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Óscar Mercado shines in first Cardinals start, 10 years after St. Louis drafted him

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Every once in awhile, you'll witness the success story of a baseball player who had an unusually long journey in the minors leagues, but kept their big dreams alive and eventually earned a call to the majors. Last year, James Naile debuted for his home state St. Louis Cardinals after seven years in the minor leagues. This year, 34-year-old infielder Drew Maggi made his Major League debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates after 13 years in the minor leagues, one of the longest waits in quite some time. The St. Louis Cardinals promoted another player this week who sort of follows that narrative. Óscar Mercado made his St. Louis Cardinals debut Wednesday evening as a defensive replacement. He earned his first start with the Cardinals on Thursday, and it was quite impressive. Three hits, three runs scored, two stolen bases and four putouts between the corner outfield spots. RELATED - Cardinals slug 7 HRs, set two new records at Busch Stadium III Perhaps it was a bit overshadowe...

Civil rights lawsuit filed against former Aurora officer claims excessive force

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

A former Aurora police officer has been named in a civil lawsuit filed in federal court for an alleged attack on a 49-year-old disabled woman who was walking her small dog in an apartment complex. The lawsuit claims excessive force and that the woman’s civil rights were violated.Douglas Harroun was arrested and charged with felony assault in connection to the Jan. 11 incident. He resigned from the Aurora Police Department on Jan. 30. An internal affairs investigation is ongoing.Wyoma Martinez, 49, who suffers from complex regional pain syndrome, was walking her dog when Harroun, who was off duty at the time, pulled up in a vehicle and began “revving his engine and came dangerously close to hitting” Martinez, according to the lawsuit.Harroun was “apparently frustrated” with Martinez, “who was not moving quickly enough” because of her disability, which became acute after a 2018 car accident, according to the complaint. Martinez was trying to n...

Double trouble? Colorado primed for flooding between torrential rains, spring snowmelt

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

Colorado’s mountain snowpack is starting to melt faster, potentially bringing more high water after recent heavy rain turned some of the state’s typically feeble creeks into torrents.Big water rose to levels up to 80 times higher than the norm during rain bursts in Colorado Front Range cities this week, forcing police in Denver to warn creekside campers who lack housing to clear out, and scrambling 30 firefighters in Colorado Springs who recovered the body of a person swept away.More rain was falling Friday — and National Weather Service meteorologists forecast thunderstorms nearly every day next week — saturating soils to the point that water more easily gains momentum.“The risk of flooding is out there,” said U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist Brandon Forbes, who runs the federal government’s network of 360 gauges on rivers and creeks around the state, which provide cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) water flow measurements every 15 minutes.“Certainly on the...

Arizona, California and Nevada try to make a deal to cut Colorado River usage — but is it enough?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

Arizona, California and Nevada might have reached a deal to conserve water from the drying Colorado River but it’s not enough to meet federal demands or the realities along the drying Colorado River, water experts say.Those states, which make up the river’s lower basin, are reportedly close to an agreement that would cut the amount of water they draw from the waterway. They’re racing against the clock to find an agreement before the end of the month or else the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation might make the cuts for them.But their proposed savings – reported Thursday by the Washington Post – amount to half of the minimum amount of water federal officials said the basin must save. And while the Colorado River’s headwaters saw an above-average snowpack this year, that extra water only buys the West a bit more time and the boon isn’t expected to last.“The river is telling us that we haven’t done enough,” Jennifer Gimbel, a senior water policy scholar at Colorado State University said....

Can the 14th Amendment solve the debt-limit crisis?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

Republicans walked out of debt-limit negotiations Friday, charging Democrats with being "unreasonable" in the face of the GOP's threat to crash the global economy.This renewed calls from some Democrats for President Biden to invoke the 14th Amendment as a way of doing an end-run around Republicans' brinkmanship.What is that? And would it work? Let's take a look.Section 4 of the 14th Amendment says: "The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned."Some, including constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe, say this provision empowers the president to take charge of debt management."This is a guarantee that the U.S. will always be good for all its debts, period," Tribe says.The U.S. Chamber of Commerce countered that using the 14th Amendment in this fashion "would be as economically calamitous as a default triggered by a fail...

