Denver mayor: Removing school resource officers was a mistake

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:06 GMT

Denver mayor: Removing school resource officers was a mistake DENVER (KDVR) -- How to protect students and teachers in the classroom after Wednesday's East High shooting was brought into question, and whether school resource officers would make a difference.Denver Mayor Michael Hancock said the resource officers should be back in schools. During a press conference after the shooting, he said “it's clear now that we need to do more in with our police officers inside the buildings in these types of situations.”Hancock said there will be two armed officers at the school for the rest of the year. Which DPS board members voted to remove school resource officers in 2020? SROs were removed back in 2020 after a unanimous vote by the school board. Part of the decision was the belief that the close proximity of law enforcement to students on school campuses contributes to a school-to-prison pipeline. Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said he’s advocating for school resource officers to return as well and is ready to provide those officers for the remain...

Brother of East High School student shot and killed in February speaks

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:06 GMT

Brother of East High School student shot and killed in February speaks DENVER (KDVR) -- Wednesday's double shooting at East High School was a month after the deadly shooting of 16-year-old student Luis Garcia.Garcia’s brother Santos returned to the school Wednesday to speak out.“We buried him just four days ago. And, you know, we're back to back to the same place,” Santos said. “I knew it was going to happen again. I, I warned. I mean, I warned as much people as I could that it was going to happen again. And there's no cops.” Hundreds of students gather at Capitol during East High walkout Following his brother's shooting, Santos has pleaded publicly, addressing police and school board members to take action to make students and staff feel safe at East High School. “Once the cops are removed, stuff like this happens and they have to place the cops back,” Santos said. “So, it's just how long is that going to take.”Following the double shooting Wednesday, Denver Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Alex Marrero said at least one armed police officer w...

East High shooting victim returns home

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:06 GMT

East High shooting victim returns home DENVER (KDVR) -- The community of Denver East High School continued to post and send well wishes to both shooting victims, Eric Sinclair and Jerald Mason. “I looked up and just saw a ton of officers racing towards the school. I knew something bad had happened,” coach Randy Gallegos, the head wrestling coach at Denver East High School, said. Gallegos said he is good friends with both Mason and Sinclair and when he realized they were the victims he rushed to Denver Health to see them. “You wouldn’t think he just went through the trauma he had gone through," Gallegos said about Mason. Colorado educator groups call for action Gallegos said he wasn't able to see Sinclair because he, at that point, was still in critical condition. "His surgery was successful but I wasn't able to see him because he's sedated. I couldn’t see him but there were teachers and support but hopefully, I can go back tomorrow and see him," Gallegos said. He was excited though that he was able to see and pray wit...

Kensington community calls for change after fatal crash

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:06 GMT

Kensington community calls for change after fatal crash SAN DIEGO – The San Diego community of Kensington is reeling from a crash that claimed the life of a 6-year-old boy.“I saw it right away. I was crying, I still am,” Kenneth Valenti said.Police say the crash happened around 8 a.m. Wednesday, as a Jeep was crossing into an intersection from Biona Drive. It was hit by a Hyundai going east on Adams Avenue. The Jeep overturned with a 45-year-old man behind the wheel, his 8-year-old daughter and 6-year-old son in the back seats. Police say both were in safety seats.The 6-year-old was taken to the hospital, but despite the best efforts of medical staff, he did not survive his injuries.“We wanted to let him and his family know we’re thinking of him,” Brooke Garcia said.Garcia’s daughter goes to dance class right across from where the crash happened and stopped by to leave flowers at the site. Man shot to death in East County identified “My mom told me about what happened and I thought it was really sad because it wasn’t his fault. He didn...

Six migrants rescued from small 'island' near US-Mexico border: CBP

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:06 GMT

Six migrants rescued from small 'island' near US-Mexico border: CBP SAN DIEGO -- A group of six migrants were rescued Wednesday after becoming stuck on a small "island" while attempting to cross the Tijuana River channel, authorities said.The incident occurred around 3:36 p.m. at Dairy Mart Road and Camino De La Plaza, located west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry, when firefighters were called to the scene, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Is this San Diego’s rainiest ‘water year’ on record? The group of six, identified as Haitian nationals, were stuck on the small piece of land in the middle of the river as first responders worked to get to them, Jason Givens with U.S. Customs and Border Protection told FOX 5. Crews were able to rescue all six people and evaluate them on scene, Givens said. The group was then taken into Border Patrol custody and to a nearby station.

