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Deluge of violent threats ‘could take down a democracy’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:47 GMT

By Rob Kuznia, Majlie de Put, Alex Leeds Matthews, Kyung Lah, Anna-Maja Rappard and Yahya Abou-GhalazaBy the time the FBI first showed up at Kevin Patrick Smith’s home in early February, he’d already left dozens of threatening voice messages for US Senator Jon Tester.“You stand toe to toe with me, I rip your head off. You die.”FBI agents admonished Smith – who lived about a mile from the Montana Democrat’s office in Kalispell – to stop the threats, which were making the senator’s staff members afraid to come to work. But the middle-aged contractor couldn’t bring himself to stop. After 10 days, he resumed the calls in ramped-up fashion, leaving messages that now alluded to guns.All said, Smith left about 60 messages for Tester’s office, sometimes over the din of a TV or radio blaring in the background. Aside from some vague accusations (“you’re pedophiles and you’re criminals”), Smith’s threats contained few specifics about why he was so angry.When FBI agents returned to arrest Smith...

Santa Clara: Berkeley’s Boichik Bagels, made famous by New Yorkers, opens first South Bay shop

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:47 GMT

Berkeley’s Boichik Bagels, hailed by the New York Times as some of the finest New York-style bagels in the country, are now available in the South Bay.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | McDonald’s unveils spinoff CosMc’s, weirder than expected Restaurants, Food and Drink | 7 amazing Bay Area things to do this weekend Restaurants, Food and Drink | Michelin Bib Gourmand Mexican restaurant Flores opens in San Mateo Restaurants, Food and Drink | Map: 7 new Bay Area restaurants, and 3 that are closing Restaurants, Food and Drink | Panera hit with another wrongful death suit over its caffeinated ‘charged lemonade’ On Thursday morning, self-made bagel master Emily Winston opened her largest retail shop to date in the Mission Park Marketplace in Santa Clara’s northern tech corridor.Here, Winston and her team will feed local residents, Silicon Valley companies and commuters (it’...

Frost Advisory for Thursday and Friday upgraded to Freeze Warning

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:47 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A Frost Advisory issued for the Bay Area Thursday night into Friday morning has been upgraded to a Freeze Warning by the National Weather Service. Lows across the region look to fall to between 27 and 32 degrees, resulting in freezing to sub-freezing conditions, the NWS said.The entry of the cold weather will see a drying out from the intermittent rain seen across the Bay Area the past two days, according to KRON4 Meteorologist Kyla Grogan. Ex-pilot Joseph Emerson released from jail, allowed to return home to Bay Area "Get ready for a chilly overnight in our inland valleys tonight, particularly those in the North Bay that are under a Freeze Warning tonight with temps expected to drop down to the freezing level," said Grogan. "The chilly air is rushing in behind the front that has tracked through and brought us some showers so the good news is that we will be drying out." The Freeze Warning will particularly impact the North Bay valleys along with interior M...

Levi's CEO to retire next year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:47 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. will retire next year, according to a news release from the company. Chip Bergh, who served as CEO of the San Francisco-based apparel company for 12 years, will retire on April 26, 2024.The company's current president, Michelle Gass, has been elected by the Levi's board of directors to succeed Bergh as president and CEO, effective Jan. 29, 2024, according to the press release. Ex-pilot Joseph Emerson released from jail, allowed to return home to Bay Area “We would like to thank Chip for his inspirational leadership and unwavering commitment to the company over the last 12-plus years,” said Bob Eckert, chairman of the LS&Co. Board of Directors. “Chip has transformed this company and will leave it far better than when he arrived.”“It has been an incredible privilege to lead this great company as CEO for the last 12 years. I want to especially thank my team, the board of directors and the family shareholders for all their ...

70-year-old cyclist struck and killed near railroad crossing in San Rafael identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:47 GMT

(KRON) -- The San Rafael Police Department is investigating an incident in which a bicyclist was struck and killed near a railroad crossing last Saturday. San Rafael PD officers responded to Andersen Drive at the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit (S.M.A.R.T.) crossing at 7:45 a.m. on a report of a vehicle versus bicyclist collision, police said.SRPD officers, along with the San Rafael Fire Department, arrived on the scene and found the bicyclist deceased. Santa Rosa PD's Major Accident Investigation Team is investigating.The cyclist was identified by the Marin County Coroner as 70-year-old Peter Grace. Two dead and one injured in San Pablo head-on crash The roadway and railroad services were shut down for several hours while the investigation was being conducted. The driver of the vehicle is cooperating with investigators, police said.A preliminary investigation, police said, determined that the cyclist was headed northbound on Anderson Drive and approached the S.M.A.R.T. crossing. T...

