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Beloved matriarch of Silver Lake taqueria dies after being hit by a car

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:52 GMT

Family, friends and customers are mourning the loss of Maria Esther Valdiva, the matriarch of a popular Silver Lake taqueria, after she was struck by a car last week and died several days later.  The incident happened on May 22, at around 1 p.m., at the intersection Cross Street and Glendale Boulevard in Echo Park.  “I feel horrible. I can’t believe it at times. I have moments where I just break down,” Irma Gonzalez, Valdiva’s daughter, told KTLA.  Gonzalez said she’s used to walking into work at Tacos Delta and seeing her mother.  “My mom was more than a mom,” she said. “We saw her every day. We worked with her every day.”  Valdiva had worked at Tacos Delta since the day it opened in 1981. She was the mother of four children, had 14 grandchildren and one great grandchild. Her daughter said that Valdiva was still very active and at the time of the crash, she’d had her bags packed for a girls’ trip to Cabo.  “My mom was healthy. My mom was full of l...

Suspect arrested for series of car fires in Tujunga

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:52 GMT

L.A. police arrested a suspect Monday believed to be responsible for more than a dozen car fires in the Tujunga area. Video shows a man on a bike torching a blue pickup truck this morning and then casually riding away.  “We heard car horns beeping and my wife went outside and looked, and she ran back inside and said, ‘The truck is on fire,’ and thought how this could be. It’s been sitting there. There’s nothing wrong with the truck,” Richard Poquette, the vehicle’s owner told KTLA. Video shows an unidentified person lighting Richard Poquette's truck on fire on May 29, 2023, and riding off. (KTLA)Video shows an unidentified person lighting Richard Poquette's truck on fire on May 29, 2023, and riding off. (KTLA)Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division, along with arson investigators from the Los Angeles Fire Department, have been working to identify the suspect responsible.  Police said that a person was observed and taken into custody Monday, th...

After battle with alcohol, A’s player and San Jose native gets sober, realizes MLB dream

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:52 GMT

OAKLAND – Lucas Erceg wasn’t sure if this moment would ever arrive.The San Jose native and Menlo College alum played in the minor leagues for close to six years, never rising above Triple-A as a hitter even though he was once considered one of the top 30 prospects in the Milwaukee Brewers system.But a position switch to pitcher before the start of the 2022 season, plus a commitment to sobriety two years earlier, changed Erceg’s life and perhaps opened up all kinds of possibilities for him going forward.Using both a four-seam fastball that ran up as high as 98 mph, and attacking the strike zone with an 89-90 mph slider, Erceg picked up his first Major League win Monday in the Oakland A’s 7-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Taking over for Paul Blackburn in the fifth inning, Erceg collected four strikeouts over three scoreless innings to go to 1-0 as a pitcher.“Guy’s coming in throwing, 98-99 mph bowling ball sinkers in there,” Blackburn said of Erceg. “ItR...

Russia launches pre-dawn attack on Kyiv, killing at least 1; Moscow attacked by drones

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:52 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a pre-dawn attack on Ukraine’s capital Tuesday, killing at least one person and sending Kyiv’s residents again scrambling into shelters to escape a relentless wave of daylight and nighttime bombardments. Moscow authorities reported a drone attack on the Russian capital. At least 20 Shahed drones were destroyed by air defense forces in Kyiv’s airspace in Russia’s third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours, according to the Kyiv Military Administration.The buzzing of drones could be heard over the city, followed by loud explosions as they were taken down by air defense systems.In Moscow, residents reported hearing explosions and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later confirmed there had been a drone attack. Sobyanin said in a Telegram post that the attack caused “insignificant damage” to several buildings and that no one has been seriously hurt, without elaborating.Residents of two buildings damaged in the attack were evacuated, Sobyanin said.There was ...

NASCAR-Xfinity Alsco Uniforms 300 Results

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:52 GMT

MondayAt Charlotte Motor SpeedwayConcord, N.C.Lap length: 1.50 miles(Start position in parentheses)1. (1) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200 laps, 56 points.2. (2) John H. Nemechek, Toyota, 200, 53.3. (4) Cole Custer, Ford, 200, 38.4. (17) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 200, 44.5. (3) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 200, 0.6. (37) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 200, 31.7. (9) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 200, 30.8. (15) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 199, 30.9. (5) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 199, 31.10. (18) Sammy Smith, Toyota, 199, 27.11. (24) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 199, 26.12. (6) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 199, 0.13. (10) Chandler Smith, Chevrolet, 199, 34.14. (13) Riley Herbst, Ford, 199, 24.15. (14) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 199, 25.16. (32) Kaz Grala, Toyota, 199, 21.17. (23) Joe Graf Jr, Ford, 199, 20.18. (29) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 199, 19.19. (27) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 198, 18.20. (21) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 198, 17.21. (38) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 198, 16.22. (11) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 198, 22.23...

