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California flooding: 80% of Sierra Nevada snowpack hasn’t melted yet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:00 GMT

The huge Sierra Nevada snowpack, brought by a parade of atmospheric river storms that ended California’s drought this winter, isn’t a thing of the past now that warmer weather is here: 80% of the snow hasn’t melted yet.On Monday, the state Department of Water Resources conducted its final manual snow survey of the spring season at Phillips Station, a location in El Dorado County off Highway 50 near the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort.Last year and the year before on May 1, they found bare ground at the site. In 2020, as California’s most recent drought was just beginning, they found a sparse 1 inch of quickly melting snow. On Monday, there was 6 feet of snow there.Statewide, the Sierra Nevada snowpack was 254% of its historical average Monday, the second highest May 1 reading since 1950 when modern records began, behind only 1983, when it was 289%.Why hasn’t the highly anticipated “Big Melt” happened yet? Conditions have been cooler than expected...

‘El Chapo’ sons charged with pushing cheap fentanyl into US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:00 GMT

By Christopher Sherman and Mark Stevenson | Associated PressMEXICO CITY — With Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán serving a life sentence, his sons steered the family business into fentanyl, establishing a network of labs churning out massive quantities of the cheap, deadly drug that they smuggled into the U.S., prosecutors revealed in a recent indictment.Although Guzmán’s trial revolved around cocaine shipments, the case against his sons exposes the inner workings of a cartel undergoing a generational shift as it worked “to manufacture the most potent fentanyl and to sell it in the United States at the lowest price,” according to the indictment unsealed April 14 in Manhattan.Synthetic opioids — mostly fentanyl — now kill more Americans every year than died in the Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan wars combined, feeding an argument among some politicians that the cartels should be branded terrorist organizations and prompting once-unthinkable cal...

Antioch man sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for Desert Star Motel sex trafficking

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:00 GMT

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- A 33-year-old man was sentenced to 19 years and seven months in prison for sex trafficking of two minors at the Desert Star Motel in 2019, U.S. Department of Justice officials in Fresno said.Darnell Bernard Edwards, of Antioch, pleaded guilty to charges in December. RELATED: ‘Sting’: Police rescue 16 people, make three arrests in human trafficking bust Edwards took two underage girls to the motel and other locations in California and ordered them to make $500 a day through prostitution in April and May 2019, according to US DOJ officials and court filings.The girls had the letter "D" and a crown tattooed on their bodies, indicating they were being pimped by Edwards, according to documents. New charges filed in connection to Desert Star Motel case Bakersfield police and federal authorities raided the Desert Star Motel in January 2021 after two years of investigation, officials said. Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer called the motel "a mod...

'Influencer' mom found guilty after faking attempted kidnapping in Petaluma, prosecutors say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:00 GMT

(KRON) -- An Instagram "influencer" mom was found guilty by a Sonoma County jury after she made a viral video about a fake kidnapping, prosecutors said. Kathleen "Katie" Sorensen, 31, went viral in 2020 when she told Instagram followers that two strangers tried to kidnap her children while she was shopping in Petaluma.The jury convicted Sorensen on one count of knowingly making a false report of a crime. After the verdict was reached, Judge Laura Passaglia remanded the "influencer" into custody and set bail at $100,000.Sorensen is now facing a maximum sentence of six months in jail.Sonoma County District Attorney Carla Rodriguez said, "This verdict will enable us to hold Ms. Sorensen accountable for her crime, while at the same time helping to exonerate the couple that was falsely accused of having attempted to kidnap two young children. The case is also important in that it illustrates the importance of using social media responsibly."Sorensen shot a seflie video in December 2020 t...

