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Man gets 41 years to life in 2006 slaying of estranged wife whose body was found along a California freeway

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

A San Pedro man was sentenced Monday to more than 41 years to life for shooting his estranged wife to death and then dumping her body along the 710 Freeway in Long Beach nearly 17 years ago.Carl Dennis Mayes, 45, was convicted by a jury in April of second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm in the shooting death of 20-year-old Tyquesha Myers of Las Vegas.Representing himself in Superior Court, Mayes requested a new trial and to delay sentencing, both of which were denied by Judge James D. Otto.After an emotionally charged hearing, loved ones of Myers said they were happy to see Mayes get the maximum sentence.Family members described Myers as loving and outgoing with a kind and giving heart. Her grandmother, Carolyn Thrower, showed the court photos and said she had a vibrant smile that could light up any room. In victim impact statements, they talked about injuries Mayes inflicted on Myers, including bruises and black eyes.Some said they hoped Myers’ memory wou...

Barabak: For Adam Schiff, censure is a gift from House Republicans

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

On Thursday, Rep. Adam B. Schiff turned 63. His birthday present arrived a day early, courtesy of vengeful House Republicans.Schiff was formally censured Wednesday for his role in holding to account the most immoral, self-centered, self-dealing, insurrectionist president in modern American history.The only thing missing was wrapping paper, a shiny red bow and a greeting card dotted with Xs and O‘s.Former President Trump has described Schiff as “shifty,” “sick” and “corrupt.” He has also made the congressman what he is today: a political household name and prosecutorial hero to millions of Democrats nationwide.The rebuke from the House GOP boosted Schiff’s political stock even further, edging the Burbank Democrat closer to his goal of besting a handful of party rivals and succeeding Dianne Feinstein as the next U.S. senator from California.“I would call it an advertisement for Adam Schiff,” Bob Shrum, a veteran Democratic strategist who teaches political science at USC, said followin...

California police ID bones found in 2001 — answering Tennessee family’s 4 decades of questions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

Antonio “Tony” Johnson was 5 years old when his mother left. Again.But the boy, now a man in his late 40s, was likely too young to remember when his Mom, Catherine Parker-Johnson, initially left Memphis, Tennessee, four years earlier, eventually making her way out west to Southern California.That first departure, however, was followed by phone calls and letters – and an eventual return.On May 13, 1981, a day before Tony Johnson’s big sister, Rebecca, turned 8, their mother showed up on their doorstep.But the reunion was short-lived.Despite pleas for her to stay, Parker-Johnson continued her wayward existence. She left again – and would never return.The letters and phone calls also stopped. Eventually, a sense of abandonment set in among her children, Tony Johnson said. It was as if they were unwanted.But the truth is more tragic: Their mother was dead.She was likely murdered.Her corpse – or most of it, anyway – was buried in the backyard of a Redondo Beach house, where it remained u...

Ducks goalie coach Sudarshan Maharaj diagnosed with pancreatic cancer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

Sudarshan “Sudsie” Maharaj, the Ducks’ long-time and well-respected goaltending coach, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, the team announced on Monday.Maharaj, 59, received the diagnosis after the conclusion of the Ducks’ regular season and has been receiving treatment and is scheduled eventually to have surgery. Following surgery, the team said that Maharaj “anticipates returning to his role with the Ducks.”The Ducks will be bringing on an assistant goaltending coach while Maharaj continues his treatment and recovery, a hire to be made by General Manager Pat Verbeek and Maharaj.“While this has been a very difficult time, I have had amazing support from my family and the Ducks organization, especially owners Henry and Susan Samueli,” Maharaj said in a statement released by the team. “A special thanks also to Jillian Samueli for her amazing support and friendship.“I plan on fighting this disease vigorously with the help of my tremendous doctors both in Toronto and with the Du...

Can homebuilding save the US economy?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

By Augusta Saraiva | BloombergAfter eight straight quarters of contraction, it looks like the slide in US residential investment may be finished. The nascent rebound now underway is set to remove a major obstacle to ongoing economic expansion.With new construction activity at the highest level in more than a year, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow tracker is projecting residential investment added 0.1% to growth in gross domestic product in the second quarter. Though it may not sound like much, that would mark the first positive contribution since early 2021.The new-home market has been slowly coming out of the woods as falling materials costs and vanishing logistics constraints have allowed builders to work their way through pandemic-era backlogs. Limited availability in the resale market is also pushing many prospective buyers toward new construction, helping support demand even as mortgage rates remain elevated.“Construction was at the center of the storm for the surge...

