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Child brides: A campaign starts to ban underage marriages in California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

BY RYA JETHA | CalMattersThey stood on the steps of the state Capitol, in white bridal gowns and veils, their wrists chained together and their mouths taped shut.They are survivors of forced and child marriages — and they want California to finally outlaw child brides.“When I was 14 years old, my parents coerced me into marrying the 27-year-old pedophile who had been abusing me for two years because I became pregnant and it brought “shame” to the family,” said Pat Abatemarco, who said she eventually escaped the marriage, with her daughter, with the help of a social worker.Thursday, she and others shared their stories of enduring gender-based violence, being forced to abandon their education, and becoming estranged from their families during the “chain-in” protest organized by Unchained At Last, a national advocacy nonprofit, to launch a campaign for the law.“We are here in gowns and chains to demand an end to a human rights abuse and nightmarish legal trap that gives get-out-of-jail...

Stolen car crashes into home in Oakland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

(KRON) -- A car crashed into a home early Friday morning and the driver was found in the vehicle unresponsive, according to the Oakland Police Department. The incident occurred in the 2200 block of Santa Rita Street, just before 4:15 a.m.Police arrived and located the vehicle that had crashed into the residence. The driver was unresponsive but was safely removed from the vehicle by OPD officers and Oakland Fire Department personnel. Why does illegal street vending in Mission District seem to go unpunished? SF police union explains A further investigation revealed that the car was stolen. The driver was taken into custody. Police say they do not know if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash.An investigation into the incident remains ongoing, according to Oakland PD.

San Jose doctor convicted of illegally prescribing opioids

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

(KRON) -- A San Jose doctor has been convicted of 12 counts of illegally prescribing opioids by a federal jury, the United States Department of Justice announced Friday. Donald Siao was found guilty of distributing the controlled substances oxycodone and hydrocodone outside of the usual course of his professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose. Arrest made in fatal shooting near Powell Street BART Station Siao, 58, is a licensed physician who practices family medicine in San Jose, the DOJ stated. Trial evidence showed that he was identified in a separate prescription fraud investigation after investigators discovered Siao had written 8,201 prescriptions for controlled substance medications in just one year, between May 2016 and May 2017.During the course of an ensuing investigation, Siao prescribed oxycodone and hydrocodone in "increasing quantities" over 17 visits from four undercover officers posing as patients, the DOJ said. Despite complaining only of vague ...

Victims in deadly crash at Dublin-San Ramon border identified as two brothers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

(BCN) -- Two brothers died in a fiery crash Tuesday night near the Dublin-San Ramon border that may have been caused by speed, according to police and the Alameda County coroner's bureau. Adam Rasheed, 25, and Khaleed Rasheed, 23, both of San Ramon, died when their vehicle hit a tree and a light pole shortly before 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at Dougherty and Fall Creek roads. Why does illegal street vending in Mission District seem to go unpunished? SF police union explains Officers responded and located the vehicle on fire, Dublin Police Capt. Gurvinder Gosal said Wednesday. When fire crews put out the blaze, inside were the brothers. Adam Rasheed was driving and may have lost control of the vehicle before the crash, Gosal said. The crash involved only the vehicle the Rasheeds were in, Gosal said. Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Xylazine-laced fentanyl is causing wounds and scrambling efforts to stop overdoses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A powerful animal sedative in the illicit drug supply is complicating the U.S. response to the opioid crisis, scrambling longstanding methods for reversing overdoses and treating addiction.Xylazine can cause severe skin wounds, but whether it is leading to more deaths — as suggested by officials in Washington — is not yet clear, according to health and law enforcement professionals on the front lines of efforts in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. In fact, early data suggests the drug may inadvertently be diluting the effects of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid behind most overdose deaths.There is broad agreement, however, that much more information is needed to understand xylazine’s impact, to craft ways of disrupting illegal supplies and to develop medicines to reverse its effects.“We don’t know whether xylazine is increasing the risk of overdose or reducing the risk of overdose,” said Dr. Lewis Nelson of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, who advises federal ...

