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Walters: Legislators will pass sham budget to protect their paychecks

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:45 GMT

Let’s say you want a promotion to a higher-ranking position that will also mean a hefty increase in pay, but to be considered you need a master’s degree in your field, and you only have a bachelor’s degree.You have three choices: Be satisfied with the job you have, go back to school to get that advanced degree, or lie about having it already. You might get away with the latter, but if you get caught, you probably will be fired.Something like that is occurring this week when the Legislature pretends to have a state budget, but it’s really a sham to protect lawmakers’ paychecks.The stage was set for this political charade 13 years ago when voters passed Proposition 25, which lowered the legislative vote requirement for budgets from two-thirds to a simple majority.Democrats and their political allies placed the measure on the ballot to block Republicans from having any say over the budget, thus ending decades of often convoluted dealmaking that sometimes delayed budget enactment for we...

College World Series: Stanford’s South Bay stars lead Cardinal into Omaha

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:45 GMT

STANFORD – Eddie Park and Tommy Troy played their high school careers as rivals at Valley Christian and Los Gatos competing for section titles.Three years later, the duo is leading Stanford to its third consecutive men’s College World Series in Omaha as best friends and faces of a team that boasts a healthy amount of local talent.“He’s the one guy I’ve played the most games with and against,” Park said after Stanford clinched a CWS berth with a wild walkoff victory over Texas on Monday night. “I love that guy.”“We’ve been best friends for a really long time, and it’s just really cool to be able to share an experience like that with him,” Troy said.The Cardinal stars will face Wake Forest on Saturday at 11 a.m., a team that was last seen rolling Alabama 22-5 in the Winston-Salem Super Regionals.The Demon Deacons (52-10) have scored 18 or more runs in 10 games. Brock Wilken has hit 30 homers for Wake Forest, and Nick Kurtz has slugged 24.The pitching staff is anchored by R...

What to know about mint and other highly invasive plants in your garden

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:45 GMT

Q. Several years ago, I purchased a small container of “living mint” at my local grocery. When I finished using it in a recipe, I planted the remaining 1/2 package in my yard. Recently, I had fresh soil delivered for the plant beds. Well, fast forward to the present day and my flower bed has been overrun with mint! It is now knee-high. Apparently, the mint loved the new soil, not to mention all the moisture from recent rains. What can I do to control the growth?To the ancient Greeks, mint signified hospitality. Somehow, I think you know why – once it’s planted you can never get rid of it.Mint (and many of its relatives) are notoriously invasive. We’ve planted it in large pots, but it requires constant vigilance because it keeps trying to escape. It easily roots along its stem, so as it grows and sprawls, it will set roots into any soil it touches. The soil doesn’t have to be very good, either. We had a catnip plant (another mint family member) that seeded itself on our brick pathway...

‘Swingers’ or predators? Judge to decide if case against California doctor can go to trial

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:45 GMT

Nearly five years after a Newport Beach doctor and his girlfriend were accused of drugging and raping multiple women in a criminal case that quickly became enmeshed in political battles, courtroom testimony over the past week has for the first time painted a clearer picture of the charges Dr. Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley now face.Having significantly pared back the high-profile criminal case to focus on two alleged victims rather than the seven women Robicheaux and Riley were initially accused of sexually assaulting, prosecutors from the California Attorney General’s Office spent five days of testimony in a Fullerton courtroom over the past week outlining the evidence they hope will convince an Orange County Superior Court judge to allow the case to proceed to a jury trial.According to investigators, the two women both described meeting Robicheaux and Riley at Newport Beach restaurants, having drinks bought for them by Robicheaux and waking up later at the Robicheaux’s Balboa ...

At least two people shot overnight in San Leandro

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:45 GMT

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (KRON) -- At least two people were shot overnight in San Leandro.The incident occurred at the Saint Moritz Garden apartment complexes off Washington Avenue. Police were on scene for several hours but have since cleared the area. San Jose family loses livelihood after thieves steal $100K worth of stage equipment No arrests have been made. This is a developing story. Stick with us for updates.

