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California hires guards to monitor businessman’s other sites under I-10 after freeway fire

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:06:08 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — More than a month after an arson fire at a storage yard damaged a key Los Angeles freeway, the state has hired security guards to watch out for smoke and other trouble at three additional sites beneath Interstate 10 that were leased to the same bankrupt businessman.Associated Press journalists visited the properties and saw wooden pallets and other hazardous and flammable material much like what fed the Nov. 11 inferno under the freeway, which is used by 300,000 vehicles daily. Rats scurried beneath cars, trucks and RVs in various states of repair as electrical wiring snaked across the ground.The state has subcontracted the security services as it fights to evict Ahmad Anthony Nowaid and scores of tenants subleasing through him in violation of his contracts with the California Department of Transportation (or Caltrans), according to court records.They are due back in court this month.No arrests have been announced in the arson case that forced a one-week closure o...

Capitol riot, 3 years later: Hundreds of convictions, yet 1 major mystery is unsolved

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:06:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Members of far-right extremist groups. Former police officers. An Olympic gold medalist swimmer. And active duty U.S. Marines. They are among the hundreds of people who have been convicted in the massive prosecution of the Jan 6, 2021, riot in the three years since the stunned nation watched the U.S. Capitol attack unfold on live TV. Washington’s federal courthouse remains flooded with trials, guilty plea hearings and sentencings stemming from what has become the largest criminal investigation in American history. And the hunt for suspects is far from over. “We can not replace votes and deliberation with violence and intimidation,” Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told reporters on Thursday. Authorities are still working to identify more than 80 people wanted for acts of violence at the Capitol. And they continue to regularly make new arrests, even as some Jan. 6 defendants are being released from prison after completing their s...

Families in Gaza search desperately for food and water, wait in long lines for aid

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:06:08 GMT

MUWASI, Gaza Strip (AP) — Stranded in a corner of southern Gaza, members of the Abu Jarad family are clinging to a strict survival routine.They fled their comfortable three-bedroom home in northern Gaza after the Israel-Hamas war broke out nearly three months ago. The 10-person family now squeezes into a 16-square meter (172-square foot) tent on a garbage-strewn sandy plot, part of a sprawling encampment of displaced Palestinians.Every family member is assigned daily tasks, from collecting twigs to build a fire for cooking, to scouring the city’s markets for vegetables. But their best efforts can’t mask their desperation.At night “dogs are hovering over the tents,” said Awatif Abu Jarad, an older member of the family. “We are living like dogs!”Palestinians seeking refuge in southern Gaza say every day has become a struggle to find food, water, medicine and working bathrooms. All the while, they live in fear of Israeli airstrikes and the growing threat of illnesses.Israel’s bombardme...

Jobs report for December will likely conclude another solid year of hiring in 2023

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:06:08 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Bringing resurgent inflation down was never expected to be so relatively pain-free.Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned of hard times ahead after the Fed began jacking up interest rates in the spring of 2022 to attack high inflation. Economists predicted that the much higher borrowing costs that resulted would cause a recession, with layoffs and rising unemployment, in 2023.Yet the recession never arrived, and none appears to be on the horizon. The nation’s labor market, though cooler than in the sizzling-hot years of 2022 and 2023, is still cranking out enough jobs to keep the unemployment rate near historic lows.The trend toward slower, but still healthy, hiring likely continued in December. The Labor Department is expected to report Friday that employers added a still-solid 160,000 jobs last month, according to a survey of forecasters by the data firm FactSet. That would mean that the economy had added 2.7 million jobs in 2023 — an average of 226,000...

Nikola Jokic makes 39-foot buzzer beater as Nuggets complete stunning comeback at Warriors

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:06:08 GMT

In a game that seemed over, the Nuggets erased an 18-point deficit in the last seven minutes to stun the Warriors 130-127 on Nikola Jokic’s 39-foot buzzer beater Thursday night in San Francisco.AG’s dog-bite return gameHow did the Nuggets unlock their most dramatic comeback of the season, and of many seasons? Not just with the magic of Jokic, but with the offense of a player with a stitched-up shooting hand. Aaron Gordon, in his second game back from his injuries sustained from Rottweiler bites on Christmas, scored a season-high 30 points, including 13 in the final minutes after Denver trailed 121-103.The last game he played before the dog bite was against the Warriors, and Golden State dared him to shoot open 3-pointers in that game. He attacked defenders as a driver, post player and even outside shooter Thursday night as though he were offended by that tactic. The aggression was to his team’s benefit as he fought his way to the line in crucial moments.Vintage spl...

