Redwood City police identified and arrested a man who allegedly assaulted another man at a wine bar earlier this month.
Aldo Medina Valenzuela was arrested in connection with the attack, which was reported at 2:18 a.m. March 15 at 840 Wine Bar & Cocktail Lounge on Brewster Avenue.
Officers responded and found a man unconscious with head injuries and learned he had been attacked by a group that had been drinking at the bar. The victim was punched and fell to the ground, then kicked and punched while on the floor, according to police.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby business, which showed one of the suspects fleeing in a red Chevrolet Camaro.
Police said detectives were able to take the suspect into custody without incident last Friday after he was identified as Medina Valenzuela as he left his home in the red Camaro.
The case remains under investigation and anyone with information should call Detective Joe O'Gorman at (650) 780-7147 or (650) 780-7110.
On Tuesday, four Republican lawmakers asked Facebook, Twitter and Google to turn over any studies they've done on how their services affect children's mental health.
This follows a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittees last week, in which top company executives discussed their content moderation practices in the wake of the siege of the Capitol in January.
This was reported by Reuters news agency, which added that Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the committee's ranking Republican, asked the CEOs of the technology companies at the hearing if their firms had conducted internal research on children's mental health.
In turn, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he believed the company had conducted such research, while Twitter's Jack Dorsey said it had no such studies.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said that the company consulted with outside experts and invested "a lot of time and effort in these areas.
Reuters said that in the letters sent to the companies on March 30, McMorris Rodgers asked for copies of any relevant internal investigations or communications, as well as information on any contractors and partners involved.
In addition, he said, the lawmakers asked for any research the companies have done on how competing products affect the mental well-being of children under 18.
The applications include Google's YouTube Kids and Facebook's Instagram, which is developing a version for under-13s.
The letter, also signed by Republicans Robert Latta, Gus Bilirakis and Morgan Griffith, asks the tech giants to respond to the petition and request for information by April 16.
After two cars were consumed by flames Saturday morning in Oakland, the owners of the cars believe it was a direct attack on them because they are members of the Asian community.
The victims are two Asian seniors - Cambodian and Chinese - in their 60s and 70s, who were awakened by flames surrounding their vehicles, and who prefer to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.
The cars were parked on the street in front of their owners' house, one behind the other. However, no other vehicles were damaged.
The incident comes at a time when many Asian Americans have been targeted in the Bay Area.
The two seniors told ABC 7 News not avoid feeling that they were the target of the attack.
At the same time, they detailed that along the road where they live, there are only two houses owned by Asians, the rest belong to Latinos.
"I lose everything. My job, and now my car. I need to go back for my life," said one of those affected.
"We want peace right now. We didn't do anything wrong to people. We just want peace and to live in the United States," he added.
According to the media outlet, Abe Santos, who lives across the street from where the incidents took place, said she was afraid because she has children and her husband's vehicle was right behind the Chinese man's car, which could have caught fire if she hadn't moved it just in time.
It should be noted that Saturday's incident was handled by the Oakland Fire Department, which said that, so far, there is no evidence to confirm that it was a direct attack.
For his part, the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, wrote on his Twitter account: "It is heartbreaking and horrifying. These acts of hate and bigotry have no place in California. #StopAsianHate".
U.S. The U.S. accuses Sanjuana Martínez, director of Notimex, of orchestrating attacks on journalists, in its 2020 National Report on Human Rights practices, in its chapter: Mexico.
The U.S. State Department points to Sanjuana Martinez, director of the Mexican State News Agency, Notimex, of orchestrating a series of actions that threaten freedom of expression, in its 2020 National Report on Human Rights Practices, in its chapter: Mexico.
In section 2 of the report, which is titled Respect for Civil Libertieswhich includes freedom of expression, reports that "Sanjuana Martínez Montemayor, director of Notimex, the Mexican State News Agency, ordered journalists to remove or not to publish content about certain institutions and government officials.
The above, he said, according to information from the news agency Aristegui NewsThe digital studies laboratory Signa Lab and the non-profit organization Article 19.
Regarding Internet FreedomOn May 12, Article 19 and the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO) of the Jesuit University of Guadalajara published a report on the attacks against journalists orchestrated by Sanjuana Martínez, director of Notimex," the U.S. State Department said.
In that sense, it explains that "ten witnesses with direct knowledge of the Notimex newsroom told Artículo 19 about the existence of a WhatsApp chat called "The Avengers N"."
