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Martti Ahtisaari dies at 86; winner of Nobel Peace Prize was former president of Finland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

By Jari Tanner | Associated PressHELSINKI — Martti Ahtisaari, the former president of Finland and global peace broker who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2008 for his work to resolve international conflicts, died Monday. He was 86.The foundation he created for preventing and resolving violent conflicts said in a statement it was “deeply saddened by the loss of its founder and (former) chair of the board.”In 2021, it was announced that Ahtisaari had advanced Alzheimer’s disease.“It is with great sadness that we have received the news of the death of President Martti Ahtisaari,” Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said in a statement. “He was president in times of change, who piloted Finland into a global EU era.”Niinistö described Ahtisaari in a televised speech as “a citizen of the world, a great Finn. A teacher, diplomat and head of state. A peace negotiator and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.”Ahtisaari helped reach peace accords related to Serbia’s withdrawal from Kosovo in ...

Wildfires are dealing a massive blow to US real estate and homeownership, congressional report finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

By Ella Nilsen | CNNClimate change-fueled wildfires are costing the US economy between $394 billion to $893 billion annually, a new congressional report suggests – a shocking figure that is more than double what previous government reports have estimated.The new report from the Joint Economic Committee, chaired by Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, examined a wide range of costs beyond immediate wildfire damage, including impacts to real estate value; premature deaths and health risks from wildfire smoke; threats to watersheds; and income loss. The report was shared first with CNN.The range Heinrich’s committee found, which was adjusted for inflation, is significantly higher than a Trump administration report that examined fewer impacts and found the annual cost for wildfires was between $87.4 and $427.8 billion.“The topline numbers are scary,” Heinrich told CNN. “Even if you live someplace where wildfire has never been an issue, these are numbers that are big enough to ...

Police: Fatal stabbing of boy, 6, is anti-Muslim hate crime

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

By Sophia Tareen | Associated PressCHICAGO — A 6-year-old boy was being buried Monday and his mother was hospitalized with stab wounds after their 71-year-old landlord attacked them because of their Muslim faith and high emotions over the Israel-Hamas war globally and nationwide, police said.Jewish and Muslim groups have reported an increase of hateful rhetoric in the wake of the war, and Chicago-area landlord Joseph Czuba had made disparaging remarks about Muslims to the Palestinian American family, according to the local Council on American-Islamic Relations.On Saturday, the 32-year-old mother called 911 to report that her landlord had attacked her with a knife. She ran into a bathroom and kept fighting him off, the Will County Sheriff’s Office said.“Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the sheriff&#...

Election case judge imposes narrow gag order on Donald Trump

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

By Michael Kunzelman, Lindsay Whitehurst Alanna Durkin Richer | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The federal judge overseeing the 2020 election subversion case against Donald Trump in Washington imposed a narrow gag order on him on Monday, barring the Republican former president from making statements targeting prosecutors, possible witnesses and the judge’s staff.The order from U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is a milestone moment in the federal case that accuses Trump of illegally conspiring to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden.Special counsel Jack Smith’s team had raised alarm about a barrage of statements disparaging prosecutors, the judge and prospective witnesses. Those comments, prosecutors said, risked undermining public confidence in the court system and causing witnesses or people who might be picked as jurors for trial to feel harassed and intimidated.Chukan said there would be no restrictions on statements criticizing the Justice Department ...

Single family residence in Pleasanton sells for $2.2 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

569 Dolores Place – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 500 block of Dolores Place in Pleasanton was sold on Aug. 10, 2023. The $2,225,000 purchase price works out to $1,036 per square foot. The house, built in 1988, has an interior space of 2,148 square feet. This single-story house provides a generous living space with its four bedrooms and two bathrooms. Additionally, the home includes a garage.These nearby houses have also recently changed hands:On Los Rios Court, Pleasanton, in January 2023, a 2,224-square-foot home was sold for $1,902,500, a price per square foot of $855. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In May 2023, a 3,302-square-foot home on Monaco Drive in Pleasanton sold for $2,600,000, a price per square foot of $787. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 1,919-square-foot home on the 5400 block of San Jose Drive in Pleasanton sold in November 2022, for $1,265,000, a price per square foot of $659. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. 

