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Las Vegas police officer set to go on trial over $165k stolen in 3 casino heists

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:07 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A trial for a Las Vegas police officer accused of stealing nearly $165,000 in a series of casino heists is set to begin Monday with prosecutors painting him as a gambling addict who grew increasingly desperate under a crush of debt.Prosecutors claim Caleb Rogers, 35, carried out three robberies over a span of four months while armed with a weapon issued by the police department.Rogers’ attorney, Richard Pocker, said the government’s evidence allegedly tying Rogers to two of the robberies is weak. He accused the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department detectives of pressuring two people, including Rogers’ brother, into identifying him as the suspect in the robberies to close out the cases. Rogers made off with more than $85,000 in the first two robberies between November 2021 and January 2022 at casinos off the Las Vegas Strip while his police colleagues spent months trying to catch the thief, investigators and prosecutors said. Rogers near...

Phoenix to show compliance with court order to clear ‘The Zone’ homeless encampment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:07 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — The city of Phoenix will go to court Monday to prove it has met a deadline to clear a large homeless encampment, an action that has drawn pushback from civil rights advocates. As part of a civil lawsuit, city officials will have a three-day trial to show they have complied with a judge’s order and cleaned up the area known as “The Zone.” Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Scott Blaney sided with business owners and residents in June and declared the tent city in south Phoenix a public nuisance. He also found that while the city was following a law against criminalizing public camping, it arbitrarily enforced others despite health and safety risks. The plaintiffs described having to witness drug activity, lewd acts and other criminal activity in front of their door or steps away from their property. Like several other major cities, Phoenix has had to balance the concerns of employers and homeowners with respecting the rights of homeless people.The U.S. 9th Circ...

Trump and DeSantis begin eyeing Super Tuesday states as they prepare for 2024 long game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:07 GMT

As the Republican presidential primary intensifies this summer, most White House hopefuls are devoting their time to events in Iowa and New Hampshire, the states that kick off the nomination process early next year. Not Ron DeSantis or Donald Trump.The Florida governor will address more than 1,500 faithful Republicans on Saturday at Nashville’s Music City Center. A few weeks later, the former president will swing through Alabama to headline the state GOP’s biggest event of the summer.Trump, the early GOP frontrunner, and DeSantis, who is trailing him for second place, are hardly ignoring voters in the states that jumpstart the Republican contest. Over the past month, they’ve both held rallies and other major events in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, sometimes even appearing in the same state on the same day. But they are doing more than the other GOP candidates to strengthen their position in states like Tennessee and Alabama that will hold elections on so-...

Nuggets summer league observations: Julian Strawther hits floor, Peyton Watson shows enough and Collin Gillespie heats up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:07 GMT

Observations from the Denver Nuggets’ 98-93 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.Elementary, Watson: That’s it, we’re adequately convinced. Peyton Watson is ready for his second year of pro basketball. The UCLA product has shown enough through two games on the offensive end (38 points on 12-of-23 shooting) that he may very well not suit up again in Las Vegas. For Watson, it wasn’t just that he scored efficiently, it was the way that he did it: attacking the rim, pulling up at the elbows for jumpers and even hitting a silky step-back on an isolation play in the first half Sunday night. That is what the Nuggets wanted to see from Watson in Vegas. While it’s mildly troubling that he didn’t do much else Sunday night — Watson had just two rebounds for a Denver squad that struggled on the glass vs. Atlanta — that part of his game is already well established.Strawther shows toughness: If took six quarters,...

Authorities seek public's help locating at-risk 61-year-old man missing out of Cerritos

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:07 GMT

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help in locating an at-risk 61-year-old man missing out of the Cerritos area, authorities announced Sunday.  Keith John Robbins, who is also known as “Keefers,” was last seen on July 5 at 11 p.m. in the 11600 block of Gonsalves Street in Cerritos, according to the LASD missing person bulletin. Robbins, a resident of L.A. County, is described as a white male who stands 5 foot 10 inches tall, weighing approximately 180 pounds with brown hair, brown eyes, a goatee and has missing teeth.  The 61-year-old may have been driving a blue 2023 Kia Soul with California license plate 9EUF515.  Keith John Robbins, 61, was last seen on July 5 in Cerritos. He may have been driving a blue 2023 Kia Soul, seen here. (LASD)“There is concern for this missing person’s well-being,” the release noted.  Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Missi...

