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Search suspended for 3 sailors headed to San Diego

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The Mexican Navy and U.S. Coast Guard's search for three American sailors who went missing off the coast of Mexico in early April has been suspended, the U.S. Coast Guard said.The Mexican Navy (SEMAR) suspended the search pending further developments, military officials said in news release Wednesday. "SEMAR and U.S. Coast Guard responders conducted 281 cumulative search hours covering approximately 200,057 square nautical miles, an area larger than the state of California, off Mexico’s northern Pacific coast with no sign of the missing sailing vessel nor its passengers," the U.S. Coast Guard said. PHOTOS: Velella velellas, or By-the-Wind sailors, spotted on San Diego beaches Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien and William Gross were aboard a 44-foot Lafitte sailing vessel named Ocean Bound that left Mazatlán en route to San Diego on April 4, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The sailors had plans to stop in Cabo San Lucas on April 6, but did not report or arrive at the loc...

California border region gets failing grade for air quality

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO (Border Report) -- The American Lung Association just released its 2023 "State of the Air" report that ranks cities and counties based on ozone and particle pollution, and California still faces the most difficult air pollution challenges in the nation.This is the 24th year the report has been issued analyzing data taken by official air quality monitors across the United States.According to the report, and despite efforts to clean the air, more than 98 percent of Californians live in a community earning a failing grade for unhealthy ozone pollution days. Air quality will improve once new port of entry opens, eases border traffic, officials say The San Diego region is one of them."Truck traffic particular to ports of entry is a real source of harmful pollution," said Will Barrett, National Senior Director for Advocacy and Clean Air with the American Lung Association. Barrett notes that San Diego's proximity to the border and its two large ports of entry, with thousands o...

SDSU building reopens after Legionella pneumonia investigation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State University is reopening its Exercise and Nutritional Sciences (ENS) building after it had been closed since mid-February for a Legionella pneumonia investigation, education officials said.Dr. Michael J. Buono, a professor in the School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, was identified as the person exposed to the bacteria, and he later died from it in March. Prior to Buono's death, an initial report indicated that the infected individual was quarantined from campus and recovering. PHOTOS: Velella velellas, or By-the-Wind sailors, spotted on San Diego beaches "Following comprehensive testing and health and safety measures, the ENS Building and the ENS Annex will reopen on Monday, April 24. There is no additional action you need to take, and all university activities – research, classes and meetings – can resume on Monday," the university announced.SDSU thanked students, staff and faculty for cooperating and adapting to the situation.There have been n...

Audit shows city paid millions in claims caused by city employee-involved crashes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:32 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A newly released city audit has found City of San Diego employees are responsible for hundreds of crashes, and it's costing the city millions of dollars in settlement claims.The audit found that most of the accidents were preventable and points back to training and policies. Click here to view the audit of the City of San Diego from the Office of the City Auditor.The audit states the city needs to take more steps to address and prevent unsafe driving by its employees.The audit investigation found city supervisors rarely review car data, such as speed or seatbelt use, even though it is required by city policy. The city responded in the audit disagreeing. The city's management team states they are considering a centralized operational review.The audit found city employees were not held accountable for 39 crashes, because the investigations were never finished. The city agreed, responding they are reviewing and when completed will take the recommended actions.The audit fou...

Stampede in Yemen’s capital kills at least 78, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:32 GMT

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A crowd apparently spooked by gunfire and an electrical explosion stampeded at an event to distribute financial aid during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Yemen’s capital late Wednesday, killing at least 78 people and injuring at least 73 others, according to witnesses and Houthi rebel officials.The tragedy was the deadliest in years that was not related to Yemen’s long conflict, and came ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan later this week.Armed Houthis fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire and causing it to explode, according to two witnesses, Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen. That sparked a panic, and people, including many women and children, began stampeding, they said.Video posted on social media showed dozens of bodies, some motionless, and others screaming as people tried to help. Separate footage of the aftermath released by Houthi officials showed bloodstain...

