Embattled Missouri House speaker hires a former House speaker who pleaded guilty to assault

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:48 GMT

Embattled Missouri House speaker hires a former House speaker who pleaded guilty to assault COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri’s troubled House speaker is getting blowback after he hired another former House speaker who had pleaded guilty to assault to be his chief of staff.Republican Speaker Dean Plocher's hiring of former speaker Rod Jetton is “a gross affront to survivors of domestic violence,” Democratic House Minority Leader Crystal Quade said Thursday.Jetton in 2011 pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault while admitting that he hit and choked a woman during a sexual encounter in November 2009. He was sentenced to probation.“The speaker’s hiring of a man who pleaded guilty to assault for hitting and choking a woman during a sexual encounter is a gross affront to domestic violence survivors," Quade said in a statement. “An admitted abuser of women has no business holding a position of influence in the Missouri House, and his hiring marks a failure of both judgment and leadership by the speaker.” Rush-hour demonstrations unfold in St. Louis Cit...

The culture of film is being revived in St. Louis

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:48 GMT

The culture of film is being revived in St. Louis ST. LOUIS - It’s a form of art and imagination that's transformed times of hardship and opportunity here in the area. It's why the St. Louis International Film Festival is celebrating hip-hop."Just listen to the words and listen to people's stories," Hady Sow said.Sow, from New York City, found himself in St. Louis during the 32nd annual St. Louis International Film Festival."We unite the world through film," Chris Clark, the artistic director of Cinema St. Louis, said.The opening night of the festival falls on the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, presenting the perfect opportunity to reflect on its impact.Sow’s love for the musical genre inspired him to travel more than 900 miles to watch “House Party” on the big screen at the festival."There's been a long tradition that's always been thriving and will never really go away," Clark said.According to Clark, it’s been a focal point that’s been missing in the area."The last 10 years or so, we did not have a film credit, but it was just rei...

Kraken score first (again) and last to hand Avalanche first home loss of the season

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:48 GMT

Kraken score first (again) and last to hand Avalanche first home loss of the season Seattle’s Oliver Bjorkstand scored with 31.6 seconds left Thursday night to stun the Avalanche in a 4-3 victory at Ball Arena.It was Bjorkstand’s second goal of the game, and it led to Colorado’s first home loss of the season. It’s also the first time the Avs (8-4-0) have lost a game this season while scoring at least one goal. Beyond the team’s fourth loss in six games, the Avs also lost forward Artturi Lehkonen to injury after he took a hit along the boards.Colorado had trailed for nearly 34 minutes Thursday night when Valeri Nichushkin deflected a Devon Toews point shot past Seattle goaltender Philipp Grubauer with 7:45 left in regulation. The Kraken had led by two goals twice, but Nichushkin’s second tally of the season leveled the score at 3-3.Nichushkin missed practice Wednesday and the morning skate to be with his wife, who gave birth to their daughter, Anna.Bjorkstand gave Seattle a two-goal lead early in the second period on a weird play....

Buyers demand more concessions, but Denver housing prices hold steady

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:48 GMT

Buyers demand more concessions, but Denver housing prices hold steady Although the Denver metro’s median close price held steady at $585,000 in October, the close-price-to-list-price ratio dropped slightly to 98.9% as more homebuyers demanded concessions from sellers.According to the monthly report from the Denver Metro Association of Realtors, in October, 57.9% percent of closed transactions included an average seller concession of $9,390.That’s up from September, which recorded 56.4% of closings with an average seller concession of $9,214. In October 2022, 50.7% of closed transactions required sellers to pay an average concession of $7,553.With interest rates hovering above 8%, most buyers used those concessions to buy down their interest rates or cover closing costs.“Concessions — no matter what market one is in — seem to be the name of the game. I recently closed on several properties at the $1.3 million price point,” said Andrew Abrams with Abrams Momentum Group, who’s also a DMAR Market Trends Committee member. R...

Hit-and-run driver kills motorcyclist in San Fernando Valley

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:48 GMT

Hit-and-run driver kills motorcyclist in San Fernando Valley Police are searching for the driver of a vehicle involved in a deadly hit-and-run crash that killed a motorcyclist in the San Fernando Valley Thursday night, authorities with the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to KTLA. Calls about the three-vehicle crash in the 8600 block of North Woodley Avenue in North Hills came in at around 6:40 p.m. Surveillance footage of the incident obtained by KTLA shows the driver of a Harley Davidson making a left turn out of a strip mall parking lot when the victim is fatally broadsided by the driver of a white sedan. In the aftermath of the violent collision, a heavily damaged four-door Toyota sedan with severe damage to its front end can be seen. Police have not yet confirmed that was the vehicle operated by the hit-and-run driver, nor have they said whether the hit-and-run suspect fled the area on foot or continued on in their own vehicle. A motorcyclist was killed in a hit-and-run crash in North Hills on Nov. 9, 2023. (TNLA)A motorcyclist wa...

