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U.S. warns of violent crime at popular tourist destination

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:17 GMT

Just as summer travel ramps up, the U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory for the Dominican Republic. "Violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide and sexual assault is a concern throughout the Dominican Republic," the State Department said in its advisory. A yellow flag-level two advisory was issued, urging travelers headed to the top Caribbean hotspot to "exercise increased caution."Americans still wanting to travel to the island should consider staying in resorts, as they are likely safer and "tend to be better policed than urban areas like Santo Domingo," according to the State Department's advisory. The department is also urging travelers to reconsider meeting with strangers when in the Dominican Republic, as there have been reports of U.S. citizens being robbed by people they met from dating apps, among other serious incidents.The advisory also recommends enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to stay updated on travel alerts ahead...

Trojans and Bruins' Big Ten football future snaps into focus

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:17 GMT

It's the offseason for football fans, a time when the upcoming fall's games are discussed and dissected ad nauseum. This summer is different, however, in that it's actually next fall's matchups that are drawing attention.The 2024 season will mark a major change for USC and UCLA, who will compete in the Big Ten for the first time.The largely Midwestern-based conference is one of the top two in college football, and the Bruins and Trojans will face more prestigious and challenging opponents than they have recently in the Pac-12. The Big Ten on Thursday released its matchups for next year, and football fans in the Los Angeles area are in for an exciting season. Some of the sport's top programs are coming to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the Rose Bowl.At the Coliseum, the Trojans will host the Michigan Wolverines, the winningest program in the sport's history, and the Wisconsin Badgers, a team that regularly travels to Southern California to play in the Rose Bowl. USC will also host...

From Stray Kids to Eels — the New LA Weekly Playlist is Live

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:17 GMT

From Stray Kids to Eels: The 160th LA Weekly playlist, reviewing the musicians that we’ve been writing about all week, is live now. There’s electronic music from Francis Mercier, hip-hop from Latto with Cardi B, pop from Carly Rae Jepsen, R&B from Janet Jackson, rock from Garbage and the Fizzy Bangers, and so much more.Find us on Spotify here,or on Soundcloud here.Don’t forget to “Like” the playlists and “Follow” the profiles.Carly Rae Jepsen (Jasmine Safaeian)From Stray Kids to EelsAlso this week:Print star Carly Rae Jepsen told us that, “It’s so funny, because you think I’ve done this so many times that by the time I went out on the road, I would understand that these songs I wrote I then had to perform live. But I felt like there was so much uncertainty that there was a little bit of, ‘Oh wow, OK, I wonder how these will translate to a live audience?’ But it was really interesting, the timing of how we decided to deliver this album. Three-quarters of the way through an Americ...

Bay Area man gets 10 years in federal prison for distributing film of himself sexually abusing a boy

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:17 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — A San Mateo man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for sharing a video of himself sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy, court records show.Christian Guardado, 26, was sentenced in mid-May by U.S. District Judge James Donato. Guardado has been in jail for two years on federal charges of child pornography distribution, and pleaded guilty in June 2022.Prosecutors described Guardado as a “predator” with “a penchant for exploiting underage boys through hands-on sexual abuse and over the Internet,” who shared the video in question with at least seven other people. They wrote in court papers that he admitted to vacationing in Spain because he wanted to visit an area with a lower age of consent than in the United States.“Guardado’s cell phone and Snapchat account contained numerous child pornography images and videos, some of them filmed by Guardado himself, and depicting suspected minor victims engaged in sexually explicit conduct ...

For Republican rivals, an unhappy task: Defend the man dominating them in the polls

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:17 GMT

In the topsy-turvy world of 2024 Republican politics, rivals of Donald Trump had been bracing for weeks for his second indictment with more dread than any sense of opportunity.After years of successive scandals, the immediate instincts of so many Republican voters are thoroughly ingrained. They snap to Trump’s defense, no matter how outrageous the charges are or who is making them — Democrats, the news media, local prosecutors or, now, federal ones. Donations surged after Trump’s first indictment in New York. And he consolidated support in the polls.Even prominent Republicans eager for the party to cast aside Trump in 2024 were concerned ahead of the indictment. They have long been exasperated by the immunity of Trump’s base to almost any attack or argument, swarming to neutralize any perceived political threat almost by habit.“There’s a lot of folks who just don’t buy any of it,” Gov. Chris Sununu, R-N.H., who announced this week that he would not run for president in 2024, said in...

