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San Mateo homicide victim ID'd after Facebook killing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:58 GMT

(KRON) -- A San Mateo woman was "mercilessly" filmed by her killer in a disturbing video posted on Facebook showing the final moments of her life, according to investigators. In court documents filed by prosecutors on Friday, the homicide victim was identified as Claribel Estrella.San Mateo County prosecutors charged 39-year-old Mark Merchikoff of Pacifica with first-degree murder, court documents show. According to police, Merchikoff recorded video as he stabbed Estrella to death with a knife inside a San Mateo apartment, and he immediately uploaded it into Facebook. The homicide happened on the afternoon of July 26. "While the motive for stabbing the victim is still under investigation, we do know Merchikoff mercilessly filmed the last moments of the victim’s life and posted the video to Facebook, then fled the area," the San Mateo Police Department wrote. Horrified Facebook users saw the violent video and called 911. One Facebook user in Nye County, Nevada told law enforcement t...

Justice Alito says Congress lacks the power to impose an ethics code on the Supreme Court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Samuel Alito says Congress lacks the power to impose a code of ethics on the Supreme Court, making him the first member of the court to take a public stand against proposals in Congress to toughen ethics rules for justices in response to increased scrutiny of their activities beyond the bench. “I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it. No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court—period,” Alito said in an interview he gave to the Wall Street Journal opinion pages. An account of the interview was published Friday.The interview took place in New York in early July, the paper said. Last week, Democrats pushed Supreme Court ethics legislation through a Senate committee, though the bill’s prospects in the full Senate are dim.Democrats first proposed legislation after ProPublica reported earlier this year that Justice Clarence Thomas participated in lavish vacations and a real estate deal with a top...

Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly are heading to the NL West-leading Dodgers in a trade with the White Sox

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:58 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles Dodgers, who have made pitching a priority in advance of the trade deadline, announced Friday that they’ve acquired Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly in a trade with the Chicago White Sox.The NL West-leading Dodgers will send outfielder Trayce Thompson, pitcher Nick Nastrini and reliever Jordan Leasure to the White Sox.Lynn has been mostly underwhelming this season. The 36-year-old right-hander is 6-9 with a 6.18 ERA and leads the American League in earned runs (79) and home runs allowed (28).But Lynn has 139 strikeouts in 115 innings and 10.9 per nine innings. In June, Lynn struck out 16 in a game against Seattle, setting a major-league mark for most strikeouts in a game by a pitcher with an ERA above 6.00.He was an All-Star for the White Sox in 2021 and shortly after signed a $38 million, two-year contract extension that included a club option.Lynn began the 2022 season on the injured list with a meniscus tear suffered in spring training. He returne...

Bengals QB Joe Burrow could miss ‘several weeks’ with calf strain, coach Taylor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:58 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow could miss “several weeks” with a right calf strain, coach Zac Taylor said Friday.The 26-year-old franchise quarterback hobbled on one leg and then went to the ground after a scramble play near the end of Thursday’s practice. He rode off the field in a medical cart. “It will take several weeks, and that’s all the information we have,” Taylor said.Burrow did not practice Friday, with backup QBs Jake Browning and Trevor Siemian taking the snaps. The Bengals play their first preseason game on Aug. 11 and open the regular season Sept. 10.Taylor said Burrow “has seen the doctors” and was present for meetings at the team’s training facility Friday. The quarterback was wearing a compression sleeve on his right calf when he pulled up with the injury, but Taylor said Friday he was unaware there was anything wrong before that play.Burrow is still negotiating with the Bengals on a long-term contract that could make him one of t...

Officer who put suspect in car hit by train found guilty of reckless endangerment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:58 GMT

DENVER (AP) — A Colorado police officer who put a handcuffed woman in a parked police vehicle that was hit by a freight train has been found guilty of reckless endangerment and assault. Jordan Steinke was acquitted of the third charge of criminal attempt to commit manslaughter. Steinke was the first of two officers to go to trial over the Sept. 16, 2022, crash that left Yareni Rios-Gonzalez seriously injured.Steinke testified that she did not know that the patrol car of another officer she was helping was parked on the tracks even though they can be seen on her body camera footage along with two railroad crossing signs. Steinke said she was focused on the threat that could come from Rios-Gonzalez and her pickup truck, not the ground.Steinke said she put Rios-Gonzalez in the other officer’s vehicle because it was the nearest spot to temporarily hold her. She said she didn’t know the train was coming until just before it hit.There was no jury in Steinke’s trial, which started Monday. ...

