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California bill to make internet platforms pay for news advances — with questions

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:12:25 GMT

A California bill that aims to ease newspapers’ internet-age woes by making Big Tech companies like Google and Facebook pay for the online articles their users access through their platforms advanced out of its first committee hearing Tuesday night, but not without lots of questions from lawmakers.“A free and diverse press is the backbone of a healthy and vibrant democracy,” Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, an Oakland Democrat, told the Assembly Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee, which passed her bill on a 9-0 vote with two members abstaining. “These dominant companies are padding their profit margins with locally produced news without adequately compensating the originators of that content.”But while her colleagues on the committee supported the idea, they said it’s going to need some work.“I appreciate that a problem-solver legislator has agreed to tackle this,” said Assemblyman Steve Bennett, a Democrat representing Oxnard. “...

Suspect in Santa Rosa Exchange Bank robbery arrested

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:12:25 GMT

(KRON) -- The Santa Rosa Police Department has arrested a suspect connected to a robbery at the Exchange Bank on Calistoga Road that happened in February, officials said. The suspect told the bank teller he was armed and that he would shoot the teller if they did not hand over an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.On Feb. 3 around 12:34 p.m., the suspect, identified as 41-year-old Rohnert Park resident Christopher Cairati robbed the bank. Police said he threatened to shoot the teller and at one point raised his shirt, but it was unclear whether he was armed. Charges will be dropped against man arrested for striking ex-SF fire commissioner in Marina, statement says Cairati fled on foot down Calistoga Road with the stolen cash. Police could not immediately find Cairati after the robbery, but did find the clothes he was wearing, officials said. Through an investigation over the last few months, police said they were able to use DNA evidence to identify Cairati as the suspect.Tue...

Santa Clara County air quality earns failing grade

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:12:25 GMT

(BCN) -- Santa Clara County is still struggling to clean up its poor air quality, with communities of color among the most affected. The American Lung Association's newly released 2023 State of the Air report shows Santa Clara County scored an "F" on the report in high ozone days and particle pollution levels -- factors that contribute to an array of health concerns including asthma and respiratory infections. Experts said bad air quality and pollution disproportionately affects low-income residents and communities of color, and requires immediate attention. Gabriela Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, said low-income communities, especially those in East San Jose, have long been disproportionately impacted by pollution. She said low-income residents live in areas where commerce and transportation are prioritized, meaning air quality is often deprioritized. She said an example is the Reid-Hillview Airport in East San Jose. A 2021 county ...

Stock market today: Big Tech rally props up Wall Street

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:12:25 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A big rally for Microsoft and other Big Tech stocks is helping to prop up Wall Street Wednesday, a day after stocks tumbled to their worst drop in a month. The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading, though the worries about U.S. banks that hit the market a day before remain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 58 points, or 0.2%, at 33,589, as of 9:45 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was leading the market with a 0.9% gain.Tech stocks pushed upward on indexes after Microsoft reported stronger profit for the first three months of the year than analysts expected. It jumped 7%, and it carries a huge weight on the S&P 500 because it’s the second-largest stock in the index. Tech stocks have been some of the year’s best performers so far as they’ve laid off workers and made other cost cuts to improve their profitability. Hopes for a coming pause from the Federal Reserve on its barrage of hikes to interest rates have also helped them in particula...

Sports on TV for Thursday, April 27

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:12:25 GMT

(All times Eastern)Schedule subject to change and/or blackoutsThursday, April 27AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL5:30 a.m. (Friday)FS2 — AFL: Port Adelaide at St. KildaAUTO RACING5:25 a.m. (Friday)ESPN2 — Formula 1: Practice, Baku City Circuit, Baku, AzerbaijanBASKETBALL AFRICA LEAGUE11 a.m.NBATV — SLAC vs. Cape Town, Cairo, EgyptCOLLEGE BASEBALL7 p.m.ACCN — Miami at LouisvilleSECN — Mississippi St. at Tennessee8 p.m.ESPNU — Texas A&M at ArkansasCOLLEGE BEACH VOLLEYBALL (WOMEN’S)11:30 a.m.PAC-12N — Pac-12 Tournament: TBD, Second Round, Stanford, Calif.1:15 p.m.PAC-12N — Pac-12 Tournament: TBD, Second Round, Stanford, Calif.3 p.m.PAC-12N — Pac-12 Tournament: TBD, Second Round, Stanford, Calif.4:45 p.m.PAC-12N — Pac-12 Tournament: TBD, Second Round, Stanford, Calif.6:30 p.m.PAC-12N — Pac-12 Tournament: TBD, Second Round, Stanford, Calif.8:15 p.m.PAC-12N — Pac-12 Tournament: TBD, Second Round, Stanford, Calif.GOLF3:30 p.m.GOLF — PGA Tour: The Mexican Open at Vidanta, First Round, Vidanta V...

