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In the battle over hate speech at Bay Area public meetings, are the Zoombombers winning?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:00 GMT

When Zoom meeting attendees start raising virtual “hands” to speak during Walnut Creek City Council meetings, administrators have few options but to sit in mortified silence as extremists and other online trolls spew hate speech, usually under the cover of anonymity.These “Zoombombing” incidents are on the rise, and officials around the Bay Area are throwing up their hands in frustration — with many unplugging from remote comments altogether.Last week, Walnut Creek became the latest city to announce that council and commission meetings will no longer be accessible via Zoom — joining a growing list of local governments that are able to legally make the change after California’s COVID-era emergency orders expired. Anti-hate groups are even considering proposing changes to California’s hallowed Brown Act, which guarantees public access to civic meetings, to try to deal with the problem.Elected officials in Antioch, El Cerrito, Fremont, Modesto, Sacramento, Santa Rosa and So...

US raises the death toll to 9 of Americans killed in the weekend Hamas attacks on Israel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department said Monday that at least nine American citizens have been killed in the weekend Hamas attacks on Israel, raising the toll from four.It says an undetermined number of American citizens remain missing and unaccounted for. On Sunday, an official said that number was fluid and had ranged from between six to 12. It is not clear whether the missing had been taken hostage, were killed or are in hiding.The State Department is in touch with families “and providing all appropriate consular assistance,” said spokesman Matthew Miller.The attack by Hamas has left more than 1,000 dead on both sides. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday he has ordered the Ford carrier strike group to sail to the Eastern Mediterranean to be ready to assist Israel. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, and its approximately 5,000 sailors and deck of warplanes will be accompanied by cruisers and destroyers in a show of force that is...

Half Moon Bay 50th annual pumpkin weigh-off returns Monday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:00 GMT

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (KRON) -- It’s a sure sign of autumn in Northern California. The 50th annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off returns Monday in Half Moon Bay, and $30,000 is up for grabs if a world-record-setting pumpkin enters this year.Organizers brought a new scale to Monday’s pumpkin weigh-off because they expect a pumpkin to weigh over 2,560 pounds, which was the winner last year.The current world record sits at around 2,700 pounds for a pumpkin weighed in Italy in 2021. Contestants at Half Moon Bay hope to beat that, earning them $30,000 for a record breaker. If a record isn’t broken, the first-place pumpkin will still earn a hefty $9 per pound. Had enough heat? Wet weather returning to Bay Area Early arrivals Monday were pumpkins from the Napa and Sacramento areas. However, the largest seen so far traveled from Minnesota.The weighing of pumpkins is set to begin Monday around 7 a.m.

Founder of Joby Aviation says electric air taxis will be in service in 2025

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:00 GMT

The 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 spoke to The Associated Press. His c...

Take Greek souvlaki off the rotating spit for weeknight cooking

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:00 GMT

Souvlaki translates from the Greek as “skewer,” but a rotating spit and open fire are not necessary to achieve similarly satisfying results.For this easy weeknight version, from our book “Tuesday Nights Mediterranean,” which features weeknight-friendly meals from the region, we forgo the skewers and cook individual pieces of chicken. And instead of firing up the grill, we simply turn on the broiler.A quick marinade of olive oil, garlic, lemon and oregano seasons boneless, skinless thighs while the oven heats. The small pieces of chicken and wedges of red onion finish cooking in less than 15 minutes.Souvlaki wouldn’t be complete without tzatziki, a cooling cucumber-yogurt condiment. For ours, inspired by a lesson we learned in Athens, we shred and then salt an English cucumber and squeeze the liquid out of the shreds to keep the tzatziki from becoming watery. Fresh dill adds bright herbal notes.To eat as a wrap, squeeze fresh lemon juice over the chicken, then spread tzatziki on the ...

