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El Niño is back: What it could mean for California's winter

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

After a four-year break, El Niño is back, leaving many to wonder what it means for California’s upcoming winter. El Niño is the temporary warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator. When the water temperature rises a half-degree Celsius above normal over a three-month period, that is considered to be an El Niño pattern. When the water rises 1.5 degrees Celsius above normal, that’s considered a strong El Niño - which may be the case this winter.“It does appear as though this event is going to come pretty close to that if not exceed that,” said Ben Reppert, a meteorology professor at Penn State University. “If it does, it will be in the rare category along the lines of the El Niño of 2015-16 and the El Niño of [winter] 1998.”El Nino developing around the Pacific equator in 2023 (NOAA)In December 1997, 7 inches of rain fell in parts of Orange County in one day. February 1998 brought more than 13 inches of rain to downtown Los Angeles, causing major damage. Du...

Man Fatally Struck in Motorcycle Accident on Highway 32 [Willows, CA]

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

40-Year-Old Man Pronounced Dead after after Motorcycle Collision near County Road OWILLOWS, CA (November 10, 2023) – A motorcycle collision on Highway 32 claimed the life of one rider Saturday night. The incident occurred at approximately 8:27 p.m. near County Road O.According to reports, the rider, operating a 2023 Honda motorcycle, was traveling eastward at a considerable speed, overtaking other vehicles. The collision transpired when the motorcycle collided with the right side of a westbound Subaru, which was making a turn into a driveway.The impact caused the rider to be forcefully ejected onto the road, resulting in severe injuries that proved fatal. Despite the severity of the crash, the occupants of the Subaru—Jennifer Chua, aged 49, and three minors—escaped unscathed.Presently, investigations into the incident are ongoing. However, authorities have confirmed that drugs and alcohol were not contributing factors to the accident.The team at Sweet James sends out their hea...

House GOP eyes trans care as newest battleground issue

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

By Ariel Cohen, CQ-Roll CallHouse Republicans who waged fierce political battles over Obamacare and abortion after that have found a new focus as the lead-up to the 2024 elections: gender-affirming care for transgender Americans.They’ve added riders on seven of the 12 House fiscal 2024 appropriations bills that would put restrictions on gender-affirming care, which can be anything from hormone therapy to surgical care to insurance coverage of either.The fight has extended beyond spending bills into policy measures as well: They’ve held up traditionally bipartisan programs to pay for pediatrician training over hospitals’ decisions to provide such care. Another bill would create a global gag rule for gender-affirming care similar to the Mexico City policy for abortion care.And they’ve threaded their concerns over the issue into the debate over the annual defense authorization bill — a fight that could threaten the passage of that bill.“The volume here is just orders of magnitude diffe...

Just 15% of Californians can afford a home, lowest rate in 16 years

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

“Swift swings” takes a quick peek at one economic trend.The number: Just how unaffordable is California housing? The share of folks who can afford to buy hit a 16-year low.The source: My trusty spreadsheet eyeballed the California Association of Realtors’ third-quarter affordability study that compares pricing, financing and wages. The metric measures who can qualify to purchase a single-family house buy based on an assumption the buyer can put 20% down on a mortgage, creating a payment – taxes and insurance included – that’s 30% of household income.The quick analysis: Just 15% of Californians could afford to buy in the quarter as high mortgage rates and stubbornly high prices make the purchasing math near impossible for many house hunters.The only time house shopping was less affordable was during the easy-money days of the mid-2000s. The last time this affordability yardstick was higher was in the third quarter of 2007, just before the housing bubble burst.Related ArticlesReal Est...

Pac-12 recruiting: USC in the post-Grinch era, UCLA’s QB commit and big weekends for OSU, UW

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

The Hotline is delighted to provide Pac-12 fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on Nov. 9 …The Grinch who saved the seasonThe dismissal of defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has had zero impact on USC’s recruiting.The Trojans suffered no de-commitments in the wake of the change. In fact, coach Lincoln Riley has added to his commitment list.On Sunday, in the hours after Grinch’s firing, the Trojans grabbed a pledge from Chatsworth (California) cornerback Madden Riordan, a member of the 2026 recruiting class.That came a week after fellow 2026 cornerback Brandon Lockhart, a teammate of Riordan’s on the 7-on-7 circuit, committed to the Trojans.If anything, the coordinator change has helped USC hold recruits, with the questions about Grinch’s job security no longer in the air.And assistant coach Donte Williams, just as he d...

