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Pajaro residents warned to return at own risk as evacuation orders lifted

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:25:10 GMT

(BCN) -- Evacuation orders for the Pajaro community of Monterey County were lifted on Thursday, according to the county, but residents are warned to enter at their own risk due to sewer concerns. The evacuations were ordered in the wake of a levee breach that left some parts of the town under several feet of water on March 10. Bay Area storm cleanup: Over 18K PG&E customers still without power Though people are allowed to return to their homes, the county advised that there are still significant health risks in the area and warned that anyone that does so does at their own risk. There is still no potable water available and toilets cannot be flushed, said county officials, though it said Pajaro Sunny Mesa Services and county staff are working "diligently" to restore the sewer system. For those who return, cleaning, toilet, shower, handwashing and laundry stations have been set up at Pajaro Park at 24 San Juan Road and Pajaro Middle School at 250 Salinas Road in ...

Authorities: Suspect fatally shot during rescue of migrants

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:25:10 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A hostage rescue that left a suspect fatally shot Thursday in Houston began days ago when three migrants were kidnapped from a vehicle in a neighboring county, according to a prosecutor.The three migrants had been traveling in a vehicle on Interstate 10 in the southern part of Waller County on March 18 when they were stopped by kidnappers and forced into another vehicle, said Sean Whittmore, a prosecutor with the Waller County District Attorney’s Office.It is believed the migrants’ driver called 911 and informed the Waller County Sheriff’s Office about the kidnapping, Whittmore said. The sheriff’s office later worked with the FBI, whose agents were involved in a shooting early Thursday morning in north Houston in which two people were rescued. The kidnappers demanded money from the family of at least one of the migrants and were paid, but then they asked for more, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person said that during negotiations, the...

Trump grand jury turns to other matters, done for the week

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:25:10 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Manhattan grand jury investigating Donald Trump over hush money payments turned to other matters on Thursday, delaying until next week at the earliest any vote on a historic indictment of the former president, according to a person familiar with the matter. The panel does not meet on Fridays.It was not clear whether prosecutors planned to question more witnesses before the grand jurors next week or when a vote might be taken about possibly indicting Trump.The New York panel is an investigative grand jury. That means it hears other cases beyond the highly publicized one focused on hush money paid on Trump’s behalf during the 2016 presidential campaign to a porn actor who says she had a sexual encounter with him years earlier.Even so, the timing has given an opening to the former president and supporters to claim the investigation is somehow stalled. Trump, who has denied any sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels, raised the specter on his social media site of “year...

Minnesota moves to strengthen status as ‘trans refuge state’

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:25:10 GMT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota House was moving Thursday toward strengthening the state’s protections for children and their families who come for gender-affirming care by making Minnesota a “trans refuge state,” bucking a national backlash against transgender rights.Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed an executive order two weeks ago to protect the rights of people from Minnesota and other states to receive gender-affirming health care in the state. The bill on which the House was slated to begin debate Thursday night covers much of the same ground, but supporters said a statute would provide stronger, more permanent protections. Passage was expected.The chief author of the House bill is Democratic Rep. Leigh Finke, of St. Paul, the state’s first openly transgender legislator. She was named Woman of the Year for Minnesota by USA Today on Sunday for her activism on behalf of trans youth. Her bill is meant to protect trans people, families and care providers from a rang...

House GOP fails to override Biden veto of ESG investing ban

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:25:10 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House failed Thursday to override President Joe Biden’s first veto — of a Republican-led bill that woulBody (asterisk)276 wordd have banned the consideration of environmental, social or governance issues in retirement and other investment decisions.Republicans failed to mount the necessary two-thirds votes needed in the House to override the president’s veto of the “ESG” investment bill. The override failed on a 219-200 vote mostly along party lines as most Democrats opposed.The standoff was a first test of the strength of the new Republican majority in the House as it confronts the Democratic president in the White House. House Republicans had succeeded in passing the legislation through Congress last month, part of their agenda to undo so-called “woke” government policies that strive to bring new ways of thinking about social and environmental issues with equity and accountability.The legislation was a pushback against the idea of “ESG” inves...

