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San Francisco installs suicide barriers on Golden Gate

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:41:10 GMT

By Olga R. Rodriguez | Associated PressSAN FRANCISCO — Kevin Hines regretted jumping off San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge the moment his hands released the rail and he plunged the equivalent of 25 stories into the Pacific Ocean, breaking his back.Hines miraculously survived his suicide attempt at age 19 in September 2000 as he struggled with bipolar disorder, one of about 40 people who survived after jumping off the bridge.Hines, his father, and a group of parents who lost their children to suicide at the bridge relentlessly advocated for a solution for two decades, meeting resistance from people who did not want to alter the iconic landmark with its sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay.On Wednesday, they finally got their wish when officials announced that crews have installed stainless-steel nets on both sides of the 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) bridge.“Had the net been there, I would have been stopped by the police and gotten the help I needed immed...

Google makes deal in multi-billion-dollar lawsuit over ‘potentially embarrassing’ Incognito mode data grabbing

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:41:10 GMT

Google has reached a deal in a class-action lawsuit accusing it of making an Orwellian grab of “potentially embarrassing” data from tens of millions of people using the company’s “Incognito mode” and other private browsing, according to a court filing.The three Californians and two others who sued the Mountain View digital-advertising giant on behalf of themselves and legions of other internet users in 2020 claimed the firm captured the data despite saying it would not.Google, in a bid last year to get the case thrown out, argued in a court filing that it “never made any such promise.”The plaintiffs were seeking for themselves and other affected internet users the return of what they claim are billions of dollars in profits Google made from the browsing data, plus unspecified damages of more than $5,000 for each plaintiff and affected user. In December 2022, a judge denied the plaintiffs’ attempt to entitle tens of millions of users to receive damages in the case.The ter...

Santa Clara women looking to climb back to top of West Coast Conference

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:41:10 GMT

Way back in the 1990s, long before any of the current players on the Santa Clara women’s basketball team were born, the Broncos were the elite program in the West Coast Conference. They won six WCC titles during the decade, then shared a championship with Gonzaga in 2006.Since then, the WCC crown has been almost exclusively the property of Gonzaga, winners of the past seven regular-season titles and 17 of the past 18.The Zags remain the favorite, ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25 at 13-2 with a victory over Stanford. But don’t tell the Broncos they won’t be a factor in the conference title race.Santa Clara takes a 12-3 record into its WCC opener on Saturday at home against Pacific. The Broncos’ win total matches the most they’ve ever had pre-conference, going back to 1991, when they claimed WCC and WNIT championships.Their road wins this season over Oregon and Arizona State mark the first time they have beaten two Power 5 opponents in the same year since 2015-16, and the first time the...

Remote work in San Francisco has dropped 25%, according to study

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:41:10 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The number of people working from home in San Francisco has dropped by approximately 25%, according to a new study. The study, published by business resource website LLC.org, indicated that the total number of remote workers in the City by the Bay had fallen by 24.5% since 2021.About 32.5% of San Francisco's total workforce currently works remotely, according to the study. That's around 151,184 people. About 48,974 fewer people currently work from home in San Francisco, when compared to 2021. New California law ‘great’ for tenants Elsewhere in the Bay Area, working from home has decreased by 28.4% in Fremont and 28.1% in San Jose. Statewide, the number of remote workers has fallen by about 16%, or 611,133 workers.Among the factors cited for the drop in working from home are initiatives from big tech companies to get people back in the office."With large companies like Amazon and Meta pushing workers back to the office, the glory days of remote work appear t...

Dispatch audio: Oakland officer Tuan Le's killer is in custody

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:41:10 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) -- Oakland police officers exchanged a moment of solace over their emergency dispatch police radios when a suspected killer was apprehended and taken into custody. The man who gunned down Oakland Police Department Officer Tuan Le was found and taken into custody just after midnight on January 2, according to 911 dispatch audio. An OPD officer can be heard announcing over dispatch audio to his fellow on-duty officers, "I just want to advise everybody, that the killer of Officer Tuan Le is in custody. Please take care of ... each one of you." The police scanner traffic continues, "To all the officers working since that night ... and the dispatchers, thank you." Le was killed in the line of duty on December 29 while he was attempting to stop a group of burglars running out of a business near Jack London Square, interim police chief Darren Allison said. One person in the group opened fire on Le and a second undercover officer, Allison said. Le died hours later in ...

