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Opinion: If lab leak led to COVID, there are truths we must not ignore

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:49:30 GMT

Since 2019 when COVID-19 emerged in China, scientists worldwide have been trying to ascertain the origin of the virus.The two major theories are a natural spillover from bats to an animal source and then to humans or a laboratory accident. A related question is whether the virus emerged from nature or was the result of human-made genetic manipulation.Until recently, although no animal intermediary between virus-carrying bats and humans has been identified, Chinese scientists and many of their Western counterparts, including prominent American researchers, argued that animals transmitted the virus to humans. They downplayed the lab leak theory and essentially dismissed the possibility that the virus was engineered rather than a creation of nature.In the past year as the pandemic wound down, the theory of an animal vector has been met with increasing skepticism. Many in the scientific community, as well as some in U.S. intelligence circles, do not buy the remarkable coincidence that t...

‘This needs to get out of our library’: New policy on explicit books, materials proposed in Temecula schools

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:49:30 GMT

“If there are minors in this audience,” Joseph Komrosky said. “I highly suggest you leave.”The Temecula school board president then read excerpts containing profanity, graphic descriptions of sex acts and vulgar references to women from the award-winning novel “Push” at the board’s Tuesday, June 27, meeting.RELATED: Temecula school board hires firm for $50,000 to find new superintendentWhen he was done, Komrosky said: “This is extremely evil. If you can’t see it for what it is, I don’t know what else to tell you. This needs to get out of our library.”Komrosky’s comments came during a discussion of a proposed change to Temecula Valley Unified School District policy that would bar “pornography, erotica, graphic descriptions of violence (including sexual violence), inappropriate vulgarity or profanity, or other obscene material” from the district’s “education program (and) all of its instructional materials.”While the board’s conservative majority supports the change to better shield c...

Barabak: Deceitful Kari Lake now will have to defend her lies in court

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:49:30 GMT

Ever since her clear and unequivocal loss in the race for Arizona governor, Kari Lake has traveled the country posing and strutting like a conquering hero.As a candidate, the former Fox TV anchorwoman was all in on former President Trump and his Big Lie about the 2020 election being stolen. Her brazen duplicity is probably what cost Lake the gubernatorial contest in November.But in characteristic fashion, she’s refused to acknowledge defeat, filing a lawsuit — since thrown out of court — and widely peddling false claims about voter fraud and other conspiratorial flimflam.Her actions are both amoral and unoriginal. Once Lake read from a TelePrompTer; now she parrots Trump.Happily, she lost her election bid.Now, she may face legal repercussions.Last week, a top election official in Arizona, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, filed a defamation lawsuit against his fellow Republican, saying Lake’s blatant lies have cost him friends and lifelong relationships. Her malicious incitem...

A new spin on an old crime: Arrests made in jukebox burglaries in Southern California

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:49:30 GMT

Today’s jukeboxes aren’t what they once were.No longer do you drop in a coin, press a couple of buttons and watch as a vinyl record is mechanically placed onto a turntable. Now, jukeboxes are wall-mounted digital devices where customers tap a touchscreen and feed money or a credit card into a machine — or use an app to select and pay for songs that are stored on a hard drive or the internet.But one thing hasn’t changed: Jukeboxes still hold money and therefore attract the attention of thieves.The El Patron restaurant in Riverside was one of several eateries with jukeboxes targeted by burglars during a multi-county crime spree early in 2023. In June, authorities arrested two men who they believe are responsible for some 28 break-ins of businesses. (Brian Rokos, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG) That became apparent when early this year, Riverside police detectives noticed a trend of restaurants, bars and even a golf course pro shop and veterinary hospital being burglarized, with jukebo...

California airport cop arrested after allegedly touching woman, brandishing gun at bar

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:49:30 GMT

A police officer for the Los Angeles International Airport was arrested on Sunday, June 25 in Long Beach after authorities said he repeatedly touched a woman’s arm at a restaurant before brandishing a gun at her, then fired the gun at the ground in a nearby neighborhood.Police said Roberto Mosquera, 47, began touching the woman’s arm while they were sitting next to each other at a restaurant in the 6300 block of East Pacific Coast Highway just before 1 a.m.“When the victim expressed that she did not want to be touched, the suspect displayed a firearm and then put it back into his waistband,” Long Beach police said in a statement. “The suspect left the scene.”Less than 20 minutes later, police were called to the 7100 block of Marina Pacifica Drive, a private street in an apartment complex overlooking Alamitos Bay just a few hundred feet from the restaurant, after someone reported hearing gunshots.When officers got there, they found Mosquera, who was armed with a gun, as well as strik...

