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Letters: Missed deadline | Frontline workers | Zero-emissions buses | Self-driving trucks | New approach | Yemeni water

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:19 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Missed deadline showsmayor can’t leadRe: “Oakland misses deadline for state crime aid” (Page A1, Sept. 16).It is unbelievable that city officials failed to meet the deadline to receive funds for fighting organized retail theft and other property crime. Oakland is embroiled in a crime wave that leaves residents and businesses as victims without recourse since 911 doesn’t answer in real-time and police are so short-staffed that a response may mean driving miles to the scene, very much too late to catch anyone.This money might have given the Oakland Police Department a break on these crimes and left more officers able to respond to assaults, shootings and murders.The mayor may go around town speaking about crime, but she had a chance to do something about it and her administration fell short. She is not capable of running this city.Judith BerneOaklandWill overhaul helpfrontline worke...

Indicted Antioch cops earned nearly $1.8 million while on leave waiting to be criminally charged

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:19 GMT

For six Antioch police officers hit with felony charges in August, the year-plus FBI probe into corruption, misconduct and misdeeds amounted to months of vacation funded from city coffers.Placed on paid leave after the city was alerted to allegedly illegal behavior, one of the officers relocated to Hawaii. Another threw a pool party. All collected paychecks for months while awaiting resolution of the investigation, records and sources say.By the time they were charged last month, the officers — Morteza Amiri, Calvin Prieto, Andrea Rodriguez, Eric Rombough, Devon Wenger and Ben Padilla — had received a combined $1.79 million in pay and benefits dating back to January 2022, according to payroll records released at the request of this news organization.In a short statement, Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe — who publicly called for the officers to be fired throughout 2023 — urged the officers to reimburse the city for the money they earned while under investigation.&#...

How Warriors and Steve Kerr will determine whether Chris Paul starts or not

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:19 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — It’s been three months since the Warriors traded for Chris Paul, and the 38-year-old former All-Star has shown quickly that he’s all in to immerse himself in the organization’s established culture.He calls head coach Steve Kerr on the phone frequently and has been involved in setting up team workouts everywhere from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and San Francisco.“Chris Paul took a 6 a.m. Southwest flight up here for a workout,” general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. said at a team news conference on Monday.To be determined is perhaps the most intriguing element to Paul’s integration into the Warriors’ roster. Will Paul cut into Golden State’s established starting five of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Kevon Looney? Or will he come off the bench for the first time in his 18-year career? The team’s answer: They won’t have an answer until all coaches and staff see how Paul looks playing with va...

Biden to visit Bay Area for technology consultation, campaign events

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:19 GMT

President Joe Biden is expected to travel to the Bay Area on Tuesday, landing at Moffett Federal Airfield in Mountain View prior to attending a campaign reception and other events over the course of a two-day visit.Biden’s trip will feature a meeting with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, a 30-member group featuring professors, scientists, CEOs and tech experts. The group exists to advise the president on policy matters where an “understanding of science, technology and innovation is key.”The president’s visit comes as critics from a growing number of sectors have expressed concerns about the lack of regulation surrounding artificial intelligence and the development of large language models like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. The Biden administration has said that to reap the benefits of artificial intelligence the nation “must first manage its risks.”In June, the Biden administration announced that it had come to a voluntary agreement with a group of ...

OBIT: David McCallum, star of ‘U.N.C.L.E.’ and ‘NCIS’ dead at 90

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:19 GMT

By Bob Thomas | Associated PressLOS ANGELES — Actor David McCallum, who became a teen heartthrob in the hit series “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” in the 1960s and was the eccentric medical examiner in the popular “NCIS” 40 years later, has died. He was 90.McCallum died Monday of natural causes surrounded by family at New York Presbyterian Hospital, CBS said in a statement.“David was a gifted actor and author, and beloved by many around the world. He led an incredible life, and his legacy will forever live on through his family and the countless hours on film and television that will never go away,” said a statement from CBS.Scottish-born McCallum had been doing well appearing in such films “A Night to Remember” (about the Titanic), “The Great Escape” and “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (as Judas). But it was “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” that made the blond actor with the Beatlesque haircut a household name in...

