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Florida sees record ocean temps, corals are already bleaching

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:40 GMT

By Terry Spencer and Patrick Whittle | Associated PressFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Some Florida Keys coral reefs are losing their color weeks earlier than normal this summer because of record-high water temperatures, meaning they are under stress and their health is potentially endangered, federal scientists said.The corals should be vibrant and colorful this time of year, but are swiftly going white, said Katey Lesneski, research and monitoring coordinator for Mission: Iconic Reefs, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched to protect Florida coral reefs.“The corals are pale, it looks like the color’s draining out,” said Lesneski, who has spent several days on the reefs over the last two weeks. “And some individuals are stark white. And we still have more to come.”Scientists with NOAA this week raised their coral bleaching warning system to Alert Level 2 for the Keys, their highest heat stress level out of five. That level is reach...

MLB trade deadline: SF Giants’ Zaidi making ‘2-3 calls’ per day to keep ‘seat at the table’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:40 GMT

A week and a half away from MLB’s Aug. 1 trade deadline, transaction wires and Twitter notifications alike have been relatively silent.While the amateur draft is now in teams’ rearview mirrors, Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi explained the primary factor holding up the market.“We’ve been having conversations for the last week or 10 days and I just think so many of those conversations are just ‘We’ll see where we’re at a week or 10 days from now,'” Zaidi said Thursday on KNBR. “I do think there are teams that even 10 days out aren’t really sure of their direction. It feels weird, it happens every year, where the last week or 10 days before the deadline matters so much … probably too much.”The Giants, with a wild card spot in hand and a real shot at the division, are ready to buy to improve their club. With Brandon Crawford recently joining Thairo Estrada on the injured list, Zaidi reiterated that infield depth was a...

Cohen, Trump Org. settle lawsuit over unpaid legal bills

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:40 GMT

By Larry Neumeister and Jennifer Peltz | Associated PressNEW YORK — Donald Trump’s company and his former longtime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen have settled a lawsuit over Cohen’s claims that he was unfairly stuck with big legal bills after getting entangled in investigations into the former president.Lawyers for the two sides disclosed the settlement during a video conference with the judge Friday, three days before Cohen’s 2019 lawsuit was slated to go to trial in a Manhattan state court. Details of the agreement were not made public.Cohen said Friday the matter “has been resolved in a manner satisfactory to all parties.” Messages seeking comment were left with lawyers for Trump’s company, the Trump Organization.The legal fees lawsuit was one of the more obscure branches of the thicket of legal troubles surrounding Trump and his company. Still, the trial stood to give a platform to Cohen — an ardent Trump loyalist who became an outspoken antag...

Inside Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s friendship and musical partnership

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:40 GMT

By Scottie Andrew | CNNThe years-long artistic partnership between Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga wasn’t an immediately obvious one.Gaga was best known in the 2010s for pop hits like “Poker Face” and avant-garde experimentation on albums like “Artpop,” and Bennett, a singer who mostly stuck to standards, was in his 80s when the pair met.And yet Bennett and Gaga became fast friends and close collaborators, which they remained until Bennett’s death at 96 on Friday. They recorded two albums together, 2014’s “Cheek to Cheek” and 2021’s “Love for Sale,” which both won Grammys for best traditional pop vocal album.RELATED: Tony Bennett, beloved singer who ‘left my heart in San Francisco,’ dies at 96“Tony is one of my most favorite people on the whole planet, and I love him with all my heart,” Gaga told BBC Radio 2’s Zoe Ball in 2021. “I can’t tell you how much I learned from him, and what it’s like to sing with a legend for so many years.”Bennett, who often referred to Gaga as “Lady,” praised ...

Solar panel-covered canals to be studied in the Central Valley

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:40 GMT

By Brittany Peterson and Sibi Arasu | Associated PressBack in 2015, California’s dry earth was crunching under a fourth year of drought. Then-Governor Jerry Brown ordered an unprecedented 25% reduction in home water use. Farmers, who use the most water, volunteered too to avoid deeper, mandatory cuts.Brown also set a goal for the state to get half its energy from renewable sources, with climate change bearing down.Yet when Jordan Harris and Robin Raj went knocking on doors with an idea that addresses both water loss and climate pollution — installing solar panels over irrigation canals — they couldn’t get anyone to commit.Fast forward eight years. With devastating heat, record-breaking wildfire, looming crisis on the Colorado River, a growing commitment to fighting climate change, and a little bit of movement-building, their company Solar AquaGrid and partners are preparing to break ground on the first solar-covered canal project in the United States.“All of these ...

