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Punishment or prevention: California debates fentanyl crisis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Pamela Smith remembers vividly the last time she saw her only son alive.It was 3:18 a.m. on July 3, 2016, in Fresno, California, and 22-year-old Jackson Smith was lying motionless on a table in an emergency room while a nurse performed chest compressions. Earlier that night, he had taken an oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl, and then he stopped breathing. Within seconds of his mother entering the emergency room, he died.Since then, Smith has dedicated her life to fighting the fentanyl crisis. This year, that has meant advocating for some of the more than 30 bills introduced in the California Legislature to address the issue.But a number of those bills have since stalled, caught in a philosophical dispute between lawmakers about the best way to address a crisis that is killing roughly 110 people in the state each week. About half of the proposals focus on public safety measures, such as punishing drug dealers with longer prison sentences, while the others a...

Scientists: Climate change worsened Eastern Africa drought

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

MALINDI, Kenya (AP) — The ongoing drought in Eastern Africa has been made worse by human-induced climate change, which also made it much likelier to occur in the first place, an international team of climate scientists concluded.The report Wednesday came from World Weather Attribution, a group that seeks to quickly determine whether certain extreme weather events were influenced by climate change. Nineteen scientists from seven nations assessed how climate change affected rainfall in the region.“Climate change caused the low rainfall in the region,” Joyce Kimutai, principal meteorologist at the Kenya Meteorological Department said. “Climate change has made the drought exceptional.”The scientists analyzed historical weather data, including changes in the two main rainfall patterns in the region alongside computer model simulations dating back to the 1800s. They found that the long rains season —March through May — was turning drier and the short rains season — typically October...

Severe storm threat wanes as heavy rain falls overnight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Following a brush with severe weather Thursday night, the threat of severe, damaging thunderstorms is decreasing as cooler air moves into the area.A Severe Thunderstorm Watch is set to expire at 1 a.m. Thursday for portions of the viewing area. Heavy rain may add up to 1-3" in some areas where storms linger overnight, including Austin. Minor urban flooding may result.Golf ball size hail fell in Dripping Springs from a brief severe thunderstorm just before 8 p.m., and quarter size hail fell later Wednesday night near Liberty Hill and Spicewood.Thunderstorms will continue to slowly march southeastward through Austin and into our eastern counties, clearing the area before sunrise. Thursday looks pleasant with cooler, less humid conditions. Saturday night storms bring tennis ball size hail to Hill Country Yet another threat of severe weather quickly builds Friday evening with a powerful storm again crossing over the state. Rain and storms will be likely Friday evening...

Coachella road-rage caught on camera

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

A road-rage confrontation in Coachella was caught on camera during a traffic jam Sunday afternoon, the final day of the four-day music festival.  An aggressive driver in a white Honda CRV was captured on video attempting to cut off several cars when the clash occurred and then escalated.  “I saw everything happen for what it is only because he was harassing me at first and merging into my lane,” one of the victims, a man identified only as Shawn, told KTLA.  He’d been in one vehicle when a backseat passenger in the white Honda started hurling insults. Shawn said that it was surprising to see that kind of behavior outside the popular music event, which is spread over two weekends. “Nobody really expects to go to a festival and get assaulted and harassed. So, like always good energy and good vibes,” he said.  The car that he was in didn’t yield to the aggressive driver, and that’s when the situation got even more heated. A backseat passenger in the white Honda thre...

Santa Monica pays $122 million to victims of city employee accused of sexually assaulting children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

The city of Santa Monica will pay out an additional $122 million to 124 victims who alleged they were sexually assaulted by a city employee when they were children.The employee, Eric Wess Uller, 50, served as a volunteer at the Santa Monica’s Police Activities League program between the late '80s and possibly through 2010, officials said.Over 200 people have since come forward with allegations against Uller.“These were young underserved kids in the Pico neighborhood in Santa Monica,” said Brian Claypool, the attorney representing the victims. “Most of these kids were immigrants.”The Tuesday settlement announcement now brings the total settlement payout to nearly $230 million to 229 alleged victims over the past three years.“In 1989, the city of Santa Monica created a public safety risk for these kids when they hired a guy named Eric Uller who was an IT director at the city,” said Claypool.Uller was reportedly an employee who worked closely with the police department. He was a volunt...

