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SpaceX successfully launches more Starlink satellites into orbit, lands Falcon 9 rocket

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:30 GMT

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California on Wednesday night.The rocket successfully lifted off from the base at 9:09 p.m. PDT and is carrying a group of Starlink satellites into orbit.The launch was visible to onlookers hundreds of miles away.Wednesday's launch was the rocket's second attempt after Tuesday night's mission was aborted five seconds before a scheduled lift-off time of 10:25 p.m.According to the company, 15 satellites were carried to low-Earth orbit during Wednesday night’s mission.Starlink is SpaceX’s satellite network designed to bring low-cost internet service to rural/remote communities.SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California on July 19, 2023. (SpaceX)SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California on July 19, 2023. (SpaceX)SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in Southern California...

San Diego State to remain in Mountain West, receive $6.6M initially withheld after decision to leave

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:30 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — San Diego State not only remains in the Mountain West, the Aztecs are getting the money that was withheld after they initially informed the conference of their intention to leave.The Mountain West will provide the $6.6 million that was withheld, but San Diego State is responsible for paying the conference's legal fees associated with the matter, first-year commissioner Gloria Nevarez said Wednesday at the conference's football media days.“I think my overarching philosophy to the entire thing is San Diego State is a positive to the Mountain West," Nevarez said. "We are better with San Diego State, and I feel good about where we landed.”Nevarez, however, knows this could be a temporary arrangement and acknowledged the Aztecs could still leave at some point should the Pac-12 or Big 12 come calling. They are committed for the next two years.When asked if the Mountain West had staved off any defections or raids, she said, “I mean today, yeah. Tomorrow? Who knows, right? ...

CBD In Disney? — Is CBD Allowed In Major American Theme Parks?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:30 GMT

A few years ago, Disney landed in the US hemp industry’s “hot seat.” When the 69-year-old Hester Burkhalter visited Disney’s Magic Kingdom in 2019, security guards discovered CBD oil in her purse. Although Burkhalter explained she had a doctor’s recommendation for this supplement, authorities arrested Burkhalter and put her in a prison cell for 12 hours.This eye-catching story signaled there are still places in the US where CBD isn’t tolerated. Just because the 2018 US Farm Bill passed doesn’t mean CBD customers should assume hemp products will be “OK” everywhere they travel.What’s The Legal Status Of CBD In Theme Parks?To understand how Disney could arrest a Burkhalter for having doctor-approved CBD, you must recognize that theme parks are private businesses. The 2018 US Farm Bill is a suggestion for private companies like Disney. While some theme parks allow people to bring in hemp-derived CBD products, most still ban cannabis-related item...

A Life Less Ordinary: Tegan and Sara are all about the music

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:30 GMT

A Life Less Ordinary: Canadian indie-pop duo Tegan and Sara are proudly, unashamedly un-tabloid. They refer to themselves as “average,” in non-self-effacing terms, due to their proclivity to avoid the celebrity lifestyle (we know what they mean. but there’s nothing average about these amazing women).When we think of Tegan and Sara, we think of their music. Who the twins are dating, hanging out with, wearing – nobody gives a shit and that’s to their immense credit.“It’s hugely flattering,” says Sara Keirsten Quin. “It would be difficult to maintain a tabloid-esque career when you’re not. Some people are so naturally good at being a headline, and I don’t think Tegan and I have that.”“It’s also choices,” adds Tegan Rain Quin. “I lived in L.A. for 12 years. Sara lived in New York for a handful of years and then L.A. for a handful of years. We said no to everything ‘red carpet.’ We were not that band. We’ve been lucky enough to make lifelong friends in this industry – musicians and actor...

Jury awards $800,000 in damages to 4-year-old girl burned by McDonald’s chicken nugget

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:30 GMT

How do you put a price on the pain of a 4-year-old child?A Broward jury decided the answer was $800,000 Wednesday afternoon, the amount in damages McDonald’s and a franchise operator will now have to pay a girl who received second-degree burns from a Chicken McNugget in 2019, a substantial decrease from the $15 million the family’s lawyers had asked for.Jurors handed in a verdict form that allotted $400,000 in damages for the past four years, and $400,000 for the future. They reached their verdict after deliberating less than two hours Wednesday.“I’m actually just happy that they listened to Olivia’s voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgment,” the girl’s mother, Philana Holmes, told reporters outside the courtroom Wednesday. “I’m happy with that. I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me.”Lawyers for the family had argued that $15 million is the least the corporation and its franchise operator, Upchurch Foods, can do to cover Olivia Caraballo’s pas...

