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Toxic cesspools, bribery at center of Hawaii lawmaker’s case

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:16:47 GMT

HONOLULU (AP) — A former Hawaii lawmaker is expected in court Thursday for sentencing in a federal corruption case that’s drawn attention to a perennial problem in the islands: the tens of thousands of cesspools that release 50 million gallons of raw sewage into the state’s pristine waters every day.Cesspools — in-ground pits that collect sewage from houses and buildings not connected to city services for gradual release into the environment — are at the center of the criminal case against former Democratic state Rep. Ty Cullen. He has admitted to taking bribes of cash and gambling chips in exchange for influencing legislation to reduce Hawaii’s widespread use of cesspools. The toxic pits proliferated in Hawaii in the ’50s, ‘60s and ’70s. when investment in sewer lines didn’t keep up with rapid development. Today Hawaii has 83,000 of them — more than any other state — and only banned new cesspools in 2016. Now Hawaii is in a rush to get rid of them because of...

GOP’s DeSantis visits Whitmer’s Michigan, the ‘anti-Florida’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:16:47 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Ahead of a highly anticipated presidential announcement, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will visit Michigan for his first appearance this year in the state transformed by Democratic majorities under high-profile Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.The visit will put the contrasting leadership styles of the Republican and Democrat on display after they scored landslide 2022 reelection victories that vaulted them to be their parties’ brightest emerging stars.In Florida, DeSantis and the GOP-dominated Legislature have moved the state further right, waging a culture war on what the governor has called “woke” agendas. In Michigan, Whitmer has led the way on codifying abortion rights and advancing sweeping gun reform with Democrats in full control for the first time in decades. Whitmer has been a top ally to President Joe Biden and a kind of proxy for his leadership in their party — and what’s possible under Democrats. DeSantis is one of the top potential candidates looking to un...

Pakistan: Military kills 8 militants near Afghanistan border

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:16:47 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani security forces killed eight insurgents in an overnight operation at a militant hideout near the Afghan border, the military said, and the shootout left one soldier dead and four wounded Wednesday.According to a military statement, the shootout took place in Shin Warsak area of South Waziristan, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where an intelligence-based operation was conducted. It said the dead militants were actively involved in attacks on security forces and killing innocent citizens.The military did not identify the militant group to which the slain insurgents belonged but the mountainous region along the Afghan border has long served as a base for the Pakistani Taliban and other militants until a few years ago, when the army said it cleared the region of insurgents. But occasional attacks have continued.The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, are a separate group from the Afghan Taliban, alth...

Irvine dermatologist indicted for allegedly poisoning her husband with drain cleaner

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:16:47 GMT

An Irvine woman who works as a dermatologist has been indicted after she allegedly poisoned her husband over several weeks with liquid drain cleaner last year, officials announced Wednesday.Yue “Emily” Yu, 45, is accused of pouring the liquid into her husband’s tea, which caused him to have stomach ulcers, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.Yu was arrested last summer after her husband began noticing a strange taste in his tea. The taste continued and he decided to install cameras in the family’s kitchen to see if he could capture any evidence of why his tea tasted strange, officials said. Images of Irvine woman allegedly poisoning husband released; restraining order filed Video captured on July 11, July 18 and July 25 showed Yu pouring a liquid out of a bottle of drain cleaner and into her husband’s tea that was left on the counter.The victim also collected samples of the tea and turned them over to the Irvine Police Department, officials said. The samples ...

L.A. Sheriff’s Deputy Charged For AR-15 Possession

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:16:47 GMT

A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy was charged for possession of an “unlawful” AR-15 firearm found in the closet of his home in 2020.Deputy Brandon Garmon, 45, was charged by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office for one felony count of possession of an “assault weapon,” as described by state law, and one felony count for possession of a destructive device.“While I support the rights afforded to us under the Second Amendment, I also respect the laws of our state,” District Attorney Gascón said Wednesday. “It is illegal to possess an AR-15 assault rifle in California and I expect everyone, including sworn officers, to follow the law. These weapons have repeatedly led to massive loss of life across this nation and I fully intend to enforce the ban in Los Angeles.”The unregistered rifle was allegedly found in Garmon’s home when a search warrant was served on April 8, 2020. Also found in his home was tracer ammunition, which ...

