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New Year’s Eve bomb a dud on Santa Cruz County beach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

PAJARO DUNES — The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad kicked into gear over the weekend after a potentially life-threatening rusty lump of metal washed ashore.Leading up to the New Year’s Eve day discovery, the Pajaro Dunes, as with much of the Santa Cruz County coast, were pounded with high surf and rains in the past week. Short-term evacuation warnings for the area were issued Thursday morning and again on Friday night.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Driver who rammed Rose Parade barriers had previous arrests, mental health issues, officials say Crime and Public Safety | Former newspaper columnist sues California sheriff’s department over son’s jail suicide Crime and Public Safety | Capitola woman’s boyfriend arrested after human remains found in East Bay park Crime and Public Safety | Disaster avoided at Rose Parade after driver smashes through barrier Crime and Public Safety | S...

How ‘Boys in the Boat’ star Callum Turner tackled the film’s Olympian challenge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

When Joe Rantz was four years old, his mother died. While Rantz was still a teen, his father and stepmother, viewing him as one extra mouth to feed, abandoned him at the start of the Great Depression. But Rantz persevered, living in an unfinished house and making his way through high school and to the University of Washington, where he studied engineering. Needing money for his tuition, Rantz learned he could earn enough and gain a place to live if he could make the school’s crew team. Although he’d never rowed before, Rantz made the team and was a crucial member of an underdog squad that not only won national titles but also earned a gold medal in Berlin at the 1936 Olympics – stunning Adolf Hitler and the world. The story, which is based on Daniel James Brown’s nonfiction bestseller of the same name, provides the basis for George Clooney’s latest film, “The Boys in the Boat,” a story of American grit and perseverance against overwhelming odds, which goes wide in theaters on Decemb...

Driver who rammed Rose Parade barriers had previous arrests, mental health issues, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

The woman who police say rammed barriers that stood between her car and several spectators at the Rose Parade suffered from mental health issues and had previous run-ins with law enforcement, a Pasadena city spokeswoman said Tuesday.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | New Year’s Eve bomb a dud on Santa Cruz County beach Crime and Public Safety | Former newspaper columnist sues California sheriff’s department over son’s jail suicide Crime and Public Safety | Capitola woman’s boyfriend arrested after human remains found in East Bay park Crime and Public Safety | Disaster avoided at Rose Parade after driver smashes through barrier Crime and Public Safety | Stockton woman killed by vehicle at early-morning sideshow in Oakland The 21-year-old Pasadena resident was driving north on Chester Avenue toward the roughly halfway point of the parade route on Colorado Boulevard around 10 a.m. Monday when s...

Former newspaper columnist sues California sheriff’s department over son’s jail suicide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

Former Southern California News Group columnist David Whiting is suing the Orange County Sheriff’s Department for the apparent in-custody suicide of his 35-year-old son in 2022.David Whiting’s son, Sean, was mentally ill and should have been more closely monitored in jail, says the wrongful death suit filed Dec. 22 in federal court. Whiting choked to death in his cell, with parts of an orange and its peel found jammed in his throat with other food.Less than two hours before Whiting’s death, an Orange County Superior Court judge ordered him released from jail, where he was in custody for allegedly violating a temporary restraining order. The lawsuit by David Whiting alleged his son should have been in a jail mental health ward, but instead was placed in the general population after the court hearing.The department’s “decision to place a suicidal inmate with severe mental illness in the general population and give him a snack with an orange was outrageous and utterly negligent,” state...

Barabak: Rossmoor Democrats say Biden should not be ashamed of his age

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

WALNUT CREEK — For those who doubt Joe Biden’s capacity to be president, Herb Klar has a suggestion: Swing by his neighborhood sometime.“They don’t come to Rossmoor and see all the octagenarians … and see how lively and bright and competent we all are,” said Klar, 76, a retired clinical social worker, who was sporting a Golden State Warriors hoodie on a crisp afternoon on the east side of San Francisco Bay.Old age, he said, “is seen as a kind of freakishness.”Biden is the oldest president in American history, making every day in office a milestone of sorts. He is attempting something never before tried: Winning reelection to a second term that would end when he is 86 years old.The prospect horrifies Republicans. It also creates no small amount of stomach churn for Biden’s fellow Democrats.“So many people as they get into their 80s start to lose some of their cognitive ability,” said Lee Herschman, who happens to be 86...

Ukraine is targeting Russian border regions, seeking to disrupt life and embarrass Putin

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

Russia said Wednesday it shot down 12 missiles fired at one of its southern regions bordering Ukraine, as Kyiv’s forces seek to embarrass the Kremlin and puncture President Vladimir Putin’s argument that life is going on as normal despite the 22-month war.The situation in the border city of Belgorod, which came under two rounds of shelling on Wednesday morning, “remains tense,” said regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov, writing on Telegram. “Air defense systems worked,” he said, promising more details about possible damage after inspecting the area later in the day, part of a New Year’s holiday week in Russia.Ukraine fired two Tochka-U missiles and seven rockets at the region late Tuesday, followed by six Tochka-U missiles and six Vilkha rockets on Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said.The Soviet-built Tochka-U missile system has a range of up to 120 kilometers (75 miles) and a warhead that can carry cluster munitions. Ukraine has received some cluster munitions from the Un...

Iranian deputy governor calls explosions that killed over 20 people at ceremony for slain general a ‘terroristic’ attack

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian deputy governor calls explosions that killed over 20 people at ceremony for slain general a ‘terroristic’ attack.Source

Sure, it might be cold and dark, but traveling to wintry places can be magical

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

Planning a trip this winter? Yes, it’s tempting to look for sunny spots where you can lie on a beach or play golf. But some of my favorite winter vacations have been to northerly destinations at their coldest, darkest times of year.I don’t ski, so I’m not looking for powder. But I have seen northern lights in Alaska, explored an ice cave in Iceland, and stood outdoors in 20-degree weather watching migrating cranes in Nebraska.I’ve been to Detroit in December, Canada for Christmas, Finland in February. And I’ve taken visitors around my hometown, New York City, in January, when holiday crowds are gone and prices are lower.Here are some tips and ideas for planning a trip in the depths of winter.CITIESThere’s a reason New York City runs Restaurant Week prix fixe menus and 2-for-1 Broadway specials Jan. 16 to Feb. 4: It’s a way to drum up business at a slow time of year. Hotels and theater tickets also dip in price in January and February. Plus, you can get reservations that are otherwis...

At least 20 people killed in blasts at ceremony honoring slain Iranian general, state-run news agency says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — At least 20 people killed in blasts at ceremony honoring slain Iranian general, state-run news agency says.Source

Rescuers race against time in search for survivors in Japan after powerful quakes leave 73 dead

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:54:25 GMT

SUZU, Japan (AP) — Japanese rescue workers and canine units searched urgently through rubble Wednesday ahead of predicted bitter cold and heavy rain in what the prime minister called a race against time after powerful earthquakes killed at least 73 people in western Japan. Ishikawa prefecture and nearby areas were shaken by a 4.9 magnitude aftershock on Wednesday — one of dozens that have followed Monday’s magnitude 7.6 temblor centered near Noto, about 300 kilometers (185 miles) from Tokyo on the opposite coast. The quake set off tsunami warnings, followed by waves measuring more than 1 meter (3 feet) in some places.The first 72 hours are especially critical for rescues, experts say, because the prospects for survival greatly diminish after that.“More than 40 hours have passed. This is a race against time, and I feel that we are at a critical moment,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. “We have received reports many people are still waiting for rescue under collapse...