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Trump Administration forced Joshua Tree to stay open amid last shutdown: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:42 GMT

As another government shutdown looms bringing the possibility of the closure of our nation's parks, a new report claims that the Trump Administration forced one Southern California National Park to stay open during the last shutdown, despite "chaos and destruction" to the park's delicate ecosystem.The report, published by the Guardian, cites emails exchanged between National Park officials, including David Smith, superintendent of Joshua Tree National Park, during the 2018-19 government shutdown.The emails, which were obtained through a public records request, detail how then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt allegedly overruled park leadership to keep Joshua Tree open, despite a staff of only nine people working and National Park officials previously granting permission to close if visitor safety was at risk.After the government shutdown began and prior to the Smith's decision to close the park, Joshua Tree experienced a holiday rush, with visitors taking advantage of the park's s...

Pedestrian killed in 2-vehicle crash at West L.A. adult care center

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:42 GMT

A woman was killed and an elderly man was injured following a two-vehicle crash in the Carthay neighborhood of West Los Angeles Thursday afternoon.The crash happened around 1:35 p.m. on the 6000 block of West Pico Boulevard, at an adult care center, according to Los Angeles police.Video from Sky5 showed a damaged white Chevrolet pickup truck and a black Mercedes-Benz SUV at the scene with visible damage to the building. The pickup truck was disabled on the sidewalk after it appeared to have crashed through a glass door of a business. An internet search identified the business as Sinai Adult Day Health Care, a facility associated with Kaiser Permanente. A glass door to an adult health care center in West Los Angeles is shown following a crash on Sept. 28, 2023. (KTLA)The program director for the healthcare business told KTLA that a female staff member in her 60s and a male client in his 80s were struck by the pickup truck after it crashed into the lobby.Both the client and the employ...

Trump won’t try to move Georgia case to federal court

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:42 GMT

By Kate Brumback and Jeff Amy | Associated PressATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump will not seek to get his Georgia election interference case transferred to federal court, his attorneys said in a filing Thursday, three weeks after a judge rejected a similar attempt by the former president’s White House chief of staff.The notice filed in federal court in Atlanta follows a Sept. 8 decision from U.S. District Judge Steve Jones that chief of staff Mark Meadows “has not met even the ‘quite low’ threshold” to move his case to federal court, saying the actions outlined in the indictment were not taken as part of Meadows’ role as a federal official. Meadows is appealing that ruling.Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including an alleged violation of Georgia’s anti-racketeering law, over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He was indicted last month along with Meadows and 17 others.The notice, filed in state cour...

Gas prices surge above $6 a gallon in some Bay Area cities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:42 GMT

Hold your horsepower! The average price for a gallon of gas in California surged past the $6 mark Thursday, with drivers in San Mateo, San Francisco and Marin counties seeing some of the most painful spikes in the Bay Area.The state’s average price of $6.03 per gallon represented a 19-cent jump over Tuesday, marking the first time since last fall that the cost has topped $6, according to AAA data.San Mateo’s average price jumped in two days from $5.67 to $6.04 a gallon, while San Francisco’s leaped from $5.68 to $6.03. Marin’s cost ballooned to $6.07 from $5.69.Dawn Cusulos, who commutes most days from her home in San Bruno to San Francisco, said the cost of filling up her teal Ford Bronco has spiked from $60 to $80. “You don’t want to drive as much,” Cusulos said at a San Francisco gas station charging $5.79 for a gallon of regular. “But I kind of have to. I’m a Realtor, so I just have to show (properties) when I have to.”Other Bay Area counties may not have...

49ers’ Christian McCaffrey ‘honored’ at company he might join with scoring spree

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:42 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Scoring in 12 consecutive games has not quenched Christian McCaffrey’s thirst for touchdowns.“Obviously you want to score every time you touch the ball,” McCaffrey said Thursday, three days before his next chance to do so for the undefeated 49ers (3-0).McCaffrey’s scoring spree is reaching historical comparisons. Jerry Rice scored in all 12 games (with 22 touchdown catches) during the strike-shortened 1987, and he also had a touchdown in the 1986 finale for a 13-game streak that McCaffrey can match Sunday against the visiting Arizona Cardinals (1-2).McCaffrey said that would be “a huge honor” to join Rice in that company. The Dallas Cowboys’ Emmitt Smith scored 13 games in a row in 1995, and the Houston Texans’ Arian Foster did the same in 2011-12. McCaffrey has scored a rushing touchdown in each of the 49ers’ wins, and his 12-game scoring streak dates back to last December and the playoffs.It’s not just...

