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Meet the woman who helped save a kidnapped 13-year-old girl

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:40 GMT

A Good Samaritan from Long Beach is being hailed as a hero after coming to the aid of a young girl who was allegedly kidnapped, repeatedly raped, and taken from Texas to California. Touch Vong believes it was an act of God that the 13-year-old victim and her alleged captor walked into the laundromat where she works on July 9. The suspect, later identified as Steven Robert Sablan, 61, of Cleburne, Texas, asked Vong about a nearby restaurant’s hours. Despite knowing it was closed for the day, something told her to tell the man to stay in the parking lot. “God let me know...that’s why I stopped him,” Vong told KTLA 5’s Ellina Abovian on Friday. “Because I know the restaurant wasn’t open [on Sundays], but I said wait until 11 so they open.” “If I didn’t say that...she might be gone,” Vong said. On the morning of July 9, 2023, Sablan parked his Nissan Sentra in a car lot in Long Beach and took their clothes to a laundromat. While he was inside, the girl scrawled ...

WATCH: Bear puts safety cone back into place along California roadway

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:40 GMT

Video shared by Caltrans Friday shows a bear putting a fallen safety cone back into place along a roadway.Though it is unclear when and where the video was captured, officials made sure to praise the furry pedestrian.“This bear deserves the ‘Bear of the Year’ award!” Caltrans tweeted. “While his buddy before him caused traffic cone chaos, this bear showed us what safety partners are all about! Let's all take notes from this responsible bear and be like him! Stay safe out there!”After fixing the orange cone, the bear continued on its walk.

'Crazy brain' sharks high on cocaine, experts say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:40 GMT

Animals hopped up on cocaine is not a new concept; the February film “Cocaine Bear” loosely chronicled the bizarre true story of when a 175-pound black bear ingested cocaine that was thrown out of a drug smuggling plane in 1985. However, with Discovery Channel’s Shark Week right around the corner, scientists have revealed the possible discovery of sharks in the Atlantic Ocean that have ingested cocaine. Experts say that sharks may be gobbling up bales of drugs that were dumped into the water off the coast by smugglers.   Hungry bear seen rummaging through trash in Monrovia Biologists studying the phenomenon reported seeing a hammerhead shark swimming into discarded packages and biting into them. After ingesting the drugs, the sharks were observed to be behaving erratically, causing what scientists call "crazy brain."A documentary focusing on sharks on cocaine is set to premiere during Shark Week, which begins on Sunday. 

Infant Dead, 2 Hurt in Pedestrian Crash on King Road [San Jose, CA]

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:40 GMT

Pedestrian Collision on Havana Drive Left 2 Injured, 1 Infant KilledSAN JOSE, CA (July 22, 2023) – On Tuesday evening, a pedestrian crash on King Road left an infant killed and two injured.The incident happened on July 18th, at around 11:40 p.m. when a car southbound on King Road beat a green light and struck a woman and two children.According to reports a male individual was driving southbound on King Road in his 2004 Chevy Tahoe when he came upon a green light at Havana Drive and collided with a mother and two children who were crossing westbound on King Road outside of an unauthorized intersection.Emergency crews arrived at the scene shortly after and rushed them to a nearby hospital.Medics then pronounced the infant dead at the scene.It is currently unclear whether the driver was treated at the scene or taken to a hospital.Investigators state that neither drugs nor alcohol were factors in the collision.The Sweet James team sends their warm and sincerest sympathies out to t...

United Airlines flight returns to San Francisco due to ‘disruptive passenger’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:40 GMT

A United Airlines flight traveling to Taiwan from San Francisco International Airport returned to the Bay Area Thursday night due to what the airline referred to as a “disruptive passenger”.United Flight 871 returned to SFO due to the passenger. The aircraft landed safely and the passenger was removed. The flight is expected to depart from SFO late Thursday evening.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | 4 money moves to make if your flight is canceled or delayed Crime and Public Safety | These 10 airports are the most chaotic in Europe this summer Crime and Public Safety | Travel Troubleshooter: I paid twice for my checked luggage on Avianca. I want a refund! Crime and Public Safety | One dead, another critically injured after plane crash at San Rafael Airport Crime and Public Safety | Plane crashes into Lake Tahoe, boaters rescue two people “United Flight 871 returned to San Francis...

