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Man acquitted of igniting massive Holy fire in Southern California

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:16 GMT

Nearly five years after fast-moving flames tore through more than 20,000 wild land acres in Orange and Riverside counties, an Orange County Superior Court jury acquitted the man accused of igniting the massive blaze.Jurors following a month-long trial in a Santa Ana courtroom deliberated for a little more than a day before finding Forrest Clark, 56, not guilty of three felony counts of arson.The jury convicted him of one remaining count of making criminal threats against his neighbor.Even before the fire was fully extinguished investigators accused Clark of igniting the Holy fire with prosecutors later arguing the alleged arson stemmed from a long-running neighbor dispute. During one press conference, DA Todd Spitzer referred to Clark as a “monster.”But, during his Santa Ana trial, Clark’s attorney, Alternate Defender Jason Phlaum, sharply criticized what he characterized as a sloppy and inadequate investigation by U.S. Forest Service and Orange County Fire Authority officials, repe...

Pride celebration organizers grapple with new Florida laws on drag, transgender rights

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:16 GMT

In the small south-central Florida city of Sebring, a “Bearded Lady” contest almost got an upcoming Pride celebration canceled.“Is that not really another name for a drag queen show?” Sebring City Council Member Terry Mendel asked Highlands County LGBT+ Caucus director Christopher Davies during a May 16 public meeting. Davies was seeking approval for road closures for the fourth-annual Highlands County Pride Fest on June 11.“It does seem to me that this is going to result in inappropriate displays of sexuality in front of our children, so I’m very concerned about that,” Mendel said.Davies told city council members the “Bearded Lady” contest is a costume contest and not sexual in nature. He added that the event would be closed off to anyone younger than 21 years of age, in an effort to comply with SB 1438.The bill, signed into law last week, established penalties against businesses for hosting live performances that display unsuitable, salacious material in front of minors. Critics s...

India pauses plan to add new coal plants for 5 years

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:16 GMT

By Sibi Arasu | Associated PressBENGALURU, India — The Indian government will not consider any proposals for new coal plants for the next five years and focus on growing its renewables sector, according to an updated national electricity plan released Wednesday evening.The temporary pause in the growth of the dirty fuel was hailed by energy experts as a positive step for a country that is currently reliant on coal for around 75% of its electricity.Updated every five years, the plan serves as a guideline for India’s priorities in its electricity sector.India is the world’s third highest emitter and most populous country. It plans to reach net zero emissions by 2070, which would mean significantly slashing coal use and ramping up renewable energy.In a draft of the plan released in September, the Central Electricity Authority, which is in charge of planning for India’s electricity needs, projected that nearly 8,000 megawatts of new coal capacity was required by 2027. ...

Bay Area’s incoming NWSL team reveals its name and logos

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:16 GMT

Bay FC, the expansion National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) club in the San Francisco Bay Area, unveiled its name, logo and branding on Thursday, June 1. (Photo courtesy of Bay FC) The Bay Area’s National Women’s Soccer League team finally has a name: Bay FC.The club revealed the Bay FC name nearly two full months after announcing it would become the NWSL’s 14th club and with only nine months until its first match next year.“Bay FC will be a uniting force, building a culture of belonging and shared pride,” Aly Wagner said in a statement. “We will be a beacon of hope and connection, welcoming and embracing people of all backgrounds. While community is our foundation, our love of football is our reason for being. Bay FC will have the fire to be the best, and we will show up every day with intensity, competitiveness, passion and a drive to win.”Wagner headlines the ownership group along with fellow former U.S. women’s national team stars Brandi Chasta...

Bay Area NWSL team unveils name, colors, crest

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:16 GMT

(KRON) -- The Bay Area's incoming women's professional soccer team unveiled its name, crest and team colors on Thursday. The team, which will play in the National Women's Soccer League, will be known as "Bay Football Club." Its color palette will be "dark navy blue, warm poppy red and fog gray," according to a press release announcing the launch.The team also unveiled a simple crest that appears to incorporate the Golden Gate Bridge. HBO reportedly to make documentary focusing on Barry Bonds "The logo represents the Bay Area’s unique culture and style, drawing inspiration from the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay’s impressive street art scene. The bottom and top serifs also nod to the fog that blankets much of the region," the press release states.Bay FC will be the 14th expansion club to join the NWSL since the league was launched in 2012. Bay FC will be the third California team to join the league, along with the San Diego Wave and LA's Angel City FC.Bay FC was announced a...

