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Report answers critical question about Martinez refinery exposure, but more remain unanswered

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:00 GMT

Contra Costa Health declared that the dust released into nearby neighborhoods by the Martinez Refining Company last week “does not pose an increased, long-term risk to public health.”That statement, which followed several days of sampling and laboratory analysis following the release on July 11, may put an end to immediate concerns from the community about the threats to their health. But it leaves lingering questions about the cause of the release, and the refinery’s willingness to promptly inform the public.According to the county health department, coke dust is a black, powdery residue similar to charcoal that is created during the refining process. Although it could have caused “irritation of the throat, lungs and respiratory system” during the release, health officials said it was safe to wash off surfaces using soap and water.The release occurred last Tuesday at approximately 8:30 a.m., and lasted for one minute. Two hours passed before the refinery activated the county’s Comm...

Grammy-winning pop act sets Christmas concert tour with 2 California stops

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:00 GMT

Even though it’s still only July, For King & Country says it’s time to start preparing for Christmas.And the Grammy-winning pop duo — consisting of brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone — is giving fans a chance to do just that with the announcement of its holiday season concert tour.For King & Country’s A Drummer Boy Christmas — The 2023 Tour Experience kicks off in November and includes two California dates.Fans can check out the show on Dec. 9 at Honda Center in Anaheim and Dec. 10 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.Related ArticlesMusic | Grammy-winning pop act supports No. 1 album with 3 California shows “To sing the most nostalgic songs ever written…to celebrate the miracle of all miracles – God coming to earth, offering redemption…to gather together and to experience it all with you and pepper in a few theatrics and spectacle…these ingredients culminate into what has become our favorite tour of the year!,” the b...

Ex-CEO of Countrywide Financial, who had key role in 2008 financial crisis, dies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:00 GMT

By Krystal Hur | CNNNew York — Angelo Mozilo, former chief executive of Countrywide Financial and a key player in the subprime mortgage meltdown that led to the 2008 financial crisis, died Sunday.“It is with great sadness that the family of Angelo Robert Mozilo announces his passing from natural causes. The family requests privacy at this time,” The Mozilo Family Foundation, a charitable organization founded by Mozilo and his late wife Phyllis, said in a press release.Mozilo’s name and that of the mortgage-lending company he cofounded are closely linked to the subprime mortgage meltdown that helped snowball the financial crisis in 2008. He founded Countrywide in 1969, and advertisements for the company boasted that it could get home loans approved for Americans who had previously been turned down.The company followed through on its promises. But because mortgages were issued to borrowers with inadequate credit, it helped lead to high default rates in 2007 and spur a wave of foreclos...

California State mishandled years of sexual misconduct claims, new report finds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:00 GMT

After a series of scandals led to the fall of the chancellor and multiple university leaders, the California State University system on Monday released a scathing report acknowledging years of mishandling hundreds of sexual harassment complaints and vowing to correct the “institutional betrayal and grave disappointment” of how the country’s largest public university system responds to sexual abuse.The report was released the same day that jury selection began in the criminal trial of former San Jose State head athletic trainer Scott Shaw, accused by more than two dozen former female athletes of sexually assaulting them under the guise of treatment. He faces six federal charges.“What we heard at many CSU universities were deeply held feelings of anger, grief, and pain,” the report stated. “Across all constituencies, we heard grave disappointment and sorrow in what many viewed as institutional betrayal.”The report was commissioned by California State in March of last...

East Bay street racer crashes on I-580, ditches fatally injured passenger

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:00 GMT

(KRON) -- An East Bay street racer allegedly left his passenger to die alone on Interstate-580 in Livermore, according to investigators. California Highway Patrol officers are asking for the public's help to identify who was street racing on the busy interstate when a fatal crash occurred just after 5:32 p.m. Sunday. The CHP is also attempting to identify a second passenger, who also fled the scene and abandoned the victim. Not long before the crash, dispatchers with the CHP Golden Gate Communication Center began receiving 911 calls from witnesses reporting that a Toyota Camry was racing a tan-colored Chevrolet Camaro on I-580 westbound near North Livermore Avenue. When CHP officers arrived on scene just four minutes later, they found an ejected passenger. The ejected passenger was pronounced dead at the scene."This crash was determined to be a solo hit-and-run, with the driver and a second passenger fleeing the scene," the CHP wrote. Investigators believe that the victim and two me...

