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'Death of Downtown' study: San Francisco ranks last

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:19 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- San Francisco ranked dead-last in a nationwide study examining why some American cities are bouncing back, and other are dying. "With the initial shock of the pandemic, downtowns emptied out. Even as life has gradually returned to malls and neighborhood commercial corridors, the urban core is no longer a bustling center of activity. This trend has led many to wonder: is this finally the death of downtown?" states the study written by the Institute of Governmental Studies public policy research center.Walking around San Francisco's downtown looks, and feels, starkly different compared to pre-COVID times. Why is it taking so long for people to return back to downtown SF? IGS researchers said the city's tech workers, tech-heavy economy, and difficult long commutes are partially to blame. (Graphic courtesy Institute of Governmental Studies) "In general, places with a higher share of employment in knowledge-based industries and occupations, and/ or more highly pai...

“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” Movie Poses Terror Threat, Kansas City Intel Agency Claims

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:19 GMT

In 2021, a Texas intelligence command center disseminated a bulletin warning its law enforcement partners about activists interested in sabotaging fossil fuel infrastructure. The report detailed no specific threat, but instead linked to an interview with Andreas Malm, a Swedish professor of human ecology, on a New Yorker podcast in which he advocated for the destroying or “neutralizing” new fossil fuel projects like pipelines using nonviolent methods.Now, Malm’s work is once again drawing the attention of a fusion center. “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” a new movie dramatizing Malm’s 2021 nonfiction book of the same name, sympathetically depicts the infrastructure sabotage by environmentalists. The film’s fictional protagonist, Theo, contracts leukemia after growing up in a Long Beach neighborhood with heavy pollution. She joins several others to strap a homemade bomb to an oil pipeline in West Texas.In a report disseminated last week, another intelligence command center — this time in...

Inter wins 2-0 at Benfica in Champions League quarterfinals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:19 GMT

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Inter Milan ended its streak of poor results with a 2-0 win at Benfica in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.Nicolo Barella and Romelu Lukaku scored second-half goals at the Stadium of Light to give Inter its first victory in more than a month and move the Italian team into good position to reach the semifinals of the European competition for the first time in more than a decade.The second leg will be next week in Milan. Manchester City defeated Bayern Munich 3-0 at home in the first leg of the other quarterfinal on Tuesday.It was Benfica’s first Champions League loss in 13 matches this season. It started the competition in the third qualifying round and was one of the surprises of the competition so far after going on an unbeaten run to win a difficult group that included Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus.Inter was winless in six matches in all competitions, with its last victory against Lecce in the Italian league in March.Benfica...

Kerr scores as Australia ends England streak with 2-0 win

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:19 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Australia ended England’s 30-match unbeaten run with a 2-0 victory in a friendly on Tuesday, 100 days from the start of the Women’s World Cup.Sam Kerr scored in the first half after a defensive error and Charlotte Grant doubled the advantage in the 67th minute to hand Sarina Wiegman her first loss as England’s coach.England’s unbeaten run of 26 wins and four draws had included winning the European Championship last summer.Kerr, the Australian captain who plays for Chelsea, pounced on a weak backpass by defender Leah Williamson and one-on-one with Mary Earps deftly flicked the ball past the goalkeeper’s left shoulder and into the net in the 32nd minute at a rainy Gtech Community Stadium in west London.Williamson was trying to deal with a long ball and after a bounce tried to head it back to Earps, but the England captain left it short and Australia’s all-time leading scorer took advantage for the Matildas.Grant got on the end of Kerr’...

Biden lauding peace in Northern Ireland, ancestry in Ireland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:19 GMT

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — President Joe Biden embarked Tuesday on a journey of diplomatic and family celebration, highlighting the U.S. role of 25 years ago in ending deadly bloodshed in Northern Ireland while catching up with distant relatives in the Republic of Ireland. It’s his first trip back as America’s president. Biden arrived in Belfast on Tuesday night and was greeted at the airport by United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. He will spend about half a day in the city on Wednesday, holding talks with Sunak before going to Ulster University to mark the Good Friday accord anniversary.The president will also “engage” with the leaders of Northern Ireland’s five main political parties but not as a group, the White House said.Monday marked a quarter-century since the Good Friday Agreement, signed on that day in April 1998, ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland that killed 3,600 people. Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, is observing the ...