Photos: MLB star Gary Matthews Jr. lists California home for $22 million

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:49:30 GMT

The private gated courtyard. (Photo by Toby Ponnay)The great room. (Photo by Toby Ponnay)The kitchen. (Photo by Toby Ponnay)The wine cellar. (Photo by Toby Ponnay)View of the office from the bar area. (Photo by Toby Ponnay)The office, seen here decorated with Matthews baseball memorabilia. (Photo by Toby Ponnay)The media room with a full wet bar. (Photo by Toby Ponnay)Glass doors open onto the terrace with its infinity-edge pool, raised spa and outdoor kitchen. (Photo by Toby Ponnay)Show Caption of ExpandA blufftop Corona del Mar home owned by retired Major League Baseball outfielder Gary Matthews Jr. is on the market for $21.995 million.Perched on a third-acre lot in the sought-after Irvine Terrace neighborhood, the 6,232-square-foot contemporary-style house has four en-suite bedrooms and six bathrooms.When the house briefly hit the market in 2015 for $15.5 million, the Register reported that Matthews bought the then-vacant lot in 2010 for $3 million.to build on. Architect Carlton ...

Man accused of killing ex-girlfriend in California spa bombing once again on trial

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:49:30 GMT

A Long Beach man accused of building a homemade bomb that killed his ex-girlfriend, injured two other women and obliterated an Aliso Viejo day spa is once again on trial, less than a year after a different jury was unable to decide whether he was guilty of using a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death.As Stephen Beal’s second trial got underway on Wednesday morning at the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, the opposing attorneys once again painted contrasting portraits of Beal as either a jilted lover turned deadly bomber or an innocent man whose hobby quickly made him the target of investigators who were under pressure to solve the high-profile killing of 48-year-old Ildiko Krajnyak.A Hungarian-native who came to the United States in the 90s, Krajnyak spent years working in the beauty industry before saving up enough money to open her own day spa. On May 15, 2018, Krajnyak was opening a small cardboard box while chatting with a mother and daughter who had just gott...

Woman attacked by hundreds of bees at California home, transported to hospital

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:49:30 GMT

Hundreds of bees attacked and injured a woman at her Murrieta home Wednesday before also stinging some firefighters who arrived to help, authorities said.Murrieta Fire & Rescue was called shortly before 2 p.m. to the 23000 block of Spring Branch Court, where they found the woman covered by a swarm of bees concentrated on her head and arms, according to Battalion Chief Steve Kean. The woman was transported to a local hospital for her injuries and was reported to be stable, Kean added.Firefighters were stung trying to assist the woman, and one was also transported to the hospital but has since been released, according to Kean, who said crews sprayed foam to tackle the swarm.Firefighters located two hives in the eaves of the house, Kean said, adding that bees may have also entered the home’s attic space.A bee removal company has addressed the hives, but it may take some days for the bees to dissipate or die out, Kean said. Authorities have urged nearby residents to be cautious arou...

Police seek man who threw firework into crowd celebrating Pride, injuring several people

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:49:30 GMT

Multiple people were injured during a Hermosa Beach Pride silent disco festival after a man threw a lit firework into the crowd, police said Tuesday as they sought leads in finding the man.The event was held June 17 at the Vista on 11 Pier Avenue as part of the city’s third annual Gay Pride celebration. Around 9:45 p.m. that evening, officers spoke to a 911 caller who reported the attack and stated that the firework had exploded in the middle of the crowd, police said.Fragments from the firework hit and injured multiple people, Hermosa Beach police said in a statement. Details on how many people were injured or the type of firework used were unavailable.The suspect fled the scene and has not been located as of Wednesday evening. A report by ABC7 said that due to the nature of the event, police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime.Surveillance footage of the suspect shows a man between 18-25 years old wearing a red, white, and blue helmet, dark pants, and a black s...

ANÁLISIS | La “Bidenomía” tiene que ver con repeler la teoría del caos de Trump

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:49:30 GMT

(CNN) — El presidente de Estados Unidos, Joe Biden, a menudo explica su teoría simple de ganar elecciones con la legendaria sabiduría tradicional de su padre: “No me compares con el Todopoderoso, compárame con la alternativa”.Pero su gran discurso en Chicago este miércoles, dedicado a consagrar la “Bidenomía” como una idea creíble en la mente del público, reconoció implícitamente que las comparaciones con la “alternativa” en noviembre de 2024 (muy posiblemente Donald Trump) pueden no ser suficientes para ganar reelección.En 2020, Biden ganó la Casa Blanca al prometer un regreso a la normalidad después de una pandemia que asestó duros golpes económicos. Tuvo la ventaja de enfrentarse a un presidente que ya soportaba la vergüenza de uno de sus dos juicios políticos, que mantuvo a la nación en un estado constante de angustia psicológica con su cuenta de Twitter, y cuyas reflexiones sobre la inyección de desinfectante como cura para el covid-19 reflejaron su chapuza en la peor eme...