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Feds, East Bay DAs announce results of massive anti-human trafficking operation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:34 GMT

MARTINEZ — Federal and state authorities in the Bay Area arrested nine people and identified 21 victims of human trafficking over a two-week period as part of a national operation, officials announced at a Wednesday news conference.Dubbed Operation Cross Country, the annual anti-human trafficking campaign originated in the Bay Area 13 years ago and has since gone nationwide. At a news conference headed by the FBI and both District Attorney’s offices in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, officials said they couldn’t discuss specific case information, just the numbers.Of the 21 victims identified, four were children and 17 were adults, authorities said. Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton said charges were “forthcoming” against the nine people arrested but hadn’t been filed yet.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | 60 smuggled people found working in ‘horrible’ conditions at illegal Central Valley marijuana plant Crime an...

San Jose: Good Samaritan, Regional Medical Center hospitals listed in cyber attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:34 GMT

Two major San Jose hospitals may have been impacted by a wide-ranging cyber attack that exposed patient names, zip codes, phone numbers and other private information from one of America’s largest healthcare providers.The list of affected facilities includes Good Samaritan Hospital and Regional Medical Center, which are both owned by the Tenessee-based HCA Healthcare. The company is still determining whose information was taken in the data breach and letters will soon be mailed to patients who had their information stolen. The hack was discovered on July 5 and a preliminary investigation revealed stolen data was taken from an HCA Healthcare computer system that handles email formatting for patients.Other information that was exposed includes patient emails, dates of birth, gender and appointment dates. Credit card and social security numbers were not stolen.Other facilities in the state that may have been affected by the attack include hospitals in Riverside, Thousand Oaks and ...

EU militaries evacuate foreign nationals from Niger

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:34 GMT

By Sam Mednick | Associated PressNIAMEY, Niger — Foreign nationals lined up outside an airport in Niger’s capital to wait for French military evacuation flights Wednesday as defense officials of a regional bloc gathered to discuss how to respond to last week’s military coup in the West African nation.France, Italy and Spain all have announced evacuations of their citizens and other Europeans in the capital, Niamey, following concerns they could become trapped after soldiers detained democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum and seized power.The West African regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened to use force to restore Bazoum to power, but the military-ruled governments of two of Niger’s neighbors have sided with the coup leaders and warned that they would consider any intervention an act of war.A two-day meeting of defense chiefs of the 15-member bloc opened Wednesday in Nigeria’s capital to discuss next steps. Abdel-Fatau Musah, the ECOWAS commissioner f...

Caltech researchers say fiber optic cables can detect, measure earthquakes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:34 GMT

Thousands of miles of fiber-optic cables, already in place across California, can shake up the study of earthquakes.New research out of Caltech used a section of telecommunication fiber to sense and measure a magnitude 6 earthquake, repurposing the assemblies to extract sharper details about the temblor.Zhongwen Zhan, professor of physics at Caltech, said the same fiber optic network used for internet and television can serve as a dense network of makeshift seismometers in a method called DAS, distributed acoustic sensing.“If we can get broader coverage to measure seismic activity, we can revolutionize how we study earthquakes and provide more advance warning,” Zhan said. “Though we cannot predict earthquakes, distributed acoustic sensing will lead to a better understanding of the details underlying how the earth ruptures.”The new study, published Tuesday in “Nature,” examined the light signatures traveling through a stretch of fiber optic cable in the Eastern Sierra Nevada during t...

Disneyland is already decking the halls for the Christmas holiday season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:34 GMT

Disneyland is already making plans for the holiday season in the middle of summer that will fill the Anaheim theme park this winter with seasonal parades, ride overlays, Santa visits, food and decor complete with Christmas trees, faux snow and shimmering icicles.The winter holiday season returns to Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, Downtown Disney and the three Disney resort hotels from Nov. 10 through Jan. 7.SEE ALSO: Disneyland expands booze to 3 more restaurants – against Walt Disney’s wishesHere are all the details for the Christmas holiday season at the Disneyland resort — if you’re tiring of the summer heat and already daydreaming about whatever passes for “winter” in Southern California.The Festival of Holiday at Disney California Adventure in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, Nov 9, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) Disney California AdventureSeasonal décor will fill Disney California Adventure with a 50-foot-tall Christmas tree on Buena Vista Str...