7 amazing Bay Area things to do this weekend, July 21-23

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:30 GMT

From Barbie vs. the bomb to great live shows to 10 great ice cream parlors, there is just a ton of cool stuff to do this weekend. So, let’s get right to it, shall we?As with everything these days, be sure to double check websites for any last-minute changes in health guidelines. Meanwhile, if you’d like to have this Weekender lineup delivered to your inbox every Thursday morning for free, just sign up at www.mercurynews.com/newsletters or www.eastbaytimes.com/newsletters.1 WATCH: It’s Barbieheimer timeYes, two huge blockbuster movies, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” are both opening this weekend, and which one you see first says a lot about you. Do you support “Barbie,” about an 11½-inch plastic toy praised for empowering girls and vilified for promoting vapidity and eating disorders (see the review here), or “Oppenheimer,” about how America put one of the most brilliant minds in history to use figuring out a way to blow a...

Smoother pavement coming to Highway 87 as project begins this weekend (with lane closures): Roadshow

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:30 GMT

Q: Get ready for new pavement on Highway 87.A: Caltrans will begin the Highway 87 pavement improvement project this weekend. Overnight closures will be Thursday from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Friday, and Friday from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. Saturday. These lane closures will be in the southbound and northbound directions of Highway 87 between the Julian Street undercrossing and Highway 85.Detours and signs will be in place. For more information, visit Caltrans’ web page for this project, which is expected to be finished in the spring of 2025.Q: I was heading into San Francisco from Oakland last weekend, and was not alone, as traffic was backed up into the maze approaching the Bay Bridge. I had the option of exiting onto the carpool/bus ramp, but I hesitated, got stuck in traffic and then had plenty of time to ponder the legalities as I watched plenty of other cars zip through the toll lanes much faster. Is it OK to take the carpool ramp when it’s not carpool hours? And would I still be c...

You can earn $100,000 a year in these Bay Area counties and still be ‘low-income’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:30 GMT

In the exorbitantly expensive Bay Area, you can earn a six-figure salary and still be considered low-income.According to the latest state eligibility requirements for affordable housing, a resident of San Francisco or San Mateo County making up to $104,400 a year has a low income. In Santa Clara County, the cut-off is $96,000. And in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, it’s $78,550.The eye-popping figures underscore the deepening housing crisis across the region, where software engineers and service workers alike feel the squeeze of sky-high housing costs.Last month, the state raised the eligibility limits to reflect growing incomes across California. For many affordable housing programs, the limits help determine who can apply and how much they’re expected to pay — generally around 30% of their total earnings. Experts warn that the raised caps could spell rent hikes for some low-income housing tenants already struggling to make ends meet.“In theory, those hig...

Cambodia’s leader returns to Facebook weeks after an acrimonious breakup with the platform

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:30 GMT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen reactivated his Facebook account Thursday, three weeks after announcing he was forsaking the social media giant in favor of posting on Telegram, a popular messaging app that also serves as a blogging tool.Hun Sen’s return to the Facebook fold came three days before a general election in which his ruling Cambodian People’s Party is virtually guaranteed a landslide victory.Hun Sen said at the end of June that he would stop posting new material on his Facebook page but leave the account online. He said he was switching to Telegram because he believed the app provided a more effective way to communicate. But when a Facebook watchdog criticized the language in one of his videos and recommended suspending the prime minister’s account for six months, Hun Sen took down the page.Duong Dara, who manages the 70-year-old leader’s social media accounts, posted a message Thursday saying he had asked Hun Sen to reactivate his...

The female suspect in a 2022 fire at a Wyoming abortion clinic is set to take a plea deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:14:30 GMT

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A judge is set to consider a plea deal Thursday for an abortion opponent who investigators say burned Wyoming’s first full-service abortion clinic in years.Lorna Roxanne Green, 22, told investigators she broke in and used gasoline to set fire to the Wellspring Health Access clinic in Casper because it was giving her anxiety and nightmares, according to court documents.Green is scheduled to appear in court for a change-of-plea hearing Thursday before U.S. District Judge Alan Johnson in Cheyenne. Details of her proposed deal with prosecutors have been off-limits to the public pending Johnson’s approval of the agreement.Charged with arson, Green faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, though a plea deal could bring a lighter sentence. Green has been free from jail since March while her case proceeds, and she pleaded not guilty at a court hearing in June.Her deal with prosecutors, revealed by court documents filed last week, suggests sheR...