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$1.50 bridge toll hike? Bay Area drivers could be on the hook to help bail out BART and other transit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:59 GMT

Bay Area drivers could soon be on the hook to help bail out BART and other transit agencies struggling to recover from the pandemic under a new plan that would hike bridge tolls $1.50, lawmakers plan to announce at a news conference this morning.The proposal comes amid optimism that Gov. Gavin Newsom will accept basic terms of a short-term transit bailout in the upcoming budget expected to be finalized this week.The toll hike legislation by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, calls for a $1.50 toll increase for crossing state-owned bridges in the San Francisco Bay Area through 2028 and to allocate proceeds to Bay Area transit operators that have seen revenues plummet since the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.Lawmakers are expected to detail the proposal at an 11:30 a.m. news conference at the state Capitol.The bridge toll increase would apply to seven state-owned toll bridges managed by the Bay Area Toll Authority: The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the Antioch, Carquinez, Dumbart...

Supreme Court allows lawsuits over sexual abuse against Ohio State

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:59 GMT

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday left in place a decision that allows more than 230 men to sue Ohio State University over decades-old sexual abuse by a university doctor, the late Richard Strauss.Two cases involving the abuse were on a list of many cases the court said it would not hear. And, as is typical, the court did not comment in saying it would not hear the cases.Ohio State University had urged the court to review a ruling by the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that revived lawsuits that had been dismissed. The men who sued are among hundreds of former student-athletes and other alumni who say they were abused by Strauss, who worked at the school from 1978 to 1998.They say university officials failed to stop him despite complaints raised as early as the late 1970s. Many of them allege Strauss abused them during required physicals and other medical exams at campus athletic facilities, a student health center, his home and an off-campus clinic.Strauss killed himself...

Moscow tries to project stability as Wagner chief remains defiant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:59 GMT

Associated PressThe leader of the Wagner mercenary group defended his short-lived insurrection in a boastful, taunting audio statement Monday as the Kremlin tried to project stability, with authorities releasing a video of the defense minister reviewing troops in Ukraine.In an 11-minute audio statement, Yevgeny Prigozhin said he acted to prevent the destruction of his private military company, Wagner, and wasn’t seeking to stage a coup. “We started our march because of an injustice,” he said, giving no details about where he was or what his plans were.The feud between the Wagner Group leader and Russia’s military brass had festered throughout the war, erupting into a mutiny over the weekend when mercenaries left Ukraine to seize a military headquarters in a southern Russian city. They rolled seemingly unopposed for hundreds of miles toward Moscow before turning around after less than 24 hours on Saturday.The Kremlin said it had made a deal for Prigozhin to mo...

Aston Martin strikes deal with Bay Area-based Lucid to help make EVs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:59 GMT

New York  — British ultra-luxury sports car maker Aston Martin has signed a deal with Lucid Group, the Newark, California-based electric luxury car startup. Lucid will provide electric motors under the arrangement and battery systems for Aston Martin’s future electric vehicles.Aston Martin announced last year that it plans to produce its first fully electric model by 2025. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is the largest shareholder in Lucid and the second-largest in Aston Martin, after billionaire chairman Lawrence Stroll. Chinese automotive conglomerate Geely, which owns Volvo and Lotus, among other brands, doubled its stake in Aston Martin last month to about 17%. And Lucid will take a 3.7% stake in Aston Martin as part of the newly announced arrangement.Lucid said it was selected by Aston Martin “through a competitive process” in its Monday announcement of the deal. In total, the contracts with Aston Martin are worth more than $450 million, according to Lucid. Aston Martin p...

Moments leading up to deadly Oakland Koreatown shooting caught on video

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:59 GMT

(KRON) -- Surveillance video obtained by KRON4 captures the moments leading up to a deadly shooting in Oakland's Koreatown last week, in which a delivery person was killed. The shooting occurred just before 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the 400 block of 26th Street between Telegraph Avenue and Broadway, near a Target location.In the video, a man and a woman can be seen walking their dog past another man, who looks like he's trying to deliver flowers. The couple stops walking and pauses for a moment before the man hands the dog leash off to the woman. 15-year-old shot in Santa Rosa Saturday night has died, police say gang-related The man then walks over to the delivery man and the two begin fighting. He attacks the delivery man at one point, who responds by throwing his flowers. That's when the man who was walking the dog takes out a gun and shoots the delivery man.The man who fired the shot can be seen running away in the video.The delivery man later died at the hospital. Police say t...

