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Federal, state politicians call for bringing California's gun laws to rest of U.S.

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:01:57 GMT

(BCN) -- Federal and state politicians joined together in San Francisco on Friday to voice support for bringing California's gun laws to the rest of the country but many acknowledged the challenges in getting such legislation passed. Speakers at the event at United Playaz, a violence prevention and youth development center, praised California's gun laws, which include universal background checks, raising the firearm purchase age to 21, instituting a firearm purchase waiting period and barring the civilian purchase of assault weapons. Fremont murder-suicide victims identified The event comes a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed a constitutional amendment to enshrine those gun safety measures on a federal level. "Sensible gun laws work, we're proving it in California," said Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis. She called the state's measures the "strongest in the country" and pointed to its low gun death rate -- 44th out of all states, according to 2021 Centers for Disease Contro...

Alameda County Fair opens this weekend

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:01:57 GMT

(BCN) -- Live music, fireworks, fried foods and more will be coming to Pleasanton as the Alameda County Fair returns for its 2023 season starting this weekend. The fair, which runs Wednesdays through Sundays from this Friday through July 9, will feature nightly concerts, drone shows and rides. Those attending the first weekend of the fair have a chance to enjoy the West Coast qualifiers for Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest on Saturday at 3 p.m. or take part in "Out at the Fair," a Pride-themed event set for Sunday. Lost dog found on Bay Bridge Friday morning Attendees also have a chance to win up to $150,000 in the Pleasanton Mile stakes race on July 9. It is the largest prize ever offered for the horse race, which has been a staple of the fair since 1912. Fair-food favorites like funnel cakes and deep-fried Oreos will return, along with new additions with international flair like Korean corn dogs, boba tea, and musubi rice snacks, according to a press release by fair or...

Guardians’ McKenzie scratched from start against Arizona with elbow discomfort

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:01:57 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Cleveland Guardians right-hander Triston McKenzie was scratched from his start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night because of right elbow discomfort.Right-hander Touki Toussaint was to start Friday night’s game after his contract was selected from Triple-A Columbus.Cleveland also designated catcher Mike Zunino for assignment and optioned right-hander Cody Morris to Columbus.McKenzie’s elbow issue is the latest injury setback for the right-hander, who missed the first two months with a shoulder strain. The Guardians have high hopes for the hard-throwing McKenzie, who went 11-11 with a 2.96 ERA in 30 starts last season.With Cleveland potentially moving ace Shane Bieber before the trading deadline, McKenzie would move into the No. 1 spot in the rotation, assuming he’s healthy.Zunino has been a disappointment for the Guardians, who signed the 32-year-old catcher to a $6 million free agent deal in December to improve a spot that gave them little offensiv...

Facebook owner wants preteens to step into virtual reality with its Quest headset

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:01:57 GMT

The corporate parent of Facebook and Instagram plans to open a digital gateway for kids as young as 10 years old to enter virtual reality through the Meta Quest headset, despite rising concerns about children spending too much time on social media.Meta Platforms, which oversees a social media empire created by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, disclosed it will lower the minimum age for a Quest account from 13 years old to 10 years old in a Friday blog post. The Menlo Park, California, company framed the change coming later this year as a family-friendly way for more people to explore artificial realms that Zuckerberg touts as the “metaverse.”The move to lure preteens into a virtual world filled with digital avatars and other technological fabrications comes just weeks after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called upon tech companies and lawmakers to take steps to protect children from the potentially harmful mental and emotional effects of too much exposure to social media.Both Fa...

How an online program could help Virginia schools overcome a teacher shortage

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:01:57 GMT

Fairfax and Arlington County Public Schools are among the Virginia districts that have been approved to partner with an online teacher preparation program that provides potential educators a pathway to getting a teaching license without going back to college.On Thursday, the Virginia Board of Education approved several school systems’ applications to work with iteach, providing a new way for prospective teachers to work toward full teaching licenses. Proponents of the approach tout its ability to help local districts work through teacher shortages.As of April 2023, the Virginia Department of Education reported over 3,500 teacher vacancies.Andrew Rozell, iteach’s president, told the board Thursday that one of the reasons the state has so many provisionally licensed teachers is “a true alternative to higher education does not exist.”“Many teachers are not making the needed financial or time commitment to complete their licensure at a college,” Rozel...

