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This Bay Area city is considered among the least safe in the nation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:00 GMT

Whether it be protection from crime, dangerous weather, or financial instability, safety is a top concern for many when finding a new city to call home.WalletHub, a personal finance company, updated its “Safest Cities in America” list by comparing 182 cities in the U.S. across 41 safety-related metrics. Some of the metrics used in the study included the number of mass shootings, assaults per capita and traffic fatalities.The 41 safety metrics were compiled into three categories: home and community safety, natural disaster risk and financial safety and were graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the “safest” city. These California cities named as the ‘safest’ for trick-or-treating, study says Cities from the Golden State ranked low on the list.  The highest ranked California city on the list was Irvine in Orange County, earning the 33rd spot and scoring 79.86 overall.The city of Fremont, which was ranked 17th last year, went down to 49th place in the updated study....

The top scorers are back. That could make the ACC women’s basketball race even tougher

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:00 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — From her first college game, Ta’Niya Latson showed she could score at an unexpectedly high level for Florida State — better than anyone else in the Atlantic Coast Conference, in fact.She’s back for another season with the 18th-ranked Seminoles, joined by a deep well of returning scorers and all-ACC picks for the 2023-24 season.“I’m just really excited to go against those girls and showcase what we’ve got, too,” Latson said Tuesday during the league’s women’s basketball media day.Considering how many are back, she will get plenty of opportunities in league play, too.Latson — a 5-foot-8 guard who averaged 21.3 points and was named league rookie of the year — is among eight players who return from the 10-player all-ACC first team last year. That list includes two-time player of the year Elizabeth Kitley from an eighth-ranked Virginia Tech team coming off its first Final Four trip.The league also returns 12 of its top 15 scorers...

Brais Méndez scores in 3rd straight Champions League game to lead Real Sociedad past Benfica

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:00 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Brais Méndez scored again as Real Sociedad beat Benfica 1-0 in Lisbon on Tuesday to hand the Portuguese champion its third straight defeat in the Champions League.Ander Barrenetxea set up the midfielder in the 63rd minute to tap in the winner. It was a deserved goal for the visitors who were in control throughout of the Group D game.Méndez scored in a 1-1 draw against Inter Milan and in a 2-0 victory at Salzburg in the other Champions League games.The visitors put Benfica under pressure though wasted several chances, while both teams had a goal disallowed for offside in the first half.Benfica coach Roger Schmidt sent on substitutes Arthur Cabral and Orkun Kokçu at the beginning of the second half to try to revive his attack.With three consecutive losses, and not a single goal scored, Benfica looks unlikely to return to the knockout stage after the Portuguese champion reached the quarterfinals last season.Real Sociedad is making its third Champions League grou...

The Oilers believe this rare Connor McDavid absence could provide a spark after a slow start

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:00 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers were already scuffling when their season took another early turn for the worse, an upper body injury that sidelined team captain and three-time NHL MVP Connor McDavid.Alternative methods of motivation for the Oilers were clearly preferred to this expected absence of 1-2 weeks after the five-time scoring champion suffered an unspecified muscular injury late in the third period of their overtime loss Saturday to Winnipeg.Perhaps this will be just the jolt the Oilers needed.“It’s obviously a huge loss to our team. It definitely leaves some opportunities on the table for guys. I think it’ll be good for the squad, too, just to be a little bit more hungry,” left wing Dylan Holloway said.The Oilers (1-3-1) were just 23rd in the league with an average of 2.6 goals per game entering their game Tuesday night at Minnesota. Without McDavid, who led the NHL with both 64 goals and 89 assists last season, the pressure to score has increased on fellow star...

2 teachers walking with preschool kids in DC attacked by man who then exposed himself

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:00 GMT

A 38-year-old man has been arrested after police say he attacked two teachers who were walking with a group of young children in D.C.’s Bloomingdale neighborhood Monday afternoon.According to D.C. police, Russell Fred Dunkley III, was arrested on charges of two counts of simple assault. Additionally, he was charged with lewd acts, misdemeanor sexual abuse of a child, assault on a police officer, obstructing and aggressive panhandling.Police said the two women were caring for a group of 20 to 30 kids ranging from the age of 1 to 3 years old on S Street in Northwest D.C., when Dunkley came over to the group asking for money. He was told to leave them alone but refused.When one of the teachers began calling 911, he started punching her repeatedly in the head and then began punching the other teacher in the head, the arrest report said.According to witnesses Dunkley also exposed himself in front of the children and began masturbating.Dunkley was arrested and taken to a hospital fo...

