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Editorial: Gavin Newsom owns California’s $68 billion budget deficit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:19 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political future could be determined by how he responds to Assembly Republicans’ call for a special legislative session to address California’s staggering budget shortfall.Newsom owns this mess. At the start of last year, he was bragging about the state’s $98 billion budget surplus. Last week, Legislative Analyst Gabriel Petek warned that the state now faces a $68 billion deficit.All Newsom’s galivanting around the country trying to burnish his national reputation, touting California for its progressive policies, serving as a campaign surrogate for President Joe Biden and debate-bashing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his state’s right-wing policies will be for naught if he fails to get a grip on the fiscal crisis at home.All anyone will remember about Newsom is the soaring state spending under his reign that led to massive red ink. If he has any doubts about that, he should just ask Gray Davis, the recalled governor who presided over the state’s budget crisis when...

Muere el emir de Kuwait, el jeque Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, a los 86 años

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:19 GMT

Kuwait (CNN) — El emir de Kuwait, el jeque Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, murió a los 86 años después de gobernar el Estado del Golfo durante tres años.Sheikh Nawaf había sido ingresado al hospital en noviembre tras un problema de salud de emergencia, según la agencia estatal de noticias KUNA. El estado del hombre de 86 años era estable en ese momento, informó KUNA.Sheikh Nawaf fue ministro de Defensa durante una de las mayores crisis en la historia de Kuwait, cuando Iraq invadió en 1990, lo que desencadenó lo que se conoció como la Guerra del Golfo.En su larga carrera también ocupó cargos gubernamentales, incluidos los de ministro del Interior y ministro de Asuntos Sociales.Fue nombrado Príncipe Heredero en 2006, cargo que ocupó 14 años, convirtiéndose en una figura influyente en el proceso de toma de decisiones del país.Prestó juramento como Emir en septiembre de 2020, tras la muerte de Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, quien falleció a la edad de 91 años después de gobernar el...

Latino Democrats shift from quiet concern to open opposition to Biden’s concessions in border talks

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Prominent Latinos in Congress looked on quietly, at first, privately raising concerns with the Biden administration over the direction of border security talks.Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla of California was on the phone constantly with administration officials questioning why the Senate negotiations did not include any meaningful consideration of providing pathways to citizenship for longtime immigrants lacking the proper legal documents.New Mexico Democrat Sen. Ben Ray Luján made similar arguments as he tried to get meetings with top-level White House officials.But when the talks didn’t seem to make enough difference, the influential lawmakers started leading the open opposition.“A return to Trump-era policies is not the fix,” Padilla said. “In fact, it will make the problem worse.”Padilla even pulled President Joe Biden aside at a fundraiser last weekend in California to warn him “to be careful” of being dragged into “harmful policy.”The Latino senators hav...

Climate protester pleads guilty to vandalizing National Gallery of Art exhibit

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:19 GMT

A woman from New York has pleaded guilty to defacing an Edgar Degas sculpture at D.C.’s National Gallery of Art earlier this year.Joanna Smith, 54, of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of causing injury to a National Gallery of Art exhibit in the April 27 defacement of Edgar Degas’ “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.”In a Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 file photo, Edgar Degas “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen” is displayed at Christie’s auction house, in New York. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)Smith, accompanied by co-conspirators, targeted the 1881 exhibit by smearing black and red paint on the sculpture’s case and base. Along with a co-conspirator, the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia said Smith had previously researched the piece and specifically targeted it, according to a news release.The paint was concealed by being contained in water bottles the pair carried into the museum. Smith and her co-conspirator had recorded...

Oosthuizen makes 3 eagles in a third-round 65 to lead Mauritius Open in bid for back-to-back wins

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:19 GMT

BEL-OMBRE, Mauritius (AP) — Louis Oosthuizen moved into position to win on the European tour for the second straight week after making three eagles in a 7-under 65 to take the third-round lead at the Mauritius Open on Saturday.Oosthuizen was on 14-under par for the tournament and one shot clear of fellow South African Jacques De Villiers (68), with Laurie Canter (65) a further two strokes back in third.Oosthuizen’s remarkable round at La Réserve Golf Links included back-to-back eagles at Nos. 5 and 6 — the latter coming when he pitched over a bunker before the ball rolled into the cup — and another eagle at the par-5 15th hole thanks to a long, uphill, right-to-left putt.He also made four birdies and three bogeys.Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion, claimed his 10th European tour title — and first in five years — by winning the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his native country on Monday.Sebastian Soderberg led after the second round but shot 77 to drop into 22nd place, ...