Wyndham Clark, Rory McIlroy set the pace in LA at US Open

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:01:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. Open tried to fight back against record low scores with a North course at Los Angeles Country Club stretched to full length. Wyndham Clark and Rory McIlroy were among those who managed just fine Friday.And then it was up to Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele to tackle the biggest defense on another otherwise vulnerable course — sunshine and a freshening breeze in the afternoon.Clark, who last month broke through with his first PGA Tour title against an elite field, started strong with a bold flop shot and a monster birdie putt and then held on for a 3-under 67. Closing fast was McIlroy, without a major in nine years, overcoming a rugged start with four birdies on his last five holes for a 67.Not to be overlooked was Dustin Johnson, the two-time major champion who made a quadruple-bogey 8 on his second hole with six bad shots, one penalty and a tap-in. The man with golf’s shortest memory rebounded quickly and still shot 70, leaving him very much in ...

Review: Moby Grape co-founder Peter Lewis turns back the clock with wide range of musical styles

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:01:57 GMT

“Imagination,” Peter Lewis (OMAD Records)Peter Lewis bridges the past and future on “Imagination,” his music evoking the 1960s as his lyrics look toward eternity.Lewis, 77, was a founding member of Moby Grape, the supremely talented San Francisco band that was cursed by bad decisions, bad habits and bad luck but did release a classic album in 1967 during the Summer of Love.Lewis had the most elegant voice in a group with four fine singers, and on “Imagination” his gentle tenor turns back the clock. It’s frayed but arresting, and his flair for melody remains intact. “Remember how it was back in the day,” Lewis sings, and he also ponders the universe, the meaning of life, what’s to come and beer shampoo.Co-producer John DeNicola helps find a common thread in the album’s wide range of musical styles. “Just Like Sunshine” benefits from Lewis’ 12-string guitar, and “If I Just Had You” features Dion-esque doo-wop vocals. The trippy “Frank Zappa’s Ghost” and stacked harmonies of “La Mujer”...

Search underway for 21-year-old WPB man last seen at Fort Lauderdale Brightline station

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:01:57 GMT

Police seek the public’s help in their search for a young man who was reported missing from West Palm Beach.According to West Palm Beach Police, 21-year-old Nicholas Cappadoro was last seen getting off a train at the Brightline Station in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday.Although he went missing from West Palm Beach, Cappadoro may currently be in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood or elsewhere in Broward County, investigators said.Cappadoro stands 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighs around 160 pounds, and has brown hair and blue eyes.Officials urge anyone with information on his whereabouts to call West Palm Beach Police Department at 561-822-1900 and mention case number 10140.

‘Outlander’ stars reflect on long road leading to Season 7 of beloved historical drama

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:01:57 GMT

The wait is over, “Outlander” fans. Season 7 of the beloved historical drama premieres on Starz on Friday, but before traveling back in time, the stars of the show are dishing with Deco about what we can expect.Sam Heughan (as Jamie Fraser): “I’m not as brave as I was before, ye ken? Not brave enough to live without you anymore.”The stakes are higher than ever in Season 7 of the hit Starz series “Outlander.”Sophie Skelton (Brianna Randall Fraser): “There’s unrest in the streets, if you hadn’t noticed.”Character in “Outlander”: “Washington desperately needs soldiers up at Fort Ticonderoga.”Sam Heughan and Caitríona Balfe are back as Jamie and Claire … and a looming rebellion is about to take the show to the next level.Caitríona Balfe: “The Revolutionary War is here. We have amazing battles, and it just does feel really, really epic.”Sam Heughan: “It was kind of surprising to se...

Losing hope of finding kids in plane crash, Indigenous searchers turned to a ritual: Ayahuasca

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 11:01:57 GMT

By REGINA GARCIA CANO (Associated Press)BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The weary Indigenous men gathered at their base camp, nestled among towering trees and dense vegetation that form a disorienting sea of green. They sensed that their ancestral land — Selva Madre, or Mother Jungle — was unwilling to let them find the four children who’d been missing since their charter plane crashed weeks earlier in a remote area in southern Colombia.Indigenous volunteers and military crews had found signs of hope: a baby bottle, half-eaten fruit, dirty diapers strewn across a wide swath of rainforest. The men were convinced the children had survived. But punishing rains, harsh terrain and the passing of time had diminished their spirits and drained their stamina.The weak of body, of mind, of faith do not make it out of this jungle. Day 39 was do or die — for the children and the search teams.That night at camp, Manuel Ranoque, father of the two youngest children, reached fo...