How to get on top of your personal finances in 2024

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:41:10 GMT

While losing weight or learning a new language can be a good New Year’s resolution, the beginning of the year can also be a good time to get your finances in order.Your financial goals will likely change based on age, but there are still tried-and-true goals that people of any age should strive for. If you or your kids are starting their career think about those first steps.“Before you do any kind of retirement savings, tackle that debt first,” said Candace Lee, client adviser and vice president at Glassman Wealth Services.Credit card debt alone surged to nearly a trillion dollars in late 2023.“We’re looking at sometimes north of 20-25% interest for having that debt,” she said. “Whatever kind of helps you get the ball rolling to, to pay down that type of debt aggressively. I think that almost comes before saving.”Another goal to consider is saving cash in an emergency fund. Lee said you want at least three to six months of household expenses in a high-yield savings account.“Do you h...

Rams to sit Stafford, Kupp, Donald, Kyren in regular-season finale vs 49ers to rest for playoffs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:41:10 GMT

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, Kyren Williams, Cooper Kupp and linebacker Ernest Jones will not play in the playoff-bound Los Angeles Rams’ regular-season finale at San Francisco, coach Sean McVay said Wednesday.Carson Wentz will make his Rams debut when they visit the 49ers on Sunday, McVay said. Los Angeles also will be without Williams, the NFL’s second-leading rusher; Kupp, the Super Bowl 56 MVP; Donald, the seven-time All-Pro defensive lineman; and Jones, the Rams’ leading tackler.The Rams (9-7) have clinched a playoff spot, and earning a slightly higher seeding clearly means little to McVay with most of the NFC playoff picture still in flux behind No. 1-seeded San Francisco.The 49ers are sitting starting quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey. Sam Darnold will start in Purdy’s place.Los Angeles will finish sixth in the NFC if it beats the 49ers or if Green Bay loses to Chicago on Sunday. If the 49ers a...

Imam killed in shooting outside New Jersey mosque, and the shooter remains at large, authorities say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:41:10 GMT

A New Jersey imam was shot multiple times and killed outside his mosque Wednesday, and authorities continue to search for the shooter, officials said.Imam Hassan Sharif was in his car when he was shot more than once at about 6 a.m. near the Masjid-Muhammad Mosque in Newark, Essex County Prosecutor Ted Stephens said at a news conference. He was taken to a nearby hospital but died in the afternoon.Authorities are still searching for a shooter, but there’s no evidence indicating the shooting was motivated by an anti-Muslim bias, Attorney General Matt Platkin said. Despite that, Platkin said law enforcement has stepped up outreach to houses of worship, particularly Jewish and Muslim ones, since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. “I know that in light of global events and with a rise in bias directed at many communities we’re experiencing across our state — particularly the Muslim community — there are many in New Jersey right now who are feeling a heightened sense of fear or anxiety at the ...

Michigan QB McCarthy says sign-stealing saga masked work of players who ‘did things the right way’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:41:10 GMT

The sign-stealing scandal that has hung over Michigan’s season has overshadowed the work the team has put in to go unbeaten and reach the College Football Playoff championship game, quarterback J.J. McCarthy said Wednesday.Michigan plays Washington for the national title in Houston on Monday as the NCAA continues to investigate allegations that the Wolverines, over three years extending into this season, had a staff member do in-person advance scouting against NCAA rules and used video equipment to pick off future opponents’ play-call signs from the sideline.Asked during a CFP media teleconference about the possibility of the NCAA ordering Michigan to vacate wins, McCarthy said it would be unfortunate for the players not to be recognized for what they’ve achieved.“But at the end of the day,” he said, “it’s not going to change the amount of accomplishment and the amount of pride for being on this football team and just everything that we accomplished because we know what ...

Colombia’s Barranquilla removed as host of 2027 Pan American Games

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:41:10 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The Colombian city of Barranquilla was stripped on Wednesday of its rights to host the next edition of the Pan American Games in 2027.Panam Sports, the executive body that organizes the largest multi-sports event in the Americas, said in a statement it made the decision after the city failed once more to comply with its contractual obligations.“The decision was made after repeated uncompliance with the current contract,” Panam Sports said in a statement without giving more details about the next steps to pick a host. “Due to no response after we reached another deadline, the executive committee of Panam Sports … has made the indeclinable decision to strip the city of its rights to host the continental event in 2027.” The latest edition of the Pan American Games was held in Santiago, Chile, between Oct. 22 and Nov. 5, during which Panam Sports gave Colombia a new deadline to comply with its obligations until January.Alejandro Char, the mayor...