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Bay Area man avoids jail on charge of dropping off meth for incarcerated prison gang associate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

OAKLAND — A Bay Area man has avoided jail time for dropping off methamphetamine to a man who turned out to be an undercover FBI informant, at the behest of an incarcerated prison gang associate, court records show.Martin Ruppel Jr., 44, was one of dozens arrested in 2021 during a lengthy federal investigation into the Nuestra Familia gang. Earlier this month he pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge, admitting that he picked up a pound of methamphetamine from a woman, then immediately dropped it off with the informant during a meeting at a parking lot in Hayward.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Man shot while walking to car from Oakland BART station Crime and Public Safety | Former San Mateo resident pleads guilty to embezzling $1.19 million from law firm Crime and Public Safety | Second suspect in Peninsula carjacking arrested Crime and Public Safety | Ex-Mountain View school teacher arrested on suspicion...

Review: ‘Persona 5 Tactica’ successfully adapts beloved series to strategy genre

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

Japan releases plenty of role-playing games, but few have the staying power of “Persona 5.” Although this entry to the long-running series is 7 years old, fans can’t get enough of Joker and the other Phantom Thieves. The title has spawned several spin-offs including several anime series, a rhythm game and an action RPG.Now, some of the original developers from P-Studio are adapting the gameplay to a new genre. As the name implies, “Persona 5 Tactica” takes the characters and elements and meshes them into a turn-based strategy game. It’s more like “Fire Emblem” or “Mario + Rabbids” than a conventional Japanese RPG.THE STORY SO FAR …In this entry, Joker and the Phantom Thieves find themselves unexpectedly transported to a mysterious kingdom that appears straight out of 18th-century France. It’s ruled by a maniacal dictator named Marie, who charms Joker’s friends and turns them into her loyal minions. Just as...

Auto dealership buys site of popular Walnut Creek sports bar and grill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

WALNUT CREEK — A Bay Area auto dealership has bought the site of a popular sports bar and restaurant in a deal that could signal a new use for the Walnut Creek property.Price Simms Management, which is associated with Price Family Dealerships and Tom Price Automotive, has bought the location where Masses Sports Bar & Grill operates at the corner of North Main Street and Second Avenue, according to documents on file with the Contra Costa County Recorder’s Office.The automotive dealership chain, acting through an affiliate, paid $12.5 million to buy the property, whose addresses include 2717 and 2721 North Main Street and 1510 and 1530 Second Avenue in Walnut Creek, the county real estate records show.2717 and 2721 North Main Street at the corner of Second Avenue, a commercial center in Walnut Creek, shown within the outline. Boundaries are approximate. (Google Maps)The Price Simms Management affiliate also obtained a loan from Toyota Motor Credit Corp. at the tim...

Rolling Stones 'Hackney Diamonds' tour to close at Levi's Stadium

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Last month, The Rolling Stones released “Hackney Diamonds,” their first album of original material in 18 years.Tuesday, the legendary English band announced they're taking it on the road.Starting on April 28 in Houston and concluding in Santa Clara, California, on July 17, the Stones will make their way across the U.S. and Canada. South Bay coffee shop burglarized The tour hits 16 major cities, including New Orleans, Las Vegas, Seattle, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles and Vancouver, British Columbia.Fans can expect to experience the Stones' most popular hits as well as new tracks from “Hackney Diamonds," the band's “best new work in decades,” as The Associated Press' Jocelyn Noveck wrote in her review of the album. She argues the 12-song collection is “tight, focused, full of heart and swagger.”The Stones last performed across the U.S. in 2021 for their No Filter tour, marking the first time the band had toured without dru...

Suspect who led police on dramatic rooftop to rooftop pursuit arrested by San Pablo PD

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

(KRON) -- A man allegedly responsible for two vehicle thefts has been arrested, the San Pablo Police Department announced Monday. On Oct. 29. San Pablo officers were signaled by a man who said he witnessed his brother’s Chevy Suburban being stolen by two people down the street, police said. Officers responded to the location of the alleged vehicle theft. Upon arrival, the two auto thieves dropped their tools and quickly ran away, police said. Officers chased the two suspects through several backyards until they both climbed onto the roofs of nearby houses and began jumping from rooftop to rooftop. According to police, the suspects were seen attempting to break into a house during the chase. The Richmond Police Department assisted San Pablo officers by setting a large perimeter in the area. The California Highway Patrol Air Support Division also assisted the SPPD, utilizing a CHP helicopter to catch the suspects. K-9 officers also supported the pursuit. Officers w...

