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Astronaut Rubio sets record for longest US space trip

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:54 GMT

By Jackie Wattles | CNNAstronaut Frank Rubio has now been in low-Earth orbit for more than 355 days, breaking the record for the longest space mission by a US astronaut.Rubio — who has been on the International Space Station since September 2022 — bested the previous record, held by retired NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, at 1:40 p.m. ET on Monday, according to a spokesperson for the space agency.What’s more, Rubio is on track to reach another significant milestone in a few weeks’ time. A Russian Soyuz capsule is not expected to return him and his two fellow crewmates — cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin — to Earth before September 27.That means Rubio will have spent at least 371 days in orbit once he completes his mission. He is on the cusp of becoming the first American to spend more than one calendar year in microgravity.Yet Rubio’s mission was not originally designed to break records.When Rubio left for the space station aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule on September 21,...

The top six most expensive home sales in Alameda, Piedmont and Oakland, reported the week of Aug. 28

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:54 GMT

A house in Piedmont that sold for $2.7 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in Alameda, Piedmont and Oakland in the past week.In total, six residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past week, with an average price of $1.5 million. The average price per square foot ended up at $988.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of Aug. 28 even if the property may have been sold earlier.6. $375,000, condominium in the 800 block of York StreetThe 621 square-foot condominium in the 800 block of York Street in Oakland has been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in July and the total purchase price was $375,000, $604 per square foot. The condominium was built in 1975. The condominium features one bedrooms and one bathrooms.York Street5. $730,000, condominium in the 600 block of Athol Ave.The sale of the condominium in the 600 block of Athol Ave., Oakland, has been f...

Alameda County DA drops murder charge against Hayward bouncer who killed ejected nightclub attendee

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:54 GMT

OAKLAND — Alameda County prosecutors have dismissed the murder case against a Hayward security guard who shot and killed a nightclub attendee minutes after staff kicked him out of the establishment, court records show.Omar Garrett, 24, of Oakland, has been facing murder charges since May 2022, when he killed Joseph Cornelison outside of a club on the 400 block of A Street in Hayward. Garrett was arrested May 14, the same night as the shooting, but spent a grand total of 11 days in jail because his lawyer convinced a judge to release him without bail, court records show.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | East Bay carjacking suspects arrested following chase, crash Crime and Public Safety | Vehicle driver still sought in hit-and-run death of East Bay bicyclist Crime and Public Safety | Former Oakland PD chief tapped for New Orleans post Crime and Public Safety | East Bay carjacking suspects allow mom to remove inf...

How an affair plays into the impeachment of Texas AG Paxton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:54 GMT

By Paul J. Weber | Associated PressAUSTIN, Texas — How much does an extramarital affair matter to whether Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton keeps his job? An answer may arrive soon.The question hangs over the Republican’s impeachment trial that resumed Tuesday and is approaching the final stretch of testimony before a jury of state senators decides whether Paxton should be removed from office on charges of corruption and bribery. Most of the senators are Republicans and one is his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, although she will not have a vote in the verdict.But she has attended the entire trial so far, including Monday, when she sat in the Senate chamber as one of her husband’s former employees gave an account of the affair in the most public detail to date: How the relationship took a toll on staffers, how she urged Paxton to consider the risks and how she asked him to tell his wife about the woman.“Just because somebody has an affair doesn’t mean they...

Caltrans to alternate partial, full closure of Highway 12 later this month in Santa Rosa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:54 GMT

(BCN) -- Caltrans announced that it will alternate partial and full closures of state Highway 12 in Santa Rosa later this month as part of a paving and concrete slab replacement project. The closures will be divided into day and night shifts between Fulton Road and Dutton Avenue beginning Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. through Sept. 25 at 5 a.m.. The highway will be fully closed during night shifts, which begin at 8 p.m. and end at 5 a.m. or 8 a.m. Detours will guide motorists around the closed portion of the freeway, the transport agency said. During the day shifts, which run from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., one of two lanes in each direction will be closed. Motorists traveling on Highway 12 between Fulton Road and Dutton Avenue should prepare for significant delays or choose an alternative route, according to Caltrans. CHP arrest alleged suspect in Oakland freeway shooting The state agency said the weekend closures will help speed up the demolishing and recasting of concrete pavement slabs, w...

