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Los Angeles City Council approves ‘robot dog’ donation to police

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:48 GMT

A four-legged “robot dog” is the newest member of the Los Angeles Police Department after the City Council voted to approve its acquisition on Tuesday.The robot - a quadruped unmanned ground vehicle called “Spot” - is manufactured by Boston Dynamics and is valued at nearly $280,000.Spot was first offered as a gift to the LAPD's Metropolitan Division by the Los Angeles Police Foundation in March. The foundation is a nonprofit group that has "awarded more than $44 million in grants to the LAPD" since 1998, according to its website.LAPD said the robot will be used in a limited number of scenarios including “incidents involving active shooters, assessment of explosives, hostage situations, natural disasters, hazardous materials assessment, barricaded suspects and search and rescue missions.”Spot will not be equipped with any weapons systems, facial recognition software or analysis capabilities, officials said. It will also not be used for routine patrol duties or covert surveillance ope...

Video released from police shootout near Long Beach Grand Prix

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:48 GMT

Surveillance video captured the chaos that unfolded near the Long Beach Grand Prix racecourse last month when a police officer exchanged gunfire with a shooting suspect.The shootout occurred on a busy street in broad daylight on the afternoon of April 16.Officers were responding to reports of a separate shooting near 3rd Street and Elm Avenue when an officer in a Long Beach Police SUV saw a man matching the description of the gunman, police said.Video released by police on Tuesday shows the gunman, who was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans, open fire on the officer from behind several parked cars on Elm Avenue.The officer initially ducks, but then jumps out of the SUV and returns fire, striking the gunman who falls to the ground. April 16, 2023. (Long Beach Police)The officer initially ducks, then jumps out of the SUV and returns fire, striking the gunman who falls to the ground.Bystanders can be seen running away and ducking for cover. Other officers arrive seconds later and h...

Arnold Schwarzenegger hired as Chief Action Officer at Netflix

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:48 GMT

Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in action but this time as a boss at Netflix.The former California Governor has a position in the C-Suite as the streamer's Chief Action Officer. In a tongue-in-cheek video posted online, the movie star revealed his new role after running over a Mercedes-Benz with a tank."No one loves action as much as I do," he declared as he arrived at his new gig at Netflix's headquarters. "That's why I've accepted a big new job as Netflix's Chief Action Officer."The parody incorporates Schwarzenegger's many roles as he promotes the streaming company's roundup of action films and series, which include "The Night Agent," "Extraction 2," "The Witcher," "Heart of Stone," "The Brothers Sun" and "Lift."The "Terminator" star is in a new action comedy himself called "FUBAR," which drops May 25."I'm working around the clock to bring you the biggest action on Earth," he continued to explain. "Nobody knows action like I do, and nobody hits like Netflix."

Nordstrom chops 300-plus jobs as San Francisco store closures loom

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:48 GMT

Nordstrom has decided to chop well over 300 jobs in San Francisco as the upscale retailer prepares store shutdowns in the wake of rising crime problems and worsening economic woes in that city.The job losses will hit two Nordstrom retail sites, both on Market Street in San Francisco, according to official filings with the state government.The retailer decided to cut jobs at the Nordstrom department store at 865 Market Street and the Nordstrom Rack outlet at 901 Market Street, WARN notices sent to the state Employment Development Department show.Seattle-based Nordstrom has decided to cut a combined total of 379 jobs at the two stores in San Francisco, according to the filings with the state EDD.An estimated 333 people are slated to lose their jobs at the Nordstrom department store, which is in the Westfield San Francisco Centre shopping mall.Another 46 workers will be laid off at the Nordstrom Market Street Rack a few doors away.  

Surgeon general: Social media presents ‘profound risk’ for kids

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:48 GMT

By Meg Tirrell | CNNThere’s not enough evidence to determine whether social media is safe enough for children and adolescents when it comes to their mental health, according to a new advisory from the US surgeon general.Tuesday’s advisory notes that although there are some benefits, social media use presents “a profound risk of harm” for kids. It calls for increased research into social media’s impact on youth mental health, as well as action from policymakers and technology companies.The 25-page advisory comes as a growing number of states are aiming to tighten regulations on social media platforms, including efforts in Montana to ban TikTok.Surgeon general advisories are designed to call attention to urgent public health issues and provide recommendations for how they should be addressed, the new report notes. Previous advisories have focused on youth mental health more broadly, health misinformation and use of the opioid overdose antidote naloxone.“We’re in the middle of a youth ...

