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Leslie Van Houten, Charles Manson follower, released from California prison

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:36 GMT

Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten walked out of a California prison Tuesday after serving more than 50 years of a life sentence for her participation in two infamous murders.Van Houten “was released to parole supervision,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in a statement.She left the California Institution for Women in Corona, east of Los Angeles, in the early morning hours and was driven to transitional housing, her attorney Nancy Tetreault said.“She’s still trying to get used to the idea that this real,” Tetreault told The Associated Press.Days earlier Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he would not fight a state appeals court ruling that Van Houten should be granted parole. He shas said it was unlikely the state Supreme Court would consider an appeal.She is expected to spend about a year in transitional housing, learning basic skills such as how to go to the grocery store and get a debit card, according to her attorney.Van Houten, now in her 70s, r...

Riverside County fire spreading at 'rapid rate,' officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:36 GMT

A blaze in Riverside County is spreading quickly Tuesday afternoon, fire officials say. The Rider Fire was reported just before 12:45 p.m. near the 19900 block of Seaton Avenue in Mead Valley, the Riverside County Fire Department said on Twitter.In less than half an hour, it had grown to 5 acres and was "burning in heavy vegetation at a rapid rate of spread," officials added. By 1:40 p.m., it had grown to 10 acres and was 0% contained.Check back for updates to this developing story.

How are police trying to keep L.A. Metro passengers safe?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:36 GMT

In response to KTLA's investigation into the current conditions on the L.A. Metro, KTLA received exclusive access into their operations and what they are doing to make it safer for passengers and employees. Also, for the first time, we are hearing from law enforcement whose job it is to patrol and police Metro's trains and buses. "There's not enough of us," said L.A. County Sheriff's Deputy Kari Mercer, who patrols Metro's trains overnight. We asked her directly why she thinks passengers don’t feel safe. Her answer was succinct."Well, they're not safe. Because you never know how someone under the influence is going to respond. Sometimes they're violent." Ambassadors confront homeless individuals at an LA Metro station. June 2023. (KTLA)Mercer says she constantly responds to calls where people are acting violent and erratic."They're speaking to themselves. They're swinging their arms around. We get there and that person has already struck somebody," she ...

Crocs releases 'Barbie'-themed shoes ahead of movie release

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:36 GMT

Crocs is the latest brand to enter Barbie’s world ahead of the highly anticipated summer movie.The shoe company unveiled its Barbie-themed shoe collection on Tuesday after giving fans a sneak peek of the new Crocs on Friday. The collection includes: Barbie the Movie Mega Crush ClogBarbie Crush ClogBarbie "Cozzzy" SandalBarbie Classic ClogKids’ Barbie Cutie ClogThe shoes will be available on the Crocs website, Foot Locker, Journeys and Champs Sports, among other retailers. (Crocs) Crocs fans can also decorate their Crocs with Barbie Jibbitz Charm Pack, which retails for $19.99.The shoes will be available on the Crocs website, Foot Locker, Journeys and Champs Sports, among other retailers, and cost between $59.99 and $84.99.The shoe company is no stranger to collaborations since it has partnered with restaurants, celebrities and brands over the last few years. Taco Bell and Crocs to release limited-edition shoes Ahead of its world premiere, the "Barbie” movie has partnered with comp...

Barry Bonds still hoping for Hall of Fame induction: ‘I believe at some point it will happen’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:36 GMT

Barry Bonds hasn’t lost hope that one day he’ll be enshrined into the Baseball Hall of Fame.Despite falling short of the three-quarters threshold by earning just 66% of the BBWAA vote in his 10th and final year on the ballot in 2022, and then again falling short when a 16-member veterans committee gave him fewer than four votes last December, Bonds still thinks he might be inducted one day.Speaking on the Hollywood Swingin’ podcast, Bonds said he’s hoping the votes change in 2025, when the veterans committee votes again.“There’s a possibility,” Bonds said. “I belong with my teammates in that Hall of Fame, 100%. I’m not going to jade it out. The dream is still there as long as there’s a ballot for it. It can happen when I’m 60 or 70 or whenever. Hopefully I don’t have to wait that long or hopefully I’m not dead.”The veterans committee is comprised of Hall of Famers, baseball executives and writers. It votes every three years. Bonds is off the BBWAA ballot for ...

