OAKLAND — Police here say they have identified multiple suspects and persons of interest in two shooting deaths that occurred 14 months apart. Yet, the killings of Henry Texada, in April 2020, and De’Shawn Rhoades, in June 2021, remain unsolved. Police say both men were friends, and both had ties to the same San Francisco-based gang, whose rivals are under investigation for possible involvement. Related Articles Crime and Public Safety | Man charged after East Bay police seize guns, 55 lbs of pot at illicit drug business Crime and Public Safety | Grinches’ attempt to steal Christmas thwarted by East Bay police Crime and Public Safety | Organized retail theft crackdown across California ends in 117 arrests Crime and Public Safety | A homeless girl didn’t want to be in the sex trade. But an East Bay man told her he’d kill her canine companion if she left, police say Crime and Public Safety | East Bay woman accused of elder theft hit with federal charge Oakland police put out calls for assistance from the public in both homicides back in May, which led to the identification of a potential suspect, a 30-year-old man who was arrested in Oakland for alleged gun possession in August, court records show. Despite the leads, no charges have been filed in either shooting. The call for assistance included a statement from Texada’s mother, who described her son as a youth mentor who was part of Youth Radio and attended Laney College in Oakland. The investigations have led police to identify possible gang connections between numerous other shootings, including a prior attempt on Texada’s life. The gang motive was a common theme during both investigations, with one resident telling police that the killings had everything to do with San Francisco and nothing do with Oakland, authorities said. Texada and Rhoades were both allegedly part of Down Below Gangsters or DBG, which had active rivalries with two gangs at the time, Tre-4 and Towerside , according to police. The Towerside gang is a longtime rival of DBG, and the feud has been linked to other shootings. In 2018, a Towerside member was sentenced for killing Shanique Marie , a mother of four who was driving in a car with a DBG member when she was fatally shot on Highway 4 in Pittsburg . The Tre-4 gang , meanwhile, is based in San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, and was a high-level law enforcement target at the beginning of the decade. In one federal case against an alleged Tre-4 member, prosecutors attributed Texada’s death to the feud and said a Tre-4 member was shot at on the Bay Bridge the following day . Police say that both Texada and Rhoades appeared to have been targeted. In Texada’s case, his killer or killers passed by his home on 68th Avenue in the same vehicle seven times before he was fatally shot. The shooting happened after a silver SUV pulled up and an occupant began staring down Texada, then opened fire, authorities said. Two months earlier, someone had fired at Texada in the same location. The gun used in the nonfatal shooting was later seized from a man in San Francisco, authorities said. Rhoades was killed on Juneteenth 2021, after a celebration at Lake Merritt. Police say his killing was the result of a shootout between two groups of people, where a total of five guns were used. Two of those guns were linked to shootings that year in Oakland and Antioch, authorities said. Police believe one potential suspect posted a music video about the killings but later removed it from social media. Anyone with information on either killing can reach the Oakland police department’s homicide unit at 510-238-3821 or submit tips to 510-238-7950.Boxing Day shopper footfall was down 7.9% across UK retail destinations by 5pm, in comparison to last year, MRI Software found. The slump in the number of people heading to the shops during Boxing Day sales signals a return to declining pre-pandemic levels, an analyst has said. Boxing Day shopper footfall was down 7.9% from last year across all UK retail destinations up until 5pm, MRI Software’s OnLocation Footfall Index found. However, this year’s data had been compared with an unusual spike in footfall as 2023 was the first “proper Christmas” period without Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, an analyst at the retail technology company said. It found £4.6 billion will be spent overall on the festive sales. Before the pandemic the number of Boxing Day shoppers on the streets had been declining year on year. The last uplift recorded by MRI was in 2015. Jenni Matthews, marketing and insights director at MRI Software, told the PA news agency: “We’ve got to bear in mind that (last year) was our first proper Christmas without any (Covid-19) restrictions or limitations. “Figures have come out that things have stabilised, we’re almost back to what we saw pre-pandemic.” There were year-on-year declines in footfall anywhere between 5% and 12% before Covid-19 restrictions, she said. MRI found 12% fewer people were out shopping on Boxing Day in 2019 than in 2018, and there were 3% fewer in 2018 than in 2017, Ms Matthews added. She said: “It’s the shift to online shopping, it’s the convenience, you’ve got the family days that take place on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.” People are also increasingly stocking-up before Christmas, Ms Matthews said, and MRI found