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2+ hour, 11+ min ago (357+ words) The grinch is out this holiday season stealing Christmas decorations. In San Jose, homes are decked out with holiday lights and families are walking around taking it all in. Keeping up with putting out all the decorations every year isn't easy, but neighbors do it anyways - and that's what it's about: Bringing people together during the holidays. However, someone is trying to ruin that holiday spirit. After learning about the couple who got their Christmas decorations stolen from their home in San Jose, NBC Bay Area has heard there are more victims. "I was leaving the house at 6 a.m. And the minute I walked out I was like "Mm, my Micky and Minnie are gone, my giant inflatable is gone, my inflatables are down because they were unplugged," said Judy Lao-Klinker of Campbell. A surveillance video captured the moment someone went…...

5+ hour, 51+ min ago (255+ words) Vasco Road was shut down in both directions between Livermore and Brentwood Friday afternoon due to heavy fog and multiple collisions, including one in which a fire captain was struck by a vehicle, officials said. Vasco Road was shut down in both directions between Livermore and Brentwood Friday afternoon due to heavy fog and multiple collisions, including one in which a fire captain was struck by a vehicle, officials said. The Contra Costa County fire captain was working at the scene of one of several crashes on Vasco Road when he was hit, according to officials. His condition wasn't immediately known. At least one other person was taken to the hospital. It wasn't immediately known when Vasco Road would reopen. The CHP encouraged motorists to use alternate routes. This is a developing story. Details may change as more information becomes…...

7+ hour, 18+ min ago (234+ words) Another lottery Scratchers player in Northern California hit the jackpot recently, to the tune of $15 million, according to the California Lottery. Another lottery Scratchers player in Northern California hit the jackpot recently, to the tune of $15 million, according to the California Lottery. Gary Cooksey won the top prize on a 40 Years of Play! ticket he bought from the AM/PM store at 12725 Yosemite Blvd. in Waterford, which is about 60 miles due east of Livermore in Stanislaus County. The $15 million take is one of the largest a player can win on a Scratchers ticket. Meanwhile, the jackpot for Friday night's Mega Millions draw is at an estimated $70 million, and the Powerball jackpot for Saturday night's draw sits at a cool $1 billion. Another lottery Scratchers player in Northern California hit the jackpot recently, to the tune of $15 million, according to the California…...

7+ hour, 41+ min ago (696+ words) Robots have long been seen as a bad bet for Silicon Valley investors " too complicated, capital-intensive and "boring, honestly," says venture capitalist Modar Alaoui. But the commercial boom in artificial intelligence has lit a spark under long-simmering visions to build humanoid robots that can move their mechanical bodies like humans and do things that people do. Alaoui, founder of the Humanoids Summit, gathered more than 2,000 people this week, including top robotics engineers from Disney, Google and dozens of startups, to showcase their technology and debate what it will take to accelerate a nascent industry. Alaoui says many researchers now believe humanoids or some other kind of physical embodiment of AI are "going to become the norm." "The question is really just how long it will take," he said. Even at a conference designed to build enthusiasm for the technology, held…...

8+ hour, 7+ min ago (134+ words) Cannabis stocks surged Friday on word that President Donald Trump intends to sign an executive order that would loosen federal restrictions on marijuana. The White House said no final decisions have been made yet, but the Trump administration has been considering a reclassification of cannabis for a while. Cannabis is currently in the same drug category as heroin and cocaine. The proposed order would reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug, alongside drugs like Tylenol with codeine. The category matters a lot for the sustainability of California's legal cannabis industry, which is struggling on several fronts at the moment. Assemblymember Matt Haney said current rules mean the industry can't operate like others do. If the executive order is signed, the Drug Enforcement Administration would then finalize a proposed rule for reclassification later next year....

8+ hour, 39+ min ago (439+ words) Calling it the "last and final" opportunity to settle in bankruptcy court with roughly 350 alleged clergy abuse victims suing the church, the Diocese of Oakland filed a last-ditch proposal Thursday that would pay survivors a total of $242 million over five years, in addition to implementing new child protection protocols. The previous proposal from the Diocese offered survivors $165 million but was overwhelmingly rejected." In court documents, attorneys representing the Diocese called the new offer "fair and equitable," and requested Judge Lafferty hold off on tossing out the case until it could be reviewed by all parties. "It would compensate survivors of sexual abuse who are creditors and would permit the diocese to continue its ministry to the more than 500,000 faithful within and around the diocese," they wrote. Plaintiff attorney Rick Simons, however, blasted the plan, saying the money should be paid…...

8+ hour, 53+ min ago (323+ words) A federal grand jury has indicted nine people in connection with a series of armed burglaries at an Oakland marijuana grow facility that led to the 2023 killing of an Oakland police officer, federal prosecutors announced. Two others, Jasmine Kumar and Felicia Sanders, are charged as accessories after the fact, the U.S. District Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement. Federal prosecutors said the charges stem from three armed burglaries at a marijuana grow site in Oakland between the night of Dec. 28 and early morning of Dec. 29, 2023. When Oakland police responded to the third burglary, suspects fled in several vehicles. During the chase, an unnamed co-conspirator fired more than 20 shots at an undercover police car, killing Officer Tuan Le. According to the indictment, Brown, Russell, Cooper and the unnamed co-conspirator organized the burglaries and recruited others -- including…...

10+ hour, 36+ min ago (286+ words) Around 300 San Jose kids and their families gathered Thursday evening at the San Jose Police Activities League (PAL) complex in East San Jose for holiday cheer with local businesses and law enforcement. At the annual event, the children are given toys for the holidays and also have the chance to spend time with local law enforcement. The event is hosted by PAL but also relies on support from other community organizations, including toy donations from the San Jose Police Foundation, funding support from the office of Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, and hundreds of shoes donated by Shoe Palace. The kids invited to the event are participants in PAL's youth sports programs, and many of them live in East San Jose. PAL has been around for six decades and has now worked with generations of children. The kids…...

11+ hour, 13+ min ago (346+ words) A San Jose family was charged with operating a network of brothels that trafficked dozens of women and generated about $1 million a year, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office. Prosecutors allege Joseph and Binghua Bresee, a married couple, ran at least 10 commercial sex brothels across Santa Clara County under the guise of massage parlors, with locations in San Jose, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Cupertino and Mountain View. One of their adult children, Jiabao Huang, was also charged, and another co-conspirator was arrested on suspicion of laundering money for the operation. In total, the defendants face 26 felony counts including conspiracy, pimping, money laundering and tax fraud. Prosecutors said that at their Dec. 5 arraignment a judge set bail for the three main defendants -- Joseph Bresee, 77; Binghua Bresee, 52; and Huang, 30 -- at $1 million each. All face prison time if convicted. Investigators have…...

12+ hour, 58+ min ago (212+ words) The scene outside a Walmart in San Leandro, where a fatal police shooting took place in April 2020. Supporters of a man shot and killed by an East Bay police officer are blasting a new plan to drop the charges. The fatal police shooting of Steven Taylor at a San Leandro Walmart in 2020 grabbed headlines when it first happened. The case returns to the courtroom Friday. The Alameda County District Attorney's Office is moving to dismiss the charges against former police officer Jason Fletcher, who is facing a manslaughter charge in Taylor's death. Bodycam footage shows the confrontation between Fletcher and Taylor, who prosecutors say was holding a baseball bat when he was shot. Taylor's family has claimed he was having a mental health crisis. The courtroom and judge have changed in the case, leaving supporters in disbelief. "I used the…...