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Russia high court ruling effectively bans LGBTQ activism

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:47 GMT

By Dasha Litvinova | Associated PressTALLINN, Estonia — Russia’s Supreme Court effectively outlawed LGBTQ+ activism on Thursday, the most drastic step against advocates of gay, lesbian and transgender rights in the increasingly conservative country.Ruling in response to a lawsuit filed by the Justice Ministry, the court labeled what the suit called the LGBTQ+ “movement” operating in Russia as an extremist organization and banned it.The ruling is the latest step in a decade-long crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia under President Vladimir Putin, who has emphasized “traditional family values” during his 24 years in power.Thursday’s closed-door hearing lasted four hours. No one besides Justice Ministry representatives were allowed in, and there was no defendant. Journalists were taken into the courtroom only for the reading of the verdict by Judge Oleg Nefedov, who wore a face mask, apparently for health reasons.The case was classified, and the mini...

San Jose: Gun task force arrests two after discovering drug and weapons cache

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:47 GMT

SAN JOSE — Two men have been arrested after a raid of a mobile home in South San Jose yielded an illegal gun-making operation featuring several illegal assault rifles and machine guns, as well as enough fentanyl and other narcotics to arouse suspicion of drug trafficking, authorities say.The Santa Clara County Gun Violence Task Force — comprised of the district attorney’s office and local law enforcement officers — conducted a warrant search of a home on Ford Road on Tuesday. It was part of a weapons investigation that led to the arrests of residents Calvin Le, 25, and John Phan, 33.Le has been charged with 13 felony counts encompassing illegal gun manufacturing, possession of assault weapons, possession of a machine gun, and illegally selling fentanyl, MDMA and cocaine, according to a criminal complaint. Phan was charged with five felony counts covering similar drug crime allegations and illegally possessing ammunition and a handgun with an “obliterate...

Japan suspends Osprey flights after fatal USAF crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:47 GMT

By Mari Yamaghuchi and Tara Copp | Associated PressTOKYO — Japan suspended flights by its Osprey aircraft Thursday, officials said, the day after a U.S. Air Force Osprey based in Japan crashed into the sea during a training mission.Tokyo says it has also asked the U.S. military to ground all Ospreys operating in Japan except for those joining the search operations at the crash site. At least one of the eight crew members aboard was killed, but the status of the others was not yet known.A senior defense ministry official, Taro Yamato, told a parliamentary hearing that Japan has suspended flights of Ospreys until details of the crash and safety are confirmed. The cause of Wednesday’s crash was not yet known.The U.S.-made Osprey is a hybrid aircraft that takes off and lands like a helicopter but can rotate its propellers forward and cruise much faster, like an airplane, during flight.Ministry officials said a planned training flight Thursday at the Metabaru army camp in the Saga ...

Man killed in Richmond freeway multi-vehicle crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:47 GMT

RICHMOND — A driver killed Tuesday night in a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 80 was identified by the coroner’s office Thursday as a 49-year-old San Francisco man.The crash, which involved three vehicles, happened about 9:51 p.m. Tuesday on eastbound I-80 just west of Carlson Boulevard, the California Highway Patrol said.The vehicles involved were a Nissan Frontier pickup truck driven by the man killed, as well as a Toyota RAV4 SUV and a Lexus GS 350, authorities said.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Vehicular manslaughter, other charges filed in hit-and-run death of 86-year-old East Bay man Crashes and Disasters | East Bay Woman charged in connection to deadly wrong-way Peninsula crash Crashes and Disasters | Woman arrested on suspicion of hit-and-run, child endangerment after deadly San Jose crash Crashes and Disasters | Victim identified in Friday’s fiery crash on Highway 1 near San Gregorio ...

The top eight most expensive home sales in Oakland, reported the week of Nov. 20

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:47 GMT

A house that sold for $2 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in Oakland in the past week.In total, eight residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past week, with an average price of $1.3 million. The average price per square foot was $842.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of Nov. 20 even if the property may have been sold earlier.8. $900K, detached house in the 200 block of 38th StreetA sale has been finalized for the single-family house in the 200 block of 38th Street in Oakland. The price was $900,000 and the new owners took over the house in September. The house was built in 1911 and the living area totals 1,028 square feet. The price per square foot ended up at $875. The house features two bedrooms and two bathrooms.38th Street7. $1.2 million, single-family residence in the 4800 block of Walnut StreetThe 1,798 square-foot single-family house in the 48...

