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In new year, California continues to struggle with existential issues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:52:39 GMT

California enters the new year with its existential issues still unresolved, and a new one — an immense budget deficit — threatens to make dealing with them even more difficult.California has made very little progress, if any, on narrowing its shortage of housing, its levels of homelessness and poverty remain among the nation’s highest, and its population is declining as hundreds of thousands of Californians decamp for other states.The Legislature’s budget analyst has calculated that California faces a $68 billion gap between revenue and already programmed spending over a three-year period that began in 2022. Annual deficits in the $30 billion range thereafter.Next week, Gov. Gavin Newsom will quantify his version of the yawning gap and how he proposes to close it, touching off six months of negotiations with the Legislature on a 2024-25 budget.It will dominate election-year discourse in California and complicate Newsom’s simultaneous efforts to expand his national polit...

Californina celebrity lawyer Tom Girardi found competent to stand trial for alleged client thefts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:52:39 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Disgraced Los Angeles celebrity lawyer Tom Girardi has been found competent to stand trial on charges that he stole more than $15 million from his clients.A federal judge filed a notice of the brief order Tuesday under seal. Lawyers for both sides were given five days to identify any information in it that they would like the judge to keep confidential.Girardi, 84, is the estranged husband of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Erika Jayne.Girardi pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles last year to wire fraud on charges that he embezzled from clients, including an Arizona widow whose husband was killed in a boat accident; a Los Angeles couple injured in a car wreck that paralyzed their son; and a man who was severely burned in the 2010 San Bruno gas pipeline explosion.If convicted, he could be sentenced to decades in federal prison.The Associated Press sent messages to his public defenders seeking comment.At issue in the competency hearing was whether Girardi unders...

Man rescued in Alameda after sailboat becomes submerged

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:52:39 GMT

(BCN) -- A man was rescued from the water in Alameda on Tuesday evening after his sailboat became submerged, Alameda Fire said.The man was in the area of the rock wall near the U.S.S. Hornet docked at at Pier 3 when his 27 foot sailboat became submerged just after 5:30 p.m., Alameda Fire said. Shots fired during attempted car thefts in East Bay A total of 21 first responders came to the man's rescue, including help from the Oakland Fire Department.Copyright © 2024 Bay City News, Inc.

Stock market today: Wall Street tracks toward losses again as sellers take profits early in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:52:39 GMT

Wall Street was poised to open with losses again on Wednesday, one day after markets kicked off the new year giving back some of last year’s big gains.Futures for the S&P 500 moved 0.4% lower before the bell, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.3%.Investors are watching for the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting later in the day, hoping for signs the central bank will move ahead with interest rate cuts in coming months. That optimism fueled markets late in 2023 as the Fed declined to raise rates at three meetings in a row with the economy showing continued strength as inflation retreated. Figures due out later Wednesday will show how many job openings U.S. employers were advertising at the end of November, data that the Federal Reserve follows closely. Friday will bring the U.S. government’s monthly tally of job growth across the country. In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX tumbled 1% and in Paris, the CAC 40 slid 1.5%. Br...

Iran says at least 73 people killed, 170 wounded in blasts at ceremony honoring slain general

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:52:39 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Explosions at an event honoring a prominent Iranian general slain in a U.S. airstrike in 2020 have killed at least 73 people and wounded 170 others, state-run media in Iran reported Wednesday. One official called them a “terroristic” attack.Babak Yektaparast, a spokesman for Iran’s emergency service, gave the casualty figure to state media.The blasts struck an event marking the the fourth anniversary of the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force. who died in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in January 2020. The explosions occurred near his grave site in Kerman, about 820 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Explosions at an event honoring a prominent Iranian general slain in a U.S. airstrike in 2020 have killed at least 25 people and wounded 40 others, state-run media in Iran repor...

Disney reaches agreement with ValueAct, secures its support for company’s board nominees

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:52:39 GMT

Disney has reached a confidentiality agreement with activist investor ValueAct Capital Management, garnering its support for the company’s board nominees as it continues to deal with a proxy battle with Nelson Peltz.The Walt Disney Co. said Wednesday that the agreement with ValueAct will allow the company to provide information to ValueAct and consult with it on strategic matters, including through meetings with its board and management.“ValueAct Capital has a track record of collaboration and cooperation with the companies it invests in, and its Co-CEO Mason Morfit has been very constructive in the conversations we’ve had over the past year. We welcome their input as long-term shareholders,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said in a statement.Last month Nelson Peltz’s investment management firm Trian Fund Management said that it was planning to nominate the activist investor and a former chief financial officer of Disney for seats on the media and entertainment company’s board.Along with...

Iranian official says at least 73 people killed, 170 wounded in attack targeting ceremony for slain general

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:52:39 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian official says at least 73 people killed, 170 wounded in attack targeting ceremony for slain general.Source

Fairfax County set to permanently allow outdoor dining — with a few new rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:52:39 GMT

Outdoor dining became a thing during the COVID-19 pandemic — Fairfax County, Virginia is set to make eating and drinking outside of a restaurant, bar, brewery or vineyard a permanent possibility.A proposed zoning ordinance amendment would automatically allow food and drink businesses to set up temporary seating areas. A planning commission public hearing is set for Jan. 10, and the Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on Feb. 6.“Outdoor dining can significantly improve the pedestrian experience throughout the County,” according to a staff report. “By activating the street-level pedestrian environment, it can increase vibrancy and make commercial areas more social and active.”The plan would largely extend outdoor dining provisions that the county — and most of the region — adopted to allow food and drink businesses to consider other ways of staying in business, when indoor dining wasn’t allowed. The county’s COVID-19 emergency declaration ended...

UniFirst: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:52:39 GMT

WILMINGTON, Mass. (AP) — WILMINGTON, Mass. (AP) — UniFirst Corp. (UNF) on Wednesday reported earnings of $42.3 million in its fiscal first quarter.On a per-share basis, the Wilmington, Massachusetts-based company said it had profit of $2.26.The uniform provider posted revenue of $593.5 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on UNF at https://www.zacks.com/ap/UNFSource

Police: Victim shoots gunman after attack outside Denver museum

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 08:52:39 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A man shot and injured a suspect in the parking lot of a Denver museum after the suspect attempted to rob him in front of his girlfriend and children, police said.On Dec. 31, Denver Police Department officers responded to a shooting in the parking lot of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science at 2:44 p.m. According to a probable cause statement obtained by FOX31, the victim told officers he arrived at the museum with his girlfriend and two kids when he noticed two Hispanic men walking towards them with handguns drawn. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox The men were described as:Hispanic malesBetween 18-24 years oldThin buildBetween 5 feet, 10 inches tall and 6 feet tallThe man told officers he was in fear for his, his girlfriend and his children's lives.According to the statement, the two suspects began to grab at the victim and told him to give them the silver chain he was wearing around his neck. One of the suspects allegedly stru...