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Champion: Attack on Israel is calculated and ruthless — and that’s Hamas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

The biggest surprise in Hamas’s massive attack on Israel is that it was a surprise. The operation was of unprecedented scale, involving thousands of personnel and pieces of equipment, from hang gliders to bulldozers and rockets. Such an effort demands weeks if not months of preparation, and all of it took place under the nose of an Israeli intelligence service that has a deserved reputation as one of the most effective in the world.How that happened is cause for deep embarrassment in Israel’s security community and will prompt a painful internal investigation. Israel lost control of military outposts, armored vehicles and settlements, and the conflict is far from over. About 800 people have been killed in Israel, nearly 2,400 wounded and at least 150 have been taken hostage, the New York Times reports. Yet Saturday’s assault was also an important reminder concerning Hamas. It’s a U.S.-designated terrorist group but no band of hotheads. It is a well-resourced organization with a para...

Kaiser Permanente workers warn of potential second strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

By Samantha Delouya | CNNA coalition of unions representing thousands of Kaiser Permanente health care workers warned they will walk off the job again next month if a deal is not reached with their employer.Facilities across California, Washington, Oregon, Virginia and Washington DC have threatened to strike for a second time if a new labor contract is not agreed before November 1, after a contract for 3,000 more Kaiser employees in Seattle expires on October 31.The second planned strike would involve more employees and it would be longer than the first, running from November 1 through November 8, according to a statement by the coalition.“For months, Kaiser executives failed to listen to the feedback from frontline healthcare workers about the need for executives to follow the law in negotiations and about the impacts that the Kaiser short staffing is having on patients,” Caroline Lucas, the executive director of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions, said in a statement.The fi...

Founder of Santa Cruz-based Joby Aviation says electric air taxis will be in service in 2025

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

By DAVID KOENIG | AP Airlines WriterThe notion that hundreds or even thousands of electric-powered air taxis could be whisking people over jammed roads is inching away from science fiction and closer to reality.Battery technology is improving enough for eVTOLs – short for electric vertical takeoffs and landings, the name given to these aircraft that can act like helicopters near the ground but fly like small planes. The bigger question may be whether there is a profitable business in producing them.JoeBen Bevirt is an evangelist for the new industry and the founder and CEO of Joby Aviation Inc., which delivered its first eVTOL to the Air Force last month. Bevirt insists that his Santa Cruz, California-based company, whose largest shareholder is Toyota (11%), can meet an ambitious target of entering commercial air taxi service in 2025.Like other eVTOL startups, Joby is losing money — more than $400 million in 2021-2022. Analysts don’t know when, if ever, it will be profitable.Bevirt ...

Making water conservation a ‘California way of life’: Controversial state rules could cost $13 billion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

Saying the targets to cut water use in cities and towns will be costly and difficult to achieve, water agencies throughout California have raised concerns about an ambitious state proposal that would require more water conservation statewide beginning in 2025.The State Water Resources Control Board’s proposed regulations would mandate conservation measures by more than 400 cities and water agencies that serve about 95% of Californians. The measure could save about 413,000 acre-feet a year by 2030, enough to serve about 1.2 million households per year.During the last three-year severe drought, which ended this year, the Newsom administration set voluntary conservation goals that were largely ineffective. Californians used only about 6% less water from July 2021 through the end of last year compared to 2020, far less than Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 15% goal.The new rules are mandated by a package of laws — enacted in 2018 by the Legislature and former Gov. Jerry Brown — that aim to make “wat...

2 westbound lanes reopen on Richmond-San Rafael Bridge after fatal big rig crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

(KRON) -- Two westbound lanes on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge were reopened early Tuesday morning after a big rig truck struck a toll booth and caught fire Monday night, according to California Highway Patrol. Officials reported that one person died following the crash.The big rig hit the booth on the westbound lanes just before 10 p.m., CHP said. Both the truck and the toll booth caught fire, according to the traffic log from police. Crews at the scene removed the engine of the big rig.There was only one occupant of the big rig, CHP said.This is a developing story. Stick with KRON4 for updates.Bay City News contributed to this report.

