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House GOP pushes through defense bill that fights ‘woke’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:59 GMT

By Lisa Mascaro and Kevin Freking | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The House passed a sweeping defense bill Friday that provides an expected 5.2% pay raise for service members but strays from traditional military policy with Republicans add-ons blocking abortion coverage, diversity initiatives at the Pentagon and transgender care that deeply divided the chamber.Democrats voted against the package, which had sailed out of the House Armed Services Committee on an almost unanimous vote weeks ago before being loaded with the GOP priorities during a heated late-night floor debate this week.The final vote was 219-210, with four Democrats siding with the GOP and four Republicans opposed. The bill, as written, is expected to go nowhere in the Democratic-majority Senate.Efforts to halt U.S. funding for Ukraine in its war against Russia were turned back, but Republicans added provisions to stem the Defense Department’s diversity initiatives and to restrict access to abortions. The abortio...

LGBTQ+ Russians fleeing Kremlin’s anti-gay propaganda seek safe haven in California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:59 GMT

Last year, Maksim was a soldier in the Russian army. A picture from that time depicts a young man in a uniform, his short haircut covered by a military beret, as he clutches a rifle. Despite his fearless posture in the photo, Maksim’s time in the Russian Army was marked with anxiety and panic attacks. As a gay man in a country that made anti-gay ideology a foundation of its anti-Ukraine propaganda, he feared for his life every day.Today, Maksim has a different life. He recently moved into a house in Southern California with his boyfriend Dmitrii. On a recent day, his blonde hair was covered by a black baseball cap, and he fixed his blue eyes on Dmitrii, who was sitting on a couch in a high-ceilinged house the couple shares with other roommates in the Los Angeles area.“I still can’t believe I can kiss him and hold his hand in public,” Maksim, 22, said in Russian. “I’m excited about our relationship, but I’m still afraid of (physical) attacks.”Maksim and Dmitrii, who declined to give ...

A 19-foot Burmese python is the longest ever to be wrangled in Florida

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:59 GMT

Jake Waleri couldn’t come to the phone Thursday night. Just days after he caught the longest Burmese python ever recorded in Florida, measuring 19-feet long, he was out for another late night of hunting.Waleri, 22, of Naples, and a group of fellow python hunters captured the 125-pound invasive behemoth, a female, in the Big Cypress National Preserve early Monday morning and brought it to the Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples to be measured, the nonprofit said in a news release.Before Monday, the previous record-holding snake, captured in October 2020, measured 18-feet, 9-inches. Another female, it was captured not far west of Miami in Everglades National Park.The python was slithering on the grassy side of a road in the nature preserve when Waleri went behind it and pulled its body toward him, a video he posted on his Instagram shows, the snake’s head facing him. The snake lunged toward Waleri, and within a split second, he grabbed its neck with his right hand.With both han...

Monterey doctor arrested on suspicion of sexual exploitation of patient

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:59 GMT

A 77-year-old doctor was arrested Wednesday for allegedly engaging in sexual acts with a patient at his office in Monterey, police said.Harvey Kryger was arrested at his home in Carmel Valley on suspicion of sexual exploitation by a physician after Monterey police received a report in May about alleged misconduct at his doctor’s office in the 1000 block of Cass Street.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | 2 ex-officers at East Bay federal women’s prison plead guilty to multiple sex abuse counts Crime and Public Safety | Outrage in Italy after court rules groping under 10 seconds is not illegal Crime and Public Safety | Larry Nassar attack happened in his cell, away from cameras Crime and Public Safety | Child sex abuse charges filed against man East Bay Regional Parks cops allegedly caught in the act Crime and Public Safety | Notable legal clouds that still hang over Donald Trump Investigators ...

Four-bedroom home sells for $1.6 million in Milpitas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:59 GMT

411 Bixby Drive – Google Street ViewA house located in the 400 block of Bixby Drive in Milpitas has new owners. The 1,538-square-foot property, built in 1962, was sold on June 28, 2023, for $1,600,000, or $1,040 per square foot. This single-story home provides a generous living space with its four bedrooms and three bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. Additionally, the home includes a two-car garage, offering generous space for vehicles and storage requirements. The property encompasses a generous 6,100 square feet of land, featuring abundant outdoor space and a pool.Additional houses have recently changed hands nearby:In November 2022, a 1,102-square-foot home on South Temple Drive in Milpitas sold for $1,199,000, a price per square foot of $1,088. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On South Temple Drive, Milpitas, in April 2023, a 1,462-square-foot home was sold for $945,000, a price per square foot of $646. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 1,7...

