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‘I have a lot of questions’: A friend is in disbelief over the safe return of San Mateo woman after being held captive in Mexico for 8 months

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:17 GMT

By Jillian Sykes | CNNMonica De Leon Barba, a San Mateo County woman who the FBI said was kidnapped in Mexico in November, has been reunited with her family.De Leon Barba was released by her captors last week, roughly eight months since she was kidnapped while walking home from work with her dog, the FBI said over the weekend.Her friend Anissa Livas said she was in shock when she first heard the good news of De Leon Barba’s return. The two first met in college and have stayed friends since.“I got a message from her brother and was in disbelief,” Livas told CNN. “I’m super happy and joyous but I have a lot of questions.”In its statement regarding De Leon Barba’s return, the FBI said an investigation remains ongoing into the identities of her captors and no arrests have been made. The agency did not share further details about De Leon Barba’s release.Livas said she has only briefly talked with De Leon Barba since her release. In that short exchange, she reminded her friend she loved h...

Three downtown San Jose housing towers hit pause due to uncertainties

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:17 GMT

SAN JOSE — Three downtown San Jose housing tower projects have encountered delays due to a murky economy, sky-high interest rates and the withdrawal of a key tech partner from the highrises.The housing towers are located in downtown San Jose’s South First Area, or more familiarly, the SoFA district, and together would produce a combined 474 residential units, once they are all constructed.One unique feature of the three towers was the involvement of Nabr, a tech startup that uses software to automate and customize how people choose and design their homes and craft financing packages for potential ownership.Nabr collected deposits from people who wished to rent the apartments in a program that would enable people to eventually own their apartments. At one point, Nabr reported the waiting list was in the thousands.Now, however, Nabr has pulled out of the project of three towers and has returned all of the deposits. The tech startup, which in August 2022 had raised $48 mill...

49ers camp preview: Who will fill out WR corps behind Samuel, Aiyuk?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:17 GMT

SANTA CLARA – Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are entrenched as the 49ers’ starters for a fourth consecutive season since Aiyuk was drafted in 2020. Behind them, however, there are plenty of questions entering training camp about how the wide receivers room will shape up.Aiyuk is building off the first 1,000-yard season of his career, which was followed by the 49ers’ decision this spring to exercise the $14.1 million fifth-year option on his rookie contract. He started all 17 games and was the 49ers’ leading receiver with 78 catches, though his production dipped in the playoffs.Samuel is rebounding from his self-described “awful” regular season that began with a three-year contract extension in July after tense offseason negotiations. His dual-threat role diminished some with the addition of Christian McCaffrey, but injury still struck as he was carted off with a high ankle sprain during a Dec. 1 win over Tampa Bay. Still, he returned and made an impact in the playo...

Glazer: My fellow California Democrats keep repeating the same mistakes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:17 GMT

The California Legislature is beginning its summer recess having passed the latest state budget. The $310 billion plan reflects our values, dedicating spending to getting homeless people off the street, supporting schools, keeping public transit afloat and treating mental illness. As a member of the state Senate’s Democratic majority, I voted for all of those things.But as many Californians know, we’ve already spent billions of dollars on the same problems — with very little to show for it.Our failures are evidence that good intentions and lots of money are not enough to fix what ails the Golden State. To make our progressive beliefs mean anything, the Legislature must ensure that the money we spend is actually improving the lives of the people we say we are committed to helping.We can do that with two major changes in the way we work. First, we need to stop hamstringing programs and services with special interest demands that doom them to fail. Second, we need to gather and e...

Powerball Jackpot soars to $1 billion after no winner in Monday’s drawing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:17 GMT

By Tina Burnside | CNNThe Powerball jackpot soared to $1 billion for the third time in the game’s history after no ticket matched all six numbers in Monday night’s drawing.The mammoth grand prize ranks as the seventh largest US lottery jackpot and third largest Powerball jackpot, behind the world record $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won last year in California, and the $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot won in 2016, according to the lottery.If a lucky winner nabs the jackpot in the next drawing Wednesday night, they will have the choice between an annuitized prize worth an estimated $1 billion or a lump sum payment estimated at $516.8 million, both before taxes, according to Powerball.The Powerball jackpot rolled Monday night after no ticket matched all numbers drawn for the estimated $900 million grand prize – white balls 5, 8, 9, 17, 41 and red Powerball 21.There have been 38 consecutive drawings without a jackpot winner since its April 19 drawing, when a ticket in Ohio matched al...

