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USC beats Cal 82-74 to end 2-game skid with Bronny James making key defensive play

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:34 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bronny James is finding his way three games into Pac-12 play.The Southern California freshman scored 10 points off the bench to go with three assists, two rebounds and a steal in an 82-74 win over California on Wednesday night.In just his second home game since making his collegiate debut on Dec. 10, James came up with a big defensive rebound with 2.7 seconds remaining, got fouled and made both free throws to seal the win that snapped the Trojans’ two-game skid. He didn’t speak to reporters afterward.“He’s starting to be more confident as a player and he’s starting to play his game,” teammate Kobe Johnson said. “When he first got back he was on a minute restriction and he was kind of antsy about what to do, but now he’s starting to get into his groove.”James came back in with 1:27 remaining for defensive purposes. He had multiple deflections earlier.“He’s very active with his feet and his hands,” USC coach Andy Enfield said. “He’s strong and he anticip...

Bedford scores 23 as Oral Roberts fends off Montana State 82-76

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:34 GMT

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) — Jailen Bedford scored 23 points as Oral Roberts beat Montana State 82-76 on Wednesday night.Bedford also had seven rebounds for the Golden Eagles (7-7). Issac McBride added 19 points while shooting 5 for 14 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 7 of 10 from the free throw line, and he also had five rebounds. Kareem Thompson had 11 points and shot 5 for 12, including 1 for 3 from beyond the arc.Brandon Walker finished with 20 points for the Bobcats (6-8). Brian Goracke added 18 points for Montana State. Robert Ford III also put up 16 points, 10 rebounds and four steals.___The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.Source

PedWest reopening brings hope for nearby businesses, but some remain skeptical

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:34 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A border crossing is set to partially reopen after temporarily closing last month. Business owners in San Ysidro say they have been feeling the pain of PedWest's closure. The pain is reinforced by the number of times PedWest has shut down operations. It closed last September during the influx of migrants making their way into San Diego County and then reopened late November. Shortly after come December, it closed down again. The timing of it all fell upon the holiday season, leaving businesses to reap the consequences during usually one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year. Carolina Lin's family owns Carolin Shoes in San Ysidro nearby the PedWest Port of Entry. She goes to school at Southwest and helps run the store in her free time. "The holidays is where we make most of our income and if there’s no people, well then there’s just no profit," Lin explained. PedWest shut down last month as a measure to help Border Patrol when taking migrants into custody. “Once th...

Councilmember Andrea Cardenas appears in court on fraud charges

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:34 GMT

SAN DIEGO –- Chula Vista Councilmember Andrea Cardenas and her brother Jesus appeared in court Wednesday on fraud charges.Cardenas and her brother are facing multiple felonies ranging from fraud to money laundering related to pandemic-era relief loans obtained by their political consulting firm Grassroots Resources."These indictments are a dark cloud over the city right now," said Chula Vista Mayor John McCann.The pair were in court Wednesday for a readiness hearing, scheduling future court dates. While there hasn’t been much movement on the case yet, there have been consistent calls from the public for Cardenas to resign from her position on the city council, including by McCann and fellow Councilmember Jose Preciado. Legoland California celebrates 25th birthday with kids ticket deal "When you read the indictments, they’re very substantial. There's 28,000 records that the district attorney has. It’s very substantial and I would encourage everybody to read them because this isn’t ...

A Texas father and son arrested in the killings of a pregnant woman and her boyfriend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:34 GMT

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A father and son in Texas have been charged in the killings of an 18-year-old pregnant woman who disappeared before Christmas and her boyfriend, who San Antonio police say were fatally shot before their bodies were moved and later found in a car. The arrests announced Wednesday night by San Antonio police come more than a week after the bodies of Savanah Nicole Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22, were found in the parking lot of an apartment complex. San Antonio police Sgt. Washington Moscoso said their deaths appeared to be the result of a drug deal but did not offer further details. Soto’s family has said she was overdue to deliver her baby and had been scheduled to have an induced labor when she went missing the weekend before Christmas. Investigators now believe the couple were killed on Dec. 21, Moscoso said. Police said Christopher Preciado, 19, is charged with capital murder and his father, Ramon Preciado, 53, was charged with abuse of corpse for allegedly he...