Subway or monorail? Heavy rail supporters crash presentation in Sherman Oaks

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:06:08 GMT

Plans to connect the San Fernando Valley with Westside Los Angeles via public transportation and provide new options to underserved areas along the way continue to be contentious for supporters of dueling methods of transit.The Sepulveda Transit Corridor project will connect the Valley to the Westside by navigating the natural barrier of the Santa Monica Mountains. LA Metro wants to connect the two regions by railway by either tunneling underground or following roughly the same path as the 405 Freeway.Six options are on the table, with each varying in total cost, transit time, amount and location of stops along the route, and whether the vehicles are automated or operated by a driver.But what type of railway to build is proving to be the big hot-button issue.On Thursday, a meeting meant to promote one of the possible solutions was crashed, respectfully, by supporters of the other.Of the six project proposals, three use traditional heavy-rail trains like subways, while the other thre...

Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers donate $1 million towards Japan earthquake relief efforts 

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:06:08 GMT

The Los Angeles Dodgers, along with their superstar new signing Shohei Ohtani, are making a large donation towards earthquake relief efforts in Ohtani's home country of Japan. The Dodgers and Guggenheim Baseball are donating $1 million to support those affected by the 7.6 magnitude quake that struck in western Japan on New Year’s Day, the team said in a statement on social media. “Our thoughts are with all of Japan in the wake of this tragedy,” the team’s statement read.  Video shows man claiming to be famous bite, kick officer during arrest at bank Ohtani is also making his own personal contribution, the Dodgers said, but exactly how much was not immediately disclosed. “I would like to thank those who have joined in the recovery effort, and my hope is that we continue to come together to support those whose lives have been upended,” Ohtani said in a statement released along with the team's statement. The New Year's Day earthquake killed at least 84 people, Reuters reported on Th...

Drivers from Las Vegas to L.A. hit near-whiteout conditions

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:06:08 GMT

The 15 Freeway between Nevada and Los Angeles saw unusually heavy snow on Thursday in a scene more familiar to mountain communities than a Southern California desert.“Got caught in a bit of a snow storm. Luckily Cali didn’t close the highway,” X user @realuncleslammy said, amid the closure of several roads elsewhere, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.Snowy conditions on the 15 Freeway between Las Vegas and metro Los Angeles in San Bernardino County, Calif. Jan. 3, 2024. (@realuncleslammy via Storyful)The video was recorded several miles south of the agricultural checkpoint in San Bernardino County, just across the Nevada state line, in Mountain Pass (elevation 4,730 feet).The National Weather Service reported that a winter storm system had brought 5-8 inches of snow.

San Jose Sharks sent to their 10th straight loss by hard-hitting Jets

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:06:08 GMT

SAN JOSE – It’s not a stretch to say the San Jose Sharks would like to model some parts of their game after the Winnipeg Jets.A big, skilled, speedy team that pressures the puck all over the ice and finishes every check.The Sharks got a big dose of that style of play Thursday in what turned into their 10th straight regulation-time loss.The Jets, in between throwing their weight around, scored a power-play goal at the 3:14 mark of the third period to help earn a 2-1 win over the Sharks at SAP Center.With Filip Zadina serving a hooking penalty, Gabriel Vilardi tapped a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers past Mackenzie Blackwood for the eventual game-winner.Alexander Barabanov scored for the Sharks and Blackwood finished with 28 saves in an impressive individual performance.The Sharks’ next game is Saturday at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs.“We know the test we have in front of us,” Sharks coach David Quinn said before the game. “This is arguably one of the best teams, if not the best team...

Nikola Jokic buzzer-beater stuns Warriors in 130-127 loss to Nuggets

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:06:08 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors are going to have nightmares about what happened at Chase Center on Thursday night.In the game’s final seconds, Nikola Jokic took three steps past half-court, then drained a long-range 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the NBA champion Denver Nuggets home with a 130-127 win.The Warriors led by 18 midway through the fourth quarter but the Nuggets went on a 13-0 run to spark a remarkable comeback.Jokic finished with 34 points while going 13-for-16 from the floor and 2-for-2 from three-point range. The MVP candidate also dished out 10 assists and added nine rebounds.Leading 123-105 after an Andrew Wiggins basket with 6:51 to play, the Warriors missed eight consecutive shots, five by Steph Curry, as Denver chipped away behind Jokic and Aaron Gordon (30 points).Still, the Warriors were in position to win, tied at 127 with the ball. But Curry’s turnover — a cross-court pass that was intercepted by Jamal Murray — put the ball in DenverR...