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Woman who disappeared in Sierra foothills is now thought to be a homicide victim

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

More than a year after Wendy Pullins disappeared on what was supposed to have been a short drive in the Sierra Nevada foothills, investigators say she is believed to have been killed.Wendy Pullins (Family photo via Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office) Pullins, 57, was reported missing on June 18, 2022, three days after she drove away from her home in Ahwahnee. She reportedly was headed to Mariposa, 25 miles away, to register her vehicle, and planned to stay the night at a friend’s home on Stumpfield Mountain Road, off Highway 49 between the two cities.Her cellphone location indicated she left the friend’s house, but she never made it to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Mariposa County sheriff’s office said.On Sept. 8, 2022, her Jeep Cherokee was found down a steep embankment in a remote area of Mariposa County, the sheriff’s office said. Blood found in the car was determined to be Pullins.’“Because of the amount of time since Wendy wa...

From Mr. Roadshow’s archive: Here are some of his favorite columns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

Mr. Roadshow wanted to share some of his favorite columns and stories from more than 30 years of informing, entertaining and getting things changed for drivers in the Bay Area (and beyond).Gary Richards, aka Mr. Roadshow, began covering traffic and transportation in the Bay Area in 1992. Scroll down for some of his most memorable columns.Are you frustrated with wonky metering lights, “road boulders” in express lanes or just wondering when that terrible stretch of Highway 101 will finally be repaved? Email your questions to [email protected] and find his latest columns for The Mercury News here and for the East Bay Times here.Mr. Roadshow also has a newsletter. MercuryNews.com readers can sign up for that and other newsletters we offer here. EastBayTimes.com readers can do that here.Now, on to his favorite columns from the Roadshow archive:Dressing on the freeway and other bad driver stuntsBeing thankful for the kindness and heroism in othersWhen the Sunol G...

One man killed, three others wounded in Oakland shootings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

OAKLAND — One man was killed and three other men were wounded in four Oakland shootings that occurred from Tuesday afternoon to early Wednesday, authorities said.None of the four shootings are believed to be connected, authorities said.The fatal shooting happened about 12:46 a.m. Wednesday in the 5700 block of International Boulevard in East Oakland.Police responding to a gunshot detection system alert found shell casings and other evidence of a shooting, but no victim.It turned out the victim, a man believed to be in his 20s, was driven from the scene by someone who dropped him off on a street near Highland Hospital. The unconscious man was taken inside the hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 2:46 a.m. authorities said.A motive for the shooting was not immediately determined and no arrests were announced.The killing is the 95th homicide investigated by Oakland police this year. Last year at this time police had investigated 96 homicides in the city.About 11:50 p.m. T...

Stanford Cardinal ‘trending in the right direction’ heading into showdown vs. high-powered No. 9 Oregon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

Stanford gave up a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter for the second straight week last Saturday against Arizona. Still, senior outside linebacker Lance Keneley is focused on the positives.The Cardinal (1-3, 0-2 Pac-12) held the Wildcats to their season-lows of 21 points and 349 total yards in the 21-20 loss, which Keneley said is something to build on as Stanford gets ready to host No. 9 Oregon Saturday (3:30 p.m., Pac-12 Network).“We definitely took (Arizona) down a peg, so I think we’re trending in the right direction in terms of execution and being able to take on these high-powered offenses,” Keneley said.Oregon (4-0, 1-0 Pac-12) is ranked second in the country in both points (54.0) and yards (570.8). But Keneley is adopting the mantra “nameless and faceless” instead of worrying about the quality of the opponent.“There’s going to be a lot of people who are going to be saying a lot of things that don’t really matter that much to you,” Keneley said. “And y...

