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Federal grand jury indicts suspected East Bay convenience store robbery crew

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:34 GMT

OAKLAND — A federal grand jury has indicted three alleged members of a Bay Area robbery crew that targeted convenience stores for cigarette cartons, court records show.Lorenzo Sarmiento, 20, Ray’Mon Simon, 22, and Devaughn Sarmiento, 24, all of Oakland, were charged Wednesday with conspiracy and seven counts of robbery, each related to a separate incident of a robbery that targeted a Rite Aid, Quik Stop, 7-Eleven, or ARCO in San Leandro. The indictment notes, though, that the crew was suspected of at least 25 robberies around the East Bay.The three defendants are still facing corresponding state charges. Their two co-defendants in the Alameda County case, Patricia Sarmiento and Arial Telez, were not included in the federal indictment.Authorities say that the group drove around the East Bay committing robberies with a similar modus operandi; One person would brandish a firearm — or replica gun — at a clerk, while at least two others would empty cigarette cartons from the ...

College Board: No AP Psychology course for Florida students

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:34 GMT

By Annie Ma and Adriana Gomez Licon | Associated PressMIAMI — The first time the College Board bumped up against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s efforts to inject conservative ideals into education standards, it ultimately revamped the Advanced Placement course for African American studies, watering down curriculum on slavery reparations and the Black Lives Matter movement – and a nationwide backlash ensued.Now, faced with altering its AP Psychology course to comply with Florida’s limits on teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity, the nonprofit College Board is pushing back. It advised the state’s school districts Thursday to not offer the college-level course to Florida’s high school students unless it can be taught in full.The announcement sent shock waves across the state as students in many school districts prepare to return to school in less than a week. But because the College Board is standing by its decades-old psychology curriculum, school ...

Niger’s mutinous military cuts ties with France

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:34 GMT

By Sam Mednick | Associated PressNIAMEY, Niger — Niger’s military junta says it is severing military agreements with France, its former colonial ruler, firing some of the previous government’s key ambassadors and warning citizens of the West African nation to watch for foreign armies and spies. A regional delegation’s efforts at negotiation quickly deadlocked.The junta’s announcement on state television late Thursday deepens the post-coup isolation for what had been the United States’ and allies’ last major security partner in the Sahel, the vast region south of the Sahara Desert that Islamic extremist groups have turned into the global center of terrorism.With two days remaining before a deadline set by the West African regional bloc to release and reinstate President Mohamed Bazoum or face possible force, Bazoum in a plea published in a Washington Post opinion piece said, “I write this as a hostage” and urged the U.S. and partners to...

Cirque du Soleil: ‘Corteo’ makes a long-awaited SF return

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:34 GMT

Always a frequent visitor to the Bay Area, Canadian circus juggernaut Cirque du Soleil is finally returning for the first time in three years with its hit show “Corteo.” This particular piece previously came to town in 2005, the same year that it had premiered in Montreal.The current visit is a whirlwind one — one weekend each in San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco. In January the company will return to San Francisco for a nearly two-month run of “Kooza,” another returning show that had its U.S. premiere in San Francisco in 2007. Cirque du Soleil’s last visit to the Bay Area was “Amaluna” in late 2019 and early 2020.Like the similar English word cortege, “Corteo” in Italian means a procession, such as that for a funeral. The show takes the form of a celebratory procession imagined by a clown dreaming of his own funeral.Written and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, “Corteo” features angels and human marionettes, bouncing trampoline beds and women swinging from giant chandeliers....

533 suspected drug dealers arrested in San Francisco in 2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:34 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Hundreds of suspected drug dealers have been arrested in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood as police continue cracking down on rampant open-air drug dealing and using.The San Francisco Police Department's Tenderloin Station officers have arrested 533 people for selling narcotics in 2023 as of August, nearly surpassing the 566 total arrests for narcotics sales in all of 2022.Police Chief Bill Scott said his officers are also arresting people for using illicit drugs in public, something that officers rarely did last year.SFPD officers seized 123 kilograms of narcotics, including 80 kilograms of fentanyl in the Tenderloin, surpassing the total amount of drugs seized in all of 2022, Scott announced Friday.    The drug seizures come amid an ongoing focus by SFPD and partner agencies to dismantle the open-air drug markets. A fentanyl overdose epidemic has surged through the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods this year. Fenta...