Human remains found on shore near Alameda bridge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:40 GMT

(KRON) -- Human remains were found Thursday in Alameda on the shore near the Bay Farm Island Bridge, the Alameda Police Department shared on Facebook. Alameda police were responding to a call about an object on the shoreline that was received around 3:30 p.m.Responding officers confirmed the object at the shoreline was that of human remains, Alameda police said. Alameda Police Investigators and the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Bureau were also brought to the scene to initiate investigations.Authorities said additional details are not able to be released at this time due to the nature of the investigation. “Because we are still in the early stages of this investigation, we are limited in the details we can share,” Alameda PD said.If you have information that may help in the investigation, APD said to call 510-337-8340. Texas man found dead in UC Berkeley building was slain years ago In January, skeletal remains were found in a University of California, Berkeley buildin...

Yountville issues precautionary boil order after E. coli detected in water

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:40 GMT

(BCN) -- The town of Yountville has issued a precautionary boil order for its water supply, the town clerk announced Friday. CalVet, the town's water supplier, told town officials on Thursday at 6 p.m. that it had detected E. coli in the municipal water. According to Yountville, water customers were informed of the issue and a precautionary boil order was sent out. In order for the boil order to be lifted, Cal-Vet will need to get a negative test result Friday from a sample taken Thursday afternoon, as the tests take 24 hours. 5 California cities ranked among the 10 least educated in the U.S. Then another test must be taken on Friday, with results due Saturday or Sunday. Then another test must be taken on Sunday, and if the town receives a negative result that Monday, the boil notice can be lifted. Yountville said well water is not an option because distribution lines are already potentially contaminated. Dealing with that would take longer than just waiting for the mun...

Series of major weekend closures on I-80 starts Friday night

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:40 GMT

(BCN) -- Eastbound Interstate Highway 80 will be fully closed for construction this weekend starting Friday night. The closure will start after 9 p.m. between State Highway 4 in Hercules and Cummings Skyway in Crockett and will conclude no later than 5 a.m. Monday. This is part of a series of closures on I-80 in Contra Costa County announced by Caltrans on four different weekends to do repaving work. Upcoming weekends for closure on eastbound I-80 include Aug. 4 and Aug. 18. The closures will take place after 9 p.m. on Fridays and before 5 a.m. on the following Mondays. SF restaurant named among most ‘legendary’ in the world Caltrans recommends drivers traveling east to exit onto eastbound Highway 4 in Hercules to northbound Interstate Highway 680, then re-enter I-80 in Fairfield. Travelers to Benicia and Vallejo can use westbound Interstate Highway 780. Cummings Skyway between Highway 4 and I-80 will remain open for drivers going to Crockett. Additionally, Caltr...

England take 4 Australia wickets in push for Ashes-leveling victory

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:40 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — England grabbed four Australia wickets to press closer to an Ashes-series leveling victory on day three of the fourth test on Friday.After posting a rapidfire 592 for a massive first-innings lead of 275, England extended its domination when Australia was reduced to 113-4 in its second innings by stumps at Old Trafford.Mark Wood’s hostile pace and timely insertions into the attack made the difference as he dismissed Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and Travis Head cheaply to pass 100 test wickets, and Chris Woakes bagged David Warner.England forced the pace of its innings at 5 1/2 runs per over ahead of forecasted bad weather this weekend.Jonny Bairstow smashed an unbeaten 99, most of it in a last-wicket partnership of 66 with James Anderson, who contributed 5.The 592, built on Zac Crawley’s blast of 189, was England’s highest home Ashes score since 1985, and might be enough for a win if there’s enough breaks in the expected rain.England m...

Arizona woman injured in Yellowstone bison attack says ‘yes’ to boyfriend’s hospital proposal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:30:40 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona woman who suffered fractured vertebrae and collapsed lungs after being gored by a bison in Yellowstone National Park has said “yes” to her boyfriend’s hospital proposal.Chris Whitehill said he planned to propose to Amber Harris during their vacation in the park this week, but after spending just one night there, an encounter with a bison upended those plans.The couple from the Phoenix area had walked to a lodge for some coffee on Monday and decided to walk through a field to Yellowstone Lake in Wyoming, Harris posted on Facebook the next day.They waited for some people and about 20 elk to leave the area before continuing. They also noticed two bison. They watched one “drop and roll in the dirt, like a dog would,” she wrote. “He got up on his feet and started walking, then running toward us.”The bison “struck her head-on and she was airborne,” Whitehill told KPNX-TV in Phoenix. “I think she did one or two backflips in the air, and I was screaming...