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Spare the Air alert extended through Saturday due to excessive smog

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:42 GMT

(BCN) -- The Bay Area Air Quality Management District issued the year's second Spare the Air alert for smog on Friday and it is now extended through Saturday. Hot inland temperatures and vehicle exhaust are expected to combine to create unhealthy air conditions, especially for older people, children and people with respiratory conditions. "We can help keep our air healthier by finding alternatives to driving alone, such as taking transit, biking or walking," said air district executive officer Philip Fine. More Bay Area tech layoffs on the way People are being advised to limit outdoor exercise to the early morning hours when ozone concentrations are lower. Spare the Air alerts are issued when ozone levels are forecast to reach levels that can cause throat irritation, congestion and chest pain, and often coincide with high temperatures. The National Weather Service forecast calls for rising temperatures Friday morning through Sunday evening and the agency has issued an ...

Jesse Jackson to step down as head of civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:42 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson plans to step down from leading the Chicago civil rights organization Rainbow PUSH Coalition he founded in 1971, his son’s congressional office said Friday. A spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson confirmed the long-time civil rights leader would be retiring from the organization.The elder Jackson, a civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate, plans to announce his plan on Sunday during the organization’s annual convention, Rep. Jackson told the Chicago Sun-Times.Jonathan Jackson, an Illinois Democrat, said his father “has forever been on the scene of justice and has never stopped fighting for civil rights” and that will be “his mark upon history.”The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who will turn 82 in October, has remained active in civil rights in recent years despite health setbacks. He announced in 2017 that he had begun outpatient care for Parkinson’s disease two years earlier. In early 2021, he had gallbladder surgery and late...

Trial date set for father of suspect in mass shooting at July 4 parade in suburban Chicago

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:42 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois judge on Friday set a Nov. 6 trial date for a father charged with helping his son obtain a gun license three years before the son allegedly shot dead seven people at a Fourth of July parade in suburban Chicago last year. The father, Robert Crimo Jr., told Judge George Strickland at a hearing in Waukegan — north of Highland Park, where the shooting occurred — that he was waiving his right to a jury trial. That means Strickland will hear evidence and issue verdicts at the end of the bench trial. Earlier this year, Crimo Jr. pleaded not guilty to seven counts of reckless conduct — one count for each person killed. Each count carries a maximum 3-year prison term. The judge Friday also set an Aug. 7 hearing for arguments on a defense motion challenging the constitutionality of laws that underpin charges against the father. Judge Strickland will also consider a media request that the trial be streamed live at an Aug. 28 hearing. Prosecutors have said the father ...

Man who took photo from Pelosi’s office is sentenced to over 4 years for Capitol riot role

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:42 GMT

A Chicago man who stole a prized photograph from then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Friday to more than four years in prison for his role in the mob’s attack on the building.Kevin James Lyons, 40, took a wallet from a Pelosi staffer’s coat and a framed photograph of Pelosi with the late Congressman John Lewis, a civil rights movement icon who died in July 2020. Lyons also mockingly called out Pelosi’s name during the riot on Jan. 6, 2021.“In the context of the actions of the riotous mob, some of whom were baying for blood, Lyons’ invocation of the Speaker’s name could only be intended and understood as a threat of violence,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing.Investigators haven’t recovered the photograph of Pelosi with Lewis, which was taken during a 2019 visit to Africa, her last trip abroad with the Georgia Democrat before his death. The framed photo, taken from a mantle in the California Democrat’...