Salinas man facing 165 years in prison for raping young relatives

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

(BCN) -- A Salinas man found guilty of raping his two young relatives is facing 165 years in prison, Monterey County prosecutors said Tuesday.Gabriel Porfirio Lopez, 42, was convicted of three counts of oral copulation with a child under 10 years, one count of sexual penetration with a child under 10 Years, eight counts of forcible lewd act on a child under 14 years, one count of lewd act on a child under 14 years, and one count of forcible rape of a child under 14 years.Lopez was also convicted of a multiple victim enhancement for committing child molestation upon more than one victim, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office said in a statement.According to prosecutors, he sexually molested his two relatives, who were then under 10 years of age, when nobody else was present and when they were under his care or custody because their mother was working.Lopez often told his relatives to be quiet after molesting them. Both victims did not reveal the abuse until many years later,...

Dublin man sentenced for trying to steal cars from FBI, other various charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

(BCN) -- A 39-year-old Dublin man was sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday for various crimes, including attempting to steal cars from the FBI, according to federal prosecutors.The prison sentencing for Quinten Giovanni Moody, also known as Christano Rossi, came nearly six months after he admitted to transporting marijuana out of state, committing insurance fraud during the COVID-19 pandemic, and creating fake FBI documents to attempt to get two of his government-seized vehicles released back to him, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California said.Between June 2017 and June 2022, Moody, a co-defendant and other co‑conspirators generated hundreds of thousands of dollars by transporting marijuana from California to Georgia, Nevada, Texas, and other states, according to court documents.Prosecutors said that Moody and others purchased marijuana in the state and then sent it to distributors in other states through couriers via commercial air flights and sh...

Sanaz Toossi, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, makes the leap to star in her own play, ‘English’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Theatergoers seeing the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “English” at the Barrington Stage Company will have a treat this fall. They’ll get to see the playwright up on stage.Sanaz Toossi steps into the role she wrote as one of four Iranian students preparing for an English language exam over several weeks in a storefront school near Tehran. “I’ll be the first to say I make fun of actors all the time. So then playing this role has been humbling in the best way,” she says, laughing, between rehearsals. The production in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, runs from Sept. 27–Oct. 15.“English” explores the ways in which language shapes identity, can help people feel understood or misunderstood and the push and pull of culture. It’s funny, tender and sharp, all at the same time.“I’ve honestly just had to forget that I wrote the play,” says Toossi. “I just can’t use my playwright brain right now. I think it would be impossible to do this play. I can’t be the writer in the ro...

Jaguars WR Zay Jones is a long shot to face the Falcons in London. LB Devin Lloyd is out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Zay Jones is a long shot to play against Atlanta at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday, the team said Wednesday.Coach Doug Pederson said Jones, who sprained his right knee two weeks ago against Kansas City and was inactive for last week’s game against Houston, will make the trip across the pond. Jones has five receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown this season.“We’re going to see how he works this week,” Pederson said. “Probably a long shot for the game, but we will see where he’s what. He’s progressing very nice.”The Jaguars (1-2) are playing back-to-back games in London, with the second one coming against Buffalo at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Oct. 8. With Jones traveling, he could miss the first one and play in the second one.Jamal Agnew and Tim Jones are expected to fill in for Zay Jones, assuming he’s sidelined against the Falcons (2-1).The Jaguars will be without starting linebacker Devin Lloyd for bo...

Authorities make arrests in the case of Kentucky woman reported missing 8 years ago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The former boyfriend of a central Kentucky woman who disappeared more than eight years ago has been arrested on charges stemming from the investigation, the FBI and Kentucky State Police said Wednesday in a statement.Brooks Houck was arrested without incident on charges stemming from the Crystal Rogers investigation, the statement said. The indictment remains sealed and additional details will be revealed during Houck’s arraignment in early October in the Nelson County Circuit Court, according to the statement.Houck has been charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence, the Courier Journal reported, citing court documents. His bond was set at $10 million cash.Houck, who was Rogers’ boyfriend at the time she disappeared and was the father of one of her children, told officers that he had last seen her alive when they visited his family’s farm the night before she disappeared. Rogers was reported missing in Nelson County in early July 2015. Her car w...

Democratic US Sen. Menendez of New Jersey pleads not guilty to charges alleging he traded political influence for bribes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:36 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic US Sen. Menendez of New Jersey pleads not guilty to charges alleging he traded political influence for bribes.Source