US to announce $345 million military aid package for Taiwan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is set to announce $345 million in military aid for Taiwan, two U.S. officials said Friday. It would be the Biden administration’s first major package drawing on America’s own stockpiles under a new policy intended to speed up military aid to help Taiwan counter China.The package includes man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS, intelligence and surveillance capabilities, firearms and missiles, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters ahead of the announcement.U.S. lawmakers have been pressuring the Pentagon and White House to speed weapons to Taiwan, to help it counter China. The aid is part of a presidential authority approved by Congress last year to draw weapons from U.S. military stockpiles to support Taiwan. This gets weapons delivered faster than providing funding for new weapons.The Pentagon has used a similar authority to get billions of dollars worth of munitions to Ukraine....

Worker warned organizer ‘Someone’s going to end up dead’ before crowd surge at ’21 Travis Scott show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:58 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Just moments before rap superstar Travis Scott took the stage at the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival in Houston, a contract worker had been so worried about what might happen after seeing people getting crushed or unconscious that he texted an event organizer saying, “Someone’s going to end up dead,” according to a police report on the deadly concert that was released Friday.The texts by security contract worker Reece Wheeler were some of many examples in the nearly 1,300-page report in which festival workers highlighted problems and warned of possible deadly consequences. The report includes transcripts of concertgoers’ 911 calls and summaries of police interviews, including one with Scott conducted just days after the event.The crowd surge at the Nov. 5, 2021, outdoor festival in Houston killed 10 attendees who ranged in age from 9 to 27. The official cause of death was compression asphyxia, which an expert likened to being crushed by a car. About 50,000 peopl...

Colorado officer who put suspect in car hit by train found guilty of reckless endangerment, acquitted of more serious charge (CORRECTS: A previous APNewsAlert erroneously reported the officer was acquitted of manslaughter. The charge was attempt to commit manslaughter)

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:58 GMT

DENVER (AP) — Colorado officer who put suspect in car hit by train found guilty of reckless endangerment, acquitted of more serious charge (CORRECTS: A previous APNewsAlert erroneously reported the officer was acquitted of manslaughter. The charge was attempt to commit manslaughter).Source

Denver weather: 60-mph wind and quarter-size hail possible

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:58 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The Denver weather forecast will finish off the workweek with more heat along the Front Range and chances for afternoon storms yet again.Strong storms were expected to affect parts of the Front Range urban corridor and plains, according to the National Weather Service. The strongest storms over northeastern Weld and southwestern Elbert counties were capable of producing 60 mph winds and quarter-size hail.Weather today: More heat and stormsPartly to mostly sunny skies are around the Denver metro Friday with hot highs reaching the middle 90s. Why did Jeffco wait to warn about the trail predator? Storms are once again possible in the afternoon and early evening hours. Pinpoint Weather: Daily forecast on July 28. Weather tonight: Partly cloudyClouds will slowly clear overnight Friday with light winds and mild low temperatures in the lower 60s.Pinpoint Weather: Overnight forecast on July 28. Looking ahead: Warm weekend, more rainThe weekend will also be warm with high ...

Colorado tornadoes disproportionally affect mobile homes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:55:58 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Colorado's mobile homes bear the brunt of the kind of natural fury unleashed in Highlands Ranch last month.June's tornado in Highlands Ranch has the potential to be one of the most damaging in Colorado history. A tornado touched down in Highlands Ranch on June 22, during the second consecutive day of severe storms south and west of Denver. The night before, dozens of fans at Red Rocks Amphitheatre were hurt by hail before severe storms damaged homes and businesses, primarily in the Highlands Ranch area, the next day. Will tornado-hit areas qualify for a disaster declaration? In Colorado, half of the tornado deaths that have occurred since 1996 have been the residents of mobile homes — despite the fact that only 3.36% of Colorado's housing stock is mobile homes. Historically, tornadoes do far more damage and are far more lethal to mobile homes and their residents than to permanent ones, according to an analysis from the Associated Press."The Associated Press analyz...