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Memorial Day weekend travel: How it fared on road, in air

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:55 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The kick off to summer travel was seemingly smooth 'soaring' at the San Diego International Airport Monday afternoon as travelers headed home from the long holiday weekend. "It's good to see people coming back traveling, but right now we haven’t seen many crowds," said Dan Taylor, as he waited for his flight home to New Jersey. According to Auto Club of Southern California, San Diego was one of the top destinations to travel to this holiday weekend, but travelers didn't seem to find many issues at the San Diego International Airport Monday.“I was expecting it to be in our terms, heaving, but no, it’s been very pleasant," said Stephanie Green, who was waiting in line at the British Airways Counter, one of the only lines visible at the San Diego International Airport Monday afternoon.It wasn't all sunny travels at every airport though.“I’m from New York, the airport and everything was so hectic there, but here it was smooth sailing, I tell you I might move here, everybody...

Alberta United Conservatives win majority government, NDP makes inroads in Calgary

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:55 GMT

Alberta’s United Conservative Party rode a wave of rural support Monday to win a renewed majority in the provincial election — but not before the NDP took a big bite out of its support. Danielle Smith’s UCP, as expected, captured almost all seats outside the province’s two major cities. It lost Edmonton, also as predicted, but held on to just enough support in battleground Calgary to secure a majority in the 87-seat legislature. The UCP had claimed about 50 seats but a final tally was unknown late into the evening given close races in Calgary. It was an election night crippled by slow reporting from Elections Alberta. Only a small fraction of results were available 90 minutes after polls closed and a UCP win wasn’t called for another 90 minutes after that.Smith easily won her seat in Brooks-Medicine Hat.It was the second victory in seven months for Smith, 52. She had been out of politics for seven years, working mainly as Calgary-based radio talk-show host and political pundit...

Economic boost or big business hand-out? Nevada lawmakers consider A’s stadium financing.

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:55 GMT

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada lawmakers questioned whether a proposal to subsidize a new MLB stadium with tax credits and bonds would further boost Las Vegas’ economy, or serve as a handout for a big business that could strain government resources.In a committee hearing on Monday — likely the only before a vote on the proposal to help fund the Oakland A’s potential stadium on the Las Vegas Strip — the Republican governor’s chief of staff and the Democratic treasurer both said it would provide tax revenue and well-paying jobs while further aiding Las Vegas’ transformation into a sports city. But lawmakers questioned whether an A’s stadium on the site of the Tropicana Las Vegas would be worth it. They cited an MLB team with the worst record in baseball, financed in-part by a county and state struggling to fund public services including schools, which rank toward the bottom in national student-teacher ratios and per-pupil funding.“Regular citizens see us having a conversation and a d...

Russia launches pre-dawn attack on Kyiv, killing at least 1; Moscow buildings hit by drones

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:55 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a pre-dawn attack on Ukraine’s capital Tuesday, killing at least one person and sending Kyiv’s residents again scrambling into shelters to escape a relentless wave of daylight and nighttime bombardments. Moscow authorities reported a drone attack on the Russian capital. At least 20 Shahed drones were destroyed by air defense forces in Kyiv’s airspace in Russia’s third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours, according to the Kyiv Military Administration.The buzzing of drones could be heard over the city, followed by loud explosions as they were taken down by air defense systems.In Moscow, residents reported hearing explosions and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later confirmed there had been a drone attack. Sobyanin said in a Telegram post that the attack caused “insignificant damage” to several buildings and that no one has been seriously hurt, without elaborating.Residents of two buildings damaged in the attack were evacuated, Sobyanin said.Andrei Vor...

Offshore Typhoon Mawar lashes eastern Taiwan, northern Philippines as it heads for southern Japan

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:55 GMT

YILAN, Taiwan (AP) — Typhoon Mawar lashed Taiwan’s eastern coast with wind, rains and large waves Tuesday but largely skirted the island after giving a glancing blow to the northern Philippines. The storm was moving slowly toward southern Japan.With waves crashing on the shoreline, residents of the Taiwanese fishing town of Yilan secured boats and homes against the stormy conditions. Although the slow-moving typhoon has lost some of its ferocity since smashing into Guam last week, forecasters in the Philippines said Mawar remained dangerous with maximum sustained winds of 155 kph (96 mph) and gusts of up to 190 kph (118 mph).“I’m on the roof, but I’m not being blown away by the wind,” Juliet Cataluna, a Batanes provincial official in the coastal town of Ivana told The Associated Press by cellphone. “I wish we’ll really be spared from damages, our livelihood, our agricultural produce and our houses.”After seeing earlier forecasts that Mawar would be stronger, townspeople in Iva...

