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Human remains found in Mentone confirmed to be those of missing 4-year-old boy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:22 GMT

Human remains discovered in Hemet more than 30 years ago were determined to be those of a missing 4-year-old boy, authorities announced Thursday. On October 27, 1991, a quail hunter in a rural area near Florida Street and Greenspot Road located a human skull, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department stated in a news release.A search of the area also turned up a torn plastic trash bag that smelled of decomposition and contained clothing that appeared to belong to a child. An autopsy determined the skull was that of a child between 4 and 8 years old but the remains could not be identified at the time and the case went cold.Decades later the remains were sent to a DNA sequencing laboratory and in February of 2023, tests revealed that genetic relatives were alive in Houston, Texas. The relatives were contacted and gave consent for further DNA testing, which identified Patricia Clark as the boy's mother, the news release stated. Clark had reported her child, identified as Derrick B...

Woman tries to avoid arrest by hiding on Disneyland ride

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:22 GMT

A woman was arrested at Disneyland after allegedly sneaking into the park and attempting to evade police by hiding on an attraction on June 17.Police officers with the Anaheim Police Department assisted the resort’s security team in apprehending the woman who allegedly entered the park without paying. Disneyland extends pause on ‘Fantasmic!’ performances after fire  A spokesperson with the Anaheim Police Department told KTLA that the unidentified woman entered the park by jumping over the turnstiles at the park’s entrance.  At about 7 p.m. that day, the woman was arrested on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, an attraction based in Frontierland at Disneyland Park. The woman was arrested for a misdemeanor without incident, according to the spokesperson.The case will be presented to the Anaheim City Attorney’s Office, which could then decide if the woman will be charged and will issue fines and possible jail time, a department spokesperson said. ‘San Fransokyo Square’ at Dis...

San Francisco-based Coinbase Global Inc wins at Supreme Court as ruling reinforces arbitration

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:22 GMT

By Greg Stohr | BloombergThe US Supreme Court sided with a Coinbase Global Inc. unit in a ruling that reinforces the ability of companies to channel customer and employee disputes into arbitration.The justices, voting 5-4, ruled that lawsuits filed in federal court must be put on hold while a defendant presses an appeal that would send the case to arbitration.Related ArticlesBusiness | Supreme Court upholds federal law used to prosecute people who encourage illegal immigration Business | Supreme Court rules against Navajo Nation in Colorado River water rights case Business | Mathews: Nation needs Newsom’s gun amendment to the Constitution Business | Supreme Court preserves law that aims to keep Native American children with tribal families Business | Downey: Can campus diversity survive the U.S. Supreme Court? Business groups rallied behind Coinbase in the case, saying that letting litigation go fo...

7.5 million Baby Shark bath toys are being recalled. 12 kids were cut or stabbed playing with them

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:22 GMT

WASHINGTON  — About 7.5 million singing and swimming “Baby Shark” bath toys are being recalled after multiple lacerations and puncture wounds were reported in children playing with them.Zuru, an El Segundo, California-based toymaker, said it’s recalling both full-size and mini versions of its robotic baby shark toys that have hard plastic top fins, which pose the injury risks.Twelve injuries have already been reported with Zuru’s full-sized Robo Alive Junior Baby Shark Sing & Swim Bath Toys — after children sat or fell on the now-recalled products. Nine of these cases required stitches or medical attention, according to a Thursday release from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.While injuries have only been reported with these full-sized toys so far, Zuru is also recalling Robo Alive Junior Mini Baby Shark Swimming Bath Toys “out of an abundance of caution.”Consumers in possession of the recalled toys are instructed to stop using them immediately and contact Zuru for a ...

Plan to demolish historic San Jose sites for temporary SAP Center parking draws outrage

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:22 GMT

At first glance, the 2.5-acre plot of land in downtown San Jose appears unassuming, but there’s more to it than meets the eye. It once held a former Depression-era boxing venue and features a home whose origins may date back to the Civil War.Now the city wants to tear down those buildings to create a temporary parking lot, leaving local preservationists outraged at the idea of paving over San Jose’s history.“Parking lots are just so deadening for the urban landscape,” said Ben Leech, who leads the Preservation Action Council of San Jose, or PACSJ.Wedged between the Guadalupe River and SAP Center on West St. John Street, the project would clear enough room for 300 cars. The city argues the new lot is necessary to help offset the lost parking capacity for the SAP Center expected during future construction projects like the BART extension and Google’s Downtown West.After construction is complete and those downtown projects have their own devoted parking lo...

