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Islamic State claims responsibility for massive Iran bombing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

By Jon Gambrell and Bassem Mroue | Associated PressDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Islamic State group claimed responsibility Thursday for two suicide bombings targeting a commemoration for an Iranian general slain in a 2020 U.S. drone strike, the worst militant attack to strike Iran in decades as the wider Middle East remains on edge.Experts who follow the group confirmed that the statement, circulated online among jihadists, came from the extremists, who likely hope to take advantage of the chaos gripping the region amid Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.Wednesday’s attack in Kerman killed at least 84 people and wounded an additional 284. It targeted a ceremony honoring Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, held as an icon by supporters of the country’s theocracy and viewed by the U.S. military as a deadly foe who aided militants who killed American troops in Iraq.On Thursday, chunks of asphalt appeared missing from the roadway where one bomb went of...

Trump’s lawyers want special counsel Smith held in contempt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

By Eric Tucker and Alanna Durkin Richer | Associated PressWASHINGTON — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Thursday pressed to have special counsel Jack Smith’s team held in contempt, saying the prosecutors had taken steps to advance the 2020 election interference case against him in violation of a judge’s order last month that temporarily put the case on hold.Citing “outrageous conduct,” the Republican presidential candidate’s attorneys told U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, D.C., that she should consider holding Smith and two of his prosecutors in contempt for turning over to the defense thousands of pages of evidence and an exhibit list while the case was paused and for filing more than a week later a motion that they said “teems with partisan rhetoric” and “false claims.”“In this manner, the prosecutors seek to weaponize the Stay to spread political propaganda, knowing that President Trump would ...

The new California laws you need to know

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

Monday marked the day many new California laws went into effect, including the state’s new concealed firearm restrictions that, until Saturday, had been blocked by a federal judge.The law bans Californians from carrying firearms in various public places such as parks, stadiums and places of worship. It was passed in response to a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that reduced limitations on who can receive concealed carry permits.Describing it as “repugnant to the Second Amendment,” federal Judge Cormac Carney temporarily blocked the law in late December. But on Saturday, a federal appeals court panel put a temporary hold on Carney’s ruling as the case makes its way through the courts.In response, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement that “Californians overwhelmingly support efforts to ensure that places… remain safe and free from guns.” He also reiterated his proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution with gun control measures including raising the minimum age to own a gun and mandating...

Latina candidates plan abortion rights push

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

Daniela Altimari | CQ-Roll Call (TNS)WASHINGTON — Shortly after deciding to run for Congress on a platform that supports abortion rights, Democrat Michelle Vallejo had a conversation with her grandmother.Given their generational differences, the complexities of the abortion politics and her grandmother’s deep religious faith, they didn’t find consensus on every aspect of the issue.“That was probably one of the most challenging conversations I had,” said Vallejo, the daughter of Mexican immigrants, who is making her second run for Congress in a South Texas swing district against Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz.But “where we agreed is that nobody other than (a) woman and her health care providers should be the ones making that decision,” she said. “It’s not right for politicians like (Texas Gov.) Greg Abbott or Monica De La Cruz or (Texas Sen.) Ted Cruz to be involved in these very private decisions.”Vallejo is one of at least seven Latina Democrats running for Congress in 2024 who ...

Map: The 7 California districts that will get a new House member, and some big names in the running

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

On the March 2024 primary ballot, seven of California’s 52 congressional districts won’t have an incumbent in the running.Related ArticlesCalifornia Politics | Report: Data from 2022 California traffic stops shows ‘pervasive pattern’ of racial profiling California Politics | Central California restaurant’s comeback shows how outdated, false Asian stereotype of dog-eating persists California Politics | Opinion: Bay Area food bank demand rises as residents struggle to pay bills California Politics | Language for California parental notification ballot measure sparks lawsuit California Politics | Gov. Newsom urges California voters to support Proposition 1 The map above highlights those districts in darker colors — six currently represented by a Democrat (blue) and one by a Republican (red).The state’s full list of candidates for the House of Representatives, certified Dec. 28 by the...

