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Colorado promised transparency around police misconduct, but accountability law remains flawed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:25 GMT

A Denver police officer bragged to coworkers that he shot a carjacking suspect once in the head to kill him, then at least 16 times more to see his “face fall apart.” They told investigators that he spent months trumpeting his second on-duty killing and saying he was eager for a third.Shane Madrigal resigned in 2022 while under investigation for what his supervisors deemed racist, homophobic and “grossly inappropriate” comments about killing people while he was on duty. Yet he has a clean disciplinary record with the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) board, the state agency responsible for training and certifying police. In the eyes of the law, Madrigal — who denied any wrongdoing — remains qualified to keep serving in law enforcement.“We had some terrible police in our community who’ve lost their jobs, but… are still able to find jobs elsewhere,” said Rio Blanco County Sheriff Anthony Mazzola, a member of the POST board. “If we’re going to make law en...

Video game 'NBA 2K' steps up to save Kobe Bryant mural in DTLA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:25 GMT

A prominent mural showing late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, has been saved by the makers of a popular basketball video game.The mural outside Hardcore Fitness at 400 W. Pico Blvd. was in danger after the building's owner reportedly demanding it be removed, but Ronnie Singh, better known as "NBA 2K" digital marketing director Ronnie 2K, said Monday that the artwork will be preserved.As noted on USA Today's LeBron Wire, artist Sloe Motions' mural is only about a half mile away from Crypto.com Arena."The popular mural of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, located at 400 W. Pico Blvd in downtown Los Angeles will be re-dedicated this week and stay up thanks to a pledge by NBA 2K," ESPN's Dave McMenamin wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Bryant is prominently featured in this year's iteration of "NBA 2K," which allows gamers to "take control of one of the greatest players of all time and recreate some of his most memorable games in MAMBA MOMENTS™ mode, a new immersive...

Man killed, teen wounded in shooting at Pasadena apartment complex

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:25 GMT

A man is dead and a teen boy is wounded after a shooting in Pasadena Monday night.The shooting on West Hammond Street was reported at about 7:45 p.m. by the Pasadena Police Department's ShotSpotter gunshot detector and by several neighbors who phoned police, the department said in a news release.The man, later identified as 26-year-old Cecilio Hernandez Ramirez Jr. of Pasadena, was shot multiple times and was found unresponsive in an apartment complex parking lot, police said.He was taken to a local hospital in grave condition and was pronounced dead there."As officers were establishing a crime scene, a second victim from the shooting arrived at the same local hospital via private transportation," police said. "The second victim, a juvenile male, had sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound."A motive for the shooting has not been established, and the investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 626-744-4241.To report information anonymously, cal...

'Cruel Summer' is Taylor Swift's 10th No. 1 song

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:25 GMT

Taylor Swift, once again, has the No. 1 song in the country. Her song "Cruel Summer" has jumped from No. 9 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 following the release of a live version and a remix. The song was released in 2019 from her album "Lover," but it wasn't promoted as a single until this past June. The singer and her "Cruel Summer" co-writer Jack Antonoff celebrated the news on Instagram. "It's cool," the caption read. "Our favorite song from 'Lover' from five years ago. The song that we said was the best song but we thought, 'Oh, you know what? This is going to be our secret best song.' That's what we thought," Antonoff said in the clip.The "Karma" singer then jumped in saying, "We just wanted to say thank you so much for making 'Cruel Summer' a Hot 100 No. 1. And it's not even the summer anymore, it's deep fall. I'm wearing a sweater.""It's deep fall," Antonoff concurred. "We love you guys," Swift ended the video with before letting out a sheepish scream. The song i...

Sheryl Evans, Christopher Jenkins Killed in Vehicle Accident on Casey Road [Fallon, NV]

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:25 GMT

73-Year-Old Woman and 42-Year-Old Man Pronounced Dead after Fatal CollisionFALLON, NV (October 24, 2023) – On Monday morning, Sheryl Evans and Christopher Jenkins died in a deadly semi-truck vs. vehicle collision.The incident occurred just before 10:00 a.m., October 16th, at the intersection of Casey and McLean Roads.Nevada State Police troopers responded to the crash where they pronounced 73-year-old Evans and 42-year-old Jenkins dead at the scene.Upon investigation, Evans and Jenkins were occupying a sedan when they failed to yield at a stop sign at the intersection and got T-boned by a semi-truck.Furthermore, the impact caused the sedan to end up in a canal. Authorities temporarily shut down the surrounding area to allow for cleanup and preliminary duties.At this time, there was no other information released, and the crash is under investigation.Sweet James sends out their heartfelt sympathies to the friends and families of Sheryl Evans and Christopher Jenkins who are griev...

