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Houseboats catch fire on a lake popular with tourists, killing 3 in Indian-controlled Kashmir

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:33 GMT

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A massive fire Saturday engulfed several wooden houseboats anchored in Indian-controlled Kashmir’s popular Dal Lake and three charred bodies were recovered from the wreckage, officials said.Five houseboats and some huts embedded in water were reduced to ashes in the intense blaze that was extinguished after nearly two hours by fire engines sent from Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, said Mir Aqib, a fire officer.The cause of the fire is being investigated. Aqib said some cooking gas cylinders exploded after the blaze started in the houseboats where tourists from outside Kashmir come and stay.Police are trying to find out whether the bodies were those of tourists or local workers.Some houseboats anchored nearby were removed from the site, police said.Boat rides in Dal Lake are very popular with tourists who also stay there during their visit to Srinagar, the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir.Kashmir has been divided between India and Pa...

Dozens of Chinese ships chase Philippine vessels as US renews warning it will defend its treaty ally

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:33 GMT

ABOARD THE BRP CABRA (AP) — As a U.S. Navy surveillance plane flew in circles, keeping a close watch, dozens of Chinese coast guard and accompanying ships chased and encircled Philippine vessels in the latest confrontation in one of the most dangerous flashpoints in the South China Sea.At the height of Friday’s four-hour faceoff in the high seas, a Chinese coast guard ship blasted a water cannon toward a Philippine motorboat delivering food and other supplies to Filipino forces at a marooned, rusting warship that serves as the country’s fragile territorial outpost at Second Thomas Shoal. China has steadfastly stood by its claim to virtually the entire strategic waterway, clashing with its smaller neighbors and drawing in the United States, Manila’s treaty ally and China’s main rival in the Asia-Pacific region. Washington and its allies have deployed navy ships and fighter aircraft to promote freedom of navigation and overflight, build up deterrence and reassure all...

Pope forcibly removes a leading US conservative, Texas bishop Strickland

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:33 GMT

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis on Saturday forcibly removed the bishop of Tyler, Texas, a conservative prelate active on social media who has been a fierce critic of the pontiff and has come to symbolize the polarization within the U.S. Catholic hierarchy.A one-line statement from the Vatican said Francis had “relieved” Bishop Joseph Strickland of the pastoral governance of Tyler and appointed the bishop of Austin as the temporary administrator. Strickland, 65, has emerged as a leading critic of Francis, accusing him in a tweet earlier this year of “undermining the deposit of faith.” He has been particularly critical of Francis’ recent meeting on the future of the Catholic Church during which hot-button issues were discussed, including ways to better welcome LGBTQ+ Catholics.Earlier this year, the Vatican sent in investigators to look into his governance of the diocese, amid reports he was making doctrinally unorthodox claims. The Vatican never released the findings and Strickland had ins...

Soucheray: In this time of political loneliness, we surrender

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:33 GMT

There are those of us who might as well submit a blank square of cotton, as white as a chef’s hat, as our entry, joining 2,600 others, to be considered by the State Emblems Redesign Commission for the new Minnesota state flag.We surrender.No loons or lakes or walleyes or North Stars or pink lady’s slipper on our flag. Our flag is white, as white as the cloth on the stick that negotiators of the Indian ruler, Zamorin of Calicut, carried as a sign of peace to his enemy, Vasco de Gama.You must remember de Gama. His pronouns were believed to be they/them.The St. Paul City Council is firmly left, all female, and with no ideological distinction whatsoever. So much for diversity. Across the river the Minneapolis City Council, which already was solidly left, went further left, because you cannot be left enough. In fact, the only way a Minneapolis or St. Paul city council candidate can win is to be further left than the incumbent.Melvin Carter, for example, will be compared to Barry Goldwate...

Duluth judge to decide if COVID-19 safety measures violated murder suspect’s trial rights

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:33 GMT

DULUTH, Minn. — A judge has been asked to grant a new trial for a Duluth man convicted of murder in a courtroom that was closed to the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.Christopher Floyd Boder, 35, is serving 25½ years in prison for his role in the September 2019 shooting death of Timothy Jon Nelson, 33, in West Duluth.A Duluth jury in October 2020 found him guilty of aiding and abetting another defendant, James Michael Peterson, in a fatal confrontation that occurred after Nelson reportedly attempted to rob Boder.The trial, among the first to proceed at the St. Louis County Courthouse after a pandemic shutdown, was held with strict safety protocols enacted under a 6th Judicial District plan.To ensure adequate social distancing, court officials completely rearranged one of the building’s largest courtrooms. As attorneys and court staff were spread out, a public gallery that typically could accommodate several dozen spectators was repurposed as the jury’s seating area.T...