Stanford: Authorities release sketch of hate crime suspect

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:48 GMT

Stanford: Authorities release sketch of hate crime suspect The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2023, released this sketch of a man wanted in connection with a hit-and-run collision last week at Stanford University. The incident is being investigated as a hate crime. (Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office) STANFORD UNIVERSITY — Authorities on Thursday released a sketch of a man wanted in connection with a hit-and-run collision last week at Stanford University that is being investigated as a hate crime.The incident happened around 1:50 p.m. on Nov. 3 at the intersection of Campus Drive and Ayrshire Farm Lane.The victim, an Arab Muslim student at the school, was crossing the street when he was hit by a driver, who yelled “f*** you and your people,” the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. The victim told authorities he believed he was singled out because of his shirt, which had the word “Damascus” written in Arabic.The sheriff’s office said the victim was taken to a hospital with injuri...

Haney-Prograis: First SF title fight in years expected to sell out Chase Center

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:48 GMT

Haney-Prograis: First SF title fight in years expected to sell out Chase Center SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- San Francisco has not hosted a world title fight in over a decade. In fact, the most notable boxing event since might have been back in 2001 when Floyd Mayweather fought at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, and Manny Pacquiao was on the undercard. The fight between Bay Area native Devin Haney and Regis Prograis on Dec. 9 at Chase Center is being received well by locals.More than 10,000 tickets have been sold for the WBC super lightweight championship, a spokesperson for event promoter Matchroom Boxing told KRON4. With the event being one month away, the boxing promotion says it "expects this event to be sold out, which is fantastic." Bay Area native Devin Haney to fight in San Francisco for city’s first major boxing event in years Nearly 9,000 tickets were sold in the first week when tickets first went on sale in October. Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn said last month that the number is "amazing," considering some reservations about bringing a fight to a city t...

Led by Frank Gore Jr.’s 3 TDs, Southern Miss gets 34-31 OT win over Louisiana-Lafayette

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:48 GMT

Led by Frank Gore Jr.’s 3 TDs, Southern Miss gets 34-31 OT win over Louisiana-Lafayette LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — Frank Gore Jr. ran for 158 yards and accounted for three touchdowns that included the game winner in overtime to help Southern Mississippi beat Louisiana-Lafayette 34-31 on Thursday night. Louisiana-Lafayette scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns to go up 28-21 with 5:55 remaining. But Ethan Crawford then led Southern Miss on a 10-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jakarius Caston, that tied it 28-all with 1:26 left. The Ragin’ Cajuns couldn’t cross midfield on the next possession to force overtime. Kenneth Almendares kicked a 34-yard field goal for the Ragin’ Cajuns in the first possession of OT before Gore ran into the end zone from the 3-yard line. Gore also caught an 18-yard touchdown pass from Billy Wiles in the second quarter and ran for a 17-yard score in the third. Chandler Fields launched a 51-yard touchdown pass to Harvey Broussard in the end zone that tied the game at 21. On the ensuing possession, Gore had the...

Virginia RB Perris Jones hurt, carted off field and taken to hospital after hit by Louisville

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:48 GMT

Virginia RB Perris Jones hurt, carted off field and taken to hospital after hit by Louisville LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Virginia running back Perris Jones was immobilized on a flat board and carted off the field after being injured on a play late in the third quarter against No. 11 Louisville on Thursday night.Jones caught a 7-yard pass from Anthony Colandrea and fumbled after a hard hit on his helmet by Cam’Ron Kelly with several other Cardinals nearby. Malik Washington scooped up the ball near the right sideline and dashed down the field for the go-ahead touchdown to make 21-14.Spectators in L&N Stadium fell silent as medical personnel from Virginia and Louisville quickly rushed to tend to Jones as he lay on the turf, and a cart quickly entered the field. Players from both teams knelt for about 15 minutes as Jones was treated and gently lifted onto the board with his head wrapped between two pads, and then onto the cart as Cavaliers players gathered around.Fans and players applauded Jones as the cart left the field. He was taken to UofL Hospital for observation.There was ...

Pride on the line when 2019 champion England and Pakistan meet at the Cricket World Cup

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:48:48 GMT

Pride on the line when 2019 champion England and Pakistan meet at the Cricket World Cup Defending champion England and unpredictable Pakistan started among the favorites to reach the Cricket World Cup semifinals, but the teams meet Saturday to play for pride above anything else.England will be hoping to sign off from a forgettable title defense with three wins from nine games after starting with a thumping nine-wicket loss to New Zealand in a rematch of the 2019 final. England’s run in India also included a streak of five consecutive losses.And Pakistan needs a near impossible 287-run win over England in Kolkata to replace New Zealand in the No. 4 semifinal spot on net run-rate. Pakistan, which has played just one World Cup semifinal — in 2011 — since losing the final to Australia in 1999, was in somewhat of a similar position in the 2019 World Cup. It needed to beat Bangladesh by more than 300 runs in the last league game to knock the Black Caps out of the semifinals, but couldn’t achieve the outcome.England is aiming for back-to-back wins after a 160-run ...