Latest news with #Melendez
Newsweek
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Former WWE Superstar To Return At Historic Event
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. WWE is reportedly bringing in several well-known wrestling personalities for its upcoming WWE x AAA Worlds Collide special event on Saturday, June 7, 2025. According to former WWE star Lince Dorado and WWE legend Savio Vega are among those expected to be involved in the Los Angeles show. It will stream live on YouTube. Adding to these appearances, Hector "Moody Jack" Melendez is also slated for a significant, ongoing role within WWE's newly acquired AAA brand. While Dorado and Vega are specifically being brought in for the Worlds Collide event, potentially for on-screen roles or special appearances given their history in lucha libre and with WWE, respectively, Melendez's involvement extends further. reports that Hector Melendez is also on board and will be working on the AAA brand going forward for WWE. The belief is that Melendez "will be working behind the scenes for the promotion," leveraging his extensive experience. BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - NOVEMBER 16: Psycho Clown celebrates his victory against Hijo del Fantasma and Blue Demon at the Movistar Arena during an AAA World Wide Wrestling match on November 16, 2018 in Bogota, Colombia. BOGOTA, COLOMBIA - NOVEMBER 16: Psycho Clown celebrates his victory against Hijo del Fantasma and Blue Demon at the Movistar Arena during an AAA World Wide Wrestling match on November 16, 2018 in Bogota, made a name for himself in WWE as part of the high-flying Lucha House Party and was a standout in the Cruiserweight division. Vega was a popular WWF superstar in the 1990s. He was known for his time with The Nation of Domination and as the leader of Los Boricuas. He has remained active in the Puerto Rican wrestling scene. More news: WWE News: Steve Austin Reveals Real-Life Vince McMahon Confrontation Hector "Moody Jack" Melendez has a long and respected career as a wrestling announcer and personality, notably as the iconic voice for LAX during their TNA run, and has also worked extensively with AAA and Puerto Rican promotions WWL and WWC. To prepare for his new responsibilities with WWE's AAA brand, Melendez is reportedly expected at the WWE Performance Center this week in preparation for the event. His past working relationship with WWE's Jeremy Borash during their respective tenures in TNA is also noted as a relevant connection. The inclusion of these experienced individuals points to WWE's commitment to authentically presenting its AAA brand, beginning with the Worlds Collide showcase. It will be interesting to see if Vega gets involved in the show in more of a way than just making an appearance by sitting at ringside. Vega could be part of the finish of a match if decided upon. More WWE News: For more on WWE, head to Newsweek Sports.
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Even tough-on-crime district attorneys know prison reform is smart
On a recent morning inside San Quentin prison, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman and more than a dozen other prosecutors crowded into a high-ceilinged meeting hall surrounded by killers, rapists and other serious offenders. Name the crime, one of these guys has probably done it. 'It's not every day that you're in a room of 100 people, most of whom have committed murder, extremely violent crimes, and been convicted of it,' Hochman later said. Many of these men, in their casual blue uniforms, were serving long sentences with little chance of getting out, like Marlon Arturo Melendez, an L.A. native who is now in for murder. Melendez sat in a 'sharing circle,' close enough to Hochman that their knees could touch, no bars between them. They chatted about the decrease in gang violence in the decades since Melendez was first incarcerated more than 20 years ago, and Melendez said he found Hochman 'interesting.' Inside San Quentin, this kind of interaction between inmates and guests isn't unusual. For decades, the prison by the Bay has been doing incarceration differently, cobbling together a system that focuses on accountability and rehabilitation. Like the other men in the room, Melendez takes responsibility for the harm he caused, and every day works to be a better man. When he introduces himself, he names his victims — an acknowledgment that what he did can't be undone but also an acknowledgment that he doesn't have to remain the same man who pulled the trigger. Whether or not Melendez or any of these men ever walk free, what was once California's most notorious lockup is now a place that offers them the chance to change and provides the most elusive of emotions for prisoners — hope. Creating that culture is a theory and practice of imprisonment that Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to make the standard across the state. He's dubbed it the California Model, but as I've written about before, it's common practice in other countries (and even in a few places in the United States). It's based on a simple truth about incarceration: Most people who go into prison come out again. Public safety demands that they behave differently when they do. 'We are either paying to keep them here or we are paying if they come back out and harm somebody,' said Brooke Jenkins, the district attorney of San Francisco, who has visited San Quentin regularly for years. Jenkins was the organizer of this unusual day that brought district attorneys from around the state inside of San Quentin to gain a better understanding of how the California Model works, and why even tough-on-crime district attorneys should support transforming our prisons. As California does an about-face away from a decade of progressive criminal justice advances with new crackdowns such as those promised by the recently passed Proposition 36 (which is expected to increase the state inmate population), it is also continuing to move ahead with the controversial plan to remake prison culture, both for inmates and guards, by centering on rehabilitation over punishment. Despite a tough economic year that is requiring the state to slash spending, Newsom has kept intact more than $200 million from the prior budget