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S. Carolina’s top accountant to quit over $3.5B error

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:57 GMT

By James Pollard | Associated Press/Report for AmericaCOLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina’s embattled top accountant will step down next month after a $3.5 billion error in the year-end financial report he oversaw, according to a resignation letter written Thursday that was obtained by The Associated Press.Republican Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom’s decision to leave the post he has held for 20 years came after intense scrutiny of his performance following the blunder and amid rising calls for him to either quit or be removed.The Senate panel investigating the financial misstatement issued a damning report last week accusing Eckstrom of “willful neglect of duty.” As recently as last week, however, Eckstrom had said he would not resign.“I have never taken service to the state I love or the jobs to which I have been elected lightly, endeavoring to work with my colleagues … to be a strong defender of the taxpayer and a good steward of their hard-ea...

SF Giants’ Larry Baer: Total free agent spending easing fans concerns after failure to sign Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:57 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer said Thursday that Giants fans are starting to come around on the 2023 team following the initial disappointment of the team’s failed pursuit of big-name free agents like Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa.Baer, speaking to a group of team employees and media members at the Giants’ open house at Oracle Park on Thursday morning, pointed to the club’s offseason free agent spending of $200 million as a sign that the team should be much improved this year.“We’re one of two teams to sign five or more players at $25 million or more,” he said. “A lot went into this team.”Michael Conforto (two years, $36 million), Sean Manaea (two years, $25 million), Ross Stripling (two years, $25 million), Taylor Rogers (three years, $33 million) and Mitch Haniger (three years, $43.5 million) made up the core group of additions.Overall, the Giants payroll on Opening Day should go from about $155 million last year to $183 million this year.Baer said he t...

JV remembered by radio co-hosts as Bay Area icon

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:57 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- WiLD 94.9 radio hosts of "The JV Show" read news on Thursday that they hoped would never come. Hosts Selena and Graham were hosting the show live when they learned that a body found in the San Francisco Bay next to Pier 39 was confirmed to be Jeffrey Vandergrift.Selena said, "Yesterday a body was found at Pier 39. I was hoping and praying that it was not JV. Our last show with him was February 23. Moving forward without him, I can’t even wrap my mind. It’s always going to be 'The JV Show,' especially as long as I’m here at wild."As the voice of WiLD 49.9's popular morning shows, Vandergrift was a Bay Area icon. His love for radio, deep knowledge of music, and unmatched comedy wit resonated with longtime listeners for decades. Jeffrey “JV” Vandergrift formerly appeared on KRON4’s morning newscast as a regular guest. (KRON4 file image)Radio hosts Graham and Selena have kept “The JV Show” on the air despite struggling with sadness and grief ever since ...

Bay Area storm cleanup: Highway lanes closed due to storm impact

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:57 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The most recent in a seemingly never-ending series of atmospheric river storms tore through the Bay Area this week, leaving highway lane closures and power outages. High winds and heavy downpours uprooted trees, blew out windows in high-rises and took the lives of five people. Another storm coming to Bay Area to bring more rain Monday As the Bay Area braces for yet another storm next week, storm cleanup and repairs are underway across the region. Follow our blog for the latest.Bay Area storm cleanup updates:3:50 p.m. -- Latest Bay Area storm related Highway closuresThe storm system that moved through the Bay Area earlier this week has resulted in lane closures across the region due to road hazards on the highway. These are the latest storm related highway closures by county, according to Caltrans:EAST BAY REGION:Alameda -- I-580 EB at N. Flynn Rd. at Grant Lane Rd in Livermore, Two right hand lanes closedNORTH BAY REGION:Sonoma -- State Route 12 EB/WB Watm...

Man shot, killed in San Jose early Wednesday morning

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:57 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) -- The San Jose Police Department is investigating a homicide that took place early Wednesday morning. SJPD said a person was shot and killed on the 800 block of South Jackson Avenue. Body of radio host JV found in San Francisco Bay by Pier 39 SJPD responded to the scene at approximately 3:37 a.m. and found an adult male victim with at least one gunshot wound. Officers and medical personnel attempted life-saving procedures, but the victim was pronounced dead.SJPD is investigating the circumstances and motive of the shooting. The identity of the victim will be released after it is confirmed and the victim's family is notified. The homicide is San Jose's seventh of 2023. Anyone with information is asked to contact SJPD via email: [email protected] and/or [email protected] or at 408-277-5283.KRON ON is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe,...

