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Germany poised to legalize cannabis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:42 GMT

One of the biggest countries in Europe is on the precipice of legalizing cannabis possession.On Wednesday, Germany's cabinet endorsed the measure, meaning only the Bundestag, the country's parliament, approval prevents Germans from being able to legally possess up to 25 grams of cannabis, according to multiple reports. Marijuana legalization was part of the current ruling coalition's platform when they took power two years ago, and if legalization is approved, Germany will be "the first major European country to legalize marijuana," the New York Times reported.“This is an important law that will represent a long-term change in drug policy,” Germany's Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach said in a Wednesday news conference.On Thursday, he fleshed out his view in a tweet that described prohibition as "failed drug policy.""So far, consumption, crime and the black market are growing. Often there are toxic admixtures. It just couldn't go on like this," he wrote.

$50K reward offered for information in Arleta fatal hit-and-run investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:42 GMT

A $50,000 reward is being offered for information in a hit-and-run crash that left a bicyclist dead in Arleta over the weekend.The incident occurred around 10:50 p.m. Aug. 12 when a black Infiniti Q50 was heading west on Van Nuys Boulevard.The car crashed into a bicyclist who was also heading west, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.The driver of the car fled the scene without stopping to identify himself or help the bicyclist, who suffered fatal injuries.LAPD released a description of a vehicle and suspect involved in a fatal hit-and-run crash in Arleta on Aug. 12, 2023. The Infiniti was last seen heading south on Canterbury Avenue from Van Nuys Boulevard, leaving debris on the roadway, police said.The driver was described as a man about 24 years old, standing around 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing around 180 pounds.He was wearing a red and black baseball cap and a gray tank top, and has a tattoo of a “P” on his right forearm. Police did not elaborate on how they had...

Doc on Stephen King’s Influence on Screen is Horror-Lite

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:42 GMT

Stephen King is the undisputed “King of Horror,” a prolific wordsmith who’s published 65 novels and nearly 200 stories, selling more than 400 million copies to date. He’s also the third most adapted author in history (just behind Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare) with innumerable page-to-screen versions of his work. And at 75, he hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down (his new novel Holly comes out next month and he’s become a biting cultural critic on social media).Daphne Baiwir’s new documentary King on Screen takes on a large task, perhaps too large: exploring the movies and TV shows adapted from King’s writing. It’s a sincere attempt to understand the author via interviews with the filmmakers who adapted his stories, but unfortunately, there’s nothing incredibly consequential here.The doc opens with Baiwir herself walking through set pieces filled with Stephen King easter eggs. It’s a charming sequence that sets the tone for a lighthearted affair before becoming a traditi...

SF Giants update: Kapler talks Harrison and ‘soft landings’; Yastrzemski discusses latest setback

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:42 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO – So when will left-hander Kyle Harrison, the San Francisco Giants’ top pitching prospect, be promoted to the big leagues for the first time?Simply put, whenever the Giants really need him, according to manager Gabe Kapler.Maybe that time is approaching.The Giants, in the middle of a crowded National League playoff race, have a day off Thursday but are about to embark on another treacherous part of their schedule with six games against the Atlanta Braves, MLB’s best team, and three against the Philadelphia Phillies, who lead the National League Wild card race.It’s part of a stretch that sees the Giants play 18 games in 19 days up until Sept. 6.“I think whenever you’re talking about graduating a prospect to the major leagues, you consider everything,” Kapler said before Wednesday’s series finale with the Tampa Bay Rays at Oracle Park. “And oftentimes, and when you’re in the middle of August and you’re in a playoff position, you have to thin...

Palo Alto: Former two-star Michelin restaurant team says ‘au revoir’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:42 GMT

After running high-end and Michelin-starred restaurants in Palo Alto for 14 years, chef Bruno Chemel and wife Christie Ledesma Chemel have closed their Bistronomie by Baumé and bid “au revoir” to diners.The news came via a posting on the restaurant website. “Merci Beaucoup! We would like to thank our customers, farmers and vendors for supporting us for the last 14 years. Au Revoir!” the Silicon Valley Business Journal first reported.Aug. 12 was the last day of service. No mention was made of the couple’s next culinary move.In early 2022, they closed Baumé, which had received Michelin honors for nearly a decade and reopened the California Avenue space as Bistronomie, with Chemel saying he saw “an opportunity to serve high-level meals at lower prices in a more relaxed environment.”The emphasis remained on creative gastronomic cooking techniques using local, seasonal ingredients, but in a more affordable style — $168 for six courses, compared with pr...