SF Giants promote former first-round pick Patrick Bailey to Triple-A Sacramento

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — A former top prospect is starting to gain momentum in the Giants organization.Patrick Bailey, the No. 13 overall pick out of North Carolina State in the 2020 MLB Draft, was promoted to Triple-A Sacramento on Wednesday.Bailey was expected to move quickly through the Giants’ farm system, but injuries derailed his start in pro ball. He hit just .225 with a .761 OPS in High-A last year and was ranked as the Giants’ No. 27 overall prospect by Baseball America entering this season.This year, the Giants feel great about the progress Bailey has made. Known as a defensive-first catcher, the 23-year-old was hitting .333 with an .882 OPS in 14 games with Double-A Richmond before his promotion.“Patty was really doing good work in Double-A, swinging the bat and playing great defense,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said Wednesday. “We think he’s close to big league ready as a defensive catcher right now. His at-bat quality has improved.”The Giants think he could help the big le...

Ex-AMR paramedic charged with sexually assaulting patients in San Mateo County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

COLMA – A former paramedic is facing charges he sexually assaulted two elderly women last year as they were being transported to the hospital, according to San Mateo County prosecutors.Miguel Ontiveros, who worked for American Medical Response, is charged with two felony counts of forcible oral copulation. If convicted, the 35-year-old Redwood City resident faces up to life in prison.One of the alleged assaults was reported Dec. 23, when Ontiveros and his female paramedic partner were dispatched to a Colma nursing home to transport a 76-year-old woman who had fallen to the San Mateo Medical Center, the district attorney’s office said.According to prosecutors, Ontiveros sexually assaulted the victim while his partner was driving. His partner did not witness the alleged assault, but when they arrived at the hospital, she saw him pulling his pants up, the district attorney’s office said.The female paramedic contacted her supervisor, prosecutors said, adding that DNA testing linked Onti...

Charles Barkley guaranteed a Kings blowout in Game 5. The Warriors proved him wrong – again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

Charles Barkley is never afraid to state his opinion on what’s going to happen in the NBA, and his dislike of the Warriors has long been clear.But the Warriors have made him look wrong frequently, and they did it again on Wednesday night.Before Wednesday’s actions, Barkley guaranteed that the Kings would win Game 5 over the Warriors, and thought it wouldn’t be close.“The Kings are gonna whoop their ass tonight — guarantee it,” Barkley said before Wednesday’s early games started. “Guarantee it. It ain’t gonna be close. Not gonna be close. The Kings are gonna blow the Warriors out tonight. Guaranteed.”"The Kings are gonna whoop their ass tonight. Guarantee it! Guarantee it! It ain't gonna be close. Not gonna be close… The Kings are gonna blow the Warriors out tonight. GUARANTEED!"- Charles Barkley pic.twitter.com/GJllA6hs9F— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 26, 2023The Warriors made that guarantee turn out wrong with a 123-116 win over the Kings. Sa...

Warriors win third-straight playoff game, lead Kings 3-2

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

(KTXL) — The Sacramento Kings dropped their third straight playoff contest in a 123-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 at the Golden 1 Center Wednesday night. In another game that came down to the final minutes, Stephen Curry made a layup with 22.1 seconds to put the game away for the Warriors.Curry finished with a game-high 31 points with Klay Thompson (21 points), Draymond Green (21) Andrew Wiggins (20) each finishing with 20 points. For the Kings, De'Aaron Fox finished with a team-high 24 points while Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk each finished with 21 points. Fox played in the game with a fractured left index finger, an injury he suffered in the team’s Game 4 126-125 loss on Sunday.After his status was uncertain, the Kings confirmed their all-star point guard was available to play prior to tip-off on Wednesday. Following a non-contact practice on Tuesday, Fox told reporters he planned on playing in the game. The Warriors led 99-90 after the third quarter and ...

Nearly 10K PG&E customers lose power in San Francisco

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:10:30 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Nearly 10,000 PG&E customers were without power in San Francisco Wednesday night after a large power outage. The outage affected the Financial District, North Beach, Russian Hill, and Nob Hill neighborhoods. PG&E's outage map said the main outage was affecting 9,454 customers. Other smaller outages affected several hundred in the same area.The outage began at 9:13 p.m., according to PG&E. It is expected to be resolved at 12:15 a.m. PG&E is investigating the cause of the outage. This is a developing story. Stick with KRON4 for updates.