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Exclusive: Santa Clara County to review its own role leading up to baby’s fentanyl death, acknowledges “significant involvement” with troubled family

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:25 GMT

Less than a week after a father was charged in the fentanyl overdose death of his 3-month old daughter, Santa Clara County officials on Wednesday called for the state to investigate how the county’s own child protective services agency may also have failed the baby named Phoenix.“No stone will be left unturned as we seek to understand everything that could have been done to prevent Phoenix’s tragic death,” the county said in a statement late Wednesday.The announcement comes after inquiries by the Bay Area News Group, which found that the County’s Department of Family and Children’s Services had numerous encounters with the infant’s family, including concerns for the couple’s two older children, ages 3 and 4, who are now in the custody of a grandmother.Three-month-old Phoenix Castro died from fentanyl poisoning on May 13, 2023, after being rushed to a San Jose hospital. In October, her father David Anthony Castro, was charged with felony child endangerment in connection with her deat...

Bear attacks Colorado resort security guard in hotel kitchen

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:25 GMT

A bear attacked a security guard Monday night in the kitchen of the St. Regis Aspen Resort.The guard was treated for scratches on his back and later released from the hospital, but Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers were unable to safely capture the bear, according to a Tuesday news release.About 11 p.m., the security guard had been investigating reports of a bear in the hotel when he suddenly came upon the bear in the kitchen.He was rounding the corner to another part of the kitchen and surprised the bear, and the bear attacked the guard, swiping at him and knocking him to the ground, the news release stated.CPW officers arrived just after midnight to investigate and search for the bear. They learned the bear entered the hotel through a series of doors near the courtyard.Related ArticlesNational News | Surfboard-stealing otter of Santa Cruz appears with tiny pup National News | Meet the Bay Area sushi chef who’s become a YouTube star National...

Four busted for organized retail theft at Walnut Creek’s Broadway Plaza

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:25 GMT

A 38-year-old Fairfield man and three others were arrested and jailed last week in Walnut Creek on suspicion of retail theft.Charles Allen Jr. and the others were arrested on a variety of charges, then booked into Contra Costa County Jail in Martinez, according to Walnut Creek Police Lt. Holley Connors, who posted the information on Facebook.The others were Deoni Johnson Jr., 27, of Sacramento; Darijanna Roberson, 24, of Reno, Nevada; and Anthony Bradley II, 32, of Oakland.According to Connors, police dispatchers on Oct. 18 received information of two organized retail thefts that occurred at the Santa Rosa and Napa Lululemon stores.The information was obtained by the department’s officer stationed in Broadway Plaza, an upscale shopping center at 1275 Broadway Plaza, in partnership with retail loss-prevention employees. The information included photographs of the suspects and their vehicles.Additional information gathered by the Broadway Plaza officer indicated a likelihood the suspe...

Fatality reported in pedestrian involved-collision on I-580 in Richmond

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:25 GMT

(BCN) -- The California Highway Patrol reported a fatality following a crash on Interstate Highway 580 in Richmond on Wednesday night.The CHP said a pedestrian was involved in the collision, which occurred around 10:25 p.m. in the highway's westbound lanes near the Bayview Avenue offramp. The pedestrian was running across the traffic before the crash, according to the CHP.Westbound lanes of I-580 in the area were blocked due to the collision. Richmond City Council passes resolution showing solidarity with Gaza There were no further details about the collision immediately available.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Axel Springer Fires Lebanese Employee Who Questioned Pro-Israel Stance

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:25 GMT

The German media giant Axel Springer, which has famously enshrined support for Israel in its mission statement, fired an employee who strayed from its staunchly pro-Israel editorial line, according to an interview with the employee and supporting internal documents. Kasem Raad, a 20-year-old apprentice at the company, was summarily fired last week after questioning the company’s Israel policy through internal channels and posting a video online disputing parts of the Israeli military’s narrative of the brutal Hamas attack on October 7.“It is one of my rights to ask questions. I wanted to stay at Axel Springer,” said Raad, who was fired just a few weeks into a three-year position at the company. “Unfortunately, I was taken in for questioning by senior management, who told me, ‘We are Germans and we need to do this,’” he added, describing his manager’s explanation for the company’s Israel policy.Raad’s account of being fired is supported by a termination letter and screensho...

1 dead, 1 arrested after 2 carjacked vehicles crash in Northeast DC, police say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:25 GMT

Police find a car flipped over on Brentwood Road in Northeast D.C. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)One person is dead and a juvenile has been arrested following two crashes involving carjacked vehicles in Northeast D.C. early Thursday morning.D.C. police told WTOP they got a call around 3 a.m. for crashes involving two vehicles at the intersection of Brentwood Road and Bryant Street in Northeast.When officers arrived, they found one female person dead inside one of the vehicles. Police have not identified the person killed in the crash.A juvenile female was arrested at the scene, and police say at least three other people, who were also in the cars, ran away before officers arrived.According to police, both vehicles were carjacked before the crashes and going at high speeds before crashing blocks away from each other.At the scene, WTOP’s Kyle Cooper reported that he saw “an SUV that is flipped on its roof, up against a telephone pole” being cleared by D.C. police.“That is ...

Kearny: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:25 GMT

FAIRFIELD, N.J. (AP) — FAIRFIELD, N.J. (AP) — Kearny Financial Corp. (KRNY) on Thursday reported profit of $9.8 million in its fiscal first quarter.The Fairfield, New Jersey-based company said it had profit of 16 cents per share.The bank holding company posted revenue of $85.2 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $43.2 million._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on KRNY at https://www.zacks.com/ap/KRNYSource

US economy accelerated to a strong 4.9% rate last quarter as consumers shrugged off Fed rate hikes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s economy expanded at a robust 4.9% annual rate from July through September as Americans defied higher prices, rising interest rates and widespread forecasts of a recession to spend at a brisk pace.The Commerce Department said the economy expanded last quarter at the fastest pace in more than two years — and more than twice the 2.1% annual rate of the previous quarter.Thursday’s report on the nation’s gross domestic product — the economy’s total output of goods and services — showed that consumers drove the acceleration, ramping up their spending on everything from cars to restaurant meals. Even though the painful inflation of the past two years has soured many people’s view of the economy, millions have remained willing to splurge on vacations, concert tickets and sports events.Last quarter’s robust growth, though, may prove to be a high-water mark for the economy before a steady slowdown begins in the current October-December quarter and extends into 2...

Ladder Capital: Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — NEW YORK (AP) — Ladder Capital Corp. (LADR) on Thursday reported third-quarter net income of $31.3 million.The New York-based company said it had profit of 25 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and stock option expense, came to 31 cents per share.The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 30 cents per share.The commercial real estate mortgage origination and finance company posted revenue of $142 million in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $79.8 million._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LADR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LADRSource

Weekly applications for US jobless benefits rises slightly

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:03:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits rose last week but remains historically low as the labor market continues to show strength amid high interest rates and inflation.Jobless claim applications rose by 10,000 to 210,000 for the week ending Oct. 21, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The previous week’s applications were the fewest in eight months.Jobless claim applications are considered a proxy for layoffs.The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out some of the week-to-week volatility, rose by 1,250 to 207,500.Overall, 1.79 million people were collecting unemployment benefits the week that ended Oct. 14, about 63,000 more than the previous week. Source