Off-duty pilot who tried to cut engines told police he experimented with mushrooms, complaint says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:00 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An off-duty airline pilot riding in an extra cockpit seat on a Horizon Air flight said “I’m not OK” just before trying to cut the engines midflight and later told police he had recently taken psychedelic mushrooms as his mental health worsened, according to charging documents made public Tuesday.State prosecutors in Oregon filed 83 counts of attempted murder against Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph David Emerson, 44, just before he was due to appear in court for an arraignment Tuesday. Federal prosecutors meanwhile charged Emerson with interfering with a flight crew, which can carry up to 20 years in prison.According to a probable cause statement filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, Emerson told Port of Portland police following his arrest that he had been struggling with depression, that a friend had recently died and that he had taken psychedelic mushrooms about 48 hours before he attempted to cut the engines. He also said he had not slept in more than 40 hou...

Man linked to missing Arizona teen Alicia Navarro is arrested on child sex abuse charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:00 GMT

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A 36-year-old man living in Montana with a teenager who mysteriously disappeared from Arizona four years ago has been charged with two felony counts of child sexual abuse based on images found on his phone, authorities said Tuesday.Edmund Davis was arrested Monday in Chinook, Montana, and was being held in the Hill County Detention Center on a $1 million bond.It was unknown if Davis is considered a suspect in the disappearance of Alicia Navarro. Authorities in Montana referred questions to law enforcement in Arizona, who said the investigation into the teenager’s disappearance is ongoing.The announcement of the criminal charges by Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen ends months of silence by authorities about Navarro’s case. But key questions remain unanswered, including how and when the teenager ended up in far northern Montana — nearly 1,400 miles (2,253 kilometers) from her childhood home in Glendale, Arizona — and whether Davis played a part ...

Business Highlights: UAW strike expands to GM plant in Texas; Big profits lift Wall Street

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:00 GMT

___UAW strikes at General Motors plant in Texas as union goes after automakers’ cash cowsDETROIT (AP) — First it was Ford, then Stellantis, and now a General Motors factory has been added to the growing list of highly profitable plants where the United Auto Workers union is on strike. On Tuesday, about 5,000 workers walked out at GM’s factory in Arlington, Texas, that makes big, high margin SUVs such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Cadillac Escalade. The strikes in Texas, as well as at the largest Ford factory in the world in Louisville, Kentucky, and a Stellantis plant that makes lucrative Ram pickups in Michigan, are aimed at getting the companies to capitulate to union demands for richer wages and benefits than the automakers so far have offered. Automakers say they won’t stick themselves with costs that could make their vehicles more expensive than competitors.___Stock market today: Wall Street rises after corporate profits top forecasts and oil prices sink moreNEW YORK (AP) — Wall S...

First Busey: Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:00 GMT

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — First Busey Corp. (BUSE) on Tuesday reported third-quarter profit of $30.7 million.The bank, based in Champaign, Illinois, said it had earnings of 54 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, were 55 cents per share.The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 51 cents per share.The bank holding company posted revenue of $153.7 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $108.8 million, also exceeding Street forecasts.First Busey shares have declined 24% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $18.68, a decline of 22% in the last 12 months._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BUSE at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BUSESource

Hurricane Otis rapidly strengthens off Mexico’s Pacific coast as it heads toward Acapulco

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:44:00 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Hurricane Otis strengthened from tropical storm to a major hurricane in a matter of hours Tuesday as it approached Mexico’s southern Pacific coast where it was forecast to make landfall near the resort of Acapulco early Wednesday.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said that Otis was about 115 miles (185 kilometers) south-southeast of Acapulco on Tuesday with Category 3 winds of 125 mph (205 kph). It was moving north-northwest at 8 mph (13 kph). The center said Otis would continue strengthening as it approached the coast.There was a hurricane warning in effect from Punta Maldonado to Zihuatanejo.Otis was expected to dump five to 10 inches of rain on the southern state of Guerrero with as much as 15 inches possible in some areas. That raised the possibility of mudslides in Guerrero’s steep mountainous terrain.In the Atlantic, Hurricane Tammy continued moving northeastward over open water with winds of 75 mph (120 kph) after sweeping through the Lesser Antilles over ...