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Residents raise concerns as East Bay police’s report reveals use of military equipment and drones

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:39:10 GMT

Late last year, a man walked into the Sunvalley Shopping Center in Concord claiming he had a gun and would shoot people. Concord police officers quickly swarmed the mall — but instead of sending in one of their own, they sent in a drone equipped with a microphone and speaker.The drone allowed a police negotiator to communicate with the man from a safe distance. Using this piece of militarized equipment, which has a long history of controversy, was integral to deescalating the situation and having the man ultimately surrender without anyone getting hurt, police officials say.This encounter was among one example Lt. Kevin Halm gave during a presentation on police military equipment at the Concord City Council meeting on April 11.In 2021, the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 481, which required all policing agencies to be transparent about their inventories, establish deployment protocols, seek approval from elected officials before acquiring new equipment, and provide annual rep...

Threat forces California lawmakers to cancel, work elsewhere

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:39:10 GMT

By TRÂN NGUYỄN (Associated Press)SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A “credible threat” forced California’s Assembly to cancel their Thursday session while senators evacuated to work in a new location, officials said.State senators and their staff members were notified about the threat involving the building in an email from Senate Secretary Erika Contreras. “The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has notified the Senate of a threat they consider to be credible involving the Capitol,” Contreras wrote. “The CHP and security partners are present in higher numbers in the Capitol area, and are alert of the situation.”The Assembly canceled its session, said John Ferrera, chief of staff for Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry. Staffers were told to “remain situationally aware and report any suspicious activity,” said a memo from Chief Administrative Officer Lia Lopez.The California Highway Patrol, which serves as the state police,...

Arrest Made in Tech Chief Lee’s San Francisco Murder: Report

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:39:10 GMT

Peter Blumberg and Joel Rosenblatt(Bloomberg) — An arrest has been made in last week’s San Francisco slaying of Bob Lee, chief product officer of crypto startup MobileCoin Inc. and a well known figure in Silicon Valley, according to local news reports.The San Francisco Police Department early this morning made an arrest in the nearby city of Emeryville in the April 4 stabbing of Lee, and the suspect also works in tech and is a man Lee purportedly knew, Mission Local reported, without identifying the source of its information.Representatives of the police department and the city’s district attorney declined to comment on the news reports. The police department scheduled a news conference at 12:30 pm local time to provide an update on the homicide investigation.Lee’s brother, Tim Oliver Lee, thanked police for “bringing this person to justice so quickly” in a social media post, as did San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents the district...

Actor Drake Bell, star of ‘Drake & Josh,’ is ‘considered missing and endangered’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:39:10 GMT

The Daytona Beach Police Department is seeking information to help them locate actor Drake Bell.A post on the department’s verified Facebook account Thursday reads, “Officers are looking for Jared Bell, DOB 06/27/1986.”“He should be traveling in a 2022 grey BMW and his last known location is potentially the area of Mainland High School on 4/12/2023,” according to the post. “He is considered missing and endangered.”The stars legal name is Jared Drake Bell.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Missing Northern California man found dead on Mexico’s Baja California peninsula Crime and Public Safety | Tourist found safe after being reported missing in SF Crime and Public Safety | Family of Sophia Mason sues Alameda County, alleges social workers falsified records to cover up ‘horrifying inaction’ before 8-year-old’s death Crime and Public Safety | Missing man’s body found in East Bay harbor Crime ...

Preview: ‘XDefiant’ blends ‘Call of Duty’ action with elements of ‘Overwatch’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:39:10 GMT

For a long time, Activision has dominated the online shooter space with “Call of Duty.” It’s consistently among the top-selling games, and it’s synonymous with a certain style of combat. Players run around enclosed arenas, fragging each other, trying to win a match and improve their KDR.With “Call of Duty” sucking so much oxygen in the genre, is there room for another fast-paced military shooter? Ubisoft think so and it’s taking a different tack for the project by creating a high-quality, free-to-play first-person shooter.“XDefiant” has the run-and-gun feel of comparable shooters. Movement feels responsive and clean without being too complex. The guns have a distinct feel and roles. AR-15-style rifles dominate at medium ranges while shotguns are great up close and in narrow hallways. But the element that separates Ubisoft’s upcoming online shooter from others is its Faction system.It’s not as complicated as it sounds....

