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NASA studies find lower methane emissions across Los Angeles area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:42 GMT

Despite reports of air quality dipping to dangerous levels in Los Angeles this week, a pair of studies from NASA found that one type of emission has been successfully reduced across the region in recent years.Two contrasting studies sought out to determine whether or not levels of methane, one of the primary greenhouse gases associated with global climate change, lowered in Los Angeles over the past several years.While taking different approaches, both studies found that human-caused methane emission has gone down.The first study was published in February in Environmental Research Letters. Scientists looked at sensors across Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties and found that methane emissions were reduced by 33 million pounds, or about 7%, per year.The scientists evaluated data from ground-based sensors placed around the region as part of the "Megacities Carbon Project," a globe-spanning initiative to monitor greenhouse gases in major metropoli like Los Angele...

Fire crews battle house fire in Pico-Union

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:42 GMT

A two-story home in Los Angeles’ Pico-Union neighborhood was severely damaged in a fire Monday afternoon.The fire at 1426 S. Burlington Ave. was reported just after 1 p.m.Nearly two dozen firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the flames within 30 minutes, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. The extent of damage to the craftsman-style home was not immediately known.Investigators say the fire may have been connected to a roofing operation.No injuries were reported.

Connolly staffers hospitalized after baseball bat attack in district office

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:42 GMT

Two staffers for Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) were hospitalized Monday after a man entered the congressman’s district office in Fairfax, Va., and assaulted them with a metal bat, underscoring the threats faced by lawmakers amid extreme political polarization in the U.S.Connolly, who represents Virginia’s 11th Congressional District, said the assailant asked for him before attacking his staffers, who were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The suspect struck a senior aide in the head and an intern in the side with the metal bat, Connolly told CNN. It was the intern’s first day on the job, Connolly said. The congressman told the network he was at a ribbon-cutting for a food bank when the assailant entered his office.The alleged attacker — identified by authorities as Xuan Kha Tran Pham, 49, of Fairfax — is in custody and faces one count of aggravated malicious wounding and one count of malicious wounding.“This morning, an individual entered my District Offic...

At least 6 die in hostel fire in Wellington, New Zealand

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:42 GMT

By Nick Perry | Associated PressWELLINGTON, New Zealand — An overnight fire at a four-story hostel in New Zealand’s capital has killed at least six people, the prime minister said Tuesday.Prime Minister Chris Hipkins told the AM morning news program that he understands that six people have been confirmed dead in the fire in Wellington, and that there are likely to be more. Police said they don’t yet have an exact count of the number dead, although they believe it’s fewer than 10 people.Emergency services were called to the Loafers Lodge hostel about 12:30 a.m.Wellington Fire and Emergency District Manager Nick Pyatt said 52 people have been accounted for, but that a number still remained unaccounted for.“I can sadly report that this will be a multi-fatality incident. Our thoughts at this time are with the families of those who have perished and with our crews who valiantly rescued those (they could) and attempted to rescue those that they couldn’t,̶...

Woman sues Giuliani, alleging sex coercion, says she’s owed $2M

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:42 GMT

By Michael R. Sisak | Associated PressNEW YORK — A woman who says she worked as an off-the-books employee for Rudy Giuliani during his stint as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer alleges in court papers that the former New York City mayor coerced her into sex and owes her nearly $2 million in unpaid wages.Noelle Dunphy said in the lawsuit that she was Giuliani’s business development director and public relations consultant from 2019 to 2021. She initially made her allegations public in January, but she detailed her claims further in a 70-page legal complaint filed Monday in New York.Messages seeking comment were left with Giuliani and a lawyer representing his companies.Giuliani’s attorney, Robert Costello, told The Daily Beast when Dunphy first filed her legal claim that she never worked for “any Giuliani entity” and that the allegations were “nonsense.”The new court filing portrays Giuliani, 78, as a hard-drinking, Viagra-popping womanizer who...

