Home

New NYC rule bans souvenir sellers from Brooklyn Bridge

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:06 GMT

By Jake Offenhartz | Associated PressNEW YORK — Visitors to New York City hoping to take home a souvenir from the Brooklyn Bridge will now have to settle for a photograph, as vendors are about to be banned from the iconic span.The new rule, which goes into effect Wednesday, aims to ease overcrowding on the bridge’s heavily trafficked pedestrian walkway, where dozens of trinket sellers currently compete for space with tourists and city commuters.As crowds flocked to the bridge over the holiday season, the situation turned dangerous, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. He pointed to videos that showed pedestrians leaping from the elevated walkway onto a bike lane several feet below in order to bypass a human traffic jam.“It’s not only a sanitary issue, it’s a public safety issue,” Adams said on Tuesday. “People would’ve trampled over each other. We need order in this city. That is one of our major landmarks.”The new rules will a...

Why Japan’s 7.6 quake wasn’t Turkey’s tragedy all over again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:06 GMT

Last February, Turkey’s 7.8-magnitude temblor killed more than 59,000 people. The 7.6-magnitude quake that struck western Japan on Monday killed only 55.Why did one nation experience only 0.1% of the deaths of the other?In many ways, the countries are similar. Both have multiple active faults and a history of catastrophe. Both have histories of major and repeated geologic trauma.But a comparison shows that their experiences are vastly different. The sobering challenge for the rest of the world is how to be more like Japan, and less like Turkey. While there is no way to prevent an earthquake from occurring, what can be prevented – or at least limited – is the scale of the calamity caused by these inevitable tremors.Magnitude: Both earthquakes were enormous. And numerically, 7.6 doesn’t seem like much less than 7.8. But earthquakes are measured logarithmically. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake is 1.5 times bigger than a magnitude 7.6 earthquake — and 2 times stronger, according ...

Selena Gomez says she may only have ‘one more album’ in her

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:06 GMT

By Alli Rosenbloom | CNNSelena Gomez is a modern-day triple threat: she’s an international popstar, an Emmy-nominated actor and a beauty mogul. But she may soon be closing the door on her career as a singer.“I do feel like I have one more album in me,” Gomez said on Monday’s episode of the “Smartless” podcast.“The older I get the more I’m kind of like, I would like to find something to just settle on,” she continued, adding that her career as an actor is what she’d ideally like to focus on.From an early age, Gomez said she had her sights set on being “a serious actress.” Her music career began only because Disney approached her to create an album while she was starring on the Disney Channel sitcom “Wizards of Waverly Place” in the late 2000s.“I thought it would be fun and I thought more than anything it would be a hobby that I really enjoyed,” she said. “I wanted to be an actress. I never really intended on being a singer full time but apparently that hobby turned into something els...

Study shows CA farmworkers earned less after overtime wage bill passed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:06 GMT

(KRON) -- A new study from the University of California, Berkeley, showed that California farmworkers made less money since a bill meant to increase wages for overtime work passed in 2016.The bill, AB 1066, removed overtime exemptions and introduced new standards phasing in lower overtime standards until normal work week hours (eight hours per day, 40 hours per week) were reached starting in 2019."At one extreme, if individual worker hours and wages remain unchanged after the laws are implemented, workers would benefit from higher incomes for the same time at work," Alexandra E. Hill, the researcher and an assistant professor at UC Berkeley's Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, said in the study. "At another extreme, if employers reduce hours to remain below the new thresholds, worker incomes could fall, making workers who value the extra income more than additional leisure time worse off."The latter is happening in California, according to the study.Data shows that o...

Shots fired during attempted car thefts in East Bay

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:06 GMT

(KRON) -- The Alameda County Sheriff's Office reported two instances of shots being fired during attempted car break-ins over New Year's weekend. Nobody was hurt in either shooting. The first attempted burglary happened just after 7 p.m. Sunday in San Lorenzo, on the 1900 block of Via Sarita. The sheriff's office said suspects tried unsuccessfully to steal the victim's car from their driveway before one of them fired a handgun through the front window of the home. The suspects and victims never spoke to each other. Man who allegedly tried to hit police officer with car arrested On Monday, deputies responded to the Cherryland area of unincorporated Hayward for another vehicle theft. The incident happened on the 20000 block of Angus Way. A man allegedly came out of his home to check on his vehicle and encountered a masked suspect who fired several rounds at him with a handgun. The suspect, whose race is unknown, fled southbound on Angus Way, driving a dark sedan. The suspect fired ...

