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Santa Clara Council approves plan to revive downtown

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

(BCN) -- Santa Clara is planning a major facelift of its five-acre downtown after years of neglect, thanks to a determined group of residents.The Santa Clara City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved rezoning for a new downtown plan and environmental impact report. Mayor Lisa Gillmor recused herself. The plan revitalizes the downtown grid, which can accommodate up to 1,071 new homes and more than 700,000 square feet of commercial space. Concord apartments have been without water for 3 days The redevelopment will be a mix of streets and public spaces that are pedestrian and service oriented, laid out in a restored grid pattern with at least one new bike lane. The new zoning allows increased heights for mixed-use development of residential and commercial projects."It will be the beginning of our downtown," resident Mary Grizzle said at the meeting.Grizzle is a leading member of Reclaiming Our Downtown, a grassroots group formed about three years ago to kick-start a community-led ...

Icy conditions cause traffic issues on mountain roads

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- Slick road conditions caused traffic issues, especially for people trying to get into the mountains Saturday morning, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation.A crash on westbound Interstate 70 west of Idaho Springs closed the right shoulder, causing major traffic issues. Colorado snow totals for Dec. 8-9 The right shoulder was still closed as of 10 a.m., according to CDOT.The westbound lane of U.S. Highway 6 west of Golden was also closed for a semi-truck crash.The lane was still closed as of 10 a.m.

Casey and Ron DeSantis play cleanup over Iowa caucus remarks

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

West Des Moines, Iowa (CNN) — Casey and Ron DeSantis are seeking to clarify comments the Florida first lady made on Friday that appeared to encourage out-of-state voters to participate in the Iowa caucuses.“We’re asking all of these moms and grandmoms to come from wherever it might be, North Carolina, South Carolina and to descend upon the state of Iowa to be a part of the caucus, because you do not have to be a resident of Iowa to be able to participate in the caucus. So, moms and grandmas are going to be able to come and be a part and let their voice be heard in support of Ron DeSantis,” Casey said, in a side-by-side interview on Fox News with her husband ahead of a “Mamas for DeSantis” event in West Des Moines.After the Fox News appearance, Casey DeSantis clarified on X that by participating in the Iowa caucuses, she didn’t mean voting.“While voting in the Iowa caucus is limited to registered voters in Iowa, there is a way for others to participate. I’m calling on mamas...

Accused military secrets leaker Jack Teixeira back in court Monday

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

The case of accused Massachusetts military secrets leaker Jack Teixeira will return to federal court on Monday for a status conference.Federal prosecutors say that Teixeira, either 21 or 22, abused his security clearance as a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman to share more than 40 images of classified documents largely regarding the war in Ukraine to the roughly 50 members of a Discord server he led. A “server” is what the gaming-dominated social media platform Discord calls individual groups or forums.The images were said to have been posted to the group between December 2022 and March, according to court documents. The alleged sharing “endangered our national security,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland would later say.Teixeira was arrested April 13 at the North Dighton home of one of his parents and was charged with two counts: unauthorized removal and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material...

Charlie McAvoy out, Linus Ullmark starts again for Bruins

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

Charlie McAvoy will not be available when the Bruins take on the Arizona Coyotes this afternoon (1 p.m.) at the Garden after taking a high hit on Thursday night from Buffalo’s J.J. Peterka.“There’s been significant improvement, but we’re not risking today,” said coach Jim Montgomery.The exact nature of the injury has not been divulged, but Montgomery said on Friday that it is not a head injury. McAvoy’s status is day-to-day.Ian Mitchell will take McAvoy’s place in the lineup while Hampus Lindholm will jump in his spot on the first power-play unit.Linus Ullmark will get his second straight start for the first time this year as Jeremy Swayman gets over the illness that kept him out of Thursday’s game.“If someone’s not near 100 percent, we’re going to go with the other guy, just like we did in Florida when (Ullmark) had an upper body injury,” said Montgomery.Up front, Jakub Lauko will be a healthy scratch. Montgomery said it was a good ti...

