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2 sentenced for role in dismemberment of homicide victim, whose remains were dumped in Lake Superior

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

GRAND MARAIS, Minn. — It’s been more than two years since St. Paul resident Ricky Balsimo Jr. was murdered on Father’s Day, driven hundreds of miles north, dismembered and callously tossed in Lake Superior, where those responsible believed he’d never be found.The plan likely would have succeeded if not for the persistence of the Balsimo family, who felt shunned by police and spent weeks pursuing their own investigation, ultimately helping bring the offenders to justice.Still, time has done little to heal the trauma, as evidenced by a pair of sentencings Tuesday in Cook County District Court.“I have to learn how to love and trust again,” his sister, Raquel Turner, said. “After this, I don’t know how to be a normal person. I don’t know how to get through a day without anger and hate.”Richard Anthony BalsimoTwo Northland residents who played active roles in covering up the murder after the fact were the first to receive their punishments, ahead of the killer’s sentencing next month.Rob...

Concert review: Yung Gravy’s Grandstand show lacking in momentum, talent

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be Yung Gravy. Don’t let them become spoiled white frat party habitues who spit out rapidly rhythmic rhymes that demean women at every opportunity, portraying them only as targets for conquest and domination.But if Rochester, Minn.’s, Matthew Hauri hadn’t invented Yung Gravy while a student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, an algorithm might have. Hauri’s degree is in marketing, and it’s easy to see his dorky playboy persona as just an exploitation scam directed at those in early adolescence, be it physically, emotionally or mentally. If you have any doubts about his priorities, you can find them explained in his biggest hit: “Betty (Get Money).”And it’s a fair assumption that Yung Gravy does clear a good amount of overhead, because he doesn’t employ musicians, just a DJ who turns the bass up to 11 so the curly-maned rapper’s misogynist lyrics don’t come out clearly in concert. But he’s certainly accrued a following, judging from the...

Takeaways from Rapids 3-0 loss to Minnesota United as Colorado falls to worst record in the league

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

The Colorado Rapids are staring at a 14’er-sized gap between them and the summit of the MLS standings.Colorado is firmly at the base of the table, now in last place.The Rapids lost 3-0 to Minnesota United Wednesday night at Allianz Field in St. Paul as it gave up all three goals inside the opening 45 minutes.After results elsewhere, Colorado now has the worst record in Major League Soccer (3-12-10, 19 points) as it is seriously in contention for a “mock-me” style trophy. Not the playoffs, but rather, “The Wooden Spoon”, awarded to the supporters whose teams finish at the bottom of the table.Here are two takeaways from the loss.Despondent, desperation inside locker roomFollowing the game, the always stoic Rapids head coach Robin Fraser gave a rare insight into the true reality of the locker room and did not hold back. It’s very bleak.“We play with a certain identity and I think given the situation we’re in right now, I don’t see t...

High-speed pursuit suspect surrenders to police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

West Covina police officers arrested a man after a high-speed pursuit on Wednesday night. It’s unclear what the suspect was wanted for, but the chase began in West Covina and remained on surface streets, briefly going through Baldwin Park.  Aerial footage from Sky5 showed the driver, in what appeared to be a silver-colored sedan, eventually slow down, stop and wave officers toward his vehicle near the intersection of Cameron Avenue and Greenberry Dr. in West Covina. A pursuit suspect seen surrendering to police after a high-speed chase on Aug. 30, 2023. (KTLA)West Covina police officers seen surrounding the vehicle of a pursuit suspect who was taken into custody on Aug. 30, 2023. (KTLA)West Covina police officers seen surrounding the vehicle of a pursuit suspect who was taken into custody on Aug. 30, 2023. (KTLA)A suspect fleeing police for an unknown reason on Aug. 30, 2023. He was later taken into custody. (KTLA)West Covina police officers seen surrounding the vehicle of...

Man picking up trash around the Bay Area invites others to join

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

(KRON) -- How many times have you walked by a pile of trash and thought, "hey… someone should really do something about that?" Well, UC Berkeley alum Andy Wang is a “someone” – who committed to do “something” years ago. Starbucks no longer offering disposable cups at these North Bay locations Every week, Wang says he spends five or six hours picking up trash around the Bay Area, usually by himself. He started doing it back in October of 2021. The Livermore resident was tired of seeing trash on his daily commute to Tracy. Before long, he moved on from cleaning up around his city, and started using satellite images to find pockets of trash all over the Bay Area. He catalogs his cleanup efforts on his Instagram page and occasionally invites his followers to join in.  But Wang doesn’t mind doing the work himself.  He likes being outside, and he likes the feeling of making a difference. He hopes to inspire others to do the same, which would amplify his efforts to le...