2 men arrested in Santa Rosa on weapons crimes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

(BCN) -- Sheriff's deputies in Sonoma County arrested two men on weapons crimes in Santa Rosa early Sunday morning, according to authorities.Deputies were sent to the 100 block of Barbara Drive around 2 a.m. on a report of a man shooting a gun into the air. Two men, identified as Cuauhtemoc Aguilar-Garcia, 52, and Logan Bolster, 31, were both found standing in front of an open garage and were detained, authorities said.While searching the driveway, deputies allegedly found unspent rounds and one spent .45 caliber round in the front yard. A search of Bolster's backpack allegedly yielded a 9mm handgun with an 18-round high-capacity magazine. The gun was not registered to Bolster, the Sheriff's Office said.Deputies also allegedly found a .45 caliber handgun in the area that belonged to Aguilar-Garcia, though law enforcement said that the gun was not registered to him.Bolster was arrested on suspicion of felony possession of a high-capacity magazine and a misdemeanor charge of carrying ...

Former baseball MVP Steve Garvey joins California US Senate race, gives GOP ballot dash of celebrity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former baseball MVP Steve Garvey joined the race Tuesday to succeed the late California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, giving Republicans a splash of star quality on the ballot in a heavily Democratic state where the GOP hasn’t won a Senate race in 35 years.Garvey, 74, launched his campaign with a video lush with baseball imagery that recalled his career as a perennial All-Star who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. It also signaled he would lean toward the political center in a party dominated by former President Donald Trump, the leading GOP presidential candidate who could share the ballot with Garvey next year.“I never played for Democrats or Republicans or independents. I played for all of you,” Garvey said in the video, in which he also alluded to problems vexing the state from homelessness to crime. “It’s going to be a common sense campaign.”In an interview, Garvey said he voted for Trump in the past but had not settled on a pick in the unfold...

Why your fall allergies might be worse than spring

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

People who suffer from seasonal allergies are finding that the misery is lasting longer than it used to. Because of warmer temperatures, the pollen season is starting earlier and ending later each year.“The pollen season in D.C. is extended. It used to start in March or April and end in early October. It now starts at the end of February and goes through November — most people think because of global warming,” said Dr. Henry Fishman, an allergy and immunology specialist based in the District.“Also, in addition to noticing from experience, the national studies show the number of people with allergies has actually doubled in the last 20 years. So the season is longer and people are suffering more,” he added.The National Institute of Food and Agriculture says that not only are pollen seasons longer, research indicates the seasons carry 21% more pollen than they did in 1990.“All I know is I’m busy all day, every day,” said Fishman, who maintains...

Rose hips’ seedpods provide a pop of color in the fall and winter garden

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

The rose has long been regarded as the “queen of flowers,” revered for its fragrance and beauty. But less lauded are the orange and red hips, or seedpods, that form after the flowers fade. And that’s a shame.If they’re left on the plant, the rose hips will take center stage in autumn and provide a beautiful pop of color through the winter — or at least until the birds get them.Like every fruiting plant and tree, a rose’s blossoms will give way to fruit if left undisturbed. That fruit, the hip, contains a seed. Not all roses produce hips, however. Some modern cultivars are sterile. For the biggest, best or tastiest hips, seek out rambling, shrub and wild, non-hybrid species roses. My favorites are the North American native Rosa Virginiana’s glossy, scarlet hips, Rosa glauca’s clusters of small, deep red hips, and Rosa rugosa’s sweet hips, which are so large and round they remind me of cherry tomatoes.To improve and increase the hips your roses produce, treat plants to mon...

‘What if your mother or grandmother needs a prescription?’: Possible Walgreens walkout troubles customers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:27 GMT

Katherine Mera stopped by her local Walgreens in Montgomery County, Maryland, after a doctor’s appointment, expecting to have her prescription filled, like she always does.She tells WTOP she was surprised to be asked to come back 45 minutes later — and a pharmacist acknowledged that she was checking to see whether her co-workers would join a planned walkout on Monday, over staffing issues.“I said ‘Ma’am, you’re still working now is that correct? Then could you please expedite my prescription,” Mera recalled.Mera said she wasn’t aware that some Walgreens pharmacies could be affected, if employees walked out.“I didn’t hear of Walgreens going on strike until she told me,” she said.A Walgreens corporate spokesman told USA Today a small number of pharmacies nationally are experiencing disruptions.“We apologize for any inconvenience. We are working to return these pharmacies to regular operations as quickly as possible. Nea...