Pajaro residents warned to return at own risk as evacuation orders lifted

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:57 GMT

(BCN) -- Evacuation orders for the Pajaro community of Monterey County were lifted on Thursday, according to the county, but residents are warned to enter at their own risk due to sewer concerns. The evacuations were ordered in the wake of a levee breach that left some parts of the town under several feet of water on March 10. Bay Area storm cleanup: Over 18K PG&E customers still without power Though people are allowed to return to their homes, the county advised that there are still significant health risks in the area and warned that anyone that does so does at their own risk. There is still no potable water available and toilets cannot be flushed, said county officials, though it said Pajaro Sunny Mesa Services and county staff are working "diligently" to restore the sewer system. For those who return, cleaning, toilet, shower, handwashing and laundry stations have been set up at Pajaro Park at 24 San Juan Road and Pajaro Middle School at 250 Salinas Road in ...

Authorities: Suspect fatally shot during rescue of migrants

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:57 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A hostage rescue that left a suspect fatally shot Thursday in Houston began days ago when three migrants were kidnapped from a vehicle in a neighboring county, according to a prosecutor.The three migrants had been traveling in a vehicle on Interstate 10 in the southern part of Waller County on March 18 when they were stopped by kidnappers and forced into another vehicle, said Sean Whittmore, a prosecutor with the Waller County District Attorney’s Office.It is believed the migrants’ driver called 911 and informed the Waller County Sheriff’s Office about the kidnapping, Whittmore said. The sheriff’s office later worked with the FBI, whose agents were involved in a shooting early Thursday morning in north Houston in which two people were rescued. The kidnappers demanded money from the family of at least one of the migrants and were paid, but then they asked for more, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person said that during negotiations, the...

Trump grand jury turns to other matters, done for the week

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Manhattan grand jury investigating Donald Trump over hush money payments turned to other matters on Thursday, delaying until next week at the earliest any vote on a historic indictment of the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter. The panel does not meet on Fridays.It was not clear whether prosecutors planned to question more witnesses before the grand jurors next week or when a vote might be taken about possibly indicting Trump.The New York panel is an investigative grand jury. That means it hears other cases beyond the highly publicized one focused on hush money paid on Trump’s behalf during the 2016 presidential campaign to a porn actor who says she had a sexual encounter with him years earlier.Even so, the timing has given an opening to the former president and supporters to claim the investigation is somehow stalled. Trump, who has denied any sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels, raised the specter on his social media site of “year...

Minnesota moves to strengthen status as ‘trans refuge state’

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:57 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota House was moving Thursday toward strengthening the state’s protections for children and their families who come for gender-affirming care by making Minnesota a “trans refuge state,” bucking a national backlash against transgender rights.Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order two weeks ago to protect the rights of people from Minnesota and other states to receive gender-affirming health care in the state. The bill on which the House was slated to begin debate Thursday night covers much of the same ground, but supporters said a statute would provide stronger, more permanent protections. Passage was expected.The chief author of the House bill is Democratic Rep. Leigh Finke, of St. Paul, the state’s first openly transgender legislator. She was named Woman of the Year for Minnesota by USA Today on Sunday for her activism on behalf of trans youth. Her bill is meant to protect trans people, families and care providers from a rang...

House GOP fails to override Biden veto of ESG investing ban

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House failed Thursday to override President Joe Biden’s first veto — of a Republican-led bill that woulBody (asterisk)276 wordd have banned the consideration of environmental, social or governance issues in retirement and other investment decisions.Republicans failed to mount the necessary two-thirds votes needed in the House to override the president’s veto of the “ESG” investment bill. The override failed on a 219-200 vote mostly along party lines as most Democrats opposed.The standoff was a first test of the strength of the new Republican majority in the House as it confronts the Democratic president in the White House. House Republicans had succeeded in passing the legislation through Congress last month, part of their agenda to undo so-called “woke” government policies that strive to bring new ways of thinking about social and environmental issues with equity and accountability.The legislation was a pushback against the idea of “ESG” inves...