Ex-Marine from Orange County sent to prison for stalking World of Warcraft gamer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:59 GMT

A former Marine from Orange County was sentenced to two years in federal prison for stalking a professional online gamer — persisting even when he was out on bail after pleading guilty.Evan Baltierra, 30, of Trabuco Canyon, was also ordered to pay $2,544 in restitution, the Justice Department said Thursday.Federal prosecutors said Baltierra orchestrated a campaign of harassment against the woman who used the name Nali in her role as a high-profile World of Warcraft player on the streaming platform Twitch. At one time, he had been a moderator of her stream channel.Baltierra met Nali in person in November 2019 during a fan meet-and-greet at the gaming convention Blizzcon in Anaheim. He reportedly expressed romantic interest in her, and she declined, saying she had a boyfriend.In June 2020, after being told that Baltierra was trying to find her address so he could visit her at her home in Canada, she removed him as moderator of her stream channel and blocked him from her social m...

Residents may be more vulnerable than usual during Bay Area heat wave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:59 GMT

The first of several days of intense heat through much of the Bay Area started Friday the same way most days in the region do — with a heavy fog bank along the coast that acted for the region as a bit of a natural air conditioner before the sun rose high in the sky.That natural air conditioning is about to lose some power for a couple of days, especially overnight, acording to the National Weather Service. And that’s dangerous news, they said.“We started (Friday) off on the cool side, because we were able to recover overnight,” NWS meteorologist Matt Mehle said. “We’re going to have much higher lows overnight, and that’s where it can really become a problem with heat.”The overnight temperatures will reflect the real effect of the heat, Mehle said — even more so than a Friday afternoon in which temperatures were expected to eclipse 100 degrees in a couple of far inland East Bay areas and the 90s in surrounding cities.Mehle said in the h...

How to watch this weekend’s SF Giants-Pirates series on streaming platforms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:59 GMT

Baseball’s unofficial second half gets underway Friday as the Giants resume their season in Pittsburgh following the All-Star break, which saw closer Camilo Doval earn the win in the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday in Seattle.Bay Area fans who want to watch the Giants’ games Friday and Sunday against the Pirates won’t find those broadcasts on NBC Sports Bay Area.The Giants’ three-game weekend series opens at 4 p.m. Friday on Apple TV+, their second game of the season on that streaming service, two months after their matchup with the Tigers in Detroit was streamed by Apple. Viewers who do not currently subscribe to Apple TV+ can sign up for a seven-day free trial.The NL West-leading Dodgers will also face the Mets on Apple TV+ at 4 p.m. Friday. The Giants open the weekend 2.5 games behind both LA and Arizona for the division lead, holding on to the third and final NL wild card spot with a half-game cushion over the Phillies and Brewers.Related ArticlesSan Francis...

2 ex-officers at East Bay federal women’s prison plead guilty to multiple sex abuse counts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:59 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Two former officers of a federal women’s prison in California pleaded guilty Thursday to multiple counts of sexual abuse, the latest to be prosecuted following an Associated Press investigation last year resulting in prison sentences for the former warden and chaplain.Andrew Jones, a former cook supervisor at Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, pleaded guilty to six felony charges of sexual abuse of three women he supervised, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.Nakie Nunley, a guard at the prison call center, pleaded guilty to four charges of sexual abuse and five lesser felonies of abusive sexual contact of five women. Both also pleaded guilty to making false statements to the government.The two men will enter pleas and be sentenced at later dates.They are at least the seventh and eighth former employees charged with abusing inmates after an investigation by The Associated Press last year revealed a harrowing culture of rampant abuse and cover-up a...

Injury crash on 680 in Danville blocks all lanes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:31:59 GMT

(KRON) -- All lanes on northbound Interstate 680 in Danville are blocked due to an injury crash north of Sycamore Valley Road, according to the California Highway Patrol. Motorists are being advised to expect delays and use alternate routes.There is no estimated time for the roadway to reopen.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.