Goblin Up Demons

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:25 GMT

Goblin Up Demons: Italian prog metal band Goblin are best known for their work on horror movie scores, including Suspiria, Dawn of the Dead and Tenebrae. There are a few different versions of the band out there, including this one helmed by keyboardist Claudio Simonetti. He’s the man behind the score to 1985 movie Demons, which is why his Goblin is performing that in its entirety at the Alex in Glendale, followed by a classic Goblin set.“Composer Claudio Simonetti has written and recorded some of the most influential soundtracks in horror, including Dawn of the Dead, Deep Red, Suspiria, Tenebrae, and countless others, with his seminal work still informing the genre to this day,” reads the press release. “Simonetti and his collective will perform the haunting and tense score to Demons. The film was produced by master of horror Dario Argento (Suspiria, Tenebrae, etc.) and was directed by Lamberto Bava, son of iconic cinematographer Mario Bava.”Goblin Up Demons:...

House Republicans pick Rep. Emmer as their speaker nominee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:25 GMT

By Lisa Mascaro, Stephen Groves, Farnoush Amiri and Kevin Freking | Associated PressWASHINGTON — Republicans picked Rep. Tom Emmer as their nominee for House speaker on Tuesday, as they try for a third time to fill the top leadership position and get Congress back to work.Emmer, the GOP Whip and senior-most candidate, jumped out front in private balloting as the top vote-getter among the hodge-podge list of mostly lesser-known congressmen for speaker, a powerful position second in line to the presidency.But it’s no sure path to the gavel. Emmer, of Minnesota, won a simple majority of his colleagues behind closed doors, but he will need the support of most all Republicans during a House floor vote ahead.It’s three weeks since Republicans ousted Kevin McCarthy. The House speaker will need to accomplish the seemingly impossible job of uniting the GOP majority.“We’re going to have to figure out how to get our act together — I mean, big boys and big girls have got...

Heisman Watch: Penix loses ground and Nix holds steady while Williams’ candidacy collapses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:25 GMT

Welcome to our weekly look at the Pac-12’s leading Heisman Trophy candidates via an assessment of the top players in the conference. Consider this one Heisman voter’s view of the landscape. The rankings are based on individual performance, value to the team and quality of competition. And yes, we consider defensive players.Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. became the latest victim of a time-tested reality of the Heisman Trophy race: Weeks of progress can vanish in three arduous hours.Penix finally overtook USC quarterback Caleb Williams as the betting frontrunner last week, only to be overtaken himself this week following a poor showing in UW’s surprisingly narrow victory over Arizona State.Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who threw four touchdowns in the Wolverines’ 49-0 victory over Michigan State, is the new leader based on odds released Monday by BetMGM.McCarthy is +240 to win the award, meaning a $100 bet would pay $240. (The implied probability of a +240 ...

Eisa Davis brings ‘Bulrusher’ home to Berkeley Rep

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:25 GMT

For Eisa Davis, to have her play “Bulrusher” come to Berkeley Repertory Theatre is like coming home.Davis is a Berkeley native and Berkeley High alum who now lives in Brooklyn. Her mother is a civil rights lawyer, and her aunt is prominent activist and scholar Angela Davis.She also has a long history with Berkeley Rep, co-starring in the rock musical “Passing Strange” from its world premiere at the company through its hit Broadway run that was made into a Spike Lee film. As a playwright, she participated in the theater’s Ground Floor summer residency new play development program and contributed an audio play to its “Place/Settings” series during the pandemic shutdown.“Of course, we would go to see Berkeley Rep shows when we were kids,” Davis says. “And I worked there as a telemarketer. Oh god, I was a terrible telemarketer. It was right as we were graduating high school.”“Bulrusher” has deep local roots of its own. It’s set in Mendocino Country in the 1950s and suffused with t...

California and 32 other states sue Meta for harming young people’s mental health, collecting data on children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:25 GMT

By BARBARA ORTUTAY | AP Technology WriterA group of 33 states including California and New York are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for harming young people’s mental health and contributing the youth mental health crisis by knowingly designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms.The lawsuit filed in federal court in California also claims that Meta routinely collects data on children under 13 without their parents’ consent, in violation of federal law.“Kids and teenagers are suffering from record levels of poor mental health and social media companies like Meta are to blame,” said New York Attorney General Letitia James. “Meta has profited from children’s pain by intentionally designing its platforms with manipulative features that make children addicted to their platforms while lowering their self-esteem.”The broad-ranging suit is the result of an investigation led by a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from California, Florida, Ke...