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Battered California faces billions in storm damage to crops, homes and roads

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:28 GMT

By David R Baker, Kim Chipman, Mark Chediak and Brian K Sullivan | BloombergThe costs of California’s relentless winter storms keep rising. And outside of the human toll — with at least 28 people killed since January — the price will be measured in billions. The “bomb cyclone” that lashed San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday was the latest in an epic series of extreme weather events to hit California since New Year’s Eve. It blew out windows from skyscrapers, flung barges into a historic bridge, sent trees tumbling across roads, knocked down power lines, and threatened a major freeway as the waterlogged hillside beneath it started to collapse. Just to the south, in the Santa Cruz area, the river that flooded the town of Pajaro a week ago rose again, while nearby strawberry fields that were already submerged received a fresh round of rain.  And on Wednesday, the National Weather Service confirmed that a rare tornado hit an industrial area of Montebello, east of downtown Los Angeles, inj...

Pajaro residents cleared to return to flood-ravaged Monterey County farm town

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:28 GMT

Monterey County authorities Thursday morning lifted evacuation orders for the flood-ravaged farm town of Pajaro, allowing residents to return to their homes in most cases for the first time since they were forced to flee in the middle of the night March 11 after a levee failed and inundated their community.But county officials who lifted the orders at 10 a.m., a day earlier than they had indicated Wednesday, cautioned that Pajaro is still far from livable, with no water or sewer service and many homes requiring restoration work.“There are health risks to people returning to Pajaro,” a Monterey County notice said. “The county and Pajaro Sunny Mesa Services are working diligently to restore the sewer system. There is no potable water and toilets can’t be flushed. It isn’t recommended that residents stay until sewer and water are restored. Those entering the area do so at their own risk.”Related ArticlesWeather | Authorities find body of m...

Manhattan DA rejects GOP demands for Donald Trump case info

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:28 GMT

By Farnoush Amiri | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The Manhattan district attorney investigating Donald Trump rebuffed House Republicans’ request Thursday for documents and testimony about the case, dismissing it as an “unprecedented inquiry” with no legitimate basis.In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the general counsel for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg slammed the congressional request as “an unlawful incursion into New York’s sovereignty.”“The Letter only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene,” Leslie Dubeck wrote in the letter. “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry.”The Republican chairmen of three House committees on Monday sent a letter to Bragg seeking information about his actions in the Trump case. The Republicans criticized the grand jury investigation as an “unpre...

UC Berkeley investigating AD Jim Knowlton, associate AD Jennifer Simon-O’Neill

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:28 GMT

The University of California-Berkeley has launched a formal investigation into Cal athletic director Jim Knowlton and executive associate athletic director Jennifer Simon-O’Neill’s handling of dozens of allegations over the course of years that former Golden Bears women’s swimming head coach Teri McKeever bullied swimmers on an almost daily basis, the Southern California News Group has learned.Attorneys hired by the university have begun contacting current and former Cal swimmers and their parents as part of a follow-up investigation to an eight-month, $2-million probe that led to McKeever’s firing on January 31, according to three people familiar with the investigation.The current investigation comes against the backdrop of months of mounting criticism of Cal from former and current swimmers, including Olympic gold medalists, and prominent financial boosters of the Golden Bears athletic program that Knowlton and Simon-O’Neill and other university employees prioritized athletic succ...

‘You can’t think an apology will make this all better’: Judge throws out controversial plea deal for man accused of three Oakland killings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:28 GMT

OAKLAND — Less than two months after lamenting “he had never seen a case pled down like this before,” an Alameda County Superior Court judge rejected a plea deal that would have imposed 15 years for a reputed West Oakland gang member accused of gunning down three people when he was 18 years old.Judge Mark McCannon ruled Thursday that 31-year-old Delonzo Logwood should go to trial, saying he had decided against accepting a plea deal proposed by prosecutors. Logwood had previously been eligible for a sentence of death or life without parole before being offered the unusual plea deal by District Attorney Pamela Price.Before he rejected the deal, McCannon said he has had “many sleepless nights” about this case. He then picked apart comments by Logwood’s attorney, who had attempted to rebuff the evidence against his client.“You can’t think an apology will make this all better,” McCannon said in court Thursday. “What are you sorr...