PBS Short Film Fest explores DC shoes, opioid crisis and prison pregnancy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:07 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews the PBS Short Film Fest (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); The 12th annual PBS Short Film Festival returns to the nation’s capital for your enlightenment and enjoyment.This year’s theme is “Stories in Bloom,” featuring 23 short documentary and narrative films from its 330 member stations across the country that will be available to stream on all P...

US beats Canada 3-2 in shootout after 2-2 tie to reach CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:07 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Matt Turner told his American teammates not to worry when their match against Canada went to penalty kicks.“He had the last word before we went out to the field,” U.S. interim coach B.J. Callaghan said. “It’s just encouraging the guys to stay calm, stay committed to what they’ve practiced.”Turner stopped two penalty kicks, and the American beat Canada 3-2 in the shootout after a 2-2 draw Sunday night for a berth in a CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal against Panama. The U.S. had not won a shootout since 2005.“A lot of the penalties that I had seen on my sheets or in my preparation, most of those guys were off the pitch by the time the pens were there,” Turner said. “I just trusted my instincts, really, and typically when I do that, I find myself having a lot more success.”Brandon Vázquez gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead in the 88th minute, but Steven Vitória tied the score in the third minute of stoppage time with a penalty kick after a hand ball on Miles Robinson. Jacob Shaffel...

Two arrested in connection with fatal Mission Beach attack

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:07 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Authorities have arrested a 17-year-old and 18-year-old in connection to a fatal attack in Mission Beach last week, San Diego police said in a release.The 18-year-old, identified as El Cajon resident Daniel Ruben Martin, was taken into custody by law enforcement on Friday, July 7 around 11:20 p.m. after a traffic stop in the 1200 block of Sea World Drive, SDPD Lt. Steve Shebloski said.Two days later, the 17-year-old suspect was arrested after self-surrendering at SDPD Headquarters at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. The teenager's identity is being withheld by law enforcement, given their status as a juvenile.Authorities started investigating the incident after a concerned citizen reported a body in Bonita Cove Park at 900 block of West Mission Bay Drive on Wednesday, July 5 around 6:19 a.m., according to Shebloski.Upon arrival to the scene, officers found the man, identified as 65-year-old Michael Shook, suffering from multiple facial and upper body injuries that indicated he had ...

Chinese employers ordered to limit outdoor work as country struggles with heat, flooding and drought

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:07 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Rescuers were looking Monday for seven people missing in a landslide triggered by torrential rains while employers across much of China were ordered to limit outdoor work due to scorching temperatures as the country struggled with heat, flooding and drought.Rescuers were looking for survivors of a landslide Saturday that buried a highway construction site and killed at least one person in the central city of Yichang in Hubei province. Five people were injured, the official Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the executive deputy mayor of Yichang, Ye Yang.Elsewhere, the weather agency issued an orange alert, its second-highest-level warning, for heat across southern China and much of the north and northeast.Temperatures above 40 C (104 F) were forecast in Beijing, the capital, and across central China to the southeastern coast. Heat above 37 to 39 C (99 to 102 F) was forecast in parts of populous Sichuan province in the southwest. Elsewhere, temperatures above 35 C (95...

Extreme flooding overwhelms New York roadways, killing 1 person

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:07 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Heavy rain spawned extreme flooding in New York’s Hudson Valley that killed at least one person, swamped roadways and forced road closures on Sunday night, as much of the rest of the Northeast U.S. began bracing for potentially punishing rains.As the storm moved east, the National Weather Service extended flash flood warnings into Connecticut, including the cities of Stamford and Greenwich, before creeping into Massachusetts. Forecasters said some areas could get as much as 5 inches (12 centimeters) of rain.In New York’s Hudson Valley, rescue teams were attempting to retrieve the body of a woman in her 30s who drowned after being swept away while trying to evacuate her home. Two other people escaped.The force of the flash flooding dislodged boulders, which rammed the woman’s house and damaged part of its wall, Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus told The Associated Press.“Her house was completely surrounded by water,” he said.“She was trying to get through (...