Severe Thunderstorm Watch: When wind and hail are expected to hit DC area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:59 GMT

Listen to WTOP on the 8’s for the latest weather updates. The D.C. region is under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch as strong storms are expected to roll in Monday evening.The watch from the National Weather Service — which means conditions are favorable for severe storms — goes until 9 p.m. The watch covers D.C., all of Northern Virginia and Anne Arundel, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland.The weather service said the storms could include scattered damaging wind gusts up to 65 mph and large pingpong ball-sized hail.The storms are expected to develop in West Virginia and move east-northeast toward the Interstate 95 corridor later Monday afternoon.Severe thunderstorms are possible this afternoon with localized damaging wind gusts and large hail being the primary threats. Please stay weather aware, and be ready to seek shelter if warnings are issued. pic.twitter.com/cw9lnHTCmC— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) June 26, 2023“The evening com...

Montgomery Co. aims for security camera incentives by September

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:59 GMT

Security Camera on blue sky.(Getty Images/iStockphoto/vichie81) Security Camera on blue sky.(Getty Images/iStockphoto/vichie81) Leaders in Montgomery County, Maryland, plan to have a security camera incentive program up and running by September, according to law enforcement officials who spoke during a county council meeting on Monday.Under the program, an individual, business or nonprofit will be able to apply with the county’s police department to receive a voucher or rebate to offset the cost of a security camera on the applicant’s property.The department will reimburse eligible applications up to $250 for one camera per qualifying resident, and up to $1,250 for five cameras for qualifying businesses or n...

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is remaking the Metropolitan Opera from the bottom up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:59 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Yannick Nézet-Séguin is remaking the Metropolitan Opera from the bottom up.When the 48-year-old conductor leans forward to extend his arms and emphasize vibrato or stretches high for a fortissimo during an orchestra concert, the red soles of his patent leather Christian Louboutins become visible. He nearly leaves the ground, a visual contrast to the final years of predecessor James Levine, who conducted while seated from 2001 on and from a motorized wheelchair during his final five seasons because of Parkinson’s disease. “I still feel that we are at the beginning of our journey together,” Nézet-Séguin said during a rehearsal break last week. “I can appreciate maybe the growth in our understanding of music, common understanding and the trust, so it feels much more like — I hate to say Yannick’s orchestra, because it’s not what it’s about — I’m there to just curate.”Finishing his fifth season as music director, he takes the Met on its first tour since 2011 and th...

The Titan implosion will be investigated by an international group of agencies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:59 GMT

FILE - This undated image provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible. The wrecks of the Titanic and the Titan sit on the ocean floor, separated by 1,600 feet (490 meters) and 111 years of history. How they came together unfolded over an intense week that raised temporary hopes and left lingering questions. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File)(AP) FILE - This undated image provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible. The wrecks of the Titanic and the Titan sit on the ocean floor, separated by 1,600 feet (490 meters) and 111 years of history. How they came together unfolded over an intense week that raised temporary hopes and left lingering questions. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, Fi...

5,000 US flights delayed or canceled due to severe storms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:57:59 GMT

New York (CNN) — More than 5,000 flights across the United States were delayed or canceled Monday after powerful storms ripped through the parts of the country, mainly in the Southeast and the Ohio Valley.Data from FlightAware showed that on Monday afternoon, 3,825 flights within, into or out of the US were delayed and another 1,304 were canceled.United Airlines (UAL)was faring the worst of the American domestic airlines. About 8% of its schedule, or 244 flights, was canceled and another 17%, or 502 flights, was delayed as of 2 pm ET. Delta (DAL) wasn’t far behind, with 5% (182 flights) of its schedule canceled and 13% (465 flights) delayed.Two commuter airlines also had their schedules disrupted. Republic Airways, which operates short-haul flights for American Airlines, Delta and United, had 23% of its schedule canceled (218 flights) and 15% (147 flights) delayed. Endeavor Air, a Delta-owned carrier, experienced a similar number of delays and cancellations.The delays and cancellati...