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25 years later: Remembering Mark McGwire's record-setting 62nd home run

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:09 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Friday marks 25 years since Mark McGwire slugged his way into the MLB record books. On Sept. 8, 1998, McGwire crushed his 62nd home run of the season, passing a long-standing MLB record of 61 home runs in a season held by Roger Maris. The milestone night culminated a season-long battle between McGwire, Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa and Seattle Mariners outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. in a stretch dubbed by baseball enthusiasts as the 1998 MLB home run record chase or the "Summer of Swat." 30 years later: Remembering Mark Whiten’s four-home run game Big Mac won the hearts of baseball fans locally, nationally and worldwide as he came closer to the record, and he set the stage well to break it in Hollywood fashion. Home run No. 62 happened...In front of one of the season's largest crowds at Busch Memorial Stadium (43,688 fans)With McGwire's family cheering him on in front-row seatsOn a national FOX Sports broadcast that peaked at 43.1 million viewersOne night after the L...

Charges filed against St. Louis trio for assault of ex-boyfriend

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:09 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY – Three west St. Louis residents are charged with assault for attempting to shoot the ex-boyfriend of one of the defendants.  Diamond Johnson, 22, Pierre Watson-Johnson, 20, and Michael Buress, 29, are all charged with assault. Watson-Johnson and Buress also face charges for having a gun during the assault. On August 31, 2023, in University City, police were called to Avalon Avenue and Sutter Avenue for a report of gunshots. They found a person with gunshot wounds who claimed his ex-girlfriend, Diamond Johnson, shot him. Police discovered shell casings at the scene.  Another hidden chamber found under downtown St. Louis sidewalk Johnson told police she contacted Pierre Watson-Johnson to confront the victim. Watson-Johnson then got Michael Buress, both armed with guns, and they went to the victim's place but didn't find him. They later spotted the victim at Avalon and Sutter avenues, where Buress shot at him. After the shooting, Buress and Watson-Joh...

St. Louis County man cleaning gun shoots neighbor's home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:09 GMT

NORMANDY, Mo. – A resident of north St. Louis is facing charges after accidentally discharging a bullet into his neighbor's house while cleaning his gun. Israel Baruch, 24, has been charged with two misdemeanors, and the court has set a cash-only bond at $75,000.According to an investigation by the Normandy Police Department, on September 1, 2023, a woman was inside her home when she heard a loud crash.One of her sons investigated the source of the noise and discovered a bullet hole in their home. The police were called, and they determined that the bullet had likely originated from the neighbor's house. Police then contacted the neighbor, Baruch, who explained that he had been cleaning his gun with ammunition inside and had accidentally discharged a round. Another hidden chamber found under downtown St. Louis sidewalk “If you’re not going to practice firearm safety, then you have no business handling firearms. There is absolutely no reason why cleaning your gun should put a bulle...

Opinion: CU’s football team has a university that needs our help

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:09 GMT

This past Saturday, the University of Colorado’s football team gave us a moment to savor with its thrilling win over Texas Christian University. But as we raise our foam fingers in celebration, let’s also raise our awareness of the state’s lack of support for the university itself.Colorado has dropped the ball. The team we’re cheering for represents a state that’s forgotten the value of investing in its own future.In 1990, when the Buffaloes won the national championship, the yearly cost of in-state tuition for undergraduate students at CU Boulder was $1,842, a fraction of today’s $13,624. Back then, higher education was a steal; today, it’s more like highway robbery.Those increased tuition costs are filling a void left by decreases in state support. CU Boulder, Colorado’s flagship, is a public university.So it’s alarming that direct state funding now accounts for only 5% of CU Boulder’s total annual budget of $2.3 billion. The state currently provides $112.5 million – less than hal...

Broncos coach Sean Payton and QB Russell Wilson are learning to speak the same language — with the help of a translator

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:09 GMT

Even the most intense football coaches sometimes find themselves going through the motions.Sean Payton did at one point deep into a February stuffed full of coaching interviews.Call a guy, talk, say you’ll circle back.Bring a candidate to town, shake him down and size him up as efficiently as possible, send him on his way.Rinse, repeat.Then 28-year-old Davis Webb showed up at Denver’s training facility for a meeting with Payton and general manager George Paton about the quarterbacks coach job and the Payton almost caught and released one too many times.“You get into this routine after an interview,” Payton said recently. “You go, ‘Alright, let’s get him to the airport and on to the next one.’ I’m sitting and talking to George and I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why are we letting him leave? I know better.’ We called him up. Well, I called the driver up and brought him back and hired him.“I’m glad we did that.”The 2023 season in Denver, Payton’s first, will be measured in many different way...

