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Friend being sentenced? Tips for writing better character letters than Asthon Kutcher and Mila Kunis

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:40 GMT

Even if you’ve led a law-abiding life, you might have a friend or family member who gets into serious trouble and faces time in prison. That’s when you could be asked to write a letter on this loved one’s behalf, describing their good qualities in the hopes of persuading a judge to show mercy.A-list celebrity couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis found themselves in just this situation. Their longtime friend and TV sitcom co-star Danny Masterson needed them to write letters for him after he was convicted in May of two counts of rape, for attacks that occurred in the early 2000s.As the world knows, Kutcher and Kunis seriously bungled this letter-writing assignment. After Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life for the attacks, Kutcher and Kunis’ letters, which are part of the public record, were disseminated by news organizations and picked apart.Danny Masterson speaks during a Launch Event for Netflix “The Ranch: Part 3” hosted by Ashton Kutcher and Danny ...

Warriors, seeking center depth, will reportedly meet with Dwight Howard

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:40 GMT

The Warriors are reportedly set to meet with an eight-time All-Star next week.Dwight Howard, last seen playing professionally in Taiwan, is expected to come to the Bay Area and meet with Golden State about a backup center job, as first reported Friday by NBA insider Shams Charania.Golden State has Kevon Looney locked in as the starting center after playing 82 games each of the last two seasons, but there are questions behind him in the rotation. Draymond Green will surely move up a position to take some center minutes, but at 33, the Warriors will want to avoid taxing him so heavily. Dario Šarić signed a one-year deal at the veteran minimum to join the Dubs this offseason, but he is more of a stretch big than a traditional center. Trayce Jackson-Davis, the Warriors’ second-round rookie, is another combo big man, but he’ll surely need time to adjust to the NBA.Howard, 37, would fill the need for physicality at the backup center position, and he has relevant experience. Du...

Man dies in deliberately set vehicle fire in Oakland

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:40 GMT

OAKLAND — A 30-year-old man died Friday morning from severe burns after the parked vehicle he was inside of was deliberately set on fire in the Fruitvale district, authorities said.The man’s name was not immediately released, pending confirmation of his identity and notification of his next of kin.The attack happened about 2:23 a.m.Police said the man was inside a Honda SRV that was parked in a lot in the 1400 block of 35th Avenue. It was not immediately known if he was awake or asleep.A man approached the vehicle and poured an unknown accelerant inside the vehicle through a partially open window before igniting it and then fleeing, authorities said.The man inside was engulfed by flames but was able to run from the vehicle a short distance before collapsing, authorities said.He died about 11 a.m. at a hospital.A motive for the attack has not yet been determined. No arrests were announced.The vehicle was destroyed in the fire. Police were trying to determine who owned it....

Flood recovery: More than 10,000 still missing in Libya

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:40 GMT

By Yousef Mourad | Associated PressDERNA, Libya — Libyan authorities limited access to the flooded city of Derna on Friday to make it easier for searchers to dig through the mud and hollowed-out buildings for the more than 10,000 people still missing and presumed dead following a disaster that has already claimed more than 11,000 lives.The staggering death toll could grow further due to the spread of waterborne diseases and shifting of explosive ordnance that was swept up when two dams collapsed early Monday and sent a wall of water gushing through the city, officials warned.The disaster has brought some rare unity to oil-rich Libya, which after years of war and civil strife is divided between rival governments in the country’s east and west that are backed by various militia forces and international patrons. But the opposing governments have struggled to respond to the crisis, and recovery efforts have been hampered by confusion, difficulty getting aid to the hardest-hit area...

Palo Alto police announce 9-1-1 phone line outage

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:40 GMT

(KRON) -- The Palo Alto Police Department's 24-hour communication centers, including 9-1-1 and its non-emergency dispatch 650-329-2413, are not functioning, the department announced on X. This is due to an AT&T outage, officials said. Police: Man who threatened San Jose school as hoax arrested Palo Alto residents can still call 9-1-1 for emergencies, and the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office will respond. The Palo Alto police will announce when the outage has subsided.

