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See how COVID deaths are plummeting this spring

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

March saw one of the lowest death tolls since the virus first overwhelmed hospitals and intensive care units in early 2020. Nearly 8,800 Americans died in March, the lowest monthly death total since last summer. But the virus continues to be a significant health threat for the elderly and others with compromised health.Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, California Department of Public Health (By Harriet Blair Rowan/Bay Area News Group)Across the country, an average of nearly 300 people died from the virus every day in March. Who is dying still?“They tend to be over 75,” said Dr. Chin-Hong, a UCSF professor of medicine who specializes in infectious diseases. “And they tend to have gotten the first two shots in December of 2020 but didn’t get a booster,” he said, reminding those who are over 65 or eligible to get the most recently available booster.“Age is the most powerful risk factor,” said Chin-Hong. “It’s still the same group in the hospital that I’m seeing, even ...

Timeline: Unfolding of the Nathan Fletcher scandal

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Nathan Fletcher has been a prominent figure in the San Diego political sphere for nearly two decades, until last month when allegations of sexual assault were levied against him.Fletcher was first elected to office in 2008 to represent the 75th California State Assembly district. The then-Republican was re-elected in 2010, before mounting a failed bid for the San Diego mayorship in 2011. During that campaign, Fletcher announced that he was leaving the Republican Party to become an independent, citing shifting values in the party away from his core values.One day before then-Mayor Bob Filner’s resignation amid sexual harassment allegations, Fletcher, now a registered Democrat, launched a second unsuccessful mayoral campaign.In 2018, he ran for office again, this time for the District 4 seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. The district is composed of nearly 700,000 residents in areas such as Clairemont, La Mesa, Balboa Park, Hillcrest and Spring Valley....

Highest-rated restaurants for tacos in San Diego, according to Yelp

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Depending on who you ask, tacos are more than just a quick snack you can grab off a truck for lunch. They're an experience. One that allows the chef to layer flavor and textures—from the fresh crunch of the cilantro and onions to the smoked heat of roasted chiles cavorting with the savory delight of your protein of choice—all onto one delicious tortilla, freshly crisped over an open flame…sorry is anyone else hungry?Much like the food, the origin story has a fairly layered history. Both Mayan and Aztec civilizations were said to have eaten a food similar to what we know as a taco, but the modern iteration traces back to the 1800s in Mexico. Born of a need to ensure that miners had a means to easily consume hearty food while on the job, piles of meat would be rolled into corn tortillas and packed for the road. During hours upon hours of hard labor in horrible conditions, the ability to pull out a few taquitos (named for the gunpowder role the miners carried with them) was...

Jazz Fest – ‘one of the gems’ – cranks up in New Orleans

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — This year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival began its two-weekend run on Friday, filling the air with the sounds of R&B, rock ‘n roll, Zydeco, pop, blues, country, rap, gospel — and of course jazz.Music fans poured into the Fair Grounds Race Course when gates opened at 11 a.m. They wandered among 14 stages or tents, many spreading blankets or tarps and setting up folding chairs, laying claim to spots where their favorite artists were to perform.And some were dancing, particularly in front of the festival’s Fais Do-Do Stage, where Zydeco rang out, played Geno Delafose & French Rockin’ Boogie.Retiree Joe Hulsey of Seattle said he and his wife have spent the last four months in New Orleans. A music festival veteran, Hulsey said Jazz Fest is his favorite.“There’s just no comparison,” he said. “It’s just one of the gems about New Orleans that I love. It’s a whole vibe. “You can’t beat the music, the food, the music,” he said, smiling.Fo...

Army sends investigators after fatal Alaska helicopter crash

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska (AP) — Military investigators were making their way to Alaska’s interior on Friday, one day after a midair collision between two helicopters killed three soldiers and injured a fourth.The investigative team from Fort Novosel, Alabama, was expected to arrive at the scene of the crash near Healy, Alaska, by Saturday, said John Pennell, a spokesperson for the U.S. Army Alaska. Little new information about the crash was released Friday.The Army on Thursday said two of the soldiers died at the crash site, and a third died on the way to a hospital in Fairbanks. A fourth soldier was injured and taken to a hospital. That soldier was in stable condition on Friday, Pennell said. The names of those who were killed were not immediately released.The Army said more details would be released when they became available. Each AH-64 Apache helicopter was carrying two people at the time of the crash, Pennell has said. The helicopters were from the 1st Atta...