After 2 deadly shootings, Serbia rethinks ‘political culture’

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

By Christian Edwards | CNNTwo weeks after mass shootings shook their country, Serbians have surrendered more than 15,000 weapons, more than 2,500 explosive devices, and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition, as part of a month-long amnesty announced by the government.Eighteen people were killed and 21 injured in May in two shootings in as many days. At the Vladislav Ribnikar elementary school in Belgrade, a 13-year-old boy opened fire on his classmates – allegedly using two of his father’s pistols – killing seven girls, a boy and a security guard. A 10-year-old girl injured in the attack died Monday, bringing the toll to 10.The next day, a 21-year-old gunman wielding an automatic weapon killed eight people and injured 14 in the village of Dubona, south of the capital. Despite having one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the world, mass shootings like this are extremely rare in Serbia. Many could scarcely comprehend the consecutive tragedies. “It’s never happened like ...

Fremont Burger & Brew Fest: 12 craft breweries, plus international burger booths

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

Fremont’s Burger & Brew Fest will return Saturday to the Downtown Event Center Plaza with craft beers from a dozen NorCal breweries, a burger throwdown, a new international array of burgers and live entertainment.The eighth annual event, sponsored by the Fremont Chamber of Commerce, will also feature live music and community and crafts booths. More than 7,500 attendees are anticipated.In the burger throwdown, four local celebrity teams will have one hour to create the best burger they can. There’s just one rule: It has to be between two buns.Competing at noon for charity bucks and bragging rights will be Alameda County Supervisor David Haubert and a co-chef, entrepreneur Jesse Schaa (grilling for Room Redux); Fremont Police command staff John Harnet and Capt. Matt Snelson of the Fremont police command staff (grilling for Tri-City Volunteers); Vincent Ta and Jerry Short of Fremont firefighters Local 1689 (grilling for the Firefighters’ Burn Foundation); and Mike...

Sale closed in San Jose: $1.5 million for a four-bedroom home

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

2648 Skylark Drive – Google Street ViewA house located in the 2600 block of Skylark Drive in San Jose has new owners. The 1,572-square-foot property, built in 1969, was sold on May 1, 2023. The $1,500,000 purchase price works out to $954 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage, and one parking space. It sits on a 6,100-square-foot lot, which also has a pool.Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include:In February 2023, a 1,949-square-foot home on Sunbonnet Loop in San Jose sold for $1,490,000, a price per square foot of $764. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Denise Way, San Jose, in October 2022, a 1,735-square-foot home was sold for $2,102,000, a price per square foot of $1,212. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 2,666-square-foot home on the 1100 block of Koch Lane in San Jose sold in August 2022, for $2,100,000, a price per square foot of $788. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. 

Newsom looks to spend $180 billion on infrastructure, speed through lawsuits

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced plans to spend $180 billion over the next decade on infrastructure for transportation, water, green energy and broadband internet, while cutting red tape and slashing the time opponents can fight the government in court.Newsom, unveiling the plan at a press conference in Stanislaus County on Friday morning, signed an executive order that promised the work would create more than 400,000 jobs. The infrastructure investments, using federal and state funds, would eclipse those of the 1950s and ’60s, “that helped build the great middle class in the state of California and America,” Newsom said.“We’ve got to do more and we’ve got to do better,” Newsom said, surrounded by union leaders and workers. “The question is, ‘Are we going to screw it up by being consumed by paralysis and process?'”But the governor’s plans to expedite certain projects drew immediate blowback, including from the Si...

Bay to Breakers' street closures for this weekend, special BART service

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:11:50 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The Bay to Breakers race returns to San Francisco this weekend. The iconic and colorful race will take place Sunday, May 21 beginning at 8 a.m. As one of the largest running events in the world, the Bay to Breakers race attracts thousands annually, many of whom wear colorful costumes and takes runners through nine of the city's most notable neighborhoods. Beginning at the bay and ending on the Great Highway, where the breakers crash onto the beach, the race will result in many street closures from the starting line at Main and Howard streets on the east side of the city to the finishing line on the Great Highway. Bay Area city drops out of Top 10 in most-populous US cities BART is offering special early service to accommodation for the race. Below is also a complete list of expected street closures, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority. BART Special Sunday ScheduleTrain service for BART on Sundays typically starts at 8 a.m. However, t...