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NWSL commish: Bay Area star owners ‘earned their seat’ in the league

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:53:52 GMT

National Women’s Soccer League commissioner Jessica Berman touted the newest addition to the league on Tuesday morning, with some star power added in the ownership ranks.Berman and the NWSL awarded expansion rights to the league’s 14th franchise to the San Francisco Bay Area and an ownership group led by four former U.S. women’s national team players – Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton and Aly Wagner.In an exclusive interview with Bay Area News Group after Tuesday morning’s announcement, Berman said she was thrilled to welcome the ownership group that is financially fronted by Sixth Street, a global investfirm firm led by Bay Area-based CEO Alan Waxman, and also includes others with Bay Area ties former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, former Warriors president Rick Welts.“This is a massive market of people who are thirsty for great sports,” Berman said. “Being able to witness professional women’s soccer on a consistent basis is something we’...

Magnitude 4.7 earthquake rattles South Bay, Central Coast

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:53:52 GMT

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck Tuesday afternoon south of Hollister, rattling communities across the South Bay and the Central Coast.The quake struck at 3:23 p.m. about one mile from Tres Pinos, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter appears to have been about 5.7 miles underground, the agency said.Light shaking could be felt throughout the Bay Area and the Central Coast, according to reports that streamed into the USGS’s website in the minutes after the quake. Some people reported feeling the earthquake as far south as Big Sur and as far east as the Sierra Nevada foothills, east of Merced. Others reported light shaking in the Modesto area as well.The temblor ranks among the strongest to shake the Bay Area or the surrounding region since a 5.1 quake hit eastern Santa Clara County in late October. It also comes just a few days after a series of smaller quakes — all ranging in magnitude from 3.0 to 2.7 — rattled the Oakland Hills and the East Bay o...

Sharks update: Nieto talks trade, prospect has surgery, and are some players’ seasons over?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:53:52 GMT

SAN JOSE – Matt Nieto watched last year as Andrew Cogliano raised the Stanley Cup over his head just a few months after he was acquired by the Colorado Avalanche from the San Jose Sharks.Now Nieto wants to experience that same feeling, as he’s fit right back in with an Avalanche team that fully expects to go on another deep playoff run this spring.“That’s the goal for sure,” said Nieto, who also played with the Avalanche from 2016 to 2020. “Right when I got traded here and conversations I had with staff and players, everyone wants to repeat that again. Just watching the work that we do every day, guys are really committed to succeeding and making sure that happens.”Both Nieto and Cogliano were back in San Jose on Tuesday for the first time since they were each traded by the Sharks to Colorado. The Avalanche acquired Cogliano from the Sharks for a draft pick at the trade deadline last year, and picked up Nieto and defenseman Ryan Merkley on Jan. 25 for forward Martin Kaut and d...

Tracy man arrested in 2021 Oakland shooting, allegedly identified by his Raiders hat and surveillance footage

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:53:52 GMT

OAKLAND — A Tracy resident has been arrested and charged in the death of a 55-year-old man who was shot and killed in Oakland more than a year ago.Efrain Martinez, 48, was charged Monday with murder in the death of 55-year-old Dennis Brown, as well as assault with a semiautomatic firearm on a 33-year-old man, and shooting at an occupied motor vehicle. The charges contain enhancements alleging the use of a firearm, despite a recent policy by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office to drastically scale back the use of enhancements.Martinez was identified as a suspect from surveillance footage of the shooting and witnesses who noted the suspect was wearing a Raiders hat. Martinez later reviewed the footage with police and identified himself in it, according to police.Martinez was arrested on March 29 at his home in Tracy, where police say they recovered clothing he wore during the shooting.The shooting occurred around 9:15 p.m. on Oct. 16, 2021, on the 1400 block of 8...

Creator of hugely popular Catan board game dies at 70

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:53:52 GMT

Associated PressKlaus Teuber, creator of the hugely popular Catan board game in which players compete to build settlements on a fictional island, has died after a brief illness, according to a family statement. He was 70.The board game, originally called The Settlers of Catan when introduced in 1995 and based on a set of hexagonal tiles, has sold tens of millions of copies and is available in more than 40 languages. It has spawned dozens of spinoffs and new editions, including electronic versions, not to mention products related to the game.“It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that the Teuber family announces their beloved husband and father Klaus Teuber passed away at the age of 70 on April 1, 2023 after a short and serious illness,” said the statement posted on the German-language Catan website. The family requested privacy.A statement from the Catan studio team on social media noted that “While Klaus’ contributions to the board gaming industry are i...

