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Supreme Court limits EPA authority to protect wetlands

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

By Mark Sherman and Jessica Gresko | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday sharply limited the federal government’s authority to police water pollution into certain wetlands, the second decision in as many years in which a conservative majority narrowed the reach of environmental regulations.The outcome could threaten efforts to control flooding on the Mississippi River and protect the Chesapeake Bay, among many projects, wrote Justice Brett Kavanaugh, breaking with the other five conservatives.The justices boosted property rights over concerns about clean water in a ruling in favor of an Idaho couple who sought to build a house near Priest Lake in the state’s panhandle. Chantell and Michael Sackett objected when federal officials identified a soggy portion of the property as a wetlands that required them to get a permit before filling it with rocks and soil.By a 5-4 vote, the court said in an opinion by Justice Samuel Alito that wetlands can only be...

Debt ceiling talks on the brink as lawmakers leave town

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

By LISA MASCARO, STEPHEN GROVES and KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are pushing debt ceiling talks to the brink, displaying risky political bravado as they prepare to leave town Thursday for the holiday weekend just days before the U.S. could face an unprecedented default that could hurl the global economy into chaos.Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he’s directed his negotiating team “to work 24/7 to solve this problem.”Arriving at the Capitol, McCarthy, R-Calif., said that “every hour matters” in talks with President Joe Biden’s team as they work toward a budget deal. Republican are demanding spending cuts the Democrats oppose, and McCarthy said a deal could come together “at any time.”From the White House, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the president continues to fight for his priorities and “productive discussions” continue. Negotiators met virtually Thursday morning, she said.“We’re fighting against extreme Republican proposals,” she said,...

Oath Keepers leader, guilty of seditious conspiracy, gets 18 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

By Michael Kunzelman, Alanna Durkin Richer and Lindsay Whitehurst | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The founder of the Oath Keepers extremist group was sentenced Thursday to 18 years in prison for orchestrating a weekslong plot that culminated in his followers attacking the U.S. Capitol in a bid to keep President Joe Biden out of the White House after the 2020 election.Stewart Rhodes is the first person charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack to be sentenced for seditious conspiracy, and his sentence is the longest that has been handed down so far in the hundreds of Capitol riot cases.It’s another milestone for the Justice Department’s sprawling Jan. 6 investigation, which has led to seditious conspiracy convictions against the top leaders of two far-right extremist groups authorities say came to Washington prepared to fight to keep President Donald Trump in power at all costs.Before handing down the sentence, the judge told a defiant Rhodes that he is a continued threat to the...

Gap discloses massive job cuts in East Bay and San Francisco

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

PLEASANTON — Gap has revealed the details of massive layoffs that are affecting the jobs of several hundred workers in the Bay Area, along with employees in the Central Valley, official state government filings show.The retailer has decided to chop 700 Bay Area jobs, primarily in San Francisco, but also in Pleasanton, according to WARN letters on file with the state Employment Development Department.Related ArticlesEconomy | Hey, California bosses: 2 workers quit for every 3 you hire Economy | Here’s how AI will change the way we work in the next 25 years Economy | Facebook’s parent company Meta caps rounds of job cuts, offering remaining staff a cold clarity Economy | Nordstrom chops 300-plus jobs as Bay Area store closures loom Economy | 10x Genomics opens new building in Pleasanton expansion Gap’s layoffs include 663 workers in San Francisco and another 37 in Pleasanton, the filings ...

Sale closed in Palo Alto: $2.5 million for a four-bedroom home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

1023 Maddux Drive – Google Street ViewA 1,530-square-foot house built in 1952 has changed hands. The property located in the 1000 block of Maddux Drive in Palo Alto was sold on May 10, 2023. The $2,460,000 purchase price works out to $1,608 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a garage. There’s also a pool in the backyard and one parking space. The unit sits on a 9,450-square-foot lot.These nearby houses have also recently been purchased:On Otterson Court, Palo Alto, in August 2022, a 1,608-square-foot home was sold for $2,600,000, a price per square foot of $1,617. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In September 2022, a 1,663-square-foot home on Otterson Court in Palo Alto sold for $2,735,000, a price per square foot of $1,645. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 1,355-square-foot home on the 3200 block of Morris Drive in Palo Alto sold in February 2023, for $2,858,000, a price per square foot of $2,109. The home has 3 bedrooms and 1 b...

