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Elias: California’s increased housing units haven’t meant lower rents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:40 GMT

California’s top officials and the bureaucrats who back them up persist in telling us there’s a massive housing shortage in this state, amounting to something between 1.8 million and 3 million units (over the last five years, they’ve used varying figures within that range).Related ArticlesLocal News | Elias: California utility bills to rise for decades after PUC’s solar move Local News | Elias: California’s Lara gave away the farm to insurance companies Local News | Elias: Transgender students California’s latest state-local conflict This means the state – with 14.6 million existing units as of mid-2022 – is about 10% short. If this shortage is real and not merely a figment of the imagination of officials at the state’s Housing and Community Development (HCD) Department, few vacancy signs should be on the new apartment and condominium buildings that have proliferated around the state since 2021.There are many, though....

Opinion: Meat industry’s dubious claims of sustainability at COP28

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:40 GMT

At the COP28 climate conference, major meat producers — armed with an elaborate communications strategy — pitched an audacious message: meat is sustainable nutrition. The narrative pushed by these meat proponents is not only misleading but also dangerous for our planet and human health.The meat industry’s primary focus has been to promote “scientific evidence” supporting the idea that meat is environmentally friendly. However, this claim directly contradicts overwhelming scientific evidence. The inconvenient truth is that animal agriculture, particularly the production of red meat, is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions.The livestock sector, responsible for a staggering 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, is a massive contributor to climate change. The methane emitted by livestock, a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, poses a severe threat to our climate stability.The meat industry’s argumen...

12 places you can’t visit in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:40 GMT

By Lilit Marcus | CNNThis year was all about making up for lost time. Following the pandemic, visitors flooded Europe’s biggest cities and America’s national parks as a form of “revenge travel,” going to – or returning to – some of the destinations that had been inaccessible during the Covid-19 pandemic.However, the world has changed a lot since the pandemic’s onset. Many businesses closed as people transitioned to working remotely and not every tourist attraction survived the period unscathed.Whether closing permanently or temporarily, here’s a list of places you can’t visit in 2024.Centre Pompidou, ParisAlthough the inside-on-the-outside Paris museum still looks shockingly modern, the Centre Pompidou is actually in its sixth decade. Following the Summer Olympics in France’s capital this summer, the Pompidou will take a rest to undergo a 260 million euro ($282 million) modernization program.“Our Lady of the Pipes” will be closed through 2030. Meanwhile Pompidou’s sister museum in B...

California sheriff’s deputy resigns after drug arrest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:40 GMT

A San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputy has resigned following his arrest earlier this month on suspicion of being under the influence of cocaine, authorities said Sunday, Dec. 24.Sheriff’s deputies arrested Jonathan Campos, 32, on Dec. 17, when they observed him under the influence while parked in a car with a former deputy in an empty housing development at Elina Rose Court and Berlina Road in Hesperia, according to a San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department news release.“(The) controlled substance … was suspected of being cocaine,” the release stated.  “Although Campos was off-duty at the time of the incident, he was in possession of a firearm.”Campos, who had been with the department six years and was assigned to the Hesperia station, resigned after his arrest, Sheriff’s Department officials said.There was no evidence that Campos was under the influence while on duty, they said.The former deputy, Ricardo Baires, 29, resigned in 2022, and is accused of possessing narcotics for sale a...

Millennial Money: 4 things that could impact your credit in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:40 GMT

Credit is top of mind for many folks going into 2024. Nearly 4 in 5 Americans (79%) say they are trying to improve their credit, according to a recent survey from NerdWallet.Getting ahead of surprises will go a long way in protecting your credit. Here are four things to look out for that could impact your credit in the new year.1. HOLIDAY DEBTHoliday purchases could follow you for months. NerdWallet’s 2023 Holiday Shopping Report found that about half of Americans (52%) incurred credit card debt when shopping last holiday season, and of them, 31% still have not paid off their balances.Payment history is the biggest factor influencing your credit scores. If you’re carrying debt, make at least the minimum payments on your cards to keep your payment history intact and shield your scores. But paying a higher amount, if you’re able to, is better for your credit utilization — another major factor in score calculations. Using too much of available credit can make you appear risky to lender...