That chat, he said, "was used by agency executives, at the behest of Sanjuana Martinez, to order journalists to create fake Twitter accounts and post messages against voices critical of Notimex's leadership."
The document details that "Sanjuana Martinez ordered her collaborators to attack prominent Mexican journalists who questioned the appointment of Sanjuana Martinez as director of the state news agency".
In view of this, the organization "Article 19 pointed out that the attacks were very serious and put the lives and careers of the journalists at risk".
It should be noted that Notimex, which is now on strike, has been involved in various controversies due to the actions of Sanjuana Martínez Montemayor, as workers of the Sindicato Único de Trabajadores de Notimex -SutNotimex- have pointed out on several occasions that the director of the agency dismissed several workers in an irregular manner, in addition to having closed the offices of Mexico's correspondents abroad.
The Mexican State News Agency has been on strike since February 2020, where dozens of workers are suffering from the inclemencies and ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The document issued Tuesday also notes that the Mexican government did not restrict or disrupt Internet access, nor did it block or filter online content.
However, he pointed out that the report Freedom on the Net by Freedom House of 2019 classified Mexico's Internet as "partially free," and noted concerns about online manipulation tactics, high levels of violence against digital reporters, and investigations surrounding abusive surveillance practices.
Similarly, he said the report noted that political supporters launched campaigns on social networks against journalists who criticized the daily live press conferences of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
While "a trend on social media also saw public officials blocking critical journalists and media from following their social media accounts."
People in the Asian community in San Mateo County said they are more afraid of racism than of the COVID-19 pandemic because of the various attacks they have suffered throughout the pandemic, which, far from abating, have steadily increased, especially in the Bay Area.
In response, county authorities such as District Attorney Stephen M. Wagstaffe and Sheriff Carlos Bolaños expressed their condemnation and repudiation of the attacks experienced by the Asian community across the country, but especially those registered in the community they seek to protect.
"One of the most important things we're trying to do is, especially now, in light of what's been happening over the last few months, to get the information out to get people talking and reporting what's going on," he said during a virtual meeting to address the attacks and the issue that means for the safety of hundreds of citizens.
The official explained that one of the big gaps that exist for the authorities to take action on the matter is that people do not report the acts, so he called on the community to approach the Sheriff's Office to work together and stop the attacks.
"What we are going to do is, when the Sherrif's Office sends these types of cases to us, we are going to prosecute them. There is absolutely no room for leniency," he said.
In that sense, he explained that he is already in dialogue with other Bay Area District Attorneys to join forces and prevent these types of attacks from occurring, and said they will join forces with the Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) organizations to promote complaints, and that this will lead to tougher laws on the matter.
For his part, Sheriff Bolaños pointed out that hate crimes will never be tolerated in San Mateo County. However, in 2020 alone, and according to one of his investigations, such crimes reached nine, a figure that while he said is not as high as neighboring counties, there should not have to be a single case.
"We know this is a crime that is very under-reported. Most people don't report these crimes, and doing so is vitally important. It doesn't matter how small the hate incidents are. Hate incidents can turn into hate crimes, and we want to know about them and document them, and we want to work with the District Attorney's Office to prosecute these cases to the fullest extent of the law," he said.
He added that unlike other counties, San Mateo has the resources to ensure that every hate incident or hate crime is fully investigated. "We also have a District Attorney who is compassionate, but we hold criminals accountable here in San Mateo County. If you commit a felony, you will be arrested, you will be prosecuted and you will spend time in my correctional facilities."
He reminded those who need support with incidents of this type or who are witnesses to such incidents to call 9-1-1, as the county has more than 800 employees, as well as staff who speak several languages to handle any call.
"We make sure we have staff in our areas where there are people from a certain demographic who can speak that language and we recognize that it's important," he added.
He also noted that the Sheriff's Office is maintaining high visibility of officers in areas where there are a large number of Asian businesses, "so they know we're there to protect them and we're there for them."
According to Russell M. Jeung, PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, so far, of the 3,800 incidents against the Asian community nationwide, about 300 have been in the Bay Area, and of those, in 2020 alone, 120 were in San Mateo County, which is just over a third of the total in the area.
According to Jeung, among the most common incidents against Asian Americans are microaggressions, verbal harassment, and avoidance of contact, however, vandalism is among the most commonly reported attacks.
During a virtual meeting held this past Saturday, the expert highlighted that the places where the greatest number of Asians receive attacks are in various businesses -34.2 percent-, on the street -25.6 percent-, on the Internet -12.8 percent-, on their property -12.0 percent-, in traffic -5.1 percent-, and parks and schools -4.3 percent each-.
