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El Cerrito uses proven formula in season-opening win over Division I school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:48 GMT

PLEASANTON – A hard-fought nonleague win over Division I Amador Valley last year helped propel the El Cerrito High School football team to an undefeated regular season.Gauchos coach Jacob Rincon would gladly take the same end result in 2023, and he might have the defense to do it.El Cerrito’s defense made a two-touchdown lead in the first-half stand as the Gauchos held on to a 14-7 win over Amador Valley on Friday in the season-opening game for both teams.Running back Micah Avery, a transfer from Clayton Valley Charter, scored on a 69-yard touchdown run with 3:46 left in the first quarter and fellow senior Michael Vanhook scored on a quarterback keeper just before halftime, providing just enough offense to help No. 14 El Cerrito extend its regular season win streak to 16 games.Avery had 95 yards on 13 carries and Vanhook completed 8 of 15 passes for 72 yards. El Cerrito’s second touchdown drive was aided by an 85-yard run from another newcomer in Zaire Eastman, who attended De...

Mitty still gritty in wild season-opening victory over James Logan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:48 GMT

UNION CITY – Archbishop Mitty’s players were tired of hearing about last season’s success story, when the team went from 1-9 to 9-4. The 2023 roster featured fresh faces after most of that senior core graduated in the spring. They were players ready to prove that the Monarchs were more than just a one-year-wonder or feel-good story. “We definitely have a different identity, and each team brings something different to the field,” senior running back AJ Cenizal said. “I feel like we’ll forge our own identity.”But if Friday’s wild 20-12 victory over James Logan was anything to go by, “gritty Mitty” showed it still had that familiar resolve, plus some magic, on gameday. That magic? Just a ho-hum 60-yard onside kick return touchdown by junior Alec Grimaldo, who scooped the ball up off a perfect bounce, and rather than fall on it like his coaches wished, ran up the right sideline to make it 20-6. “I was a little nervous, but I powered through it,” Grimaldo said. “I saw the opportuni...

Luke Baker shines in San Ramon Valley’s dominant win in season opener

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:48 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO – San Ramon Valley picked up this season where it left off in last year’s 2-A title game.Never mind the fact the Wolves moved up to North Coast Section’s Division I and are facing a tougher slate of opponents.San Ramon Valley, led by senior quarterback Luke Baker, came out firing on all cylinders, resulting in a 42-14 rout of St. Ignatius at the West Catholic school’s San Francisco home.“It felt great,” said Baker, who couldn’t stop smiling after the win. “Guys weren’t over confident going into this game… It feels peaceful being back out here on the football field. I just feel like it’s where I belong. It felt great getting a big first win.”The Wolves returned a large chunk of last year’s team, with that already established chemistry on full display against the Wildcats, who are being guided this season by first-year head coach Lenny Vandermade.“When you play against a guy like [Baker], we got to be on our stuff and can’t make little mistakes be...

Families of victims speak out against Alameda County DA Pamela Price

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:48 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – Family and friends of murder victims held a press conference on Friday to support the effort to recall Alameda County’s top prosecutor. A notice of intent was filed in the county last week to recall District Attorney Pamela Price.The group calling for Price's recall is known as Save Alameda For Everyone or "SAFE." As of last week, 127 signatures have been collected and certified in Alameda County, and DA Price has responded to the recall petition. Suspect in custody after chase across Bay Bridge "What I'm not going to do is be intimidated to not stand up for these families. I'm going to continue until we get the job done,” said Brenda Grisham, who is leading the effort to recall Price. Grisham is referring to a letter she received from Price. KRON4 reached out to Price’s office for comment on the claims. A spokesperson sent a letter to Grisham, listing Price’s accomplishments over eight months in office.Friday’s news conference took place on what...

Purdy runs for a TD before Chargers backups roll past 49ers 23-12

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:48 GMT

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Brock Purdy ran for a 5-yard touchdown during a brief tune-up for the season opener for San Francisco before the Los Angeles Chargers backups beat the 49ers 23-12 in the exhibition finale on Friday night.The teams took different approaches in the final preseason game with San Francisco (1-2) playing Purdy and several other starters for two drives, while the Chargers (2-1) used almost exclusively second and third-string players.“We’re ready to get this thing rolling,” Purdy said. The game took place only a few hours after the Niners traded former quarterback of the future Trey Lance to Dallas for a fourth-round draft pick.Lance became expendable less than three years after San Francisco traded three first-round picks to draft him third overall because of the emergence of Purdy.“Obviously we took our shot, and it didn’t work,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “That’s on us for that. I’m not going to say anything was a failure. That’d be too much of a negative...

