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Blue whales are thriving in California waters - the story of their amazing comeback

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:33 GMT

Everyone loves a good comeback, and one of the most impressive stories in Southern California is still being written - the resurgence of Pacific blue whales. If you've recently taken a Southern California whale-watching tour, you may have been lucky enough to come across earth's largest animal. Pacific blue whales grow up to 110 feet long and can reach a weight of 200 tons. They spend their winters off the coast of Mexico, but migrate north for summer feeding, and Californians are seeing them with more regularity. Decades ago, blue whales were nearly hunted to extinction, and although still listed as protected under the Endangered Species Act, marine biologists and researchers are heralding a "conservation success story," unlike any other.A blue whale is shown, apparently entangled in some kind of fishing line, off the coast of Dana Point on June 27, 2016. (Credit: Capt. Dave's Dolphin & Whale Safari)According to a study published in 2014 by researchers at the University of Wash...

Foreign criminals a growing problem in Southern California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:33 GMT

Republican and Democratic congressional members are raising awareness of foreign criminals coming into Southern California to commit violent crimes.  Amid news that Chilean criminal gangs have been burglarizing homes in Orange County, officials are concerned about a particular visa program that allows Chilean nationals to come into the United States on 90-day visas without having to provide a criminal background check.  US warns of violent crime at popular tourist destination O.C. District Attorney Todd Spitzer says the program causes issues in court when someone is arrested and comes before a judge and they are unable to prove a criminal background, if any. If they are released on a lower bail or no bail at all, they usually don’t show up for future hearings. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy held a roundtable discussion in O.C. with law enforcement and lawmakers on Friday to address the rising crime and discuss concerns and potential changes to the visa waiver program....

'An undetermined substance' killed Abby Lutz and John Heathco, Mexico prosecutors say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:33 GMT

Prosecutors in Mexico's Baja California Sur state said Thursday that autopsies on two Americans found dead in their luxury hotel room suggest they died of “intoxication by an undetermined substance.”Local police initially said gas inhalation was suspected as the cause of death.The state prosecutor's office said the bodies bore no signs of violence. The office did not say what further steps were being taken to determine the exact cause of death.Friends have identified the victims as Abby Lutz, 28, and John Heathco, 41, or Orange County. The nutritional supplements company LES Labs, based in Covina, California, lists Heathco as its founder. According to her Facebook profile, Lutz was originally from Utah and was working as a Nanny in Orange County.Abby Lutz and John Heathco were found dead at a resort in Baja California Sur. June 2023. (Facebook)“While on a beautiful trip in Mexico, Abby and her boyfriend thought they had food poisoning and went to the hospital to get treatment,”...

Two killed in Oakland shooting, stabbing early Saturday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:33 GMT

OAKLAND — A man was fatally shot and another man stabbed to death within 15 minutes early Saturday in different areas of the city, authorities said.The names of the victims have not yet been released.The shooting, which claimed the life of a 21-year-old man, happened about 3:04 a.m. Saturday in the 2100 block of 39th Avenue in East Oakland.Police responding to a gunshot detection system alert found the man, who lives in the area, unconscious and bleeding from at least one gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.Police are trying to determine a motive for the shooting and whether the man was shot by someone who approached him on the street or fired from a vehicle. No arrests have been made.The stabbing was reported about 2:53 a.m. in the 100 block of 14th Street in downtown Oakland.A 27-year-old man was found stabbed on the north sidewalk, across the street from the main library. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3:17 a.m., authorities said.P...

One dead in early morning shooting in Oakland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:33 GMT

(KRON) – One person is deceased following an early morning shooting in the City of Oakland. Just after 3 a.m., officers responded to the report of a shooting in the 2100 block of 39th Avenue. After arriving, police located a victim with at least one gunshot wound, according to the Oakland Police Department.  Pedestrian dead after hit-and-run in Oakland Medical personnel arrived at the scene and pronounced the victim as deceased. The victim’s identity is expected to be released once next of kin is notified.KRON On is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }OPD’s Homicide Section is now investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact Oakland police at 510-238-3821.