California tourist’s video of man defacing the Colosseum in Rome makes international news

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

Ryan Lutz was so appalled at the sight he stumbled upon while strolling around the famed Colosseum in Rome, the tourist from Orange started filming with his phone.The footage shows a person appearing to etch names into the nearly 2,000-year-old bricks of the ancient amphitheater, defacing one of the most famous landmarks in the world – one that draws millions of visitors each year.The video of the June 23 incident has made international news, drawing heavy criticism for the apparent act of vandalism. Italy’s culture minister, Gennaro Sangiuliano, has called for the person to be “identified and sanctioned.”“I consider it very serious, unworthy and a sign of great incivility that a tourist defaces one of the most famous places in the world, a historical heritage (site) such as the Colosseum, to carve the name of his fiancée,” Sangiuliano tweeted on Monday, June 26. “I hope that whoever carried out this act will be identified and sanctioned according to our laws.”Lutz, reached by phone...

Opinion: Lincoln’s ‘house divided’ thoughts speak to current discord

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” So said Abraham Lincoln in his “House Divided” speech, given 165 years. Many describe contemporary America in the same terms. We’re a house divided against itself and in danger of collapse. We see dire prognostics about America’s future due to an array of differences — religious, racial and economic, to name a few. Assessing the accuracy of these dark prophesies requires understanding Lincoln’s words and the state of America’s division today.When Lincoln used the phrase “a house divided,” he did not intend to equate it with all distinction and disagreement. Our political principles and structures presuppose that we won’t all hold the exact same principles or draw the exact same conclusions. While defending the Constitution, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay, in Federalist No. 10 argue that people’s different circumstances, fallible reason and selfish passions always birth disagreement. A polity could achieve full conformity...

California tax preparer gets 6 years for filing thousands of bogus tax deductions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

A Riverside tax preparer was sentenced on Monday, June 26, to six years in federal prison after he was accused of filing thousands of tax returns with bogus deductions, such as for fake medical expenses and mortgages, authorities said.Andrew Zepeda Hansack, a 40-year-old Riverside resident, pleaded guilty in February to two counts of false tax returns, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Contra Costa DA: Fraud, conspiracy was rampant at construction company Crime and Public Safety | CEO of company that owns missing Titanic tour sub faces fraud lawsuit by Florida couple Crime and Public Safety | Suspect in East Bay romance scam acquired $800,000 through various cons, feds claim Crime and Public Safety | Boston adult posing as teen is found out after her ‘father’ came to school Crime and Public Safety | $3.3 million going to students scammed by Calif...

A player’s mistreatment exposes flawed sex eligibility rules used by FIFA at Women’s World Cup

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

Barbra Banda will be allowed to captain Zambia in its Women’s World Cup debut and continue a promising soccer career that was thrown in doubt when she was excluded from last year’s African championship in a sex eligibility case mishandled by authorities.While officials blamed each other, Banda was forced to sit out the tournament and endure unforgiving scrutiny about her gender for no apparent reason.FIFA says the 23-year-old Zambia forward, her team’s star player by a mile, is eligible to play at the World Cup. Soccer’s governing body has never questioned that she’s female.Yet while the African and Zambian soccer bodies botched Banda’s case, FIFA is largely to blame, say rights groups, charging its policy on a heated issue gave no proper guidance and left a young woman exposed to harm in a game overseen by one of sport’s richest organizations, which even has its own human rights department.Banda was “blindsided” by soccer authorities, said ...

With fresh or frozen berries, this crumble tastes summery all year

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:50 GMT

Fresh, in-season berries always make the best crumble, but we always keep a bag of fruit in the freezer to have the taste of summer any time of year.Both options will taste great with this recipe from our book “Cook What You Have,” which draws on pantry staples to assemble easy, weeknight meals. It calls for frozen berries tossed and topped with a spiced crumble with oats and almonds, but an equal quantity of fresh mixed berries will be just as tasty, if not more so.The mixture of oats, cardamom, ground coriander and brown sugar does double duty here. We add a small amount to the berries to sweeten and thicken the filling; into the remainder we add sliced almonds and softened butter to make a crumble topping that bakes up toasty and crisp, a delicious flavor and textural contrast to the soft, juicy berries.Quick-cooking oats are best here; old-fashioned oats remain too firm and chewy. Serve warm or at room temperature, ideally with vanilla ice cream. Mixed Berry Crumb...