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Two elderly St. Clair County residents scammed out of thousands of dollars  

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

BELLEVILLE, Ill. - The St. Clair County Sheriff's Office is warning residents about an old scam with a new twist.Investigators said an 82-year-old woman living on Ross Lane was scammed out of $3,500 on April 12. Two days later, an 84-year-old man living on Blue Grass Lane lost $13,000.“It’s extremely sad and frustrating for us that someone would take advantage of our elderly population,” said Sgt. James Hendricks with the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office.The department posted details of the scam on its Facebook page. In both cases, a caller claimed to be the grandson of the elderly residents and needed money. In one case, the claim was that money was needed for bail. In the other case, the caller said they needed money because of a car crash. Top Story: When and where to expect storms Thursday near St. Louis The new twist on the scam involved someone arriving at the elderly person’s front door to collect the money in person. Investigators are determined to track down the suspects...

78 people die in stampede in Yemen at Ramadan charity event

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

By AHMED AL-HAJ and SAMY MAGDY (Associated Press)SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A crowd apparently spooked by gunfire and an electrical explosion stampeded at an event to distribute financial aid during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Yemen’s capital late Wednesday, killing at least 78 people and injuring at least 73 others, according to witnesses and Houthi rebel officials.The tragedy was the deadliest in years that was not related to Yemen’s long-running war, and came ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan later this week.Armed Houthis fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire and causing it to explode, according to two witnesses, Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen. That sparked a panic, and people, including many women and children, began stampeding, they said.Video posted on social media showed dozens of bodies, some motionless, and others screaming as people tried to help. Separate f...

Ventura County man sentenced to prison for gang-related murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

An Oxnard man was sentenced to prison Wednesday for the murder of a rival gang member.Jason Armenta, 22, was sentenced was found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder and will face anywhere from 50 years to life in prison.Armenta was found guilty of murdering Cristobal Gonzalez on April 26, 2022, according to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.Authorities said Armenta's crimes were “committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang.”On April 4, 2021, authorities said Armenta drove into a residential neighborhood in south Oxnard in search of rival gang members.When Armenta spotted Gonzalez near a playground area, authorities said he parked and exited his car before running towards Gonzalez and firing numerous rounds from a semi-automatic handgun. VIDEO: Family says L.A. County deputies wrongfully detained their children Gunfire struck Gonzalez in the head and nearly struck a second victim, officials said. Gonzalez died from his injuries a few hours later. ...

Beau is Afraid: an Overbearing Freudian Nightmare

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

A few years back, writer/director Ari Aster broke the horror mold with his films Hereditary and Midsommar, his Polanski-inspired sense of dread and interest in psychological nuance bolstering a genre that was subsisting on paranormal scares and torture porn. He employs those familiar tropes in his latest horror-comedy, Beau is Afraid, but instead of utilizing restraint, which is his strength, he flings us down a wormhole of Freudian anxiety, nightmarish surrealism, and extreme hyperbole.Although Aster’s tireless ambition is on display, his slow-burn style is nowhere to be found in the A24 release. Beau is a long, exhausting pilgrimage through one man’s shortcomings ripped straight out of a Philip Roth novel and filtered through Clive Barker’s imagination. It’s a fairy tale rendering of adult hell.A four-part episodic journey, the movie opens in a birth canal (yep, get ready) where our hero (sort of) Beau Wassermann (Joaquin Phoenix) sees the world for the first time and is immediate...

Homicide suspect found when trying to reenter the U.S. from Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

(KRON) -- A man was arrested on suspicion of a 2019 homicide after he tried to cross the U.S.-Mexico border last week, according to the Hayward Police Department. BART worker arrested after fatal hit-and-run in South SF Emmanuel Padilla Maciel was taken into custody by U.S. Customs and Border Protection last Thursday when he entered the U.S. from Mexico. A record check at the border revealed there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest, and HPD arrested Padilla Maciel on Wednesday. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office charged Padilla Maciel with murder, and he was booked into the HPD jail. He is expected to be transferred to Santa Rita County Jail and held without bail. Anyone with further information about this homicide is asked to contact Detective Navas at 510-293-7176On Sep. 7, 2019 around 4:45 p.m., HPD officers were called to the area of Santa Clara Way and Yolo Street on the report of a shooting nearby. Officers found a man suffering from gunshot wounds at the ...

