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Map: Over 158,000 Bay Area customers are without power. Are the lights on in your county?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:45:00 GMT

Over 158,000 Bay Area customers were without power Wednesday morning, a day after fearsome winds hit 97 mph and wreaked havoc on powerlines throughout the region.The interactive map below shows power outages by county as of Wednesday morning. Click on a county to see how many customers are without power. Click the plus button to zoom in, or the minus button to zoom out.As of Wednesday morning, Santa Clara County was the most heavily impacted Bay Area county, with over 82,000 customers without power. In San Mateo County, over 42,000 were without power, and in Contra Costa County, nearly 24,000 customers were without power.  In Alameda County, over 7,000 were without power, and in Marin, over 800 had lost power.Check back for updates

San Jose hotel project site heads towards auction and foreclosure

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:45:00 GMT

SAN JOSE — The site where a hotel is slated to be developed in San Jose is headed for a real estate auction and possible foreclosure of a delinquent loan, Santa Clara County property records show.The proposed hotel development — approved by the city but never built — is located in north San Jose’s Alviso district near the Topgolf entertainment, dining and golfing complex.In 2019, the city granted final approval to the project, which would be a 200-room hotel at 7 Topgolf Drive, San Jose planning documents show.Now, however, the project’s future has tumbled into limbo, at best. Instead of construction starting on the hotel, the next major event for the development site appears to be a public auction scheduled for mid-April.A South Korea-based company, operating as Mirae-San Jose, bought the 3.2 acres of land for the hotel site in 2019, paying $22.5 million for the land, county public files show.At the time of the purchase, the real estate group also land...

Driver in Pittsburg hits, kills 17-year-old girl and flees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:45:00 GMT

PITTSBURG, Calif. (BCN) -- A hit-and-run driver allegedly struck and killed a 17-year-old girl in Pittsburg on Tuesday night, police said. Police responded just before 7:15 p.m. a call about a person down in the street in the area of Stoneman Avenue and Briarcliff Drive. Officers found the teen suffering from injuries consistent with being hit by a car. The vehicle left the area and wasn't seen by the person who called 911, according to police. Officers provided medical aid to the teen, who was transported by paramedics to a hospital, where she died from her injuries. Investigators determined the teenager was walking northbound across Stoneman Avenue from Briarcliff Drive and was headed to Golden Gate School. As she crossed into the westbound lanes on Stoneman Avenue, the vehicle hit her. The teenager was walking within the fully marked crosswalk in the intersection, providing her the right of way to cross the street, police said. The driver allegedly left the scen...

Indigenous farmworker leader bids for Guatemala presidency

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:45:00 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — An Indigenous female farmworker leader hopes to become Guatemala’s next president. But Thelma Cabrera faces an uphill fight, after the country’s Electoral Tribunal refused to allow her to register her candidacy. There is just one week left in the registration period for the June 25 elections, but Cabrera and her Movement for Peoples’ Liberation are vowing to go ahead with her campaign whether the gets registered or not. It was never going to be an easy fight. Even though the government’s last census said around 48% of Guatemalans identify as Indigenous — and some Indigenous groups insist the number is higher — lighter-skinned elites have always ruled. Paradoxically, the tribunal barred Cabrera’s running mate from registering their ticket on the grounds he did not supply a letter stating there are no corruption cases open against him — even though it allowed politicians with pending cases to register. “The political system has been corrupted,” said C...

Texas officials announce state takeover of Houston’s nearly 200,000-student school district, one of nation’s largest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:45:00 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas officials announce state takeover of Houston’s nearly 200,000-student school district, one of nation’s largest.Source

Arctic sea ice thins in 2 big jumps, and now more vulnerable

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:45:00 GMT

Climate change attacked crucial Arctic sea ice thickness in two sudden big gobbles instead of steady nibbling, a new study says.A little more than 15 years ago, sea ice quickly lost more than half its thickness, becoming weaker, more prone to melting and less likely to recover, according to the study that emphasizes the importance of two big “regime shifts” that changed the complexion of the Arctic.Those big bites came in 2005 and 2007. Before then, Arctic sea ice was older and misshapen in a way that made it difficult to move out of the region. That helped the polar area act as the globe’s air conditioner even in warmer summers. But now the ice is thinner, younger and easier to push out of the Arctic, putting that crucial cooling system at more risk, the study’s lead author said.Before 2007, 19% of the sea ice in the Arctic was at least 13 feet thick (4 meters) — taller than most elephants — but now only about 9.3% of ice is at least that thick. And the age of the ice h...