Gwyneth Paltrow ski collision trial set for family testimony

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:06 GMT

Gwyneth Paltrow ski collision trial set for family testimony PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Two daughters of a retired optometrist suing Gwyneth Paltrow are expected to testify on Thursday about the lasting effects of their father and Paltrow’s 2016 ski collision as the trial takes on an increasingly personal note on the third day of proceedings.Attorneys are expected to call Polly Grasham and Shae Herath to the stand and question them about the broken ribs and lasting brain damage that their father Terry Sanderson claims he sustained after he and Paltrow crashed at one of North America’s most upscale ski resorts seven years ago.Neurologist Richard Boehme and Paltrow herself could also be called to testify on either Thursday or Friday.Sanderson is suing Paltrow for $300,000, claiming she recklessly crashed into him while the two were skiing on a beginner run at Deer Valley Resort in Park City, Utah. In a counterclaim, Paltrow is seeking $1 and attorney fees. The amount of money at stake for both sides pales in comparison to the typical le...

California lawmakers to vote on possible gas price penalties

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:06 GMT

California lawmakers to vote on possible gas price penalties SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers on Thursday will vote on whether to allow penalties on oil companies for price gouging at the pump, a first-in-the-country proposal aimed at stopping the kind of spikes last summer that caused some drivers pay up to $8 per gallon as the industry reaped super-sized profits.Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat seen as a possible presidential candidate beyond 2024, has used all of his political muscle to get the bill this far by making in-person pleas with state lawmakers in private ahead of Thursday’s first vote in the state Senate.The oil industry has pushed back, paying for a wave of digital ads that have labeled any potential penalty as a tax — an idea more likely to be scorned by voters. But they have failed to stop the bill, which after months of stagnating in the Democratic-controlled Legislature is now racing through the process with the Senate vote followed by a final vote in the state Assembly likely next week.The bill highlights ...

Muddy clothes? ‘Cop City’ activists question police evidence

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:06 GMT

Muddy clothes? ‘Cop City’ activists question police evidence ATLANTA (AP) — When police stormed an Atlanta-area music festival two days after a rainstorm, they were looking for suspects wearing muddy clothing.Authorities moved in on the South River Music Festival on the evening of March 5, over an hour after more than 150 masked activists attacked a construction site about three-quarters of a mile (1.2 kilometers) away, bashing equipment, torching a bulldozer and a police ATV, while throwing rocks and fireworks at retreating law enforcement officers, according to police surveillance footage.Officials say many of the rioters trekked back to the festival ground, changing out of their all-black or camouflage attire in the muddy woods in order to blend in with the hundreds of peaceful concertgoers gathered to show their solidarity with the “Stop Cop City” movement — a decentralized campaign to halt the planned razing of an urban forest for the construction of a huge police and firefighter training center.By the end of the night, 23 had been arres...

Holocaust survivor shares on TikTok to educate young people

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:06 GMT

Holocaust survivor shares on TikTok to educate young people MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) — Holocaust survivor Tova Friedman is a TikTok star at age 85, thanks to her 17-year-old grandson.In the family living room in Morristown, New Jersey, he records short videos of his grandmother reminiscing about life in 1944 and 1945 when she was a 6-year-old child at the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. She also discusses her experiences before and after the camp. They say videos on her account have garnered 75 million views since the duo started posting in September 2021.“It really snowballed,” said Friedman. “And then we realized it was a fabulous medium for the Holocaust, for young people who don’t want to read the books, who don’t like the classes in school, who don’t like the way the teachers teach or whatever, who are bored with it, or some who never heard of it. Here they are, listening.”Her grandson, Aron Goodman, said their most-viewed videos are “ones that show her number” — the identification tattooed on prisoners’ arms at Auschwi...

China, Philippines assess ties amid escalating sea disputes

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:42:06 GMT

China, Philippines assess ties amid escalating sea disputes MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Senior Chinese and Filipino diplomats were meeting in Manila on Thursday to review their relations amid thorny issues, including Beijing’s alarm over a Philippine decision to allow the U.S. military to expand its presence to a northern region facing the Taiwan Strait and escalating spats in the disputed South China Sea.Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong and Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Theresa Lazaro were leading the talks aimed at assessing overall relations on Thursday. The discussions would focus on the long-seething territorial spats in the disputed waterway on Friday, the Department of Foreign Affairs in Manila said.The back-to-back meetings are the first under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who took office in June last year. He met Chinese President Xi Jinping in a state visit to Beijing in January where both agreed to expand ties, pursue talks on potential joint oil and gas explorations and manage territorial disputes amicably.But...