to revamp San Quentin so that its outdated facilities can support more than just locking up folks in cells. Some of that construction, already happening on the grounds, is expected to be completed next year. It will make San Quentin the most visible example of the California Model. But changes in how inmates and guards interact and what rehabilitation opportunities are available are already underway at prisons across the state. It is an overdue and profound transformation that has the potential to not only improve public safety and save money in the long run, but to fundamentally reshape what incarceration means across the country. Jenkins' push to help more prosecutors understand and value this metamorphosis might be crucial to helping the public support it as well — especially for those D.A.s whose constituents are just fine with a system that locks up men to suffer for their (often atrocious) crimes. Or even those Californians, such as many in San Francisco and Los Angeles, who are just fed up with the perception that California is soft on criminals. 'It's not about moderate or progressive, but I think all of us that are moderates have to admit that there are reforms that still need to happen,' Jenkins told me as we walked through the prison yard. She took office after the successful recall of her progressive predecessor, Chesa Boudin, and a rightward shift in San Francisco on crime policy. Still, she is vocal about the need for second chances. For her, prison reform is about more than the California Model, but a broader lens that includes the perspectives of incarcerated people, and their insights on what they need to make rehabilitation work. 'It really grounds you in your obligation to make sure that the culture in the [district attorney's] office is fair,' she said. For Hochman, a former federal prosecutor and defense lawyer who resoundingly ousted progressive George Gascón last year, rehabilitation makes sense. He likes to paraphrase a Fyodor Dostoevsky quote, 'The degree of civilization in a society is revealed by entering its prisons.' 'In my perfect world, the education system, the family system, the community, would have done all this work on the front end such that these people wouldn't have been in position to commit crimes in the first place,' he said. But when that fails, it's up to the criminal justice system to help people fix themselves. Despite being perceived as a tough-on-crime D.A. (he prefers 'fair on crime') he's so committed to that goal of rehabilitation that he is determined to push for a new Men's Central Jail in Los Angeles County — an expensive (billions) and unpopular idea that he says is long overdue but critical to public safety. 'Los Angeles County is absolutely failing because our prisons and jails are woefully inadequate,' he said. He's quick to add that rehabilitation isn't for everyone. Some just aren't ready for it. Some don't care. The inmates of San Quentin agree with him. They are often fiercely vocal about who gets transferred to the prison, knowing that its success relies on having incarcerated people who want to change — one rogue inmate at San Quentin could ruin it for all of them. 'It has to be a choice. You have to understand that for yourself,' Oscar Acosta told me. Now 32, he's a 'CDC baby,' as he puts it — referring to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation — and has been behind bars since he was 18. He credits San Quentin with helping him accept responsibility for his crimes and see a path forward. When the California Model works, as the district attorneys saw, it's obvious what its value is. Men who once were nothing but dangerous have the option to live different lives, with different values. Even if they remain incarcerated. 'After having been considered the worst of the worst, today I am a new man,' Melendez told me. 'I hope (the district attorneys) were able to see real change in those who sat with them and be persuaded that rehabilitation over punishment is more fruitful and that justice seasoned with restoration is better for all.' Melendez and the other incarcerated men at San Quentin aspire for us to see them as more than their worst actions. And they take heart that even prosecutors like Jenkins and Hochman, who put them behind bars, sometimes with triple-digit sentences, do see that the past does not always determine the future, and that investing in their change is an investment in safer communities.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
City, Monroe County leaders respond to DHS list on sanctuary policy
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — City of Rochester and Monroe County leaders are responding to Thursday's announcement from the Department of Homeland Security labeling both the city and county as sanctuary jurisdictions. Sanctuary cities, including Rochester, to receive notifications of non-compliance to federal law Wayne and Yates counties were also placed on the federal list. Under an executive order, it requires the publication of states and local jurisdictions across the U.S. that violate federal immigration laws. The vice president of the Monroe County Legislature says the placement doesn't come as a surprise, but says it is shining a light on a greater need for collaboration in the future.'We were dealing with it at a local level and now, we have to look at it at a macro level,' said Mercedes Vasquez Simmons. The DHS's list is the latest push in a growing fight over sanctuary city policies between the Trump administration and states and cities across the country. Rochester Mayor Malik Evans says the city stands by its policy, which prohibits local law enforcement from assisting in federal immigration enforcement.'This was never an issue. We've been a sanctuary city since 1986. We reaffirmed that in 2017 with an update to our policy. At the council meeting about a month ago, we once again stated that we are this sanctuary city. I think people have a misunderstanding of what that actually means in principal or practice,' said Rochester City Council President Miguel Melendez. The city is facing a lawsuit from the Trump administration after a controversial traffic stop in March involving border patrol agents and Rochester police. Going forward, the list from the DHS demands for policy change from the communities listed.'My district is primarily the black and Latino community, so it impacts us directly because we would typically lean since the city is impacted and relies on the county for resources. So now, it puts everyone at risk. Our community is pretty much just concerned all the way around as far as what this means for resources that come into our communities,' said Vasquez Simmons. 'I think this administration is unfortunately making an example of cities that are really trying to be inclusive and supportive of our community members,' said Melendez. City council is in the midst of budget hearings right now. However, Melendez says they will be referring the DHS list and its contents to the city's legal team for more on next steps. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