Vodafone, Three to merge UK mobile phone operations to capitalize on 5G rollout

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:45 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Two of the U.K.’s biggest mobile phone operators agreed Wednesday to merge their businesses to capitalize on the rollout of next-generation 5G wireless technology in the country.The tie-up of Vodafone U.K. and Three, which is owned by Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison, will create Britain’s biggest mobile phone player, with a market value of around 15 billion pounds ($18.75 billion). Vodafone will account for 51% of the merged firm, with CK Hutchison owning the rest.The groups said the merger will help them compete with their rivals on 5G technology. Vodafone CEO Margherita Della Valle described the deal as a “game-changer” for the company’s home market.“It’s transformative as it will create a best-in-class — indeed best-in-Europe — 5G network, offering customers a superior experience,” she said. The companies said they are aiming to complete the deal by the end of 2024.Source

Muere un perro policía de Houston por ahogamiento por calor tras quedar encerrado en una patrulla cuando el motor se apagó inesperadamente, dicen las autoridades

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:45 GMT

(CNN) — La policía de Houston está investigando la muerte de un perro policía de 4 años que sufrió agotamiento por calor este lunes después de haber sido dejado en una patrulla con aire acondicionado cuando el motor se apagó inesperadamente, dijo la Policía.Los vehículos del Departamento de Policía de Houston están equipados con un sistema que notifica al conductor, activa los ventiladores de enfriamiento y baja las ventanas en caso de que un vehículo se apague, dijo la Policía. Sin embargo, “esto no sucedió en este caso”, dijo el Departamento de Policía de Houston en un comunicado.Cuando el guía regresó al vehículo, encontró al K-9, como se les conoce a las patrullas caninas, angustiado. El animal fue llevado a una clínica pero finalmente murió por el calor, según el comunicado.“Hasta que no aparezca Wilson, la misión no acaba”: FF.MM. buscan a perro rescatista perdido en la selva colombiana“Por favor, oren por el encargado de Aron y todo el equipo del K-9 mientra...

Shell ditches lower oil production target but insists it’s committed to cutting emissions

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:45 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Shell has effectively abandoned a plan to cut oil production by 1-2% per year until the end of the decade, instead maintaining output at current levels in a move that risks angering climate activists.Ahead of an investor update in New York on Wednesday, Europe’s largest energy company argued that it had already met the target it had set for itself in 2021 through asset sales. London-based Shell said it had seen its production drop from 1.9 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2019 to 1.5 million in 2022. Shell has, for example, offloaded a little under 200,000 barrels of daily production when it sold its sites in the U.S. Permian basin to ConocoPhillips two years ago.“Our target of a reduction in oil production by 2030 has not changed,” the company said. “We’ve just met it eight years early.”New chief executive Wael Sawan insisted that the company was still committed to decarbonizing its operations, reiterating the goal that Shell will become a net-...

It’s almost time to resume student loan payments. Not doing so could cost you

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — After three years, the pandemic-era freeze on student loan payments will end in late August.It might seem tempting to just keep not making payments, but the consequences can be severe, including a hit to your credit score and exclusion from future aid and benefits.More than 40 million Americans will have to start making federal student loan payments again at the end of the summer under the terms of a debt ceiling deal approved by Congress.Millions are also waiting to find out whether the Supreme Court will allow President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan to go ahead. But payments will resume regardless of what justices decide.That means tough decisions for many borrowers, especially those in already-difficult financial situations.Experts say that delinquency and bankruptcy should be options of last resort, and that deferment and forbearance — which pause payments, though interest may continue to accrue — are often better in the short term.WHAT HAPPENS IF I D...

Indigenous community wins, then loses, path to reclaim ancestral rainforest land in Peru

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:40:45 GMT

A landmark ruling that an Indigenous community in the Peruvian Amazon could reclaim ancestral rainforests has been set aside by an appeals court in a move some legal experts called irregular.Kichwa tribes lived in the area of Cordillera Azul National Park for centuries before the park was founded in 2001 in what the Kichwa say was theft of their land. Major companies such as Shell and TotalEnergies have spent more than $80 million since then buying credits in the park to counter their carbon emissions.That money hasn’t helped the Puerto Franco community of Kichwa, who fell into food poverty after losing free access to hunt, fish and gather in the park area. The community celebrated a dramatic legal victory in April, when Judge Simona del Socorro Torres Sánchez ruled that creating the park without their consent had violated their rights. She ordered authorities to begin granting them title to the land, to ensure they benefit from conservation activities in the park and particip...