FBI hunts for more victims after woman’s Oregon escape

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:34 GMT

By Gene Johnson and Claire Rush | Associated PressPORTLAND, Ore. — A man who posed as an undercover police officer kidnapped a woman in Seattle, drove her hundreds of miles to his home in Oregon and locked her in a makeshift cinderblock jail cell, from which she bloodied her hands while breaking open the door to escape, the FBI said Wednesday.The man now faces federal charges, and authorities said they are looking for additional victims after linking him to sexual assaults in at least four more states.“This woman was kidnapped, chained, sexually assaulted, and locked in a cinderblock cell,” Stephanie Shark, the assistant special agent in charge of the FBI’s Portland field office, said in a news release. “Her quick thinking and will to survive may have saved other women from a similar nightmare.”After the woman escaped from his home in Klamath Falls, 29-year-old Negasi Zuberi fled the southern Oregon city of roughly 22,000 people but was arrested by loca...

Russia attacks Ukrainian port on Romania border

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:34 GMT

By Hanna Arhirova | Associated PressKYIV, Ukraine — Russian drones on Wednesday hit a Ukrainian port city along the border with Romania, causing significant damage and a huge fire at facilities that are key to Ukrainian grain exports.The attacks followed the end of a deal with Russia that had allowed Ukrainian shipments to world markets from the Black Sea port of Odesa. Since scrapping the deal, Russia has hammered the country’s ports with strikes, compounding the blow to the key industry. In the past two weeks, dozens of drones and missile attacks have targeted the port of Odesa and the region’s river ports, which are being used as alternative routes.The head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, said the city of Izmail, on the Danube River that forms part of the Ukraine-Romania border, was hit in the strikes.Video obtained by The Associated Press showed explosions and a large fire in the distance on the Danube, captured by fishermen in Romania, a NA...

Lake Tahoe foot fondler identified, arrested in NorCal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:34 GMT

(KRON) -- A man with a foot fetish who broke into a Lake Tahoe resort and fondled women's feet has been apprehended, sheriff's investigators said Wednesday. The suspected foot fondler was identified as Mark Anthony Gonzales, 26, of Atwater, Calif., according to the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada. The creepy pre-dawn incidents happened when many tourists were vacationing around Lake Tahoe for the Fourth of July holiday. "During the early morning hours between July 1-3, 2023, an adult male entered two Stateline resort condominiums by opening unlocked screen doors. Once inside, he positioned himself at the foot of the bed and rubbed the feet of two separate adult females," the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office wrote. The women woke up to discover that a complete stranger was fondling their feet, investigators said. The victims confronted the man and he fled. DCSO wrote, "Investigators learned Gonzales was known to local law enforcement in the Atwater/Merced County, California ...

Novato police ask public to help identify home burglars

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:34 GMT

(KRON) -- On Wednesday the Novato Police Department released home surveillance images of two burglars dressed in unique clothing. Police said the duo broke into two homes on July 15, and investigators are still trying to identify the burglars. "The suspects in the photos pried open the front doors to the residences to gain entry. They stole valuable items and then left on foot. The two suspects were seen on video surveillance and one of photos shows the man’s arm with a distinct tattoo on his left bicep area," NPD wrote. Novato police are asking for the public's help to identify the men.(Image via NPD) (Image courtesy NPD) (Image courtesy NPD) Novato police also released tips for improving home security and preventing burglaries: Make your home look occupied, and make it difficult to break in.Lock all outside doors and windows before you leave your home.Leave lights on when you go out.Keep your garage door closed and locked.Sliding glass doors are vulnerable. Special locks are avail...

Freeway shooting on I-880 in Hayward being investigated, no injuries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:25:34 GMT

(KRON) -- There was a non-injury freeway shooting on Interstate 880 in Hayward on Tuesday, according to the California Highway Patrol. Officers with the CHP Hayward Area officer were advised of the shooting, which occurred south of State Route 84, at around 4:46 p.m. Police seek public’s help in locating missing Saratoga teen At the scene, officers located three victims, none of whom sustained injuries in the shooting. The CHP Hayward Area is investigating the shooting, along with assistance from the Golden Gate Investigative Services Unit.No suspect has yet been identified, according to the CHP.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.