's deputies took Bliefnick into custody immediately after the verdict was read.Bliefnick is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 11The body of Rebecca Bliefnick, 41, was found by a family member inside her Quincy home after she failed to pick up her children from school. She had been shot multiple times. Video: Car launches over tow truck in Georgia Timothy Bliefnick was arrested on March 13, 12 days after his Quincy home was searched.The couple was separated and going through a divorce.In 2020, Timothy Bliefn...

Sox catcher, CPD Memorial Foundation team-up for bulletproof vest fundraiser

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

CHICAGO - White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal has been an All-Star behind the plate, but he is also rising above off the field. Grandal is teaming up with the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation to provide the men and women on the job with life-saving vests. "Listening to a lot of their stories, not too many of them have ended up badly, so thank God for that," Grandal said. CPD Memorial Foundation gifts police 500 new bulletproof vests The 34-year-old native of Cuba is behind the 2023 Yasmani Grandal Experience Raffle with a chance to win one of three things: an autographed baseball, a signed jersey, or a batting practice experience with No. 24 himself. "It was mind-blowing to me that they had such a foundation that took such care of our police department," Grandal said. Chicago officers receive a vest once they graduate from the police academy. Still, Phil Cline, the executive director of the CPD Memorial Foundation, reminds locals that manufacturers recommend bulletproof vests be ...

DNA evidence linked Raul Meza to 2019 death, court records say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:19:28 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- DNA evidence from several years ago had already linked Raul Meza Jr., 62, to the 2019 death of Gloria Lofton, 66. Now, he's charged with her murder. According to the Austin Police Department, they are investigating Meza in connection to several cold cases in the area, after arresting him earlier this week for Lofton's death and the recent death of an 80-year-old Pflugerville man, Jesse Fraga.An affidavit obtained by KXAN details what led to these charges. IN-DEPTH: Court documents detail what led to 80 year old’s death, ‘serial killer’ arrest Last week, Meza called 311 and told the responding officer he knew police were looking for him. On the call, he confessed to murdering a woman "on Sara Drive." Following the call, police looked into deaths of women on Sara Drive in Austin from 2013 to 2021. Gloria Lofton’s reported death on May 9, 2019, was the only incident that fit the description, according to the affidavit. According to the final medical examiner rep...