Police: Woman shot in North Oakland found several miles away

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:22 GMT

OAKLAND — A 30-year-old woman who was shot early Friday in North Oakland was found two hours later more than three miles away in West Oakland, authorities said.How she got to West Oakland has not been determined yet.The woman was in stable condition at a hospital where she underwent surgery for a gunshot wound to the abdomen, authorities said.Police said the woman was shot about 12:04 a.m. Friday in the 700 block of 58th Street.Responding officers  found shell casings and blood at the scene and witnesses who said they heard gunshots and  a woman scream.But the woman could not be found.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Hayward accuses Alameda County of ‘deliberate indifference’ to child prostitution, drug use at foster center Crime and Public Safety | ‘Intentional concealment’: Prosecutors claim former Fremont city manager hid misdeeds to strike rich payday Crime and Public Safety | Police seeking Texas ...

Supreme Court upholds law used to prosecute Northern California man who encouraged illegal immigration

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:22 GMT

By JESSICA GRESKO (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a section of federal law used to prosecute people who encourage illegal immigration, ruling against a California man who offered adult adoptions he falsely claimed would lead to U.S. citizenship.The court by a 7-2 vote rejected arguments that the law is too broad and violates the Constitution.The case involves a section of federal immigration law that says a person who “encourages or induces” a non-citizen to come to or remain in the United States illegally can be punished by up to five years in prison. That’s increased to 10 years if the person doing the encouraging is doing so for personal financial gain.The case in front of the court involved Helaman Hansen, who lived in Elk Grove, California, near Sacramento. The federal government says that from 2012 to 2016, Hansen deceived hundreds of non-citizens into believing that he could guarantee them a path to citizenship through adult adoption.Bas...

NHL Draft: Why the Sharks might surprise with their crucial first pick

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:22 GMT

The San Jose Sharks are mostly like to select either Matvei Michkov or Will Smith with their first pick in next week’s NHL Draft in Nashville – if the lion’s share of mock drafts can be believed.But there’s reason to think the Sharks and general manager Mike Grier might go in a different direction altogether.During a virtual town hall meeting last month with the members of the organization’s subscriber-only ‘1991 Club,’ both Scott Fitzgerald, the Sharks’ director of player personnel, and Todd Marchant, the team’s director of player development, noted that “competitive skill” was an attribute they prized when evaluating prospects who fit with the team’s desired identity.“I think you’d want competitive skill and character,” Fitzgerald said. “Obviously character goes without saying, but competitive skill … you watch these playoff games, it’s a different kind of game than Games 1 through 82. The teams who go win puck battles and make plays in small areas — that’s...

Monterey County man convicted of child sexual assault sentenced to 240 years in prison

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:22 GMT

Monterey County District Attorney, Jeannine M. Pacioni announced Wednesday that Salinas resident Reyes Sebastian Vargas was sentenced to 240 years to life after being convicted of nearly 20 sexual crimes against minors..After a week-and-a-half long jury trial, Vargas was sentenced on June 16. He was convicted of 19 violent felony counts, including: eight counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 years old; one count of sodomy with a child under 10 years old; five counts of lewd act on a child under 14 years old and five counts of forcible lewd act on a child under 14 years old. Vargas was also convicted of multiple victim enhancement for committing child molestation on more than one victim.According to the report, Vargas sexually molested two relatives when they were each under 10 years old while he was responsible for caring for the children when their parents were at work and no one else was present.Related ArticlesCalifornia News | Trial set for former Bay Are...

Salinas man convicted in child sexual abuse case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:22 GMT

(BCN) -- A Salinas man has been convicted of several crimes related to child sexual abuse, Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni announced this week. Reyes Sebastian Vargas, 49, of Salinas, was convicted on June 16 of eight counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 years old, one count of sodomy with a child under 10 years old, five counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old and five counts of forcible lewd acts on a child under 14 years old. McDonald’s workers to strike over paid sick leave in Oakland Vargas was also convicted of multiple enhancements for for committing child molestation on more than one victim. Prosecutors said Vargas sexually molested two relatives when they were each under the age of 10 years old. The abuse occurred when no one else was present and Vargas had care and custody of the children because their parents were working. Prosecutors said he threatened one of the victims at the time of the assaults, and the victim d...