Oakland weekend sideshow at 42nd and International caught on video

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:00 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- There were more illegal sideshows over the weekend here in the Bay Area. This time in the City of Oakland. One business owner got stuck in a sideshow but managed to escape -- by driving right through it.The illegal sideshow in question caused a major disruption to the flow of traffic on Sunday at around 6:45 pm, at the corner of 42nd Avenue and International Boulevard in East Oakland. 3 arrested in string of armed robberies seemingly targeting AAPI community The owner of Oakland's Feelmore Social Bar, Neena Joiner, recorded video of the incident. Joiner was on the way to the bar but got stuck among the other vehicles, however, with a rare front-row view of the sideshow. Sideshows are something the Oakland resident views as a cultural Bay Area phenomenon but also recognizes comes with their own set of problems.After 45 minutes, Joiner saw an opportunity -- a momentary break in the reckless driving exhibition -- and took a chance on getting out of there by ...

Man found dead near Hwy 24 off-ramp Monday morning in Oakland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:00 GMT

(BCN) -- A man's body was found Monday morning near a freeway off-ramp in North Oakland, according to the California Highway Patrol. The body was found about 11:12 a.m., under a tarped structure near the Martin Luther King Jr. Way off-ramp from eastbound Highway 24, the CHP said. Woman walking outside crosswalk hit, killed in San Jose The man was described as Black, 40 to 50 years old, and authorities say drugs may have factored in his death. His name has not been released. Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

Latest statewide snow survey shows plenty of snow remains in Sierra Nevada

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:00 GMT

(BCN) -- The state's latest snowpack measurements are in and the results won't shock anyone who spent the winter in storm-wracked California this year -- there's still a huge amount of snow in the Sierra Nevada. The California Department of Water Resources released its snow survey data Monday after conducting a manual measurement at Phillips Station in El Dorado County and compiling information from its network of 130 snow sensors throughout the state. Clouds cover Bay Area ahead of showers and thunderstorms forecast for Tuesday The manual measurement shows 59 inches of snow with a snow-water equivalent of 30 inches, which is 241 percent of average for Phillips Station on May 1, according to DWR. The sensors show the statewide snowpack's snow-water equivalent at 49.2 inches, or 254 percent of average for this date. "The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water still contained in the snowpack and is a key component of DWR's water supply run-off forecast," DWR offi...

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says 7 bodies discovered during search for 2 missing teen girls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:00 GMT

HENRYETTE, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says 7 bodies discovered during search for 2 missing teen girls.Source

Tsitsipas outlasts Baez to advance to last 16 at Madrid Open

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:00 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Stefanos Tsitsipas felt like he was facing a cheetah on center court at the Madrid Open.Point after point, his opponent Sebastian Baez kept chasing down balls and running around to stay alive in the third-round match.The third-seeded Tsitsipas came through in the clutch moments, though, earning a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 win over the 31st-ranked Argentine to secure a spot in the last 16 of the clay-court tournament on Monday.The Greek won the final four games of the opening set and the last three of the third to book his spot in the next round.“I had to bring the best out of my game,” Tsitsipas said. “He wasn’t missing much. Of course he’s someone that covers and runs around the court pretty well. He definitely utilized that pretty well against me, being able to navigate himself throughout the entire court with ease, just gliding through the court like a cheetah.”Tsitsipas broke for 5-3 in the final set and saved two break points to serve out the match after more than...

At least 6 people dead in Illinois highway windstorm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:58:00 GMT

DIVERNON, Ill. (AP) — A windstorm in southern Illinois kicked up dangerous clouds of blinding dust off farm fields Monday, causing numerous crashes and killing at least six people on Interstate 55, police said.The late morning crashes involved 40 to 60 cars and multiple tractor-trailers, two of which caught fire, Illinois State Police Maj. Ryan Starrick said.At least six people died, he said.I-55 was shut down in both directions in Montgomery County, 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of St. Louis.Starrick told reporters that it was a spring version of a “whiteout situation” typically seen in winter snowstorms.“The cause of the crashes is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway, leading to zero visibility,” he said.Winds at the time were gusting between 35 mph (56 kph) and 45 mph (74 kph), the National Weather Service said.“It’s very flat, very few trees,” meteorologist Chuck Schaffer said. “It’s been very dry across this area really fo...