Los Angeles school strike set to end, but no deal announced

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:25:10 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A three-day strike by workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District was scheduled to wrap up Thursday, but it wasn’t immediately clear if any progress was made in negotiations for higher pay for teachers’ aides, bus drivers, custodians and other support staff in the nation’s second-largest school system. Teachers joined the picket lines in solidarity, shutting down instruction for the district’s half-million students during the walkout by members of Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents about 30,000 of the lowest-paid school workers. Support staffers earn, on average, about $25,000 a year in Los Angeles, barely enough to get by in one of the most expensive cities in America.Mayor Karen Bass stepped in as mediator Wednesday after district Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho accused the union of refusing to negotiate. Max Arias, executive director of SEIU Local 99, said the union was grateful that Bass was helping “f...

Ronaldo sets record for most appearances, Portugal wins

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:25:10 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — It didn’t take long for Cristiano Ronaldo to put the World Cup disappointment behind him.Back as a starter with Portugal’s national team, Ronaldo became the most-capped player in men’s international soccer on Thursday, scoring twice in a 4-0 rout of Liechtenstein in 2024 European Championship qualifying. The game marked the debut of coach Roberto Martínez with Portugal.Ronaldo converted a penalty kick and scored off a free kick while making his 197th appearance with the national team. He had tied Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa with 196 caps after coming off the bench in Portugal’s loss to Morocco in the quarterfinals of the World Cup last year.Ronaldo was benched in the knockout rounds in Qatar and left the field in tears after the defeat to Morocco. He had said his return to the national team was in doubt after the World Cup, but eventually decided it was not time “to throw in the towel.”“To be in the national team, you have to be committed,” Martínez said o...

March Madness: Alabama aims to avoid giant-killers in South

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:25:10 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Alabama was expected to be in the Sweet 16 as the overall top seed in the NCAA Tournament.Few thought the teams standing between the Crimson Tide and a trip to the Final Four would be No. 5 seed San Diego State, sixth-seeded Creighton and 15th-seeded Princeton.A win over Alabama (31-5) could elevate any of those schools to the status of March Madness legend. Coach Nate Oats understands the pressure his team faces when it faces San Diego State Friday night as it seeks its first Elite Eight berth since 2004.“We’ve taken enough losses against good teams and some that weren’t as good to where they know what they have to do on any given night,” Oats said. “From here on out I think we’re going to be playing really good teams.”Friday’s other semifinal in Louisville features Creighton (23-12) against Princeton (23-8), which has proven anything is possible with its wins over No. 2 seed Arizona and No. 7 seed Missouri.The lower-seeded teams that advanced in the South ha...

Kane sets scoring record in England’s 2-1 win over Italy

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:25:10 GMT

NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Harry Kane broke Wayne Rooney’s national team scoring record and England held on for a 2-1 win at Italy on the opening night of European Championship qualifying on Thursday.It was a small measure of revenge for England against the team it lost to in the European Championship final two years ago. Italy also won the last meeting in September in the Nations League.It marked England’s first win over Italy in a competitive match since a World Cup qualifier at Wembley back in 1977 — and its first away win over Italy since 1961.“We haven’t won in Italy for so long,” Kane said. “To score and win the game is special.”It was another blow to an Italy squad that had failed to qualify for a second straight World Cup.“We knew it was a difficult game, but we conceded two goals from two corners,” Italy coach Roberto Mancini said. “The first half was tougher, obviously. But we dominated the second half and tried to get at least a draw, which I think would have been a fair ...

Por primera vez, el autismo es más frecuente entre niños hispanos y negros en EEUU 

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:25:10 GMT

NUEVA YORK— El autismo se diagnostica con más frecuencia entre niños hispanos y negros que entre chicos blancos en Estados Unidos, informaron este jueves los Centros de Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC, por sus siglas en inglés).Entre todos los niños de 8 años, uno de cada 36 tenía autismo en 2020, calculó el CDC, comparado con uno de cada 44 dos años antes.Pero la tasa aumentó con mayor rapidez en niños de color que en los blancos. Los nuevos cálculos estiman que el 3% de los niños negros, hispanos, asiáticos o de las islas del Pacífico padecen autismo, comparado con aproximadamente el 2% de niños blancos.En el pasado eran más frecuentes los diagnósticos de autismo en chicos blancos, generalmente en familias de medianos o altos ingresos, con medios para acudir a especialistas. En 2010, se calculaba que los niños blancos tenían un 30% más de probabilidades de ser diagnosticados con autismo que los negros y 50% más que los niños hispanos. Abuela de niño desapar...