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California retailers are now required to have gender-neutral toy aisles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:20 GMT

Major retailers in California are now required to have gender-neutral toy aisles under a new state law that went into effect on Monday.The new law requires retail department stores physically located in California with 500 or more employees to “maintain a gender-neutral section or area, to be labeled at the discretion of the retailer.” New California law to limit how much landlords can charge for security deposits Stores that already have gender-focused toy areas won’t have to get rid of them but instead add a toy section that would apply to children of any gender, according to the law’s text.The law passed the state Legislature and was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021. Retailers that don’t comply with the law will initially be fined $250, followed by $500 for repeat offenders.California Assemblymember Evan Low, D-Silicon Valley, said an 8-year-old inspired him to introduce the bill. New California laws taking effect in 2024 “I was inspired to introduce this bill after 8-year...

Chloe Stott Dead, Parker Stott Airlifted after Head-On Accident on U.S. 93 [Wickenburg, AZ]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:20 GMT

24-Year-Old Pregnant Woman Pronounced Dead after Head-On Collision near WickenburgWICKENBURG, AZ (January 2, 2023) – Chloe Stott died Wednesday and Parker Stott was airlifted after a head-on crash on southbound U.S. 93.On December 20th, authorities were called to the incident near Wickenburg. According to reports, Parker was operating a white Toyota Tundra pickup truck and attempted to overtake vehicles by veering into the oncoming lane. The Toyota collided head-on with a white Volvo commercial tractor-trailer.Due to the severity of the injuries sustained, medics declared the passenger inside the Toyota, 24-year-old Chloe, deceased at the scene. It is heartbreaking to note that she was pregnant at the time. Emergency medical personnel airlifted Parker to a nearby hospital, where he underwent a leg amputation and suffered from multiple broken bones.In light of the challenging circumstances, the couple’s loved ones initiated a GoFundMe page to assist with the associated ex...

Kurtenbach: 5 under-the-radar free agents that could salvage the SF Giants’ offseason

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:20 GMT

Contrary to popular belief, the Giants do not need to spend the massive pile of money they allocated for Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.In fact, the Giants would be foolish to sign a big-money free agent now that those two players are Dodgers.No, San Francisco needs to stay nimble. With big money comes long terms — the Giants might be able to afford the pay, but they can’t afford four-plus years of a second-tier free agent.(If those guys were sure things, they’d be signed by now.)After going for the big play and failing — again — the Giants need to stay true to their systems (it did win 107 games one season) and remain flexible. Don’t do anything this offseason that you’ll regret next offseason.Of course, the Giants still need to augment their whole roster, but director of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi tries to turn the organization into a self-sustaining winning machine — one that might create a big-time free agent one day.Luckily, baseball’s ...

Pac-12 bowl review: Breaking down the highs (UW, Arizona) and lows (Cal, OSU) and everything in between

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:20 GMT

Powered by its first College Football Playoff victory in nine years, the Pac-12 finished the bowl season in much the same fashion it opened the regular season: As arguably the best conference in the country.Washington’s harrowing win over Texas on Monday night in the Sugar Bowl provided the signature victory. But the conference won its other marquee matchups as Oregon smashed Liberty in the Fiesta Bowl and Arizona rallied to slay Oklahoma in the Alamo Bowl.All in all, the Pac-12 finished Bowl Season — yes, that’s the official name — with the best record among the Power Five conferences:Pac-12: 5-3Big 12: 5-4Big Ten: 5-4SEC: 5-4ACC: 5-6(Source: NCAA.)The Hotline is wary of parsing each result across the postseason because so many players opt out of games in order to prepare for the NFL Draft or transfer.But every Power Five conference must navigate the attrition, so we’re comfortable drawing broad conclusions. And from here, it’s abundantly clear t...

Apparent Israeli drone strike kills Hamas leader in Beirut

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:20 GMT

By Melanie Lidman, Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy | Associated PressTEL AVIV, Israel — An apparent Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut killed Hamas’ second-highest ranking political leader Tuesday, marking a potential escalation of Israel’s war against the militant group and heightening the risk of a wider Middle East conflict.Saleh Arouri, who was the most senior Hamas figure killed since the war with Israel began, was also a founder of the group’s military wing. His death could provoke major retaliation by Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah militia.The strike hit an apartment in a building in a Shiite district of Beirut that is a Hezbollah stronghold, and Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has vowed to strike back against any Israeli targeting of Palestinian officials in Lebanon.Hezbollah and the Israeli military have been exchanging fire almost daily over the Israeli-Lebanese border since Israel’s military campaign in Gaza began nearly thr...