North Dakota’s abortion ban bill becomes veto-proof

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

North Dakota state senators overwhelmingly passed a bill that would ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy.Narrow exceptions would be granted for rape and incest up to six weeks of pregnancy under the bill passed April 19. Abortions for certain medical emergencies are allowed at any stage of pregnancy. The bill has passed the Senate and House with veto-proof majorities, so it could become law without Republican Gov. Doug Burgum’s approval. It would be one of the strictest abortion bans in the country.Supporters said the bill would further the state’s mission to protect all human life — aged, unborn and everything in between — whereas opponents said these abortion restrictions would have dire consequences for women and girls.“We talk about rape and incest, and those are horrific circumstances,” Republican Sen. Janne Myrdal, of Edinburg, said while speaking in support of the bill on the Senate floor. “We certainly want to encourage any child, any woman, that experiences a...

Mother of innocent man murdered in B.C. gang war devastated by high court’s ruling

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

Eileen Mohan was preparing for this day, knowing the Supreme Court of Canada would rule on a case involving one of the men found guilty of killing her son more than 15 years ago. Christopher Mohan was killed along with five others in Surrey, B.C., in October 2007. He was one of two innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire of a bloody gang conflict that set off a years-long legal saga.  The high court ruled Friday that one of the men found guilty of murder will have a chance to provide evidence of police misconduct and mistreatment in prison, potentially allowing him to walk free. In a unanimous decision, the top court agreed with the B.C. Court of Appeal that it was a mistake to dismiss applications to have all of that evidence heard.Eileen Mohan said in an interview after the decision that she had hoped the Supreme Court of Canada would “squash it all away” and uphold the convictions of gangsters Cody Haevischer and Matthew Johnston, who were found guilty of first-de...

B.C. Crown Prosecutor says Ibrahim Ali killed girl, 13, during sexual assault

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

VANCOUVER — A B.C. Supreme Court trial can expect to hear evidence that shows a 13-year-old girl from Burnaby, B.C., was passing through a neighbourhood park when she was dragged off a pathway into the forest by Ibrahim Ali, sexually assaulted and strangled, the Crown prosecutor told the jury Friday.In an opening statement, Crown attorney Isobel Keeley said the court will hear evidence showing the murder was random, but DNA results will prove Ali sexually assaulted her. Ali is charged with first-degree murder and entered a not guilty plea before the jury earlier this month.The body of the girl, whose name is protected under a publication ban, was found in Burnaby’s Central Park in July 2017, just hours after her mother had reported her missing.“There are no eyewitnesses to the murder,” Keeley said, but told jury members that cellphone and bank records prove Ali was in Burnaby that day.They “were strangers to one another,” she said, adding that phone rec...

Sanders praises shop workers, Ben & Jerry’s on union effort

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — Workers seeking to unionize at a Ben & Jerry’s retail shop in Burlington, Vermont, the city where the ice cream brand was founded announced Friday that the company has signed the fair election principles.U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent who has been a vocal supporter of Starbucks labor organizers, congratulated the Ben & Jerry’s workers at a press conference in his home city. “I’m very proud of the work that these workers have done in coming together to form a union and I’m very proud that we have here in Vermont a company like Ben & Jerry’s that has long stood for progressive principles, today saying they’re willing to sit down and negotiate a good contract with their workers,” Sanders said. Ben & Jerry’s said last week that it supported a plan to unionize by about 40 workers at the retail shop in downtown Burlington.It said in a statement that it shares “the goal of advancing just...

Tennessee Gov. Lee says session on guns likely after July 4

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:02 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said Friday that a special lawmaking session dedicated to possible changes to the state’s gun laws in the wake of a deadly school shooting last month would likely have to take place after July 4.The Republican governor said his office has offered lawmakers multiple dates for the special session, and determined that it will likely take place after July 4. His office has said he offered dates from May through August.“I think the ideal solution is that we find a way to do what most people think is important, which is to make sure that people that are a threat to themselves or others because of a mental crisis, that people that are a threat do not have access to weapons,” Lee told reporters in Covington on Friday.The timeline comes after lawmakers sped up to finish their annual session last week without taking action on a gun control plan offered by Lee after the March 27 shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, which killed thr...