Antioch officers’ racist texts may lead to charges being dismissed in gang murder conspiracy case

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:53:52 GMT

ANTIOCH — The eight Antioch police officers recently placed on leave by the city include investigators who texted each other racist remarks about Black men they were investigating for alleged gang crimes, prosecutors confirmed in open court Tuesday morning.Now, this latest scandal could result in charges being dismissed against four men accused of conspiracy to commit murder for an East Oakland-based gang.At a Tuesday morning court hearing for four alleged members of the ENT gang, Contra Costa Assistant District Attorney Simon O’Connell said he would soon disclose texts containing explicit racism by Antioch police investigators that specifically referenced the defendants. But whether the disclosures will be made under a court protective order is not yet determined.O’Connell showed up to court with packets of paper approximately two inches thick and apparently containing text messages in which racist and other problematic language was used by officers. He told a Con...

4.5 magnitude earthquake strikes Northern California

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:53:52 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A preliminary magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck Northern California on Tuesday afternoon, according to the United States Geological Survey. The earthquake struck near Hollister at 3:23 p.m., and it was felt inside the KRON4 newsroom in San Francisco to as far south as Santa Cruz. It struck nearly five miles below the surface, according to data from USGS. There have been no reports of damages or injuries so far.The quake took place near the Calaveras Fault Zone, and the California Geological Survey says that aftershocks "can be expected," after this earthquake. VTA light rail service will be delayed for five to seven minutes for post-earthquake inspection, according to a tweet from the VTA.This is a developing story. Please stick with KRON for updates.

Union alleges neglect in South Carolina safety inspections

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:53:52 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The South Carolina agency tasked with ensuring occupational safety is accused of racial discrimination by failing to routinely inspect disproportionately Black workplaces in a federal complaint backed by a new union that seeks to boost labor organizing across the South.The civil rights complaint filed Tuesday marks an escalation of the efforts by the Union of Southern Service Workers, an outgrowth of the Fight for $15 campaign’s southern branch, that launched last fall with pledges to leverage the collective power of retail, fast food and warehouse employees.According to the group’s analysis, the South Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration neglects industries staffed predominantly by Black employees compared to fields filled largely by workers of other races. The complaint said the agency conducted zero programmed inspections from 2018 to 2022 of food/beverage and general merchandise retailers — where Black people make up 45.9% and ...

Donald Trump’s arraignment day a throwback for news outlets

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:53:52 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — For the country and for Donald Trump, the indictment of a former president represented an unprecedented day. For TV news organizations, it felt like a throwback.Hour after hour on Tuesday, the story occupied the full attention of broadcast and cable news networks. They waited for glimpses of Trump’s face to interpret his expression, followed his motorcade’s movements from the air, speculated on how it must feel to be arrested.The coverage recalled better days for now-struggling cable news outlets, through two presidential campaigns and two impeachment trials, when Trump occupied hours of air time. Consumers eagerly followed along, the way they haven’t for many stories since.For two days this week, Trump’s indictment on 34 counts of falsifying business records, gave outlets the chance to go back in time.“This is the most significant arraignment in the history of arraignments,” Danny Cevallos, a legal analyst for NBC News, said on that network&#...

Osasuna upsets Athletic, reaches Copa final for 2nd time

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 14:53:52 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Osasuna pulled off yet another Copa del Rey upset by eliminating Athletic Bilbao in extra time Tuesday to reach the final for the first time in nearly two decades. Late substitute Pablo Ibáñez scored with a volley from the edge of the area on a breakaway in the 116th minute to secure a 2-1 aggregate win that sent the Pamplona club to the final for the first time since 2005.“I don’t have any words to describe the emotions right now,” said Ibáñez, who was 6 years old when the club last made it to the final. “We suffered like dogs, and to score that goal in the last minute is something that you can’t explain. It’s the best goal of my career and I doubt that I’ll be able to do anything better than that.”Athletic had forced extra time at San Mamés Stadium after winning 1-0 in regulation with a goal by Iñaki Williams in the 33rd. Osasuna had won the first leg 1-0 at home. Osasuna will play the final against either Barcelona or Real Madrid, who meet in the other semifinal at ...