Santa Cruz - Streets On Fire (FULL) Holy Cross School observes 9/11
SANTA CRUZ None of the students at Holy Cross School in Santa Cruz were born when a group of men seized control of three airplanes and flew them into targets around Washington, D.C.
All of them, however, band together every year to honor and thank the firefighters, police officers and other first responders who lost their lives that day, and those who work every day.
At Holy Cross, the thank yous come in the form of plates heaped with cookies.
Cookies for Courage has been a tradition at the school since the 9/11 attacks, when a fifth-grade student decided to ease her sadness during one 9/11 anniversary by making cookies for local first responders.
Its really important we honor everyone who helps out, said eighth-grader Maggie ORourke. They save the community from tragedy and protect the city.
Maggie said the day is also a time to teach the younger students about the importance of the remembrance.
They have to be able to know what were talking about, she said.
Leilani Valdez, also an eighth-grader, has been participating in the event since she started at the school nine years ago.
Its our way of saying thank you for all the help during 9/11, she said. Im proud of them.
Santa Cruz Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark called the day a joy.
Its a huge honor, he said. Its by far one of our favorite days of the year.
Santa Cruz Fire Captain Pat Gallagher said attending the event gives him a rare opportunity to interact with the public in a relaxed atmosphere.
Its a really nice opportunity for us to reflect on what happened on 9/11 and how it affected us as a community, he said.
The event was attended by personnel from Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Watsonville, Capitola and UC Santa Cruz police departments, in addition to CalFire, Santa Cruz Fire Department and American Medical Response.
Green Party"s Jill Stein: Politicians do not own our vote
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was escorted off the premises of Hofstra University on Monday afternoon, hours before the start of the first debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Stein, who"s ineligible to participate in the event because she did not meet the Commission on Presidential Debates" 15 percent polling threshold, boarded a shuttle bus meant for news media as it headed to the New York venue.
A reporter for USA Today spotted Stein and her press secretary and reported her presence on Twitter. Apparently, Hofstra University security and Nassau Country police saw the tweet and removed Stein and the aide because they were not credentialed media or invited members of the audience.
Stein spokeswoman Melezia Figueroa said the candidate was headed to the venue to participate in media interviews, which she was doing when law enforcement and campus security located her and told her to leave. Figueroa said Stein complied with police orders and left the area.
"We were there under legitimate pretenses," Figueroa told USA Today.
Figueroa said the campaign planned to bus in supporters to stage a protest to grant her admission into Monday night"s debate, though she acknowledged it was unlikely to work.
Stein said she plans to join her supporters at the protest and live stream her response to the debate on social media.
Monday"s trip to Hofstra wasn"t Stein"s first. In 2012, again the Green Party nominee, she was arrested after entering the debate venue -- which was also at Hofstra -- and handcuffing herself to a chair in protest.
Records Show Vehicle Registered to Nathan DeSai Described as normally "sweet" and "friendly," Nathan DeSai"s neighbors noticed a dramatic change in recent months.
On August 4, roofers were working above his West University condo.
DeSai apparently believed someone was trying to break in -- and confronted the workers with a gun, according to the condo"s property manager.
"It was a several-months long roofing project and we got a call from the roofer saying that one of the residents had come out waving an assault rifle at them," said Jason Delgado with Rise Association Management Group said in a phone interview. "We immediately called the police."
In the aftermath of DeSai"s apparent shooting rampage which injured nine Monday, Houston"s police chief did not seem aware.
"We cannot find a nexus to that individual or that apartment," Interim Chief Martha Montalvo said during a press conference after the shooting and after DeSai"s was shot and killed by officers.
No charges were pressed, but in a letter to DeSai, property managers warned him threatening behavior would not be tolerated.
"We have received reports that you are causing a nuisance to some of the residents," the August 5 letter obtained by abc13 read. "Please take steps to correct this issue. Displaying a firearm for any purpose other than transporting it to your unit is prohibited."
It was just one of the erratic behaviors noted recently.
As officers were searching DeSai"s car, a notebook emblazoned with a swastika was found in his bag. There was apparently more n**i gear in his apartment.
"We did find some old n**i emblem and also some other paraphernalia where he lived," Houston police homicide detective Dwane Ready said.
Some who saw the notebook on abc13 said it may be a Hindu symbol, rather than a n**i emblem
A former client who had been in his apartment said desai collected old weapons but never saw any n**i material.
There were also reports of heavy pot use in DeSai"s apartment.