Yale study: How OxyContin marketing led to death, disease years later

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:40 GMT

That OxyContin is highly addictive is well known, as is that Purdue Pharma’s intensive marketing of the opioid painkiller led to thousands of overdose deaths and the company’s bankruptcy in 2013.But a new study in the July 19 issue of Health Affairs, led by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health, shows that the marketing of OxyContin also brought a rise in infectious diseases and fatal heart infections.Authors Julia Dennett, a postdoctoral associate, and Gregg Gonsalves, associate professor of epidemiology, say in the study that marketing of OxyContin, the Purdue Pharma brand name for extended-release oxycodone, led to an increase in hepatitis and deaths from infective endocarditis, a bacterial infection of the heart valves. “By comparing U.S. states that saw heavier OxyContin promotion with states that experienced less, the Yale study shows for the first time that this marketing caused long-term rises not only in overdose deaths but also in hepatitis diagnoses and deaths f...

Swifties: Friendship bracelets are okay at Levi’s after all

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:40 GMT

Friendship bracelets will be permitted at Levi’s Stadium for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” stop in Santa Clara, Levi’s Stadium stadium officials announced Friday morning on Twitter, retracting a tweet sent out yesterday that sparked a social media storm from outraged Swifties.The news that the popular homemade bracelets wouldn’t be allowed came on the heels of stadium officials’ announcement that tailgating — or Taylgating, as fans call it — would also not be allowed outside the venue or even in the parking lot for the July 28 and July 29 concerts. Many fans both with and without the pricey tickets, had planned to do just that.Related ArticlesEntertainment | Levi’s Stadium sets off Swifties, bans tailgating — and now friendship bracelets too? Entertainment | Santa Clara makes Taylor Swift honorary mayor, renames the city ‘Swiftie Clara’ Entertainment | Why Taylor Swi...

Newly discovered sponge named after Monterey Bay National Marine Sancturary

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:40 GMT

By Toby Roca | Bay City NewsResearchers have published the scientific description of a newly discovered sponge, Megaciella sanctuarium, which they named in honor of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary off the Central Coast of California.Professor Tom Turner, a sponge expert from the University of California Santa Barbara, discovered Megaciella sanctuarium and 11 other previously-unknown species of sponges in the fall of 2021 during a research cruise in the Carmel Pinnacles StateMarine Reserve, which is nestled within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.Turner named all 12 new species, several of which are considered rare or have very restricted distributions, as they were not found in similar undersea areas outside of Carmel Bay.Aside from Megaciella sanctuarium being named after the sanctuary, Turner named one sponge species after the indigenous Rumsen people of Monterey, one after the town of Carmel, and one after nearby Point Lobos.Turner had explored the area with Stev...

Mom of U.S. teen accused of trying to join Islamic State blames FBI ‘encouragement’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:40 GMT

By COLLEEN SLEVIN | Associated PressDENVER  — The mother of an 18-year-old who is accused of trying to become a fighter for the Islamic State group says her son has never had the motivation to follow through with things.Deanna Meyer testified Thursday that she does not think her son, Devin Meyer, would have taken action to travel to the Middle East were it not for the support of people he recently met who shared his views. That included FBI informants posing as Islamic State facilitators.“I bet my life he would never do that without that encouragement,” Deanna Meyer said in federal court in an unsuccessful attempt to convince a judge to allow her son to stay with her while he is being prosecuted. He was arrested Friday as he tried to board a plane to Turkey and has been charged with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.Deanna Meyer was responding to a question from Magistrate Judge N. Reid Neureiter about whether her son, who has auti...

San Franciscans urged to play (or sing) 'I Left My Heart in San Francisco' Friday

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:40 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- As the world -- and San Francisco in particular -- mourns the sad passing of Tony Bennett, the organizer of an event commemorating Bennett's greatest hit is planning a new tribute. In 2020, for the 50th anniversary of Bennett's iconic, "I Left My Heart in San Francisco," David Perry coordinated the #SingOutSF event. SF restaurant named among most ‘legendary’ in the world The event, which occurred at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, saw social media users come together across the city of San Francisco to join together in singing the song. With Bennett himself participating, appearing on social media wearing a Giants jersey and urging San Franciscans to join in, the event became a viral moment that brought people together at a time they were being asked to remain apart."I am proud to see San Francisco come together and make a difference during this uncertain time," Bennett tweeted at the time. "Today at 12pm, we'll sing I Left My Heart in San Francisco to...