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The top barbecue joint in California and every other state, according to Yelp

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:48 GMT

Make no bones about it: Barbecue is one of America’s favorite cuisines.Barbecue, however, is also the subject of some of the most heated debates among foodies. What qualifies as “barbecue” in one region of the country might not pass in another, seeing as some folks might prefer baby-back ribs over St. Louis-style, or the flavors of mesquite over hickory. And don’t even get started on the sauces.The best barbecue, therefore, is truly in the taste buds of the beholder.With that in mind, it’s perhaps easier to set aside any preconceived notions and enjoy some regional styles of barbecue — even if it’s not exactly one's preferred style. To help determine where some of the most finger-lickin’ examples can be found, the analysts at Yelp have compiled a list of the platform’s top-rated barbecue joints in every state, based on the recommendations from its user community. It should be noted, though, that Yelp’s findings are also based on the “total volume” of reviews for each barbecue spot, ...

Justin Torres Pronounced Dead Following Pedestrian Crash on Interstate 215 [Perris, CA]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:48 GMT

24-Year-Old Pedestrian Fatally Struck near Highway 74PERRIS, CA (March 23, 2023) – Early Monday morning, a pedestrian-auto collision along I-215 claimed the life of Justin Torres.The fatal incident happened around 12:45 a.m. at northbound Interstate 215, north of eastbound Highway 74.According to Officer Mike Lassig, a pedestrian suddenly appeared in the path of a 2020 Dodge Charger traveling in the No. 2 lane at 68 mph.The driver failed to avoid the pedestrian, launching the pedestrian onto the roadway. Afterward, the motorist immediately pulled over and contacted 911.Unfortunately, responding emergency personnel declared the pedestrian dead at the scene. Authorities later identified the deceased victim as 24-year-old Justin Torres of Temecula.The Dodge driver stayed at the site of the incident and cooperated with the investigators.At this time, officials are asking anyone with additional information about the fatal pedestrian crash to contact the CHP Temecula office at (951)...

Judge throws out controversial plea deal for man accused of three Oakland killings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:48 GMT

Less than two months after lamenting “he had never seen a case pled down like this before,” an Alameda County Superior Court judge plea deal that would have imposed 15 years for a reputed West Oakland gang member accused of gunning down three people when he was 18 years old.Judge Mark McCannon ruled Thursday that 31-year-old Delonzo Logwood should go to trial, saying he had decided against accepting a plea deal proposed by prosecutors. Logwood had previously been eligible for a sentence of death or life without parole before being offered the unusual plea deal by newly-installed District Attorney Pamela Price. Had Logwood been convicted at trial of all three first-degree murder counts, he would have faced a minimum prison sentence of 75 years to life.It is extremely unusual for a judge to reject a plea deal that has been agreed upon by both defense attorneys and the DA. During Thursday’s hearing, Logwood apologized and the mother of one of his three alleged victims...

What’s black and white and running around Seoul?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:48 GMT

Associated PressSEOUL, South Korea — A young zebra walked, trotted, and galloped for hours in the busy streets of South Korea’s capital before emergency workers tranquilized the animal and brought it back to a zoo.The zebra — a male named Sero that was born in the zoo in 2021 — was in stable condition and being examined by veterinarians as of Thursday evening, said Choi Ye-ra, an official at the Children’s Grand Park in Seoul.She said the zoo was investigating how the zebra managed to escape. She didn’t immediately confirm media reports that the animal partially destroyed the wooden fencing surrounding its pen before busting out around 2:50 p.m.Social media was flowing with smartphone videos of the zebra trotting alongside lines of cars that were waiting for the greenlight at an intersection, and galloping through a street surrounded by commercial buildings as pedestrians stopped and gasped.Police and emergency workers managed to corner the zebra after it entered a...

What could have been: Reggie Jackson says he was denied chance to buy Oakland A’s

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:48 GMT

Reggie Jackson helped put the Oakland A’s on the baseball map as a charismatic superstar player in the 1970s, but the Hall of Famer this week said he had designs on another role with the franchise — team owner.The 76-year-old Jackson was on the “Howard Stern Show” and said that money was no object for his group, which he said included Bill Gates and Paul Allen, and he believed a deal was all but done when the A’s were up for sale in the early 2000s. Jackson suggests he had an agreement in place with then-A’s owner Ken Hoffman, and is “absolutely” convinced then-MLB commissioner Bud Selig made sure the deal didn’t happen — paving the way for the A’s to be sold to a group led by Selig’s college buddy, Lew Wolff, in 2005 for $180 million.“It broke my heart,” Jackson said during a wide-ranging interview with Stern on Wednesday. “I went into depression for about six months.”Jackson said his group, w...