"The information we would hear from other owners is that there was a marijuana odor that was pretty strong coming from his unit," Delgado said "We had numerous complaints about that."
In addition, court records show that DeSai"s business was dropping off.
DeSai was a lawyer, but with few -- if any -- current clients.
He had no active criminal cases and only two new criminal cases since 2013. This year he had no new civil work either.
That"s in stark contrast to more robust years like 2008 when he was working 26 criminal and civil cases and 2009 when he had 17 such cases, records show.
DeSai did not pay his property taxes on time in 2014 and 2015 and was fined because of it. His property tax bill is now current, records show.
Everyone interviewed Monday seems flabbergasted by the news and many are looking for a motive.
Neighbor Deborah Boily described DeSai as "sweet and friendly" and is also mystified.
"I"m sad, very sad," she said. "He must have been plunging into some very dark places."
RGIII"s 50-Yard TD Bomb to Terrelle Pryor! (Preseason) | Falcons vs. Browns | NFL
Opportunity is the name of the game in fantasy football. Talent matters, of course, but we want players who see a healthy volume of targets and touches to anchor our lineups, especially in daily fantasy. Every week in the second season of the Opportunity Report, we"ll look at all the passing targets for every NFL team and the percentage each player owns. Franchise will handle the backfield touches section this year and his Week 3 piece is tabbed above.
After Week 3 we have even more new data to work with and can dig into the passing distribution for each NFL team. We"re trending far more towards the territory where we need to believe what we are seeing in these distributions is the new reality we should adopt.
Note: The Opportunity Report is a living document and will be updated with the results of every game until after the Monday night game concludes. If you"re looking for target data on a team and they aren"t here yet, check back later.
Arizona Cardinals
After two disconcerting weeks of poor usage and single-digit catch outings, this was a sign of optimism for John Brown. He played 57 percent of the snaps, well ahead of Jaron Brown and tied Michael Floyd for second on the team in targets behind Larry Fitzgerald. He hauled in six of his 11 targets for 70 yards and finally looked like the John Brown of old. Brown"s usage should continue to trend upward as he gets further away from the dreadful offseason concussions which cost him "way too much time" according to coach Bruce Arians. The Cardinals need better play from their wide receiver group as Michael Floyd continues to be one of the more disappointing players in the early going of this season. Floyd had the Bills" cornerbacks in his hip pocket consistently on Sunday.
Buffalo Bills
No Bills pass-catcher is relevant with Sammy Watkins out. Robert Woods had a 32 percent share of the team targets despite seeing just eight go his way. We will have to wait until Sammy Watkins plays to see if new offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn really does change the passing game at all.
Cleveland Browns
Terrelle Pryor was absolutely dynamic on Sunday. Not only did he dominate the target share for Cleveland on a 36.8 percent clip while racking up 144 yards, he also ran four times for 21 yards and a touchdown and threw the ball five times, completing three for another 35 yards. The Dolphins defense isn"t exactly the toughest test, but Pryor looked like the actualization of the long overused term "offensive weapon." Yet, the best news of all was that Pryor ran routes like a wide receiver and made a number of clean consistent catches.
The volume Pryor saw in this contest won"t last much longer with Josh Gordon set to return in Week 5 and Corey Coleman still on track to return at some point. However, he"s made the legitimate leap to the level of a starting NFL wide receiver and should be owned across all fantasy leagues. We have to wonder if the Browns continue using him as a runner and quarterback with Cody Kessler the starting signal-caller.
Houston Texans
It"s hard to take much from this game for the Texans, as the team fell behind quickly and was eventually shut out. It"s far more pivotal to weigh the first two games of the season where the Texans funneled their offense almost exclusively through DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. With Brock Osweiler under a ton of pressure, he was simply content to dump the ball off to Ryan Griffin frequently throughout the game.
iMiami Dolphins
DeVante Parker started off this game with a bang, catching the first touchdown of the contest. However, he went silent quickly despite the game remaining competitive. He finished third on the team in wide receiver snaps and targets, which should remind us that there will be some volatility in his weekly stat lines. Nevertheless, Parker is developing nicely after a poor offseason.
With or without his own numbers, Parkers" mere presence on the field is what matters most to the Dolphins offense. After today Jarvis Landry now averages 11.9 targets and 105.6 yards in games he plays with Parker, compared to 6.1 and 59.4 in games without Parker the last two years. The threat of another option beyond a slot receiver in Miami"s offense opens up opportunities for the unit as a whole to improve.
