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Borenstein: Oakland police chief was unfairly fired, confidential reports show

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:25 GMT

Confidential reports that provided the basis for the firing of Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong were internally inconsistent and relied on thin evidence to unfairly tarnish his reputation.That’s my take after reading the reports — and I’m not alone.“I was dumbfounded by their conclusions,” says civil rights attorney John Burris. “The evidence did not support the termination.”As lead attorney in the infamous Riders case litigation against the city that has led to two decades of federal court oversight of the Police Department, Burris also has read the confidential documents.So have members of the Oakland Police Commission, whose chairperson, Tyfahra Milele, in statements after the firing, lauded Armstrong as an “effective reform-minded Chief.” Speaking on behalf of the commission, she too expressed concern about the “questionable quality, sufficiency, and credibility of the outside investigations.”The confidential reports, prepared by an outside law firm at the behest of ...

Read the confidential reports on the Oakland Police Department

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:25 GMT

The actions of Sgt. Michael Chung have led to two outside probes of how the Oakland Police Department investigated wrongdoing by its own members, and to the eventual firing of Chief LeRonne Armstrong.In March 2021, Chung left the scene of a vehicle collision in San Francisco without reporting the incident to police there. In April 2022, he discharged a service weapon in an elevator of the Oakland Police Administration Building.The Oaklandside online news publication obtained a copy of the confidential review of the vehicle collision investigation and published it on its website in February.Bay Area News Group has obtained a copy of the confidential review of the Police Department’s handling of the elevator discharge incident. We have redacted the names of people who were not central to the events that led to Armstrong’s firing. To read that report, click here.

Brooks: The necessity of patriotism (even in times like these)

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:25 GMT

Dear Zoomers,Because you’re online so much, you probably saw The Wall Street Journal/NORC poll that came out this week. It found that the share of Americans who say patriotism is very important to them has dropped to 38% from 70% since 1998. The share who say religion is very important has dropped to 39% from 62%. The share who say community involvement is very important has dropped to 27% from 47%. The share who say having children is very important has dropped to 30% from 59%.These trends are partly driven by you, adults younger than 30. Only 23% of you said that patriotism is very important or that having children is very important.You’re disillusioned, and I get it. You’ve grown up in a crappy time — Iraq, the financial crisis, Donald Trump, George Floyd, the pandemic, a widespread sense that you won’t be as well-off as your parents.But I grew up in a crappy time, too. I’m old enough to remember the assassinations of 1968. Over the next few years, Americans experienced defeat in...

Tornadoes kill at least 10 across US Midwest and South

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:25 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Unrelenting tornadoes that tore through parts of the South and Midwest killed at least 10 people, shredded homes and shopping centers, and collapsed a theater roof during a heavy metal concert in Illinois.Emergency responders across the region counted the dead and surveyed the damage Saturday morning after tornadoes touched down into the night, part of a sprawling storm system that also brought wildfires to the southern Plains and blizzard conditions to the Upper Midwest.The dead included four in the small town of Wynne, Arkansas, Cross County Coroner Eli Long told KAIT-TV. Other deaths were reported in Alabama, Illinois, Indiana and the Little Rock area.Wynne City Councilmember Lisa Powell Carter said the town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Memphis, Tennessee, was without power and roads were full of debris.“I’m in a panic trying to get home, but we can’t get home,” she said Friday night. “Wynne is so demolished. … There’s houses destroyed, tr...

Ukraine asks court to put Orthodox leader under house arrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:25 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s top security agency notified a top Orthodox priest Saturday that he was suspected of justifying Russia’s aggression amid a bitter dispute over a famed Orthodox monastery.Metropolitan Pavel, the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery, Ukraine’s most revered Orthodox site, has strongly resisted the authorities’ order to vacate the complex. Earlier in the week, he cursed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, threatening him with damnation.During a court hearing in the Ukrainian capital, the metropolitan strongly rejected the claim by the Security Service of Ukraine, known as the SBU, that he condoned Russia’s invasion. Pavel described the accusations against him as politically driven. SBU agents raided his residence. Prosecutors asked the court to put him under house arrest pending the investigation.The monks in the monastery belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which has been accused of having links to Russia. The dispu...

