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“Downright Orwellian”: San Jose church that paid $1.2 million in Covid fines sues county over surveillance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:37 GMT

A San Jose church ordered to pay $1.2 million in fines for defying public health mandates at the height of the pandemic is suing Santa Clara County, accusing them of putting the non-denominational Christian church and its congregants under unconstitutional surveillance.The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco by Calvary Chapel and its pastor, Mike McClure, alleges the county “embarked on an invasive and warrantless geofencing operation to track residents.”“Our church believes in the rights and privacy of all our members,” McClure said in a statement about the lawsuit.Geofencing uses cell phone data to track its users’ movements. In late 2020 and early 2021, the county used third-party phone data to monitor worshipers inside the Hillsdale Avenue church, according to court documents filed last November. The county’s COVID-19 Business Compliance Unit also parked a car in a neighboring church’s lot on numerous occasions for surveil...

'Aggressive shark behavior' reported near Pebble Beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:37 GMT

(KRON) -- Aggressive shark behavior was reported Tuesday in the vicinity of Pebble Beach, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office. A kayaker had a close encounter with a shark that was behaving aggressively, but emerged unharmed, police said. Person robbed, dragged by 2 armed suspects in Oakland: video The encounter occurred just south of Pescadero, a state beach jurisdiction.No further information is available at this time.

Walnut Creek police search for missing man

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:37 GMT

(KRON) -- The Walnut Creek Police Department is searching for 82-year-old Michail Leydiker, it announced Tuesday.Leydiker was last seen in the area of Larkey Park, located at 2771 Buena Vista Ave. He is considered at-risk due to his age and dementia. He is described as a white man with a gray mustache, no shirt and pants of an unknown color. Anyone who sees him is asked to call (925) 935-6400.

Remains found near Castle Rock State Park were Katie Schneider's, police confirm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:37 GMT

(KRON) -- Human remains found earlier this month near a park in unincorporated Los Gatos belonged to Katherine Schneider, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday. Seventeen-year-old Katherine "Katie" Schneider was reported missing in July and was last seen leaving her home driving her white Honda Accord.Santa Clara Sheriff's investigators found her car abandoned on Skyline Boulevard near Castle Rock State Park on Aug. 8. "The vehicle was unoccupied," investigators said at the time. Person robbed, dragged by 2 armed suspects in Oakland: video A few days later, on Aug. 13, human remains were found in the same area as the car. At the time, her mother, Nola Schneider said the remains belonged to Katie.On Tuesday, law enforcement officials verified those claims."It is with heavy hearts we share the human remains located have been positively identified as Katherine Schneider via fingerprints by the County of Santa Clara Medical Examiner - Coroner," the sheriff's office post...

3.5 kilos of 'date rape drug' seized at Bay Area salon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:37 GMT

(KRON) -- Federal agents seized a huge cache of GBL/GHB, also known as the "date rape drug," that was mailed to a Fairfax salon, according to the Marin County Sheriff's Office. A San Francisco man who allegedly received the package at the nail salon was arrested by Homeland Security Investigations Division detectives. The package continued 3.5 kilos of the "date rape drug." Investigators said Long Tran was busted in an undercover operation. "With cooperation of the US Postal Service, a controlled delivery was performed at the nail salon," MCSO wrote. After Tran's arrest, investigators said they found even more GBL/GHB inside Tran's home.In total, more than 3,500 doses of the drug -- with an estimated street value of $20,000 -- were seized, according to the Marin County Sheriff's Office. Bay Area spa shuttered after 2 die from Legionnaires’ disease GHB is an illegal street drug that is sometimes sold at dance clubs and rave parties in a liquid form, the Drug Enforcement Administrat...

Oakland police safely locate woman reported missing 8 years ago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:37 GMT

EDITOR'S NOTE: The name of the woman has been removed. (Aug. 22, 2023)(KRON) -- An Oakland woman reported missing nearly eight years ago has been located and is safe, the Oakland Police Department said Sunday. An OPD spokesperson said the woman contacted the department and told them she was never missing and had been unaware any report had been made. San Francisco man accuses St. Ignatius high school teacher of sex abuse Authorities took the woman off their missing persons list Sunday afternoon after she was found and confirmed to be safe, police said. Bay City News contributed to this report.