Texas troopers told to push back migrants into Rio Grande River and ordered not to give water amid soaring temperatures, report says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:17 GMT

By Rachel Clarke, Ashley Killough and Sarah Moon| CNNE-mails shared with CNN by the Texas Department of Public Safety detail a trooper-medic expressing concerns to a supervisor over the “in humane [sic]” treatment of migrants along the border in Eagle Pass, Texas.The trooper writes in the e-mail that they “were given orders to push the people back into the water to go to Mexico” and were also ordered not to give water to the migrants.The e-mail is a report of weekly events and operational concerns from June 24 to July 1 while the officer worked as a trooper-medic. The e-mail was first reported by the Houston Chronicle on Monday.In one seven-hour period late last month, according to the e-mail, two medics from the state Department of Public Safety said they treated:A 4-year-old girl passed out in 100-degree heat after Texas (National) Guard personnel pushed the group she was in back towards MexicoA man with a significant laceration on his leg, suffered when he tried to rescue his chi...

Opinion: How California can remove hurdles delaying clean energy future

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:17 GMT

Red tape has become an unwitting accomplice to climate change.Too often, clean energy projects needed to end our carbon dependence and protect our environment become bogged down by permitting and legal quagmires.This must end.This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several infrastructure-streamlining bills out of a package of measures he had proposed in May to fast-track water, transportation and clean energy projects by reforming the state’s cumbersome permitting processes and the California Environmental Quality Act. By introducing his measures as budget trailer bills, Newsom drew criticism from environmental organizations and legislators who argued he was abusing the budget process.The bill signing ceremony ended a period of tumult between the administration and a Legislature that so far has only passed five of the governor’s 11 proposed measures. But any lingering animosity must be set aside because there is plenty of work that still needs to be done and no time to waste.California ...

CHP investigating cause of driver going over Highway 1 cliff

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:17 GMT

SWANTON — A 51-year-old San Carlos man continued to face recovery Monday after driving off a coastal Highway 1 cliff Friday afternoon.The California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, which took place around 1:30 p.m., near Scott Creek Beach and south of Swanton Road. In a media release Sunday, the CHP said that the driver, alone in his vehicle, was traveling westbound on Highway 1 in a 2023 Kia Forte “when, for undetermined reasons, the driver allowed the Kia to travel off the roadway and down a steep cliff.”After overturning multiple times, the Kia came to rest on the beach, partially submerged in the ocean, according to the CHP. Cal Fire CZU officials estimated the cliff to be about a 300-foot drop, according to an agency social media post. Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Southern California landslide response likely falling on county, state official says Crashes and Disasters | San Jose business owner arraigned on insurance fraud charge...

American on tour crosses border into North Korea

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:17 GMT

(AP) — An American has crossed the heavily fortified border from South Korea into North Korea, the American-led U.N. Command overseeing the area said Tuesday, amid heightened tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program. Man loses hand in boat mishap at Lake Berryessa The U.N. Command tweeted that the U.S. citizen was on a tour to the Korean border village of Panmunjom and crossed the border into the North without authorization.It said he is currently in North Korean custody and that the U.N. Command is working with its North Korean counterparts to resolve the incident.

Man sentenced to 90 years for sexually assaulting 4 children in Prince William Co.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:17 GMT

A man prosecutors said sexually assaulted several victims in Prince William County, Virginia, including two who were younger than 10 years old, will spend more than 90 years in prison.Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Amy Ashworth said Billy Riggs, 40, was sentenced on Friday for assaulting four minors between July 2011 and December 2013.“[These] children will forever [be] impacted by his actions,” Ashworth said in a statement. “While we cannot undo the harm that he has done, we can certainly ensure that Billy Riggs does not harm any other children for the rest of his life.”Officials began investigations into Riggs when an assault involving a child between 4 and 6 years old was reported in the area of Triangle. While in school, the child told a staff member of being “sexually assaulted by an acquaintance on more than one occasion.” That school employee then notified the police.Another victim, who was 9-years-old when the sexual a...