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See Monterey’s sea-otter paradise with a ride on a unique, electric catamaran

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:43:09 GMT

It’s a sunny summer afternoon, and our group is embarking on a tour of the Elkhorn Slough, a biodiverse tidal estuary on Monterey Bay. The slough is home to pupping harbor seals, endangered birds and the world’s densest concentration of southern sea otters – including a rogue otter that has learned a deadly new trick.You may have heard of people kayaking through this slough, but we’re boarding a very different watercraft, a 37-foot, ADA-compliant catamaran called the El Cat. We get comfortable on padded seats and whip out binoculars and birding guides.“This is an inland waterway and it’s calm,” says our Monterey Bay Eco Tours captain. “Feel free to stand up, stretch your legs and walk around. But please try to keep two-thirds of your child or husband inside the boat at all times.”The El Cat is unique in this world. Company owner Wendy Kitchell custom-built it with brother Joseph Kitchell using a proprietary epoxy-infusion system. It’s so strong and ligh...

Alameda drowning victim was on fishing trip when boat began sinking

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:43:09 GMT

ALAMEDA — An Oakland man who drowned Saturday was with three others on a fishing trip before their boat began sinking, forcing them into San Francisco Bay where strong currents made for difficult swimming before rescuers could get to them, authorities said Tuesday.The man who drowned has been identified as Tom Lovanh, 60, of Oakland.Alameda police said Tuesday that he and three friends — a 62-year-old man and his 17-year-old son, and a 58-year old man, all from Oakland — had departed Saturday from the Martin Luther King Jr. Shoreline boat ramp on Doolittle Drive near the Oakland International Airport for a day of fishing in San Francisco Bay.What time they actually departed was not known. They were in a 14-foot fiberglass boat with a motor, a boat that had been built by one of the men, police said.The boat began to sink about 1:15 p.m., while the group was in the bay offshore of the Bay Farm Island Ferry Terminal, authorities said.Lt. Alan Kuboyama said police are still invest...

‘I shot that b**** dead’: Search warrant sheds new light on case of 6-year-old who shot his teacher

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:43:09 GMT

NEWPORT NEWS — Shortly after a 6-year-old boy shot his teacher at Richneck Elementary School on Jan. 6, a reading specialist was restraining him in the ensuing chaos.“I shot that b**** dead,” the boy said, according to court documents. “I did it.”The boy’s statements were contained in search warrant affidavits that were filed by a detective in Newport News Circuit Court on Jan. 12 but were recently unsealed.Police interviewed the 25-year-old teacher, Abigail Zwerner, at the hospital the night of the shooting. She told police she was breaking her class into reading groups after recess when the first grader pulled a gun from his hoodie pocket and pointed it at her.“What are you doing with that?” she asked.The boy paused, then fired a single shot, striking Zwerner in the left hand and upper torso, according to the affidavits.Students ran out of the classroom, as did the bleeding Zwerner. But a school “reading specialist” who had heard the gunshot, Amy Kovac, ran in.Kovac saw the 6-year...

California prisons have a drug problem. A strip search policy takes aim at visitors

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:43:09 GMT

By ANABEL SOSA | CalMattersRenee Espinoza thought her first strip search at the hands of a California correctional officer guard would be her last. It happened during a visit to Centinela State Prison to see her incarcerated husband.A few months later it happened again. And then again.“It was the same process each time. I sign a paper saying it’s ok to search me, they escort me to the same locker room,” Renee said.Before each search, she filled out the so-called Form 888, a requirement for each visitor who consents to an unclothed search. The first search felt procedural and normal, she recalled. On the second search, she noticed the female officers in the room had mirrors and used a flashlight.On the third search, the correctional officer was more aggressive. “She was asking me to spread my genitals wider. And I’m just like, ‘there’s nothing in there!’ How much wider do you need me to open? How much lower do you need me to bend? What else do you need me to do?”Espinoza shared her s...

Singer Ciara and Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson expecting another baby

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:43:09 GMT

Ciara and Russell Wilson’s team of little Denver Broncos fans is growing.The celebrity couple, who moved to the Mile High City in 2022, announced they are having a child, the family’s fourth. According to Entertainment Tonight, the Wilsons share a daughter Sienna, 6, and a son Win, 3. Ciara’s first child, 9-year-old Future Zhair, is with her ex, Future.R&B singer Ciara announced the news on social media Tuesday with a video set to her new song “How We Roll,” featuring Chris Brown. The video shows the singer dancing backlit in front of a pool, her profile silhouette marked by a baby bump. Her vocals over the video cooly croon, “You look at me like that again, we make another kid… You my heart I’m your rib.”Russell, the Broncos quarterback, also shared the video saying it was filmed by “Daddy.”“You look at me like that again, we make another kid… You my heart I’m your rib” @DangeRussWilson pic.twitter.com/9mRrp2B654— Ciara (@ciara) August 8, 2023Related ArticlesEntertainmen...