DC to open ‘real-time’ crime center with 9 regional police agencies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:47 GMT

Mayor Muriel Bowser announced what she says is a new tool in fighting crime in the D.C.: a center where regional and federal police and transportation agencies will monitor crime in real time.At the announcement of the new center in the Marion Barry Building in Northwest D.C. on Thursday, Bowser repeated her statement from earlier this week that, “I am confident that we will turn crime trends down.” Bowser said that’s because of the focus on a multipronged approach to the problem of rising crime in D.C.Nine police agencies including the Amtrak police, Arlington County police, U.S. Capitol Police, Fairfax County police, Metro Transit Police, Montgomery County police, Prince George’s County police and the U.S. Secret Service Uniform Division will work with D.C. police to monitor and analyze data collected at the new center.That data will include “CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) cameras, emergency calls and other technology,” Bowser said.The plan also calls for coordination from D.C.’...

Youngkin calls for increased state spending on child care programs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:47 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Thursday that the proposed budget he will soon unveil for the next two fiscal years will include an increase in state spending on early learning and child care programs. The central aim of the proposal is to ensure that the end of federal pandemic-era funds that were used to expand those initiatives doesn’t leave families in the lurch, Youngkin said in a speech in Richmond. Without the increased allocations to improve the long-term viability of the programs, families would start to lose coverage in March 2024, he said. “At the heart of this is ensuring that we continue to serve the population being served today and that dollars follow the children on their parents’ best wishes,” he said. The proposal is just one component of a full two-year budget plan the administration is developing, which Youngkin will present to state lawmakers on Dec. 20. Virginia governors’ introduced budgets typically go ...

Judge orders prison, probation in last sentencings tied to plot to kidnap Michigan governor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:47 GMT

A judge handed down the last sentences Thursday in a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, sending one man to prison and putting another on probation, the climax to a remarkable investigation that became public on the eve of the 2020 presidential election but produced mixed results in court.Judge Charles Hamlyn offered his own conclusion, describing political polarization in the U.S. as “mind-boggling” and “terrifying.”“People hate other people because of what they believe. … That’s a dangerous place to be,” Hamlyn said.Whitmer, a Democrat, was targeted as part of a broad effort by anti-government rebels who were hoping to trigger a civil war around the time of the 2020 election, investigators said. Her COVID-19 policies, which shut down schools and restricted the economy, disgusted her critics.Shawn Fix and Brian Higgins were not key figures in the investigation. But Higgins, a resident of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, acknowledged he went on a night ride to scou...

West Ham fights back to beat Tottenham 2-1 in the Premier League

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:47 GMT

LONDON (AP) — West Ham came back to secure a 2-1 win at Tottenham in the Premier League on Thursday and extend Spurs’ winless run to five games.Second-half goals from Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse saw West Ham recover from going behind to an early header from Cristian Romero.Defeat means Tottenham has now lost four and drawn one of its last five games — after having taken the lead in all of them.The slump has dropped Ange Postecoglou’s team from first to fifth, while West Ham is now three points behind its London rival in ninth.Tottenham was ultimately punished for failing to make the most of its superiority in the first half.It was in front after 11 minutes when Romero rose to head Pedro Porro’s cross into the top corner.The score could have been 2-0 in first-half stoppage time when West Ham defender Kurt Zouma fired the ball against his own post while cutting out a dangerous cross.If that was a spot of good fortune for West Ham, its equalizer in the 52nd als...

Derrick Henry respects NFL concussion protocol despite cost to him, the Titans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:47 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Derrick Henry rarely ever leaves the field for injury.So when the two-time NFL rushing champ headed to the locker room on Sunday, that panicked the Tennessee Titans’ fans who were flashing back to October 2021 when he broke his foot. Especially when Henry didn’t return against the Colts. Henry was on his way to his best game this season with 102 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns when he picked up 9 yards with 11:34 left in regulation. He was pulled from the game after a helmet-to-helmet hit Henry admitted Thursday rung his bell “a little bit.” Then the Titans lost in overtime. Nobody was more frustrated than Henry, even as he respects the move being made for his own protection. He said he felt able to shake it off so he could return and help the Titans win. “I think the league is trying to be cautious on head injuries and guys who stumble, which I respect,” Henry said. “It’s all about player safety and those things are serious. … ...