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Senate Dems OK subpoenas in Supreme Court ethics probe

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:21 GMT

By Devan Cole | CNNThe Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to authorize subpoenas for conservatives Leonard Leo and Harlan crow in its probe into ethics controversies at the Supreme Court.In a party-line vote, the Democratic-led committee approved the requests for documents and records from Leo, the co-chairman of the board of the influential Federalist Society who has played a significant role in selecting conservative Supreme Court justices, and Crow, a GOP megadonor whose largesse to Justice Clarence Thomas over the years has raised questions about why the conservative jurist has at times failed to report the gifts.The move is a significant escalation in the committee’s ongoing probe and comes nearly three weeks after the court attempted to address some of the concerns raised by congressional Democrats and others by announcing a new ethics code.“Leonard Leo continued to ignore our efforts and Harlan Crown has refused to provide a sufficient response,” Chairman Dick Durbin s...

San Jose State says ‘Aloha’ to Coastal Carolina for bowl game

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:21 GMT

SAN JOSE — San Jose State won’t have to wait until Sunday to know its bowl game fate.The Spartans announced Thursday they will be participating in the Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 23 where the Spartans will play Coastal Carolina at T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in Honolulu.The Spartans, who won six straight games to end the regular season, are going to their third bowl game in four years under coach Brent Brennan. SJSU has not gone to a bowl game in back-to-back seasons since 1987.The Hawaii Bowl usually gives an automatic bid to the University of Hawaii to play a team from another Group of 5 conference, but since the Rainbow Warriors were not bowl eligible this season, another Mountain West team was selected in their place.The game used to be played at Aloha Stadium before it permanently closed down in 2020. SJSU and Coastal Carolina will play in the 20th edition of the Hawaii Bowl.This will be the second time SJSU plays in the Aloha State this season. The Spartans beat Hawaii 35-0 on the ro...

Disneyland closes 4 rides during busy Christmas season

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:21 GMT

Disneyland has closed four attractions for seasonal refurbishments just days after the Thanksgiving weekend ushered in the start of the busy winter holiday season that attracts big crowds anxious to see all the Christmas decor.Astro Orbitor, Mark Twain Riverboat, Indiana Jones Adventure and the Incredicoaster are temporarily closed as part of Disneyland’s standard refurbishment schedule.ALSO SEE: Disney has ‘enough room to build another Disneyland’ in Anaheim, chairman saysThe good news is a couple of the closures will be short-lived. The bad news is the other rides will be unavailable for several weeks or months.Disneyland typically conducts seasonal refurbishments during the off-season between New Year’s Day and Spring Break. Weekslong refurbishments are less common during the busy summer vacation and winter holiday seasons.Understanding the Disneyland calendar has become more complicated in recent years — with the off-season continually shrinking and slow periods shifting to unco...

UN weather agency says 2023 was hottest year on record

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:21 GMT

By Jamey Keaten and Bassam Hatoum | Associated PressDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The U.N. weather agency said Thursday that 2023 is all but certain to be the hottest year on record, and warning of worrying trends that suggest increasing floods, wildfires, glacier melt, and heat waves in the future.The World Meteorological Organization also warned that the average temperature for the year is up some 1.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre-industrial times – a mere one-tenth of a degree under a target limit for the end of the century as laid out by the Paris climate accord in 2015.The WMO secretary-general said the onset earlier this year of El Nino, the weather phenomenon marked by heating in the Pacific Ocean, could tip the average temperature next year over the 1.5-degree (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) target cap set in Paris.“It’s practically sure that during the coming four years we will hit this 1.5, at least on temporary basis,” Petteri Taalas said in...

Bay Area Day Trips: Two great Christmas towns worthy of any Hallmark holiday movie

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:21 GMT

For many, the holiday season begins when the Hallmark and Lifetime networks unspool their marathon screenings of holiday movies set in idyllic small towns. In this cinematic universe, two people invariably fall in love amid an enchanted, Main Street setting of lights, carolers and down-home charm.Turns out there are two Gold Country towns just a two-hour drive from the Bay Area that offer that magical setting, if not necessarily the love story. Nevada City and Grass Valley lie six miles apart along Highway 49 and offer historical downtowns and unique holiday traditions. They also boast the most natural Christmas backdrop possible: Tahoe National Forest, whose sea of conifers stretches from the foothills overlooking the Sacramento Valley to the state line amid the Sierra Nevada. Occasionally, snow falls in these towns, both at 2,500-foot elevations, adding to the winter wonderland feel.Grass Valley’s Christmas festivities this December, including his Cornish Christmas events, c...