Ex-Atria senior living worker charged after 2 residents die

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

(KRON) -- A former Atria Park employee who worked at an assisted senior living facility in San Mateo has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and elder abuse after three residents were poisoned.Alisia Rivera Mendoza, 35, of East Palo Alto, was recently charged by prosecutors in connection to a triple poisoning in August of 2022 that resulted in the deaths of two elderly residents. Investigators said Atria Park San Mateo residents were mistakenly served with a pitcher of cleaning solution that residents believed was cranberry juice. One 93-year-old resident, Gertrude Maxwell, died shortly after she drank out of a glass served to her. Peter Schroder Jr., 93, suffered in a hospital for two weeks until he died. Schroder’s daughter, Susan Schroder, said her father was in "extreme pain." The poisonous liquid reaches maximum potency in three to five days after being ingested.The third resident survived. Prosecutors said Mendoza’s negligence caused the victims to endure "unjustifiab...

Drivers can expect delays on the GW Parkway with construction beginning Saturday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

D.C.-area drivers should expect to prepare for some considerable delays on the northern end of the George Washington Parkway.As part of a $161 million restoration project, the National Park Service said it will be closing the southbound lanes between Interstate 495 and Virginia Route 123 on Saturday. The work was supposed to start last week but was postponed due to inclement weather.This traffic pattern could stick around until late 2025. The project will last that long because work will include not only repaving the road, but also redesigning the Route 123 interchange, repairing stormwater systems, reconstructing stone walls and roadside barriers, and rehabilitating the parkway’s scenic overlooks.With the southbound lanes out of service, all traffic will share the northbound lanes, which now includes an additional temporary third lane built for the scheduled work.Beginning Saturday, drivers on the section of the parkway will encounter only one lane going north and one lane go...

Gallo helps power Twins past Red Sox 10-4 in return from IL

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Joey Gallo hit a three-run homer in his return from the injured list, and Trevor Larnach and Edouard Julien also homered to help lift the Minnesota Twins to a 10-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.Joe Ryan (4-0) allowed three runs and six hits with three strikeouts and one walk in six innings for the win. He also hit one batter. Brent Headrick earned the save in his major league debut, giving up one run and one hit in three innings.Gallo, who missed 10 games with a right intercostal strain, had two hits. Larnach had a three-run homer and had four RBIs overall. Corey Kluber (0-4) gave up seven runs and six hits in five innings in the loss. He walked two and hit two batters as his ERA climbed from 6.92 to 8.50.Kiké Hernandez hit a two-out homer in the sixth for Boston for the 100th of his career and second this season.The Twins got off to a quick start in the first inning when Max Kepler led off with a walk and scored on Julien’s homer. Gallo’s home run...

No Ja Morant, no problem as Grizzlies tie up Lakers at 1-1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Xavier Tillman scored a career-high 22 points and had 13 rebounds, and the Memphis Grizzlies tied their first-round Western Conference series at 1-1 Wednesday night by beating the Los Angeles Lakers 103-93 with All-Star guard Ja Morant sidelined by an injured hand. No. 2 seed Memphis sat Morant after he tested the right hand originally hurt April 7 in a win at Milwaukee and aggravated driving to the basket in the opening loss to the Lakers. He had more exams on the hand before being declared inactive and watched from the bench with his hand bandaged.Morant’s teammates more than made up for his absence. The Grizzlies led by as much as 20 and had fans waving their towels chanting “Whoop That Trick” with 30 seconds left with this series guaranteed a return to Memphis for Game 5. The Grizzlies were able to dribble out the final seconds for the win.Jaren Jackson Jr., the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year, scored 18 points for Memphis. Desmond Bane had 1...

Fast’s goal lifts Hurricanes past Islanders in overtime

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:58 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Jesper Fast took a cross-ice pass from Jordan Staal and buried it past Ilya Sorokin at 5:03 of overtime to lift the Carolina Hurricanes past the New York Islanders 4-3 on Wednesday night, taking a 2-0 lead in their first-round playoff series.Staal’s pass came from the left side near the boards and found Fast loose on the right for the finish over Sorokin’s pad, ending a game that had seen Carolina blow a two-goal lead before rallying to force overtime.Paul Stastny, Stefan Noesen and Jaccob Slavin also scored for the Hurricanes, while Antti Raanta had 23 saves.Kyle Palmieri, Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson scored for the Islanders, and Sorokin finished with 32 saves.The Hurricanes took the series opener Monday night, scoring twice with the man advantage — their first multi-goal game on the power play since early March — before the teams shared a scoreless 37-minute grind to the horn in Carolina’s 2-1 win.This time, Carolina grabbed an early lead ...