Myanmar’s military government pardons 10,000 prisoners to mark Independence Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:34 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military government on Thursday pardoned nearly 10,000 prisoners to mark the 76th anniversary of gaining independence from Britain, but it wasn’t immediately clear if any of those released included the thousands of political detainees jailed for opposing army rule.The head of Myanmar ’s military council, Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, pardoned 9,652 prisoners to mark the holiday, state-run MRTV television reported. Min Aung Hlaing also granted amnesty to 114 jailed foreigners who will be deported, MRTV said in a separate report.The prisoner releases were expected to begin Thursday and take several days to be completed. At Insein Prison in Yangon — notorious for decades for housing political detainees — relatives of prisoners gathered at the gates from early morning.The identities of those granted pardons were not immediately available. There was no sign that among the prisoners being released would be Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been held virtually incommunicado...

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele takes his reelection campaign beyond the borders

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:34 GMT

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele took his presidential reelection campaign beyond the tiny Central American country’s borders Wednesday night to capitalize on his rising profile across Latin America.During a two-hour forum on the platform X, Bukele accused critics of his controversial policies — including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and international institutions like it — of trying to keep El Salvador and other developing nations down.Bukele was granted a six-month leave from the presidency starting in December to run for reelection — despite a constitutional ban on reelection. Congress approved the president’s selection of his private secretary to be the country’s interim leader.The Supreme Court, stacked with justices selected by Bukele’s allies in Congress, ruled in 2021 that Bukele could seek a second five-year term in the Feb. 4 election.Asked Wednesday if he would seek to change the constitution to allow his indefinite ...

Scenes of loss play out across Japan’s western coastline after quake kills 78, dozens still missing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:34 GMT

SUZU, Japan (AP) — His face hidden under a humble straw hat, the man stood silent, watching several helmeted rescue workers carefully lift his wife’s body from the rubble, wrapped in blue plastic on a stretcher.He wiped his weary face with a rag. His eyes were red.This scene in the city of Suzu was tragically repeated across Ishikawa Prefecture and nearby regions on the western coastline of Japan after Monday’s 7.6 magnitude temblor that decimated houses, twisted and scarred roads and scattered boats like toys in the waters, and prompted tsunami warnings.The death toll stood at 78 people as of Thursday. Ishikawa officials said 44 of those who died were in the city of Wajima and 23 were in Suzu. The 11 others were reported in five neighboring towns. More than 330 people have been injured, at least 25 seriously.Those reported missing ballooned from 15 to 80 overnight, including a 13-year-old boy. What exacerbated matters was people visiting to ring in the new year with their lov...

Young mother killed during New Year’s Eve party shooting in downtown Los Angeles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:34 GMT

Loved ones are grieving after a young mother was killed as gunfire erupted at a New Year's Eve party in downtown Los Angeles.The shooting left two people dead and eight others hospitalized. The party was held at a warehouse on the 2300 block of Porter Street. Los Angeles police responded to reports of a shooting at around 1 a.m. Arriving officers saw a large group of people in the street and heard what sounded like gunfire.One of the victims, Miah Banks, 26, was found dead at the scene. Miah was also the mother of an 8-year-old daughter.“Miah wasn’t an enemy to anyone and someone just took her life,” said Lacherryal Veal, the victim’s aunt. “Miah is a loving person, I don’t care what color you were — she loved everyone.”Miah Banks in a family photo.Miah Banks and her daughter in a family photo.Loved ones contribute to a growing memorial outside the salon where Miah Banks worked as a hairstylist. (KTLA)Miah Banks in a family photo.“We went to the scene and she was on the ground,...

Azarenka, Ostapenko advance to a quarterfinal showdown at the Brisbane International

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:34 GMT

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Victoria Azarenka is in familiar territory after reaching the quarterfinals in Brisbane, where she won her first WTA title in 2009 when the tournament was staged for the first time.The 34-year-old Azarenka beat Clara Burel of France 7-5, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the quarterfinals for the fifth time in six trips to the key Australian Open tune-up event.The former No. 1-ranked Azarenka and two-time Australian Open champion — in 2012 and 2013 — will next face third-seeded Jelena Ostapenko, the 2017 French Open champion who beat big-serving three-time Brisbane International winner Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 4-6, 6-3. Pliskova went into the match on a 10-match winning streak in Brisbane and was coming off a second-round win over another former No. 1, Naomi Osaka, but was often on the back foot with Ostapenko hitting 50 winners.Azarenka opened Day 5 on Pat Rafter Arena and quickly took a 4-1 lead before withstanding a comeback from the No. 56-ranked Burel. She took ...