New England Patriots
There was not much volume to go around for the Patriots pass catchers as the team threw for well under 200 yards with Jacoby Brissett under center. Rob Gronkowski"s return to play was disappointing as he primarily blocked and was a no-show in the stat sheet. We"ll be completely hands off this passing game if Brissett must start the fourth and final game sans Tom Brady.
New York Giants
The Giants deployed three wide receivers on all but two of their plays where they used four wideouts. Odell Beckham played 100 percent of the snaps, while Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz played 99 percent. At this point Shepard is ahead of Cruz in the pecking order, and we could see that coming by the team asking Cruz to move out of the slot to make room for the rookie. Shepard had more targets than the veteran for the second straight week and came with a lower average depth of target (11.1 to 13.7) indicating he will bring more consistent production going forward. Nevertheless, all of these wide receivers will be relevant on a week-to-week basis.
Odell Beckham passed his Josh Norman coverage test with flying colors. Per Next Gen Stats, Beckham lined up opposite Norman on 28 pass plays getting 10 targets, 6 catches and 107 yards with Eli Manning earning 96.6 passer rating. Even though he has not reached the end zone yet, any worries about Beckham"s stock should be put to rest.
Washington Redskins
Jamison Crowder comes up in this space seemingly every week and he tied for second on the team in targets with three other players in Week 3. As usual, Crowder was only targeted at an average of 5.8 yards down the field. However, he showed off more big play ability, racking up 23.3 yards after the catch. At this point, it"s time to consider Crowder one of the top-three receiving options, at worst, on this team. Considering Washington skews pass-heavy, that makes him a weekly flex consideration.
Crowder"s emergence, especially as a surprising red zone weapon, has come at the expense of Jordan Reed. He no longer owns a dominant share of the team passing targetsand doesn"t hold the same touchdown upside as he did down the stretch in 2015.
"You can rely on NFL.com"s Touches and Targets column for great fantasy advice. Just like you can rely on FedEx Ground for fast and affordable shipping."
Matt Harmon is an associate fantasy writer/editor for NFL.com, and the creator of #ReceptionPerception, who you can follow on Twitter @MattHarmon_BYB or like on Facebook.
Time is a flat circle, and it seems the characters in Storybrooke are stuck in it. As Once Upon a Time enters its sixth season, the premiere sees the same problems play out between the same people in slightly different deviations of versions we"ve seen before. People only fall back on their bad behavior so much; if they aren"t going to learn something from the mistakes they seemingly grew from in the past, it might be time to have them face something new entirely.
Spoilers for Once Upon a Time"s Season 6 premiere, "The Savior," continue below.
Over the past few seasons, Once Upon a Time has kept things fresh by bringing in new fairy tale/Disney faces to enliven the series. From Anna and Elsa to Peter Pan to Hades, the constant revolving door of splashy guest characters has oftentimes shifted the focus from steady development of the core Storybrooke crew to the arc of the moment.
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But after letting that style of storytelling run its course, showrunners Adam Horowitz and Eddie Kitsis seem to be making a shift back to the way they did things in the early seasons of the series: namely, not splitting the season in half and telling two different story arcs around the midseason hiatus. The duo confirmed during a recent press Q&A that Season 6"s adventures in the Land of Untold stories will be something that stretches over the course of the whole year, instead of being wrapped up tidily in the midseason hiatus.
On paper this seems like a smart way to reinvigorate Once"s storytelling. Season 5 was split between Camelot and the Underworld, but the major throughline was Emma -- and then Hook -- becoming the Dark One. In Season 6, it seems like the real story will be whether Emma can change her unhappy Savior"s fate, and whether that takes place in Storybrooke or the Land of Untold Stories or elsewhere is of secondary importance. Spending 20-odd episodes on this one conflict means there"s an opportunity for real growth on the show.
The real issue is that many these characters are still making the same mistakes and bad decisions six seasons in that they were at the start. Some of these storylines echo heavily plotlines that occurred over the past few seasons, with Rumpelstiltskin and Belle literally following their own footsteps by recreating their Beauty and the Beast-inspired dance from the Season 4 premiere.
Rumple and Belle"s relationship drama is a big example of the "been there, done that" theme of the Season 6 premiere. These two love each other, but he can"t be better than the "best man he can be," and that"s not enough for her. He lies, she feels betrayed, maybe they rekindle their romance or maybe she keeps him at arm"s length -- either way, a happy ending always seems in sight but just out of reach.
