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WHO keeping closer watch on BA.2.86 coronavirus strain as a dearth of data makes predictions difficult

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

By Brenda Goodman | CNN(CNN) — The World Health Organization has notched up the status of the coronavirus strain BA.2.86 and its offshoots, naming it a “variant of interest,” although the organization says the current risk from this family of viruses appears to be low.Previously, the organization had been following this lineage as a “variant under monitoring.”WHO also has XBB.1.5, XBB.1.6 and EG.5 classified as variants of interest. There are no current variants of concern, the highest designation.BA.2.86 first turned up in the US in August and is now the third most common variant, causing an estimated 1 in 11 new cases of Covid-19 here, according to the latest update of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s variant tracker. The prevalence appears to have tripled in the past two weeks, although a variant’s growth is often overestimated in the first few weeks after it shows up in the CDC’s monitoring.But if BA.2.86 doesn’t appear to be such big deal, why would WHO upgra...

Caltrain: Trespasser causing service delays at 4th and King

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — A person climbing in an unauthorized area cause delays to inbound and outbound trains at the 4th and King Caltrain station in San Francisco early Thursday morning.Related ArticlesTransportation | Stop signs needed at dangerous three-way intersection: Roadshow Transportation | Hey, Caltrans, you need to repaint some signs on I-680: Roadshow Transportation | Caught dumping illegally? Better clean up your mess and more: Roadshow Transportation | Blatant roadside dumping on well-traveled ramp raises question about frequency: Roadshow Transportation | ‘Are intersections overengineered?’ reader asks after four-way stop smooths traffic: Roadshow In a post to social media at 6:03 a.m., the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management told commuters to expect delays and take alternate routes as the police activity affected the station, which is the northernmost end of the train lin...

Man on power pole impacting Caltrain service at 4th & King in SF

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A man who apparently climbed on top of a power pole at Caltrain's 4th & King station in San Francisco is impacting service for commuters Thursday morning.Power has been shut off to the powerlines, according to employees, and both inbound and outbound trains have been halted as police activity surrounds the station.A bus bridge provided by SamTrans has been established for commuters from San Francisco to 22nd Street as of 7:25 a.m., according to a service alert.(Photo: Michael Thomas)There is no estimated time that the situation will be resolved and power will be restored.This is a developing story.Bay City News contributed to this report.

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts but remains on track for big gains in November

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting in morning trading on Wall Street Thursday but remain on track for their best monthly gain in more than a year.The S&P 500 fell 0.1% in morning trading, but remains up more than 8% in November. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 244 points, or 0.7%, to 35,676 as of 10:11 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq fell 0.4%.Treasury yields gained ground. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which influences mortgage rates, rose to 4.34% from 4.26% late Wednesday.The market has been marching steadily higher in recent weeks as investors hope the Federal Reserve is finally done raising interest rates, which fight inflation by slowing the economy. Those hopes got more support with a report that the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation cooled last month.Thursday’s report from the Commerce Department said prices were unchanged from September to October, down from a 0.4% rise the previous month. Compared with a year ago, consumer prices rose 3% in October, below the 3...

Struggling French club Lyon fires coach Fabio Grosso after less than 3 months in charge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

LYON, France (AP) — Italian coach Fabio Grosso was fired by Lyon on Thursday after less than three months in charge of the struggling seven-time French champion.Grosso was fired after just eight league games in charge, having being hired in September as a replacement for Laurent Blanc with the mission to put the team back on track. Blanc left following a bad start to the season, with Lyon in last place with only one point from four games. The club remains bottom of the league after Grosso’s departure, with seven points from 12 matches and just one win. The 46-year-old Grosso, who played 75 games for Lyon from 2007-09, had a contract until the end of the season. He was injured in October when the Lyon team bus was attacked by fans throwing stones after a game at Marseille, which left him bleeding from a cut to his face. The club, which is owned by American businessman John Textor, said Pierre Sage would be in charge of preparations for Lyon’s match at Lens on Saturday. Th...

