Women’s sports are having a huge moment. The WNBA is missing it.

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:06:25 GMT

Women’s sports are having a huge moment. The WNBA is missing it. Tara VanDerveer had two immediate reactions to the official arrival of a National Women’s Soccer League team to the San Francisco Bay Area.First: “I’m thrilled for the Bay Area and women’s soccer,” VanDerveer said on the phone last week.And second?“Damn, I wish it was basketball.”As women’s sports hits an accelerator across the country and the NWSL prepares to launch a team in the Bay Area, it’s hard not to think that the WNBA is missing out on a big chance to place a team here.“We should have one,” VanDerveeer said. “It’s crazy that we don’t.”The WNBA has stayed a 12-team league for more than a decade now, despite interest from prospective ownership groups and cities as the league’s reach has grown across the country. In fact, there are two right here in the Bay Area: the African American Sports and Entertainment Group wants to bring a team to Oakland and the Warriors are interested in San Francisco.But WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert continues to kick the expansion can down the ...

Trump responds to criminal charges with election lies

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:06:25 GMT

Trump responds to criminal charges with election lies By Michelle L. Price and Nicholas Riccardi | Associated PressNEW YORK — Legally, the most important words former President Donald Trump said after he was charged with 34 felonies by the Manhattan District Attorney last week were “not guilty.” But, politically, the most significant may be “election interference.”Trump’s repetition of those words, which have been taken up by other top Republicans, show how he is trying to turn his historic position as the first former president charged with crimes to his advantage. It’s another example of what’s been a consistent refrain throughout his political career — claiming without evidence that an election is being rigged against him.After his initial court appearance in the New York case, the first of several in which he is in legal jeopardy, Trump ticked through the varied investigations he was facing and branded them as “massive” attempts to interfere with the 2024 election.“Our jus...

A’s place Seth Brown on IL, call up Kevin Smith from Las Vegas

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:06:25 GMT

A’s place Seth Brown on IL, call up Kevin Smith from Las Vegas The Athletics placed outfielder/designated hitter Seth Brown on the 10-day injured list Monday retroactive to April 9 with a strained left oblique and recalled infielder Kevin Smith from Triple-A Las Vegas to take his place on the roster.Smith, who has five home runs in Triple-A, went directly into the lineup at shortstop and is batting sixth against the Baltimore Orioles. The A’s are coming off a three-game sweep against Tampa Bay and have been shut out in back-to-back games, getting just one hit in Sunday’s 11-0 loss.Brown, the A’s home run (25) and RBI (73) leader last season, was being given a chance to play regularly and face left-handed pitching instead of being platooned as he has for the most part since 2019.In Saturday’s 11-0 loss to Tampa Bay, Brown was injured on a check swing, manager Mark Kotsay said. He started the first eight games, seven in left field and one as the designated hitter, and was hitting .200 with one home run and two RBIs.The Ath...

Woman claiming to be medium faces charges for falsely reporting mother for shooting teen son

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:06:25 GMT

Woman claiming to be medium faces charges for falsely reporting mother for shooting teen son A Hartford, Connecticut woman faces felony and misdemeanor charges after police say she called 911 and falsely reported that a Windsor mother had shot her teenage son in the head, telling dispatchers she knew this had occurred because she’s a medium.The Windsor Police Department responded to a home on West Rosemont Avenue on Dec. 9, 2022, only to find a mother and her three children confused as to why six police officers showed up at her door, according to an arrest warrant. Police explained to the mother that Faith Robinson, 26, of Hartford had called 911 to report a shooting in the Windsor residence, the warrant for Robinson’s arrest said.Windsor police found that the teen who was reported to have been shot was in school at the time and was safe, the warrant said.The teen’s mother immediately asked police whether Robinson — who was dating the boy’s father at the time — was the one who had called 911, according to the warrant affidavit. The teen’s mother speculated that Robinson ma...

Embattled Israeli PM Netanyahu rescinds minister firing

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:06:25 GMT

Embattled Israeli PM Netanyahu rescinds minister firing Associated PressJERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday retracted his decision to fire his defense minister over criticism of the government’s contentious plan to overhaul the judiciary.In a televised speech, Netanyahu said that Yoav Gallant is staying in his post. “I decided to put the differences we had behind us,” he said.Netanyahu announced late last month that Gallant was fired. The decision set off a wave of spontaneous mass protests and a general strike that threatened to paralyze the country, forcing the Israeli leader to suspend his divisive plan to overhaul the judicial system.This is a breaking story, please check back for updates.