‘Nasty and deliberate attack’: Meghan and Harry accused of leaking royal names in race scandal, report says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:47 GMT

Palace insiders are not holding back in pointing the finger at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for actions that  they say allowed King Charles III and Kate Middleton to be named this week as two royal family members who allegedly voiced “concerns” about the color of their future son’s skin.“In all likelihood, it must have been the Sussex camp which leaked the names,” a palace insider told the U.K. tabloid The Sun, in a story headlined, “Meghan’s Revenge.” “It’s a nasty and deliberate attack,” the insider said.The names of the king and the Princess of Wales appear in a passage of the Dutch edition of the controversial new book, “Endgame” by Omid Scobie, as U.K. TV host Piers Morgan revealed on his show Wednesday. Scobie has spent this week furiously defending his book and denying that he is a friend, “mouthpiece” or “cheerleader” of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, or that he wrote the book with their a...

Sports Illustrated names Colorado football coach Deion Sanders as its Sportsperson of the Year

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:47 GMT

Colorado football coach Deion Sanders has been named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year, the magazine announced Thursday morning.Sanders is credited with breathing new life into a program that went 1-11 just a year ago. The Prime Effect at CU started with the first sold-out spring game in school history. From a dramatic season-opening win at TCU to a disastrous loss to Stanford, all eyes have been on the Buffs.Related ArticlesCollege Sports | San Jose State trio earns first-team all-Mountain West honors College Sports | San Jose State’s Brennan sidesteps Oregon State rumors, says Spartans ‘devastated’ by Mountain West title game snub College Sports | MW power ratings: Boise State on top, SJSU rises after win at UNLV College Sports | Stanford no match for Notre Dame in lopsided loss to No. 17 Fighting Irish College Sports | Cal-UCLA: Bears confident they’ll become bowl eligib...

One identical twin went vegan while the other didn’t. This is what Bay Area scientists found.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:47 GMT

By Sandee LaMotte | CNNHealthy twins who ate a vegan diet for eight weeks had lower “bad” low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol, better blood sugar levels, and greater weight loss than siblings who ate a diet of meat and vegetables, a new study found.“There was a 10% to 15% drop in LDL cholesterol, a 25% drop in insulin, and a 3% drop in body weight in just eight weeks, all by eating real food without animal products,” said lead study author Christopher Gardner, a research professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center in Palo Alto, California.A vegan diet differs from a vegetarian diet in that it eliminates not only animal flesh but dairy, eggs or any other ingredient derived from animals. A strictly plant-based diet can be higher in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients compared with other dietary patterns, said Gardner, who is also the director of the Nutrition Studies Research Group at Stanford.“The results of this study confirm the benefit of cu...

Nima Momeni attorneys request change of venue, trial date set

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:47 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A trial date for accused Bob Lee killer Nima Momeni was set for March 15, 2024, during a court appearance Thursday in which Momeni's lawyers requested a change of venue. Attorneys for Momeni expressed disgust at the publication of photos showing Momeni in his cell by a local news outlet.Momeni's lawyers said in their 27 years of practicing law, they had never had pretrial images like the ones that were published taken without a client's consent. The judge at Thursday's proceedings said that an internal investigation was underway regarding the photos. Nearly two dozen Bank of America branches closing across Bay Area Momeni's legal team includes San Francisco lawyer Tony Brass and Florida "celebrity attorney" Saam Zangeneh, along with Bradford Cohen, another Florida-based attorney.Momeni was arrested in mid-April following the April 4 fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee. While initial reaction to Lee's stabbing suggested the tech entrepreneur had been ...

Man arrested after allegedly opening credit in Pinole woman’s name

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:49:47 GMT

(KRON) -- A 56-year-old Fair Oaks man was arrested this week after a Pinole woman reported that someone had opened three credit lines on her business account in October, the Pinole Police Department announced Thursday.Christopher Briscoe, 56, of Fair Oaks, was arrested in connection to the fraudulent credit cards that were used at two Sacramento-area businesses where over $6,600 in charges were made, police said.Pinole detectives with the Criminal Investigation Division obtained surveillance video showing a male suspect, accompanied by a woman, making one of the fraudulent transactions. The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office assisted Pinole investigators in identifying the woman “through booking photographs and facial recognition technology,” Pinole PD said. After interviewing the woman and further investigation, Briscoe was identified as the male suspect. 14-year-old girl arrested in connection to 15 SF retail thefts, $30K loss A search and arrest warrant served to Briscoe on Nov...