U.S.Associated Press'Super bloom' swarms force California city to say no more
A small California city that was overrun by visitors four years ago when heavy winter rains produced a “super bloom” of wild poppies has a message for the public after this year's deluge: Do not come. The poppies are beginning to bloom but so far on a small scale — and the canyon where they grow and parking areas are now completely off-limits, Lake Elsinore Mayor Natasha Johnson told a press conference where she recounted the chaos of 2019. Poppies are found throughout California in spring and summer, but usually not as extensively as the blankets of gold that in 2019 covered slopes near Lake Elsinore, a city of 71,000 in Riverside County about 60 miles (96 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles.
PoliticsHuffPostSarah Huckabee Sanders' 'Normal Or Crazy' Challenge Backfires Spectacularly
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered the Republican response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday night, and it was loaded with the expected right-wing culture-war grievances. Sanders' speech included attacks on LGBTQ rights, critical race theory, the “woke mob” and more. But it also contained one line that probably didn't get the reaction she was hoping.
U.S.The HillVideo shows brutal beating of teen outside California high school
“They're stomping on his head, my son is on the floor in a fetal position,” the student's mother, Martha Payan, said. Payan said she was at work Wednesday when she got a call from another parent saying her 14-year-old son, a freshman at Patriot High School in Jurupa Valley, had been beaten. At one point in the video, three of her son's attackers are seen hitting and kicking him all at the same time.
BusinessIn The Know by YahooLaid-off employee calls out ridiculous email from former boss: 'This is exploitation'
A woman on TikTok is blowing the lid off of something that recently happened to her in an effort to expose workplace exploitation. “I had to calm down before making this video, because the audacity,” says Kiki (@kikirough), before explaining in her TikTok that she was one of the thousands of Americans laid off about a month ago. In a nutshell, Kiki says the CEO was in a bind and asked her to do something that no one else in the company knew how to do after her departure.
U.S.Miami HeraldA major archaeological discovery was made on the Miami River. Was it kept ‘under wraps’?
For the past year and a half, with scant public attention, squads of archaeologists digging at the Miami River site of a planned Related Group residential tower complex have unearthed remarkable finds, consisting of thousands of fragmentary prehistoric tools and artifacts, rare and well-preserved animal and plant remnants, vestiges of ancient structures and human remains — including some relics dating back to the earliest days of civilization on the planet. The discovery, they say, may be the most significant in a series of archaeological finds made at the mouth of the Miami River in the past 25 years that include the Miami Circle National Historic Landmark, thought to be around 2,000 years old. “There are artifacts going back sequentially over those thousands of years,” said William Pestle, an archaeologist and chairman of the anthropology department at the University of Miami, who is not involved in the excavation at the Related site but is familiar with the discoveries there.
WorldBusiness InsiderThe US military didn't know if the missile that took out a Chinese spy balloon would work when an F-22 took the shot, commander says
An F-22 downed a Chinese spy balloon on Saturday with a single AIM-9X Sidewinder missile. A US Air Force F-22 fighter jet fired a single air-to-air missile at a Chinese surveillance balloon over the weekend, sending the system crashing into the Atlantic Ocean in a moment of heightened tension between Washington and Beijing. The F-22, which was operating at an altitude of 58,000 feet, used an AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile to take down the balloon, which was hovering between 60,000 and 65,000 feet, a senior US defense official told reporters after the mission.
NewsYahoo News Canada'Many customers feel uncomfortable around you': Woman working at Ontario FreshCo grocery store receives racist letter at work
A Canadian woman who works at a grocery store in Ontario was left shocked after she received a racist letter at her workplace. Nadine Davis has been working at the FreshCo grocery store in Peterborough, Ont. as a cashier for nearly 18 years. In an interview with The Peterborough Examiner, Davis explained she was "shocked" and fought back tears while saying she couldn't talk about it.
PoliticsINSIDERTrump shares photos of DeSantis alleging he partied and drank with high school girls when he was a teacher
Trump reshared a 20-year-old photo of DeSantis that appears to show him posing with recent high school graduates. The original poster accused DeSantis of using alcohol for "grooming" high school girls. Trump is ramping up his attacks against the Florida governor, who may challenge him for the 2024 GOP nomination.
