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Letters: Monstrous crime | Advocating violence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Israel must not drivePalestinians from GazaSince President Biden’s initial declaration of unconditional support for Israel, Israel’s forces have killed over 18,000 Gazans, 70% women and children. Facing growing international condemnation, administration officials have tried to hide behind ineffectual pleadings to Israel to reduce civilian casualties, but the continued provision of a flood of U.S. weapons has only fueled the slaughter. The U.S. veto of a recent Security Council cease-fire proposal has exposed U.S. complicity in the relentless carnage.Claiming to target Hamas, Israeli forces have actually destroyed much of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure. Fuel, electricity, fresh water and food have been choked off. Housing, medical facilities and sanitation infrastructure have been targeted and destroyed creating wastelands of rubble that could be used to justify the forced displacement o...

Russian missile attack on Kyiv wounds dozens

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

By Hanna Arhirova and Karl Ritter | Associated PressKYIV, Ukraine — A barrage of Russian missiles targeted Kyiv on Wednesday, wounding at least 53 people, officials said, as the Ukrainian president sought more military support in Europe after a trip to Washington secured no new pledges.Loud explosions rocked Ukraine’s capital at 3 a.m. as the city’s air defenses were activated for the second time this week. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 10 ballistic missiles toward Kyiv and all were intercepted by air defenses, but their debris struck homes and a children’s hospital.The attack underscored the continuing threat to Ukraine from the Kremlin’s missile arsenal in the 21-month war. Russia has been stockpiling its air-launched cruise missiles from its heavy bomber fleet, according to a recent assessment by the U.K. Ministry of Defense.That may herald another heavy winter bombardment of Ukraine’s power grid. Moscow last year targeted energy inf...

Protesters try new tactics as Berkeley council shuts down discussion on Gaza ceasefire resolution

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

BERKELEY – All nine chairs reserved for the Berkeley City Council were yet again vacated earlier than expected Tuesday night, when the biweekly meeting was forcibly adjourned only 96 minutes after it started.It’s become a regular occurrence since councilmembers abruptly walked out of their Nov. 14 meeting only 20 minutes after protesters pressing them to call for a ceasefire in Gaza disrupted the agenda’s proceedings.This week, Mayor Jesse Arreguín attempted to keep a tight grip on public comments during the council’s final meeting of 2023, directing the city clerk to draw only 10 speaker cards from people physically at the meeting and call the first 10 raised hands on Zoom.But organizers who want the council to act on Gaza have quickly adapted their toolbox of tactics to get their comments in.After three different ceasefire resolutions — each drafted by Berkeley councilmembers Rigel Robinson, Terry Taplin and Ben Bartlett — were abandoned in the days before Tuesda...

Letters: Swiss approach

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.State should have takenSwiss approach to railRe: “Newsom was originally right about California bullet train” (Page A6, Dec. 12).Related ArticlesLetters to the Editor | Letters: Investigation needed | Bring charges | Cease-fire veto | Urban gardens | Checks and balances | Ammunition plant Letters to the Editor | Letters: Fighting homelessness | Mideast war Letters to the Editor | Letters: No propaganda | Non-native species | Police militarization Letters to the Editor | Letters: Fairgrounds leadership | Alzheimer’s fight | Israel’s self-defense | Only way | Hamas’ fate | Endangered species Letters to the Editor | Letters: Moving forward | Teaching to hate | Nice set up | National tragedy | Horror minimized | Waste of time Gov. Newsom’s skepticism about the bullet train was spot on. The bigge...

Restoring San Francisco Bay wetlands, one industrial salt pond at a time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

To the cheers of distant onlookers, a yellow excavator sliced through a dirt levee to open a long-captive 19th century industrial salt pond to the wild San Francisco Bay on Wednesday morning, allowing tidal waters to gush in to a 300-acre future marsh in Menlo Park.The project – part of the largest wetlands restoration ever conducted on the West Coast – is the latest addition to a growing mosaic of restored habitats for endangered wildlife, while providing flood protection and places to play for local residents.Flanking the northwest side of the Dumbarton Bridge, the now-barren pond will gain a more natural and lovely palette. Once filled with water and fresh sediments, it will support seeds that float in from adjacent marshes, then plants will germinate. This will welcome the arrival of little crustaceans, like crabs, as well as invertebrates, birds and fish.“This day feels incredible to me. It’s the culmination of years of work to restore the tidal marsh and open ponds...