New IRS income tax brackets and higher standard deduction. What you need to know

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

By Jeanne Sahadi | CNNNew York  — If you are someone who likes to plan ahead on your taxes, the IRS this week released the new inflation-adjusted income tax brackets and standard deduction amounts that will be in effect for tax year 2024.Translation: These are the numbers that will be relevant to the tax return most Americans will file in early 2025.Higher standard deductionThe IRS makes inflation adjustments annually to tax brackets, the standard deduction and some other tax breaks.For individuals and married people filing separately, the new federal standard deduction will increase to $14,600, up from $13,850 this year.For married couples filing jointly, the standard deduction will rise to $29,200, up from $27,700 currently.And for people who file as head of household, the standard deduction will be $21,900, up from $20,800 today.Most filers claim the standard deduction. Others will itemize their deductions because taken together, they add up to more than the standard deduction.Fo...

Grammy nominations 2024: Here are the top nominees

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

By Lisa Respers France | CNNNominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards were revealed on Friday morning and SZA slayed.The “Kill Bill” singer and songwriter leads in total nominations with nine nods. Other top nominees among a list that highlighted the contributions of young women in music include Phoebe Bridgers, R&B star Victoria Monét, indie group boygenius, Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo.Related ArticlesMusic | SZA leads the 2024 Grammy nominations as women outpace men in the leading categories Taylor Swift made history by becoming the first person with seven nominations in the prestigious song of the year category with her hit, “Anti-Hero.” She also tied with Barbra Streisand for the most all-time nominations by a female artist with her album of the year nod with “Midnights.” Swift scored six nominations overall.The nominees in several top categories can be found below, with the full list of 94 categories here.The Grammy Awards will take place Feb....

Let it pour: First wet season event to bring moderate to heavy rain next week

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

(BCN) -- Rain is arriving to the Bay Area, and lots of it, as the region's first wet season rain event rolls in next week. The National Weather Service said Friday forecasters expect widespread moderate to heavy rain throughout next week in many parts of the region, with potential accumulations of up to 2 inches. They added that coastal mountains will be receiving more of the precipitation. Light rain will start in the North Bay on Monday and may linger through Saturday next week, but the core of the event will be Tuesday through Friday, the weather service said. Lake Tahoe-area ski resorts open soon. Here’s the expected dates While the exact timing and amount are still subject to change, forecasters said it is increasingly likely that daily rain totals will exceed an inch across most of the Bay Area and Central Coast throughout next week.Graphic: Kyla GroganThe weather service warned residents and motorists to expect slick roads and longer than normal commutes as ponding of water...

Two suspects arrested in connection to Romanian organized crime ring in San Jose

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

(KRON) -- Two suspects were arrested in connection to a string of crimes allegedly perpetrated by a Romanian organized crime ring, the San Jose Police Department announced Friday. The suspects were identified as 35-year-old Mogos Constantin and 19-year-old Renaldo Vaduva.The two were arrested after SJPD served multiple residential search permits Wednesday in the cities of San Jose and Livermore. The warrants were connected to around 25 criminal cases tied to Romanian organized crime, police said.The cases in question took place between July and October and involved armed carjacking, armed robbery, strong arm robbery and grand theft.In serving the search warrants, SJPD officers seized $13,000 in cash, three vehicles and evidence possibly related to jewelry swap scams/robberies, Facebook Marketplace vehicle scams, credit card skimmers and money laundering, police said. $350K of stolen goods recovered in Oakland, Sacramento County fencing operation There has been an increase in Roman...

Daly City victim robbed of necklace, iPhone, and wallet

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:10:51 GMT

(KRON) – A victim was robbed in the parking lot of Skyline Plaza’s Kentucky Fried Chicken on Nov. 1, the Daly City Police Department announced Thursday. According to Daly City police, the victim met a suspect and entered a van to purchase marijuana on Nov. 1 around 7 p.m. When the victim communicated he did not want to purchase any marijuana, another suspect in the front passenger seat turned around and pointed a gun at the victim, police said.  $350K of stolen goods recovered in Oakland, Sacramento County fencing operation The victim was robbed of his gold necklace, iPhone 14, and wallet, all worth approximately $30,500, police said. This is an ongoing investigation.