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$1 billion will bring more city trees. But it’ll take more than seedlings to grow urban forests

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

Alex Brown | Stateline.org (TNS)SEATTLE — Over the next five years, leaders here in the Emerald City will spend millions in federal dollars to green up neighborhoods that lack trees. As Seattle and the surrounding region deal with more frequent extreme heat events, residents are starting to view trees as more than a luxury.“The conversation around our urban forest has hit a high degree of urgency because of climate change,” said Jessyn Farrell, director of the city’s Office of Sustainability & Environment. “What has really shifted in the last couple of years is the idea that trees are important climate infrastructure, and trees are really suffering because of climate change.”As cities across the country brace for more extreme weather, a new federal grant program is helping them use trees as a solution — especially in neighborhoods with little canopy. Urban forests provide shade that significantly lowers temperatures during heat waves; they also absorb stormwater runoff and air p...

Union City stabbing leaves 1 dead, 2 injured, suspect on the loose

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

(KRON) -- One person was killed Thursday morning in a stabbing at a mobile home park in Union City, according to the Union City Police Department. Officers were dispatched to the Tropics Mobile Home Park located at 33000 Almaden Boulevard on a report of a person being stabbed. Thieves targeting drivers at gas stations, East Bay police agency warns At the scene, officers found three victims with injuries. One of the victims was pronounced deceased at the scene. Two others were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.The suspect has not been located and remains at large, according to police. No motive for the incident has been established. There is no known threat to the area at this time, according to Union City PD. The incident remains under investigation.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Man who vanished after suspected Point Reyes shark attack identified

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE, Calif. (KRON) -- An ocean swimmer who vanished after a suspected shark attack in Point Reyes and is presumed to be deceased has been identified. Close friends of the victim told Latitude 38 sailing magazine that the victim was a popular foiling kite surfer, Felix Louis N'jai.N'jai, 52, was swimming with friends on October 1 off Wildcat Beach at Point Reyes National Seashore when he went missing, National Park Service officials said. His friends told authorities that a shark was seen in the area, along with blood in the water where N'jai disappeared below the water.An extensive search by the U.S. Coast Guard, Marin County Sheriff’s Office, Marin County Fire Department, and Stinson Beach Fire Department found no signs of N'jai. On Tuesday, NPS officials said the victim was presumed dead. Ocean water temperatures were described as "frigid" by NPS.N'jai is remembered by his loved ones as a man who was driven by a passion for ocean sports and dreamed of bec...

Former middle school teacher arrested for sexual assault of minor in San Jose

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

(KRON) -- A former middle school teacher was arrested Monday and charged with sexual assault of a minor, according to the San Jose Police Department. Detectives with the SJPD Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce began investigating a report in August regarding the sexual assault of a minor by a former teacher at Hoover Middle School. Walnut Creek Louis Vuitton store closed after attempted burglary That investigation led to the identification of Matthew Gonzalez as a suspect, according to SJPD. Police discovered that the assault occurred on the campus of Hoover Middle School. Gonzalez, police said, was also a former teacher at Willow Glen Middle School and a teaching assistant at the San Jose State University Child Development Center.Detectives with the ICAC obtained an arrest warrant for the suspect and a search warrant for his residence. Detectives arrested him on Oct. 2 in the city of Campbell and booked him into Santa Clara County Main Jail. He was charged with sending ha...

Raiders’ Adams’ status in question vs. Packers; Garoppolo in final stages of concussion protocol

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams is not practicing Thursday because of a shoulder injury, and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo remains in concussion protocol.Raiders coach Josh McDaniels did not say whether either would play when Las Vegas hosts the Green Bay Packers on Monday night, but did say Garoppolo is in the “final stages” and would practice Thursday.Cornerback Nate Hobbs is not practicing because of an ankle injury.Adams injured his shoulder in Sunday’s 24-17 loss at the Los Angeles Chargers, though he finished the game and caught eight passes for 75 yards.If he doesn’t play, that would take away one of the key storylines for Monday. Adams spent the first eight years of his NFL career with the Packers, where he developed into one of the league’s top receivers.He has 33 catches this season for 397 yards and three touchdowns.Garoppolo was injured two weeks ago against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He didn’t play at Los Angeles,...