Today in History: August 31, U.S. mission in Iraq ends

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

Today in History Today is Thursday, Aug. 31, the 243rd day of 2023. There are 122 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 31, 2010, President Barack Obama ended the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, declaring no victory after seven years of bloodshed and telling those divided over the war in his country and around the world: “It is time to turn the page.”On this date: In 1881, the first U.S. tennis championships (for men only) began in Newport, Rhode Island.In 1886, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.3 devastated Charleston, South Carolina, killing at least 60 people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. In 1962, the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago became independent of British colonial rule.In 1980, Poland’s Solidarity labor movement was born with an agreement signed in Gdansk (guh-DANSK’) that ended a 17-day-old strike.In 1992, white separatist Randy Weaver surrendered to authorities in Naples, Idaho, ending an 11-day siege by federal agents...

Caroline Wozniacki beats Petra Kvitova at the US Open shortly after coming out of retirement

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Caroline Wozniacki clearly made the right choice to come out of retirement and try her hand at this tennis thing again, making it to the third round at the U.S. Open by beating two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 7-5, 7-6 (5) on Wednesday night.Wozniacki, a 33-year-old from Denmark, won the 2018 Australian Open and reached No. 1 in the rankings during her first stint on tour. She walked away from the sport in early 2020 to start a family and now she and her husband, former NBA player David Lee, are the parents of two children.After a hiatus of 3 1/2 years, Wozniacki returned to competition this month and now is back at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2019. She was the runner-up at the U.S. Open in 2009 and 2014.She looked quite capable of strong play against the 11th-seeded Kvitova on Wednesday night. There were some wobbles, including when Wozniacki held her first two match points at 5-4 in the second set and failed to convert either.But her game was...

Rookies propel St Louis City to 2-1 victory over Dallas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Defender Anthony Markanich and Nökkvi Thórisson both scored their first goals in league play three minutes apart late in the second half and St. Louis City held off FC Dallas 2-1 on Wednesday night.Markanich, who subbed in to begin the second half in his second appearance of the season for St. Louis City (15-9-2) after coming over from Colorado, broke up a scoreless match when he scored unassisted in the 82nd minute. Markanich made six starts in 13 appearances over the past two seasons for the Rapids.Thórisson used assists from Eduard Löwen and Njabulo Blom to find the net in his third career appearance. Blom had a hand in a goal for the first time in his rookie season. Blom has made 13 starts and 18 appearances.Thórisson’s goal became necessary when rookie Eugene Ansah scored unassisted in the fifth minute of stoppage time. It was Ansah’s first career goal in just his third appearance for Dallas (9-10-6).Roman Bürki tallied three saves for St. Louis Cit...

North Korea and Russia meet over arms deal, US intel reveals

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

New U.S. intelligence shows North Korea and Russia are “actively advancing” high-level talks for additional weapons and other materials to assist Moscow’s brutal war in Ukraine, the Biden administration disclosed on Wednesday.Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu recently traveled to North Korea to try to secure additional artillery ammunition, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. Since that visit, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un have exchanged letters pledging to increase their cooperation.Also after Shoigu’s visit, another group of Russian officials traveled to Pyongyang for follow-up discussions about potential arms deals between the two nations, Kirby said. Under the potential agreements, North Korea would ship Russia “significant quantities and multiple types” of weapons for use in Ukraine, he said.The potential deals also include the provision of raw materials that could help boost Russia’s military manufacturi...

Rare blue supermoon captures eyes of San Diegans

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:44 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Locals were in for a treat Wednesday evening as the San Diego County skies revealed a rare blue supermoon.A blue moon is when the full moon is seen twice in a single month while a supermoon is when the moon is at or near its closes point to earth at the same time as it is full, according to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).With Wednesday's full moon just 222,043 miles or so away, it became the closest full moon of the year. It was 100 miles closer than the Aug. 1 supermoon.Also visible alongside the moon, Saturn could be seen as a bright point 5 degrees to the upper right of the moon at sunset in the east-southeastern sky, per NASA. Bridge to Oceanside Pier will be demolished, replaced FOX 5 captured a mesmerizing timelapse of the blue supermoon and an image of the celestial spectacle over the San Diego city skyline. Viewers from Oceanside to Escondido to Coronado sent in photos to FOX 5 of the rare sight, which can be found in the slideshow below:...