an 18% increase in footfall at all UK retail destinations on Christmas Eve this year compared with 2023. Ms Matthews said: “We see the shops are full of people all the way up to Christmas Eve, so they’ve probably got a couple of good days of food, goodies, everything that they need, and they don’t really need to go out again until later on in that week. “We did see that big boost on Christmas Eve. It looks like shoppers may have concentrated much of their spending in that pre-Christmas rush.” Many online sales kicked off between December 23 and the night of Christmas Day and “a lot of people would have grabbed those bargains from the comfort of their own home”, she said. She added: “I feel like it’s becoming more and more common that people are grabbing the bargains pre-Christmas.” Footfall is expected to rise on December 27 as people emerge from family visits and shops re-open, including Next, Marks and Spencer and John Lewis that all shut for Boxing Day. It will also be payday for some as it is the last Friday of the month. A study by Barclays Consumer Spend had forecast that shoppers would spend £236 each on average in the Boxing Day sales this year, but that the majority of purchases would be made online. Nearly half of respondents said the cost-of-living crisis will affect their post-Christmas shopping but the forecast average spend is still £50 more per person than it was before the pandemic, with some of that figure because of inflation, Barclays said. Amid the financial pressures, many people are planning to buy practical, perishable and essential items such as food and kitchenware. A total of 65% of shoppers are expecting to spend the majority of their sales budget online. Last year, Barclays found 63.9% of Boxing Day retail purchases were made online. However, a quarter of respondents aim to spend mostly in store – an 11% rise compared with last year. Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays, said: “Despite the ongoing cost-of-living pressures, it is encouraging to hear that consumers will be actively participating in the post-Christmas sales. “This year, we’re likely to see a shift towards practicality and sustainability, with more shoppers looking to bag bargains on kitchen appliances and second-hand goods.” Consumers choose in-store shopping largely because they enjoy the social aspect and touching items before they buy, Barclays said, adding that high streets and shopping centres are the most popular destinations.Amie Just: Could the Big 12 be left out of CFP? And, is Ohio State better than Oregon?lodigame app 。

Toyota exec casually drops bombshell news that favorite discontinued car last sold 19 years ago is making 2027 comebackU.S. stocks traded slightly lower toward the end of trading, with the S&P 500 edging lower on Thursday. The Dow traded down 0.03% to 43,283.94 while the NASDAQ fell 0.05% to 20,021.98. The S&P 500 also fell, dropping, 0.07% to 6,035.54. Check This Out: Wall Street’s Most Accurate Analysts Give Their Take On 3 Utilities Stocks With Over 4% Dividend Yields Leading and Lagging Sectors Industrials shares rose by 0.3% on Thursday. In trading on Thursday, consumer discretionary shares dipped by 0.5%. Top Headline U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 1,000 from the previous week to a reading of 219,000 during the second week of December, compared to market estimates of 224,000. Equities Trading UP SEALSQ Corp LAES shares shot up 48% to $8.08. On Thursday, SEALSQ announced the launch of SEALQUANTUM.com Lab, a research hub designed to help businesses transition to quantum-safe encryption Shares of SciSparc Ltd. SPRC got a boost, surging 117% to $0.4801 after the company announced it received its first shipment of vehicles manufactured by Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group. Zoomcar Holdings, Inc. ZCAR shares were also up, gaining 75% to $2.50 after it reported a 43% year-on-year increase in November bookings. Equities Trading DOWN Neuphoria Therapeutics Inc. NEUP shares dropped 32% to $4.52. Shares of Baosheng Media Group Holdings Limited BAOS were down 42% to $4.14. SaverOne 2014 Ltd SVRE was down, falling 33% to $1.0148. Commodities In commodity news, oil traded down 0.2% to $69.98 while gold traded up 0.5% at $2,649.10. Silver traded up 0.2% to $30.335 on Thursday, while copper rose 0.7% to $4.1375. Euro zone In Europe, markets in Germany, France, London, Spain and Switzerland are closed for the Boxing Day holiday. European shares were higher today. The eurozone's STOXX 600 gained 0.17%, Germany's DAX fell 0.18% and France's CAC 40 rose 0.14%. Spain's IBEX 35 Index rose 0.33%, while London's FTSE 100 rose 0.42%. Asia Pacific Markets Asian markets closed mostly higher on Thursday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 gaining 1.12%, China's Shanghai Composite Index gaining 0.14% and India's BSE Sensex falling 0.01%. Economics U.S. initial jobless claims fell by 1,000 from the previous week to a reading of 219,000 during the second week of December, compared to market estimates of 224,000. Now Read This: Top 3 Utilities Stocks You’ll Regret Missing In December © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews Flies To Germany For Injury Treatment

