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769,000 retired California workers and beneficiaries affected by pension fund hack

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:00 GMT

By SOPHIE AUSTIN and FRANK BAJAK | Associated PressSACRAMENTO — The country’s largest public pension fund says the personal information of about 769,000 retired California employees and other beneficiaries — including Social Security numbers — was among data stolen by Russian cybercriminals in the breach of a popular file-transfer application.It blamed the breach on a third-party vendor that verifies deaths. The same vendor, PBI Research Services/Berwyn Group, also lost the personal data of at least 2.5 million Genworth Financial policyholders, including Social Security numbers, to the same criminal gang, according to the Fortune 500 insurer.The California Public Employees Retirement system said they were offering affected members two years of free credit monitoring. Genworth said in a statement posted online it would offer credit monitoring and ID theft protection.The breach of the MOVEit file-transfer program, discovered last month, is estimated by cybersecurity experts to have co...

Has misuse taken the spark out of fireworks in California?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:00 GMT

Decked out in patriotic red, white and blue, the Fourth of July is a federal holiday commemorating our nation’s declaration of independence from England. But with skyrocketing prices, an upswing in illegal lighting, tougher regulations and myriad other challenges facing the use of pyrotechnics in California, it seems to be getting harder and harder to continue a tradition started by one of our Founding Fathers back in 1776.Before becoming our second president, John Adams predicted a country reveling with “bonfires and illuminations” in a letter to his wife on the eve of the Second Continental Congress officially telling the tyrant King George III to take a hike. Little did Adams know that his star-spangled suggestion would spark concern and criticism nearly 250 years later.Inherent worries over safety and noise have always separated fireworks from baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and other relatively benign symbols of Americana. But even as fireworks-related injuries are at historic lo...

$15.3 million of illegal cannabis seized from 20 East Bay grow sites

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:00 GMT

(KRON) -- On Tuesday officers served 20 search warrants at illegal grow sites throughout Contra Costa County including five in Antioch, three in Brentwood, two in Discovery Bay and 10 in Pittsburg. Over $15.3 million of illegal cannabis was seized along with seven firearms and over $24,000 in cash. The investigation, led by the Department of Cannabis Control, spanned over several weeks and included agencies such as the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Department of Tax and Fee Administration, the California National Guard and local law enforcement. Fatal shooting closes Powell Street BART station entrance Investigators say the biggest giveaway that marijuana is being grown inside an illegal grow site, usually unsuspecting residential houses, is an increasingly high power bill. Photo: DCCPhoto: DCCPhoto: DCC"Mold is a huge issue and obviously that gets into the plant and then obviously to unsuspecting consumers who are inhaling or consuming mold," said Chief of Law Enforcement...

San Jose Animal Care Center waives adoption fees through July

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:00 GMT

(BCN) -- The San Jose Animal Care Center, an animal shelter under the city's Animal Care and Services division, announced Thursday that it will waive all adoption fees through July 31. $15.3 million of illegal cannabis seized from 20 East Bay grow sites With animal shelters nationwide facing record numbers of animals entering their shelters, the program is aimed at finding homes for hundreds of the center's animals. The Animal Care and Services division assists with lost and stray pets, pet licensing, animal control, fostering and adoption.The division was founded in 2001 and opened up the Center in 2004. Animals available include dogs, cats, rabbits and guinea pigs among many others. 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%; }The cent...

BART to offer special service during San Francisco Pride Parade

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:00 GMT

(KRON) – BART’s Sunday schedule will offer a more robust service for this year’s San Francisco Pride Parade than any other past Pride parade.According to BART, during last year’s parade, they handled over 133,000 trips which was 112% of ridership projections for a pre-COVID June Sunday. BART is set to start their service at 8 a.m. and will have five service lines until 9 p.m., BART said. $15.3 million of illegal cannabis seized from 20 East Bay grow sites After 9 p.m., BART will run three service lines. Event trains will support service lines running from Millbrae to downtown San Francisco and Pleasant Hill to downtown San Francisco from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Event trains are scheduled to depart San Francisco Stations at 4 p.m. to Millbrae and Pleasant Hill, BART said.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...