California schools must have gender-neutral restrooms by 2026

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:19 GMT

Public schools across California will be required to have gender-neutral bathrooms by July 2026, adding another layer of protections for the state’s LGBTQ+ students.Although some cities and school districts across the country have added gender-neutral bathrooms, the bill Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law on Saturday apparently makes the Golden State the first to require it in schools statewide.The legislation was among a trio of bills supporting LGBTQ+ youth that became law in recent days, including a new requirement for schools to provide “cultural competency” training to staff members on LGBTQ+ issues, and the creation of a task force that will identify LGBTQ+ students’ needs across the state and push forward initiatives to support them.“California is proud to have some of the most robust laws in the nation when it comes to protecting and supporting our LGBTQ+ community, and we’re committed to the ongoing work to create safer, more inclusive spaces for all Californians...

Homeless San Franciscans who refuse shelter lose legal protection

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:19 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed wrote a lengthy update on Monday about one of the city's most controversial and heated issues: Homelessness."Some have attacked us and sued us over our homelessness policies," Breed wrote.One lawsuit filed by homeless advocates resulted in an injunction that prevents San Francisco city crews from being able to force any homeless person from moving off of a public space, such as a sidewalk. A judge who ruled in favor of the lawsuit said "involuntarily homeless" people had a right to live and sleep on the streets.The mayor said some people use encampments to carry out illegal activities such as open-air drug markets."This obstruction has not helped get more people into housing or shelter. It’s only left more people on our streets who we want to help get indoors. And it’s created the opportunity for those who want to use tents and encampments not primarily for housing but to conduct illegal behavior like drug dealing, human ...

The Vikings have the red zone blues with an up-close touchdown rate that’s keeping them down

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:19 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — After Kirk Cousins delivered a must-convert fourth down completion for Minnesota to T.J. Hockenson, the Vikings had the ball at the 6-yard line with 35 seconds remaining when the tight end climbed to his feet.Instead of a quick spike to stop the clock without any timeouts, coach Kevin O’Connell tried to relay a quick play to Cousins to keep the Los Angeles Chargers from setting their defense the way they wanted.Cousins couldn’t hear him clearly, because of a choppy connection on the headset and the crowd cheering in anticipation of a dramatic go-ahead touchdown, so the quarterback took an educated guess on the call and frantically told his teammates.When the snap came, only 12 seconds were left. Cousins’ hunch about his coach’s preference was correct and his throw across the goal line was in the right place to Hockenson’s outside shoulder as he boxed out Chargers linebacker Nick Niemann, but the ball deflected off his hands and into t...

Joe Burrow is active for Bengals’ game vs. Rams, throws during warmups

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:19 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Injured Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow is active for Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.The star quarterback is dealing with a strained right calf. The injury occurred early in training camp and was aggravated late in the Bengals’ loss to Baltimore last week.Burrow returned to practice on Thursday on a limited basis, and on Saturday the team listed him as questionable for the game. He threw on the field during warmups without a sleeve on his leg or any obvious discomfort.The Bengals’ inactives were TE Irv Smith Jr., WR Trenton Irwin, RB Chris Evans, DT Jay Tufele, OL Jackson Carman, OL Trey Hill and CB DJ Ivey.Inactives for the Rams included RB Zach Evans, OL Kevin Dotson, OL Warren McClendon and DL Earnest Brown IV.The Rams elevated RB Royce Freeman and WR Austin Trammell to the active roster.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFLSource

Trump admires a Glock handgun — but stops short of buying — as he campaigns in South Carolina

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:12:19 GMT

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump stopped by a gun shop and toured a boat manufacturer in South Carolina Monday, ramping up his in-person campaign after a weekend online threatening the media, making multiple accusations of treason and urging congressional Republicans to go ahead and shut down the government.He also claimed he could design a better fighter jet than the military.The Republican presidential front-runner, who has spent far less time on the campaign trail than his leading rivals, began his trip to small-town Summerville with a meet-and-greet with volunteers at a local campaign office and a visit to a local gun store, where he admired a Glock handgun and posed for photos.“I want to buy one,” Trump said, according to video of the stop.Spokesman Steven Cheung posted that the former president, who is currently under federal indictment, had purchased the weapon during his visit to Palmetto State Armory, but later deleted the post on the social media site...