27-05-2025
- General
- Fox News
Ohio bill to establish 'Natural Family Month' faces backlash from LGBTQ parents
Over two dozen Ohio lawmakers are pushing a bill that designates the weeks between Mother's Day and Father's Day as "Natural Family Month," sparking backlash from some LGBTQ families, according to reports. State Reps. Beth Lear and Josh Williams, both Republicans, said they introduced House Bill 262 to celebrate families and emphasize their critical role in society, at a time when marriages and birth rates are declining. "At a time when marriage is trending downward and young couples are often choosing to remain childless, it's important for the State of Ohio to make a statement that marriage and families are the cornerstone of civil society, and absolutely imperative if we want to maintain a healthy and stable Republic," Rep. Lear said in a press release. "With America facing declining birth rates and a shrinking population, we can no longer afford to ignore the foundational role that strong families play in sustaining our future," Rep. Williams also said in a statement. "H.B. 262 is about more than policy—it's about promoting the economic and social stability that comes from raising children in healthy, two-parent households. We must use every tool at our disposal to support the families that are building the next generation of Americans," he added. The bill does not define what makes a "natural" family, but Williams told NBC News the bill is intended to "promote natural families—meaning a man, a woman, and their children—as a way to encourage higher birth rates." Birth rates in the U.S. fell to a historic low in 2023, according to a report by the CDC published last year. The CDC recently reported that birth rates increased by 1% from 2023, which "drove a less than 1% increase in the general fertility rate." Some marriage rates have also experienced a downward shift over the past few decades. The Pew Research Center reported that the number of 40-year-olds in the U.S. who have never been married reached a record high in 2021. But the bill was criticized by the LGBTQ community, according to reports by WLWT5 and NBC News. Ohio resident Vanessa Melendez, who identifies as lesbian, is a married mother of two who lives with her wife, adopted daughter, and stepson from a previous marriage, in College Hill. Melendez hit the Ohio lawmakers for using the word "natural" in their pro-family bill, saying it excludes families like hers, and others who have adopted, conceived through IVF or are raising children without a partner. "The elephant in the room on how they've positioned it is on the word 'natural,'" Melendez told WLWT5. "And I think that what they're saying is if there's only one way to be a natural family, and that's entirely not true." "They're really coming after it at a very narrow, exclusionary way, and they're only giving a description of one type of family," Melendez added. "We don't want to take away from that one type of family, but there's so many other kinds of families." Williams defended the bill to NBC News, saying the bill is not meant to be discriminatory but is intended to support the family structure that's "most directly tied to the creation and raising of children." "By that same logic that all families should be celebrated," Williams also told WLWT5. "You could go then to June and say we shouldn't have Pride Month because all sexual orientation should be celebrated, not just those that are alternative to the mainstream." Williams, who is Black, was raised by a single mother, grew up in poverty and experienced homelessness, argued that fatherlessness has had negative effects on the Black community. "And we know the statistics that show that that results in a higher rate of poverty, a higher rate of dropping out of school, a higher rate, a higher rate of being on public assistance, a higher rate of engaging in criminal conduct," he told WLWT5. Williams and Lear did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
‘Face looks familiar': Doordash delivery reunites Springfield woman with former teacher
Every year for her late father's birthday Loreiny Penalo has made ordering Dominican food a tradition in his honor. This year, that tradition took on a whole other meaning when she realized her former high school science teacher, Wilmer Melendez, was at the door with her order. 'I told him like 'Hey all your work paid off as my science teacher, I went on to study at UMass and studied public health and got my master's in physician assistant studies,'' Melendez tells Boston 25 News. Melendez retired in 2013 after more than 38 years from teaching but picked up DoorDashing to help pay for his son's engineering degree. 'He didn't put pressure on us to help out and I said 'No I will help you out' and I started doing DoorDash, even that he didn't know,' he tells Boston 25 News. In a spirit of gratitude for their reunion, Loreiny shared the story of their encounter on TikTok and a comment to start a GoFundMe page led her to raise more than $40,000 in a week. 'My dad was very helpful while I was in college and was such a big support to me and so seeing Mr. Melendez being such a supporter to his son just was very near and special to my heart,' Penalo tells Boston 25 News. Both Penalo and Melendez say they feel like it was a divinely guided reunion and now they feel like they are forever connected. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
