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San Jose man sentenced to 8½ years for drug trafficking

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

SOLANO COUNTY – A 32-year-old San Jose man was sentenced Tuesday to 8½ years in federal prison for conspiring to possess and distribute methamphetamine, according to authorities.Esteban Gerardo Ramirez conspired with his codefendant, Fairfield resident Marsha Garma Phillips, to distribute the drug in Solano County between September 2021 and March 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.Supplied by Ramirez, Phillips reportedly sold more than five pounds of methamphetamine to an FBI confidential source.The pair was arrested in Fremont on March 8, 2022, when they were found in possession of two additional pounds of the drug.Ramirez is in federal custody. Phillips previously pleaded guilty and her next court date is slated for Oct. 3.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Jury seated for Navarro’s contempt of Congress trial Crime and Public Safety | 61 indicted on charges related to ‘Stop Cop City’ in Ga. Crime and Pub...

Single family residence in Piedmont sells for $1.7 million

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

941 Moraga Avenue – Google Street ViewA house located in the 900 block of Moraga Avenue in Piedmont has a new owner. The 1,866-square-foot property, built in 1978, was sold on July 19, 2023. The $1,657,000 purchase price works out to $888 per square foot. The layout of this house consists of three bedrooms and three baths. On the exterior, the house is characterized by the use of wood shake roofing / shingles. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. In addition, the house comes with an attached garage.These nearby houses have also recently been purchased:On Blair Avenue, Piedmont, in May 2023, a 2,389-square-foot home was sold for $2,925,000, a price per square foot of $1,224. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 1,576-square-foot home on the 300 block of Scenic Avenue in Piedmont sold in June 2023, for $3,595,000, a price per square foot of $2,281. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In September 2022, a 2,109-square-foot home on Scenic Avenue in Pied...

A's fan campaign to keep team in Oakland moves from T-shirts to billboards

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

(KRON) -- By now, we’ve all seen the "SELL" T-shirt, intended to encourage Oakland A’s owner John Fisher to sell the baseball club to someone who will keep the team in Oakland instead of moving it to Las Vegas. Now that same sentiment can be seen on a billboard near you. There's one just outside the A’s home at the Oakland Coliseum.Paul Bailey with the A’s fan group, The Last Dive Bar, says keeping the pressure on means using the proceeds from the sales of these T-shirts to put up billboards in Oakland, Fresno and Sacramento. ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ streams suddenly skyrocket — thanks to Filipinos One reads, "Doris get your kid," referring to John Fisher’s mother Doris.At the minimum, A’s fans say the billboards and the shirts help set the record straight that the A’s fan base has always been here to support the team. Still, fans are hoping for more, specifically that their effort will either convince Fisher to sell the team or convince Major League Baseball owners to re...

Dead sea lions turning up on Bay Area beaches in increasing numbers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) -- At several Bay Area beaches, there's been an uptick in dead sea lions in the last few weeks, including at Doran Beach in Sonoma County. This summer, a disease swept through and killed a large number of mammals in Southern California. Marine experts say what's happening here is different than the tragedy in Southern California, but nonetheless disheartening and comes with a warning."This particular disease, Leptospirosis, is spread through urine," explained Sue Pemberton with the California Academy of Sciences. Two Bay Area schools crack Top 5 in Forbes’ best colleges list A sea lion carcass was about a half mile from the main entrance to Doran Beach ranger station. It is one of nearly a dozen that have washed ashore in the last few weeks here."We want to hear from people," explained Pemberton. She helps coordinate response teams who perform necropsies on dead sea life, including sea lions. Although the teams have not been out to Doran Beach, they ha...

AP PHOTOS: 50 years ago, Chile’s army ousted a president and everything changed

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

Fifty years ago, Chile began the darkest period in its modern history.On Sept. 11, 1973, Gen. Augusto Pinochet led a military coup that included the bombing of La Moneda, the presidential palace in the capital of Santiago, where President Salvador Allende had taken refuge.Allende, a socialist who had won the presidency in 1970, died by suicide during the assault that ended his three-year administration, which was marked by economic turmoil and conflict with Washington over fears he would install a communist government.The Associated Press registered in images what happened after the coup.A junta, led by Pinochet, proceeded to pursue free-market reforms that included privatization of state companies, and it severely limited political freedoms and repressed opposition to the military government. Street protests were brutally broken up, and opponents were sent to detention centers where they were tortured. Thousands were killed and disappeared.At least 200,000 Chileans went into exile....

