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Opinion: Tragedy of capsized migrants lost amid submersible implosion

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:11 GMT

I  know what it’s like to wait for someone lost at sea.When I was 20 years old, working at a music cafe in Charleston, South Carolina, I got the call that my mother’s boat was lost in a massive storm during a sailing race to Bermuda. I was assured that the powers that be would do everything they could to locate her. I remember rehearsing the delivery, the tone and the inflection to tell my little brother in the least panicked way possible. My boss asked if I wanted to go home that day. I stayed.We bore witness to two shipwrecks within days in June. First, a boat carrying as many as 750 refugee migrants capsized in the Mediterranean. Only 104 survived. Among the dead were an estimated 100 children. Second, an unregulated Titanic wreckage tourist submersible, The Titan, went missing carrying five wealthy passengers. The world couldn’t look away while the search was on. It had imploded.The shipwrecked migrants were not on board for the adventure. They had not signed extensive waivers. ...

Cooking with a gas stove in your home is like living with a smoker, new Stanford study finds

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:11 GMT

Cooking with a gas stove in your kitchen can emit as much benzene into a home as second-hand tobacco smoke, depending on ventilation and the size of the house, according to new research from Stanford University.The findings showed the benzene produced when a gas stove is ignited migrated through homes — including into bedrooms that were the farthest from the kitchen — and reached levels above acceptable health benchmarks, said Yannai Kashtan, the lead researcher and a doctoral candidate at Stanford’s Earth Systems Science Department.“I’m surprised, not so much that we found benzene, but just how much we found,” Kashtan said.Researchers studied 87 homes in California and Colorado to determine how much benzene a gas stove released when in use and how it spread throughout a house.“Our findings suggest that the concentrations of benzene produced by combustion from gas stoves and ovens indoors may increase health risks under some conditions,” the Stanford report said. “Further research i...

U.S. Women’s Open: Who could beat Rose Zhang at Pebble Beach?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:11 GMT

When the U.S. Women’s Open completes its Pebble Beach debut Sunday and crowns its champion, the sun will be two hours from dipping into the Pacific Ocean distance.That is just one of many spectacular scenes to come at a historic course that has hosted some of golf’s most treasured moments.“Where you win definitely matters,” said Morgan Pressel, a former pro and the lead analyst for NBC Sports’ coverage.Pressel’s mind raced back to The Old Course at St. Andrews – “the home of golf” — where Lorena Ochoa and Stacy Lewis captured The Open title in 2007 and ’13, respectively.“The venue is obviously a big part of this story, going to Pebble Beach and creating history there that will be continued,” NBC Sports announcer Tom Abbott said.“As a Northern Californian born and raised, I’m super excited for this U.S. Women’s Open to be played at Pebble,” said Kay Cockerill, a San Jose native who played on the LPGA Tour from 1988-97. “I wish it could have happened 30 years ago when I could ha...

Sale closed in San Jose: $3.1 million for a four-bedroom home

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:11 GMT

14850 Donner Drive – Google Street ViewA spacious house located in the 14800 block of Donner Drive in San Jose has new owners. The 4,559-square-foot property, built in 2005, was sold on June 12, 2023. The $3,140,500 purchase price works out to $689 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a garage, and two parking spaces. It sits on a 9,719-square-foot lot, which also has a pool.These nearby houses have also recently been sold:In July 2022, a 2,653-square-foot home on Donner Drive in San Jose sold for $2,500,000, a price per square foot of $942. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 2,522-square-foot home on the 14900 block of Conway Avenue in San Jose sold in October 2022, for $2,725,000, a price per square foot of $1,080. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Sandy Lane, San Jose, in June 2022, a 2,820-square-foot home was sold for $2,417,500, a price per square foot of $857. The home has 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 

Opinion: Speaker Rendon made California Assembly more democratic

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:11 GMT

Anthony Rendon stepped aside as Assembly speaker on Friday after more than six years on the job.Just two people have held the position longer in the modern full-time Legislature — Jesse “Big Daddy” Unruh, who ruled the Assembly for more than seven years in the 1960s, and Willie Brown, who earned the nickname “Ayatollah of the Assembly” for his nearly 15 years at the helm.But unlike those two larger-than-life figures with nicknames to back it up, Rendon leaves behind a legacy that isn’t centered on a singular cult of personality. Instead, he’s done something you rarely see from politicians: He relinquished his own authority and put it into the hands of his colleagues.For those who know Rendon, this leadership style isn’t too surprising. Unlike many politicians, he has a general disdain for glad-handing lobbyists and donors at evening receptions, instead opting to spend his limited free time with his wife and young daughter, reading or watching an obscure European soccer match.B...