Former MLB umpire Don Denkinger dies; blown call in 1985 World Series overshadowed stellar career

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:42 GMT

By Ronald Blum | Associated PressNEW YORK — Don Denkinger, a major league umpire for three decades whose blown call in the 1985 World Series overshadowed a career of excellence, died Friday. He was 86.Denkinger died at Cedar Valley Hospice in Waterloo, Iowa, Denise Hanson, one of his three daughters, said.Denkinger joined the American League staff in 1969. He worked four World Series over three decades in the big leagues but was remembered most for a call he didn’t get right.St. Louis had a 3-2 Series lead over Kansas City and was ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6, three outs from the title, when pinch-hitter Jorge Orta led off with a slow bouncer to the right side. First baseman Jack Clark ranged to field the ball and flipped a sidearm toss to reliever Todd Worrell covering the bag.Denkinger signaled safe but replays showed Worrell caught the throw on the base ahead of the runner. After Steve Balboni’s single, a bunt, a passed ball and an intentional...

Two-bedroom home sells for $2.1 million in Oakland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:42 GMT

6443 Hillegass Avenue – Google Street ViewA historic house located in the 6400 block of Hillegass Avenue in Oakland has new owners. The 1,558-square-foot property, built in 1910, was sold on April 10, 2023, for $2,100,000, or $1,348 per square foot. The property features two bedrooms and one bathroom sits on a 5,200-square-foot lot.These nearby houses have also recently changed hands:A 1,988-square-foot home on the 6400 block of Benvenue Avenue in Oakland sold in December 2022, for $2,200,000, a price per square foot of $1,107. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Alcatraz Avenue, Oakland, in November 2022, a 1,498-square-foot home was sold for $1,550,000, a price per square foot of $1,035. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In March 2023, a 1,032-square-foot home on Benvenue Avenue in Oakland sold for $1,980,000, a price per square foot of $1,919. The home has 3 bedrooms and 1 bathrooms. 

Study: Face masks still a good idea at the doctor’s office

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:42 GMT

By Jen Christensen | CNNSigns urging everyone to mask up have largely disappeared from places like grocery stores and schools in the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic. But they remain in many medical offices, and a study published Monday says they might still be a good idea.Even after the expiration of the US public health emergency declaration and with many Americans moving away from pandemic precautions, masks continue to offer some protection, reducing your risk of catching Covid-19 in a community setting like in a close doctor and patient interaction, according to the study, which reviewed the latest science on the protective quality of masks.The study, published in the journal the Annals of Internal Medicine, also found that there wasn’t a significant difference in protection between surgical masks and N95 respirators in a health care setting. N95s may be slightly more beneficial, but that wasn’t completely clear from the research.The researchers reviewed three ra...

He was lost, speeding, drunk and then he tried to frame his dog, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:42 GMT

A man who was pulled over for speeding switched places with his dog and insisted that he had not been driving, said police in the Colorado town of Springfield.The traffic stop happened around 11:30 Saturday night on Springfield’s Main Street. An officer said the vehicle was going 52 mph in a 30-mph zone.Upon seeing the patrol car’s flashing lights, the driver pulled over and, in full view of the officer, took his dog’s place in the front passenger seat, the police report on Facebook said. The two were the vehicle’s only occupants.The human then stepped out of the passenger side and stated he was not the driver. When asked about his sobriety, he allegedly took off running. He made it 20 yards before he was tackled, the police said.Further interrogation revealed the man believed he was driving from Las Animas to Pueblo. He had gone 75 miles in the wrong direction and was within half an hour of crossing into Oklahoma.After being medically cleared at a hospital, ...

Fisherman's Wharf Safeway store closed, grocery chain confirms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:42 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Another grocery store in San Francisco has officially closed. The Fisherman's Wharf location of Safeway at 350 Bay Street closed on Friday, May 12, a Safeway spokesperson confirmed to KRON4. A spokesperson for the grocery chain suggested the closure was a result of the store not meeting financial expectations. Surveillance video released of Banko Brown homicide "Safeway has been a proud member of the Fisherman's Wharf community for decades," a statement from the spokesperson said, "and the decision to close this store isn't one we made lightly.""We continuously evaluate the performance of our stores, and occasionally it's necessary to close locations that aren't meeting financial expectations," the spokesperson added.Employees at the Bay Street location have been transferred to other stores in the area. Safeway has 16 remaining locations throughout San Francisco. The closure of the Fisherman's Wharf Safeway follows a series of retail closures in San Francis...