Lowe’s, Best Buy fall; Medtronic, Dick’s Sporting Goods rise, Tuesday, 11/21/2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that are trading heavily or have substantial price changes on Tuesday:Lowe’s Companies Inc. (LOW), down $5.63 to $198.91.The home-improvement retailer trimmed its earnings and revenue forecasts for the year.Medtronic Plc. (MDT), up $3 to $78.16.The medical device company raised its earnings and revenue forecasts.Analog Devices Inc. (ADI), down $2.35 to $181.47.The medical device company gave investors a disappointing financial forecast.Agilent Technologies Inc. (A), up $9.78 to $123.76.The scientific instrument maker reported strong fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue.Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (MLM), up $7.59 to $462.80.The seller of granite, limestone, sand and gravel is selling its south Texas cement business to CRH for $2.1 billion.Jacobs Solutions Inc. (J), down $10.60 to $126.38.The construction and technical services company reported weak fiscal fourth-quarter earnings.Best Buy Co. (BBY), down 61 cents to $67.51.The consumer electronics...

Padres give Mike Shildt another chance to manage 2 years after his Cardinals exit, AP source says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Mike Shildt has been hired as manager of the San Diego Padres, returning to the dugout two years after he was suddenly fired by the St. Louis Cardinals following a third straight playoff appearance, a person with knowledge of the situation said Tuesday.The person spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the hire hadn’t been announced. The announcement was expected sometime Tuesday morning.Shildt replaces Bob Melvin, who was hired away by the San Francisco Giants on Oct. 25 with a year left on his contract with the Padres. That ended a fractured two-year relationship with general manager A.J. Preller.Shildt was voted NL Manager of the Year in 2019 while with the Cardinals. He takes over a big-spending team that flopped dramatically in 2023, a year after making a stirring run to the NL Championship Series and after increasing its opening day payroll to $258 million, third highest in the majors.Shildt has been a senior advisor to the majo...

Bahrain government websites briefly inaccessible after cyberattack over Israel-Hamas war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The websites of two government ministries in Bahrain briefly became inaccessible Tuesday night after a cyberattack took them down, purportedly over the island kingdom’s stance on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.A statement posted online by a self-described group calling itself Al-Toufan, or “The Flood” in Arabic, claimed hacking the Foreign Ministry and the Information Affairs Ministry’s websites. Both later became accessible.Another statement included scans of passports for American citizens and a top Russian diplomat in Bahrain that allegedly came from the hack.The statement said the hacks came in retaliation for “the abnormal statements issued” by the island’s Al Khalifa ruling family, without elaborating. Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa opened a summit last week in the kingdom with a call for a swap between Hamas and Israel for the hostages and a halt in the bloodshed.A Bahrain government statement sent later T...

North Korea launches a rocket in what may be its 3rd attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Tuesday made an apparent third attempt to place a military spy satellite into orbit, its neighbors said, demonstrating its determination to build a space-based surveillance system during protracted tensions with the United States.It wasn’t immediately known whether the launch was successful. But it is certain to invite strong condemnation from the United States and its partners because the U.N. bans North Korea from conducting satellite launches, calling them covers for tests of missile technology.South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launch of what North Korea has described as a military spy satellite from the North’s main space center in the northwest on Tuesday night. Japan said it also spotted a North Korean launch.According to South Korean and Japanese assessments, a North Korean rocket carrying the purported spy satellite flew above international waters off the Korean Peninsula’s west coast and then over the Japanese...

Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson is expected to miss six weeks with an oblique injury

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:48:05 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson is expected to be out six weeks after suffering an oblique injury in the struggling team’s latest loss.General manager Jarmo Kekalainen announced Severson’s prognosis Tuesday that will likely keep the 29-year-old out until after the New Year.Severson dived to try to keep the puck in the offensive zone on a play in the second period Sunday at Philadelphia before the Blue Jackets gave up a short-handed goal. He left the ice and did not return.The Blue Jackets are on a nine-game losing streak and have blown a lead in seven of them. “We shoot ourself in the foot,” first-year coach Pascal Vincent said Saturday after a loss at Washington. “We make mistakes at the wrong time, and it’s costing us games, costing us points. So it’s getting old.”Severson is playing nearly 21 minutes a game for the Blue Jackets and has eight points in 19 games.In an additional roster move, Columbus sent winger Trey Fix-Wolansky to...