Oakland Athletics start process of applying to MLB for move to Las Vegas; Manfred maligns ‘political process’ in Oakland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:36 GMT

By RONALD BLUM (AP Baseball Writer)SEATTLE (AP) — The Oakland Athletics have started the process of applying to Major League Baseball to move to Las Vegas.MLB last month established a relocation committee to evaluate the move, a group headed by Milwaukee Brewers chairman Mark Attanasio. Philadelphia Phillies CEO John Middleton and Kansas City Royals CEO John Sherman also are on the committee.“They have begun to submit information related to their relocation application,” MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. “It’s not complete at this point.”Nevada’s Legislature approved providing $380 million in public financing for a proposed $1.5 billion, 30,000-seat ballpark with a retractable roof on the Tropicana hotel site of the Las Vegas Strip. The new venue would be close to Allegiant Stadium, where the NFL’s Oakland Raiders moved to in 2020, and T-Mobile Arena, where the newly crowned Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights started pl...

Jury decides will found in Aretha Franklin’s couch is valid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:36 GMT

By Ed White | Associated PressPONTIAC, Mich. — A document handwritten by singer Aretha Franklin and found in her couch after her 2018 death is a valid Michigan will, a jury said Tuesday, a critical turn in a dispute that has turned her sons against each other.It’s a victory for Kecalf Franklin and Edward Franklin whose lawyers had argued that papers dated 2014 should override a 2010 will that was discovered around the same time in a locked cabinet at the Queen of Soul’s home in suburban Detroit.The jury deliberated less than an hour after a brief trial that started Monday. After the verdict was read, Aretha Franklin’s grandchildren stepped forward from the first row to hug Kecalf and Edward.“I’m very, very happy. I just wanted my mother’s wishes to be adhered to,” Kecalf Franklin said. “We just want to exhale right now. It’s been a long five years for my family, my children.”Aretha Franklin did not leave behind a formal, ty...

Bay Area property manager with ‘regular access’ to children’s homes recorded disturbing video of himself in child porn collection, feds say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:36 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — A Bay Area man whose job allowed him access to numerous apartments where children live has been charged with possession of child pornography, and prosecutors say one of the videos shows him committing a lewd act involving a child, court records show.Cristian Mattus-Piccardo, 50, was indicted June 20 on charges of possessing child pornography. In a subsequent motion to keep him detained, prosecutors wrote that one of the videos depicts Mattus-Piccardo “sucking the tongue of at least one young girl for upwards of thirty seconds at a time,” then telling her to keep it a secret. The incident appeared to happen while he was babysitting the child, authorities wrote in court papers.“He works as a janitor at a building downtown, and is a property manager at a multi-family residence in Potrero Hill. He has regular access to the other units where children live. He babysits on occasion,” Assistant U.S. Attorney George Hageman wrote in a court motio...

Tech companies eye 100-plus more layoffs in Bay Area as job cuts widen

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:36 GMT

Tech companies have revealed plans for additional job cuts in the Bay Area that top 100 positions, unsettling disclosures that suggest the layoffs in the struggling sector have yet to fully run their course.Sumo Logic, Intel and Microsoft are among the tech companies that have recently disclosed plans for job cuts, according to documents filed with the state Employment Development Department.During 2022 and so far in 2023, tech companies have revealed plans to chop more than 25,900 jobs in the Bay Area, this news organization’s review of the WARN notices the firms have filed with EDD officials shows.Here are the details of the most recent filings:Sumo Logic is cutting 79 jobs in Redwood CityIntel is laying off 21 workers in Santa ClaraMicrosoft is cutting two positions in Mountain View.The great majority of these layoffs were already scheduled to occur. However, they were posted only this week by the EDD on its public website.Sumo Logic had scheduled its job cuts for June 8 wh...

Oakland hills group, Fire Department vigilant at year’s riskiest time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:13:36 GMT

One of the best ways to prevent loss due to urban wildfire for people in the East Bay who own homes or properties is low-tech, requires minimal physical exertion and is entirely free: Getting to know your neighbors.Related ArticlesLocal News | Piano great Dick Hyman comes to Stanford Jazz Fest with an old friend This idea comes not from feel-good anecdotes or wishful thinking but is the most shared advice offered in separate interviews with Carolyn Burgess and Michael Hunt, two people whose life experiences, careers and volunteer activities have made them experts in urban wildfire prevention and readiness. Burgess is the North Hills Community Association’s (NHCA) public safety chair and second vice chair, and Hunt is the Oakland Fire Department’s public information officer.Involved for 12 years with the NHCA (northhillscommunity.org), Burgess lost her home in the catastrophic 1991 Oakland hills fire that killed 25 people, injured 150 individuals, destroye...