Items seized in Kansas newspaper raid to be returned by police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:42 GMT

By Whitney Wild, Sarah Moon and Holly Yan | CNNAfter days of national controversy over the raid of a small town’s newspaper office and the publisher’s home, the items seized will be returned, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation announced Wednesday.An attorney for the Marion County Record, Bernie Rhodes, told CNN the local prosecutor has agreed to withdraw a search warrant executed on the newspaper Friday and will return all seized items, answering demands of press freedom advocates who sharply condemned the police action.The paper’s co-owner and publisher, Eric Meyer, has said he believes Friday’s raid in Marion – about 60 miles north of Wichita – was prompted by a story published Wednesday about a local business owner, Kari Newell. But authorities said they were investigating what they called “identity theft” in a search warrant.Computers, cell phones and other materials were seized during the raid at the Marion County Record, Meyer confirmed to CNN.Marion County prosecutor Joel Ens...

Cal’s three-man QB competition is too close to call as season nears

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:42 GMT

BERKELEY — The Cal coaching staff has been waiting for one of three candidates to emerge as the No. 1 quarterback. Two weeks into fall camp, they’re still waiting.“There’s been one point in this competition where I thought (each) one of those quarterbacks is going to be our starter,” offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said after practice Tuesday. “When you think it’s one guy, it flips to another.”Early this week Sam Jackson V — who came out of spring practice as the starter — looked like the answer. “Sam’s playing at a really high level right now,” Spavital confirmed.But Fernando Mendoza and Ben Finley will continue to share practice reps through Saturday’s scrimmage — the second of training camp — and probably into next week. Spavital hopes to make a decision by next Wednesday, although the Bears tentatively have another scrimmage penciled in for Aug. 26 — one week before the Sept. 2 opener at North Texas.The unofficial pecking order appears to be Jackson, Mendoza, Fin...

Suspect in custody after San Jose police officer shot responding to family disturbance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:42 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- A suspect is in custody after a police officer was shot by a suspect while responding to a family disturbance at a home on Auzerais Avenue Wednesday morning, the San Jose Police Department confirmed. The female officer who was shot was transported to a hospital. At a media briefing, police said they had no update on the officer's condition. The suspect was taken into custody around 12:30, according to officers at the scene.Officers arrived at a residence in the area of Auzerais and Race streets around 8 a.m. Officers contacted residents at the door and immediately began taking gunfire, police said. One officer was shot. NAACP says rise in crime due to firing of Oakland police chief Dozens of police officers swarmed the neighborhood and blocked off Meridian Avenue. KRON4's reporters saw several officers with their weapons drawn and wearing tactical gear. Law enforcement and news helicopter are flying over the scene."I am praying for the swift recovery of ...

Conflicts over Pride celebrations arise at Danville school board meeting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:42 GMT

(BCN) -- Tensions rose at the first San Ramon Valley Unified School District Board of Education meeting of the 2023-24 school year on Tuesday as members of the public debated the display of Pride flags on school campuses. Before the meeting, people filled the meeting space and spilled out into the hallway and filled the lobby of the small building in Danville on Old Orchard Drive. Occasionally, murmurs, chatter and cheering would make their way from the hallway into the meeting room. Much of the debate came as the school board prepared to vote on several resolutions for the school year, including ones that would mandate flying a Pride flag during the month of June and recognition of the National Day of Silence, a day meant to bring awareness to anti-LGBT bullying. NAACP says rise in crime due to firing of Oakland police chief Dozens in attendance Tuesday signed up for public comment, prompting the school board to split the public comment section so that board members could add...

Funeral planned for boy, 6, stabbed in San Jose home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:42 GMT

(KRON) -- A funeral service is planned for a 6-year-old boy who was stabbed to death inside a San Jose home. Jordan Cam Walker and his great-grandmother were violently slain on August 4 inside an apartment in the Buena Vista neighborhood."With heavy hearts, we must come to celebrate the life of Jordan Cam Walker, a beloved 6-year-old child who loved the outdoors, swimming, playing baseball, and basketball," the boy's family wrote. A candlelight vigil will be held Wednesday evening to celebrate and remember Jordan. A funeral service is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on August 18 at Emmanuel Baptist Church, 467 N. White Road in San Jose. "Following the funeral, there will be a repast where attendees can gather to share stories and support each other during this difficult time," organizers wrote."We invite those who wish to express their condolences and who cannot attend the funeral services to consider sending flowers or gifts to the Emmanuel Baptist Church on the day of the service," ...