Brazil’s Lula takes heat on oil plans at UN climate talks, a turnaround after hero status last year

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Fresh off election victory, a year ago Brazilian President-elect Inacio Lula da Silva was the star of the annual U.N. climate talks.Lula promised to crack down on deforestation and turn Brazil into an environmental leader, a complete turnaround after President Jair Bolsonaro rolled back regulations and encouraged land-grabbing in the Amazon.“Lula! Lula! Lula!” many onlookers screamed during Lula’s many events at COP27 in Egypt.What a difference a year makes.Just as Lula addressed world leaders at COP28 in Dubai, it was announced that Brazil would join OPEC+, a group of big oil-exporting countries, including Russia. At one event during the conference, Lula tried to explain the decision by saying that, once on the inside, the South American nation would push other oil-producing countries to transition to green energy—a curious explanation given that state-run oil company Petrobras is focused on further oil exploration. Lula later clarified that Brazi...

A Soviet-era statue of a Red Army commander taken down in Kyiv

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

KYIV (AP) — City workers in Kyiv on Saturday dismantled an equestrian statue of a Red Army commander, the latest Soviet monument to be removed in the Ukrainian capital since Russia launched its full-scale invasion last year.The statue of Mykola Shchors on horseback, erected in the 1950s, was taken down from a pedestal in downtown Kyiv to the applause of a small group of onlookers. City officials said it will be stored in the State Aviation Museum.“Derussification and decommunization are continuing. We have already dismantled more than 60 monuments related to the history and culture of Russia and the Soviet Union,” Mykhailo Budilov, director of the city’s Department of Territorial Control, said in a statement.An effort to remove symbols of the Soviet era, which many Ukrainians equate with Russian imperialism, accelerated after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.In August of this year, officials removed a hammer-and-sickle symbol from the Mother Ukraine statue in Kyiv — o...

Organizers of COP28 want an inclusive summit. But just how diverse is the negotiating table?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Climate activist Lisa NoBaya sat in a room filled with stakeholders at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai and asked the delegates what inclusivity looks like at COP28: does it mean diverse voices are simply present, or actively participating in what the outcome of the talks will look like?The 28-year-old’s question received affirmative nods from across the room. Many women, young people and Indigenous voices say they feel they’re relegated to mere attendance, with limited opportunities to contribute substantially to the decisive meetings, despite promises to make the talks more inclusive. Even attendance at the talks is lopsided, making meaningful inclusion even more difficult, they say.“If by inclusivity they mean that the women, youth and Indigenous community is just to be present here and not speak then this is not inclusive, but ridiculous,” NoBaya said.COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber previously promised to ensure that this year’s...

Eagles security DiSandro banned from sideline for Sunday Night Football vs Cowboys

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Eagles security chief who was ejected in last week’s game for his role in a scuffle with 49ers linebacker Dre Greenlaw is barred by the NFL from the sideline for Sunday night’s game against the Cowboys, the team announced Saturday.Dom DiSandro is allowed to travel with the team and perform all other work duties when Philadelphia (10-2) plays at Dallas (9-3). But he is not allowed on the sideline.“This is an ongoing conversation with the NFL, and we are going to respect the restriction that is currently in place,” the Eagles said in a statement.DiSandro pulled Greenlaw off Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith and shouted at him after a reception in the third quarter. Greenlaw, who was penalized for unnecessary roughness on the play, popped up and reached over two officials to put his hand in DiSandro’s face.Greenlaw was ejected. DiSandro also was told to leave and walked to the locker room to a roaring ovation from Eagles fans.“I know in Dom’s heart, he tr...

Federal investigators say pilot disorientation led to 2021 plane crash that killed 3 in west metro

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:50 GMT

ALEXANDRIA, Minn. — Federal investigators have identified pilot spatial disorientation as the likely cause of the August 2021 plane crash that killed three people west of the Twin Cities.The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on the plane that took off from Alexandria and crashed near Victoria on Aug. 7, 2021. Dr. James Edney of Omaha, Neb., died in the crash, along with his 42-year-old stepson, Jacob Mertes, and Mertes’ 37-year-old wife, Dr. Sara Mertes. Edney, who owned a cottage on Lake Miltona near Alexandria, was piloting the plane.According to the report, the plane made several directional changes as it approached descent before entering a left-turning spiral. The plane crashed into the ground roughly eight miles west of its destination, Eden Prairie’s Flying Cloud Airport, and breaking up just before impact, the report states. No one on the ground was injured.“The airplane debris on the ground … showed that an in-flight breakup occurred d...