Inter and Napoli brace for early title showdown as the Serie A leader plays the defending champion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi will be hoping for less of a “Pazza Inter” performance when the Serie A leader visits defending champion Napoli on Sunday.Translating to “Crazy Inter,” the nickname came about after years of spectacular implosions and rollercoaster matches. Even one of the club’s anthems is called “Pazza Inter.”And the Nerazzurri lived up to their long-held nickname in Wednesday’s Champions League match at Benfica where — following a first-half horror show — they came back from three goals down to draw 3-3 and could even have won the match had Nicolò Barella’s stoppage-time strike not hit the crossbar.“We talked at halftime and we came back out with a different spirit,” Inzaghi said. “If Barella hadn’t hit the woodwork, it would have been a historic victory.”With Inter having already qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League, Inzaghi had the luxury of being able to rest several players between two important matches in Serie A ...

Live updates | Two Israeli hostages are released after Israel and Hamas extend their cease-fire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

A temporary cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war has been extended another day, according to mediator Qatar. The announcement Thursday morning came minutes before the cease-fire was set to expire.Hamas released two Israeli women from captivity several hours later, Israel’s military said.Israel had agreed to extend the truce by one day for every 10 militant-held hostages who are freed. The cease-fire, which began Nov. 24 and was originally set to expire on Monday, has paused the deadliest fighting between Israel and Palestinians in decades.Israel has vowed to resume the war in an effort to end Hamas’ 16-year rule of Gaza, but it’s facing mounting international pressure to spare southern Gaza a devastating ground offensive like the one that has demolished much of the north.Roughly 240 hostages were captured by Hamas in its Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that ignited the war. More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed since the war began, according to the Hamas-co...

GM believes it will stop losing money on electric vehicles in 2025 as higher margin vehicles arrive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors is losing money on every electric vehicle it sells, but the company says it’s on track to generate mid single-digit pretax profit margins in 2025 as it produces more higher margin EVs, works out kinks in battery manufacturing, and sees battery cost reductions.That’s what Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson told analysts at a Barclays conference in New York on Thursday, conceding that the company has struggled to ramp up electric vehicle manufacturing. “While the ramp has been a little bit bumpy, we have worked through that,” he said. Specifically, the company has had trouble with machinery that stacks battery cells into modules at its Ultium Cells battery plant near Warren, Ohio, a joint venture with LG Energy Solution of Korea.The guidance on Thursday of mid single-digit profit margins in two years is a little better than the low-to-mid single digits the company has estimated in the past, Jacobson said. But the new figure includes b...

Truce in Gaza endures another day and more hostages are freed, but tougher talks ahead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

A man smiles as he is welcomed after being released from prison by Israel, in the West Bank town of Ramallah, early Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. International mediators on Wednesday worked to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas militants to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel's air and ground offensive. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)(AP/Nasser Nasser) A man smiles as he is welcomed after being released from prison by Israel, in the West Bank town of Ramallah, early Thursday, Nov. 30, 2023. International mediators on Wednesday worked to extend the truce in Gaza, encouraging Hamas militants to keep freeing hostages in exchange for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further relief from Israel's...

Arrestan a hombre que se habría estrellado contra barrera cerca del Capitolio

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:51 GMT

Un conductor chocó contra una barrera cerca del Capitolio de Estados Unidos y fue arrestado la madrugada del jueves, informaron las autoridades.Kevin Simon, de 28 años, fue arrestado y acusado de conducir imprudentemente, resistirse al arresto y salir después de chocar después de lo que la Policía del Capitolio de Estados Unidos llamó una colisión de tráfico.En la zona quedó un sedán blanco con la parte frontal aplastada.La policía agregó que Simon aceleraba hacia el norte por la Interestatal 395 alrededor de las 7:45 a.m., salió en Washington Avenue SW, chocó contra dos autos y siguió conduciendo. Continuó por D Street SW, giró a la izquierda y chocó contra una barricada en las calles South Capitol y D.Simon recibió heridas leves y será trasladado a un hospital para ser evaluado después de “actuar delirante y combativo”, según un comunicado de la policía.Mantente en sintonía de Telemundo 44 para más detalles.Source