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MULGRAVE — With expanded services and a renewed commitment to community good works in the new year, Eastern Counties Regional Library (ECRL) is re-writing the rulebook on building relationships with the municipalities it serves, says its chief executive officer. “I think everybody is interested in doing better and more for the community,” Laura Emery told The Journal in a recent year-end interview. “I think the province has a real understanding of the reach of public libraries. Strengthening relations with [our] municipal partners [ensures] that we [bring] the best that we can to the community.” According to ECRL’s 2023-24 annual report, released last month, the signs are promising. In one year, the number of new users at its nine branches in Cape Breton and northeastern Nova Scotia communities – including Guysborough, Canso and Sherbrooke – has jumped by 871, which included 57 at the Cyril Ward Memorial Public Library in Guysborough town, 41 at the Canso Public Library and 89 at the Sherbrooke Public Library. As well, the report shows, circulation (books and other reading materials) was 16 per cent higher in all locations – to 95,000 units, from 80,000, in 2022-23. That included a 20 per cent increase in Guysborough alone – to 11,131 from 9,207. Meanwhile, branch hours increased to 14,227, from 13,041, system wide. Even more notable was the growth in the number of public library programs – to 328 from 164 – and their growing attendance – to 2,000 from just more than 1,000 between 2022-23 and 2023-24. Wrote ECRL board chair Clair Rankin in the annual report: “Increased in-person programming [provided] more opportunities for community members to engage and learn ... demonstrating the value of flexible learning options. Increasing partnerships and better supporting local library staff helped to make these changes happen. Clearly, working with the community and our municipal partners is the way foreword.” This hasn’t always been easy. The oldest and one of the largest regional library systems, by geographic area, in Nova Scotia – catering to more than 32,000 residents the counties of Guysborough, Inverness, and Richmond, as well as the Town of Port Hawkesbury – ECRL receives two-thirds of its roughly $1-million annual budget from the provincial government. It gets the rest from four municipal councils, with which it’s in regular contact but, historically, not always in agreement. One well-publicized dispute with the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s council over funding, for example, actually went to provincial mediation in 2022. The issue was resolved in April of this year when both parties signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance collaboration and communications between them. “To create such a specific agreement with one of our partners and really formalize ways that we can always be working together, always be communicating and bringing the best to the community, is historic,” Emery told local media at the announcement in Mulgrave at the time. Today, she’s even more adamant about making things work collaboratively. “Positive actions organically lead to a more positive and encouraging environment,” she told The Journal. “I think we’re certainly heading in a good direction.” Much of that may have to do with the provincial government’s growing realization that at a time of rising costs and housing shortages, rural libraries in general and ECRL, in particular, have important roles to play in shoring up the social and even economic well being of their communities. Additional provincial funding – not related to core programming – is helping ECRL position itself as a community hub. Over the past year, Rankin noted in the annual report, “Eastern Counties Regional Library expanded its role in supporting community well-being. Special funding from the province [has] allow[ed] ECRL to give away menstrual products, diapers and incontinence pads to help with the increasing cost of living. We’ve been distributing COVID-19 test kits for a few years, so these new offerings easily fit into our library locations. Items are on display, and people can drop by and pick up what they or their family and friends need.” The library has also established seed banks at its branches and recently received a $42,000 contribution from the Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism, and Heritage to conduct strategic planning and community engagement on potential, new initiatives. “It is a tremendous example of how public libraries can do so much more to benefit the community if they have the funding,” Rankin concluded in his message. “My hope is this trend of special project funding will continue.” Certainly, ECRL’s efforts have not gone unnoticed among some of its municipal partners. At the Nov. 20 Municipality of the District of Guysborough regular council meeting, Councillor Mary Desmond (district #2) praised the “vibrancy” and “informative” content of this year’s annual report. Warden Paul Long added: “There seems to be a greater sense of cooperation and collegiality between the library and municipalities.” Said Emery: “I am very happy to hear that. I think provincial funding for community initiatives ... has demonstrated the additional value that a library can bring to a community. And, that’s probably helping with the positive perception of the Eastern Counties Regional Library. Things are starting to turn around and, you know ... that’s great.”

