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Taco Bell to pay $85.5K in settlement: Sonoma County District Attorney

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:51 GMT

(BCN) -- Taco Bell agreed to pay $85,500 to settle a complaint about gift card violations, according to an announcement Wednesday from the Sonoma County District Attorney's office. The complaint against Taco Bell Corporation and its wholly owned subsidiary, GCTB LLC, alleged that Taco Bell, its franchisees, and its corporate agents unlawfully denied California consumers the right to cash out Taco Bell gift cards worth less than $10. Marin County controlled burns set for Thursday, Friday The complaint was filed in Ventura County on behalf of the District Attorney's Offices in Ventura, Los Angeles and Sonoma counties. Under the terms of the settlement, Taco Bell Corporation will pay $45,000 in civil penalties, $30,500 in investigative costs, and $10,000 in restitution. In addition, it requires Taco Bell's corporate and franchise stores to post a visible notice near each store's cash register advising consumers of their right to gift card redemption and the proper method to o...

East Bay MUD rate hikes begin next month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:51 GMT

(KRON) – East Bay Municipal Utility District customers can expect to see increases in their water bills starting July 1 after the district’s board recently approved to increase rates in a six-to-one vote. $50K in damages after fire on church property in Santa Rosa The price hike will continue on for the next two years as officials begin a new infrastructure plan. The plan includes upgrades to water treatment plants, pipeline replacements and rebuilding neighborhood reservoirs.KRON On is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }The rates will increase by 19 cents a day this year and 21 cents a day next year, averaging an increase of just under $70 a year per customer.

Marin County controlled burns set for Thursday, Friday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:51 GMT

(BCN) -- Marin County officials have scheduled controlled burns Thursday and Friday in San Rafael as part of training for seasonal firefighters and to reduce fuel wildfires, according to an announcement Monday from county officials. $50K in damages after fire on church property in Santa Rosa Smoke is expected to be visible in Marinwood, San Rafael and Novato, and county officials are asking residents there to refrain from calling 911 if they see smoke from the burn area.The burn for the training site will be north of St. Vincent's School for Boys on the east side of U.S. Highway 101. KRON On is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }Smoke will be prevalent from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both days.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

The FBI Groomed a 16-Year-Old With “Brain Development Issues” to Become a Terrorist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:51 GMT

Last week, the Department of Justice announced the arrest of a teenager in Massachusetts on allegations of providing financial support to the Islamic State group.A flurry of reports picked up on the arrest of Mateo Ventura, an 18-year-old resident of the sleepy town of Wakefield, echoing government claims that an international terrorist financier and ISIS supporter had just been busted in the United States. The Department of Justice’s own press release on the case likewise trumpeted Ventura’s arrest for “knowingly concealing the source of material support or resources that he intended to go to a foreign terrorist organization.”The only “terrorist” he is accused of ever being in contact with was an undercover FBI agent who befriended him online as a 16-year-old.The only problem with the case and how it has been described, however, is that according to the government’s own criminal complaint, Ventura had never actually funded any terrorist group. The only “terrorist” he is accused of ...

Confidence in science fell in 2022 while political divides persisted, poll shows

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:51 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Confidence in the scientific community declined among U.S. adults in 2022, a major survey shows, driven by a a partisan divide in views of both science and medicine that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, 39% of U.S. adults said they had “a great deal of confidence” in the scientific community, down from 48% in 2018 and 2021. That’s according to the General Social Survey, a long-running poll conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago that has monitored Americans’ opinions on key topics since 1972.An additional 48% of adults in the latest survey reported “only some” confidence, while 13% reported “hardly any,” according to an analysis of the survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.The survey showed low confidence levels among Republicans as partisan gaps that emerged during the pandemic era have stuck around, said Jennifer Benz, the center’s deputy director.“It doesn’t look all that dramatic when you just look...