Moscow mayor confirms drone attack on Russian capital, says two residential buildings damaged

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:52 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Moscow mayor confirms drone attack on Russian capital, says two residential buildings damaged.Source

Judge’s 2 HRs help Germán win after suspension, Yankees top Mariners 10-4

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:52 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Aaron Judge hit two homers at the plate and robbed one in the field with a leaping catch at the wall, leading the New York Yankees past the Seattle Mariners 10-4 on Monday night.Domingo Germán pitched into the seventh inning to win his first start following a 10-game suspension for using a foreign substance on the mound.Judge was one of several Yankees batters to have a big night, most of it coming against Seattle rookie Bryce Miller. Judge’s first homer was a line-drive, two-run shot off the left-field foul pole in the third inning to give New York a 3-1 lead.The slugger settled for a double off the wall in the fifth, but got enough the next time up. His 17th homer came off reliever Juan Then in the seventh and eluded Jarred Kelenic’s leaping attempt at the left-field fence.It was Judge’s 31st career multi-homer game and first since May 15 at Toronto. He also had two homers on May 13 against Tampa Bay.And if his swings at the plate weren’t enough, Judge stole a...

Celtics’ Malcolm Brogdon will consider offseason surgery after suffering painful forearm injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:52 GMT

Malcolm Brogdon fought through a painful right forearm injury to suit up for Monday’s Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, but the Celtics guard ultimately just wasn’t himself on the biggest stage of his career.Brogdon confirmed after the Celtics’ season-ending Game 7 loss to the Heat that he was dealing with a partial tear of a tendon in his right forearm. The Sixth Man of the Year’s performance declined because of it as his terrific season ended in disappointing fashion.Brogdon, who missed Game 6 because of the injury, scored just two points combined over the final four games he played, and just eight minutes in the finale, as the discomfort he experienced put a toll on him.“Unfortunately, you use it a lot to shoot,” Brogdon said. “So, when I’m shooting, I’m having a lot of pain.”Brogdon said surgery is something he will consider this summer as he recovers from the injury.Brogdon was having one of the healthiest seasons of his career, but the injury bug caught him ...

At least 10 dead, 55 injured as bus of Hindu pilgrims falls into gorge in Indian-controlled Kashmir

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:52 GMT

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A bus carrying Hindu pilgrims to a shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir skid off a highway bridge into a Himalayan gorge Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and injuring 55, police said.The bus was on way to Katra town from the northern state of Punjab’s Amritsar city when it fell into the gorge near Jammu city, police said. Local police officer Chandan Kohli told reporters that the bus was overloaded. He said the dead were from India’s eastern Bihar state.Residents and authorities rushed to the accident spot and launched a rescue operation. The injured have been hospitalized.The shrine of Vaishno Devi in Katra is highly revered by Hindus and hundreds of thousands visit it every year. India has some of the highest road death rates in the world, with hundreds of thousands of people killed and injured annually. Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and aging vehicles.The Associated Press

Economic boost or big business hand-out? Nevada lawmakers consider A’s stadium financing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:52 GMT

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada lawmakers questioned whether a proposal to subsidize a new MLB stadium with tax credits and bonds would further boost Las Vegas’ economy, or serve as a handout for a big business that could strain government resources.In a committee hearing on Monday — likely the only before a vote on the proposal to help fund the Oakland A’s potential stadium on the Las Vegas Strip — the Republican governor’s chief of staff and the Democratic treasurer both said it would provide tax revenue and well-paying jobs while further aiding Las Vegas’ transformation into a sports city. But lawmakers questioned whether an A’s stadium on the site of the Tropicana Las Vegas would be worth it. They cited an MLB team with the worst record in baseball, financed in-part by a county and state struggling to fund public services including schools, which rank toward the bottom in national student-teacher ratios and per-pupil funding.“Regular citizens see us having a conversation and a d...