“Como una escena de película”. Este bebé de 4 meses fue arrastrado por un tornado mortal y lo hallaron vivo en un árbol caído

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:19 GMT

(CNN) — Cuando sonó la sirena hace una semana, el techo de la casa móvil de Sydney Moore en Clarksville, Tennessee, había sido arrancado y su hijo Lord, de cuatro meses, había sido absorbido por el tornado.“No hubo ninguna advertencia”, dijo Moore, de 22 años, quien inmediatamente se movió para proteger a su hijo Princeton, de 1 año, con su cuerpo.El novio de Moore, Aramis Youngblood, de 39 años, se apresuró a proteger a Lord, quien dormía en un moisés arrastrado por un remolino de viento y escombros el sábado por la noche mientras una serie de poderosos tornados y tormentas azotaban el estado.Las paredes de la casa móvil de Moore fueron las siguientes en caer. El rugido de los fuertes vientos fue interrumpido por fuertes lluvias. Youngblood, que alcanzó el moisés, también fue levantado del suelo y lanzado por el aire, recordó Moore.El colchón en el que Sydney Moore descansaba con uno de sus hijos de 1 año yace entre los restos de su casa móvil, que fue destruida por un tornad...

Mourners say final farewell to National Grid worker killed in Waltham work site crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:19 GMT

Family members and friends of the National Grid worker who was killed in last week’s deadly crash in Waltham gathered for his fun wake and funeral on Saturday. Roderick Jackson, 36, was killed last Wednesday along with Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey when a man in a pickup truck allegedly struck them at a worksite on Totten Pond Road. Tracey was laid to rest on Friday after his funeral in Waltham. Jackson’s funeral services are being held at St. Paul AME church in Cambridge.“Oh my God,” said Jackson’s mother, Norma Asprilla, on Friday. “I’m burying my baby. Horrific.”“He supported all of us to the fullest,” said Jackson’s brother, Manuel Asprilla-Hassan. “He didn’t just mean everything to us, he was everything to us and we lost it all.”Known as “Kito” to his siblings and mother, Jackson’s family said he had been working for National Grid for three years when he was killed. “After tomorrow, I will never get to see him again,” said Norma Asprilla. “It’s painful for all of us.”...

Six deaths now reported in cantaloupe salmonella outbreak

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:19 GMT

OTTAWA — Six people have now died in a salmonella outbreak linked to Malichita and Rudy brand cantaloupes sold in at least nine provinces.The Public Health Agency of Canada is reporting one more death linked to the outbreak, and says 153 related cases have been confirmed, with more under investigation.The agency says there have been 103 confirmed cases in Quebec, 20 in Ontario, 17 in British Columbia, four in Nova Scotia, three in Alberta and two each in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.It says people became sick between mid-October and late November, and 53 have been hospitalized.The agency says 44 per cent of those who became ill were aged 65 and older, while 35 per cent were children five and younger.Consumers are being warned not to buy, eat or sell Malichita or Rudy brand cantaloupe. The agency says any brands of the fruit that can’t be verified should be thrown out.It issued food recall warnings three times in November for Malichita canta...

Dodgers, Ohtani got creative with $700 million deal, but both sides still have some risk

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:19 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Once the initial shock wore off on the price tag of Shohei Ohtani’s record-shattering $700 million, 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, details about the contract emerged that were nearly as stunning.A total of $680 million — 97% of the money — was deferred until 2034-43 with no interest.Had the Dodgers invented some kind of contract voodoo new to Major League Baseball?Not really. But it appears to be a team-friendly deal that also has benefits for Ohtani as the Japanese superstar departs the Angels, heads 30 miles up Interstate 5 and establishes a new home with the Dodgers in Chavez Ravine.“Thanks to his endorsements and other off-the-field revenue streams, he has the luxury to defer compensation,” said Michael Rueda, head of the U.S. division of sports and entertainment at Withers law firm. “But there’s always some risk.”Part of Rueda’s job is giving financial advice to high-profile sports stars and celebrities. He said the Ohtani-Dodgers de...

Vigil marking 7th anniversary of Soleiman Faqiri’s death to be held Saturday night

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 00:12:19 GMT

A public vigil is being held Saturday night to mark the seventh anniversary of the death of Soleiman Faqiri.The event, being held at Yonge-Dundas Square, comes just days after a coroner’s inquest deemed the death of the mentally ill man at an Ontario jail a homicide.Lawyers for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, which represents correctional staff, wanted his death to be ruled accidental.The jury issued a total of 57 recommendations focusing on the delivery of health care – particularly mental-health services – in corrections, training for correctional staff and management, and use-of-force practices, among other issues.Faqiri, who was 30, was arrested in early December 2016 after allegedly stabbing a neighbour while experiencing a mental health crisis.The three-week inquest heard that Faqiri, who had schizophrenia, appeared increasingly unwell during his time at the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, but did not see a psychiatrist, nor was he taken to hospi...