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.
U.S.The Telegraph‘My husband went out for a walk – and never came back’
When my five-year-old daughter cries at night for her father, I repeat what I have told her for almost a year: “Daddy has gone on one of his adventures. I don't know what's happened, but I'm doing everything I can to get the answers. I love you, I love Daddy and I miss him.
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.
WorldReutersInvited by Russia, Roger Waters tells UN: Ukraine invasion illegal
Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters on Wednesday addressed the U.N. Security Council at Russia's invitation, condemning Moscow's invasion of its neighbor as illegal - though adding he believed it was provoked - and calling for a ceasefire. "He is lucky to be in New York, in a free country, speak his mind, say whatever he likes, including about the Russian aggression and how wrong that is. If he had been in Russia, with what he said, he might have been in custody by now," Albania's U.N. Ambassador Ferit Hoxha told the 15-member Security Council.
U.S.WSB Cox articlesParents upset partly nude teacher spotted in classroom still on the job, interacting with students
Video posted on social media that shows what appears to be a partially nude teacher in a classroom in Clayton County. Channel 2′s Tom Jones was at Jonesboro High School, where he first reported on the viral video on Tuesday. Parents say that they were told the teacher has the benefit of due process, but they're upset he's still roaming the halls and interacting with students like nothing happened.
BusinessUSA TODAY SportsRussell Wilson's Why Not You Foundation raises millions. Less than half goes to charity
This includes more than $200,000 a year for an executive who also worked for Ciara and Russell Wilson's family office, the nonprofit confirmed, which raises questions about excess benefit transactions, private inurement and the organization's “free-for-all” governance structure, nonprofit experts said. The Why Not You Foundation also touts the entire impact of partnerships, not its proportional contribution to an endeavor, The USA TODAY Network found, inflating its achievements with “marketing fluff,” experts said.
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.
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.
WorldPeopleFather Holds the Hand of His Daughter Who Died Under Rubble Near Earthquake's Epicenter in Turkey
ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Heartbreaking images continue to emerge from Turkey and Syria as the death toll from Monday's 7.8-magnitude earthquake rises. On Tuesday, AFP's Adem Atlan photographed father Mesut Hancer holding the hand of his daughter Irmak, 15, after she died beneath rubble in Kahramanmaras, near the earthquake's epicenter. The girl's hand can be seen stretched out from underneath concrete slabs that collapsed on top of her during the fatal quake.
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.
WorldBusiness InsiderChina is mad at the US for blasting its suspected spy balloon, but a few years ago, state TV bragged its fighter pilots could shoot one down
A 2020 Chinese state TV clip showed off how fighter pilots could shoot down surveillance balloons. The video shows a pilot tracking and shooting a balloon during an apparent training exercise. China said Monday that the US shooting down a suspected Chinese spy balloon was "unacceptable."
- WorldReuters Videos
U.S. shared Chinese balloon info with 40 nations
STORY: U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the United States shared information it obtained about China's spy balloon with dozens of countries around the world - information the U.S. says demonstrates that it was not a weather balloon as Beijing has claimed but an airship that was used for espionage. "We are getting more information almost by the hour as we continue to work to salvage the balloon. We're learning from that and, as well, we're learning from what we saw and picked up as the balloon traversed the United States."
PoliticsEngadgetTrump White House asked Twitter to take down Chrissy Teigen's mean tweet about him
A former Twitter employee has shed new light on the company's dealings with the White House while former President Donald Trump was in office. Anika Navaroli, a former senior member of Twitter's US Safety Policy, testified at a House Oversight Committee hearing that her team had received a request to remove a tweet making fun of the former president. Republicans on the committee have equated Twitter's initial decision to block links to the story with “censorship,” and criticized the company for its interactions with government officials.
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.HuffPost‘Daily Show’ Guest Host Chelsea Handler Fact-Checks ‘Moron’ Marjorie Taylor Greene
“Daily Show” guest host and comedian Chelsea Handler tore into Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) after the conspiracy theorist complained that her job is “practically year-round” and doesn't allow lawmakers to be “regular people.” Greene, who last year spoke at a white nationalist event, also griped that she meets people who tell her “crazy things... that they believe because they read it on the internet.” “Well, if that's not the pot calling the kettle QAnon,” Handler replied.
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.
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 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.
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.
PoliticsThe HillHere are the spending cuts Republicans have pitched in debt limit talks
President Biden ripped Republicans during his State of the Union address for efforts to use the nation's debt ceiling as leverage to extract spending cuts from Democrats. Some of my Republican friends want to take the economy hostage, I get it, unless I agree to their economic plans,” Biden said Tuesday night as the White House gears up for a budget battle with House Republicans “Next month when I offer my fiscal plan, I ask my Republican friends to lay down their plan as well. I really mean it.
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.
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.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.Miami HeraldNeighbors heard ‘noises’ coming from a tree in Florida. Then they saw it was alive
A kitten stranded for three days in a pine tree in Daytona Beach finally got a lucky break. According to an incident report from the local fire department, crews were dispatched to a residential area regarding a cat up a tree in front of a home. Neighbors kept hearing “meowing noises,” Jessica Wolfelschneider, spokeswoman for Daytona Beach Fire Department, told the Miami Herald, and soon realized a kitten was up there and couldn't get down on its own.
U.S.Associated PressAs jets closed in on China balloon, hobbyists were listening
The extraordinary scene of U.S. fighter jets getting ready to strike a Chinese balloon had many people along the Carolina coast straining their necks and pointing their smartphones to the sky to capture the moment of impact. The pilots had to balance striking the balloon when it was at least six miles (10 kilometers) offshore — the distance NASA had advised the military allow to keep debris from falling on land — with ensuring it was still in U.S. territorial airspace. “Five miles offshore,” Huntress advises in a transmission that was captured by aviation hobbyist Ken Harrell, in a recording that was authenticated by NORAD.
“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.”
