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San Diego among top hiking cities in US: study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- With landscapes ranging from the beaches and deserts to valleys and mountains, hiking is a popular outdoor activity in the San Diego area.LawnStarter conducted a study to find the best hiking cities in the U.S. in honor of National Trails Day on June 3. It compared the 200 biggest U.S. cities based on hiking trail access and quality, climate, safety and other key indicators of hiker-friendliness. The company ranked San Diego as No. 6 on its list, according to the report. Here is how America's Finest City stacked up in some key metrics: Number of Hiking Routes - 12thNumber of Top-Rated Hiking Trails (4.5+ Stars and 10+ Reviews) - 13thNumber of Outdoor Gear Stores - 8thHistorical Annual Average Number of Extremely Hot Days - 8thNatural/Environmental Death Rate - 44th California campsite reservation bill passes State Assembly Other California cities that made the list include Los Angeles (3rd), Oakland (7th), San Francisco (11th), San Jose (12th), Pasadena (20th) and Hun...

Carter and the Kings: A friendship and alliance – but after MLK’s assassination

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:00 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The voice of Martin Luther King Sr., a melodic tenor like his slain son, carried across Madison Square Garden, calming the raucous Democrats who had nominated his friend and fellow Georgian for the presidency. “Surely, the Lord sent Jimmy Carter to come on out and bring America back where she belongs,” the venerated Black pastor said as the nominee smiled behind him. “I’m with him. You are, too. Let me tell you, we must close ranks now.”Carter then shared a moment with Coretta Scott King, clasping hands and locking eyes with the widowed first lady of the Civil Rights Movement, their children looking on. For the Kings, closing the 1976 convention affirmed their continued reach — and their pragmatism — eight years after Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. For Carter, it marked the evolution of a white politician from the Old Confederacy: As a local leader and state senator who aspired for more, he had mostly avoided controversial stands during the civil rights era....

Golden Knights rally to beat Panthers 5-2 in Stanley Cup opener

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:00 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Back in the Stanley Cup final for the first time in five years and trailing the Florida Panthers less than 10 minutes into Game 1, the Vegas Golden Knights sent a very clear message.“We were ready,” Jonathan Marchessault said.Ready and dominant. Vegas rallied from an early deficit, got the go-ahead goal from Zach Whitecloud with just over 13 minutes left and arguably the best save of the playoffs from Adin Hill and beat Florida 5-2 Saturday night to take the lead in the best-of-seven series.“We kept our composure, and it was good,” said Marchessault, one of six original Knights players left from the start of the franchise in 2017 who scored the tying goal in the first period. “We just wanted to play the right way and be disciplined, and tonight we were able to be the better team.”Whitecloud put Vegas ahead, a crucial penalty kill followed and captain Mark Stone scored an insurance goal that was reviewed for a high stick and confirmed. Reilly Smith ...

Indian officials end rescue work for 2 wrecked passenger trains that killed over 300 people

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:00 GMT

BALASORE, India (AP) — With rescue work finished, authorities began clearing the mangled wreckage of two passenger trains that derailed in eastern India, killing more than 300 people and injuring hundreds in one of the country’s deadliest rail accidents in decades, officials said Sunday.Investigators are looking into possible causes behind Friday night’s crash in Balasore district of eastern Odisha state, including whether human error or signal failure played a role.Fifteen bodies were recovered on Saturday evening and efforts continued overnight as heavy cranes were used to remove an engine that had settled on top of a rail car. No bodies were found in the engine and the work was completed on Sunday morning, said Sudhanshu Sarangi, director-general of fire and emergency services in Odisha.The accident occurred at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is focusing on the modernization of the British colonial-era railroad network in India, which has become the world’s most populous...

Slow start to New York’s legal pot market leaves farmers holding the bag

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:00 GMT

ARGYLE, N.Y. (AP) — Seth Jacobs has about 100 bins packed with marijuana flower sitting in storage at his upstate New York farm. And that’s a problem. There aren’t enough places to sell it.The 700 pounds (318 kilograms) of pungent flower was harvested last year as part of New York’s first crop of legally grown pot for recreational use. He also has roughly 220 pounds (100 kilograms) of distillate. Months later, there are only a dozen licensed dispensaries statewide to sell what Jacobs and more than 200 other farmers produced.Now, another growing season is underway and farmers still sitting on much of last year’s harvest are in a financial bind.“We are really under the gun here. We’re all losing money,” Jacobs recently said at his farm on rolling land near the Vermont border. “Even the most entrepreneurial and ambitious amongst us just can’t move much product in this environment.”New York pot farmers aren’t the only ones struggling with difficult economic conditions. Marij...