Daly City man arrested on suspicion of sexual assault, extortion, other offenses

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:40 GMT

(BCN) -- A 22-year-old Daly City man was arrested for allegedly brandishing a firearm and forcing a woman to perform sexual acts in San Mateo after threatening to release nude photographs of her on social media, police said Friday.Rodrigo Soto Palacios was arrested Thursday in San Francisco after the victim initially reported on Tuesday the alleged crimes that took place on Aug. 28, according to San Mateo police.The victim said she met Soto more than a year ago and he threatened to post the nude photos of her if she did not comply with his demands. She then met with him in San Mateo on Aug. 28 and Soto, while armed, allegedly forced her to perform sexual acts, threatened the lives of her and her family and demanded money from her, police said.Investigators obtained a search warrant and found a pistol without a serial number on it in the glove box of a vehicle Soto had been driving. Soto was arrested Thursday in San Francisco without incident, according to police.He was booked into S...

TikTok and Billboard team up for top 50 song chart

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:40 GMT

The latest Billboard chart features music a lot of people only hear snippets of — the 50 most popular songs on TikTok, the short-form video-sharing app.The most popular song on the inaugural TikTok Billboard Top 50 is “SkeeYee” by Sexyy Red, who has four songs on this week’s chart.Billboard’s TikTok Top 50. (Courtesy Billboard.com)Doja Cat is No. 2 with “Paint the Town Red.”Taylor Swift’s “August” is No. 3. Swift has the most songs on the list, with six.The chart measures the most popular songs on the platform each week, based on number of views, user engagement and how many videos are made using the song.Billboard’s lists have been influential in a growing number of formats — the first chart was released in 1913.Not all the songs that are popular on TikTok are new. Number 10 on the inaugural chart is “Let it Whip” by Dazz Band, which was a No. 5 Top 100 hit in 1982.See the full list at Billboard.com.Source

D’Andre Swift takes center stage with 175 yards rushing and bails out Jalen Hurts and the Eagles

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:40 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Eagles had a pretty good running back in Miles Sanders. Sanders was steady, durable and even rushed for more than 1,200 yards and scored 11 touchdowns in a season that ended in the Super Bowl.But in the modern NFL, a good running back is as disposable as a cheap razor. It’s a pass-first, quarterback-driven league these days.So much so that elite running backs griped when teams this past offseason refused to give them the lucrative long-term contracts players such as the Giants’ Saquon Barkley thought they deserved.When Carolina offered Sanders a deal with $13 million in guaranteed money, the Eagles said, thanks for the memories, and let him loose. D’Andre Swift was available, after all, and the Eagles (2-0) were able to sign him for less than half the guaranteed money the Panthers are paying Sanders.Running behind a line anchored by Jason Kelce and Lane Johnson, the big men up front opened lanes as they always do, and Swift bailed out the Eagles on a ni...

Connecticut alderman facing charges in Jan. 6 riot defeats incumbent GOP mayor after primary recount

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:40 GMT

An alderman facing criminal charges that he entered the U.S. Capitol with a mob of rioters on Jan. 6, 2021, has narrowly won the Republican mayoral primary in Connecticut’s smallest city following a recount on Friday.Gino DiGiovanni Jr. defeated three-term Mayor Richard Dziekan in the race in Derby, a city of 12,400 people about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of New York City.Following the recount, DiGiovanni retained the 10-vote lead he had after an initial ballot count in Tuesday’s primary, out of just under 400 cast. Races decided by less than 20 votes trigger an automatic recount.After the recount results were announced, he told reporters he thought the national attention being paid to his candidacy because of the federal charges will ultimately prove beneficial to Derby, especially when it comes to seeking state and federal grant money.“This is the first time in Derby’s history that this race is on a national scale. So I’ll take that, you know, any day of the week,” h...

Authorities link 3 men arrested in Miami to boat equipment theft in Pompano Beach

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:40 GMT

Authorities said the suspects seen on surveillance video stealing expensive boat equipment in Pompano Beach are the same people who were arrested in Miami after deputies followed them from Broward County.Speaking with 7News on Friday, Davis Giannone, the owner of Complete Marine along South Federal Highway, showed the space where the stolen GPS mapping units were once located.“As you can see, there’s two Garmin units that are missing from the dashboard,” he said.The GPS units, which sell for thousands of dollars, were stolen from a boat early Thursday morning.Surveillance video exclusively obtained by 7News captured the perpetrators.Giannone said a security guard spotted them soon after.“At that point, he called 911. I believe he identified the car,” he said. “Two males got into the boat and stole something from the boat,” a 911 dispatcher said in radio transmissions.Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies tried to stop the suspects, but the...