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Left lane is the new slow lane on many streets: Roadshow

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:07:35 GMT

Q: When did the “passing lane” become the new slow lane? Consistently, when I drive westbound on Ygnacio Valley Drive into Walnut Creek, most vehicles are in the “passing lane”, then the center lane, with the slow lane usually wide open. Do people think they’ll get to where they’re going faster by clogging up and going slow in the passing lane? Or did the driving laws change and I missed it?Gerald Fogel, ConcordA: Yes, your observation is right about relative lane speeds now, on many city streets, and sometimes the freeway. The laws didn’t change, but drivers’ choices and behavior have. A few years ago, a traffic cop scolded me for saying there was no fast or slow lane on a wide city street, but I still disagree. So many people think the far left lane will be faster, and they just need to look around to see what the reality is, on that street, at that time.Now we’ll flip to another road that has gotten a lot of attention, only th...

Bay Area News Group girls athlete of the week: Aleena Helms, Amador Valley softball

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:07:35 GMT

Amador Valley softball player Aleena Helms is the Bay Area News Group’s high school girls athlete of the week for April 3-8 after she received 38.53% of the vote at the 5 p.m. deadline Wednesday.Archbishop Mitty softball player Ava Markert (27.12%) placed second and Prospect softball player Diana Noriega was third.Congratulations to all the candidates for this week’s recognition.Helms, a senior, drove in all three runs for the Dons in their upset over highly-ranked Archbishop Mitty, a team that had thrown perfect games in the previous two games. Helms’ single in the bottom of the third inning gave Amador Valley the lead. The Dons also defeated Carondelet and Livermore during the Livermore Stampede tournament.To nominate an athlete for next week’s poll, email highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com by Monday, April 17, at 11 a.m. Please include stats and team results.We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps.com by coaches/team statisticians for consideration.Winners are announced ea...

Spain: Court releases man charged with sending letter bombs

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:07:35 GMT

MADRID (AP) — A Spanish magistrate on Friday ordered the conditional release of a man charged with terrorism for sending six letters containing explosives to high-profile diplomatic and government targets. The National Court magistrate said Pompeyo González Pascual, 74, must appear in court each week, relinquish his passport and remain in Spain as conditions for getting and remaining out of jail. In deciding to release him, the court considered that González Pascual had no previous criminal record and found there was no indication he might commit more offenses. A date for his trial has not been set.González Pascual, a resident of the town of Miranda de Ebro in north-central Spain, was arrested in January for allegedly sending letter bombs to Spain’s prime minister and to the U.S. and Ukrainian embassies in Madrid late last year. An employee at the Ukrainian Embassy was slightly injured while handling one of the letters. Police said they found a bomb-making workshop at González Pascu...

JPMorgan Chase profits jump 52% amid banking turmoil

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:07:35 GMT

JPMorgan Chase & Co. posted a 52% jump in its first-quarter profits, helped by higher interest rates, which allowed the bank to charge customers more for loans. The bank saw deposits grow noticeably, as business and customers flocked to the banking titan after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank last month. With JPMorgan’s strong results, as well as solid results from Citigroup and Wells Fargo on Friday, there seem to be few signs of potential trouble in the banking system — at least among the nation’s biggest, most complex financial institutions. “These were the most watched bank earnings announcements in over a decade, with market participants scouring the results looking for signs of cracks in the US banking sector. Those analysts looking for signs of the banking crisis were greatly relieved to not find any,” said Octavio Marenzi, CEO of the consulting firm Opimas LLC, in an email. JPMorgan, the nation’s biggest bank by assets posted a prof...

DC Emancipation Day 2023: What’s open, what’s closed?

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:07:35 GMT

D.C. Emancipation Day celebrates the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act of 1862, which ended slavery in the nation’s capital and freed 3,100 people.The law offered newly freed people money to emigrate and also provided financial reimbursement to others who had been slave owners.D.C. commemorates the act every April 16, which falls on a Sunday this year. As a result, many D.C. government agencies are observing the holiday on Monday, April 17.More DC NewsMore Local NewsMayor Muriel Bowser and members of her administration will begin four days of festivities on Friday, April 14.Here’s what’s closed and open and the road closures for D.C. Emancipation Day:What’s ClosedD.C. schools will be closed Monday, April 17.All of D.C.’s libraries are closed Sunday, April 16. On Monday, April 17, one library will be open in each of D.C.’s eight wards.The Department of Public Works will not collect trash or recycling on Monday, April 17. Instead, D....