Haaland misses Man City match vs. Liverpool due to injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:25 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Prolific striker Erling Haaland was not part of Manchester City’s squad to play Liverpool on Saturday after failing to recover from a groin injury.The Norway international, who has scored 42 goals in all competitions this season, had to withdraw from his country’s European Championship qualifiers against Spain and Georgia last week because of the problem.“He is not fit. He doesn’t feel proper,” City manager Pep Guardiola said ahead of the game. “It is not a big issue but today he was not right.”Haaland leads the Premier League scoring charts with 28 goals and has hit nine in his last three games in all competitions.The game was important for both teams, with City eight points behind first-place Arsenal with a game in hand, and Liverpool fighting to secure a top-four spot for Champions League qualification.Guardiola earlier this week said the 22-year-old Haaland would be given the chance to prove his fitness during the team’s trainin...

Greek prime minister renews call for EU cash for border fence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:25 GMT

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is asking the European Union for financial support to extend his country’s anti-migrant steel fence along the border with Turkey. “I think it’s about time for the EU to seriously consider providing European funds for these types of projects,” Mitsotakis told news agency AFP Friday on the sidelines of a visit to the wall in northeastern Greece. In a first step, Athens plans to extend its fence — which runs along the Evros River along the shared border with Turkey — by 35 kilometers, with the aim of adding a total of 100 kilometers by 2026. It is currently five meters high and 37.5 kilometers long. The question of whether EU member countries’ border fences should be financed with EU money is hugely controversial within the bloc. EU leaders in February pledged “significant” funds to bolster cameras and personnel at the frontiers, but stopped short of directly funding wall-building — ...

Police searching for vehicle in Chelsea hit-and-run that left pedestrian seriously injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:25 GMT

Authorities are searching for a driver who struck a pedestrian in Chelsea on Friday night and kept going.Officers responding to a reported hit-and-run pedestrian crash in the area of 1010 Broadway around 8:30 p.m.The 59-year-old man from Revere was taken to a Boston Hospital in serious condition.Police are now looking for a red SUV with Florida license plates in connection with the crash.Anyone with information is urged to call Chelsea police at 617-466-4800This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Tatum’s 39 lifts Celtics over short-handed Jazz 122-114

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:25 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — The collective sentiment among the Celtics following their 41-point win at Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee was it would be meaningless if they lost Friday’s follow-up at home against Utah.Despite some unexpected hiccups just getting home, Boston successfully avoided a letdown.Jayson Tatum had 39 points and 11 assists and the Celtics pushed past the Jazz 122-114 to continue to gain ground in the race for the East’s top playoff seed.Boston had its normal travel routine altered following Thursday’s win at Milwaukee when an issue pushed its return flight back from postgame to early Friday afternoon. The Celtics landed six hours before the game.“We kind of looked at it as a challenge,” Tatum said. “It was fun figuring it out regardless of how the last 24 hours was. It was rewarding. … It kind of brought us closer together.” Malcolm Brogdon added 19 points and Derrick White finished with 17. Boston had 17 3-pointers, including five by Tatum.The C...

Morning rain, then storms later

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:42:25 GMT

7Weather – It’s a cool, damp and foggy start! Scattered showers will be around through midday/early afternoon. Then it’ll dry out and we’ll get some breaks of sun. Temperatures will be mild. A cold front brings the chance for strong storms tonight.This storm is part of a dynamic system that caused a severe weather outbreak yesterday from Iowa down to Alabama. The system will weaken as it reaches our area. Showers continue this morning as a warm front overtakes the region. Scattered showers will be with us through early afternoon. Then we’ll get some clearing and breaks of sunshine. This along with a warmer air mass will help to push temperatures into the 60s. Low to mid 60s north of 495 and into the Merrimack Valley. Low clouds and showers lingering longer, along with a southwest wind off the chilly ocean water, will keep temperatures in the 50s for the South Coast, Buzzards Bay, Cape and the Islands. If you have tickets to the Sox or WooSox games today...