Police charge 14-year-old for threat made against Forest Hill school

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:32 GMT

A 14-year-old has been charged after they allegedly made a threat toward a junior and senior public school in Toronto’s Forest Hill neighbourhood.Police responded to reports of a threat made to Forest Hill Junior and Senior Public School on Wednesday.There was no indication that the school was placed in a hold and secure or lockdown as a result of the threats.A 14-year-old child was later charged with uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm. The youth will appear in court on Thursday.They were not identified through the province’s Youth Criminal Justice Act.No injuries were reported.A Toronto high school was placed in a hold and secure on Wednesday after a group of kids threatened Weston Collegiate Institute.No injuries were reported, and charges have not been laid. Police said the investigation is ongoing.

Last minute brinkmanship and overseas assist end Fox case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Before pulling back from the brink of a trial, Fox News and Dominion Voting systems faced a stern deadline — not from an impatient judge or jury, but from a man on a Danube River cruise with his wife half a world away.A mediator hired late Sunday pushed the two sides toward a $787 million settlement that brought a stunning end to the most-watched media libel case in decades, one that sought to put a price on lies told about the 2020 presidential election on conservative America’s most popular news outlet.“It’s a deadline that I always impose because I know that once a jury is empaneled and opening statements are made, then one or other of the parties will dig into their positions,” Jerry Roscoe, of the Washington-based JAMS mediation service, said Wednesday. “It makes negotiations much more difficult.”As the haggling went on, over the phone and in back rooms of a Delaware courthouse, lawyers, journalists and spectators waited as a scheduled 1:30 p.m. star...

9 men trying to enter US from Canada treated for exposure

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:32 GMT

WARROAD, Minn. (AP) — Nine men who entered the United States illegally from Canada were rescued from a sub-freezing bog and given medical treatment for exposure to the cold, authorities said Wednesday.The nine, ranging in age from 19 to 46, were found Tuesday near Warroad, a small lakeside Minnesota community about 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) south of the Canadian border. The area is southwest of an official port of entry.U.S. Border Patrol agents and rescuers from other agencies were sent to the area at around 5 a.m. after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said someone in the group of men had made an emergency phone call, a Border Patrol statement said.The men were found in a flooded bog.“When agents arrived on scene, they determined the temperatures in the bog were below freezing and they would require special equipment to reach the group,” the statement said. “The agents were able to rescue the men from the frigid water by wearing protective suits.” The men were taken to medical fa...

Sudan rivals attempt another truce as civilians flee unrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:32 GMT

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — Sudan’s rival generals on Wednesday made a new attempt at a 24-hour humanitarian cease-fire after a failed truce the night before. But sporadic fighting continued, and aid groups said they needed guarantees and a wider window to help civilians trapped by five days of intense urban combat.Terrified Sudanese fled Khartoum earlier in the day, hauling whatever belongings they could carry and trying to get out of the capital, where forces loyal to the country’s top two generals have been battling each other with tanks, artillery and airstrikes since Saturday.The fighting became less intense in the first hours after the cease-fire took effect at 6 p.m., with sporadic clashes continuing in the city center, said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors’ Syndicate, who is still in the capital. But he said neither side has provided guarantees to his group to facilitate movement of health care workers and ambulances.Desperate residents of the capital hav...

California city audits police who sent racist, abusive texts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:32 GMT

ANTIOCH, Calif. (AP) — A San Francisco Bay Area city council is undertaking an audit of its troubled police department, the latest development in a year-long federal investigation of the Antioch Police Department that blew up this month with the disclosure of racist and hostile text messages sent by officers. Angry residents crowded City Hall on Tuesday evening as the Antioch City Council unanimously approved audits of the department’s internal affairs unit, its hiring and promotional practices and of department culture. Officials have named 17 officers who sent text messages, including the president of the Antioch police union, although Contra Costa County’s public defender said that nearly half of the 100-officer department was included in the text chains.Defense attorney Ellen McDonnell has asked District Attorney Diana Becton to dismiss all cases involving the public defender’s office and Antioch police. Becton said she is reviewing cases for potential dismissal or resente...