Houston Rockets’ Kevin Porter Jr. fractured girlfriend’s vertebrae in NYC assault, prosecutors say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:54 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr.’s alleged attack on his girlfriend in a New York City hotel room left the woman with a fractured neck vertebrae and a deep cut above her right eye, prosecutors revealed at his arraignment Tuesday.Porter, 23, is charged with felony assault and strangulation in connection with the incident early Monday at the Millennium Hilton near the United Nations in Manhattan. Prosecutors said he didn’t stop until his girlfriend, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, ran out into the hallway covered in blood.Porter was not required to enter a plea during his brief court appearance.The NBA star, who had been in police custody since his arrest around 6:45 a.m. Monday, was ordered to post $75,000 cash or obtain a $100,000 bond to secure his release. He was also ordered to stay away from Gondrezick.“This is a serious domestic violence case,” Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Mirah Curzer said in court.According to Curzer, Porter has...

Montenegro police probe who built underground tunnel leading to court depot holding drugs, and why

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:54 GMT

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) — Police in Montenegro said Tuesday they have launched an investigation after an underground tunnel was discovered linking an apartment building with a nearby court depot holding seized drugs and other crime evidence, officials said Tuesday.The discovery was made on Monday at the Higher Court in Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital, which handles various important crime cases, said Interior Minister Filip Adzic. It remains unclear why the tunnel was dug, officials said, adding that nothing appeared to have been taken away. The court depot contains evidence in current cases but also large amounts of confiscated drugs, officials said.“This was a well-planned and organized action, which has been prepared for months and which resembles action movies,” said Adzic, adding that the apartment from where the underground tunnel started was leased a few months ago.Montenegro, a small NATO member state on the Adriatic Sea, has pledged to fight crime and corruption as...

France’s Foreign Ministry says one of its officials has been arrested in military-run Niger

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:54 GMT

PARIS (AP) — France’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that one of its officials has been arrested in military-run Niger, and called for the junta to immediately release him.Military officers in Niger deposed elected President Mohamed Bazoum in July and later ordered French officials to leave the country — an order that France has refused to heed, saying that Niger’s junta is not the country’s legitimate authority.The ministry said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that Stephane Jullien, counsellor for French citizens abroad, was arrested last Friday, and called for his “immediate release.”French President Emmanuel Macron has said that France’s ambassador would stay at his post in Niger despite being asked to leave, Addressing ambassadors in August, Macron dismissed concerns that standing up to the junta could be dangerous.Source

More about culture than competition, HBCU classics are like a family reunion in the Black community

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:54 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — As a crowd made its way into the nearby football stadium, a father watched his two sons toss a ball back and forth. Hot dogs sizzled on a smoky charcoal grill nearby. The music from a DJ’s live set a few yards over was so loud it reverberated off the ground as lyrics from “Before I Let Go,” the hit by the soul band Frankie Beverly and Maze, prompted tailgaters to break out in dance.This particular intersection of sports and culture was outside Hard Rock Stadium, where the historically Black universities Florida A&M and Jackson State were playing in the annual Orange Blossom Classic. The outcome of the game meant bragging rights for the next year, of course, and the tailgating here had many of the same trappings you might find at a game in the Southeastern Conference or Big Ten.The reasons for attending this multi-day event are about much more than that.HBCU Classics are a beloved staple in the Black community. More than just competitions, they ar...

For HBCUs, the bands are about much more than the show to the Black community: ‘This is family’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:45:54 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — It’s almost 10 p.m. and still a sweltering, sticky 95 degrees when Texas Southern’s Ocean of Soul band marches onto the top of a parking garage a stone’s throw from downtown Houston.The glittering skyline is close enough to provide some illumination to the dimly lit structure. It reveals beads of sweat dripping off many faces as the students near the end of a 10-hour rehearsal day. One of the three drum majors, Dominique Conner, speeds through his bandmates, handing out kudos when earned and criticism when needed.Band director Brian Simmons climbs to the top of a nearby ladder and lifts a bullhorn.“Everything you do matters,” he barks.Just why more than 100 student musicians are honing their routines on a giant slab of concrete in the brutal August heat of a Houston summer is a microcosm, in many ways, of life at a historically Black college or university like Texas Southern. They are here because it’s the best available option at a school where resources are rarely p...