Italy’s Meloni urges quick start of Ukraine’s EU entry talks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:12:25 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday urged European allies to accelerate Ukraine’s European Union membership bid, as Rome hosted a bilateral conference on the war-torn country’s reconstruction attended by hundreds of Italian and Ukrainian businesses. “The future of Ukraine must include an always wider capacity of integrating with the European dynamics and institutions,” Meloni said, in joint statements with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on the sidelines of the conference. “The smartest way to thank Ukrainians for what they are doing is to accelerate their chance of being part of the European institutions. We need to acknowledge Kyiv’s enormous efforts to reform its system and bring it closer to targets required by the EU Commission,” Meloni added, urging a quick start of negotiations needed to grant Ukraine full EU membership.Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the conference attracted over a thousand companies, including hundre...

Today in Sports – Nolan Ryan becomes strikeout king (3,509)

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:12:25 GMT

April 271929 — Ryder Cup Golf, Moortown GC: Great Britain beats U.S., 7-5.1956 — Rocky Marciano retires as the undefeated heavyweight boxing champion. He finished with a 49-0 record, including six title defenses and 43 knockouts.1960 — The Minneapolis Lakers announce they will relocate to Los Angeles.1961 — NFL officially recognizes Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.1968 — Jimmy Ellis wins the heavyweight boxing title with a 15-round decision over Jerry Quarry in Oakland, Calif. This is the final bout of an eight-man elimination tournament to fill Muhammad Ali’s vacated title.1982 — NFL Draft: University of Texas defensive end Kenneth Sims first pick by New England Patriots.1983 — Walter Johnson’s record of 3,508 career strikeouts was eclipsed by Houston’s Nolan Ryan — a record that stood for 56 years. Ryan fanned Montreal pinch-hitter Brad Mills in the eighth inning as the Astros beat the Expos 4-2.1994 — Scott Erickson, who allowed the most hits in the majors the previous season, pitch...

Sports on TV for May 1-7

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:12:25 GMT

Adv29(All times Eastern)Schedule subject to change and/or blackoutsMonday, May 1GOLF4 p.m.GOLF — PGA Professional Championship: Second Round, Twin Warriors & Santa Ana Pueblo Golf Clubs, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.MLB BASEBALL8 p.m.FS1 — San Francisco at HoustonNBA BASKETBALL7:30 p.m.TNT — Conference Semifinal: TBD10 p.m.TNT — Conference Semifinal: TBDNHL HOCKEY7 p.m.ESPN — Conference Semifinal: TBDESPN2 — Conference Semifinal: TBD9:30 p.m.ESPN — Conference Semifinal: TBDESPN2 — Conference Semifinal: TBDSOCCER (MEN’S)3 p.m.USA — Premier League: Everton at Leicester City_____Tuesday, May 2GOLF4 p.m.GOLF — PGA Professional Championship: Third Round, Twin Warriors & Santa Ana Pueblo Golf Clubs, Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.HIGH SCHOOL LACROSSE (BOY’S)7 p.m.ESPNU — GEICO National Showcase: Georgetown Prep vs. BullisMLB BASEBALL7 p.m.TBS — Toronto at BostonNBA BASKETBALL7:30 p.m.TNT — Conference Semifinal: TBD10 p.m.TNT — Conference Semifinal: TBDNHL HOCKEY8 p.m.ESPN — Conference Semifinal: ...

Protests for disabled rights in France before Paris Olympics

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:12:25 GMT

PARIS (AP) — Angry about decades of unmet promises, people with disabilities protested Wednesday in France by showing how difficult and frustrating it is for them to travel alone by train into Paris, delivering a stinging rebuke of government inertia before the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.In the town of Melun on the outskirts of the French capital, Babou Sene, 31, had to get out of the wheelchair he uses and shuffle with help down and then up two flights of stairs to catch the 11:15 suburban train to Paris’ Gare de Lyon, which connects to the only fully accessible Metro line in the future Olympic host city. Other people with disabilities had to stay behind, continuing the protest with placards denouncing limited access to public services. Their electric-powered wheelchairs were too bulky to be carried to the Paris-bound train platform. Helpers carried Sene’s smaller hand-pushed chair and assisted him on the stairs and navigating the gap between platform and train. ...

What we know about arrest of 3 high school students in deadly rock attack

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:12:25 GMT

ARVADA, Colo. (KDVR) -- We are learning more about the three 18-year-olds arrested in connection to the rock-throwing crime spree that killed a 20-year-old woman.Jacki Kelley, Public Information Officer with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, said the three high school seniors were arrested at their homes on Tuesday. 3 high schoolers arrested in deadly rock-throwing crime spree Joseph Koenig, Nicholas “Mitch” Karol-Chik, and Zachary Kwak are all facing charges of first-degree murder with extreme indifference.When asked if the suspects intended to kill someone, Kelley said, "The charge that they are facing is a murder charge with extreme indifference. And to be clear about what extreme indifference is, it is described as an attitude or behavior, because it is indifference about what they're doing. This one, in relation to respect for human life."All three suspects will face additional charges related to the crime spree, Kelley said. ‘All of a sudden, my front windshield explo...