Drop in Boxing Day footfall ‘signals return to declining pre-pandemic levels’The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell is being urged to resign after a BBC investigation found that he twice signed off on a notorious child abuser keeping his position within the Church of England. Cottrell, who will be the Church’s most senior figure when Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby steps down next month, reappointed David Tudor as area dean in Essex in 2013 and again in 2018, the British broadcaster reported on Sunday. Cottrell did so knowing that Tudor had been barred from ministry for five years in 1988 for sexually assaulting three girls, and that he had paid £10,000 ($12,530) in 2012 to a woman who claimed to have been sexually abused by him when she was 11 years old. The Church of England made a six-figure payout to another of Tudor’s alleged victims in 2018, and the cleric was finally suspended a year later when police launched an investigation into yet another case of sex abuse with a minor that allegedly occurred in the 1980s. Since rejoining the clergy in 1994, Tudor has been banned from being alone with children. According to the BBC, Cottrell was told by Church authorities in 2018 that he could remove Tudor as area dean if he wished, but the Archbishop ultimately decided not to. Additionally, Tudor was named honorary canon of Chelmsford Cathedral in 2015. Cottrell’s office told the BBC that the title was automatically bestowed on the disgraced rector, and that it was “not a promotion and not a personal reward.” However, a social media post from Tudor’s parish at the time described the title as a recognition of his “hard work, determination and commitment.” “Even though David Tudor was already area dean when Stephen Cottrell arrived in the diocese in 2010, as the then diocesan bishop of Chelmsford he accepts responsibility for David Tudor remaining as area dean,” Cottrell’s office said in a statement. “On reflection, he acknowledges this could have been handled differently, and regrets that it wasn’t.” Two prominent female bishops have called for an investigation into Cottrell’s handling of the Tudor scandal. The bishop of Gloucester, Rachel Treweek, told BBC Radio 4 that “there are big questions to be looked at,” while the bishop of Newcastle, Helen-Ann Hartley, declared on social media that Cottrell could no longer be considered a “credible voice as the leadership of the Church of England.” An unidentified victim of Tudor told the BBC that Cottrell should “do the honorable thing for the sake of the Church and resign.” Cottrell is considered a liberal within an already liberal church. Last February, he and Archbishop Welby announced that they would “publicly, unreservedly, and joyfully welcome same-sex couples in church,” and would allow clergy to bless same-sex couples who are already married or are in a civil union. Several months later, conservative British media ridiculed Cottrell as “woke,” after he referred to the first line of the Lord’s Prayer as “problematic” for describing God as “our father.”

WOMEN'S AP TOP 25: Gamecocks remain at No. 2; Trojans jump to No. 4SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 26, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AstraZeneca, the British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant, is facing a securities class action lawsuit in the U.S. alleging the company misled investors about its business practices in China, a critical market that accounts for roughly 13% of its revenue. Hagens Berman has opened an investigation and urges investors in AstraZeneca American Depositary Shares who suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now. Class Period: Feb. 23, 2022 – Dec. 17, 2024 Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Feb. 21, 2025 Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/azn Contact the Firm Now: AZN@hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895 AstraZeneca (AZN) Securities Fraud Class Action: The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, claims AstraZeneca made false and misleading statements and omitted material information regarding the company's exposure to legal and regulatory risks in China. Specifically, the complaint alleges that AstraZeneca: Engaged in insurance fraud in China. Faced heightened legal exposure in China, culminating in the detention of Leon Wang, Executive Vice President International and AstraZeneca China President, by Chinese law enforcement authorities. Understated the significant legal and regulatory risks associated with its China operations. Failed to disclose that these issues could materially harm its business activities and financial performance in China. The lawsuit highlights a series of events that began to unfold in late October 2024. On October 30th, AstraZeneca announced that Mr. Wang was cooperating with an ongoing investigation by Chinese authorities, without providing further details. This news sent AstraZeneca's share price down by approximately 3%. On November 5th, the Chinese business news outlet Yicai reported that dozens of AstraZeneca China executives had been implicated in the investigation, with some facing prison sentences exceeding 10 years. Yicai also cited an industry insider who attributed the company's compliance issues to "extreme pressure" placed on sales representatives to meet ambitious sales targets. This news further impacted AstraZeneca's stock price, causing a decline of around 7%. On November 12th, AstraZeneca confirmed Mr. Wang's detention and disclosed that the PRC investigation included allegations of medical insurance fraud, illegal drug importation, and personal information breaches. More recently, on December 18th, the Financial Times reported that AstraZeneca executives anticipate a revenue decline in China due to the arrests of Mr. Wang and other senior executives. The report cited an AstraZeneca executive who stated that "doctors are unwilling to interact with our salespeople and prescribe our medicines" following the investigation. This news resulted in a nearly 4% drop in AstraZeneca's share price. "If the allegations are substantiated, we believe AstraZeneca failed to adequately disclose the company's exposure for its operations in China," said Reed Kathrein, an attorney leading the firm's investigation. If you invested in AstraZeneca and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, submit your losses now » If you'd like more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the AstraZeneca investigation, read more » Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding AstraZeneca should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email AZN@hbsslaw.com . About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation firm focusing on corporate accountability. The firm is home to a robust practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and other wrongdoings. Hagens Berman's team has secured more than $2.9 billion in this area of law. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com . Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw . Contact: Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895 © 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.Madhya Pradesh HC stays Religare AGM on investor's pleaLas Vegas Dental Group Welcomes Dr. Eduardo Pais to Esteemed LVDG Dental Team

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