Wisconsin Republicans look for rebound, Democrats stay on offensive as 2024 fights loom

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:00 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republicans still reeling from an April election that saw conservatives lose majority control of the state Supreme Court for the first time in 15 years hope to use their upcoming state convention to unify and refocus on the 2024 presidential race in which Wisconsin will once again be a battleground.Democrats, recognizing that four of the past six presidential elections in the state have been decided by less than a percentage point, are trying not to become overconfident in the face of recent gains. They are gathering for their annual state convention starting June 10 in Green Bay.“The wind is at our backs, but in Wisconsin no one should ever take anything for granted,” said state Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler. “I haven’t met a single Democrat who thinks we can rest easy.”Democratic candidates, including Gov. Tony Evers and President Joe Biden, have won 14 of the past 17 statewide elections. In April, Democratic-backed Supreme Court candidate Jan...

Election in Mexico’s most populous state seen as preview of 2024 national contest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:00 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexicans in two states, including the country’s most populous, will elect new governors Sunday, having only known single-party rule for nearly a century.The State of Mexico hugs Mexico City on three sides, encompassing urban sprawl and rural ranches, as well as stunning inequality, violence and corruption. For decades it has been the heart of the Institutional Revolutionary Party.But its voters could be ready to finally oust the PRI in favor of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party, in a race closely watched as a preview of the 2024 presidential election.Morena candidate Delfina Gómez, a schoolteacher making her second bid for the post, has held a healthy lead in recent polling over Alejandra del Moral. The former mayor representing the PRI has struggled to attract a fed-up electorate bent on change.Del Moral is not only the PRI’s hope. She leads a bizarre coalition including the conservative National Action Party and leftist Party of the Democratic...

Pico-Union crash kills child, leaves 1 hospitalized

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:00 GMT

A crash in Pico-Union has left at least one child dead and another person hospitalized on Saturday night.Officers responded to a collision near Washington Boulevard and Toberman Street around 5:08 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department.Police believe the vehicle crashed into a stationary container and possibly another vehicle at some point.When officers arrived, the child was transported to a local hospital where they later died from their injuries. The second victim remains in stable condition, authorities said.Details are limited and it’s unknown whether more victims were involved. Neither the victims' ages nor identities have been released.The cause of the deadly crash remains under investigation. Officers are interviewing witnesses in the area to gather more information.This developing story will be updated.

Facing former club, Alex Cobb leads SF Giants’ shutout win over Orioles

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Asked before the game about Alex Cobb’s uncharacteristically ineffective starts his past two times through the rotation, Giants manager Gabe Kapler chalked it up to “baseball.” As in, results can be random and, with the right process, tend to even out over time.It didn’t take much time to correct course in this instance: Cobb was back in top form against his former club, leading the Giants to a 4-0 shutout of the Orioles.Cobb faced the minimum through four innings, didn’t allow a runner to reach scoring position until the sixth, and blanked Baltimore for all of 7⅔ innings. Camilo Doval, who led MLB with 11 saves in May and earned National League Reliever of the Month honors, recorded the final three outs.The Giants (29-29) returned to .500 with only their second win in their past six games and will have Anthony DeSclafani on the mound in the rubber match Sunday.Cobb departed to a standing ovation from the 32,416 in attendance after doing...

Fiery crash after Danville car chase leaves multiple people injured

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:33:00 GMT

A car chase through Danville on Saturday morning left multiple people injured when the car crashed, flipped over and caught fire.The car was fleeing from a Danville Police officer around 1 a.m. who was attempting to pull them over at Diablo Road and El Cerro Boulevard for running a red light, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.The car fled east on Diablo Road and back onto Blackhawk Road and ran another red light at the intersection with Camino Tassajara Road before colliding with another vehicle, rolling over and catching fire.The five passengers inside were rescued and taken to the hospital, and the driver suffered major injuries, officials said.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Death toll from India train accident climbs to more than 200 Crashes and Disasters | Body of California woman among those found near submerged Alaska boat Crashes and Disasters | Woman disappears from Sierra swimming hole God’...