Uihlein, Soderberg and Arnaus share lead at Dunhill Links Championship as Ryder Cup winners return

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) — Peter Uihlein was in the company of some of golf’s top newsmakers on Thursday, and made some news of his own with an 8-under 64 giving him a share of the lead in the Dunhill Links Championship.Uihlein, one of four LIV Golf players in the European tour event, played with amateur partner Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund (PIF) that backs LIV Golf.Al-Rumayyan is now is negotiations with the PGA Tour and European tour to create a separate company that would combine the tour’s commercial interests.Also playing in their group on the Old Course at St. Andrews was R&A CEO Martin Slumbers, whose pro partner was Jordan Smith.Slumbers was seen with Al-Rumayyan during the British Open this summer. Slumbers was asked during The Open if he would entertain PIF money for events run by the R&A.“If I’m very open, we are and do and continue to do, talk to various potential sponsors,” Slumbers said in July. R...

Joel Embiid decides to play for USA — not France — in Paris Olympics

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

Joel Embiid will wear red, white and blue in Paris next summer — not rouge, blanc and bleu.The NBA’s reigning MVP and scoring champion has told USA Basketball that, after more than a year of deliberating, he has picked the Americans over France as his team for the Paris Olympics.The Philadelphia 76ers’ star let USA Basketball managing director Grant Hill know his mind was made up and then made the decision public on Thursday. And one of the reasons Embiid cited in what had him pick the U.S.: His son is American.“I’ve been here for such a long time,” Embiid said in Fort Collins, Colorado, where the 76ers are having training camp — and where Embiid met with Hill this week. “For the past few years, every decision I’ve made has been based on just family. My family, my son, and having the chance to represent a country like the U.S., with my son being born here … I love my home country, but I really wanted to play in the Olympics.”France had given Embiid an O...

Healthy Jonathan Taylor happy to be back on the Colts practice field and ready to get started

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A healthy Jonathan Taylor explained Thursday how happy he is to be practicing again with the Indianapolis Colts.He wouldn’t discuss the ugly contract dispute he’s had with the team.In his first public comments since June, the All-Pro running back stood at the podium, smiled and mostly sidestepped questions about his relationship with the Colts and his future with the team.“I don’t think it matters if I’m saying committed or not because I’m here,” he said. “If somebody wasn’t committed, they wouldn’t be here. Right now, I’m here and my No. 1 goal is really to attack this first practice. It’s been over 290 days, I believe. When you’re not doing what you love, you’re going to notice it, so my main goal has been to attack this first day.”Taylor missed all of the team’s offseason workouts while rehabbing from ankle surgery and all of training camp after going on the physically unable to perf...

No big Powerball prize, but 2 tickets sold in Fairfax Co. won $50K each

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

While no one claimed the more than billion-dollar Powerball jackpot Wednesday, two tickets sold in Fairfax County, Virginia, raked in $50,000 each for the lucky buyers.The winning tickets were sold at a 7-Eleven on Leesburg Pike in Herndon and at a Crosspoint Market on Village Shops Drive in Fairfax Station, according to a news release Thursday from Virginia Lottery. In addition, a ticket sold at a Thrift Mart/Truck Plaza in Petersburg, Virginia, south of Richmond, won $50,000.The three winning tickets matched four of the first five numbers plus the Powerball number.A total of 86,410 tickets bought in Virginia won prizes of some sort in the drawing. Lottery profits in Virginia go toward K-12 education.Earlier this year, a Powerball player in Virginia won a $161 million jackpot. In addition, three Powerball players in Virginia have won $1 million prizes so far this year.With no winner, the current Powerball jackpot has swelled to an estimated $1.4 billion. The next drawing is Saturda...

Hand grenade fragments were found in the bodies of victims in Prigozhin’s plane crash, Putin says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:06:00 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that hand grenade fragments were found in the bodies of people who died in the Aug. 23 crash of mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane.Experts investigating the crash found no indication the private jet had suffered an “external impact,” he said. Prigozhin and two of his top lieutenants of the Wagner private military contractor were among the 10 people killed when the jet came down as it flew from Moscow to St. Petersburgh.There was no way to independently verify Putin’s statement.A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment concluded that an intentional explosion caused the crash, and Western officials have pointed to a long list of Putin foes who have been assassinated. The Kremlin called allegations he was behind the crash as an “absolute lie.”A Russian investigation was launched but no findings have been released. Moscow rejected an offer from Brazil, where the Embraer business jet was built, to join the inquiry...