Daly City bus driver preyed on disabled passengers, prosecutors say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:16 GMT

(KRON) -- A Daly City man is accused of committing sex crimes while working as a bus driver for passengers with disabilities. Bus driver Paul Michael Cunanan Tiletile, 44, was arrested by the Daly City Police Department for allegedly preying on female passengers between May of 2022 until April of 2023. Multiple women reported that the driver sexually touched them on the bus during separate incidents. "One act was witnessed by a disabled man who (was) on the bus. One woman made an emotional disclosure to her father," San Mateo County prosecutors wrote. Investigators who searched his home found 11 guns, including two ghost guns. Tiletile was also armed with a 12th gun when he was arrested, prosecutors said. Ambulance driver accused of sexually assaulting patients in San Mateo County He was booked into jail on charges of committing lewd acts on dependent adults, and carrying a concealed loaded weapon. The bus driver was arraigned in court Wednesday with Judge Sean Dabel presidi...

Mirra Andreeva is a teen who doesn’t like homework, wins easily at French Open; Coco Gauff next

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:16 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Mirra Andreeva is the latest teen sensation in tennis, a 16-year-old Russian who is the youngest player to win a match in the women’s main draw at the French Open since 2005.Do the math: That’s before she was born.The 143rd-ranked Andreeva made her way through qualifying rounds last week without dropping a set to earn her debut berth in the women’s bracket at a Grand Slam tournament — and she still is making things look easy so far at Roland Garros. A 6-1, 6-2 victory over Diane Perry of France in 77 minutes on Thursday put her in the third round; that followed a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Alison Riske-Amritraj of the U.S. that lasted 56 minutes.Next up will be a contest against 2022 French Open runner-up Coco Gauff, who beat Julia Grabher 6-2, 6-3. Gauff, a 19-year-old American, is seeded No. 6 and made her initial breakthrough by beating Venus Williams en route to the fourth round at Wimbledon at age 14.Andreeva and Gauff have practiced together, but that won’t...

Jets’ Breece Hall working way back after knee injury cut short promising rookie season

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:16 GMT

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Breece Hall still razzes Garrett Wilson about what could’ve been.In the New York Jets running back’s mind, the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award absolutely would have been his.And then Hall blew out his left knee in October, had surgery and spent the rest of his first NFL season rehabilitating his injury — while his playmaking teammate rose above all rookies with lots of impressive catches.“If I wouldn’t have gotten hurt … ,” a smiling Hall said he tells Wilson. “But, nah, I don’t really care about that stuff anymore. All I can do is look forward and just try to work myself back to being that same Breece that was making all those plays last year.”That has been the goal since Hall was carted off the field in Denver in Week 7 after tearing the ACL and injuring the meniscus in his left knee in the second quarter of the Jets’ 16-9 victory.Until then, Hall quickly had established himself as the most dynamic playmaker in an other...

Charges dropped against man who served 21 years in prison for deaths of 2 Michigan hunters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:16 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — Prosecutors dropped murder charges Thursday against a man who spent nearly 21 years in prison for the fatal shooting of two Michigan hunters. Jeff Titus was released from prison in February when authorities acknowledged that critical information about another suspect — an Ohio serial killer — was never shared with his trial lawyer in 2002.After reviewing the case for three months, Kalamazoo County prosecutor Jeff Getting said Titus will not face a new trial.“This is the right thing to do,” Getting told reporters.At the same news conference, Titus, 71, said he’s “truly innocent.”“You can put me on the rack, the truth serum, whatever. I did not do it. … I did not shoot those people,” Titus said.Doug Estes and Jim Bennett were fatally shot near Titus’ rural property in 1990. Titus was cleared as a suspect — he had been hunting deer 27 miles (43 kilometers) away — but murder charges were filed against him 12 years later, after a new team of investigators...

Money stored in Venmo, other payment apps could be vulnerable, financial watchdog warns.

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:16 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Customers of Venmo, PayPal and CashApp should not store their money for the long term with these apps because their funds might not be safe during a financial crisis, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned on Thursday. The alert comes several weeks after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and First Republic Bank, which all experienced bank runs after fearful customers with uninsured deposits pulled their money en masse. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures bank accounts up to $250,000. But money stored in Venmo or CashApp or Apple Pay Cash is not being stored in a traditional bank account. So, if there was an event similar to a bank run with these payment apps, those funds may not be insured. Some of these funds may be eligible for pass-through insurance coverage if the customers do certain activities with the apps, the CFPB says, but generally by default these apps are not covered by deposit insurance. “We find that stored funds...