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Fire, other ravages jeopardize California’s prized forests

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

KYBURZ, Calif. (AP) — On a steep mountainside where walls of flames torched the forest on their way toward Lake Tahoe in 2021, blackened trees stand in silhouette against a gray sky.“If you can find a live tree, point to it,” Hugh Safford, an environmental science and policy researcher at the University of California, Davis, said touring damage from the Caldor Fire, one of the past decade’s many massive blazes.Dead pines, firs, and cedars stretch as far as the eye can see. Fire burned so hot that soil was still barren in places more than a year later. Granite boulders were charred and flaked from the inferno. Long, narrow indentations marked the graves of fallen logs that vanished in smoke. Damage in this area of Eldorado National Forest could be permanent — part of a troubling pattern that threatens a defining characteristic of the Sierra Nevada range John Muir once called a “waving sea of evergreens.” Forest like this is disappearing as increasingly intense fires alter...

Jeep maker Stellantis plans to invest 1.5 billion euros in Chinese EV manufacturer Leapmotor

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Stellantis plans to invest about 1.5 billion euros, or about $1.6 billion, in Leapmotor, a Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, the companies said late Wednesday. The European-based maker of Jeep and Ram and Leapmotor said in a joint statement that they have formed a strategic partnership and joint venture that aims to expand the Chinese EV maker’s sales both inside and outside of China. Stellantis said it expects to benefit from Leapmotor’s “tech-first EV ecosystem” in China to meet its own targets for shifting to electric vehicles. The investment will give Stellantis an approximately 20% stake in Leapmotor. The companies said the 51% Stellantis-led joint venture will have exclusive rights to export and sell Leapmotor’s vehicles outside China. Leapmotor has focused on the mid- to high-end of the EV market in China, selling 111,000 electric vehicles in 2022. So far it has introduced three EV models, the BEV T03, the SUV C11 and the C01 sedan. Hangzhou, China-based L...

South Korea, US and Japan condemn North Korea’s alleged supply of munitions to Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea, the U.S. and Japan strongly condemned what they call North Korea’s supply of munitions and military equipment to Russia, saying Thursday that such weapons shipments sharply increase the human toll of Russia’s war in Ukraine.A joint statement by the top diplomats of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan came days after Russia’s foreign minister scoffed at a recent U.S. claim that his country received munitions from North Korea, saying that Washington has failed to prove the allegation.“We will continue to work together with the international community to expose Russia’s attempts to acquire military equipment from (North Korea),” said the joint statement by South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa.“Such weapons deliveries, several of which we now confirm have been completed, will significantly increase the human toll of Russia’s war of aggression,” it said.North Korea and...

Two more mild days before temps plunge; thunderstorm potential here Friday. First Cat. 5 Hurricane to Landfall on the Pacific Coast brings catastrophic destruction to Acapulco

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

While still mild,  temperatures significantly lower than Tuesday afternoon Wednesday afternoon temperature snapshot—How much cooler than the same time Tuesday? Rains to come and go the next few days with a break in the precipitation likely much of Saturday until the next round of showers arrives at night Tracking the season’s coldest air into ChicagoForecast low temperatures into next week—hard freeze likely by Monday/Tuesday timeframe which will effectively end the growing season!

Video shows driver robbed on L.A. freeway after intentional crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

In one of the more shocking robberies captured on video in Los Angeles in recent years, a driver was intentionally hit and then robbed by a group of thieves along the 10 Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol.A video shared on Citizen shows the scene unfolding on the shoulder of eastbound I-10 just west of Arlington Avenue on Tuesday afternoon.Video shared on Citizen shows a group of thieves rob the driver of an Alfa Romeo after a collision on the 10 Freeway in Los Angeles. Oct. 24, 2023. (Citizen)According to CHP, a black Dodge Caravan deliberately crashed into a black Alfa Romeo sedan. A Ford Mustang was also hit.With the Alfa Romeo disabled on the side of the freeway, video recorded by a driver shows four men wearing dark clothing and masks jump out of the Caravan and swarm the sedan, grabbing items from inside.The victim was on his knees with his hands raised as steam billowed from the engine of his badly damaged luxury car.Video shared on Citizen shows a group of t...