14-year-old with knife detained for trespassing on middle school campus in Santa Rosa

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

(KRON) -- A student with a knife was detained on the campus of a Santa Rosa middle school Wednesday, the Santa Rosa Police Department said. At around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Santa Rosa PD officer Luigi Valencia, who was assigned to Herbert Slater Middle School, was meeting with a student experiencing a mental health crisis in the school's administrative office.Officer Valencia is a licensed mental health clinician and was awaiting the arrival of the inRESPONSE Mental Health Response Team when administrators informed him that an unknown juvenile was on campus.According to police, a physical education teacher made contact with a juvenile male that he did not recognize on campus. As the teacher was advising school officials about the trespasser, the unknown juvenile began walking away from the area. 49ers investigating noose seen at tailgate ahead of Seahawks game Another staff member followed the juvenile off campus and onto Sonoma Avenue, police said. He was able to convince the juven...

New York courthouse hosting Trump civil trial evacuated after man sets papers on fire, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The courthouse in New York City where former President Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial has been taking place was briefly evacuated Wednesday, hours after testimony concluded, when a man set papers on fire and then doused them with a fire extinguisher, officials said.Firefighters arrived at the New York State Supreme Court Building in lower Manhattan shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday to respond to an alarm on the fourth floor. There was a visible haze in the stairwell between the third and fourth floor, according to an Associated Press reporter who was asked to leave the building.A man was arrested after setting fire to some documents, said court spokesperson Al Baker. He did not release further details, but said the incident is under investigation. Those who evacuated were allowed to return shortly afterward. No injuries were reported.Officials didn’t immediately identify the man who was arrested.The evacuation came hours after the conclusion of testimon...

Matthew Stafford has propelled the Rams into the NFC playoff race with some of his best play ever

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Matthew Stafford has been a star quarterback for far too long to really care what a fan, a pundit or even an opponent thinks about how he’s playing.So even though he’s in one of the most impressive stretches of his 15-year career with his Los Angeles Rams in the thick of the NFC playoff race, Stafford isn’t about to change his stance of politely ignoring any praise or criticism from outside his own locker room.“If I’m playing good, that means the guys in front of me are blocking, the guys on the outside are getting open and catching it, and we’re running the ball efficiently,” Stafford said Wednesday. “It’s an unbelievable team sport. It takes everybody to do all of it. I’m just trying to make sure that when everything is right around me and my number is called, to go out there and do my job as best as I possibly can.”Stafford has been doing his job exceptionally well this season, particularly over the past three weeks while throwing 10...

‘We are still in the game’: Mayor Bowser says DC is holding out hope that Wizards, Caps will stay put

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

Mayor Muriel Bowser said she’s disappointed by a plan to relocate the Wizards and Capitals to Virginia and is planning for the future of downtown D.C. should it come to pass. But she hasn’t lost hope that those teams will stay put.Monumental Sports & Entertainment, the organization that owns the teams, alongside Virginia leaders shared details about the proposed new sports venue and entertainment district in Potomac Yard, near National Landing, on Wednesday morning.Prior to the announcement, the city put a $500 million counteroffer on the table that Bowser called the “best and final offer” to keep the teams at Capital One Arena in the Chinatown section of the Penn Quarter neighborhood.Under D.C.’s proposal, the arena’s current lease with Monumental would be extended to 2052 with the city financing upgrades distributed over a three-year period, starting next year. The legislation also states the Capitals and the Wizards would not be able to rel...

Hamas no responde a los intentos por retomar las negociaciones sobre rehenes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:27 GMT

(CNN) — Hamas no ha respondido a las propuestas realizadas en días recientes para intentar reanudar las negociaciones sobre rehenes, declaró a CNN una fuente familiarizada con los esfuerzos, mientras Estados Unidos y otros mediadores intentan retomar las conversaciones para liberar a más de las personas secuestrados el 7 de octubre.Qatar –que sigue desempeñando el papel de interlocutor– transmitió a Hamas nuevas ideas para intentar sacar a más rehenes de Gaza, incluido un posible acuerdo que contempla la liberación no solo de las mujeres rehenes restantes, sino también de hombres, según una fuente familiarizada con las gestiones y un alto funcionario de Estados Unidos.“No se trata de una negociación activa, sino de una exploración real de ideas sobre cómo poner esto en marcha”, declaró el alto funcionario estadounidense.Sin embargo, Hamas no respondió a los contactos, según la fuente familiarizada.El audio filtrado de una acalorada reunión revela la furia de los ex...