Bassitt goes 8 strong for Jays, who improve playoff positioning in 7-1 win ove Athletics

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Former Athletics ace Chris Bassitt allowed one run in eight strong innings and the Toronto Blue Jays took sole possession of the third AL wild card spot with a 7-1 win over Oakland on Tuesday night.Toronto’s fifth win in six games moved the Blue Jays past the Rangers in the crowded AL playoff race. Texas lost to Houston 14-1 earlier in the day.“We’re showing a lot of maturity behind the scenes of not chasing a 3½ game deficit within one game,” Bassitt said. “Just concentrate on ourselves and win every series. If we win every series the rest of the way, we’re going to be world champions. That’s the way it is.”The Blue Jays did it behind plenty of offense and a superb outing from Bassitt (14-7), who was 30-24 over six seasons with the A’s and was an All-Star in his final season with Oakland in 2021. The 6-foot-5 right-hander allowed seven hits and didn’t walk anyone while striking out seven. Despite his history with the A’s, Bassitt said he didn’t have any added...

Ben Shelton tops Frances Tiafoe in historic US Open quarterfinal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Shelton reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at age 20 by edging Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7), 6-2 at the U.S. Open in a back-and-forth contest filled with huge hitting by both on a muggy night.The matchup, which began in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Tuesday evening and ended after midnight on Wednesday, was the first major quarterfinal of the Open era, which dates to 1968, between two African-American men. It was also the first U.S. Open quarterfinal since 2005 between two men from the host country, which hasn’t claimed a Slam trophy in men’s singles since Andy Roddick won at Flushing Meadows two years prior to that.The crowd seemed to have a tough time deciding for whom to cheer, prodding both players at various points of the often even matchup.Shelton will face 23-time major champion Novak Djokovic on Friday for a berth in the final.Djokovic reached his record 47th Grand Slam semifinal, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for the most by a man, by defeating Tayl...

A national program in Niger encouraged jihadis to defect. The coup put its future in jeopardy

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — It took months of convincing before the former jihadi commander decided to defect, trading in his guns and wealth for amnesty and a chance to live with his family.Before leaving the Islamic State group, Mouhamadou Ibrahim was told by Niger’s government that his wife and children would be cared for, that he’d be welcomed into the community and that he would not face charges, as long as he provided intelligence about the militants and urged other jihadis to come home. But those promises were made before mutinous soldiers ousted Niger’s democratically elected president, putting the national program to reintegrate former jihadis into society at risk. For Ibrahim, 40, the coup has upended months of work and the relationships he built with Niger’s security forces — and now he wonders whether he should return to fight with the extremists. Since President Mohamed Bazoum was overthrown by members of his presidential guard in July, the future of th...

3 sailors from Russia and France are rescued off Australian coast after sharks attacked their boat

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Three sailors from Russia and France were rescued on Wednesday after the inflatable catamaran they were trying to navigate from Vanuatu to Australia came under attack from sharks, authorities said. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said it responded to an alert from an emergency beacon at about 1:30 a.m. When rescuers arrived at the scene more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of the Australian coast in the Coral Sea, they found both hulls of the men’s 9-meter (30-foot) boat had been damaged after several shark attacks. The agency enlisted the help of a Panamanian-flagged ship, the vehicle-carrying “Dugong Ace,” which was able to complete the rescue and take the two Russians and one Frenchman aboard. A rescue plane also flew to the scene.“The three males were very happy to be rescued, and they’re all healthy and well,” said Joe Zeller, duty manager at the agency’s Canberra response center.The men, aged between 28 and 64, are due...

The UK says it will declare Russia’s Wagner mercenary group a banned terrorist organization

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:27 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The U.K. announced Wednesday it will declare Russia’s Wagner mercenary group a banned terrorist organization, saying it remains a threat to global security even after the death of leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.The government said an order will be introduced in Parliament to proscribe the group under the Terrorism Act. The designation, once approved by lawmakers, will bar membership in or support for Wagner, which has played a major fighting role during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It also has operated in Syria and several African nations.Home Secretary Suella Braverman said Wagner “has been involved in looting, torture and barbarous murders. Its operations in Ukraine, the Middle East and Africa are a threat to global security.”“They are terrorists, plain and simple – and this proscription order makes that clear in U.K. law,” she said.The ban will allow U.K. authorities to seize the organization’s assets, though that power is largely symbolic as Wagner is not known to...