VIDEO: Pickup truck rams into San Jose bakery overnight, suspect steals from business

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:42 GMT

(KRON) -- A stolen pickup truck drove into a bakery overnight Thursday, the San Jose Police Department said. Around 4:05 a.m., the vehicle crashed into Queen Bakery at 2869 Senter Road.Police said the suspect intentionally drove into the front of the business. The suspect gained entry into the bakery and stole an unknown amount of merchandise.The alleged thief was able to escape before police arrived, SJPD said. No suspect description has been provided at this time. Surveillance video obtained by KRON4 shows the truck driving into the bakery. Skip to the 0:55 mark in the video player above to watch the collision. You can see one person exit the driver's seat and enter the business. Later in the video, the suspect is seen rummaging through what appears to be the cash register located behind the counter. An alternate view of the truck crashing into the bakery can be seen around the 2:18 mark of the video. Powerball ticket worth nearly $800K sold in San Jose A pickup truck drove into...

San Jose man intentionally poisoned, killed his mother with fentanyl: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:42 GMT

(KRON) -- Police said a San Jose man intentionally poisoned his mother with fentanyl and caused her death. Bradley Dexter, 40, was booked into a Santa Clara County jail this week on suspicion of homicide, poisoning, and elder abuse.Dexter's mother was found dead inside a home on Utopia Place on June 6. A sheriff's coroner later classified the woman's death as a homicide, and her cause of death was determined to be an "intentional fentanyl poisoning," San Jose Police Department Officer Steve Aponte wrote. "SJPD Homicide Detectives then began a comprehensive and thorough investigation into this incident and identified Bradley Dexter, a resident of San Jose and adult son of the victim, as the potential suspect," Aponte wrote. Earlier this month, police discovered that Dexter was also responsible for a violent attack against his father. The father suffered serious injuries. Police did not say when or where the father was assaulted. Patrol officers arrested Dexter on September 25. The mo...

Pro football leagues XFL and USFL announce intent to merge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:42 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The XFL and USFL plan to join forces. The spring pro football leagues announced in a statement Thursday they would merge going forward. The statement said details of the new league would come out at a later date. The XFL has eight teams from Seattle, Washington, to Washington, D.C. The USFL also has eight teams that stretch from New Jersey to Memphis. The XFL, first founded in 2001, returned to action in 2020 but had to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The league eventually filed for bankruptcy. It was reborn in February. The USFL played its first season in 2022. Both leagues said the merger was subject to customary regulatory approvals. If the transaction goes through, the new league “will establish best-in-class operations based on the most recent seasons of both leagues,” according to the statement.___AP sports: https://apnews.com/sportsSource

Lightning goalie Vasilevskiy is expected to miss the first 2 months of the season after back surgery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:42 GMT

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy is expected to miss the first two months of the NHL season after undergoing back surgery.The team announced the stunning injury news Thursday, midway through training camp and with opening night less than two weeks away.General manager Julien BriseBois said Vasilevskiy had a successful microdiscectomy to address a lumbar disk herniation. The recovery could sideline arguably the best goalie in the world for 25 or more games.Tampa Bay was hoping the 29-year-old Russian would be fresh after a first-round playoff exit following three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final. Vasilevskiy won the Vezina Trophy in 2019 as the league’s top netminder and the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2021 as playoff MVP.No one played more hockey from August 2020 through the end of the playoffs last season than Vasilevskiy, who was on the ice for just over 14,769 minutes of game action. He said after the series defeat to Toronto he struggled w...

Tips for defeating winter blues as symptoms start to kick in

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:42 GMT

It’s only fall, but believe it or not, the “winter blues” may already be setting in. Its medical name is seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, and if it’s arrived for its annual visit, there are tips you can follow to combat the symptoms.Dr. Norman Rosenthal is a psychiatrist and clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine. He said SAD symptoms kick in gradually, so the condition is hard to detect.“We feel more tired, we’ve got less energy, difficulty waking up in the morning, and we begin to eat a little more sweets and starches and gain weight,” Rosenthal said.Those symptoms can have a negative impact on a person’s work life and even personal relationships.According to Rosenthal, who authored the book “Defeating SAD,” some people have a genetic predisposition to the disorder, but for others, a lack of light and stress can be causes as well.To make up for the loss of sun during the cold winter months, special light boxes can help, accordi...