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Opinion: California health care providers’ retreat from COVID masking is shameful

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:27 GMT

When the California Department of Public Health last month lifted mask mandates in health care settings, it didn’t even cross my mind as a physician and CEO of Roots Community Health Center to drop masks in clinics I oversee in the East Bay and San Jose.Dr. Noha Aboelata, founder and CEO of the Roots Community Health Center, speaks during a 2021 news conference. (Anda Chu/Bay Area News Group)The absence of a public health order never determined health care facility policy before, so I was shocked that several health systems dropped masks the moment they stopped being required. I did not need to be mandated to do the right thing for patients and staff at the onset of the pandemic, and the removal of a mandate did not erase my duty to protect and advocate for essential frontline workers and marginalized community members.With the swift unmasking, I was not surprised by the COVID outbreak within about two weeks at Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Rosa Hospital and the facility’s qu...

Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Laila Wang, Archbishop Mitty softball

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:27 GMT

NEW: PREP SPORTS MAILBAGThe Bay Area News Group is introducing a high school sports mailbag in May. Get your questions in as soon as possible. Our debut edition is an open forum. Got questions about spring sports playoffs, coaching changes, an early peek at football season, etc.? Send questions to [email protected]. Please include “mailbag” in the subject line.Archbishop Mitty badminton player Laila Wang is the Bay Area News Group’s high school girls athlete of the week for April 24-29 after she received 35.22% of the vote at the 5 p.m. deadline Wednesday.Mercy-Burlingame softball player Jazlyn Villavicencio (24.75%) placed second and Oakland Tech track and field athlete Jada Williams was third.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Wang, a freshman, finished her season with a 13-2 record and was awarded the No. 1 seed in the women’s singles in the Mt. Hamilton Division. In 12 of her matches, Wang stopped her opponent from scoring doub...

Skelton: Want to stop California desertion: Lower housing costs — and taxes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:27 GMT

Higher-income people are fleeing California to live in lower-tax states.For years, we denied that. Maybe it wasn’t even happening. But it definitely is now.It’s logical given our high taxes, high housing costs and high costs of living, period. And there’s new evidence of it.The Public Policy Institute of California reported in March that higher-income people were leaving the state. I wrote about it. Later, the institute’s researchers dug deep into the data and saw where they were moving.The more income the departees had, the more likely they were to be headed to states with no income tax.“Our findings suggest that taxes might be a factor in where higher-income people go when they leave the state,” PPIC demographers Eric McGhee and Hans Johnson wrote in their recent report.“The eight states with no income tax…drew a larger net outflow of higher-income than middle- or lower-income migrants from California, while the opposite was true in the other 41 states. There is some evidence that...

Iran expels four Azeri diplomats amid ongoing tensions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:27 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has expelled four Azeri diplomats amid ongoing tensions with neighboring Azerbaijan, Iranian media reported on Friday.Iran’s semiofficial news outlets did not provide details except to say that the four had been working in Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northwestern city of Tabriz.Last month, Azerbaijan expelled four Iranian diplomats from Baku.Relations between Tehran and Baku, long chilly, soured further after a gunman in January stormed Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran’s capital, killing its security chief and wounding two guards.Azerbaijan accuses Iran of supporting hard-line Islamists who tried to overthrow the government in Baku, a charge Tehran denies.Relations between the two also are tense because Azerbaijan in March opened an embassy in Israel. Iran has repeatedly opposed improving relations between Azerbaijan and Israel. Iran and Israel see each other as archenemies. Source

German chancellor supports permanent UNSC seat for Africa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:27 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, on a visit to Kenya, has offered support to African countries seeking a permanent seat on the U.N Security Council.Scholz told his host, President William Ruto, that he believes in African-led solutions to African issues such as the ongoing conflict in Sudan.“Germany therefore supports the efforts for permanent African seats on the U.N Security Council and we also support a formal seat for the African Union within the G-20,” he said on Friday after bilateral talks with Ruto.Currently, three African states, Gabon, Ghana and Mozambique, are non-permanent members of the council.Calls in the past for African states to get at least one permanent seat in the council have been supported by various leaders including the U.N secretary general.Scholz expressed concern over the conflict in Sudan that has led to hundreds of deaths, and lauded Ruto’s mediation efforts.He said the two warring generals must end the fighting for the sake of civil...

Canelo Álvarez vs. John Ryder: a qué hora es el combate y cómo ver por televisión e internet

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:27 GMT

(CNN Español) — El boxeador mexicano Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez vuelve este sábado al ring para enfrentar al púgil británico John Ryder por el título mundial absoluto supermediano.Para el “Canelo”, el combate es especial por dos razones principalmente:1. Se trata de la primera pelea de Álvarez en 2023. El año pasado, tuvo dos combates, en los que registró una derrota (ante Dmitry Bivol) y una victoria (ante Gennady Golovkin).2. Y, más importante aún, es un combate que marca el regreso del Canelo a México. El boxeador no había peleado en su país desde hace 12 años y ahora lo hará en el Estadio Akron, en Guadalajara, Jalisco, estado mexicano del que es originario el Canelo.Si no te quieres perder la pelea, a continuación te damos todos los detalles.¿A qué hora es el combate entre el Canelo Álvarez y John Ryder?De acuerdo con Ticketmaster, el evento comienza a las 3:30 p.m. hora de Guadalajara y Ciudad de México, o a las 5:30 p.m. hora de Miami.Antes de la pele...

Crunch time for Madrid with Copa final before City game

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:27 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — It’s time for Real Madrid to switch back into championship mode for the final part of what has been an inconsistent season.Madrid will play Osasuna in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday following a stretch of poor showings in the Spanish league, where the title has long been out of reach.Carlo Ancelotti’s players have been playing far from their best with their focus clearly on the game in Seville against Osasuna — and on what’s to come just after.Three days later, Madrid will play the first leg of its highly anticipated Champions league semifinal rematch against Manchester City. The second leg in England will be played on May 17.While Madrid’s top priority is to defend its continental title and lift a record-extending 15th European Cup, a victory over Osasuna would secure its first Spanish cup in nearly a decade and give it the chance for a pair of titles this campaign.Madrid has produced convincing wins over Liverpool and Chelsea in the Champions League kno...

El mercado laboral estadounidense vuelve a calentarse y añade 253.000 empleos en abril

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:27 GMT

Minneapolis (CNN) — El mercado laboral se calentó de nuevo en abril ya que los empresarios añadieron 253.000 puestos de trabajo, según los datos publicados este viernes por la Oficina de Estadísticas Laborales. Es un aumento sorprendente en un momento en que muchos indicadores apuntaban a una desaceleración en el mercado de trabajo.Los economistas esperaban que el crecimiento del empleo disminuyera por tercer mes consecutivo y que se añadieran 180.000 puestos de trabajo, según Refinitiv.La tasa de desempleo bajó del 3,5% al 3,4%.Noticia en desarrollo.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.Source

International Tower: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:27 GMT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (THM) on Friday reported a loss of $504,000 in its first quarter.On a per-share basis, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company said it had a loss of less than 1 cent._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on THM at https://www.zacks.com/ap/THMSource

Investors Title: Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:27 GMT

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Investors Title Co. (ITIC) on Friday reported earnings of $1.2 million in its first quarter.The Chapel Hill, North Carolina-based company said it had profit of 62 cents per share.The insurance company posted revenue of $51.3 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ITIC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ITICSource