F.D. Flam: Useless decongestants are just the tip of the iceberg

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:33 GMT

With cold and flu season ramping up, you may soon be heading to the pharmacy in search of relief. When you do, you might remember that Sudafed has long been considered an effective decongestant. So you grab a box of oral decongestant that says Sudafed. You may or may not notice that the brand name is now followed by two letters: PE.But Sudafed PE is a completely different drug from the original Sudafed, which can be purchased only from behind the counter. Other oral decongestants on drugstore shelves are very likely to be made with the same ingredient as Sudafed PE — phenylephrine. And it’s not effective. A few weeks ago, an FDA advisory panel confirmed what some patients, pharmacists and doctors have long suspected: that oral decongestants based on phenylephrine don’t decongest.Decongestant pills with phenylephrine are so ubiquitous and so cleverly packaged that they were worth about $1.8 billion in sales last year. And they aren’t the only over-the-counter ...

10 Freeway shut down in downtown L.A. due to massive storage fire 

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:33 GMT

A large storage fire shut down part of the 10 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles early Saturday morning, and the closure is expected to last at least 24 hours, officials said.The blaze was first reported around 1:46 a.m. at a storage yard near East 14th and Alameda streets, preliminary indication from the Los Angeles Fire Department indicated. Fire had engulfed both sides of 14th Street underneath the 10, and the heat was so intense that it melted some of the freeway's steel guardrails, according to LAFD Public Information Officer David Ortiz. "Firefighters mounted a very heroic defense against this fire, and they saved three buildings they were looking to protect," Ortiz told KTLA 5's Erin Myers. "But the flame lengths were to the point where...steel was melted [and] concrete is falling."More than 160 firefighters and a helicopter were brought out to battle the blaze, which erupted near a pallet yard underneath the freeway. A large pallet fire closed part of the 10 Freeway ...

Photos: Bay Area high school football playoffs Week 12, 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:33 GMT

San Ramon Valley 38, Campolindo 31See a photo you like? Click Here to see these and more and to purchase high-quality prints or a keepsake photos on mugs, buttons, greeting cards, and more.San Ramon Valley’s Dylan Deitsch (19) breaks up a pass intended for Campolindo’s Joe Revelos (1) securing a win for San Ramon Valley in overtime during their game at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. San Ramon Valley defeated Campolindo in overtime 38-31. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) San Ramon Valley’s Matthew Garibaldi (24) scores the game winning touchdown in overtime against Campolindo during their game at San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, Calif., on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023. San Ramon Valley defeated Campolindo in overtime 38-31. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) San Ramon Valley’s Kevin Spears (33) intercepts a pass and runs it back for a touchdown against Campolindo in the first quarter of their game at San Ramon V...

Why San Jose’s “Bulb Guy” may soon become the “Sock Guy”

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:33 GMT

For years, Rich Santoro gained famed as “The Bulb Guy,” opening the backyard bulb garden in his San Jose home to the public so people could take in the view of thousands of colorful flowers. He never charged admission but eventually used the annual weeklong viewing to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Santoro sunsetted the tradition after 2021 — but his mind never stops thinking of ideas or ways to raise money for St. Jude’s. When he and I caught up with each other recently, he shared his newest idea: novelty socks that play sound at the push of a button.As Santoro tells it, he was wearing Santa socks a couple of years ago when a co-worker at Central Concrete walked by and started humming “Jingle Bells.” He went out and bought a Christmas card that played the song, ripped out the sound device and put it in the socks, which he christened “Jingle Socks.” To his surprise when...

Q&A: Designer Helen Pierce on what makes a school “green” — and why it matters

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:18:33 GMT

Helen Pierce has spent her life creating buildings for the future. As the design director of LPA, an architectural firm based out of California and Texas, Pierce has focused on bringing sustainability to the forefront of her designs, incorporating off-grid, net-zero and green infrastructure to 57 educational projects throughout her three-decade career.That includes the designing of Menlo Park’s TIDE Academy — a science, technology and engineering-focused school in the Sequoia Union High School District that won a top award for its architecture earlier this year — among other award-winning projects spanning the Bay Area, including the Los Medanos College student union and kinesiology complex in Pittsburg, and the Agnew K-12 Campus in San Jose. Pierce spoke with the Bay Area News Group about why this type of design matters, and how green design can benefit students throughout the region.Pierce’s answers were edited for clarity and brevity:Q: What is a green school?A:...