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Convicted Santa Cruz County bank robber leads own defense in cockfighting, illegal guns case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:23:42 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — A Watsonville man acting as his own defense counsel was ordered this week to stand trial in a cockfighting and felony weapons possession case.Brett Kenneth Miller, 58, was arrested after animal control officers searched his Ranport Road property Feb. 16 and discovered a pile of dead roosters under a tarp, a cache of weapons and ammunition and an alleged cockfighting ring. Among guns recovered from large storage containers on the property were three “black powder” firearms, considered by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to be antique guns. Among the five additional firearms was an “AK-style” machine gun with a 75-round capacity drum magazine, according to preliminary hearing testimony by Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office deputy Jeff Eisner.Miller, a convicted felon on several cases dating back to the mid-1980s, is prohibited from owning or having control of any firearms.Also charged in the case was 21-year-old Angie Michelle Gonzalez, of W...

Central Coast is California’s ‘hottest’ housing market

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:23:42 GMT

The Central Coast — which encompasses San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties — was the only major California region to see its median price increase last month vs. May 2022.The California Association of Realtors’ latest home sales and price report also found May was the first time in six months the Central Coast’s median price registered a positive year-over-year growth. But while median home prices and sales in some areas rose, Realtors warned the local housing market could start to tighten even further for buyers who can’t pay top dollar.San Luis Obispo Realtor Graham Updegrove said continued inventory problems are likely to be the “new normal” locally due high interest rates.“Everybody that has a 3% mortgage, depending on what happens going forward, have little incentive to move,” Updegrove said. “There’s a fear factor built in.”How did Central Coast’s relatively ‘hot’ housing markets compare in May? Well, according to the report …Look across California,...

As World Cup approaches, work remains for gender equity in women’s soccer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:23:42 GMT

LOS ANGELES — With less than a month until the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the excitement from fans is real.The popularity of women’s soccer has exploded in the past decade, but for many within the sport, there is still work that needs to be done in order for women’s players to reach an equitable space with their male counterparts.On Thursday, BMO hosted a gender equity in soccer panel at BMO Stadium that included Angel City forward Christen Press, former USWNT head coach and current president of the San Diego Wave FC Jill Ellis and BMO head of loyalty and sponsorship marketing Sonya Kunke. Former USWNT defender Danielle Slaton moderated the discussion.The panel discussed the issues surrounding women’s soccer and the strides that have been made to make the sport more global.Women’s soccer at the national level has sustained viewership growth in the past decade, but viewership of domestic leagues in the United States has grown dramatically.According to a report by Samba TV, viewersh...

Review: Disneyland delivers the Marvel musical you didn’t know you wanted or needed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:23:42 GMT

If you’re a fan of musical theater and Marvel superheroes, then you’re going to absolutely fall in love with the new “Rogers: The Musical” coming to the Hyperion Theater at Disney California Adventure.If you love one but not the other, then you’ll still be thrilled at the audacity and absurdity of smashing the two strange bedfellows together. If you don’t like either, then you should probably go ride the Incredicoaster — because “Rogers: The Musical” caters to two very big niche audiences, but probably won’t appeal to Broadway or Marvel novices.Megan Heneghan poses for a picture outside Rogers: The Musical inside Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, June 29, 2023. Rogers: The Musical is a fictional Broadway musical in the Marvel Cinematic Universe centered on the life of Steve Rogers / Captain America. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)Nathan Marco Ruiz poses for a picture outside Rogers: The Musical inside Disney California Adventure in Anahei...

Bayern Munich to play Werder Bremen in Bundesliga season opener

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:23:42 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Bayern Munich will start its title defense at Werder Bremen in the opening game of the new Bundesliga season, continuing one of Germany’s longest-running rivalries, after the schedule was announced Friday.The game on Aug. 18 will be the 113th time that Bayern and Bremen have met in the Bundesliga, the most frequent fixture between two clubs since the league began in 1963. Before that, Bayern hosts German Cup winner Leipzig in the Super Cup on Aug. 12.Borussia Dortmund, which lost out to Bayern on goal difference for the title last season, starts its new campaign at home to Cologne on either Aug. 19 or 20.The first “Klassiker” of the season between Bayern and Dortmund will be played at Dortmund’s stadium on either Nov. 3, 4 or 5, according to the schedule. The second “Klassiker” in Munich is listed for either March 30 or 31.Newly promoted Heidenheim’s first-ever top-division game will be at Wolfsburg on Aug. 19 or 20. The other promoted tea...