The Rev. Jesse Jackson is stepping down as head of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the civil rights organization he founded

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:42 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson is stepping down as head of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, the civil rights organization he founded.Source

DC-area doctor gives tips on malaria prevention

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:42 GMT

Cases of malaria have recently been discovered in Florida and Texas, and a local doctor said there are steps that people can take to prevent getting the disease.“If someone has a febrile illness of unknown origin, we should certainly think about malaria,” Dr. Melissa Holland, chief medical officer, UnitedHealthcare Medicare and Retirement for the Mid-Atlantic region, told WTOP. “This is confirmed on blood tests.”She said that malaria is a mosquito-borne disease caused by a parasite called plasmodium that’s primarily transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito.“Initially, individuals will have chills, fevers, headaches, muscle aches and fatigue and can also experience nausea, diarrhea and vomiting if left untreated,” Holland said. “It can progress to organ failure and death.”How do you prevent getting malaria?“Since malaria is a mosquito-borne illness, you certainly take steps to prevent those mosquito bit...

79-year-old hospitalized after alligator attack at Florida golf course community

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:42 GMT

(CNN) — A 79-year-old Florida man was bitten by a nearly 7-foot-long alligator Thursday morning at a golf course in Naples, according to local authorities.The man told deputies he was on a walk at the Forest Glen and Golf Course community, where he lives, shortly after 5:00 a.m. Thursday when an alligator came up and bit him in the leg, according to a Facebook post from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.“I’m bleeding. I don’t know how bad it is. It’s profuse,” the man told a 911 dispatcher, according to an audio recording of the call. “There’s a lot of skin ripped off I can see, probably some muscle.”“Go figure. Out for a walk to stay healthy,” the 79-year-old joked.A responding police officer gave the man first aid and he was flown to a local hospital via medical helicopter for treatment, according to the Facebook post.A second responding deputy spotted the alligator leaving the scene and kept watch on the reptile, which was later trapped and removed from the golf course com...

Undercover operation leads to arrest of man allegedly trafficking mother of his child in Miami- Dade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:42 GMT

Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced today the successful conclusion of a multi-agency undercover operation targeting human trafficking, resulting in the arrest of 27-year-old Pablo Casademunt. The operation involved the coordinated efforts of the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office Human Trafficking Task Force, Miami Gardens Police Department (MGPD), South Miami Police Department (SMPD), U.S. Secret Service (USSS), and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigation (HSI).“Investigations of possible Human Trafficking often lead to some very unusual and very sad situations,” State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said. “Allegedly selling the mother of your child and bringing the child along for the ride is a new low in an area of criminal conduct. I applaud the members of my Human Trafficking Task Force and those agencies assisting the Task Force for handling the entire situation with great propriety and with great sensitivi...

Authorities secure arrest warrant for man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Plymouth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:42 GMT

Authorities have secured an arrest warrant for a man wanted in connection with a shooting in Plymouth that left one man dead earlier this week, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office announced. The DA’s office said police first responded to the Myles Standish State Forest around 2:40 p.m. on Wednesday. The person who was shot was hit several times, according to the DA’s office. He was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess-Plymouth Hospital where he was pronounced dead.  A matter of days later, the DA’s office on Friday said witnesses told investigators they saw a man identified as John Geovanni Pires Monteiromacedo in an altercation with the victim before the shooting. The DA’s office said authorities were able to obtain an arrest warrant for Monteiromacedo.The investigation into this incident was ongoing as of Friday afternoon. Anyone with information is asked to contact state police.

Movie and TV stars join picket lines in fight over the future of Hollywood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:32:42 GMT

By ANDREW DALTON (AP Entertainment Writer)LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudekis and other top movie and TV actors joined picket lines alongside screenwriters Friday on the first full day of a walkout that has become Hollywood’s biggest labor fight in decades.Sudeikis was among the picketers outside NBC in New York. “Lord of the Rings” star Sean Astin joined chanting protesters outside Netflix’s offices in Hollywood. Also present at Netflix were “Titanic” and “Unforgiven” actor Frances Fisher and “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher, who is president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.The actors’ arrival energized the picket lines outside Netflix, where music blared and the sidewalks were packed with demonstrators.Elsewhere, “Once Upon a Time” actor Gennifer Goodwin was among the protesters outside Paramount Pictures.The walkout is the firs...