TV station owner Sinclair plans to branch into nonbroadcast business through billion-dollar private-equity fund

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

Lorraine Mirabella | Baltimore Sun (TNS)Media company Sinclair may be best known for its empire of television stations and local news programming across the United States, its founders’ conservative bent and its recent failed foray into regional sports network ownership.Now, officials say the Hunt Valley-based company’s future will become more tied to industries outside broadcast.Instead of buying more television stations, the company is shifting its investment strategy to acquire growing, nonbroadcast businesses, Sinclair President and CEO Chris Ripley said in a recent interview.It plans to pursue acquisitions of companies that stand to benefit over the next decades from trends such as the aging of the population, the expanding decarbonization of the economy, the increase in pet ownership and spending, and the “do-it-for-me” sector.“Our core business and our legacy might be in media and broadcasting, but at the end of the day we’re looking to make Sinclair a success in any industry...

After ‘miracle’ water year, can California agencies capture more from next El Niño?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

It was a perfect storm of, well, pretty perfect storms.There was a lot of rain and snow during California’s just completed “water year,” from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30 — nearly double the historical average in the southern half of the state. But all of that rain didn’t fall too fast, and snowpack-melting temperatures didn’t spike too high, making it possible for most areas to avoid major flooding.The agencies that capture and store stormwater also have become better at finding ways to keep more of that precipitation in Southern California rather than letting it all run out to the ocean.Recent projects by the Chino Basin Watermaster, for example, which manages the aquifer that sits under much of northwestern Inland Empire, allow the agency to capture an additional 4,000 acre feet of stormwater. (Each acre foot is enough to serve two households for a year.) And given how much rain fell, Justin Nakanowater, who serves as the agency’s manager of technical resources, said the Chino Basin ...

Philz Coffee closing original location in SF's Mission District

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

(KRON) – A community staple is closing its doors today. Philz Coffee’s original location in San Francisco's Mission District is officially closing its door on Monday. "Though the physical space may close its doors, the Mission will always hold a special place in our hearts as our first home, where Philz Coffee was born and nurtured."Philz Coffee LinkedIn announces layoffs of over 660 roles The coffee shop opened in 2003 and has become popular in the Mission District.(Photo: KRON4's Will Tran)There are 13 more Philz Coffee stores in San Francisco and 40 other locations across the Bay Area. Philz Coffee now has dozens of locations across California, including Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego counties. There are also six locations in the Chicago area.

Climate change activists on kayaks tease oil tankers in Richmond

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

(BCN) -- What started two years ago as a club for black and brown kayakers has turned into a league of activists who want to do something rather than nothing about climate change.Thirty-two kayakers buzzed a berthed oil tanker at the Chevron Oil Refinery Sunday afternoon. As the fog lifted, a company security guard with a megaphone told the paddlers to back up beyond a 100-yard safety zone. Ten boaters got brave and darted closer, teasing authorities to escalate. In the end, the activists did not stop the departure of a 2 p.m. oil tanker. But they will try again."I think next time we're going to get a little closer to their departure time," said one of the group's organizers, Alfredo Angulo, 23.The Rich City Rays is a collection of hobbyists and seasoned kayakers that perform their First Amendment rights on water. They acted at Lake Merritt on Earth Day in 2021 and again in support of Greenpeace International, as that legacy environmental group fought a seven-year slap lawsuit in th...

Victoria legal: familias migrantes separadas durante el gobierno de Trump podrán vivir y trabajar en EEUU

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:26 GMT

WASHINGTON DC – El gobierno del presidente Joe Biden y más de 4,000 inmigrantes que fueron separados de sus familias en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México durante el gobierno del expresidente Donald Trump llegaron a un acuerdo legal este lunes que permite a las familias vivir y trabajar en EEUU durante tres años mientras reciben vivienda, salud mental y asistencia jurídica para solicitar asilo.El acuerdo también prohíbe al gobierno federal separar a cualquier familia de migrantes que cruce la frontera durante ocho años, a menos que los padres sean considerados un peligro para sus hijos o el público o hayan ingresado previamente al país ilegalmente más de dos veces.El acuerdo, anunciado por el Departamento de Justicia, pondría fin a uno de los capítulos más oscuros de la política de inmigración de EEUU, en el que las familias que cruzaron ilegalmente la frontera sur en 2017 y 2018 fueron separadas sistemáticamente. Los niños menores de 18 años fueron enviados a la custod...