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GOP donor Lazzaro gets 21 years for sex trafficking minors

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:51:12 GMT

By Trisha Ahmed | Associated Press/Report for AmericaMINNEAPOLIS — A formerly well-connected GOP donor convicted of giving teenage girls gifts, alcohol and money in exchange for sex was sentenced Wednesday to 21 years in prison on sex trafficking charges.Anton “Tony” Lazzaro was found guilty in March by a federal jury of seven counts involving “commercial sex acts” with five girls ages 15 and 16 in 2020, when Lazzaro was 30. The charges carried mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years with a maximum of life in prison.Prosecutors had requested a 30-year sentence for Lazzaro. They likened Lazzaro to financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was arrested in 2019 on federal charges accusing him of paying underage girls for massages and then abusing them at his homes in Florida and New York. The defense asked for no more than 10 years.“He’s a sex trafficker,” prosecutor Laura Provinzino said. “One who has shown absolutely no remorse. He has accepted no...

Newsom pushes back on calls for ailing Sen. Dianne Feinstein to resign after latest health scare

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:51:12 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom poured water Friday on suggestions that U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s slip and fall earlier this week is yet another sign the ailing 90-year-old lawmaker should resign and let him appoint a replacement.Several liberal Democrats urged Feinstein’s ouster this spring as her months-long absence from the Senate Judiciary Committee due to shingles complications held up some Democratic judicial appointments. But Newsom noted Senate Republian Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has said he wouldn’t seat a Democratic replacement for Feinstein.“I have to remind my friends that if she does resign and the governor — me — appoints someone, we may not get another federal judge out of the judiciary,” Newsom told reporters Friday at a briefing in the Capitol. “You think Mitch McConnell is going to allow that? You think for a second Mitch McConnell will allow another Democrat?”McConnell in April said in response to suggestions for...

American Canyon burglary suspect arrested after stealing luggage out of a car: police

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:51:12 GMT

(KRON) -- A man was arrested after a vehicle burglary Thursday morning, the American Canyon Police Department (ACPD) said in a Facebook post. The burglary allegedly happened around 7:30 a.m. on the 5000 block of Main Street.The suspect, identified as 32-year-old Timothy Mitchell from Vallejo, broke into the back window of a car at a parking lot, police said. Mitchell allegedly stole luggage from the victim's car. These 2 cars were most frequently stolen in July: Alameda PD Approximately one hour later, police located a blue Honda and initiated a traffic stop. ACPD said the suspect was wearing the same clothes as the person caught on surveillance breaking into the car. Mitchell used a device to break the car's windows, which caused broken glass to be found on the floorboard of the victim's car, according to police. Mitchell was arrested for vehicle burglary and violation of his Conta Costa County probation terms. He was booked into the Napa County Department of Corrections. Mitchel...

'Worse than a drunk driver': San Franciscans remain skeptical of driverless cars

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:51:12 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Two tech companies, Cruise and Waymo, received thumbs up from the California Public Utilities Commission Thursday to expand robotaxi ride-hailing services in San Francisco and charge passengers for rides.The CPUC's vote "marks the true beginning of our commercial operations in San Francisco. We’re incredibly grateful for this vote of confidence from the CPUC," said Tekedra Mawakana, co-CEO of Waymo.The controversial vote means more Autonomous Vehicles -- cars without drivers -- will be navigating around the city with Cruise and Waymo collecting profits from passengers."While we do not yet have the data to judge AVs against the standard human drivers are setting, I do believe in the potential of this technology to increase safety on the roadway," said CPUC Commissioner John Reynolds.San Francisco's transportation officials and supervisors said Cruise and Waymo have not been cooperative with providing data on traffic incidents involving its vehicles. "Cruise pr...

Airbnb offering full refunds to guests with Maui bookings

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:51:12 GMT

(KRON) -- Airbnb will be granting full refunds to guests with accommodations booked in Maui who request them, a representative for the short-term rental provider confirmed. The company's extenuating circumstances policy is currently in effect for areas of Hawaii, including the entire island of Maui, the representative said.This policy allows guests with eligible stays to cancel and get a full refund. Hosts in the impacted areas can also cancel without fees or other consequences. East Bay warned of smoke from wildfire training The company's extenuating circumstances policy is in effect for all of Maui and parts of the Big Island that are also being impacted by wildfires. Hosts and guests with eligible stays in the impacted areas can get information directly through their Airbnb account.The company is closely monitoring the situation and will provide more information soon, a representative told KRON4.The island of Maui is currently reeling from devastating wildfires that all-but wip...

Alex de Minaur beats 2nd-seeded Daniil Medvedev to reach Toronto semifinals

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:51:12 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — Alex de Minaur beat second-seeded Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (7), 7-5 on Friday to reach the National Bank Open semifinals.“I had to play some of my best tennis today,” said De Minaur, from Australia. “It has been a great week for me so far. I played the right way today. I think having played him at the end of last year gave me the confidence that I had a chance. I just had to play the right way and I am extremely proud of the effort and to still be alive.”Medvedev, the Russian who won the 2021 in Toronto, had seven double-faults — the last on match point on a warm, sunny afternoon at Sobeys Stadium.De Minaur will face Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a battle of unseeded players in their first career Masters 1000 semifinal. In March, de Minaur won in Acapulco for his seventh career title.Davidovich Fokina beat American Mackenzie McDonald 6-4, 6-2 in the opening quarterfinal.In the night session, top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz of Spain faced 12th-seeded Tommy Paul of ...