How Montgomery Co. Public Schools plans to reverse a trend of chronic absenteeism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:37 GMT

Chronic absenteeism surged nationally during the pandemic, and Montgomery County’s public school system didn’t escape that trend.During the 2018 to 2019 school year the rate of chronic absenteeism was at just under 20%. In the 2022 to 2023 school year, the overall rate of chronic absenteeism jumped to 27%. In raw numbers, that translates to about 43,000 students missing more than 10% of the 180 days of school a year.According to data from MCPS, the rate of absenteeism among high school students during the last academic year hit nearly 36%, and the rate for Pre-K age students hit 45% — a jump of 14% over the 2018 to 2019 school year.Damon Monteleone, associate superintendent, said the school system is launching a number of initiatives to reverse the trend.The first, he said, will be a “qualitative root cause analysis” of why students aren’t coming to school, including a look at barriers to attendance. He also said there would be school-based “planning, monitoring and student interven...

Borrowing “Fear City” tactic from 1975, police union tells Yale students to avoid New Haven

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:37 GMT

Yale University and New Haven officials blasted the labor union representing campus police officers Tuesday for handing out flyers telling new students it was unsafe to leave school grounds, walk alone, take public transportation or be outdoors after 8 p.m.The pamphlets, distributed Sunday as incoming Yale freshmen moved into their dorms, came emblazoned with a hooded skull and purported to be a “survival guide” for first-year students at the prestigious university.They portrayed Yale’s home city on the Connecticut coast as a place to be avoided, especially after dark.“The incidence of crime and violence in New Haven is shockingly high, and it is getting worse,” it warned, offering examples of recent crimes.School and city officials called the handouts a misleading scare tactic by a union seeking a new contract.“They handed out unbelievably offensive flyers with misrepresentative information, scaring Yale students and promoting a narrative of our city that is inaccurate and to...

Canadian officials ease wildfire evacuation orders in scenic British Columbia region

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:37 GMT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian firefighters have begun easing evacuation orders in a scenic region of British Columbia, with the prospect of better weather raising hopes for the battle to contain wildfires, authorities said Tuesday.To the north, in Northwest Territories, a weekend of cooler temperatures, favorable winds and some rain allowed fire teams outside the provincial capital of Yellowknife to shift their efforts to quelling the blaze after spending days just keeping it from advancing on the city.Those are just two of the 386 wildfires that authorities said are currently burning in Canada, which has seen a record number of wildfires this year. The fires have chased tens of thousands of people from their homes and also sent smoke into parts of the U.S. Officials in southern British Columbia were optimistic about the battle against wildfires that raged for days in the Okanagan Valley in threatening towns in the Kelowna area, a summer destination about 90 miles (150...

Suprema Corte de México suspende la distribución de los libros de texto gratuitos en dos estados

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:28:37 GMT

(CNN Español) –– El ciclo escolar 2023-2024 está a días de comenzar en México y la polémica por los nuevos libros de texto gratuitos federales sigue creciendo. Este lunes, la Suprema Corte de Justicia de la Nación dictaminó una segunda suspensión de la distribución de los materiales educativos, ahora en el estado de Coahuila, que se suma a la que el ministro Luis María Aguilar concedió a Chihuahua la semana pasada por posibles violaciones a los procedimientos para la aprobación de los contenidos.¿Qué controversia hay con la SEP y los libros de texto escolares en México?A lo anterior se suma un amparo obtenido a nivel nacional por la Unión Nacional de Padres de Familia (UNPF) por parte de una jueza federal, quien ordenó a la Secretaría de Educación Pública a repartir en todo el país los libros correspondientes al ciclo escolar 2022, según confirmó este lunes la UNPF a CNN. Esta resolución podría ser impugnada por el Gobierno de México.Este martes, el presidente Andrés Manuel López Ob...