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Skelton: California leaders need the guts to fix state’s money woes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:52 GMT

California state government’s bank account has dwindled from a nearly $100 billion surplus 18 months ago to a projected $68 billion deficit.How could that possibly happen?Three reasons:• Sacramento politicians haven’t had the guts to fix a very flawed roller-coaster tax system that generates barrels of revenue in good times but goes bust when the economy sours.• They spend too much money. That’s self-evident. At any rate, they’re spending more than the state is taking in. A lot more.• All that aside, rising interest rates cooled the economy by increasing borrowing costs. That stifled home buying and business expansions, according to independent Legislative Analyst Gabriel Petek, who projected the $68 billion deficit last week.Tax deadline chaosThe analyst says the state stumbled into the red ink hole partly because the federal government extended the normal tax filing deadline this year from April until November. It wanted to ease life for Californians harmed...

6 hospitalized after UC Santa Cruz solo bus crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:52 GMT

(KRON) -- A University of California, Santa Cruz transit bus was involved in a solo collision Tuesday night, sending all six onboard to the hospital, according to UC Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Domby.The UC Santa Cruz Police Department responded to reports of a solo bus crash at 8:30 p.m. on Coolidge Drive. One of the university’s buses that continuously loops through the campus was heading downhill toward the main entrance of campus when it went off the road and hit a fence and rock structure, officials said.(AIO Filmz)(AIO Filmz) Hero teachers save choking student at North Bay school The five passengers on board, along with the driver, were injured in the crash and transported to the hospital. The bus driver was air-lifted to the hospital, police said. The injuries range from moderate to severe, according to Ramon Romo of the UCSC PD. The current condition of those involved is unknown.The cause of the crash remains under investigation, according to UCSC police. Impairment does...

Turkish soccer matches to resume on Dec. 19 after suspension caused by attack on referee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:52 GMT

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish soccer league matches, suspended after a referee was attacked by the president of a top-flight club, will resume on Dec. 19, the head of the Turkish Football Federation said Wednesday.Mehmet Buyukeksi also told reporters that the federation’s disciplinary board would announce on Thursday the punitive measures to be imposed on MKE Ankaragucu and its president, Faruk Koca, who has since been arrested. Koca punched referee Halil Umut Meler in the face on the field after the final whistle of a 1-1 draw in a Super Lig home game against Caykur Rizespor on Monday. The referee, who fell to the ground, was also kicked in a melee as fans invaded the playing surface after Rizespor scored a last-minute equalizer.The attack led to the suspension of all league games in Turkey, which has been selected to co-host the 2032 European Championship with Italy.“All league games will restart on Tuesday, Dec. 19,” Buyukeksi announced after a federation meeting, adding th...

Poland’s new Prime Minister Donald Tusk takes office, ending 8 years of conservative rule

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:52 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — The new Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and his Cabinet members took office Wednesday after they were sworn in by the president, marking the end of eight tumultuous years of rule by a national conservative party, Law and Justice.The swearing-in ceremony of the pro-European Union government, the final step in a transition of power, took place in the presidential palace in Warsaw. Tusk was returning to the job after a nine-year spell in opposition. Leaders and senior officials from around the world, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said were looking forward to working with Tusk’s team. Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz used Polish to amplify his congratulatory message to “dear Donald Tusk.”“Donald Tusk wants Poland to be again in the heart of the EU and that’s where her place is,” he said. “I am happy that together, arm in arm with Poland develop the EU and Polish-German relations.” The countries’ ties were strained under...

In a first, delegates at UN climate talks agree to transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:52 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Nearly 200 countries agreed Wednesday to move away from planet-warming fossil fuels — the first time they’ve made that crucial pledge in decades of U.N. climate talks though many warned the deal still had significant shortcomings.The agreement was approved without the floor fight many feared — and is stronger than a draft floated earlier in the week that angered several nations. But it didn’t call for an outright phasing out of oil, gas and coal — and it gives nations significant wiggle room in their “transition” away from those fuels.“Humanity has finally done what is long, long, long overdue,” Wopke Hoekstra, European Union commissioner for climate action, said as the COP28 summit wrapped up.Within minutes of opening Wednesday’s session, COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber gaveled in approval of the central document — an evaluation of how off-track the world is on climate and how to get back on — without giving critics a chance to comment. He hailed ...