Two Santa Clara County deputies dead in 1 week after separate incidents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:00 GMT

(KRON) -- Two members of the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office died in separate incidents last week, the sheriff's office said in a statement. Man loses hand in boat mishap at Lake Berryessa Richard "Troy" Reynolds (Photo courtesy of Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office)On Tuesday, Richard "Troy" Reynolds died after suffering a medical emergency as he was leaving for work. Reynolds was a 27-year member of the sheriff's office team. On Friday, Arturo Romero died after a suspected DUI, wrong-way driver on Highway 87 crashed into him head-on. Romero had worked with the sheriff's office for over 20 years, and he was heading home from his shift at a local jail when he died. Romero Arturo (Photo courtesy of Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office)The driver was identified as a 26-year-old San Jose man with the last name Gonzales. Gonzales was arrested after he was treated for moderate injuries from the crash. "Please join us in honoring these remarkable heroes by keeping their families an...

Code Orange: Smoke leads to another air quality alert in DC region

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:00 GMT

Bad news: The D.C. region is in for another round of smoke from Canadian wildfires early this week.Air quality levels reached Code Orange throughout the WTOP listening area on Monday afternoon due to smoke originating from Canada. A sensor at Northwest D.C.’s McMillan Reservoir noted an air quality index of 137 around mid-afternoon, with some sites near Springfield, Virginia, coming in just shy of Code Red air quality levels.Though nowhere near as dense as the smoke that prompted last month’s unprecedented health alert, an unmistakable brownish haze lingered over downtown D.C.’s monuments late Monday.The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments forecasts Code Orange conditions throughout Tuesday, too — as satellite images showed a low pressure system over the Great Lakes churning a vast area of smoke from Central Canada toward the U.S. East Coast.A look at current satellite imagery shows the smoke aloft that’s causing our milky skies today. Cumulus bubb...

Slumping Reds add another top prospect, infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:00 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Hoping to spark a struggling offense, the slumping Cincinnati Reds promoted another top prospect on Monday and inserted Christian Encarnacion-Strand into the starting lineup against San Francisco for his major league debut.The 23-year-old infielder was batting seventh as the designated hitter. He was among four rookies in the Reds starting lineup, joining third baseman Elly De La Cruz, shortstop Matt McLain and pitcher Brandon Williamson.“It means a lot,” Encarnacion-Strand said. “Now I get to play with a really, really good group of guys. The guys have been always welcoming. The same thing in spring training, the were super, super nice to me. I don’t feel pressure or anxiety to go in there with them.”A native of Walnut Creek, California, Encarnacion-Strand hit .331 with 21 doubles, 20 homers and 62 RBIs with a 1.042 OPS in 67 games this year for Triple-A Louisville. He led the International League with 177 total bases.“He’s played well,” Reds general manager Nick ...

Martin Truex Jr. wins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for 1st time in 30 races

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:00 GMT

LOUDON, N.H. (AP) — Martin Truex Jr. had just chewed up the competition to win at the same New Hampshire track where his dad won a regional stock car series race in 1994 when he clutched a 22-pound live lobster given to the winner and chomped on a claw.“I’d … sure like to throw him on the grill right now if you can find him,” the younger Truex said later of the crustacean.Maybe Truex can save the feast for a meal on the saltwater fishing boat the veteran driver says he’s buying this week. Truex had long wanted one — when he didn’t tag along as a kid with his mom and little brother to the racetrack, he worked on his dad’s clamming boat — but the pull of another day at the race shop or the commitments of long NASCAR weekends always made him put it off.Not now.“I won’t fish for lobster on my boat,” Truex said, laughing. “I’ll fish for fish. Tuna.”Sounds perfect for retirement.Truex has few boxes left to check in his career. The latest came in yet another m...

Zheng double bagels Errani in first round of Palermo Open

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:12:00 GMT

PALERMO, Sicily (AP) — Second-seeded Zheng Qinwen eased past Sara Errani with a double bagel in the opening round of the Palermo Open on Monday.Zheng beat the Italian 6-0, 6-0.The Chinese player will next face France’s Diane Parry, who eliminated another Italian in qualifier Aurora Zantedesch 6-4, 6-3.Eighth-seeded Julia Grabher of Austria was upset by Clara Burel, with the French player triumphing 6-4, 7-5.Two Italians who did advance on the red clay courts of the Country Time Club were Camilla Rosatello for her first WTA victory and Nuria Brancaccio.___AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource