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Old tire, power pole hold clues to deadly Maui wildfire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:46 GMT

By Michael Biesecker, Jennifer McDermott and Bernard Condon | Associated PressMelted remains of an old car tire. Heavily burned trees. A charred stump of an abandoned utility pole.Investigators are examining these and other pieces of evidence as they seek to solve the mystery of last month’s deadly Maui wildfire: How did a small, wind-whipped fire sparked by downed power lines and declared extinguished flare up again hours later into a devastating inferno?The answer may lie in an overgrown gully beneath Hawaiian Electric Co. power lines and something that harbored smoldering embers from the initial fire before rekindling in high winds into a wall of flame that quickly overtook the town of Lahaina, destroying thousands of structures and killing at least 97 people.But as investigators sift through blackened debris to explain the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, one fact has become clear: Hawaiian Electric’s right-of-way was untrimmed and unkempt for years, d...

San Mateo Macy’s robbery results in arrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:46 GMT

(KRON) – The San Mateo Police Department arrested an alleged thief who threatened a loss prevention agent with a stun gun and fled the scene. San Mateo officers were alerted to a robbery at Hillsdale Shopping Center Macy’s on Sept. 26. According to police, the suspect stole hundreds of dollars of Macy’s merchandise before threatening a loss prevention agent.Several officers responded and located the suspect matching the description in the area of Colgrove Street and 36th Avenue.  Target announces it’s closing stores in San Francisco, Oakland due to theft The suspect was identified as Antonio Aguilar Barrios. According to police, a witness confirmed that Barrios was the person who threatened the agent and stole items.Barrios, 26, was charged with second-degree robbery and booked into San Mateo County Jail. Barrios was arrested without incident, police said. 

SFPD responds to fight among students at high school in Mission District

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:46 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Officers responded to a fight Wednesday afternoon among students, the San Francisco Police Department said. The fight happened around 1 p.m. on the 3700 block of 18th Street in the Mission District where Mission High School is located. ‘No turn on red’ signs could be going up all over San Francisco Police arrived at the scene and are currently investigating the fight. SFPD has not confirmed if the involved students are Mission High School students. It is unknown at this time if there were any injuries or how many students were involved in the fight. KRON4 reached out to the San Francisco Unified School District for more information. We are awaiting a response. This story will be updated.

SJPD arrest suspect for felony assault

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:46 GMT

(KRON) – The San Jose Police Department arrested a San Jose resident for felony sexual assault.  San Jose patrol officers responded to a business in the 400 block of E. Santa Clara Street regarding a report of felony sexual assault on Sept. 19. Sexual Assault Investigation Unit (SAIU) detectives also responded to the scene. According to police, the suspect entered the business and assaulted an employee.  San Mateo and Hayward PD team up to arrest Hayward man The patrol officers and the SAIU’s preliminary investigation led to the identification of Miguel Rivera as the primary suspect. Subsequently, SAUI took over the investigation and obtained an arrest and search warrant for Rivera. Rivera was arrested in San José on Sept. 20 and booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail for assault. Rivera, 42, was charged with intent to commit a felony, kidnapping to commit a sexual offense, attempted robbery, assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, battery causin...

California condors spotted in East Bay for first time in 100 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:46 GMT

(KRON) -- Researchers in Contra Costa County said they are tracking a flock of California condors in the Mount Diablo region. It’s the first time the critically endangered birds have been spotted in the county in 100 years, according to the Save Mount Diablo organization.The California condor nearly went extinct in the 1980s, largely due to lead poisoning from hunting ammo left in dead animals. The species population was down to only 22 individuals.After tireless recovery efforts over the past 30 years, California condors were brought back from the brink of extinction and starting in the 1990s, some were released back into the wild. Today, there are more than 500 condors living in the wild and in captivity.

Atlanta Mayor Dismisses Cop City Referendum as “Not an Election”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:46 GMT

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said this week that he wishes to “err on the side” of ensuring residents are heard in their effort to hold a citywide vote on the construction of a $90 million police training facility — even as his own administration refuses to move forward with the process of verifying signatures gathered in support of the referendum. Dickens’s comment came in a letter to Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., who had written to the mayor in mid-September and raised questions about the city’s use of signature verification — a practice Georgia Democrats have previously criticized as “problematic” — to validate the referendum.On September 11, organizers submitted around 116,000 signatures supporting a referendum on the police training facility, double the number needed to get the referendum on the ballot. The deadline for submitting the signatures is the subject of an ongoing legal battle in which the city has argued that the entire referendum effort is invalid. City officials...

Pro Picks: Lions get another win in Lambeau after ending Aaron Rodgers’ career with the Packers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:46 GMT

Pro Picks is a weekly column where AP Pro Football Writer Rob Maaddi shares his picks for upcoming games. For all previous Pro Picks, head here.___The Detroit Lions are going back to Lambeau Field for the first time since ending Aaron Rodgers’ career in Green Bay.The Packers look just fine with Jordan Love.The two 2-1 teams meet Thursday night in an early season battle for first place in the NFC North.Love, who led an impressive comeback win over the Saints last week, watched from sideline when the Lions knocked the Packers out of the playoffs with a win in the final regular-season game in 2022.“We know we can win out there, we’ve done it before. But you’ve got to go earn it,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “It’s not going to be given. It’ll be loud, it’ll be a tough environment. They’re playing good, so here we go.”The Packers haven’t had running back Aaron Jones and wide receiver Christian Watson the past couple of games because of hamstring injuries. If they can return on a short...

CFP puts off decisions on format tweaks with Pac-12 still in limbo, hears from potential TV partners

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:46 GMT

The number of spots reserved for conference champions when the College Football Playoff expands to 12 teams next year remained open for discussion Wednesday as administrators who manage the postseason wrapped up meetings that mostly focused on potential television partners.The CFP management committee, which is composed of 10 conference commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick, gathered for a day-and-a-half at the Big Ten offices just outside of Chicago.College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock said potentially tweaking the format that will go into effect next season to adjust the number of conference champions in the field of 12 was not discussed. The current model calls for the six highest-rated conference champs and six at-large selections to make up the field.With conference realignment putting the future of the Pac-12 in doubt, Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey and others have indicated the number of league champions in the pla...

Rutgers, South Carolina women’s hoops teams to play exhibition to honor late Nikki McCray-Penson

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:46 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina women’s basketball will host Rutgers in an exhibition game Oct. 22 to honor the late player and coach Nikki McCray-Penson, who served as an assistant on both staffs. Both school announced the game Wednesday. There will be no charge for those attending, although donations will be accepted for In the Middle, a non-profit organization in Columbia that provides financial assistance to women who are battling breast cancer and their families.McCray-Penson was head coach at Mississippi State before stepping down in 2021 for health reasons and returned last season as a Rutgers assistant. She had been treated for breast cancer a nd died at age 51 in July. McCray-Penson is a member of the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. She was a two-time All-American player for Tennessee and continued her career in the ABL and the WNBA. McCray-Penson was a two-time Olympic gold medalist on teams with her good friend, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. McCray-P...

Real Madrid back to winning ways in Spanish league. Girona is top after its 6th straight victory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:46 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid got back to winning ways by beating Las Palmas 2-0 on Wednesday while Girona moved to the top of the Spanish league with its sixth straight victory.Brahim Díaz and Joselu scored for Madrid, which was coming off a 3-1 loss at city rival Atletico Madrid after opening the season with five straight league victories.The win at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium moved Madrid to second place, one point behind Girona which came from behind to win 2-1 at Villarreal.Girona hosts Real Madrid in the league on Saturday.Girona is two points ahead of fellow Catalan club Barcelona, the defending champion that had its five-game winning streak halted by a 2-2 draw at Mallorca on Tuesday.Madrid was in control from the start at the Bernabeu and missed chance after chance until Díaz finally opened the scoring with a high shot from near the penalty spot three minutes into first-half stoppage time. The hosts had 18 attempts in the first half alone, with eight of them on target. Las Pa...