What will happen if medication abortion challenge succeeds?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:45:00 GMT

Medication abortions in the United States usually involve two different drugs.In the latest effort to limit abortion access, opponents of the procedure are seeking to ban one of those medications. If they succeed, only one of the pills would be available, but women would still be able to get abortions. Here’s a look at medications, efforts to curtail them and how clinics are responding. THE DRUGSThe Food and Drug Administration regimen for medication abortions involves two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol. The drugs can be taken at home and are used in just over half of U.S. abortions.Mifepristone dilates the cervix and blocks the action of the hormone progesterone, which enables a pregnancy to continue. Misoprostol causes contractions that empty the uterus. Typically, mifepristone is taken by mouth first, followed by misoprostol a day or two later.Studies show medication abortions are safe and effective, though with a slightly lower success rate than ones done by procedure in a ...

Bank runs used to be slow. The digital era sped them up

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:45:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A bank run conjures images of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” with anxious customers crammed shoulder to shoulder, desperately pleading with a harried George Bailey to hand over their money.The failure of Silicon Valley Bank last week had the panic but few other similarities, instead taking place on Twitter, message boards, cell phones and bank websites.What made the failure of Silicon Valley Bank unique compared to past failures of large banks was how quickly it collapsed. Last Wednesday afternoon, the $200 billion bank announced a plan to raise fresh capital; by Friday morning it was insolvent and under government control. Regulators, policymakers and bankers are looking at the role that digital messaging and social media may have played in the collapse, and whether banks are entering an age when the psychological behavior behind a bank run — mass fear from depositors of losing their savings — may be amplified and go viral quicker than bank officers and regulators can suc...

Bill to legalize sports wagering headed to Kentucky Senate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:45:00 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A bill to legalize sports betting in Kentucky was advanced by a Senate committee on Wednesday, leaving its supporters still facing their biggest challenge as opponents mounted a last stand.The panel sent the measure to the full Senate, setting up a potentially dramatic vote on whether the state that’s home to the Kentucky Derby should let its residents legally wager on other sporting events.“The people of Kentucky want this,” Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer said. “It’s time that we give them the choice — for free will, God-given free will — to engage in legal sports betting.”The bill’s Senate prospects are uncertain, due to a higher procedural hurdle to overcome. It needs a three-fifths vote in each chamber to pass, since it’s a revenue-producing bill in an odd-numbered year. The bill passed the House recently, but the Senate has been seen as the bill’s toughest test.It still needs to receive procedural readings in the Senate, meanin...

Reality star Todd Chrisley’s son Kyle charged with assault

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:45:00 GMT

SMYRNA, Tenn. (AP) — Kyle Chrisley, the son of reality TV star Todd Chrisley of the show “Chrisley Knows Best,” has been charged with aggravated assault in Tennessee, authorities said.The arrest comes just months after his father and stepmother, Julie Chrisley, were both sentenced to several years in prison for charges including bank fraud and tax evasion.Kyle Chrisley was charged Tuesday with aggravated assault in Smyrna, news outlets reported, citing Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lisa Marchesoni. Chrisley was booked in the Rutherford County jail and later released on $3,000 bond, Marchesoni said.The tight-knit, boisterous Chrisley family gained fame with the reality show, which was first recorded in the Atlanta area and later in Nashville. Smyrna is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of Nashville.Federal prosecutors said the couple engaged in an extensive bank fraud scheme and then hid their wealth from tax authorities while flaunting their lavish lifestyle. To...