Why SF Giants’ series in Minnesota is meaningful for LaMonte Wade Jr., Taylor Rogers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:48 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS — A lifelong Denver Broncos fan, Taylor Rogers thought of Peyton Manning on Monday.“For whatever reason that popped into my head yesterday,” the Giants’ reliever said Tuesday before the second game of their series against the Twins. “The Broncos went back to Indianapolis and they played a video of Peyton Manning, and he played like (crap) that day.”Rogers didn’t pitch in the Giants’ series-opening win, and “it’s probably a good thing,” he said a day later.Before the game, the Twins honored him with a Manning-esque video on the outfield scoreboard. The feed cut to the railing of the third-base dugout, where Rogers waved to cheering fans. It was his first time back in this ballpark since being traded to San Diego on Opening Day of last season, ending his tenure with the organization that drafted him and where he spent the first six years of his big-league career.“I don’t know what it’s going to feel like whe...

Letters: Runaway spending | PVC pipes | Undercutting solutions | Welcome asylum seekers

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:48 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Runaway spendingthreatens democracyRe: “Lawmakers undermining our democracy” (Page A8, May 21).I was pleased to see Daniel Borenstein pointing out the attempts of California Democrats to politicize the state’s ballot measure process. For years I have voted against all bond measures because they increase public debt and inevitably lead to more and more taxes to try to pay for this debt. But the way bond measures are presented hides this. So they are routinely passed by the voters.Too many Californians don’t understand the problem with ever-increasing government spending. The money is not created by magic. And on the federal level printing money to pay for programs produces the kind of inflation we’ve seen for the past three years, which hurts all but the wealthiest of us. This is why Republicans in Congress constantly resist Democrats’ efforts to spend more and more mon...

Detached house sells for $1.5 million in Fremont

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:48 GMT

3321 Coventry Court – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 3300 block of Coventry Court in Fremont was sold on April 12, 2023. The $1,515,000 purchase price works out to $910 per square foot. The house, built in 1965, has an interior space of 1,664 square feet. The property features three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a garage. There’s also a pool in the backyard. The unit sits on a 5,460-square-foot lot.Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include:On Canterbury Street, Fremont, in March 2023, a 2,005-square-foot home was sold for $1,700,000, a price per square foot of $848. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In December 2022, a 1,680-square-foot home on Sutton Loop in Fremont sold for $1,455,000, a price per square foot of $866. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 1,546-square-foot home on the 2900 block of Park Place cmn. in Fremont sold in January 2023, for $1,450,000, a price per square foot of $938. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bath...

South Carolina restores 6-week abortion ban

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:48 GMT

By James Pollard | Associated Press/Report for AmericaCOLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Senate approved a bill Tuesday that would ban most abortions after around six weeks of pregnancy — before most people know they are pregnant – and sent it to the governor who has promised to sign it.The proposal restores a ban South Carolina had in place when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year — a ban that, once it took effect, was overturned by the state’s highest court because it violated the state Constitution’s right to privacy.Republicans have been searching for an answer to that ruling because it left abortion legal through 22 weeks of pregnancy and sharply increased the number of abortions taking place in South Carolina as most other Southern states enacted stricter laws.South Carolina is among the last bastions in the region for those seeking legal abortions, but that status likely will end soon.Most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy will be ba...

Indian wrestlers march, demand arrest of abusive official

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:48:48 GMT

By Sheikh Saaliq | Associated PressNEW DELHI — India’s top female wrestlers led a candlelight march of nearly 1,000 protesters in the capital on Tuesday demanding the resignation and arrest of the president of the wrestling federation for allegedly sexually harassing young athletes, one of whom was a minor.Carrying India’s national flag, they marched to India Gate, a monument close to the country’s parliament building. A strong presence of police accompanied them on the marching route.The protesters have been staging a protest in the center of New Delhi for nearly a month, amid a brutal heat wave, while foregoing their training schedules. Two Olympics medalists, Bajrang Punia and Sakshi Malik, are part of the protests and have threatened to hand back their medals if no action is taken against Wrestling Federation of India president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.The protests have grown with many members of opposition parties and farmer unions taking up the wrestlersR...