Powerball jackpot grows to $685M, Colorado ticket wins $2M on Christmas Day

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:40 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - There was no Christmas luck for any Powerball players on Monday, with no ticketholders winning the Christmas Day jackpot. Ahead of the drawing, Powerball officials estimated the jackpot at roughly $638 million. While nobody matched all six winning numbers — 5, 12, 20, 24, 29, and red Powerball 4 — two tickets sold in Colorado and Georgia matched five numbers and the Power Play (at 2X) making them worth $2 million apiece. Three tickets, sold in California, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania, matched five numbers, making each worth $1 million. Had anyone hit the Powerball jackpot on Monday, it would have been the third time in game history that the grand prize was won on Christmas Day. But, since the jackpot rolled over again, it now sits at an estimated $685 million ahead of Wednesday's drawing. When will I get the Social Security cost-of-living increase in 2024? At that size (which could change before the drawing), the jackpot ranks as the 11th-largest overall, coming in...

Key Largo man arrested for aggravated battery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:40 GMT

MONROE COUNTY, Fla. (WSVN) — A 38-year-old Key Largo resident, Eric Daniel Torres, was apprehended for a violent assault on another man on Monday. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office responded to a battery call at a residence on Rose Place around 10:22 p.m. Sunday. The 62-year-old male victim reported that Torres had attacked him, striking him on the head with a plate. The victim was transported to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.Torres was later intercepted near Mile Marker 102 on U.S. 1. During the arrest, he spat on deputies, cursed at them, and resisted their attempts to place him into custody by tensing his body and pulling away. The 38-year-old suspect was taken into custody and transported to jail to face the charges against him. Torres now faces charges of aggravated battery and resisting arrest. Authorities are conducting further investigations into the incident.

Apple is officially no longer selling the newest Apple Watch in America

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:40 GMT

New York (CNN) — The clock has wound down on the newest Apple Watch after President Joe Biden declined to issue a last-minute, emergency action to keep the best-selling smartwatch on store shelves.President Joe Biden had until the end of Christmas day to overturn a US International Trade Commission ruling that prevents Apple from selling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, among other newer models, because they violate patents registered to another company. But, as expected, Biden did not intervene.Apple had already taken the offending Watch models off its online store, and Apple Store locations opened Tuesday without any of the latest top-of-the-line watches in stock. The cheaper Apple Watch SE, which was not part of the ruling, remains on sale, but the ban affects the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, and all models of Apple Watch Ultra.In October, the US International Trade Commission ruled that Apple was in violation of a pulse oxim...

Stock market today: Wall Street quietly advances in thin holiday trading

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:40 GMT

Wall Street inched modestly higher in holiday-thinned trading Tuesday, while Asian markets mostly advanced and European markets remained closed.Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.1% before the bell and futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose less than 0.1% to kick off what’s expected to be a quiet, holiday-shortened week of trading.Drugmaker Bristol Myers Squibb said Tuesday that it will acquire RayzeBio in a $4.1 billion deal, just days after buying Karuna Therapeutics for $14 billion. Bristol Myers shares were flat before the bell, while RayzeBio shares doubled to $60.99, close to the $62.50 that each share will fetch in its acquisition.Shanghai’s benchmark led losses in Asia on heavy selling of technology and computer chip-related shares as worries revived over trade tensions with the U.S. and other western countries. A number of video gaming companies announced share buybacks to shore up prices after Chinese regulators issued draft guidelines on Friday that cause...

1 dead, 1 critical in moped crash on Northwest Side

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:23:40 GMT

CHICAGO — One person is dead and another is injured after an overnight crash on the Northwest Side, police said.According to police, the deadly crash happened near the corner of Belden and Cicero in the Belmont Craigin neighborhood around 12:45 a.m.Authorities say a man driving a moped, with another man sitting passenger, were headed northbound on Cicero when they collided with a gray sedan travelling westbound. Man shot after pulling knife during fight at Red Line station Both the driver of the moped and passenger were injured and taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition. The Cook County medical examiner later confirmed that one person injured in the crash, identified as 28-year-old Ganchozo Jesus Rodriguez, succumbed to their injuries. Police said the driver of the vehicle was not injured and refused treatment from EMS.Citations are pending and police have not said who was at faith in the crash.