Iran supplies lethal weapons to Russia for Ukraine war

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:55 GMT

On 26 May, Russia carried out another strike using missiles and Iranian drones against Ukraine's civil infrastructure. As a result of this war crime, 3 Ukrainians were killed and 23 others were injured, according to preliminary reports. Iran supplies weapons to the Russian Federation on a daily basis, with which it kills civilians and continues its hostile aggression. Tehran is an indirect participant in the war and a party to the geopolitical alliance waging a global confrontation against the West, Dispatches, IFBG.Iran has long been a source of destabilisation in the Near and Middle East, and Russia has deliberately helped Iran's nuclear programme as much as it could. This partnership has led to the fact that almost immediately after Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine, Iran failed to condemn Russia and to the contrary began to provide it with all kinds of support, including weapons. For example, last year the Russian army received 400 Iranian UAVs, which we...

Beloved matriarch of Silver Lake taqueria dies after being hit by a car

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:55 GMT

Family, friends and customers are mourning the loss of Maria Esther Valdiva, the matriarch of a popular Silver Lake taqueria, after she was struck by a car last week and died several days later.  The incident happened on May 22, at around 1 p.m., at the intersection Cross Street and Glendale Boulevard in Echo Park.  “I feel horrible. I can’t believe it at times. I have moments where I just break down,” Irma Gonzalez, Valdiva’s daughter, told KTLA.  Gonzalez said she’s used to walking into work at Tacos Delta and seeing her mother.  “My mom was more than a mom,” she said. “We saw her every day. We worked with her every day.”  Valdiva had worked at Tacos Delta since the day it opened in 1981. She was the mother of four children, had 14 grandchildren and one great grandchild. Her daughter said that Valdiva was still very active and at the time of the crash, she’d had her bags packed for a girls’ trip to Cabo.  “My mom was healthy. My mom was full of l...

Suspect arrested for series of car fires in Tujunga

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:55 GMT

L.A. police arrested a suspect Monday believed to be responsible for more than a dozen car fires in the Tujunga area. Video shows a man on a bike torching a blue pickup truck this morning and then casually riding away.  “We heard car horns beeping and my wife went outside and looked, and she ran back inside and said, ‘The truck is on fire,’ and thought how this could be. It’s been sitting there. There’s nothing wrong with the truck,” Richard Poquette, the vehicle’s owner told KTLA. Video shows an unidentified person lighting Richard Poquette's truck on fire on May 29, 2023, and riding off. (KTLA)Video shows an unidentified person lighting Richard Poquette's truck on fire on May 29, 2023, and riding off. (KTLA)Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division, along with arson investigators from the Los Angeles Fire Department, have been working to identify the suspect responsible.  Police said that a person was observed and taken into custody Monday, th...

After battle with alcohol, A’s player and San Jose native gets sober, realizes MLB dream

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:55 GMT

OAKLAND – Lucas Erceg wasn’t sure if this moment would ever arrive.The San Jose native and Menlo College alum played in the minor leagues for close to six years, never rising above Triple-A as a hitter even though he was once considered one of the top 30 prospects in the Milwaukee Brewers system.But a position switch to pitcher before the start of the 2022 season, plus a commitment to sobriety two years earlier, changed Erceg’s life and perhaps opened up all kinds of possibilities for him going forward.Using both a four-seam fastball that ran up as high as 98 mph, and attacking the strike zone with an 89-90 mph slider, Erceg picked up his first Major League win Monday in the Oakland A’s 7-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Taking over for Paul Blackburn in the fifth inning, Erceg collected four strikeouts over three scoreless innings to go to 1-0 as a pitcher.“Guy’s coming in throwing, 98-99 mph bowling ball sinkers in there,” Blackburn said of Erceg. “ItR...

Russia launches pre-dawn attack on Kyiv, killing at least 1; Moscow attacked by drones

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 10:35:55 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched a pre-dawn attack on Ukraine’s capital Tuesday, killing at least one person and sending Kyiv’s residents again scrambling into shelters to escape a relentless wave of daylight and nighttime bombardments. Moscow authorities reported a drone attack on the Russian capital. At least 20 Shahed drones were destroyed by air defense forces in Kyiv’s airspace in Russia’s third attack on the capital in the past 24 hours, according to the Kyiv Military Administration.The buzzing of drones could be heard over the city, followed by loud explosions as they were taken down by air defense systems.In Moscow, residents reported hearing explosions and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin later confirmed there had been a drone attack. Sobyanin said in a Telegram post that the attack caused “insignificant damage” to several buildings and that no one has been seriously hurt, without elaborating.Residents of two buildings damaged in the attack were evacuated, Sobyanin said.There was ...