Justice Department appeals judge’s ruling on abortion pill

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:06:25 GMT

Justice Department appeals judge’s ruling on abortion pill By Tierney Sneed | CNNThe Justice Department asked a federal appeals court on Monday to put on hold a judge’s ruling that could make a medication abortion drug unavailable nationwide starting Friday at midnight.The request, filed on Monday before the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, is seeking a short-term administrative stay as well as a long-term stay pending appeal on a lower court ruling from US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who ordered the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the drug to be suspended.An administrative stay would give the appellate court more breathing room to consider whether Kacsmaryk’s ruling should be frozen while the litigation plays out. The Justice Department and Danco, a manufacturer of the drug mifepristone that intervened in the case to defend the FDA’s approval in 2000, had both already filed notices of appeal.Kacsmaryk said his Friday night order would not go into effect for seven days to give the Justice Department ...

Video: Car goes off freeway, crashes into Oakland apartment building

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:06:25 GMT

Video: Car goes off freeway, crashes into Oakland apartment building (KRON) -- A car went off the freeway and crashed into an apartment building in Oakland on Monday morning, according to the Oakland Fire Department. The vehicle was traveling on the freeway when it was allegedly struck from behind near an exit. 5-year-old girl killed in shooting on I-880 in Fremont: CHP The vehicle went off the freeway and crashed into the rear of an apartment building on Arkansas Street, parallel to eastbound I-580. The driver of the car sustained a foot injury and was transported by ambulance to an area hospital, firefighters said. There was no one else in the car at the time of the crash.Video from the scene (watch in the player above) shows a hole in the wall of the interior of the apartment and the crumpled front end of the vehicle visible through the window.

Suspect charged in assault on ex-fire commissioner in Marina

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:06:25 GMT

Suspect charged in assault on ex-fire commissioner in Marina (KRON) -- A suspect has been charged in connection with assaulting former San Francisco Fire Commissioner Don Carmignani with a metal pipe in the Marina District in San Francisco last week, the San Francisco District Attorney announced Monday.On April 6, Garret Allen Doty, 24, attacked Carmignani in the area of Magnolia Street and Laguna Street at about 7:20 p.m., KRON4 previously reported. Carmignani was hospitalized and underwent surgery to remove a piece of his skull. MORE: Man assaulted with metal pipe in Marina was former SF fire commissioner Police arrested Doty shortly after the incident.Doty has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery with serious bodily injury and assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury. He is due in court Thursday for arraignment. He faces seven years in prison.“I understand how a violent attack like this can shake a community and I am committed to ensuring that the defendant is held accountable, so that we se...

Police search for vehicle that left pedestrian in critical condition

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:06:25 GMT

Police search for vehicle that left pedestrian in critical condition (KRON) -- The Cloverdale police are looking for a vehicle they said hit a pedestrian Sunday and fled leaving the pedestrian in critical condition. The driver hit the pedestrian on the 400 clock of East First Street while the pedestrian was walking in the shoulder, according to Cloverdale Police Department officials.Police said the pedestrian was taken to the hospital and is in critical condition. 5-year-old girl killed in shooting on I-880 in Fremont: CHP The suspect car is a white Toyota Corolla with custom red accents along the lower sides and around the wheel wells. A piece of the suspect car fell off at the scene. It is a black plastic bumper grille with two decorative heart-shaped hand straps--one black and one red--that hang below the bottom edge of the front bumper.It is unknown whether the car has other damage besides missing the bumper grille.Please contact the Cloverdale Police Department if you have any information regarding this incident, contact investigating Officer ...

Money, power, sex: Attorney says slain kids’ mom used all 3

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 19:06:25 GMT

Money, power, sex: Attorney says slain kids’ mom used all 3 BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A mother accused in the triple murder of her two youngest children as well as her new husband’s previous wife was willing to “remove any obstacle in her way to get what she wants,” a prosecutor told jurors Monday morning. “The defendant used money, power and sex to get what she wanted,” Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Black said. “It didn’t matter what it was.”Prosecutors charged Lori Vallow Daybell and her husband, Chad Daybell, with multiple counts of conspiracy, murder and grand theft in connection with the deaths of Vallow Daybell’s two youngest children: 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow and big sister Tylee Ryan, who was last seen a few days before her 17th birthday in 2019. Prosecutors also charged the couple in connection with the October 2019 death of Chad Daybell’s late wife, Tammy Daybell.Both defendants have pleaded not guilty, but they are being tried separately and Chad Daybell’s trial is still months away. Vallow Daybell faces...