Ukraine accuses Russia of targeting rescue workers

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:43:09 GMT

By Hanna Arhirova | Associated PressKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials on Tuesday accused the Kremlin’s forces of targeting rescue workers by hitting residential buildings with two consecutive missiles — the first one to draw crews to the scene and the second one to wound or kill them.The strikes Monday evening in the downtown district of the city of Pokrovsk killed at least seven people, including an emergency official, and wounded more than 80 others, most of them police officers, emergency workers and soldiers who rushed to assist residents, Ukrainian officials said.The Russian missiles slammed into the center of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region, which is partially occupied by Russia. Emergency crews were still removing rubble on Tuesday. The Iskander missiles, which have an advanced guidance system that increases their accuracy, hit within 40 minutes of each other, according to Donetsk Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said.Since the start of the war, Russia has used artill...

Desperate for homes after the Pac-12 implosion, Stanford and Cal scramble for invitations from ACC, Big Ten

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:43:09 GMT

Stanford and Cal began playing college sports more than a century ago. For 99 percent of their athletic existence, membership in a conference based thousands of miles away was inconceivable. Now, it’s essential.The Cardinal and Bears are desperately seeking invitations to either the ACC or the Big Ten following the implosion of their longtime home, the Pac-12, which lost five schools late last week and has been reduced to a mere quartet.If neither of those leagues provides a lifeboat, the Bay Area schools seemingly have three options:— They could link arms with Washington State and Oregon State and attempt to rebuild the Pac-12 via expansion.— They could orchestrate a merger with the Mountain West.— They could compete as Independents in football and place their other teams in the Mountain West or West Coast Conference.For first-class academic institutions that have won hundreds of NCAA championships and produced iconic athletes across multiple sports, none of those...

Panthers hope addition of 4-time Pro Bowler Justin Houston frees up top pass rusher Brian Burns

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:43:09 GMT

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Brian Burns has developed into one of the NFL’s most dominant pass rushers despite not getting much help from the team’s other sack specialists the past four seasons.The Panthers hope they’ve resolved that issue.Carolina is banking on the addition of four-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker Justin Houston — who had 22 sacks in a season in 2014 — helping Burns maximize his potential as the Panthers transition to a 3-4 defensive scheme under new coordinator Ejiro Evero. Houston will be lined up opposite Burns at outside linebacker and serve as a situational pass rusher.Burns is coming off a 12 1/2-sack season last year despite seeing regular double teams and playing for a 7-10 team that rarely held the lead in games, thus greatly limiting his chances to get to the opposing quarterback on obvious passing downs.Regardless, Burns’ 38 sacks in four seasons are just off the pace set by Julius Peppers, Carolina’s c...

Sylvia Burwell announces last year as American University president

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:43:09 GMT

American University President Sylvia Burwell announced Tuesday that she will be stepping down after the 2023-24 academic year.Burwell has served as the university’s president since June 2017 — the first woman in the role. By the time she leaves her post, she will have held the job for seven years.In a video emailed to the AU community and posted on the university’s Instagram account, Burwell said there were three reasons behind her decision to step down as president: the “substantial progress” AU has made under her leadership, her feeling that the school has “the people and the infrastructure in place to accelerate our momentum,” and her desire to spend more time with her children and aging parents. View this post on Instagram A post shared by American University (@americanuniversity)Burwell, who served as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama, will continue to work as a lecturer in AU’s Sine Institute...

Colombia wakes up to momentous victory at Women’s World Cup

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:43:09 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — It was before sunrise in Colombia when the celebrations began.Catalina Usme’s goal at the Women’s World Cup in Melbourne — 14,000 kilometers (8,700 miles) away — helped Colombia beat Jamaica 1-0 on Tuesday and advance to the quarterfinals for the first time.“The dawn was worth it, we did not fail them,” said Linda Caicedo, Colombia’s 18-year-old sensation. “We made history today, but this is step by step.”Colombia moves to Sydney for a knockout match Saturday against European champion England, which advanced on penalties after a scoreless draw with Nigeria on Monday.The 33-year-old Usme scored the only goal of the match in style. She controlled a center pass by Ana María Guzmán and took a powerful shot with her left foot to put Colombia a step away from the semifinals.“I have a lot of confidence in the penalty box, I am cold-blooded there,” Usme said. “This goal is for God, who makes me brave, and for my family who cried and dreamed with me.”...