Powerful earthquakes leave at least 57 dead, destroy buildings along Japan’s western coast

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:06 GMT

WAJIMA, Japan (AP) — A series of powerful earthquakes that hit western Japan left at least 57 people dead and damaged thousands of buildings, vehicles and boats. Officials warned Tuesday that more quakes could lie ahead. Aftershocks continued to shake Ishikawa prefecture and nearby areas a day after a magnitude 7.6 temblor slammed the area.The damage was so great that it could not immediately be assessed. Japanese media reports said tens of thousands of homes were destroyed.Water, power and cell phone service were still down in some areas. Residents expressed sorrow about their uncertain futures.“It’s not just that it’s a mess. The wall has collapsed, and you can see through to the next room. I don’t think we can live here anymore,” Miki Kobayashi, an Ishikawa resident, said as she swept around her house.The house was also damaged in a 2007 quake, she said.Two of the latest reported deaths came from Suzu, where the death toll grew to 22 people, according to city officials. Twe...

Yamamoto’s contract with Dodgers includes 2 opt outs, but timing depends on elbow health

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:06 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Yoshinobu Yamamoto will have two opportunities to opt out of his record $325 million, 12-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, although the timing is tied to his pitching elbow’s health.If Yamamoto has Tommy John surgery or is on the injured list for a right elbow injury for 134 consecutive service days from 2024-29, he would have the right to opt out after the 2031 and 2033 World Series, according to terms of the deal obtained by The Associated Press on Tuesday. If he avoids Tommy John surgery and doesn’t miss that much time with an elbow issue during that window, he can instead opt out after the 2029 and 2031 World Series.In the first scenario, the Dodgers also would gain a $10 million conditional option for 2036 with no buyout.Yamamoto does not have the right to block trades but could opt out of the contract after the end of any season in which he is traded. Los Angeles announced the agreement two weeks after signing two-way star Shohei Ohtani to...

Dalvin Cook being waived by the Jets with 1 game left in the season

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:06 GMT

The New York Jets are waiving running back Dalvin Cook before the final game of the season, according to Cook’s agents LAA Sports & Entertainment.The 28-year-old Cook had a disappointing tenure with the Jets, who signed the four-time Pro Bowl selection to a one-year deal worth $7 million — including $5.8 million guaranteed — during the summer.NFL Network first reported Tuesday that the sides mutually agreed to part ways, citing Cook’s agents, who confirmed the move to The Associated Press. Cook will go through waivers and would become a free agent if he goes unclaimed.After Aaron Rodgers was lost for the season with a torn left Achilles tendon four snaps into his debut with the Jets, Cook’s role in New York’s offense never materialized. He has a career-low 214 yards rushing on 67 carries and no touchdowns, and was recently surpassed by rookie Israel Abanikanda as the backup to Breece Hall in the Jets’ backfield. Cook also has just 15 catches for 78 yards ...

The Saints realized their potential in Week 17, but was it too late?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:06 GMT

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Now that the New Orleans Saints have avoided the dreaded fate of playing meaningless late-season football, all they can do is try to replicate their most recent performance — easily among their best during an up-and-down 2023 campaign — and hope that fortune favors them.The Saints demonstrated during their 23-13 victory at Tampa Bay on Sunday that they’re capable of seizing control of a game against a playoff-contending rival, overcoming injuries and winning convincingly with their season on the line.“Everything was clicking; everything worked out,” tight end Juwan Johnson said. “The defense was playing lights out and the offense was playing really well. Just from the first drive, we were hitting on all cylinders.” New Orleans found the end zone on its opening drive and remained in front, building a 20-point third-quarter lead that proved too much for the NFC South-leading Buccaneers to overcome.The Saints’ defense produced four Tampa Bay turnove...

Se acerca una tormenta que podría traer nieve a la región el sábado

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:12:06 GMT

Existe la posibilidad de nieve para el sábado en el área de DC, según la Autoridad en el Tiempo. Pero aunque una potente tormenta, de nieve o lluvia, se acerca a la región, aún es muy temprano para predecir cuánta precipitación caerá. Lo que ocurra con una tormenta que se abrirá paso esta semana hacia el este a través de Estados Unidos determinará el tiempo este fin de semana.PRONÓSTICO INVERNALSi deseas naive, y bastante, este podría ser tu año.Storm Team4, el equipo de meteorología de nuestra cadena hermana News4, predice:entre 22 y 30 pulgadas de nieve este invierno para el corredor I-95 y el área metropolitana de DC.entre 15 y 22 pulgadas en zonas del surentre 30 y 40 pulgadas en los suburbios del oesteSi las condiciones se dan, podríamos ver una o dos grandes tormentas de nieve que realmente dejen su huella en el invierno de 2023-2024.Aquí puedes ver el pronóstico completo.Source