South Korean politician stabbed in neck, hospitalized

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:20 GMT

By Hyung-Jin Kim and Jiwon Song | Associated PressSEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s tough-speaking liberal opposition leader, Lee Jae-myung, was stabbed in the neck Tuesday by an unidentified knife-wielding man who attempted to kill the politician during his visit to the southeastern city of Busan, police said.Lee, 59, the head of the main opposition Democratic Party, was airlifted to a Seoul hospital after receiving emergency treatment in Busan. Lee’s party later said he was recovering at an intensive care unit at the Seoul National University Hospital following a two-hour operation.The attack happened as Lee walked through a crowd of journalists and others after a tour of the proposed site of a new airport in Busan. The attacker approached Lee, saying he wanted his autograph, then stabbed him in the left side of his neck, senior Busan police officer Sohn Jae-han said in a briefing.Sohn said Democratic Party officials quickly subdued the attacker before police officers...

Man killed in SF's South of Market last week identified

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:20 GMT

(BCN) -- A man who died in a stabbing that also injured a woman in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood last week has been identified by the city's Medical Examiner's Office as 45-year-old Brandon Mitchell.The stabbing was reported shortly after 5:30 a.m. Thursday in the area of Mission and Washburn streets, where officers arrived to find Mitchell and a 38-year-old woman injured, according to San Francisco police.Mitchell was pronounced dead at a hospital while the woman was treated at the hospital for injuries that are considered life-threatening, police said. San Francisco street vendors are back in Mission District No arrest has been made in the case and investigators have not released any suspect details. Anyone with information about the fatal stabbing is asked to call the SFPD tip line at (415) 575-4444 or to send a tip by text message to TIP411 with SFPD at the start of the message.Copyright © 2024 Bay City News, Inc.

Alameda Co. detectives working to solve 1986 death of woman found by side of road

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:20 GMT

(BCN) -- Detectives are still working to solve the death of a young woman whose nude body was found on the side of an East Bay road 37 years ago.Dana Ramm's body was found on Dec. 29, 1986, on Andrade Road in Sunol, according to the Alameda County Sheriff's Department.The 20-year-old woman had been strangled, authorities said. She was last seen alive the night before at a Chevron gas station at the corner of Valley Avenue and Santa Rita Road in Pleasanton. One dead, two injured in SF rollover vehicle accident Ramm was with two acquaintances in a brown Oldsmobile that had run out of gas, and she waited alone in the car while they went to get money to buy gas, the sheriff's office said.When they returned, she was gone.Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the sheriff's cold case investigators at (510) 667-3661. To remain anonymous, information may be submitted via the anonymous tip line at (510) 667-3622.Copyright © 2024 Bay City News, Inc.

Harvard President Claudine Gay resigns amid plagiarism, antisemitism scandals: Crimson

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:20 GMT

(The Hill) – Harvard University President Claudine Gay has resigned from her position after multiple controversies clouded her short-lived administration.  The Harvard Crimson, the school’s newspaper, reported that Gay resigned on Tuesday afternoon, only six months after she was hired. Her presidency was the shortest in the school's history.The Hill has reached out to Harvard for comment.   Gen Z seeks to grow ranks in Congress Gay had faced two major controversies in a matter of weeks: one about the school’s response to growing antisemitism and another more personal matter regarding accusations of plagiarism.  The first came after Gay participated in a House hearing on campus antisemitism where she was asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) if calls for the genocide of Jewish people would be considered harassment at Harvard.  Gay, along with the heads of two other elite universities, said it would depend on the context, refusing at the time to give a cut-and-dry res...

Russian missiles hit Ukrainian cities, killing 5 and injuring at least 130, Kyiv officials say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:20 GMT

Fire and smoke rises after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)(AP/Efrem Lukatsky) Fire and smoke rises after a Russian attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)(AP/Efrem Lukatsky) KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s two largest cities came under attack early Tuesday from Russian missiles that killed five people and injured as many as 130, officials said, as the war approached its two-year mark and the Kremlin stepped up its winter bombardment of urban areas.Air defenses shot down all 10 of the Russian Kinzhal missiles, which can fly at 10 times the speed of sound, out of about 100 of various types that were launched, claimed Gen. Vale...