Biden will meet in person on Wednesday with the families of 8 Americans taken hostage by Hamas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:52 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday will hold his first in-person meeting with the families of eight Americans still unaccounted for and presumed to be taken captive by Hamas during its brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel, the White House said.Family members of all eight would participate in the Biden meeting either in person or virtually, a senior administration official said. The Democratic president has previously met with some family members virtually and spoken to others on the phone. Biden was set to provide an update on American efforts to secure the release of those held by Hamas.“He’ll guarantee them that we are not going to lose sight of their loved ones, we’re not going to stop trying to get them home,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on CNN as he previewed Biden’s message to the families. Kirby stressed that hourly, U.S. officials are “trying to get more information about them and to get a deal in place where we can get the...

Capitals, Wizards owners partner up with Virginia for proposed arena, entertainment district in Alexandria

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:52 GMT

Monumental Sports, the organization that owns the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will announce plans that could mean a relocation for both teams from the District to Potomac Yard.Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is expected to discuss the plans Wednesday at 9 a.m. inside three tents at 3405 Potomac Avenue in Alexandria alongside Monumental Sports majority owner Ted Leonis.Ahead of the event, Monumental Sports said the state and organization would partner to create a new entertainment district campus that would include a “new Capitals and Wizards arena for the region and Monumental Sports’ new global business headquarters.”“This would relocate the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the NBA’s Washington Wizards’ home arena to Virginia beginning in 2028, should the proposal become finalized,” Monumental Sports said.The 70-acre project, which includes a large Alexandria arena, underground parking and a separate 3,000-seat conc...

Youngkin: Virginia has ‘understanding’ with parent company about moving Washington’s NBA, NHL teams

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:52 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has reached a tentative agreement with the parent company of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals to move those teams from the District of Columbia to what he called a new “visionary sports and entertainment venue” in northern Virginia. The proposal, which would need the state legislature’s approval, calls for the creation of a $2 billion sports and entertainment district south of Washington in Alexandria, just miles from the existing arena, Youngkin said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of a news conference planned at the site. It would include not only an arena for the basketball and hockey teams but also a new Wizards practice facility, a separate performing arts center, a media studio, new hotels, a convention center, housing and shopping, he said. “The Commonwealth will now be home to two professional sports teams, a new corporate headquarters, and over 30,000 new jobs – this is monumen...

Stock market today: Wall Street ticks slightly higher ahead of Fed call on interest rates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:52 GMT

Wall Street inched up modestly Wednesday ahead a decision by the U.S. Federal Reserve on interest rates.Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrials each rose about 0.1% before the opening bell.On Tuesday, the S&P 500 climbed to its highest level since early 2022, slightly below its record high, after a report showed inflation in the United States is behaving pretty much as expected. That has reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will stand pat on interest rates when it announces its next move Wednesday afternoon. The inflation report showed U.S. consumers paid prices for gasoline, food and other living costs last month that were 3.1% higher overall than a year earlier, slightly below October’s 3.2% inflation and exactly in line with economists’ expectations.The Fed has already yanked its main interest rate from virtually zero early last year to more than 5.25%, its highest level since 2001. It’s hoping to slow the economy and hurt investment prices by ex...

Sancionan a atleta estudiantil transgénero y a una escuela secundaria por dejarla participar en equipo femenino

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:44:52 GMT

(CNN) — Una escuela secundaria de Florida fue puesta en periodo de prueba administrativo por un año y multada con US$ 16.500 por permitir que una niña transgénero jugara en el equipo de voleibol femenino, anunciaron este martes funcionarios deportivos estatales.En una carta de tres páginas dirigida al director interino de Monarch High School, la Asociación Atlética de Escuelas Secundarias de Florida acusó a la escuela de violar la Ley de Equidad en los Deportes Femeninos del estado y un estatuto de la asociación, los cuales prohíben a los “varones biológicos” jugar en equipos deportivos femeninos en las escuelas públicas. La estudiante transgénero jugó 33 partidos durante la temporada de voleibol 2022-23 y 2023-24, afirma la carta.La atleta estudiantil fue “declarada no elegible para representar a ninguna escuela miembro” hasta noviembre de 2024, según la carta.Las niñas transgénero tienen prohibido jugar en equipos deportivos femeninos en las escuelas públicas de ...