Pink Triangle to be displayed in San Francisco today

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:33 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Community members are marking Pride Month in San Francisco by installing a display of the iconic Pink Triangle in the city's Twin Peaks neighborhood.This will be the Pink Triangle’s 28th year in the city celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and marking an iconic symbolism of pride. Around 450 volunteers are helping with the installation. 4 Fun Things: Here’s what’s happening in the Bay Area Founder Patrick Carney says they have 175 bright pink tarps and a border of 220 foot long sheets of sailcloth. The installment is expected to take over an acre of space. Carneys says he hopes the installment will spark the curiosity of others as they drive by.The Pink Triangle was originally used to brand suspected homosexuals in Nazi concentration camps and in the 1970s it was revived as a symbol of protest.KRON On is streaming news live now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe,...

Tiafoe to play Struff in Stuttgart final after beating Fucsovics

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:33 GMT

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Frances Tiafoe will contest his first grass-court final after the American player outlasted Marton Fucsovics in a marathon Stuttgart Open tiebreak on Saturday.Tiafoe won their semifinal 6-3, 7-6 (11) after saving six set points in the tiebreak. He seized his chance at 11-10 down to win the next three points, sealing victory with a stinging return shot.“Crazy match, crazy second set, I’m just happy to get through,” he said. “I wasn’t relaxed in that tiebreak at all.”Tiafoe will play Jan-Lennard Struff in Sunday’s final after the home crowd cheered the German player past Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.Tiafoe has a 2-4 win-loss record in finals. He won his last final in April on Houston clay against Tomás Martín Etcheverry.Hungarian player Fucsovics came through qualifying in Stuttgart and upset Tiafoe’s friend and fellow American player, Taylor Fritz, in the quarterfinals on Friday. He was bidding to reach his first final since 2021 but his return g...

Michael Jordan’s decision to sell Hornets leaves some team decisions in flux

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:33 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The timing of Michael Jordan’s decision to sell his majority ownership stake in the Charlotte Hornets has left the organization in flux, with several looming key personnel decisions.The Hornets have the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night. They also have some difficult decisions to make in free agency in early July, including whether to re-sign embattled restricted free-agent Miles Bridges.With the NBA’s Board of Governors unlikely to approve the team’s sale to an ownership group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall until at least another month or two, the question becomes who’ll sign off on general manager Mitch Kupchak’s potentially franchise-altering decisions this summer?Will it be Jordan, a lame duck majority owner? Or will the new ownership have a major input? Jordan will remain on as a minority owner after the sale is approved, so he still has a vested interest in the organization.Bobby Marks, a front office insider for ESPN, said the timing o...

Juneteenth Music Festival, Parade in Denver attracts thousands

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:33 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- This weekend nearly 70,000 people are expected to attend the several Juneteenth celebrations in the metro. According to the Juneteenth Music Festival website, Denver is home to the Juneteenth Music Festival, an event that annually attracts tens of thousands of people. In 2021, Juneteenth was recognized as a commemorative holiday by Denver City Council the website stated. The festival will happen both Saturday and Sunday in the historic Five Points Neighborhood. It will all kick off with a parade starting at Manual High School. The parade will start at 11:00 am going from 26th Avenue on Williams St. to 26th Avenue on Welton Street. The festival's website gives background information on the holiday:  "Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texa...

50 million under severe storm threat Friday as one Texas town digs out after a deadly tornado

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:33 GMT

(CNN) — More than 50 million people across a large swath of the United States are under a severe weather threat Friday, one day after storms cut a deadly path across Texas, Florida and Mississippi.Three people, including a child, were killed in Perryton, Texas, when a ruinous tornado slammed the town Thursday, the fire chief told CNN. The storm also sent up to 100 people in the Texas Panhandle town to the hospital with injuries ranging from head wounds to abrasions, the Ochiltree General Hospital interim CEO told CNN.An 11-year-old boy, among the three killed by the tornado in Texas, was found dead in the neighborhood where he lived, Perryton Fire Chief Paul Dutcher told CNN.One person has died after severe weather swept through Mississippi overnight, the Mississippi Department of Emergency Management said in a release. Preliminary reports show that more than 70 homes have been damaged.A person in Florida died after being trapped under a tree that ...