Pac-12 expansion: Does SMU create media value? “I think it probably helps,” sports media analyst says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:48 GMT

The Pac-12 began evaluating candidates for expansion long before USC and UCLA announced their intentions to leave the conference.The process commenced in the summer of 2021, after Texas and Oklahoma agreed to join the SEC and the Big 12 lurched toward the brink of extinction.Pac-12 presidents ultimately passed on extending membership invitations and concluded none of the available schools (in the Big 12 or elsewhere) met the competitive, financial and institutional criteria.Now here we are, 21 months later, and the Pac-12’s geographic footprint features a crater in Southern California as the conference negotiates a new media rights contract and considers expansion.The candidate list includes SMU. It is not known whether the conference sized up the Mustangs in the summer of ’21, but the calculation deployed back then is essentially the same one being applied now.Does SMU fit academically? Could its football program eventually clear the competitive bar? And does the school...

Body of popular radio host Jeffrey “JV” Vandergrift found

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:48 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Authorities identified a body found late Wednesday at Pier 39 as popular Bay Area radio host Jeffrey “JV” Vandergrift, 55, who went missing from his San Francisco home on Feb. 23.Authorities did not specify a preliminary cause of death or issue a ruling on the nature of the death.Vandergrift, a longtime morning show host at Wild 94.9, co-founded and co-hosted the popular Doghouse show during the early 1990s. The show soared in popularity, mostly due to on-air antics, stunts, pranks and raunchy humor. After the Doghouse moved to New York and eventually disbanded, Vandergrift returned to Wild 94.9 to host “The JV Show.” After his return to the Bay Area, Vandergrift reunited with his co-host on the Doghouse, Elvis “Dan” Lay, for an AM talk show and recurring podcast.The radio host had revealed last year that he had been diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2021 that had caused him considerable suffering.Six days after his disappearance, his wife put out a st...

UC Irvine investigating water polo player for inappropriately touching opposing players

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:48 GMT

UC Irvine is investigating allegations that water polo player Nina Flynn, an honorable mention All-American in 2022, inappropriately touched opposing players’ intimate body parts during a match last month.Flynn, a redshirt sophomore, was suspended by UCI’s Title IX office on Feb. 23 after the university received allegations that Flynn touched the intimate body parts of two Loyola Marymount players during a Feb. 16 match, according to Flynn’s attorney.While Flynn’s suspension was lifted on March 10, the UCI Title IX office is proceeding with a formal investigation of Flynn and the alleged incident, according to Alison P. Saros, Flynn’s attorney, and a university official.“Nina maintains she is not responsible in any way for the allegations and that after with (the) Title IX (office) and film analysis and other evidence presented the suspension was lifted and she was allowed to return to the pool while the investigation continues,” Saros said.UCI and LMU officials declined to comment,...

Nebraska trans bill advances despite filibuster threat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:48 GMT

By Margery A. Beck | Associated PressLINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Legislature voted Thursday to advance a contentious bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors, despite threats from some lawmakers that they would filibuster the rest of the session.The vote came on the third day of debate, in which lawmakers angrily accused one another of hypocrisy and a lack of collegiality early on. By Thursday, the chamber had turned somber as some lawmakers opposed to the bill broke down in tears and pleaded with their Republican colleagues to reconsider their support for the bill.Members of the LGBTQ community who had gathered in the Capitol to protest the bill showed their displeasure with the outcome, booing and cursing lawmakers who voted to advance it as they left the legislative floor.“I am a ball of rage,” said Wrenn Jacobson, 29, of Lincoln, after the vote. “I’ve had to go back to therapy when this bill was introduced. I know so many people — so many kid...

Michigan Republican Party slammed for comparing gun safety proposals to the Holocaust

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:48 GMT

By JOEY CAPPELLETTI | Associated PressLANSING — The Michigan Republican Party has received backlash from political leaders on both sides of the aisle for posts on social media Wednesday that compared the Holocaust to gun safety measures being considered in the state.The posts, shared on the state party’s official Facebook and Twitter accounts, inaccurately claim that Democrats leading the Legislature are trying to disarm Michigan gun owners. A photo accompanying the message appears to match an image stored by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, showing rings confiscated from Jewish prisoners in a Nazi concentration camp.“Comparing gun safety measures to the mass extermination of 6 million people is hateful and ignorant, and it comes from party leaders who are out of ideas and catering to the fringe of the fringe,” Democratic U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is Jewish, wrote on Twitter in response.The gun safety package was introduced by Democrats in response to two school mass...