California lawmakers approve new taxes on guns, ammunition

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:09 GMT

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will have the chance to approve an excise tax on firearms and ammunition after Assembly Bill 28 was passed by Democrats Thursday. If signed, an 11% tax from the sales of firearms, firearm precursor parts and ammunition would be imposed on dealers and manufacturers beginning July 1, 2024. Money received by the measure would be used to fund various gun violence prevention, education, research and investigation programs, AB 28 states.The bill was introduced by Democrat Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel of District 46. The district represents parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.“We’ve passed a lot of good gun safety laws. The data shows that we have a lower gun death rate here in California than we do in other states. But this was one of the big things that was still out there," Gabriel told CalMatters. For the past 10 years, lawmakers had unsuccessfully pursued sales or excise taxes on guns and ammunition but failed half a dozen times, some of which never ...

California nearing decriminalization of mushrooms, other natural psychedelics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:09 GMT

California is one step closer to decriminalizing the possession and use of psychedelic mushrooms, mescaline and dimethyltryptamine, commonly known as DMT or ayahuasca. On Thursday, Senate Bill 58 author Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced on X, formerly Twitter, that the bill has cleared both houses of the Legislature.Gov. Gavin Newsom has until Oct. 14 to sign or veto it, according to the Los Angeles Times.The decriminalization proposal was approved by lawmakers in part because it's limited to three plant-based psychedelics, the Times reported.Earlier iterations of the bill also included MDMA, which is also known as molly or ecstasy; ibogaine, a psychedelic that comes from the iboga plant of central Africa; and lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called LSD or acid.The removal of those substances "eased some concerns among lawmakers, including a handful of Republicans who voted for the proposal," the Times reported.If Newsom signs the bill into law, people 21 and older w...

Woman stabbed at L.A. Red Lobster

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:09 GMT

LOS ANGELES - Police are investigating after a woman was stabbed at a Red Lobster restaurant in West Hills on Thursday night.Officers responded to reports of a stabbing on the 22800 block of Vanowen Street shortly before 7 p.m.Arriving officers found a woman in her 60s with stab wounds at the restaurant, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.The woman appeared to be conscious and was transported to a local hospital for treatment in an unknown condition.Police are investigating after a woman was stabbed as a Red Lobster in West Hills on Sept. 7, 2023. (TNLA)Police are investigating after a woman was stabbed as a Red Lobster in West Hills on Sept. 7, 2023. (KTLA)Police are investigating after a woman was stabbed as a Red Lobster in West Hills on Sept. 7, 2023. (KTLA)Police are investigating after a woman was stabbed as a Red Lobster in West Hills on Sept. 7, 2023. (KTLA)Police are investigating after a woman was stabbed as a Red Lobster in West Hills on Sept. 7, 2023. (KTLA)P...

Woman killed by suspected DUI driver while exiting parked car in Sylmar

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:09 GMT

A pedestrian was killed by an allegedly intoxicated driver in Sylmar Thursday night, officials said.At about 8:45 p.m. in the 14000 block of Foothill Boulevard, a Ford Fusion headed north on Foothill began to drift and hit a parked car, according to Officer Jader Chaves of the Los Angeles Police Department.The parked car contained a female driver and, until just before the crash, a female passenger, but that passenger had just exited the vehicle when it was struck, police said.The force of the impact flung the pedestrian, who police described as elderly, to the ground, and she died as a result of her injuries.The other woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment, but has since been released and is expected to fully recover.The Fusion continued north after the initial collision, striking multiple other vehicles.That driver, 33-year-old Juan Martinez, sustained minor injuries and was arrested on murder charges, said police, who have not identified the substance of which he was a...

Serial Long Beach arsonist remains at large after suspect released

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:29:09 GMT

Long Beach residents are continuing to live in fear after a man suspected of being a serial arsonist was released without being charged on Thursday.Police arrested the suspect on Wednesday, but L.A. County investigators now say they do not believe that man is the person behind the destructive fires.The series of vehicle fires began on Aug. 20 and occurred in an area between the Long Beach Convention Center and Camden Harbor View Apartments along Cedar Walk. Three of the five blazes took place in the apartment complex’s parking garage, causing extensive damage.Long Beach fire officials had previously described the arrested man as a person of interest and noted that he matched the description of a man seen in photos and videos near the fires.After that man was taken into custody, arson investigators released him, saying he was not the culprit behind the fires.The aftermath of a truck fire inside a Long Beach apartment complex parking structure is seen on Sept. 5, 2023. (KTLA) The...