Poll: Two-thirds of Californians say Feinstein unfit to serve

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

Five years ago, California voters blessed their senior U.S. senator with a decisive vote of confidence, sending the then 85-year-old Dianne Feinstein back to the nation’s capital for the sixth time instead of a much younger fellow Democrat.But a poll out Thursday suggests many of those voters now have buyer’s remorse. The Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll found two out of three registered California voters surveyed now say Feinstein, who missed months in the Senate this year due to complications of shingles and reportedly suffers memory lapses, is “no longer fit to continue serving in the U.S. Senate.”Even so, the poll found voters divided over whether Feinstein should remain in office. While the largest proportion, 42%, said Feinstein should resign from the Senate and allow Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint a successor, 27% said she should continue serving and 31% were undecided.“The poll clearly shows that while support for Senator Feinstein ...

Kim Kardashian claims she’s protecting kids while slamming Kanye West on show

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

In the Season 3 premiere of her family’s Hulu show, “The Kardashians,” Kim Kardashian goes on about how she’s focused on protecting her children’s relationship with their father Kanye West, so that’s why she always talks positively about him in their presence and refused to comment publicly on his social media “shenanigans” last year.The “shenanigans” Kardashian apparently is referring to are the attacks West made against her as they were going through their divorce — accusing her of being unfaithful in their marriage and a bad mother because she once made a sex tape, according to Rolling Stone. The shapewear mogul also appears to be referring to the series of offensive, hateful remarks the rapper made in late 2022 about Jewish people, including when he proclaimed in an interview with Alex Jones: “I like Hitler.”But it seems that Kardashian is undercutting her claims of protecting their four children by op...

Meth, ISO and cash seized in Santa Rosa drug trafficking bust

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

(KRON) -- Methamphetamine and a powerful synthetic opioid known as Isotonitazene (ISO) were seized and two people were arrested Wednesday when the Santa Rosa Police Department served a search warrant connected to a drug trafficking organization. An investigation into the organization began in December of 2022, according to Santa Rosa PD. During the course of the investigation, the SRPD Narcotics Unit identified 46-year-old Santa Rosa resident Alvaro Sanchez-Valencia as a person distributing methamphetamine and fentanyl in the area. A search warrant was obtained for Sanchez-Valencia's person, residence and vehicles. ‘Burn after reading’ letter: Brian Laundrie’s mother offered shovel, garbage bags to dispose of body if needed On Thursday at around 2:50 p.m., Narcotics Unit and Property Crimes unit detectives, along with patrol officers, stopped Sanchez-Valencia's vehicle in the 1200 block of W. College Avenue, pursuant to the search warrant. The vehicle's occupants were detained.The...

Majority of Californians think Dianne Feinstein is unfit to serve in Senate: Poll

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

(KRON) -- U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-San Francisco) previously announced she would not seek reelection in 2024 but said she would finish out her term following an extended absence from the Senate due to health issues. But the majority of Californians don't even think she should finish out her term, according to a poll conducted by the University of California, Berkeley.Two-thirds of Californians believe Feinstein is unfit to serve on the Senate after returning to work following health issues just last week, according to the poll released Thursday. Many agree that she should resign immediately and allow Governor Gavin Newsom to appoint someone in her place. Sixty-seven percent of respondents blamed the senator's recent health issues, agreeing with the statement, "“Feinstein’s latest illness underlines the fact that she is no longer fit to continue serving in the U.S. Senate.”Democrats and Republicans alike agree that Newsom should appoint a successor for Feinstein, the poll sho...

Mourinho says he’s a ‘better coach’ and a ‘better person’ than when he emerged

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:50:05 GMT

ROME (AP) — At age 60 and preparing to coach in his sixth European final, silver-haired Roma manager Jose Mourinho might prefer to call himself “the Sage One” now.Two decades after guiding Porto to the UEFA Cup for his first continental trophy, Mourinho considers himself a “better coach” and a “better person.”Mourinho, who famously referred to himself as a “Special One” when he was introduced as Chelsea manager in 2004, was asked Thursday what has changed for him since he emerged on the European stage.“Our job is not like a player’s job. You can be better and better with your experiences,” Mourinho said at Roma’s media day for the Europa League final. “As a player you need your body and your body of course does not respond the same way when you are 30 or you are 40.“As a coach I think your brain becomes sharper and the accumulation of knowledge is better with the years. I think you stop when you lose motivation, which is not the case — my motivation goes up every day. I have n...