U.S.The Daily BeastCringey 23-Year-Old Mayor Quotes Steve Jobs to Defend His Trumpian Coup
At a contentious city council meeting Monday night, Goddard Mayor Hunter Larkin invoked the late Apple founder Steve Jobs, suggesting that he—Larkin—was also a visionary attempting to “change the world.” In a move that one Goddard resident likened to “Germany in 1935,” Larkin manipulated existing rules to reclaim a position he'd lost in May 2022 following a news report detailing questionable ties to a local real estate family. After his ouster in 2022, Larkin was arrested for DUI, then launched a bid for the statehouse, promising he would spend his time focusing on “voter integrity, the right to bear arms, protecting the unborn and keeping Critical Race Theory (CRT) out of schools.”
U.S.In The Know by YahooFormer Victoria's Secret manager explains why you should never shoplift from big retail chains: 'They will eventually catch you'
A former Victoria's Secret sales manager is opening up about a little-known secret in the retail world — one that she hopes will help curb store theft in the future. According to Kenzie Rae (@kenzieraesch), she used to work at an unnamed Victoria's Secret location where she witnessed many instances of shoplifting. In fact, she estimates that someone would steal from the store at least once a day, which resulted in high losses for the struggling lingerie company.
BusinessHuffPostMarjorie Taylor Greene Becomes Meme Of The Night For All The Wrong Reasons
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga. didn't seem to win many friends on either side of the aisle with her antics during President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
PoliticsThe TelegraphJill Biden kisses Kamala Harris' husband on the mouth
For a surreal moment - just as Joe Biden prepared to deliver his State of the Union speech - his wife Jill Biden stole the show by planting a kiss smack on the lips of the vice president's husband. After sweeping into Congress to cheers, the first lady made her way over to the second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, and clasped his hand. They then leaned in for a friendly embrace - but at least one of them appears to have miscalculated and the result was a kiss either on, or very, very close, to the lips.
U.S.Associated PressTexas man jailed in Dallas monkey case says he'd do it again
A 24-year-old man now linked to an unusual string of crimes that kept the Dallas Zoo on the lookout for missing animals told police that after he swiped two monkeys from their enclosure, he took them onto the city's light rail system to make his getaway, court records show. Davion Irvin also said he loves animals and that if he's released from jail, he would steal more, the documents said. Irvin, who remained jailed Tuesday on $25,000 bond, was arrested last week after asking questions at a downtown Dallas aquarium about animals there.
- PoliticsABC News Videos
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Outbursts during Biden address ‘quite shocking’
ABC News' Linsey Davis spoke with Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her response to President Biden's State of the Union address and Republican reactions during the speech.
U.S.INSIDERA passenger's story about refusing to switch plane seats with a mom who wanted to sit with her teenage son has reignited TikTok's flight etiquette debate
TikTok user Surya Garg shared a story about being asked to switch seats on a plane. Garg says she was asked to move seats so a mom could sit with her teenager, but she refused. The video created debate and reignited popular flight etiquette discourse on the app.
U.S.ReutersPorn star Ron Jeremy committed to state mental hospital
Porn star Ron Jeremy was committed to a state mental health hospital after being found incompetent to stand trial on rape and other charges, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles District Attorney said on Tuesday. Jeremy can be held for up to two years, said Greg Risling, spokesperson for the district attorney's office. The 69-year-old had been charged with 30 counts of rape and other sexual misconduct stemming from incidents in the Los Angeles area over a 23-year period.
U.S.Patriot LedgerProsecutor: Lindsay Clancy 'created the situation' to kill her 3 children
PLYMOUTH − Attorneys painted two diametrically different pictures in a court hearing Tuesday of the woman accused of strangling her three children in her Duxbury home last month. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague, on the contrary, said Lindsay Clancy knew exactly what she was doing when she "created the situation" to kill her three children, and suggested she was of sound mind. Clancy, 32, was arraigned Tuesday on two charges of murder in Plymouth District Court, where she appeared via a Zoom call from a hospital bed.
