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WNBA suspends Hammon 2 games for player’s allegation she was bullied for being pregnant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:44 GMT

By DOUG FEINBERG and MARK ANDERSON (AP Sports Writers)The WNBA suspended Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon, one of the league’s marquee figures, for two games Tuesday after former Aces player Dearica Hamby said she had been bullied and manipulated for being pregnant.Hammon, who in her first season last year led the Aces to the WNBA championship, was suspended without pay after a monthslong investigation into Hamby’s allegations.The WNBA did not disclose details, but said Hammon violated league and team “respect in the workplace” policies.The league also rescinded the Aces’ first-round pick in the 2025 draft for a different issue — a violation of league rules regarding impermissible player benefits involving Hamby, who was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks on Jan. 21. It’s the first time in league history that the WNBA has taken a draft pick from a team.That means Las Vegas may not have a first-round pick for two consecutive seasons. The Aces trade...

Yucaipa High School teacher arrested for having sex with student

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:44 GMT

A Yucaipa High School teacher has been arrested for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old male student, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department announced.Tracy Vanderhulst, 38, was arrested on Thursday and booked into the county detention center on a charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. She was being held in lieu of $30,000 bail.Authorities say the Yucaipa Calimesa Joint Unified School District “worked cooperatively” with its investigation.Detectives say they believe there may be more alleged victims. Anyone with tips was urged to contact Detective Rachel Young of the Specialized Investigations Division, Crimes Against Children Detail at (909) 890-4904. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463).

3 people hospitalized after Irvine pileup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:44 GMT

Three people were hospitalized after a violent multi-car collision in Irvine on Friday.The crash, which involved four vehicles, happened around 2:20 p.m. on Jamboree Road at the Main Street intersection, according to Irvine Police.Photos from the scene show a white SUV sustained the most serious damage and rolled onto its side. The three other vehicles had rear-end damage.Firefighters had to extricate two people from their cars, according to the Orange County Fire Department. The conditions of those injured were not available.Southbound Jamboree Road was closed between Kelvin Avenue and Main Street for about two hours.The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Locals rally to save historic family-owned theater in Gardena

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:44 GMT

One of the last family-owned cinemas in Los Angeles, a vintage movie theater in Gardena has been a community staple for decades, but its future is now uncertain.In the fight to save the local landmark, supporters have volunteered to pitch in and help run Gardena Cinema, one of the last vintage theaters left in the Southland.The owner, Judy Kim, runs the operation herself - a single-screen theater on Crenshaw Boulevard built in the 1940s and purchased by Kim’s parents in 1976.“There used to be a neighborhood theater in almost every neighborhood in Los Angeles,” said Kim. “Now, they’re all gone.”Kim took over operations when her mother passed away last year and her father, who is in his 80s, is retiring. She says keeping the 800-seat theater running has been a financial struggle, exacerbated by a three-year pandemic closure, all while her mother was battling cancer.Judy Kim's parents, John and Nancy, pictured in 1976 when they purchased Gardena Cinema. (KTLA)Kim said her parents worke...

Myanmar officials: death toll from cyclone at least 145

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:44 GMT

By Grant Peck | Associated PressBANGKOK — The official death toll from the powerful cyclone that struck Myanmar has burgeoned to at least 145, including 117 members of the Muslim Rohingya minority, state television reported Friday.It said the figure applied to the western state of Rakhine, where Cyclone Mocha did the most damage, but did not say how many storm-related deaths there have been in other parts of the country.The accounting of casualties from the cyclone has been slow, in part due to communication difficulties in the affected areas and the military government’s tight control over information. The military government has said that unofficial death tolls surpassing 400 are false, but in the absence of independent confirmation, uncertainly remains about the actual extent of casualties and destruction.Mocha made landfall near Sittwe township in Rakhine state on Sunday afternoon with winds of up to 209 kilometers (130 miles) per hour before weakening inland. The cyclone,...