"We just did a study where we asked people in the community what was their stressor right now? And there was a mumbling response. They said they're more afraid of racism than they are of the pandemic, which has killed more than half a million people," he said.
In that sense, he pointed out that the Asian American community is the only one that lives more worried about racism and xenophobia than about the COVID-19 pandemic itself, which makes them live in a state of constant anxiety and fear, especially for those who cannot defend themselves, the elderly.
And, he said, it no longer matters much the ethnic origin of the people, since it is enough to have oriental features to be a victim of hate attacks that derived from the belief that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was their fault, as well as spreading it around the world.
However, Jeung explained that Asian American youth in San Mateo County are more aware and likely to report the large amount of bullying and harassment the community experiences through the website www.stopaapihate.org .
While the number of those reporting incidents is not yet large, it is expected to increase and allow local law enforcement to help stop the harassment and incidents against a community that has undoubtedly contributed much to San Mateo County.
Pollution undoubtedly threatens the lives of all living things on the planet, but the modern world is threatening sperm counts and altering penile growth, endangering the future of the human race, a study says.
The research, included in Dr. Shanna H. Swan's book, "Countdown," points out that, as a result of pollution, an increasing number of babies have been born with a small penis.
In that sense, one of the world's leading environmental and reproductive epidemiologists points out that humanity is facing an existential crisis in fertility rates as a result of a chemical called phthalates, which causes human babies to be born with malformed genitalia.
Research by the professor of Environmental Medicine and Public Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City revealed that phthalate syndrome occurs when a fetus is exposed to chemicals, which over the years has resulted in the likelihood of babies being born with a shrunken penis.
Thus, Swan found that human male babies who are exposed to diphthalates during gestation in the womb, get a shorter anus-genital distance, something that is related to the volume of the penis.
How can phthalates cause the penis to shrink?
Phthalates or phthalic anhydride esters are a group of chemical compounds mainly used as plasticizers - substances added to plastics to increase their flexibility.
They are used in everything from building and construction, to textiles and cosmetics, toys, vinyl wall and floor coverings, detergents, lubricating oils, food packaging, pharmaceuticals, blood bags and tubing.
They are also used for personal care products such as nail polish, hairspray, aftershave, soap, shampoo, perfume and others, so they are in constant contact with people of all ages and conditions.
During her search, Dr. Swan learned about the devastating power of chemicals, hidden but prevalent in our daily lives, to alter the ability of men and women to conceive and give birth to a healthy baby.
In turn, he found that these chemicals do much more than reduce sperm count; they affect many aspects of health and longevity, as well as that of future generations.
According to the BJUI medical journal, the average penis size falls within the following ranges:
Average length of a flaccid penis: 9.16 centimeters-about 3.6 inches.
Average length of a stretched flaccid penis: 13.24 cm -approximately 5.3 inches-.
Average length of an erect penis: 13.12 cm -approximately 5.2 inches.
Average circumference of a flaccid penis: 9.31 cm - approximately 3.7 inches.
Average circumference of an erect penis: 11.66 cm - approximately 4.6 inches.
The study published in the prestigious medical journal also explains that other reasons why the penis could suffer alterations and reduce its size, is due to aging, weight gain, prostate surgery, Peyronie's disease, some medications and smoking.
The legend breathed for 101 years. Ferlinghetti was a co-founder of City Lights and an American author of magnificent poems that transcend reality while describing its most banal moments.
The spiritual father of the beatnik movement and founder of one of San Francisco's most iconic publishers and bookstores, City Lights - named after the Charles Chaplin film - died at 101 of lung disease, his son Julie Sasser said.
Ferlinghetti is the case of one of those writers who became canon, not only for his importance at the time but also for his activity as an editor, journalist and a disruptor in tune with his fellow Beat writers: Ginsber, Burroughs, Keurac, Kassady and of the not so famous Beat women as were Denise Levertov, Lenore Kandel or Elise Cowen among others, who in addition to their time united them, the taste for the road and travel, sex, orientalism, automatic writing, the alteration of consciousness through drugs and alcohol and the taste for jazz. More than being a style, the beatnik is a moment in which a generation opposes a system that does not give them a place and that on the other hand, they rejected.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti's life was by no means easy. The son of an Italian emigrant who died before he was born, his mother was afflicted by a growing nervous breakdown that forced him to move in with his paternal uncle, Ludovic, and his French wife Emily. Their union would also soon come to an end and Ferlinghetti went to live in France. Back in the U.S. he had to live in an orphanage while his uncle looked for work. He earned a journalism degree from the University of North Carolina, a master's degree from Columbia University and a doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris. He became a commanding officer during the invasion of Normandy in World War II and upon his return to San Francisco in 1952 he founded with Peter D. Martin, the bookstore and publishing house City Lights where he would quickly face censorship from the U.S. government who at the end of the war became more conservative than ever for publishing Howl (Howl), from 1956, Allen Ginsberg's famous poem - dedicated to Carl Solomon, a patient Ginsberg met in a psychiatric hospital - whose beginning marked an entire generation:
"I have seen the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness."
