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Analysis: By North Korean standards, Pvt. Travis King’s release from detention was quick

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:58 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Maybe it never sense for North Korea to hold on to Pvt. Travis King.Just over two months after he sprinted into North Korea across the heavily fortified inter-Korean border, King was put on a plane back to America after the North released him into U.S. custody.Several recent American detainees had been held for over a year — 17 months in the case of Otto Warmbier, an American college student who was arrested during a group tour. He was in a coma when he was deported, and later died.King’s case was unique, not least because he was one of the 28,500 American troops stationed in South Korea to deter potential aggression from the nuclear-armed North.There had been speculation that North Korea would try to maximize the propaganda value of an active duty U.S. soldier who voluntarily crossed into its territory, reportedly because he was disillusioned with racism in the military and American society. The North has often been accused of using American detainees as b...

Food prices are rising as countries limit exports. Blame climate change, El Nino and Russia’s war

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:58 GMT

How do you cook a meal when a staple ingredient is unaffordable?This question is playing out in households around the world as they face shortages of essential foods like rice, cooking oil and onions. That is because countries have imposed restrictions on the food they export to protect their own supplies from the combined effect of the war in Ukraine, El Nino’s threat to food production and increasing damage from climate change. For Caroline Kyalo, a 28-year-old who works in a salon in Kenya’s capital of Nairobi, it was a question of trying to figure out how to cook for her two children without onions. Restrictions on the export of the vegetable by neighboring Tanzania has led prices to triple. Kyalo initially tried to use spring onions instead, but those also got too expensive. As did the prices of other necessities, like cooking oil and corn flour.“I just decided to be cooking once a day,” she said.Despite the East African country’s fertile lands and large workforce, ...

Wildfires can make your California red taste like an ashtray. These scientists want to stop that

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:58 GMT

ALPINE, Ore. (AP) — The U.S. West Coast produces over 90% of America’s wine, but the region is also prone to wildfires — a combustible combination that spelled disaster for the wine industry in 2020 and one that scientists are scrambling to neutralize.Sample a good wine and you might get notes of oak or red fruit. But sip on wine made from grapes that were penetrated by smoke, and it could taste like someone dumped the contents of an ashtray into your glass.Wine experts from three West Coast universities are working together to meet the threat, including developing spray coatings to protect grapes, pinpointing the elusive compounds that create that nasty ashy taste, and deploying smoke sensors to vineyards to better understand smoke behavior. The U.S. government is funding their research with millions of dollars. Wineries are also taking steps to protect their product and brand.The risk to America’s premier wine-making regions — where wildfires caused billions of dollars...

First congressional hearing on Maui wildfire to focus on island’s sole electric provider and grid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:58 GMT

Hawaii’s top public utility officials and the president of Hawaiian Electric are expected to testify Thursday in a congressional hearing about the role the electrical grid played in last month’s deadly Maui wildfire. Members of a U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee are expected to question the utility officials about how the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century began — and whether the electrical grid in Lahaina was safe and properly maintained. The fire killed at least 97 people and destroyed more than 2,000 buildings, mostly homes. It first erupted at 6:30 a.m. on Aug. 8, when strong winds appeared to cause a Hawaiian Electric powerline to fall, igniting dry brush and grass near a large subdivision.Among those expected to testify are Hawaiian Electric CEO Shelee Kimura, Hawaii Public Utilities Commission Chair Leodoloff Asuncion Jr. and Hawaii Chief Energy Officer Mark Glick.Energy and Commerce Committee chair Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers; Oversight and...

NextGenerationEU: Commission receives Slovakia's third payment request for an amount of €662 million in grants under the Recovery and Resilience Facility

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:58 GMT

The third payment, which is net of pre-financing, concerns 21 milestones and 6 targets. These cover a set of transformative reformsaimed at improving the legal framework for the promotion of renewables, boosting the green renovation of buildings, setting up an industry decarbonisation scheme and ensuring a more effective application of existing nature protection rules. The reforms also include the preparation of a strategy to guide the economy's digital transition, the launch of new calls to enhance the cooperation between academic researchers and private companies, and the improvement of the accessibility and quality of the education system, including pre-primary schools. The payment request covers important investments to create new Digital Innovation Hubs and to ensure the greening of the national police force vehicle fleet, by providing them with electric and hybrid vehicles.Slovakia's overall plan will be financed by €6.4 billion in grants. Payments under the RRF are performanc...

