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Tropical Storm Hilary: Reality or hype? Weather stories covered it all

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:08 GMT

Hurricane! Tropical storm! … Fierce drizzle?From late last week until midday Sunday, Southern California prepped for a weather event billed as Tropical Storm Hilary. Emergency alerts were declared. Roads and beaches were closed. Shoppers jammed supermarkets in the hunt for pre-storm supplies and DoorDash stopped delivering in parts of Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.Then, as night came and the heaviest part of the storm churned through the region, we collectively rode the weather ride.The results of all that Hilary prepping and riding were mixed.RELATED: Surfers chase down tropical swell from Hurricane HilaryIn communities hit hardest, mostly in the Inland mountains and deserts and parts of northern Los Angeles County, the rains and wind were powerful enough to swamp streets, churn up mud and tear trees, literally, limb from limb. Though the full extent of the damage isn’t known, experts believe pre-storm preparation saved money and probably some lives....

California house hunters face record $4,359 monthly payment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:08 GMT

“Numerology” tries to find reality within various measurements of economic and real estate trends.Buzz: A California house hunter has to find a record-high $4,359 monthly payment to buy the median-priced single-family home.Source: My trusty spreadsheet analyzed the California Association of Realtors statewide homebuying data for July and its database of stats dating to 1990.Fuzzy math: Sales of existing, single-family houses dropped to a 277,000-a-year pace – 13th slowest on record.ToplineSo, how did this yardstick for California house payments get so high — for the second month in a row?First, there’s the $832,340 median selling price in July, the eighth highest as tracked by Realtors. Even though it was down 1% for the month, it’s essentially flat over the last 12 months after recovering from an 18% crash between May 2022 and February 2023.Plus, note that mortgage rates skyrocketed to an average 6.84% for 30-year home loans in July. That’s well above 5.41% a year ago and the 5.96%...

Former California law school dean John Eastman surrenders to authorities in 2020 election subversion case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:08 GMT

By KATE BRUMBACK | Associated PressATLANTA — John Eastman, the conservative attorney who pushed a plan to keep Donald Trump in power, turned himself in to authorities Tuesday on charges in the Georgia case alleging an illegal plot to overturn the former president’s 2020 election loss.Eastman was booked at the Fulton County jail before being released by authorities. He’s expected later face a judge to be arraigned in the sprawling racketeering case brought last week.Eastman is charged alongside former President Donald Trump and 17 others, who are accused by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of scheming to subvert the will of Georgia voters in a desperate bid to keep Democrat Joe Biden out of the White House.RELATED: Trump indictment makes clear ‘Co-Conspirator 2’ is ex-Chapman Law dean John EastmanEastman, a former dean of Chapman University law school in Southern California, was a close adviser to Trump in the run-up to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump ...

Jailed Sam Bankman-Fried can't prepare for trial without vegan diet and adequate meds, lawyers say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried can’t adequately prepare for trial in six weeks while in jail without proper access to computers, necessary medications to help him concentrate, and a better diet than bread, water and peanut butter, his lawyers told a magistrate judge Tuesday.The lawyers made their complaints at a Manhattan federal court hearing after Bankman-Fried pleaded not guilty to seven charges he'll face at his Oct. 3 trial, including wire fraud and multiple conspiracy counts. Missing Netflix employee was last seen in SF, police say Bankman-Fried was extradited from the Bahamas in December after prosecutors said he stole billions of dollars in FTX customer deposits, spending tens of millions on his businesses, speculative venture investments, charitable donations and on illegal campaign contributions aimed at influencing cryptocurrency regulation in Washington.The 31-year-old California man was making his first court appearance in a drab beige prison uniform si...

Maluma has a new alter ego. Meet Don Juan, also the title of the Colombian superstar’s new album

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:08 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — On New Year’s Eve 2022, Colombian superstar Maluma bid farewell to his musical alter ego Papi Juancho, created during the coronavirus pandemic. “Fue un placer,” he wrote on Instagram. “It was a pleasure.” Then he teased a new era: Don Juan, coming 2023. The wait is over. On Friday, Maluma will release his highly anticipated album, “Don Juan.” The choice of title is both a clever reference to the infamous 17th century literary Lothario and a reference to Maluma’s birth name, Juan Luis Londoño Arias.It’s a rich place to pull from, and that matches the listening experience: “Don Juan” may very well be Maluma’s most dynamic album to date, a collection of familiar sounds and new collaborations spanning different genres — a more expansive listen than 2020’s “Papi Juancho,” and just as enjoyable.“’Don Juan’ is a part of me,” Maluma, 29, said. “Of course, ‘Don Juan’ is a character that I’ve been building for the last two years ...