He was accused of printing "obscene books" for this poem, but was acquitted the following year. Lawrence is more than an author who considered himself Beat in the formal terms of the word - the life of excess and excess - he was more committed to political struggles and the dream of fabricating new ideals. Let's remember that it was he who defended the publication of Howl, even more than the author himself, and that in his bookstore not only the Beat poets were presented, but it was a forum that for more than 70 years has given space within its walls to the most diverse artistic expressions of the city of San Francisco, which went from being that bohemian cradle of artists to a valley full of transnationals dedicated to technology.
Ferlinghetti was a poet who was cooked in another fire. Although he also made manifestos calling poets to come down from his Elysian Fields to make the revolution and participate in the rebellion, his metaphor occurs on a par with criticism and simplicity. Not for that reason his verses are easy or surrendered, his images are, on the other hand, of a slow temperament, but at the same time caustic.
In the words of the poet and Beat literature expert Jesús Aguado, Ferlinghetti was: "The first to realize what it meant that poetry was political, that is, an instrument of pacification in the service of history, a factory of utopias, the broom truck of those muted by the system, the compass to detect false paths".
Lawrence Ferlinghetti's books are important, for example Pictures of the Gone World from 1955 with which he debuted as a poet and as an editor in 1955. Another important icon within his career was A Coney Island of The MindThe book of poems, which sold an exorbitant number of over a million copies in 1958, is considered to be his masterpiece, followed by other important titles such as Open Eye, Open Heart 1973 and Love in days of fury1988: "a hybrid artifact of memory and fiction".
Lawrence Ferlinghetti was the conscience of a generation, his poetry has earned immortality, with his verses he mended a path and made a call:
(...)
"All of you "Poets of the Cities"" that hang on museum walls, like me, All you poets of poets who write poetry about poetry, All you poets from poetry workshops in the asshole of America..."
(...)
"Poetry is dead, long live poetry with terrible eyes and buffalo strength. Don't wait for the Revolution or it will happen without you..."
Following last week's mass shooting in Atlanta, which resulted in the deaths of six Asian women, the issue of gun regulation in the U.S. has been reignited, as distributors and retailers expect gun sales this year to surpass 2020, which became the deadliest in decades due to gun violence.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, 43,535 deaths related to firearms were recorded in the country. Of those deaths, 19,379 were homicide, murder or unintentional, while 24,156 were due to suicide.
The report, released March 24, details that during the past year, in which the COVID-19 pandemic began, 611 mass shootings and 21 mass murders were reported.
The number of children aged 0-11 years who were injured by a firearm was 697, which means that 1.9 children, daily, were victims of these devices in 2020. Meanwhile, 299 were in delicate condition.
In the case of adolescents - 12 to 17 years old - the situation did not improve, since 3,061 were wounded by a weapon, 1,073 were in delicate conditions. In that sense, 8.4 young people were affected daily during one of the deadliest years in all senses.
From January 1 to March 25, 2021, the organization has registered 9,762 deaths by armed violence, 4,218 by homicide, murder or unintentional, while 5,544 have been by suicide, which reflects that the problem already marks a trend.
Thus, during the first three months of the year, 106 mass shootings and six mass murders have already been reported.
Statistics show that from 2014 to 2020, the number of gun deaths increased by 352 percent. While from 2019 to 2020 there was a rise of just under 10 percent.
And is that in 2014 there were 12 thousand 355 deaths by weapons; in 2015 there were 13 thousand 572; in 2016, 15 thousand 122; by 2017 they reached 15 thousand 718; in 2018 they dropped to 14 thousand 885; and in 2019 it reached the terrible figure of 39 thousand 532.
Gun sales grow
For gun dealers, the industry is growing and advancing year by year, so they are enthusiastic about the increase in sales and believe that this 2021 will also show growth in the acquisition of a firearm, with a strong trend among those who acquire one of these devices for the first time.
