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Anti-corruption Ecuadorian presidential candidate assassinated at campaign event

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:42 GMT

By GONZALO SOLANO and MEGAN JANETSKY (Associated Press)QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — An Ecuadorian presidential candidate known for speaking up against cartels and corruption was shot and killed Wednesday at a political rally in the capital, amid a startling wave of gang-driven violence in the South American country.President Guillermo Lasso confirmed the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio and suggested organized crime was behind his slaying, less than two weeks before the Aug. 20 presidential election.“I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished,” Lasso said in a statement. “Organized crime has gone too far, but they will feel the full weight of the law.”Ecuador’s attorney general’s office said that one suspect died in custody from wounds sustained in a firefight after the killing, and police detained six suspects following raids in Quito.In his final speech before he was killed, Villavicencio promised a roaring crowd that he would roo...

Shohei Ohtani bests SF Giants in rubber match loss

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:42 GMT

The San Francisco Giants’ final game in Anaheim was perhaps their most daunting one. They’d face likely American League MVP Shohei Ohtani not just as designated hitter, but as the starting pitcher.In an eventual 4-1 loss on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium, Ohtani wasn’t the Giants’ destroyer. An increasingly anemic offense did them in.The Giants couldn’t take advantage of a rare off-night for Ohtani, who couldn’t quite find his release point and struggled to locate his fastball. Meanwhile his counterpart, Sean Manaea, was pitching one of his most dominant outings of the season as the featured pitcher. With a one-run lead, the Giants looked like they could escape with a series victory behind their versatile left-handed pitcher.But the margin for error was too slim. Manaea had held the Angels hitless through four innings with six strikeouts until Luis Rengifo’s double to lead off the sixth inning.Reliever Tristan Beck couldn’t close the...

Air quality advisory issued as fire burns at Schnitzer Steel in Oakland

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:42 GMT

OAKLAND – As crews continued to battle a blaze at Schnitzer Steel near the Port of Oakland on Wednesday night, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District warned that heavy smoke from the fire could impact several East Bay cities and possibly even reach San Jose.In an advisory, the air district said winds were expected to push the smoke south and east into Oakland, San Leandro, Fremont and Alameda overnight Wednesday.“The air district is not forecasting an exceedance of the national air quality standard for the region and is not issuing a Spare the Air Alert,” the district said in the advisory.The air district urged residents who smell smoke to stay inside with windows and doors closed until smoke levels subside. Air conditioning units and vehicle ventilation systems should be set to re-circulate to keep smoke from moving inside, according to the air district.The blaze was reported shortly before 6 p.m. at Schnitzer Steel, said Michael Hunt, a spokesperson for the Oakland Fire Depa...

Perseid meteor shower expected to be visible this weekend in Bay Area

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:42 GMT

(KRON) -- One of two large annual meteor showers will be visible in the sky this weekend -- especially this year since the moon will be barely visible. Views of the Perseid meteor shower are expected to be spectacularAll you need to do is find a very dark place to watch the show. The Perseid meteor shower peaks this weekend and it’s even better this year For those who choose to stay up late this weekend and pick a dark spot with a clear view of the heavens, you are in for a treat that only comes around this time of year."Lay out a blanket. Maybe, bring yourself a hot toddy or something and just lay there for a couple of hours and just watch the sky -- the whole sky," said astronomer Gerald McKeegan.From late Saturday night until before dawn Sunday, the Chabot Space and Science Center says you should expect to see anywhere from 30 to 100 shooting meteors an hour.Pebble-sized rocks and dust from the Swift-Tuttle comet burn through the atmosphere to make up the annual Perseid meteor ...

Possible murder-suicide reported in Danville

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:42 GMT

(KRON) -- The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office is investigating a possible murder-suicide that happened Wednesday in Danville. The deaths happened on Larkwood Circle. There is no threat to the public, according to the sheriff's office. An investigation into the events is active. Limited information is available at this time.