Power outages across Kenya passes the 12-hour mark with little explanation and a rare apology

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:48 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Much of Kenya awoke Saturday morning to find it was still without electricity after an unexplained power outage Friday night shut down the country’s main international airport and led to a rare public apology by a government minister. Major hospitals and even the president’s office compound were affected.“I am really sorry for what has happened,” transport minister Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement close to midnight. “There is no excuse worth reporting and there is no reason why our airport is in darkness.”This latest outage affecting much of the country comes just weeks before Kenya’s government hosts the first Africa Climate Summit, where energy will be key on the agenda. Kenya gets almost all its energy from renewable sources, but infrastructure and alleged mismanagement remain an issue in the country of more than 50 million people.The majority government-owned Kenya Power announced in a brief statement a “system disturbance leading to loss of bul...

4 people shot at Oklahoma high school football game where officer also fired a weapon, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:48 GMT

CHOCTAW, Okla. (AP) — Four people were shot during a high school football game Friday night in Oklahoma where a police officer also fired a weapon, authorities said.Officers responded to a report of a shooting around 10:30 p.m. at a game in Choctaw between Choctaw High School and Del City High School, Choctaw Police Chief Kelly Marshall said.The victims were transported to a hospital with gunshot wounds. One was treated for a wound to her thigh before being released, but Marshall did not immediately know the conditions of the three remaining victims.Other than the shooting victims, Marshall said one person was treated for a possible broken leg.At least one of those shot was a student, but the ages of the victims and whether any of the others were students was not known at the outset of the investigation, Marshall said.Police received a description of a male suspect who left the scene but the person was not in custody Friday evening, Marshall said.The number of possible shooters was ...

New crew for the space station launches with 4 astronauts from 4 countries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:48 GMT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts from four countries rocketed toward the International Space Station on Saturday.They should reach the orbiting lab in their SpaceX capsule Sunday, replacing four astronauts living up there since March.A NASA astronaut was joined on the predawn liftoff from Kennedy Space Center by fliers from Denmark, Japan and Russia.It was the first U.S. launch where every spacecraft seat was occupied by a different country — until now, NASA had always included two or three of its own on its SpaceX taxi flights. A fluke in timing led to the assignments, officials said.NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli, a Marine pilot serving as commander, said her crew’s makeup demonstrates “what we can do when we work together in harmony.” With her on the six-month mission are the European Space Agency’s Andreas Mogensen, Japan’s Satoshi Furukawa and Russia’s Konstantin Borisov.“To explore space, we need to do it together,” the European Space Agency’s director general, Josef ...

UN experts say Islamic State group almost doubled the territory they control in Mali in under a year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:48 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Islamic State extremists have almost doubled the territory they control in Mali in less than a year, and their al-Qaida-linked rivals are capitalizing on the deadlock and perceived weakness of armed groups that signed a 2015 peace agreement, United Nations experts said in a new report.The stalled implementation of the peace deal and sustained attacks on communities have offered the IS group and al-Qaida affiliates a chance “to re-enact the 2012 scenario,” they said.That’s when a military coup took place in March and rebels in the north formed an Islamic state two months later. The extremist rebels were forced from power in the north with the help of a French-led military operation, but they moved from the arid north to more populated central Mali in 2015 and remain active.The panel of experts said in the report that the impasse in implementing the agreement — especially the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants into society — is empowering...

Niger crisis: Macron's Africa strategy needs rethinking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:37:48 GMT

The unfolding crisis in Niger, a nation grappling with a military coup led by General Abdourahamane Tiani, casts a dark cloud over France's traditionally powerful influence in the Sahel region, writes Bintou Diabaté.This influence, largely unchallenged, has been carefully nurtured and sustained through a three-pronged approach involving diplomatic channels, economic ties, and a potent military presence. Today, as thousands of protesters rally outside the French embassy in Niamey, however, the extent of anti-French sentiment is laid bare, presenting French President Emmanuel Macron with a formidable challenge to his strategic ambitions in Africa.One of the most striking features of the ongoing crisis is the conspicuous Russian presence, manifested in the symbolic waving of Russian flags during the protests. Such a sight would have been unthinkable a few years ago, as France was perceived as the dominant player in Niger and the Sahel region. Now, the Russian mercenary group Wagner, wh...