Single-family house sells for $3.4 million in Saratoga

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

13745 Manteca Way – Google Street ViewA house located in the 13700 block of Manteca Way in Saratoga has new owners. The 1,913-square-foot property, built in 1961, was sold on Oct. 10, 2023. The $3,350,000 purchase price works out to $1,751 per square foot. This single-story house boasts a generous living space with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. In addition, the home provides a two-car garage, granting ample space for parking and storage purposes.Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include:On Dolphin Drive, Saratoga, in October 2023, a 2,471-square-foot home was sold for $3,900,000, a price per square foot of $1,578. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In September 2023, a 1,963-square-foot home on Dolphin Drive in Saratoga sold for $3,330,000, a price per square foot of $1,696. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 2,962-square-foot home on the 13800 block of Via Alto Court in Saratoga sold in June 2023, for $5,250,000, a price per square foot of $1,...

APEC road closures cause concerns within Yerba Buena community

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – We are now just a few weeks away from the start of the APEC summit in San Francisco. The week-long event is set to bring in a host of world leaders, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.On Wednesday, people who live and work in San Francisco’s Yerba Buena community met with city officials to learn how their lives will be affected by the event.Many people attending the meeting live within the area that will be shut down due to high security for the APEC summit. Many became frustrated when they learned just how much this would disrupt their day-to-day lives during the week of Nov. 11. GOP senator from Iowa calls for Nancy Pelosi Federal Building to be closed The APEC summit is a national special security event, which means four downtown blocks near the Moscone Center will be locked down from Nov. 14 through Nov. 17. Officials released a map and information about the closures last week, but many who live and work in the area were left ...

LGBTQ cultural district proposed for Oakland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – Oakland is getting closer to establishing the city’s first LGBTQ cultural district and neighborhood. The city council’s Life Enrichment Committee approved the proposal for the new district this week.It’s an idea LGBTQ community members say is “long overdue” in Oakland, which has one of the highest percentages of residents who identify as LGBTQ in the United States. The cultural district would be set up in between Grand Lake and Lakeshore, and community leaders say it’s a space that’s long been needed. “Oakland needs its own safe spaces, cultural districts for our LGBTQ community and that’s what’s happening now,” said Joe Hawkins, a co-founder of Oakland's LGBTQ community center. Richmond City Council passes resolution showing solidarity with Gaza The co-founders of Oakland’s LGBTQ center say an official designation would solidify what already exists in the area. Gay-run bars, restaurants and other businesses, as well as the center itself, can be found in t...

Leonard and George dominate in Clippers’ 123-111 win over the Trail Blazers to open the season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Paul George scored 27 points and Kawhi Leonard added 23 to lead five players in double figures as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Portland Trail Blazers 123-111 in their season opener Wednesday night.The Clippers had Leonard and George together for just 38 games last season, when both were derailed by injuries and the team lost in the first round of the playoffs. But they’re healthy and in the lineup at the same time now, raising expectations for the Clippers as they pursue the franchise’s first NBA championship.Ivica Zubac had 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook added 11 points and 13 assists — making him the first Clippers player with at least 10 assists in a season opener since Chris Paul in October 2015. Leonard made all five of his 3-point attempts and the Clippers hit 16 total. Malcolm Brogdon scored 20 points off the bench to lead the Blazers, who opened the season without Damian Lillard. They traded him to Milwaukee in September, ending an 1...

Stock market today: Asian shares slide after Wall St rout driven by high yields, mixed earnings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:16:16 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Shares skidded Thursday in Asia after Wall Street tumbled as bond yields tightened their chokehold. U.S. futures slipped and oil prices also fell after some of the most influential U.S. companies turned in mixed profit reports. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 sank 2.1% to 30,628.04 and the Kospi in Seoul declined 2.3% to 2,309.14. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.8% to 16,942.93, while the Shanghai Composite index gave up 0.3% to 2,965.35. Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.8% to 6,799.00. In Bangkok, the SET sank 0.8%, while Taiwan’s Taiex fell 1.5%. On Wednesday, the S&P 500 tumbled 1.4% to 4,186.88, falling back to where it was in May. Some of the heaviest losses hit Big Tech stocks, which dragged the Nasdaq composite to its second-worst drop of the year, shedding 2.4% to 12,821.22. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% to 33,035.93.The yield on the 10-year Treasury nudged back up toward 5%. It was at 4.98% early Thursday after dipping to 4.82% late Tuesday....