COVID-19 took a toll on heart health and doctors are still grappling with how to help

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:42 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Firefighter and paramedic Mike Camilleri once had no trouble hauling heavy gear up ladders. Now battling long COVID, he gingerly steps onto a treadmill to learn how his heart handles a simple walk.“This is, like, not a tough-guy test so don’t fake it,” warned Beth Hughes, a physical therapist at Washington University in St. Louis.Somehow, a mild case of COVID-19 set off a chain reaction that eventually left Camilleri with dangerous blood pressure spikes, a heartbeat that raced with slight exertion, and episodes of intense chest pain. Doctors were stumped until Camilleri found a Washington University cardiologist who’d treated patients with similar post-COVID heart trouble.“Finally a turn in the right direction,” said the 43-year-old Camilleri.He started to see a little improvement –- only to have a recent reinfection knock him down again.Well into the pandemic’s fourth year, how profound a toll COVID-19 has taken on the nation’s heart health is only star...

Today in History: August 10, Ruth Bader Ginsburg sworn in as Supreme Court justice

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:42 GMT

Today in History Today is Thursday, Aug. 10, the 222nd day of 2023. There are 143 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History: On Aug. 10, 1945, a day after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Imperial Japan conveyed its willingness to surrender provided the status of Emperor Hirohito remained unchanged. (The Allies responded the next day, saying they would determine the Emperor’s future status.) On this date: In 1792, during the French Revolution, mobs in Paris attacked the Tuileries (TWEE’-luh-reez) Palace, where King Louis XVI resided. (The king was later arrested, put on trial for treason, and executed.) In 1821, Missouri became the 24th state. In 1885, Leo Daft opened America’s first commercially operated electric streetcar, in Baltimore.In 1944, during World War II, American forces overcame remaining Japanese resistance on Guam. In 1962, Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man made his debut in issue 15 of “Amazing Fantasy.” In 1969, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were murder...

5 hospitalized in North County crash

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:42 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- Five people were taken to a hospital after a multi-vehicle collision on Interstate 5 Wednesday evening in the Oceanside area, authorities said.The crash occurred around 9:20 p.m. on I-5 north at Oceanside Blvd near Exit 52, according to California Highway Patrol.Authorities say a semi-truck hit a Corvette that had hit an SUV.The right lanes on northbound I-5 at State Route 78 and westbound SR-78 to northbound I-5 connector ramp have been shut down due to the collision, the California Department of Transportation tweeted at 9:43 p.m.First responders took five people to the hospital, the Oceanside Fire Department told FOX 5.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Israeli forces kill a Palestinian man in the West Bank, Palestinian health officials say

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:42 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Thursday, the latest death in an unabating wave of violence.The death brings the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank this year to 168, according to a tally by The Associated Press. It comes amid soaring tensions surrounding Israel’s continuing raids into Palestinian areas in the territory and after the release to house arrest of a Jewish settler accused of involvement in the killing last week of a 19-year-old Palestinian man.In the latest violence, the Palestinian Health Ministry said Thursday that Israeli troops killed Amir Ahmed Khalifa, 27, in the West Bank town of Zawata, north of the city Nablus. The area has been a flashpoint for violence between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the current fighting.The Israeli military had no immediate comment.Israel has been staging near-nightly incursions in Palestinian areas in what it say...

A billion-dollar coastal project begins in Louisiana. Will it work as sea levels rise?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:42 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — It’s a nearly $3 billion attempt to mimic Mother Nature: Massive gates will be incorporated into a section of a flood protection levee southeast of New Orleans to divert some of the Mississippi River’s sediment-laden water into a new channel that will guide it into southeast Louisiana’s Barataria Basin.If the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion project works as intended, the solids in the river water will settle out in the basin and gradually restore land that has been steadily disappearing for decades. State coastal officials call it a first-of-its-kind project they are certain will work, even as climate change-induced rising sea levels threaten the disappearing coast.A groundbreaking ceremony with Gov. John Bel Edwards was set for Thursday morning in Plaquemines Parish, where Louisiana’s close associations with commercial seafood harvests, recreational fishing and the offshore oil industry are all on display — as is the vulnerability to land...