FIFA says Vinícius Júnior will help tackle racism in revived task force

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:51 GMT

ZURICH (AP) — Brazil and Real Madrid star Vinícius Júnior has agreed to join a new task force to tackle racism in soccer, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Thursday.Vinícius has been the subject of sustained racist abuse by fans in Spanish stadiums throughout the season, with little done by referees or soccer bodies to protect him.That must stop, Infantino said in an Instagram post after he met the player at a Brazil training camp in Spain.“There is no football if there is racism! So let’s stop the games,” Infantino wrote.“We will also strengthen the engagement with players on this crucial topic so I am glad Vinicius accepted to be part of a task force which will include other important players and will elaborate concrete and efficient measures to end racism in football once and for all.”FIFA created an anti-racism task force in 2013 after a notorious incident of abuse suffered in Italy by AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng, who is Black.Boateng worked with the task force w...

Taylor Fritz starts grass-court season with win over Karatsev in Stuttgart

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:51 GMT

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Taylor Fritz held serve throughout as he started his grass-court season by beating Aslan Karatsev 7-6 (4), 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart Open on Thursday.Fritz had to save set point at 5-4 down in the first set, which later went to a tiebreak where Fritz raced into a 5-2 lead before sealing the set. Fritz broke Karatsev for the first time at 3-2 in the second set to put himself on course for the win.Fritz, the highest-ranked American on the men’s tour at No. 8, said he was “really happy” with the win and pleased with his serving and returning on grass. Last year was Fritz’s most successful season on the surface, where he won Eastbourne for the second time and reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.Fritz is seeded second and had a bye in the first round in Stuttgart. He goes on to meet Marton Fucsovics in the quarterfinals after the Hungarian won against Wu Yibing 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.Top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas takes on the experien...

Nearly half of Americans feel wealthy — but it doesn’t necessarily have to do with money

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:51 GMT

Feeling rich? According to a new survey, what it means to be “wealthy” varies significantly.When asked how much money it takes in order to be considered “wealthy,” respondents to financial services firm Charles Schwab’s Modern Wealth Survey said it takes an average net worth of $2.2 million.But nearly half of respondents (48%) said they already feel wealthy — and their average net worth is just $560,000.The “wealth paradox” comes as many respondents said they don’t associate wealth solely with monetary possessions.Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents (62%) said being able to enjoy healthy relationships with their loved ones better describes wealth than having a lot of money. Seven in 10 said wealth is more about not having to stress over money than having more of it, according to the survey.When asked to characterize what it means to be wealthy in their own words, survey respondents mentioned their wellbeing (40%) more often than money (3...

Nats’ manager Martinez uses photo evidence to demand baseline rule fix

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:51 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez is demanding that Major League Baseball change its basepath rule after catcher Keibert Ruiz’s ninth-inning throw hit runner Jake Meyers, resulting in a throwing error that gave the Houston Astros a 5-4 win Wednesday night.Martinez printed out a photo of Meyers running on the grass inside the first-base line after hitting a grounder and brought it to his postgame press conference.“There it is right there,” Martinez said. “Take a look at it. Is that on the line? I don’t think so. I’m over this play. Seriously. They need to fix the rule. If this is what the umpire sees that he’s running down the line, I’m tired of it. I’m tired of it. Fix it. We lost the game, and he had nothing to say about it because he can’t make the right call. Brutal.”Martinez was ejected from Game 6 of the 2019 World Series in Houston for arguing after the Nationals’ Trea Turner was called out on a similar play.MLB rules state that “when runnin...

Seguro por desempleo en Argentina: requisitos y cómo solicitarlo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:22:51 GMT

(CNN Español) – – En Argentina, existe una prestación o seguro por desempleo para trabajadores en relación de dependencia que son despedidos “sin justa causa, por finalización de contrato o por causas externas, comprendidos en la Ley de Contrato de Trabajo N° 24.013”, según indica la Administración Nacional de Seguridad Social (Anses).¿Cuáles son los requisitos para cobrar el seguro por desempleo en Argentina?Anses indica que los requisitos para trabajadores permanentes son “tener al menos 6 meses de trabajo con aportes en los últimos 3 años anteriores al despido o finalización del contrato”. En el caso de aquellos trabajadores eventuales o de temporada, los requisitos son “haber trabajado menos de 12 meses en los últimos 3 años y más de 90 días en el último año, antes de la finalización del trabajo”.La documentación que Anses exige para la realización del trámite es la siguiente:DNI (original y copia).Documentación que compruebe el desempleo (original y copia), según el...