Three-bedroom home sells in Los Gatos for $2 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

85 Prospect Avenue – Google Street ViewA 2,432-square-foot house built in 1950 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the first block of Prospect Avenue in Los Gatos was sold on Dec. 12, 2023 for $1,975,000, or $812 per square foot. The property features three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage, and one parking space. The unit sits on a 3,280-square-foot lot.Additional houses have recently changed hands close by:On Prospect Avenue, Los Gatos, in November 2023, a 3,514-square-foot home was sold for $5,563,500, a price per square foot of $1,583. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.A 1,422-square-foot home on the first block of Euclid Avenue in Los Gatos sold in August 2023 for $1,600,000, a price per square foot of $1,125. The home has 2 bedrooms and 1 bathrooms.In June 2023, a 4,273-square-foot home on Kimble Avenue in Los Gatos sold for $4,320,000, a price per square foot of $1,011. The home has 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. 

Election deepfakes and high-profile bankruptcies: Here’s what AI will bring in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

Brian Contreras | Los Angeles Times (TNS)If 2023 was the year that AI finally broke into the mainstream, 2024 could be the year it gets fully enmeshed in our lives — or the year the bubble bursts.But whatever happens, the stage is set for another whirlwind 12 months, coming in the wake of Hollywood’s labor backlash against automation; the rise of consumer chatbots, including OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Elon Musk’s Grok; a half-baked coup against Sam Altman; early inklings of a regulatory crackdown; and, of course, that viral deepfake of Pope Francis in a puffer jacket.To gauge what we should expect in the new year, The Times asked a slate of experts and stakeholders to send in their 2024 artificial intelligence predictions. The results alternated between enthusiasm, curiosity and skepticism — an appropriate mix of sentiments for a technology that remains both polarizing and unpredictable.Regulators will step in, and not everyone will be happy about it.When a surgeon or a st...

Silicon Valley startups had their worst funding year since 2019

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

By Sarah McBride | BloombergThe value of venture capital deals in the US last year fell to levels not seen since 2019, according to new year-end data highlighting startups’ chaotic 2023.Over the last 12 months, investors poured money into artificial intelligence startups, but the rest of the industry foundered. According to early data released by research firm PitchBook on Thursday, venture capitalists invested $170.6 billion in the US in 2023, over an estimated roughly 15,000 deals. That deal value is down by about 30% from 2022.The VC industry also declined globally last year. Around the world, investors put $345.7 billion into startups, down 35% from what they spent last year and the lowest outlay since 2017.Venture capital is an influential part of the global business ecosystem. Bets from VCs helped nurture transformative companies including Amazon.com Inc., Google and OpenAI. How venture dollars are raised and invested has an outsize impact on growth and innovation.But spending...

Why Kelly Clarkson needed a ‘fresh start’ from California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

 Kelly Clarkson’s big move is working out well for her.The singer and talk show host, who is mom to daughter River Rose, 9, and son Remington Alexander, 7, recently relocated with her family from California to New York after her marriage to ex-husband Brandon Blackstock came to an end.“I was very unhappy in LA and had been for several years. I needed a fresh start,” she told People.Clarkson said she asked NBC to move “The Kelly Clarkson Show” across the country with her to help facilitate that change.“We told NBC, ‘I’m not trying to sound ungrateful, I just can’t stay here anymore for my mental health; for me and my kids.’ They weren’t doing well either,” Clarkson said of her children. “For the past few years, I’d just been showing up and smiling and doing what I’m supposed to do, but you can only compartmentalize so long until you break.”Clarkson said the energy of New York has revived her, and that she is in a much better place now.“We go walk the dogs a few times at the park. We’...

San Jose Sharks defenseman out for season after hip surgery

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:14:57 GMT

The San Jose Sharks announced Thursday that defenseman Matt Benning has undergone hip surgery and that he is expected to miss the remainder of the season.The Sharks said the estimated time of recovery for Benning is approximately five months, and that the team, as of now, anticipates that he will be ready for the start of training camp in the fall.Benning had the surgery in December, per a Sharks spokesman. He is in the second year of a four-year, $5 million contract he signed with the Sharks as a free agent in 2022.Benning, 29, had been beset by injury for the majority of the season as he played in just 14 games of the team’s first 38 games. He played in eight of the Sharks’ first nine games in October, but missed 10 games from Nov. 2 to Nov. 22.Benning returned to the Sharks on Nov. 24, but played in just six games before he was again placed on IR.Benning will remain on the Sharks’ injured reserve list and not go on long-term injured reserve, per a source.Per Cap...