FedEx St. Jude Championship Scores

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:51:12 GMT

FridayAt TPC SouthwindMemphis, Tenn.Purse: $20 millionYardage: 7,243; Par: 70Second RoundLucas Glover66-64—130Jordan Spieth63-68—131Tommy Fleetwood66-66—132Emiliano Grillo65-67—132Sungjae Im67-65—132Tom Kim64-68—132Taylor Moore66-66—132Cameron Davis66-67—133Adam Hadwin67-66—133Lee Hodges68-65—133Rory McIlroy67-66—133J.T. Poston66-67—133Scottie Scheffler67-66—133Max Homa68-66—134Stephan Jaeger69-65—134Aaron Rai66-68—134Xander Schauffele66-68—134Byeong Hun An67-68—135Patrick Cantlay68-67—135Ben Griffin69-66—135Russell Henley67-68—135Mackenzie Hughes67-68—135Si Woo Kim68-67—135Kurt Kitayama66-69—135Collin Morikawa65-70—135Andrew Putnam68-67—135Adam Schenk69-66—135Adam Svensson66-69—135Sahith Theegala67-68—135Eric Cole66-70—136Thomas Detry72-64—136Nick Hardy67-69—136Tom Hoge67-69—136Viktor Hovland72-64—136Hideki Matsuyama67-69—136Vincent Norrman67-69—136Sam Stevens69-67—136Brendon Todd67-70—137Keegan Bradley67-71—138Beau Hossler71-67—138Chris Kirk71-67—138Keith Mitchell70-68—138Sam Ryde...

FedEx St. Jude Championship Par Scores

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:51:12 GMT

FridayAt TPC SouthwindMemphis, Tenn.Purse: $20 millionYardage: 7,243; Par: 70Second RoundLucas Glover66-64—130-10Jordan Spieth63-68—131-9Tommy Fleetwood66-66—132-8Emiliano Grillo65-67—132-8Sungjae Im67-65—132-8Tom Kim64-68—132-8Taylor Moore66-66—132-8Cameron Davis66-67—133-7Adam Hadwin67-66—133-7Lee Hodges68-65—133-7Rory McIlroy67-66—133-7J.T. Poston66-67—133-7Scottie Scheffler67-66—133-7Max Homa68-66—134-6Stephan Jaeger69-65—134-6Aaron Rai66-68—134-6Xander Schauffele66-68—134-6Byeong Hun An67-68—135-5Patrick Cantlay68-67—135-5Ben Griffin69-66—135-5Russell Henley67-68—135-5Mackenzie Hughes67-68—135-5Si Woo Kim68-67—135-5Kurt Kitayama66-69—135-5Collin Morikawa65-70—135-5Andrew Putnam68-67—135-5Adam Schenk69-66—135-5Adam Svensson66-69—135-5Sahith Theegala67-68—135-5Eric Cole66-70—136-4Thomas Detry72-64—136-4Nick Hardy67-69—136-4Tom Hoge67-69—136-4Viktor Hovland72-64—136-4Hideki Matsuyama67-69—136-4Vincent Norrman67-69—136-4Sam Stevens69-67—136-4Brendon Todd67-70—137-3Keegan Bradley67-...

Cortes’ season with Yankees could be over after he goes back on injured list

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:51:12 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Nestor Cortes’ season with the New York Yankees could be over after he went back on the injured list with a strained left rotator cuff, one start into his return from a two-month layoff.The 28-year-old left-hander was put on the 15-day IL on Friday, six days after pitching four innings against Houston in his first big league appearance since May 30.“We haven’t received all the details. I learned of the results when I got to the stadium,” Cortes said before the Yankees played Miami. “The one thing I was told is I cannot throw a baseball for four weeks. After that, we don’t know. It all depends on how I’m feeling with the recovery.”Cortes is 5-2 with a 4.97 ERA in 12 starts, allowing 11 home runs in 63 1/3 innings. He went 12-4 with a 2.44 ERA last year, earning his first All-Star selection.Cortes made minor league injury rehabilitation appearances for Double-A Somerset on July 23 and 29, then threw 64 pitches against the Astros on Aug. 5. He gave up one hit, a solo...

Journalist group changes its name to the Indigenous Journalists Association to be more inclusive

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:51:12 GMT

WINNIPEG, Canada (AP) — The Native American Journalists Association announced Friday it is changing its name to the Indigenous Journalists Association in an effort to become more inclusive and strengthen ties with Indigenous journalists worldwide.“We need young, Indigenous people to be telling stories in their own communities, and so having a name that can be inclusive to all Indigenous peoples, especially First Nations and Inuit, Métis and Canada, who don’t identify as Native American — So that was really part of it,” Francine Compton, citizen of Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation and associate director of the journalists association, told The Associated Press.The group that was founded in 1983 and now includes more than 950 members, mostly in the U.S., announced the name change at its annual conference in Winnipeg, Canada. The decision was made after Indigenous members voted 89-55 in favor of the name change. The organization also updated the logo from NAJA with a feather to a s...