Kyrsten Sinema Moves to Slash Pilot Training After Taking Airline Cash

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:00 GMT

In a blistering attack on her Senate colleague last week, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., warned independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema that a proposal to reduce the number of required in-flight training hours for pilots would result in “blood on your hands.” The attack from Duckworth was prompted by an amendment supported by Sinema and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., that would allow pilots to meet training requirements by substituting hours spent in a flight simulator for actual flight time.For Duckworth, who lost both of her legs to a rocket attack on the Black Hawk helicopter she was piloting in 2004 during the Iraq War, the issue is personal. “Now is not the time to put corporate profits ahead of the lives of our constituents who may want to board a commercial flight in the future,” Duckworth said. “A vote to reduce a 1,500-hour rule for pilot training will mean blood on your hands when an inevitable accident occurs as a result of an inadequately trained flight crew.”The eleventh-hour ...

Exploding fire extinguisher kills a student and injures 5 during a high school fire drill in Bangkok

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:00 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A fire extinguisher exploded and killed a student during a fire drill held outdoors in sweltering heat at a high school in Thailand’s capital Friday, police said. Five other students were injured.The carbon dioxide canister was being displayed in bright sunshine near students during the demonstration in Bangkok when it exploded and sent metal scraps into the chest of the boy who died, city police chief Thiti Saengsawang said.Temperatures in Bangkok reached as high as 36 C ( 97 F) on Friday.At least three people could face charges of death by negligence, Thiti said, but he did not identify them. Police and rescuers said five students were injured.Education Minister Treenuch Thienthong said it was the first time in six years that the school had held a fire drill, and that it was coordinated by Bangkok’s fire department. She said the department hadn’t experienced such an accident before during the many drills it has conducted at schools.Source

AP Photos: At Royal Ascot, the hats are almost as important as the horses

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Every summer, British royals and thousands of others get dressed to the nines for Royal Ascot, a glamorous annual horse racing event that dates back to 1711, when Queen Anne founded Ascot Racecourse in southern England.The outfits are fancy but the hats are the main fashion attraction — extravagant, elaborate and sometimes gravity-defying. This year’s standouts included a giant sunflower, several feathered numbers, and an “Alice in Wonderland”-themed hat with playing cards, a clock and a ribbon that read “We’re all mad here.” Some 300,000 visitors usually attend the Royal Ascot over five days. This year, King Charles III and Queen Camilla were among them, and some attendees at Ladies Day Thursday said they had designed their hats specifically to pay tribute to the new monarch.Viv Jenner, a milliner, wore a hat made for the wearer to look through the flowered brim at the center, made from feathers.“I designed this with the king in mind, it’s new beginn...

Police: Officer seriously injured when struck by car reported stolen

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:00 GMT

WOODBRIDGE, Va. (AP) — A northern Virginia police officer has been seriously injured after authorities say he was struck by a stolen car he was attempting to stop.According to Prince William County Police, the officer spotted the stolen vehicle on a side street in Woodbridge around 11 p.m. Thursday.Police say that as the officer was at the driver’s side window, the driver inside sped away and made a U-turn.The driver then sped directly at the officer, according to police. The officer opened fire before he was struck by the car. The car crashed and the driver fled on foot.Police say the suspect was found around 1:30 a.m. Friday after an extensive search and did not appear to have been injured by the officer’s gunfire. The officer was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.Police said they would release more information Friday after the suspect is formally arrested.Source

Titanic submersible ‘catastrophic implosion’: questions remain about the costs and ethics of rescuing tourist expeditions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:00 GMT

By: Ali Asgary, York University, CanadaThe U.S. Coast Guard announced Thursday that debris found on the seafloor was identified as belonging to the Titan, the OceanGate submersible that had disappeared on June 18. Teams from different countries — including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany — were conducting search missions under a very tight timeline.The discovery, close to the site of the Titanic, indicates the end of search-and-rescue operations for the five people onboard, who were killed in a ‘catastrophic implosion,’ according to the Coast Guard.As one of the largest international marine search-and-rescue operations, the incident raised questions about risk management, search-and-rescue operations, costs and ethical aspects of responses.Ocean incidentsA significant number of economic activities — including shipping, fishing and offshore oil and gas drilling — are conducted in marine environments. These activities can lead to occurrences of accidents and ...