Bicyclist hospitalized in Riverside County hit-and-run; suspect at large 

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:58 GMT

Authorities are searching for a hit-and-run driver who struck a bicyclist and left him hospitalized in Riverside County.With a long road to recovery ahead, Alvaro Cortez, 53, considers himself incredibly lucky to have survived the crash.“Nobody stopped,” Alvaro recalled. “They just did the damage and kept on going.” At around 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, Alvaro was riding his bike to the Corona train station on his way to work.As he arrived near River Road just before Bluff Street in Norco, a driver crashed into him from behind. They never pulled over and kept on driving away.Alvaro was knocked unconscious and left on the side of the road. His bike was shattered into pieces.“There was an officer that was off duty on the way to work and he’s the one that stopped and found me and called it in,” Alvaro said of his rescuer.Alvaro Cortez, 53, was hospitalized after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in Riverside County. (KTLA)Alvaro Cortez’s bike after he was struck by a hit-and-run drive...

Man arrested for masturbating at San Mateo park

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:58 GMT

(KRON) -- A man was arrested by the San Mateo Police Department after he was seen masturbating at a park, police said. Julian Gallardo Vazquez, 32, of San Mateo, admitted to the act in an interview with SMPD. Police were called to Harbor View Park, located at 1725 Monte Diablo Ave., at 12:18 p.m. Tuesday for the report of public masturbation. A citizen said she saw a man masturbating in his car near a children's playground at the park. Antioch nanny accused of sexually abusing girl pleads not guilty Officers found Vazquez less than an hour later near North Shoreview Montessori School at 1301 Cypress Ave. He was detained there for further investigation. After the caller identified Vazquez as the person she saw, Vazquez was arrested. He later told police that he engaged in the act due to "personal urges and a lack of privacy at home," police said. According to SMPD, a similar incident happened at the Hillsdale Shopping Center when Vazquez had been seen masturbating in his car, but ...

Novato man arrested for swinging axe at business windows: police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:58 GMT

(KRON) -- A man was arrested after he was seen breaking the windows of a downtown Novato business with an axe, the Novato Police Department said. He was taken into custody after a standoff at his home. Several people called police after 5 a.m. Wednesday to report seeing a man with an axe committing vandalism. The man was allegedly seen breaking the business' windows at 1st Street and Grant Avenue and was spotted vandalizing another building near Winging Way. VIDEO: People with batons smash car windows of Oakland armed robbers An on-duty Novato Fire Protection District employee also told police that the suspect brandished an axe at them. Police identified the suspect as Bjorn Schwindt, 28, of Novato, and went to his home to perform a welfare check. NPD officers arrived to find Schwindt pulling into his driveway. He emerged from his car holding an axe and a pipe, according to police. Schwindt went into his home and barricaded himself inside. Some residents in the area of Sutro Aven...

Oakland Roots unite Oakland's Hispanic community

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:58 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) – The Oakland Roots Soccer Club has found a way to both embrace their heritage and put down new “roots” to start a legacy. They do so by showcasing the sport’s ability to bring cultures together and celebrating the city they call home. The Roots have fans all across the Bay Area, and players say many times it’s the Hispanic heritage and Spanish language that connects them more than anything.The Hispanic population in Oakland accounts for about 27% of the city, according to the U.S. Census. Roots player and Ecuador native Jeciel Cedeño says it’s a population that feels like home, especially on game day. Quinceañera, a beautiful Latina tradition “You have Mexicans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Hondurans. And it’s very nice to see all these people going to the stadium, and you can feel the support,” he said. The Oakland Roots have been getting that support since 2018 when the team was built with the purpose of uniting, inspiring and bringing hope to the Oakland com...

Why government contractors could be some of the hardest hit during a shutdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:58 GMT

If lawmakers fail to strike a deal on the budget and a shutdown happens, many government contractors and their employees stand to be among the hardest hit.David Berteau — president of the Professional Services Council, a trade association for government contractors — said while federal workers may not feel the impact of a shutdown until they get their first paycheck, for contractors and their workers, it can be felt immediately.Berteau said many contractors are required to keep working unless something gets in the way of them doing their work, and they are told to stop.“If a stop work order is issued, then you no longer can pay that person unless you’re willing to pay them out of other funds that will run out because you’re not getting reimbursed by the government,” Berteau said.Berteau said seeing a stop work order is common, because many contractors depend on things such as access to federal properties and interactions with feds to do their work.“You may have something...