Fourth of July 2023: What’s open and what’s closed in the DC area

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:23:42 GMT

There’s no better way to “party in the USA” than to celebrate Independence Day in the nation’s capital.Here’s a look at what’s open and what’s closed across the D.C. area Tuesday, in observance of the Fourth of July.Public transitBoth Metrorail and Metrobus will operate on a Sunday schedule. To see specific route information, check the Metro website.Metrorail, Metrobus and MetroAccess will be free to access Tuesday from 5 p.m. until close, with frequent service to the National Mall and other celebrations throughout the D.C. area.Frequent service will be provided on all Metrorail lines all day, with service increasing after 4 p.m. to accommodate crowds traveling to firework displays and other nighttime events.The MARC train will run on a Saturday schedule, with service on the Penn Line only.There will be no VRE service Tuesday.D.C.Government offices, public libraries and Department of Motor Vehicles locations will be closed across the Distric...

Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier and his son detained in racism probe, Nice prosecutor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:23:42 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier and his son detained in racism probe, Nice prosecutor says.Source

UN nuclear agency chief to visit Fukushima plant to see final preparations for release of wastewater

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:23:42 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The chief of the U.N. nuclear agency will visit Japan next week to meet with Japanese leaders and see final preparations for the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean, officials said Friday.Japan’s government hopes the visit by International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Mariano Grossi will add credibility to the discharge plan. It has been strongly opposed by local fishing groups and by neighboring South Korea, China and some Pacific Island nations over safety concerns.Grossi will visit Japan July 4-7, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said. He is expected to meet with Hayashi, Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and visit the Fukushima plant, which was damaged by a massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011.“Japan attaches great importance to the efforts of the IAEA, which serves an important role in promoting nuclear nonproliferation and peaceful uses of nucle...

Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney says Bud Light didn’t support her during backlash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:23:42 GMT

Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney says she felt abandoned by Bud Light after facing “more bullying and transphobia than I could have ever imagined” over her partnership with the beer giant.In a video posted Thursday to Instagram and TikTok, she said she “was waiting for the brand to reach out to me. But they never did.” She said she should have spoken out sooner but was afraid and hoped things would get better — but they didn’t.“For months now, I’ve been scared to leave my house,” Mulvaney said. “I have been ridiculed in public. I’ve been followed, and I have felt a loneliness that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.”A deluge of criticism and hate erupted soon after Mulvaney cracked open a Bud Light in an Instagram video on April 1 as part of a promotional contest for the beer brand. She showed off a can emblazoned with her face that Bud Light sent to her — one of many corporate freebies she gets and shares with her millions of followers.Conservative figures and others called...

The US flies nuclear-capable bombers in a fresh show of force against North Korea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:23:42 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The United States flew nuclear-capable bombers to the Korean Peninsula on Friday in its latest show of force against North Korea, days after the North staged massive anti-U.S. rallies in its capital.The long-range B-52 bombers took part in joint aerial drills with other U.S. and South Korean fighter jets over the peninsula, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. The bombers’ flyover is the latest in a series of temporary U.S. deployments of strategic assets in South Korea in response to North Korea’s push to expand its nuclear arsenal.Two weeks ago, the U.S. deployed a nuclear-powered submarine capable of carrying about 150 Tomahawk missiles to South Korean waters for the first time in six years. The USS Michigan’s arrival came a day after North Korea resumed missile tests to protest previous U.S.-South Korean drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. The South Korean Defense Ministry said the B-52 bombers’ deployment boosted the vis...