Lowe’s Fabrinet rise; Macy’s Canadian Solar fall, Tuesday, 8/22/2023

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks that are trading heavily or have substantial price changes on Tuesday:Lowe’s Companies Inc. (LOW), up $7.86 to $225.45.The home-improvement retailer beat analysts’ second-quarter financial forecasts.Baidu Inc. (BIDU), up $4.67 to $129.59.The Chinese internet search company reported strong second-quarter earnings.Fabrinet (FN), up $31.71 to $148.49.The technology manufacturer beat Wall Street’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue forecasts.Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS), down $35.53 to $111.51.The sporting goods retailer cut its profit forecast for the year.BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. (BJ), down $1.98 to $67.76.The wholesale membership chain reported disappointing second-quarter revenue.Wolfspeed Inc. (WOLF), up $1.34 to $45.82.The maker of silicon carbide microchips is selling its radio frequency business.Macy’s Inc. (M), down $1.95 to $12.78.The department store chain forecast economic uncertainty through 2023 after deli...

A failed lunar mission dents Russian pride and reflects deeper problems with Moscow’s space industry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:08 GMT

An ambitious but failed attempt by Russia to return to the moon after nearly half a century has exposed the massive challenges faced by Moscow’s once-proud space program.The destruction of the robotic Luna-25 probe, which crashed onto the surface of the moon over the weekend, reflects the endemic problems that have dogged the Russian space industry since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Those include the loss of key technologies in the post-Soviet industrial meltdown, the bruising impact of recent Western sanctions, a huge brain drain and widespread corruption.Yuri Borisov, the head of the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos, attributed the failure to the lack of expertise due to the long break in lunar research that followed the last Soviet mission to the moon in 1976.“The priceless experience that our predecessors earned in the 1960-70s was effectively lost,” Borisov said. “The link between generations has been cut.”While the USSR lost the race to the United S...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts a day after a rare climb for August

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:08 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is holding relatively steady Tuesday ahead of a couple potentially market-shaking events later in the week.The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in midday trading, coming off a rare August gain that was powered by Big Tech stocks Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 132 points, or 0.4%, at 34,3331, as of noon Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.3% higher.Stocks have struggled this month as yields have shot upward in the bond market, which cranks up the pressure on other investments. The yield on the 10-year Treasury drifted up and down Tuesday, a day after reaching its highest level since 2007.Nvidia, one of Wall Street’s most influential stocks, swung from an early gain to a loss of 2.5% ahead of its earnings report on Wednesday, one that could be pivotal for the stock market. The chipmaker has been at the center of Wall Street’s frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology, which investors believe will create immense profits for...

EU climate czar Frans Timmermans quits job to lead center-left coalition in Dutch elections

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:08 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union’s climate chief quit his job in the EU’s executive arm Tuesday and will lead a broad center-left coalition of social democrats and greens going into the Dutch elections in November. Social Democrat Frans Timmermans, 62, was the only candidate and won 91.8% of votes cast by party members of both groups Tuesday. He will be seeking to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who will not run in the Nov. 22 election. Timmermans is a well-traveled politician who was the Dutch foreign minister before starting work at the EU’s Commission. He has been leading the EU’s climate push for the past four years. “Thanks to his excellent contribution and strong personal engagement, we have made great strides towards meeting the EU’s objectives to become the first climate neutral continent, and towards raising the levels of climate ambition globally,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after accepting his resignation. The Dutch e...

1-year-old dies after being left in hot day-care van, and driver is arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:08 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 1-year-old girl died after being left inside a day care center’s van on one of the hottest days of the year, and the driver of the van was arrested, police in Nebraska said Tuesday.Officers and medics were called Monday afternoon to Kidz of the Future Childcare in Omaha for an unresponsive baby inside the van, police said. The call came as temperatures reached into the upper 90s (mid-30s Celsius) and the heat index soared to around 110 degrees (43 Celsius), part of a heat wave plaguing the Central U.S.The child was rushed to a hospital but pronounced dead, police said.Police issued a statement Tuesday saying a 62-year-old man who was driving the van was arrested on suspicion of child negligence resulting in death. Source