It"s not easy to maintain conflict -- a necessary evil in storytelling -- in a seasons-long relationship, and it"s a problem many long-running TV shows run into. But Once Upon a Time has a habit of putting a new skin over the same story, and the Belle and Rumple tale is a prime example. Now the thing keeping Belle and Rumple apart is an adult version of their unborn son, who warns Belle of the same thing she"s been grappling with for seasons: don"t trust Rumpelstiltskin. He will disappoint you, he will lie to you, he will fail you.
The best thing for this relationship is to rip this band-aid off, one way or another. Make one of them change in a substantial way, or have them come to terms with the fact their relationship isn"t going to work and move on. Sometimes love isn"t enough, and that"s an OK story for Once Upon a Time to tell. Horowitz and Kitsis have long said their goal is to show the human behind some of the most iconic and beloved fairy tale creations, and seeing a couple know when to say "enough" is pretty darn human.
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But Belle and Rumple aren"t the only two to be retreading familiar territory. Regina and Zelena have been at odds ever since the Wicked Witch was introduced, and for largely the same reasons. The two sisters finally came together in a lovely way in Season 5, realizing that true love can be familial as much as it can be romantic. The new season tossed that resolution to the side: Regina blames Zelena for the death of Robin, and doesn"t deny that she wanted to get rid of the part of her that is most similar to her darker sister. That sends Zelena into the arms of Regina"s severed half, the Evil Queen, to put her at odds with the good side of her sister once again. The baggage between these two is ripe dramatic material, but it"s material that"s been mined again and again and again to similar effect since the Wicked Witch was introduced in Season 3.
Once Upon a Time goes all the way back to Season 1 for the source of its new conflict between Emma and Hook, when she defers to lying to him about her hand tremor instead of just coming out with the truth -- something certain to have frustrating and familiar consequences for their relationship. Explaining Emma"s decision-making, Kitsis said, "It"s her character. The fun thing about six seasons, at least as writers, is you get to revert to that. When Emma has a problem, it reverts back to Season 1: wall goes up, I"ll figure it out myself. She can sit there and have these great scenes of hugging Henry and hugging her mom and telling Regina they"re buddies, and then all of the sudden when something comes up she reverts back."
The rationale for Emma"s tremors and darker storyline in Season 6 is that, after so many seasons of fighting bad guys and having her new friends knock down the walls she built up, all the things she had fought to keep at bay would rush in and cause new issues. It"s a smart direction to take the Savior in, but to do so at the expense of every lesson she learned about family and relationships over five years undercuts the point. Emma has lied to Hook in the past and she always puts things on her own shoulders. Each time she seems to learn her lesson, but it"s clear the storytelling doesn"t intend to have those lessons stick.
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It"s the moments where Once Upon a Time does push its characters out of the cyclical cycles of their stories that the Season 6 premiere is the most rewarding. Regina is the character who has arguably grown the most over six years, and her scenes with Snow White highlight best how much has changed for them both. As much as Regina struggles with her own sister, her relationship with Snow White has evolved from viewing her the bane of her existence to Snow being one of the first people she turns to when she has a problem. Those hard-fought friendships are often the ones that mean the most in our lives, and seeing Once reflect that plays into the idea that these larger-than-life figures are just human.
Once Upon a Time is faced with the tough challenge of keeping the same fan-favorite relationships engaging year after year in new ways that also don"t irreparably change the dynamic of the show. But with the same storylines being told in different variations, it"s hard not to be frustrated by seeing characters start to travel down the path they just reached the end of not long before. Hopefully the next time they find resolution to these conflicts, it will prove to have a more lasting impact and allow them to journey somewhere new.
Terri Schwartz is Entertainment Editor at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.
Rory McIlroy"s must-see eagle hole out at the TOUR Championship
Club spotlight: When Rory McIlroy won the Deutsche Bank Championship, it marked his first win on the PGA Tour in 15 months. His next win didnt take so long. The four-time major champion won the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup with a final-round 64 at East Lake G.C.
Key to McIlroys victory was his approaches into the greens as he ranked second in greens in regulation and fourth in proximity to the hole. Helping both those statistics was a hole out for eagle from 137 yards on the par-4 16th hole. The shot was struck with a Nike Engage wedge and marked the longest hole-out McIlroy has had on the PGA Tour in more than three years.