The Big Myth About “Free” Markets That Justified History’s Greatest Heist

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:34 GMT

RAND Corporation experts, panelists, and other guests attend the ribbon-cutting of the new RAND Corporation headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., on April 14, 2005.Photo: Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty ImagesThe bank robber John Dillinger is one of history’s most famous thieves, absconding with the equivalent today of about $7 million. You’d think that if someone had stolen $7 million on each of 7 million separate crime sprees, you would have heard about it, right? But you would be wrong.In 2020, the RAND Corporation, a think tank in Santa Monica, California, released a study with the humdrum title “Trends in Income From 1975 to 2018.” RAND itself resides at the center of America’s establishment. In the decades following its founding after World War II, it was largely funded by and served the needs of the military-industrial complex. Daniel Ellsberg was working at RAND when he leaked the Pentagon Papers, which he had access to because RAND possessed several copies.Incr...

The killing of an opposition supporter in Zimbabwe was by ruling party followers, witnesses say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:34 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — This week’s deadly attack on a Zimbabwean opposition supporter was the work of ruling party followers, witnesses said Friday, underlining fears of a violent buildup to this month’s general election.The opposition Citizens Coalition for Change, or CCC, party had publicized the death Thursday of Tinashe Chutsunge in an attack while on his way to a rally in the capital, Harare, and blamed it on supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF party. On Friday, witnesses told The Associated Press that Chitsunge was beaten and stoned to death as he tried to flee from dozens of men wearing ZANU-PF party T-shirts in the Glen View township. At least 15 other people were injured in the attack, the witnesses said. Police said they have arrested 10 people in connection with Chitsunge’s death but gave no details about their identities or a possible motive, including any links to ZANU-PF. The killing of CCC supporter Chitsunge came in the same week that party leader Nelson Ch...

Greek authorities meet on migration as arrivals by land and sea are increasing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:34 GMT

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greece’s government met on Friday to try to improve coordination on migration as a group of 102 migrants crossed by land from Turkey and other parts of the Mediterranean country saw a spike in arrivals by sea. The ministers for merchant marine, police and migration discussed joint action, a government statement said but provided no details.In the northeastern Evros region, police said the 102 migrants — 55 Syrians, 46 Iraqis and a Lebanese woman — were found near the Turkish border and taken to an asylum-seeker registration center. The group included 53 children.At the other end of Greece, the coast guard said 49 migrants were rescued from a boat that had run out of fuel, following an alert from Italian authorities. A merchant ship was diverted to pick up its occupants 175 kilometers (109 miles) off the southwestern town of Pylos.Out of that group, 47 were transferred to a coast guard boat bound for the southern port of Kalamata, while a 21-year-old...

DigitalBridge: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:34 GMT

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — DigitalBridge Group, Inc. (DBRG) on Friday reported a loss of $8.7 million in its second quarter.On a per-share basis, the Boca Raton, Florida-based company said it had a loss of 14 cents. Earnings, adjusted for stock option expense and restructuring costs, were 6 cents per share.The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 10 cents per share.The provider of asset management services to NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. posted revenue of $424.9 million in the period, which beat Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $315.5 million._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DBRG at https://www.zacks.com/ap/DBRGSource

Police investigating 'incarceration room' at Denver middle school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:25:34 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Police are looking into an alleged "incarceration room" at a Denver middle school, FOX31 has learned.Members of the Denver Public Schools board said Thursday that a staff whistleblower exposed the room at McAuliffe International School. The room had locks on doors and windows to prevent anyone inside from leaving. Cop, man exchange gunfire thinking each is the ‘bad guy’ Police told FOX31 on Friday that they received a complaint, and an investigation is underway.The whistleblower shared photos of the room, which were distributed by members of the Board of Education. One of the photos shows what is described as a barrel bolt latch on the outside of room 121E. Another shows a padlock on a window.“Students of color were locked in this room multiple times last year,” the anonymous whistleblower stated in an email, according to Board of Education Vice President Auon'tai Anderson.'Seclusion rooms' prohibited in Denver schoolsDenver Public Schools prohibits rooms like this...