Nebraska passes 12-week abortion ban, trans care ban

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:44 GMT

By Margery A. Beck | Associated PressLINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Legislature on Friday approved a 12-week abortion ban and restrictions on gender-affirming care for children in a move so contentious that lawmakers on both sides have said they may be unable to work together in the future.Conservative lawmakers wrangled just enough votes to end a filibuster and pass a bill with both measures. Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, who pushed for the bill and met with various lawmakers to shore up support, has promised to sign it into law.The mood in the Nebraska Capitol has been volatile since lawmakers on Tuesday advanced by a single vote the hybrid measure that ties together restrictions that Republicans across the U.S. have been pushing. Nebraska’s lawmakers have traded insults and promises of retribution, while protesters have loudly voiced their displeasure.Friday’s debate was briefly stopped when protesters in a chamber balcony stood and yelled obscenities at conservative lawm...

Man yelling racial slurs on I-880 in viral video arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:44 GMT

(KRON) -- A man yelling out racial slurs toward a Black individual at an Oakland freeway on Tuesday has been arrested, California Highway Patrol announced Friday. The suspect, identified as 61-year-old Newark man Tracy Robert Blackwell, was arrested Friday around noon on charges of assault with a deadly weapon with hate crime enhancements, California Highway Patrol announced. An Instagram video, which has since received over 105,000 likes, shows Blackwell driving a white Jeep on southbound I-880 near Hegenberger Road around 4 p.m. He screams the n-word multiple times toward at least one Black occupant of another vehicle. Bay Area city drops out of Top 10 in most-populous US cities “F**k you n****r… F*****g n****r,” the man is heard saying in the video. Blackwell was also seen flipping the victim off as he was driving.Authorities said it appeared Blackwell tried to "ram" into the victim's vehicle. He did so unsuccessfully and crashed his Jeep into a wall on the right shoulder of th...

Elizabeth Holmes and her ex ordered to pay Theranos victims $452 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:44 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- Ex-Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes and her ex-boyfriend, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, were ordered by a judge this week to pay nearly half a billion dollars in restitution to their victims.Holmes and Balwani were convicted of defrauding investors who poured millions of dollars into the Silicon Valley biotech startup company based on lies and hype. Prosecutors illuminated how the duo's lies rose to the level of criminal fraud and conspiracy. During their trials, Holmes and Balwani both claimed that they walked away with nothing after the company's blood testing technology was exposed as flawed and Theranos imploded in 2016. Elizabeth Holmes leaves the federal courthouse in San Jose. (Getty Images /File)Holmes, 39, was once America's youngest self-made billionaire and held stocks worth $4.5 billion. She recently told the New York Times that she doesn't even have enough money to cover her legal expenses from the trial. "I have to work for the rest of my life to try ...

Victim in critical condition after Oakland shooting

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:44 GMT

(KRON) -- The victim of a Friday morning shooting in Oakland is in critical, but stable condition, the Oakland Police Department said. The shooting happened just after 11:30 a.m. on the 9700 block of Edes Avenue. Officers arrived to find evidence of a shooting but no victims, police said. Later, OPD was told that a shooting victim arrived at a local hospital. OPD is investigating the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to call OPD at (510) 238-3426.

Reactions to the death of Jim Brown, NFL star, social activist and actor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:44 GMT

Reactions to the death of Jim Brown, former NFL star, actor and activist:___“To the world, he was an activist, actor, and football star. To our family, he was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. Our hearts are broken.” — Brown’s wife, Monique Brown, on Instagram.___“We lost a hero today. Rest in Paradise to the legend Jim Brown. I hope every Black athlete takes the time to educate themselves about this incredible man and what he did to change all of our lives. We all stand on your shoulders Jim Brown. If you grew up in Northeast Ohio and were Black, Jim Brown was a God. As a kid who loved football, I really just thought of him as the greatest Cleveland Brown to ever play. Then I started my own journey as a professional athlete and realized what he did socially was his true greatness. When I choose to speak out, I always think about Jim Brown. I can only speak because Jim broke down those walls for me.” — NBA star LeBron James, on Instagram. ___“I was too young to remember Jim...