Fire crews respond to nearly 60 fires in Contra Costa County during July 4 celebrations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:11 GMT

(KRON) – The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District responded to 58 fires overnight on July 4. Fifty of those fires are suspected to be caused by fireworks, officials said.In the 11 p.m. hour, Con Fire responded to 10 fires with all likely being caused by fireworks. One person had a serious injury to their hand due to fireworks, officials said.(Photo: Con Fire)In the 10 p.m. hour, firefighters responded to 19 grass and exterior fires along with two structure fires. Officials said three of the fires are known to have been caused by fireworks with the other 16 fires being suspected as firework-starters. (Photo: Con Fire)At 10:53 p.m., Con Fire responded to a two-story house on fire in the 1500 block of Fieldcrest Drive in Pleasant Hill. Fire crews reported a heavy fire involvement. According to the neighbors in the area, there was an explosion followed by the fire. Con Fire contained a one-acre vegetation fire on Holub Lane in Antioch at 10:28 p.m. In the 9 p.m. h...

Five shot in Hayward on 4th of July

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:11 GMT

(KRON) -- Multiple people were shot in Hayward on Tuesday night, the Hayward Police Department confirmed to KRON4.Hayward police responded to the 400 block of Ranker Place and found five people who were shot. The victims were rushed to the hospital. Police could not confirm the severity of each of the victim's injuries. Dozens of people were outside at the time of the shooting. As of Wednesday morning, there were no fatalities and no suspects in custody. This is a developing story. Stick with KRON4 for updates.

2 dead, 1 hurt after three-vehicle crash on I-95; northbound lanes closed in Stafford Co.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:11 GMT

Listen to WTOP Traffic on the 8s for the latest on the roads.Northbound lanes on Interstate 95 are closed in Stafford County, Virginia, after a three-vehicle crash left two people dead and another person injured Wednesday morning.The crash, which involved a tractor-trailer, happened at the 136-mile marker at around 4:45 a.m., according to Virginia State Police.All northbound lanes have been closed for hours as police investigate. Traffic is being moved off the interstate near the Centreport Parkway.The closure is causing significant delays from Stafford County to Fredericksburg, and WTOP Traffic is recommending drivers avoid the area.Police didn’t say the condition of the person who was injured or offer details about what caused the collision.This is a developing story. Stick with WTOP for the latest.Source

English men’s soccer has its first female head coach as Hannah Dingley takes over at Forest Green

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:11 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — While women’s soccer is growing in popularity in the U.K., opportunities for women in the men’s game remain few and far between. That changed this week when Forest Green Rovers became the first professional soccer team in England to appoint a female head coach.Hannah Dingley, who was already in charge of the fourth division club’s academy, has been made caretaker head coach following the departure of Duncan Ferguson on Tuesday. “It’s perhaps telling for the men’s game that in making this appointment on merit, we’ll break new ground – and Hannah will be the first female head coach in English (men’s) football,” Forest Green chairman Dale Vince said. Dingley was already the only woman in charge of a men’s English Football League academy. And while no timeframe has been put on her interim appointment, it is a chance for her to make her mark as a manager. “I’m really excited for this next step of my career,” she said. “Pre-se...

Do you really need ‘morning coffee?’ It may be a placebo, researchers say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:11 GMT

New research is trying to determine whether the effects of a first cup of coffee are dependent on caffeine, or if the experience of sipping coffee is what makes drinkers ready to tackle the day.While many people say they’re not able to function until they’ve had the caffeine in their morning coffee, Portuguese scientists set out to learn whether the wakefulness comes from the caffeine itself, or the physical action of drinking coffee.“There is a common expectation that coffee increases alertness and psychomotor functioning,” said Professor Nuno Sousa of the University of Minho, corresponding author of the study in “Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.”According to the research, based on MRI scans, participants who drank a cup of coffee and those who ingested caffeine in other methods, were equally alert.However, the portions of the brain that control “feeling motivated” — including working memory, cognitive control, and goal-directed behavior — w...