Pac-12 expansion: Would SMU create media value? “I think it probably helps,” sports media analyst says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:28 GMT

The Pac-12 began evaluating candidates for expansion long before USC and UCLA announced their intentions to leave the conference.The process commenced in the summer of 2021, after Texas and Oklahoma agreed to join the SEC and the Big 12 lurched toward the brink of extinction.Pac-12 presidents ultimately passed on extending membership invitations and concluded none of the available schools (in the Big 12 or elsewhere) met the competitive, financial and institutional criteria.Now here we are, 21 months later, and the Pac-12’s geographic footprint features a crater in Southern California as the conference negotiates a new media rights contract and considers expansion.The candidate list includes SMU. It is not known whether the conference sized up the Mustangs in the summer of ’21, but the calculation deployed back then is essentially the same one being applied now.Does SMU fit academically? Could its football program eventually clear the competitive bar? And does the school...

What is Lyme Disease?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:28 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Beloved San Francisco radio host Jefferey "JV" Vandergrift was found dead Wednesday in the water at Pier 39, San Francisco Police Department officials confirmed to KRON4. While hosting WiLD 94.9's “The JV Show,” he not only entertained listeners through their mornings, but also talked openly about his battle with Lyme disease.In a heartfelt blog post, JV wrote that he was unsure of when he was bit by a tick and contracted the disease. He experienced symptoms for many months before he was finally diagnosed in 2021. The physical pain was so bad that he tried to kill himself and was held for days against his will at a psychiatric hospital.   JV talked about health struggles before disappearance What is Lyme disease?Lyme disease is an infection that, if left untreated, can affect the joints, heart and nervous system transmitted to humans through blacklegged ticks carrying the bacteria. Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic sk...

Raiders sign cornerback Duke Shelley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:28 GMT

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Free-agent cornerback Duke Shelley, who has played in Chicago and Minnesota, signed with the Las Vegas Raiders on Thursday.Shelley played for the Bears in 2019-21 and then joined the Vikings last season. He has 11 starts over 41 career games with 84 tackles and 12 pass breakups. Shelley started five games last season with career highs of 31 tackles and eight pass breakups. He also had an interception.The Bears selected Shelley in the sixth round of the 2019 draft out of Kansas State.___AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFLSource

Will Levis set for pro day, another chance to impress scouts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:28 GMT

Will Levis had no hesitation about throwing at the NFL scouting combine because he wanted to “show off” his “canon” of an arm.He’ll get another opportunity to impress scouts at Kentucky’s pro day Friday.“It’s been a lot of fun, a lot of new experiences, a lot of new people in my life, and it’s just been very challenging, very difficult,” Levis said about the pre-draft process on the AP Pro Football Podcast. “Just in taking the challenges head on and remembering to have fun with it. This is going to be a time of my life that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. And I’ll remember that I did it the right way and I did what I needed to do to help live out my dream.”The 23-year-old, strong-armed quarterback is expected to be one of the top players selected in next month’s NFL draft. Levis, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Alabama’s Bryce Young and Florida’s Anthony Richardson are the top four prospects at the most important position in football.They’ve already been scrutinized and analyzed by...

Biden’s Canada agenda stacked: NORAD, migration deals likely

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:31:28 GMT

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — President Joe Biden arrives in Canada on Thursday with a focus on several of the world’s largest challenges: the war in Ukraine, climate change, trade, mass migration and an increasingly assertive China. Two important areas of agreement appear in hand: Canada will escalate its timeline for military upgrades to the North American Aerospace Defense Command, and the two nations will reach an agreement on migration, a senior Canadian official told The Associated Press. The Biden administration has made strengthening its friendship with Canada a priority over the past two years and Biden’s meetings with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the capital of Ottawa are an opportunity to set plans for the future.National security and air defenses are a priority, with a recent Chinese spy balloon floating over North America putting newfound urgency on Canada’s plans to update its radar systems and recent purchase of F-35 jets. Canada has agreed to an acc...