Blinken names ex-NSC official to be new State Dept spokesman

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:19 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday chose an ex-National Security Council communications official to be the next spokesman for the State Department. In a statement, Blinken announced that Matthew Miller will assume the role as the daily face of American foreign policy from the State Department podium at the end of April.Miller is a longtime fixture in Democratic political circles and served as the chief spokesman for former Attorney General Eric Holder during the Obama administration. He has also worked closely with Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the current chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.After President Joe Biden was elected, Miller worked on the incoming administration’s transition team, including helping to shepherd Blinken’s nomination to be America’s top diplomat in the Senate. He then took a temporary post at the NSC last year to coordinate U.S. messaging after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.“I benefitted greatly from Matt’s...

Suspect arrested after barricade situation in Arlington bank

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:19 GMT

Arlington County police say a suspect is in custody after an attempted robbery and barricade at a Clarendon-area bank on Tuesday afternoon.Officers were called to a Wells Fargo branch in the 3100 block of Washington Boulevard around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday for a report of an armed robbery and possible hostage situation.The Arlington County Police Department said the suspect is thought to have entered the bank, implied he had a weapon and demanded money before barricading himself inside the building with a number of patrons and employees.Images from the scene showed a heavy police presence near the intersection of Washington and Wilson boulevards. Eyewitness footage posted to Twitter later showed a man being led away in handcuffs.Four adults and one child inside the bank were able to safely exit, the department added. There were no injuries.The WTOP Traffic Center reports Washington Boulevard is closed between Wilson Boulevard and 10th Street due to the ongoing police response. For the lat...

Normal service resumes on Blue Line following Metro equipment derailment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:19 GMT

Normal service has resumed on Metrorail after a heavy rail work vehicle derailed Tuesday morning on the Blue and Blue Plus lines.It happened on tracks outside the Potomac Yard station in Alexandria, Virginia, when the equipment slipped off the track just before 5 a.m.Trains single-tracked between Braddock Road and National Airport, with trains running every 18 minutes, causing delays during the morning commute.Although the derailment did not involve a train, it caused delays because of speed restrictions in the area, the transit agency said.The heavy rail work vehicle can drive on the highway and railroad tracks and was used to move equipment to the Yellow Line bridge work site, Metro said.Source

Cuando expire la emergencia por la pandemia, las pruebas del COVID-19 dejarán de ser gratis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:19 GMT

WASHINGTON  — Cuando expire la emergencia de salud pública declarada por la pandemia del COVID-19 el mes entrante, los estadounidenses seguirán teniendo acceso a las pruebas diagnósticas del virus, pero con una gran diferencia: en vez de que el gobierno pague por ellas, tendrá que pagar el ciudadano común.Por primera vez, los estadounidenses tendrán que pagar todo o al menos parte del costo, dependiendo del seguro médico que tengan o si la prueba es casera o si se hace en un consultorio médico.Pero todavía hay tiempo de comprar pruebas gratis antes del cambio que viene el 11 de mayo, e incluso después podrían quedar disponibles algunos de los tests sin pago. Biden firma la ley que pone fin a la emergencia nacional por el COVID-19 Millones perderán la cobertura de Medicaid tan pronto culmine la exención de la pandemia Algunos gobiernos estatales o locales podrían seguir distribuyendo las pruebas por vía de clínicas, biblioteca...

Chaos erupts in Md. House of Delegates as tension grips final moments of General Assembly session

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:19 GMT

This content was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for Maryland Matters’ free email subscription today.The Maryland General Assembly ended the 2023 session with high drama in both houses Monday night as the final minutes in the House of Delegates devolved into a partisan shouting match, and the Senate president interrupted a motion for final adjournment with a last-seconds vote.Republicans led by Anne Arundel Del. Nicholaus R. Kipke (far left) derailed the final minutes of the last House of Delegates floor session of the 2023 General Assembly over concerns that House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) blocked attempts to amend and debate a controversial cannabis bill. (Maryland Matters/Bryan P. Sears)The House of Delegates descended into pandemonium in the final minutes amid a debate over House Bill 1071, which would prohibit police from stopping or searching a person based solely on the odor of cannabis.The bill came up a...