Ben’s Chili Bowl planning to franchise, expand beyond the DC area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

Home of D.C.'s signature half-smokes and chili, Ben's Chili Bowl has been serving hungry late night customers on U Street since 1958. Famous drop-ins have included Bill Cosby, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Martin Luther King. Jr. and President Barack Obama. (WTOP/Heather Brady) Home of D.C.'s signature half-smokes and chili, Ben's Chili Bowl has been serving hungry late night customers on U Street since 1958. Famous drop-ins have included Bill Cosby, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Martin Luther King. Jr. and President Barack Obama. (WTOP/Heather Brady) Ben’s Chili Bowl’s famous half-smokes are one of D.C.’s most iconic foods. Soon, they could be available outside the D.C. area.“We̵...

Southwest has a labor deal with mechanics just days after flight attendants rejected theirs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines has reached agreement on a new labor contract with its mechanics just days after the flight attendants’ union rejected a company proposal.Southwest said Friday that a tentative new contract with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association would give its mechanics industry-leading compensation.Across the airline industry, revenue is rising as travel recovers from the pandemic. Unions are pushing airlines for better pay and benefits, even raising the threat of strikes to make their case.At Southwest, leaders of the union representing more than 18,000 flight attendants voted this week to reject a tentative contract that its own negotiators reached with the Dallas airline and the help of federal mediators. The company said the deal would have raised pay 15%.The flight attendants are working under wages and other terms contained in a contract ratified in 2016. By federal law, contracts in the airline industry do not expire, and it is difficult for unions...

Spurs, Wembanyama scheduled for prime time on Day 1 of Summer League in Vegas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AP) — No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio and No. 2 pick Brandon Miller of Charlotte might go head-to-head on the first day of NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.The NBA has San Antonio playing Charlotte on July 7, which is opening day in Las Vegas. It’ll be a summer rematch; the same two teams are playing at the California Classic in Sacramento on July 3, the first day of that event.Both Wembanyama and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich have said the generational French talent will play this summer. It’s just not clear how many times he’ll play, or if he’ll play in Sacramento, Las Vegas, or both.But the NBA is setting it up for prime time on Day 1 in Vegas, just in case. The San Antonio-Charlotte game that day, as well as a matchup between Portland and Houston — meaning No. 3 pick Scoot Henderson of the Trail Blazers and No. 4 pick Amen Thompson of the Rockets — will both be televised that night on ESPN.“I can’t wait to wear my fi...

Do free RTD rides make a difference?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Free rides boost public transit numbers, but they're still far below where they were before the COVID pandemic. All rides on RTD bus and rail lines will be free this July and August, a two-month stretch of the same program the transit line experimented with last summer. RTD rides will be free for 2 months this summer RTD offered free ridership on all its bus and rail lines in August 2022, hoping to cut ground pollution by raising ridership numbers with a little help from state funding. The Colorado senate passed a bill that gave RTD enough money to cover as much as 80% of whatever it lost in revenue from free fares - about $10.3 million in total. As with most of the country's public transit, RTD ridership crashed during the COVID pandemic. The ridership in August 2020 was around a third of the ridership as in in August 2019. RTD fares have nudged ridership numbers up but not to where they were, according to a report. Denver ranked one of worst-run cities in th...

Obi Toppin is worth monitoring during trade season; is a reunion with Kristaps Porzingis in play?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:12:00 GMT

The clock is starting in earnest on Obi Toppin.The power forward has wowed fans with his electric dunks, but remains on the end of any rotation featuring Julius Randle, leaving Toppin as one of the main Knicks to monitor as trade season approaches.Toppin, the eighth overall pick in 2020, is eligible for a contract extension before the season. If the sides don’t reach an agreement by the October deadline, Toppin becomes a restricted free agent next summer.Then the Knicks risk losing him for nothing, or a lot less than what could be retrieved in a trade before that point.It wouldn’t make sense for either side to sign a new contract as long as Toppin is Randle’s backup. With Randle’s workload consistently high, Toppin’s averages in minutes (15.7), points (7.4), rebounds (2.8), assists (1.0) and field-goal percentage (44.6%) all fell last season. On offense, the 25-year-old became more of a spot-up 3-point shooter with the reserves. A source said Toppin was...