Al menos nueve ciudadanos estadounidenses murieron en el conflicto de Israel, según el Consejo de Seguridad Nacional de EE.UU.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:00 GMT

(CNN) — Al menos nueve ciudadanos estadounidenses murieron en el conflicto de Israel, informó este lunes un portavoz del Consejo de Seguridad Nacional de Estados Unidos.“En este momento, podemos confirmar la muerte de nueve ciudadanos estadounidenses. Hacemos llegar nuestro más sentido pésame a las víctimas y a las familias de todos los afectados, y deseamos una pronta recuperación a los heridos. Seguimos vigilando de cerca la situación y permanecemos en contacto con nuestros socios israelíes, en particular con las autoridades locales”, señaló el portavoz en un comunicado.Antes, este domingo, el senador Chuck Schumer había confirmado la muerte de cuatro estadounidenses.“Lamentablemente, sabemos que hay estadounidenses que fueron asesinados. El Gobierno nos dijo que sabe de cuatro hasta ahora, pero, lamentablemente, sabemos que la cifra aumentará”, dijo el senador demócrata en un comunicado.Más temprano este domigo, el secretario de Estado Antony Blinken...

Records, second place and Las Vegas. What to watch in F1 this season after Verstappen’s title win

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:00 GMT

LOSAIL, Qatar (AP) — The race for the Formula One title is officially over with five rounds of the season still to go. The next one is at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 22.It was clear for months that Max Verstappen was on course to retain his title even before the Red Bull driver made it official Saturday in the sprint race in Qatar. He followed up with victory in Sunday’s grand prix.There could yet be drama this season as Red Bull and Verstappen close in on records, Sergio Perez holds onto second place and F1 returns to Las Vegas after more than 40 years.Here is a look at some of the stories to watch in F1:RECORDS IN SIGHTVerstappen has 14 wins this season — not including sprints — and needs one more to match his own record of 15 from last year. Red Bull has 16 and would need to win four of the last five races to beat the record of 19 wins in a season set by Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton as they fought for the title in 2016. No team ...

German far-right leader says gains in state elections show her party has ‘arrived’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:00 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany said on Monday that her party is no longer a primarily eastern German phenomenon after a pair of strong state election performances in the country’s more prosperous west, declaring that “we have arrived.”The 10-year-old Alternative for Germany, or AfD, is at its strongest in the country’s former communist east. It hopes to emerge as the strongest party for the first time in three state elections in that region about a year from now.However, co-leader Alice Weidel said gains for the party on Sunday in the western states of Hesse and Bavaria show that “AfD is no longer an eastern phenomenon, but has become a major all-German party. So we have arrived.”Sunday’s elections, halfway through the term of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s unpopular three-party government, followed a campaign marked by discontent with persistent squabbling in the national government and by pressure to reduce the number of mig...

Powerball jackpot hits $1.55 billion: How much would a Colorado winner get?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:00 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - The Powerball jackpot has propelled to an estimated $1.55 billion ahead of Monday’s drawing. But if you win, your payout could be much smaller. At its current size, the jackpot ranks as the third-largest in Powerball history and the fourth-largest in U.S. lottery history. It currently sits behind a $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot won in California last year, a $1.602 billion Mega Millions jackpot won in Florida in August, and a $1.586 billion Powerball jackpot split by three tickets in 2016.Despite its record size, you won’t immediately see a check for $1.55 billion if you’re lucky enough to win during Monday’s Powerball drawing.The way the game is structured, plus taxes, will shrink your payout by as much as $741 million.  Win the Powerball jackpot? Think twice before taking the cash If you’re familiar with Powerball, you likely know there are two ways the jackpot is paid out to a winner. The first, and most common (and the one you may want to think twice about),...

Florida man arrested after dumping over 10,000 pounds of trash in Florida Keys, deputies say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:26:00 GMT

BIG PINE KEY, Fla. (WSVN) – A 65-year-old Big Pine Key man was arrested after allegedly dumping more than 10,000 pounds of trash on the side of the road.On Friday, Benjamin Scott Holroyd, 65, was charged with felony illegal dumping, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. The arrest came after the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation into a massive pile of debris and trash discovered on 18th Lane earlier this month.Courtesy LOCAL NEWS X /TMX Courtesy LOCAL NEWS X /TMX During the course of the investigation, authorities uncovered information leading to Holroyd as the individual responsible for the illegal dumping. Holroyd subsequently admitted to being the person who initially began dumping trash in the area.Monroe County Solid Waste workers were tasked with the cleanup, successfully removing a total of 10,380 pounds of garbage and debris from the scene.