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), more than 2 million guns expired in January of this year alone, a substantial increase from the 1.2 million guns sold in the same month in 2020.
A report by the same association reveals that, as of last year, 84.3 percent of gun owners were white or Caucasian, while 16.5 percent were Latino, 11.3 percent were African-American, 3.5 percent were Asian, 0.11 percent were from Native American communities, and 1.1 percent were from other races or ethnicities.
The report also notes that 61.4 percent of those who own a gun are men, while 38.6 percent are women.
According to a survey conducted by the NSSF last year, gun retailers estimated a nearly 43 percent increase in sales to Asian customers in the first half of 2020. In comparison, it found that consumption by whites increased by more than 40 percent, and 58 percent by African-Americans.
Similarly, it details that more than 8.4 million first-time buyers have driven gun sales since the pandemic began. Background checks for gun purchases totaled 39.69 billion in 2020, an annual record, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Notably, federal background checks for 2021 are already outpacing last year's pace as Americans spend their stimulus checks on firearms.
In that regard, demand is outstripping supply, especially for ammunition, which has led to shortages throughout the country, including for reloading enthusiasts who manufacture their own ammunition.
And, according to surveys by various organizations, many gun buyers are motivated by fear of civil unrest, attacks on minority communities or President Biden's aggressive gun control plan, which seeks to ban the manufacture of assault rifles and high-capacity magazines for civilians, as well as increased gun control restrictions on existing rifles, including AR-15s.
According to some media reports, gun dealers across the country said Asian Americans are buying guns to protect themselves amid a surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans, which have been fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Huy Ha, a martial arts instructor in Oakland, told KPIX 5 who has never been busier giving free self-defense classes to the community.
The Oakland resident is also a gun owner and moderator of the private Facebook group, "Asian American Gun Owners of California," who said the number of participants recently grew to more than 2,000.
"For me to pull out my firearm and defend myself, I really, really, really pray that day doesn't come, but if that day does come, I know I'll be ready," Ha said.
Gun manufacturers like Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger are already thinking about expanding their customer demographics to reach out to more minorities, including immigrants with green cards, who can also buy guns.
Because the vaccine supply is expected to increase significantly in the coming weeks, the state of California will expand vaccine eligibility to all residents 50 years of age and older, beginning April 1.
Gavin Newsom, who didn't stop with the good news, announced that beginning April 15, everyone 16 and older will be able to begin getting vaccinated in every county in the state.
"With the increased vaccine supply and expanded eligibility to more Californians, the light at the end of the tunnel continues to get brighter," said Governor Newsom.
"We continue to focus on equity as we expand vaccine eligibility to those 50 and older beginning April 1, and to those 16 and older beginning April 15. This is possible thanks to the leadership of the Biden-Harris administration and countless public health officials across the country," he added.
According to California government estimates, the state is expected to be allocated approximately 2.5 million first and second doses per week in the first two weeks of April and more than 3 million doses during the second two weeks.
California currently receives about 1.8 million doses per week, however, the state said it has the capacity to administer more than 3 million doses per week and is developing the capacity to administer 4 million doses per week by the end of April.
"We are even closer to putting this pandemic behind us with today's announcement and vaccine supplies are expected to increase dramatically in the coming months," said Dr. Mark Ghaly, California Secretary of Health and Human Services.
However, he said, it will take time to vaccinate all eligible Californians, so during that time, don't let your guard down and be vigilant and continue to wear masks and follow public health guidelines.
In addition to increased vaccine allocations to providers serving the most impacted communities, the state detailed a series of initiatives to vaccinate those populations that have faced the highest rates of COVID-19 infections before vaccines are available to the entire population aged 16 years and older.
Such efforts include funding providers for programs that allow vaccines to reach communities facing the greatest health disparities; working with organized labor to reach essential workers; partnering with agricultural and community organizations to vaccinate farmworkers.
Also, allow vendors to target ads by zip code through My Turn with single-use codes - scheduled to launch in late March; and support a subset of community-based organizations currently partnering with the state on COVID-19 education to provide direct assistance for vaccination appointments.
Similarly, prioritize currently eligible populations and allow providers the discretion to vaccinate those living in high-impact areas - Quartiles 1 and 2 of the County's Healthy Places Index - including families.
Even with the expansion of vaccine supplies, it is expected to take several months for willing Californians to get vaccinated. According to public information shared by vaccine manufacturers and the federal government, California expects to receive several million doses of vaccine per week beginning in April.