Trump and Pence to speak at NRA convention in Indianapolis

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:07:35 GMT

Watch Video: Trump, Pence and other 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls to attend NRA conventionTwo-time running mates former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, who may soon be opponents for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, are speaking at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Indianapolis on Friday.The NRA convention is not just a gathering for gun enthusiasts; it also attracts Republican presidential hopefuls who want to showcase their support for Second Amendment rights. The NRA endorsed Trump during its 2016 annual convention.Pence hasn’t yet announced whether he will seek the presidency, but he has been visiting early-voting primary states, while Trump, the first major candidate in the race, and his allies insist the voters are already lined up to support him. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who recently declared he’s running for president, is making an appearance at the convention. Florida Gov. Ron De...

Aaron Rai takes 1st-round lead at rain-delayed RBC Heritage

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:07:35 GMT

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — England’s Aaron Rai birdied two of his final three holes to shoot 8-under 63 and take a one-stroke lead over Viktor Hovland after the first-round of the rain-delayed RBC Heritage on Friday. Rai was among six golfers who couldn’t complete play due to nearly 90-minute stoppage because of rain on Thursday. Rai rolled in an 11-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole to tie Hovland soon after the re-start. He took the lead with a 17-foot birdie putt on Harbour Town Golf Links’ famed No. 18 lighthouse hole. “It feels good,” Rai said after finishing. “Played really nicely. Can take a lot of positives from the way that we played tee to green and made a few nice putts as well.”Hovland had opened with a 64 on Thursday and was seeking a first-round lead for the second straight week after tying for first through one round at the Masters. Two shots behind were Brian Harman and Jimmy Walker at 65. Six others were another shot behind at 66, including rei...

Una elefanta que vive en un zoológico de Berlín aprendió a pelar bananas

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:07:35 GMT

(CNN) — La trompa de un elefante es un órgano notable: una fusión de nariz y labio superior, capaz de moverse a través de una densa red de músculos. Es lo suficientemente fuerte como para levantar un tronco y lo suficientemente sensible como para realizar tareas delicadas como levantar un solo totopo sin romperlo.Ahora, un equipo de investigadores en Berlín documentó a un elefante que usa su trompa para otro comportamiento novedoso: pelar bananas.Pang Pha era un bebé cuando llegó al zoológico de Berlín, donde le dieron de comer bananas. (Crédito: Lena Kaufmann)La estrella de este nuevo estudio, una elefanta asiática llamada Pang Pha, era un bebé cuando llegó al zoológico de Berlín en 1987. Como muchos elefantes del zoológico, la alimentaban con bananas, que la mayoría de los elefantes comen recogiéndolos con sus trompas y engulléndolos enteros, con cáscara y todo.Pero Pang Pha era “la princesita de los cuidadores”, dijo Michael Brecht, profesor de neurobiología en la Universid...

DeSantis signs 6-week abortion ban in closed-door ceremony

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:07:35 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a bill to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, giving the Republican a major conservative policy victory as he prepares to launch an expected presidential candidacy.DeSantis signed the measure late Thursday night in a private ceremony without fanfare, hours after the Republican-dominated statehouse approved the bill.The law will take effect only if the state’s current 15-week ban is upheld in an ongoing legal challenge that is before the state Supreme Court, which is controlled by conservatives.For DeSantis, the late night, closed door bill signing was a departure from his usual bombastic style and signals the difficult political line he is walking on abortion politics ahead of his anticipated White House run. Restrictions, popular among some conservative GOP primary voters, are seen as potentially damaging among the broader electorate and have led to bruising losses at the ballot box for Republicans in recent mont...

US: Billing records helped ID suspect in military docs leak

Published Wed, 05 Mar 2025 11:07:35 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Billing records of an Internet social media platform helped the FBI identify a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman in the leak of highly classified military documents, according to court records unsealed Friday.The new details came as Jack Teixeira appeared in court to face charges of unauthorized removal and retention of classified and national defense information.A judge ordered him held until a detention hearing next week.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.BOSTON (AP) — A Massachusetts Air National Guardsman arrested in the leak of highly classified military documents has arrived in federal court Friday as the Justice Department prepares to outline the criminal case against him.Jack Teixeira, 21, was arrested by heavily armed tactical agents on Thursday following a weeklong criminal investigation into the disclosure of highly sensitive government records, an alarming breach that exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments on th...