Ball: Nike RZN Tour PlatinumDriver: Nike Vapor Fly Pro (Mitsubishi Diamana Blue Board s+ 70x), 9.5 degrees3-wood: Nike Vapor Speed, 15 degrees5-wood: Nike Vapor Speed, 19 degreesIrons (3-9): Nike VR Pro Blades; (PW): Nike EngageWedges: Nike Engage (56, 58 degrees)Putter: Scotty Cameron by Titleist M1 prototype
When your parents are immigrants, you generally grow up speaking their language, be it Cantonese or Mandarin, Korean, Armenian or Spanish.
You close your eyes, drift into slumber, and that language carries you into your dreams.
But there comes a point where one door closes and another opens. You dont dream so much in the language of your parents. You begin to dream in English.
That happened to me right about the time I became a Dodgers fan. I was 6, just starting school at Sheridan Elementary in Boyle Heights, and the narrator of those moments I so desperately wanted to happen that baseball I wanted to see soar over the center field wall at Chavez Ravine was Vin Scully.
His voice carried me through dreams where it was me, not Kirk Gibson, who got the big hit that brought glory and happiness to my city.
Scully was the first broadcaster I listened to regularly, and he sounded like no one I had ever met or heard. He brought alive the exploits of Steve Garvey, Dusty Baker and my favorite, Pedro Guerrero.
As much as school, sports and an endless loop of Bugs Bunny cartoons, he taught me English.
And there was no better tutor than a broadcaster who sounded like someone shoved Lord Alfred Tennyson into a broadcast booth and planted him in front of a microphone.
I became trilingual: I spoke Spanish, English and sports.
In a humble but meaningful way,Scully and Dodgers actually helped our family stay together, too.
My late father came to the U.S. in the trunk of a car in 1965, and he didnt do it for the thrills. He had no legal papers. My mother came a couple of years later with a visa that she ended up overstaying.
They were, in the popular parlance, illegals. With her came my older brother and sister. I hadnt been born yet, and as anchor babies go I was a pretty half-hearted one, being born seven years later.
Crossing the border illegally in the 1970s and early 80s, though far easier than now, was no slam dunk. So if we ever visited our parents hometown of Jalisco, Mexico, the children were divided among several vehicles to lessen the likelihood we would all go down in one ship if we got caught. My younger sister and brother, like myself, all were American-born. But my older siblings had to fake being American.
How did a boy or girl fake being a United States citizen without official documents? My older brother Javierrecalls what happened in the summer of 1977, on our familys return trip home after traveling to Mexico to finally meet our paternal grandmother.
He was 14 then, 52now, but still vividly recalls the experience and the anxiety.
I had lived in Los Angeles ever since I was 2 years old. It was the only home I knew, he says. Still, I had no legal right to live in Los Angeles. My parents had agonized in allowing me to join my sixth grade classmates to an end-of-year San Diego Zoo trip. Too close to the border and border agents.
As our family attempted to cross back into the U.S. at the Mexicali to Calexico border, Javierand my sister Patricia were passengers with distant relatives people they had just met who had visitors visas. They had been coached to say I am a United States citizen.
When we reached the border our drivers handed their visas to the agent and told him that we had visited them and were now returning to Los Angeles, Javierrecalls. I was sitting on the car seat closest to the guard. He leaned into the window.
Which is your favorite baseball team? the guard asked.
How lucky could my brother be?
1977 was a great time to be a Dodger fan, Javierremembers. They would win the National League pennant from 1977 through [1978]and the championship in 1981. I spent countless summer days and nights listening to Vin Scully on my transistor radio. I had that answer cold.
I replied with enthusiasm: the Dodgers!
The border guard waved the car through. Welcome home to America.
In the Dodgers, I felt a sense of community, my brother says. I was part of something special. Not a trespasser.
As for me, I dont know how old I was the first time I got to go to Dodger Stadium. I do remember hearing Scullys voice coasting through the air, from radios and from speakers.
As I always do, Im sure I squinted into the press box above, like someone trying to peer through clouds pierced by sunlight, trying to steal a glimpse of the man with the voice of a sports G*d.
In October 2013, I finally got to meet Scully. I was doing a story on his Spanish-language counterpart, the great Jaime Jarrin. I stumbled upon Scully as he walked in the press dining area of the stadium, and asked him about Jarrin.
Hes not the Spanish Vin Scully. He is what he is, Jaime Jarrin. He stands on his own two feet. Hes a Hall of Fame announcer and a wonderful human being, Scully said graciously.
I thanked him and shook his hand and then looked at my phone, which I had used to record the short conversation. It caught his voice, but not hisface. Unfortunately, the video lingered on Scullys tie.
What can I say? Its hard to stare straight into the sun.