Pac-12 recruiting: The top defensive prospects in the West in the class of 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:17 GMT

The Hotline is delighted to provide Pac-12 fans with a weekly dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports.The following report was provided to the Hotline on June 7 …It has long been stated that the Pac-12 must retain the best high school players in its footprint. That necessity has never been more glaring than after the 2023 NFL Draft, when the top two picks were from Southern California but played for Alabama (Bryce Young) and Ohio State (CJ Stroud) instead of Pac-12 schools.With the conference in transition — USC and UCLA are joining the Big Ten next summer — the following five defensive prospects in the high school class of 2024 are critically important to the Pac-12’s recruiting fortunes.(For the top offensive recruits in the class, go here.)1. DL Aydin Breland (Santa Ana, Calif.)High school: Mater Dei247 Sports national rating: Five stars; No. 2 defensive linemanComment: Breland is th...

Already in jail on November 2022 murder charge, East Bay man faces new accusation that he killed another man five months earlier

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:17 GMT

OAKLAND — Months after he was charged with killing a man who would posthumously be implicated in the rolling gun battle that killed 23-month-old Jasper Wu, a Pleasant Hill man has been implicated in a second homicide that police say appears to have been a targeted hit, court records show.Darious Smith, 33, was charged in late April with murder in the death of Richard Lamont Duncan III, 30, of Richmond. The charges were filed five months after Smith was charged with murder in the Nov. 4, 2022 killing of 34-year-old Keison “Keke” Lee, which authorities allege was a gang-related shooting.Smith, who has addresses listed in Pleasant Hill and Hayward, is listed in police records as a member of the San Francisco-based Chopper City gang, while Lee was allegedly part of a rival gang known as Eddy Rock. According to the charging documents in both cases, Duncan’s June 2022 killing stemmed from an argument at a party on Treasure Island, and Lee’s shooting was motiv...

Map of Yosemite reopenings: Yes for Highway 120 to the valley, no for Half Dome and Tioga Road

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:17 GMT

Yosemite National Park lifted some closures this week, though the heavy snowpack is delaying other openings for the summer season.Open (green numbers)1/ Big Oak Flat Road. The 4-mile stretch of Highway 120 between the Big Oak Flat entrance station and Merced Groves reopened at 7 a.m. Friday, June 9. It had suffered damage over the winter that required repair and prevented access to Yosemite Valley. Drivers should expect delays as the last stages of work continue.2/ Mariposa Grove shuttle. The shuttle is running as of Friday, June 9. Road damage had caused a delay of more than three weeks in the seasonal opening. Only people with disability placards can drive their own cars to the grove.3/ Yosemite Valley campgrounds. Lower Pines, North Pines and Housekeeping Camp have been reopened as flooding of the Merced River subsides. On Friday, June 9, the river was a foot below minor flood stage at both Happy Isles and Pohono Bridge, the U.S. Geological Survey said.Still closed (red numbers)1...

Arrest made in connection to Palo Alto armed robbery; accomplice still at large, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:17 GMT

PALO ALTO — One of two suspects alleged to have committed four Palo Alto auto burglaries and robbed a man at gunpoint in April was arrested on Wednesday, while another remained at large, police said.Around 6:30 p.m. on April 15, police responded to a report of an armed robbery on the 900 block of Bryant Street, near University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto, according to a news release. Police said a man in his 30s parked his vehicle in the driveway of his home and opened one of the rear doors to help a young relative out of the backseat when another vehicle pulled up and a passenger exited the vehicle to approach him.The suspect then pulled out a pistol, police said, and pointed it at the victim, demanding his property.The victim handed over his wristwatch and noticed the driver of the suspect vehicle also pointing a gun in his direction. The two suspects then drove away from the scene. The child was never addressed during the robbery and remained in the vehicle, police said.Follow-u...

Oakland-based podcaster brings empathy and incredible stories to the microphone

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:17 GMT

For the last decade, Whit Missildine has surrounded himself with unbelievable stories. He’s spoken to a man who was hunted by the Japanese mafia. A woman who left a cult and reinvented herself. And a man who, after losing his arm and leg, circumnavigated the globe on a sailboat.It’s all part of This is Actually Happening, Missildine’s weekly podcast, which has exploded in popularity since it was acquired by publishing company Wondery in 2020. Each episode features one individual telling an incredible story, utilizing a format that’s unique from most podcasts today: a single voice with no music, sound effects or back-and-forth conversation. Missildine spends between 15 to 20 hours editing each episode, and once he’s done, over 300,000 people tune into the episodes every week.The Oakland-based Missildine wasn’t always set on being a podcaster: after studying poetry in college, he obtained his PhD in social psychology in New York City. But through his graduate degree and far afte...