Man offers $100 to attack man who witnessed shoplifting at a Family Dollar; 2 people take offer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:39:10 GMT

AKRON, Ohio (WEWS) — What started out as a simple shoplifting case in Akron escalated into an attack against a crime witness. A man inside a store offered $100 to encourage the assault, police said.The incident happened around 11 a.m. Monday at Family Dollar located at 19 N. Arlington Street.Police said the bizarre incident started after a shoplifter loaded up a garbage can with soap and beauty products and ran out of the store.A concerned customer, who witnessed the theft, followed the thief briefly.“The customer saw him run out. The customer started running out too, following the guy and saw two addresses that he went to,” said Paige Perryman, the store’s manager.A short time later, the customer returned to the store to give workers the possible location of the crook so that police would know where to look.However, just moments later, things turned really strange and violent.Officers said another man inside Family Dollar held up a $100 bill, waved it around and offered the cash to...

Review: 18th-century ‘Triumph’ revived onstage in Berkeley

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:39:10 GMT

“The Triumph of Love” is a comedy as cruel as it is clever.Now enjoying a revival by Berkeley’s Shotgun Players, the 1732 French comedy by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux centers on the schemes of the princess Léonide.Although she’s still called princess, Léonide has risen to the throne originally usurped by her uncle as part of a complicated revenge plot. But she has discovered that the previous king has an heir, born in a dungeon and whisked away to safety.Having fallen in love with this prince in exile at first sight, she wants to marry him and give him the throne, but she knows he’s been raised by the philosopher Hermocrate to hate the princess. So she decides to dress up as a man and infiltrate the philosopher’s home to woo prince Agis in disguise. In order to be allowed to stick around long enough to do that, however, she plans to make both the philosopher and his sister fall in love with her as well. All that comes out in exposition in the very first scene.Using the sa...

What we know about the alleged killer of Cash App founder Bob Lee

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:39:10 GMT

(KRON) -- The San Francisco Police Department made an arrest Thursday morning in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee. Records for the San Francisco County Jail confirmed the suspect arrested is Nima Momeni, a fellow tech executive who Lee reportedly knew.Initial reports named Momeni as the suspect in the killing and jail records confirm a 38-year-old Emeryville resident of the same name was booked on a single count of murder Thursday morning. Inmate record shows Momeni is currently in custody with no bail. According to a LinkedIn profile, Momeni is the owner of tech consulting firm Expand IT based in Emeryville and has been since 2010. Before that, Momeni worked in IT for several years at various companies. Momeni attended UC Berkeley, according to his LinkedIn profile.Mission Local first reported Momeni's arrest, reporting that the two were driving together through Downtown San Francisco before getting into an argument in the car leading up to Momeni stabbing Lee several...

Turkey, Egypt to reappoint ambassadors as ties improve

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:39:10 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey and Egypt will soon announce the reappointment of ambassadors, their foreign ministers said in Ankara Thursday, as the two regional powers put years of tensions behind them and mend frayed ties.Speaking to reporters in the Turkish capital, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Turkish counterpart also said the sides were working toward a possible meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt.Egypt and Turkey withdrew ambassadors as tension between them flared following the Egyptian military’s 2013 ouster of Islamist President Mohammed Morsi amid mass protest against his divisive one year of rule. Morsi hailed from the Muslim Brotherhood group, which Turkey supported. Egypt has designated the group a terrorist organization.Turkey however, recently abandoned its critical approach toward the Egyptian leader, and Erdogan and el-Sissi were photographed shaking hands in November during the soccer ...

Court rejects Oklahoma inmate’s claim father killed woman

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:39:10 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Court of Criminals on Thursday rejected a death row inmate’s claim that his father was the actual killer of a University of Oklahoma dance student in 1996.The court’s decision paves the way for Anthony Sanchez, 44, to be executed by lethal injection on Sept. 21. Attorneys for Sanchez said in a court filing that his late father, Thomas Sanchez, was the actual killer. A former girlfriend of Thomas Sanchez, who died by suicide last year, has said he confessed to killing 21-year-old Juli Busken, but that she was too afraid to come forward until after he died.But the court determined the allegations were hearsay and not enough to overcome “compelling evidence” of Anthony Sanchez’s guilt. Sanchez’s attorney did not immediately comment on the ruling.Busken, from Benton, Arkansas, had just completed her last semester at OU when she was abducted on Dec. 20, 1996, from her apartment complex in Norman. Her body was found that evening in southeast Oklahom...