Pittsburg police arrest suspect in store clerk killing

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:16:47 GMT

Pittsburg police have arrested a 37-year-old man in Modesto who is suspected of killing a Pittsburg convenience store clerk late last month.Detectives tracked down the homicide suspect after receiving a tip that he was hiding out in an apartment in Modesto. Working with the Modesto Police Department, they served a search warrant shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday, but the suspect refused to come out until after several hours of negotiating with Modesto Police’s crisis response unit, Pittsburg police said.Gregory Rossignon was later brought back to Antioch and booked into Contra Costa County jail on murder charges, according to police.Detectives said Abdul Raouf, 44, was working as a clerk on March 22 at a convenience store in the 1000 block of Power Avenue when Jessica Russo entered the store and got into a disagreement with another clerk. Shortly after the disagreement, Rossignon entered the store and shot Abdul for no apparent reason after which he and Russo fled, authorities said.On ...

Alameda County DA moves to disqualify judge who torpedoed plea deal in three-count murder case

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:16:47 GMT

OAKLAND — Weeks after an Alameda County judge shot down a plea deal that would have sentenced a man accused of three homicides to 15 years, the District Attorney announced she is moving to disqualify him from all criminal cases.Alameda County DA Pamela Price announced the move Wednesday afternoon on a YouTube video, hours after Judge Mark McCannon denied motions by both the prosecution and defense to recuse him from the case of Delonzo Logwood. In the video, Price took aim at McCannon, saying the judge “overstepped his boundaries” and “created a firestorm of prejudicial comments that do not, in my view, serve justice.”It is an uncommon but hardly unheard of practice that is more often used by defense attorneys. But last July, then-DA Nancy O’Malley, Price’s predecessor, wrote that her prosecutors “cannot have a fair and impartial trial or hearing or any criminal procedure” before Judge Amy Sekany in a motion to disqualify her.In ...

Fireworks explode outside Moraga home, cause damage

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:16:47 GMT

MORAGA, Calif. (KRON) – Dangerous firework explosions at an East Bay home were caught on camera. The homeowner shared the video with KRON4 and said he believes he may have been targeted for retaliation.He said he almost caught people shooting off fireworks in his neighborhood before, and the explosions may have been their revenge. He wants the police to do something about it. Effort underway to replace iconic Chinatown red lanterns damaged in storm “I thought a Mack truck had hit my house or a plane crashed. It was a concussion,” said Kendall Langan. Langan says he was sitting at his desk Sunday night when he heard the first boom just before 10 p.m. He then ran to his front door and was met with a second blast.The explosives sent sharp pieces of plastic shrapnel into Langan’s home and all over his driveway. He says the fireworks were stored in PVC pipes, calling the act “terrorism.”KRON ON is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%...

57 unhoused people have died in Santa Clara County in 2023

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:16:47 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) – Santa Clara County is seeing a higher number of unhoused people dying on its streets compared to this time last year.Fifty-seven unhoused people have died on the streets in Santa Clara County since the beginning of this year, according to the county coroner. That number was 51 at this time last year. Video: San Francisco street turns into ‘Wild West’ at 2 a.m. “It should have been that it is lower because we opened emergency evacuation center, we kept people in tents, the county has given out rain gear… should have been we’re lower than last year but instead we’re higher,” said Shaunn Cartwright, a homeless advocate with the Unhoused Response Group. Cartwright blames the problem on the City of San Jose, saying officials sweep homeless from one place to another without a permanent plan. The weather this year hasn’t helped.“We’ve shown up and seen people in the pouring rain,” she said.KRON ON is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relat...

Idaho governor signs ‘abortion trafficking’ bill into law

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:16:47 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed a bill into law Wednesday that makes it illegal for an adult to help a minor get an abortion without parental consent.The law is the first of its kind in the U.S. and creates a new crime of “ abortion trafficking,” barring adults from obtaining abortion pills for a minor or “recruiting, harboring or transporting the pregnant minor” without the consent of the minor’s parent or guardian. Anyone convicted of breaking the law will face two to five years in prison and could also be sued by the minor’s parent or guardian. Parents who raped their child will not be able to sue, though the criminal penalties for anyone who helped the minor obtain an abortion will remain in effect. To sidestep violating a constitutional right to travel between states, Idaho’s law makes illegal only the in-state segment of a trip to an out-of-state abortion provider. Opponents have promised a legal battle.“Yet again, Idaho’s governor disregarded con...