WorldBusiness InsiderAbout half a billion dollars worth of cocaine — enough to service the New Zealand market for 30 years — was found floating in the Pacific Ocean
Some of the packages carried identifiable stickers like a four-leaf clover and a Batman logo. Roughly half a billion dollars worth of cocaine was discovered floating around in the Pacific Ocean — enough to service the New Zealand market for 30 years — according to a statement by the country's police on Wednesday. About 81 bales, or 3.2 tonnes of cocaine, are making their way back to New Zealand on the royal navy vessel HMNZS Manawanui, where they will now be destroyed, the statement added.
U.S.Associated PressArizona rancher held on $1M bond in killing near US border
A rancher who lives near Arizona's border with Mexico is being held on a charge of first-degree murder in last week's fatal shooting of a man tentatively identified as a Mexican citizen. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's office in Nogales, Arizona, confirmed Monday that George Alan Kelly, 73, was arrested last week in the killing. Authorities believe the victim was Gabriel Cuen-Butimea, 48, who lived just south of the border in Nogales, Mexico, because of a Mexican voter registration card he carried.
PoliticsFox NewsPresident Biden's State of the Union report card: Ratings from former speechwriters are in
Former top speechwriters rated President Biden on the content and delivery of his second State of the Union address, giving out grades ranging from a sterling "A" grade to nearly-failing "D." Biden's speech focused on his administration's economic plans, touting his signature infrastructure bill and job growth. He also claimed to want to restore unity and work with Congress in a bipartisan manner. However, Republicans took issue with several parts of his speech, most notably the claim that some Republicans aimed to cut Medicare and Social Security programs.
U.S.Milwaukee Journal Sentinel12-year-old girl sues off-duty Kenosha officer, school district and city arguing her rights were violated when the officer knelt on her neck for more than 20 seconds
A federal lawsuit was filed Monday against the Kenosha Unified School District, City of Kenosha and a Kenosha police officer on behalf of a 12-year-old girl and her father. In a 14-page complaint, the girl's attorney, Drew DeVinney, says officer Shawn Guetschow used "unreasonable and excessive" force and that he "acted with malice or in reckless disregard" of the girl's rights, when he restrained her during a lunch room fight, by placing his knee on her neck for more than 20 seconds. Guetschow had been working part-time as a school security guard for the school district, while also serving as a Kenosha police officer.
WorldAssociated PressMH17 inquiry: 'Strong indications' Putin OK'd missile supply
An international team of investigators said Wednesday it found “strong indications” that Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the supply of heavy anti-aircraft weapons to Ukrainian separatists who shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in 2014 with a Russian missile. However, members of the Joint Investigation Team said they had insufficient evidence to prosecute Putin or any other suspects and they suspended their 8½-year inquiry into the shooting down that killed all 298 people on board the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
U.S.INSIDERAbortion-rights activist who was body-shamed by Matt Gaetz confronted him at SOTU address and thanked him for helping her raise $2 million
Activist Olivia Julianna confronted Matt Gaetz at the Capitol during the State of the Union address. Julianna and Gaetz got into a Twitter spat last year after he body-shamed abortion-rights activists. An abortion-rights activist who was body-shamed by Rep. Matt Gaetz said she confronted the congressman at Tuesday's State of the Union address and thanked him for helping her fundraise millions of dollars.
BusinessBuzzFeedOkay, I Seriously Can't Stop Laughing At All These Ignorant Americans Who've Gotten Absolutely Roasted Into Oblivion So Far This Year
1. On why the US doesn't need free healthcare:
PoliticsYahoo NewsRepublican response to Biden State of the Union speech speeds decline of civility in politics
The response from many Republican lawmakers to President Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday marked a new low for civility in politics in the United States. Interrupted multiple times by jeering, boos and accusations of lying by GOP members, Biden gamely endured the taunts, at times seeming to revel in the prospect of egging on his political opponents, calling them out over threats to refuse to raise the debt ceiling and other contentious issues. State of the Union addresses, which are mandated by the Constitution, have, for most of the nation's history, been rather staid affairs.
“In the current housing crisis, families are faced with frequent moves, evictions, and homelessness.”
“Rent control restricts supply and is economic madness.”
“Should we simply allow the cycles of displacement and segregation to occur without any policy intervention?”
“Rent control is a mistake … Even if it provides short-term relief. It eventually hurts the very people it’s trying to help.”
“The law already protects homeowners from unchecked market forces. It’s time for the law to better protect renters too.”