SF police arrest 17 adults at 1 store in 1 day during shoplifting ‘blitz’ operation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:21 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A retail store on Mission Street in San Francisco experiencing a “high number of shoplifting incidents” was host to a one-day shoplifting enforcement operation this week, the San Francisco Police Department announced Thursday. During the “Blitz '23” operation, 17 adults were arrested, police said.Two of the 17 suspects who were arrested in the Nov. 28 operation at a business of the 700 block of Mission St. had outstanding arrest warrants, police said. Marcus Terrell, 42, of Richmond, was arrested for shoplifting and booked on outstanding warrants from San Francisco and Milpitas. Tennyson Jackson, 42, of San Francisco, was arrested for petty theft and booked on an outstanding warrant from San Mateo. The other 15 arrests were for petty theft, with suspects’ ages ranging from 23 to 60. 14-year-old girl arrested in connection to 15 SF retail thefts, $30K loss The stolen property was recovered by police officers and returned to the store, SFPD said.The “Blitz '2...

On Top of Everything Else, Henry Kissinger Prevented Peace in the Mideast

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:21 GMT

U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on Sept. 1, 1975.Photo: David Hume Kennerly/Getty ImagesThe encomiums have flowed voluminously for Henry Kissinger, and there have been some condemnations too. But even in the latter, little attention has been paid to his efforts to prevent peace from breaking out in the Mideast — efforts which helped cause the 1973 Arab–Israeli War and set in stone the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. This underappreciated aspect of Kissinger’s career adds tens of thousands of lives to his body count, which is in the millions.Kissinger, who died at 100 on Wednesday, served in the U.S. government from 1969 to 1977, during the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford administrations. He began as Nixon’s national security adviser. Then, in Nixon’s second term, he was appointed secretary of state, a position he held on to after Ford became president following Nixon’s resignation.In June 1967, two years before the start of N...

Jason Dufner and Kevin Chappell among 73 players in LIV Golf Promotions qualifier

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:21 GMT

Former PGA champion Jason Dufner, Kevin Chappell and Kyle Stanley are among 73 players who signed up for the LIV Golf Promotions qualifier next week in Abu Dhabi, where three spots are up for grabs to be part of the 2024 rosters.The PGA Tour had said players would not be suspended for playing the qualifier, although they would need to get a media rights release. Players have to request a release 45 days in advance, which left them no time from when the LIV dates were set and the start of the event.No players are believed to have received a release for the Dec. 8-10 LIV qualifier.Still unclear was what punishment, if any, PGA Tour members would face for simply trying to qualify. The media rights release was required because unlike European tour qualifying school, the LIV Golf Promotions events is being streamed by LIV Golf Plus and the LIV Golf YouTube channel.Dufner, who won the PGA Championship in 2013 at Oak Hill and played in the Ryder Cup (2012) and Presidents Cup (2013), was No...

Suspect in custody after 2 troopers fatally struck while aiding driver on Las Vegas freeway

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:21 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Two Nevada state troopers were killed Thursday when they were struck by a vehicle while helping another driver, authorities said.Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said a suspect had been taken into custody hours after the crash, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.“It’s a terrible, terrible tragedy to have these troopers lose their lives in the manner they did,” Wolfson said.Las Vegas police are investigating the collision and expected to release more information later Thursday at a news conference.According to police, the two Highway Patrol officers were “conducting a motorist assist” early Thursday on Interstate 15 when they were struck.The slain troopers’ names have not been released.Gov. Joe Lombardo said he was “profoundly saddened” by the troopers’ deaths.“This is a devastating loss for Nevada law enforcement, the city of Las Vegas, and our entire state,” Lombardo said in a statement. “As we mourn these troopers, we w...

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

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:21 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 freed two Israeli hostages Thursday afternoon and they were brought back into Israel, with more expected to follow, the Israeli 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 ki...