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California establishes official state bat, mushroom in 2024

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

(KRON) --As the new year rolls in, California will add two things to its list of official state emblems: a bat and a mushroom.Joining the ranks of other golden state symbols including the California poppy as the state flower, the California redwood as the state tree, the California grizzly bear as the state animal and the state flag, are the California golden chanterelle as the state mushroom and the California pallid bat as the state bat.Mushrooms play a crucial role in nourishing forests and grasslands helping decompose dead wood, improve groundwater quality and quantity and maintain healthy soils. California is home to numerous species of mushrooms but the California Golden Chanterelle took home the win. It is a commonly collected edible mushroom found beneath California oak trees. The pallid bat goes to work munching on mosquitoes, wasps, flies, bark beetles and wood borers providing more than $1 billion in pest control for California's agriculture and reducing the risk of ...

‘This is monumental’: Capitals, Wizards owners partner up with Virginia for proposed arena, entertainment district in Alexandria

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

Monumental Sports, the organization that owns the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards, and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will announce plans that could mean a relocation for both teams from the District to Potomac Yard.Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he couldn’t be more excited to discuss the plans Wednesday morning inside three tents at 3405 Potomac Avenue in Alexandria alongside Monumental Sports majority owner Ted Leonis and representatives for the city and state planning boards.“I am pleased to announce that right here, in Alexandria’s Potomac Yard, we have a plan to release a brighter, more amazing future,” Youngkin said.Monumental Sports said the state and organization would partner to create a new entertainment district campus that would include a “new Capitals and Wizards arena for the region and Monumental Sports’ new global business headquarters.”“This would relocate the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the NBA’s Washington Wi...

For a holiday craft that creates light, try making marbled candles by hand

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

Candles, already an integral part of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Eve, can be made even more special when they carry a personal touch. Try marbleizing them by hand, or simply using candlelight in creative ways.Paula Lavender Tucker of Bellows Falls, Vermont, started marbleizing simple white candles about five years ago. Before that, she marbleized quilt fabrics. Both are for sale at her Etsy site, HippyDippyDyed.Her marbleizing process is simple and inexpensive, and the results are mighty (directions below).“You want to think about using contrasting colors,” says Lavender Tucker. “Black and white are a stunning combination.”She recommends learning how to marbleize candles with only two or three colors, and the holidays carry traditional color combinations: red, green and white for Christmas; blue and white for Hanukkah; red, green and black for Kwanzaa; and black, white and gold, or dark blue, light blue and white for New Year’s Eve.SCENE SETTERSOne easy w...

Body in Philadelphia warehouse IDed as inmate who escaped in 4th city breakout this year

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A body found inside a Philadelphia warehouse has been identified as an inmate who walked away from a work detail almost two weeks ago in the fourth breakout from a city lockup this year, police announced late Tuesday.The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office identified the body found on Monday as escaped prisoner Gino Hagenkotter, police said in a news release.Hagenkotter, 34, who was serving time on theft and burglary charges, was working in the orchard on the grounds of the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center on Nov. 30 when he asked the guard assigned to him for permission to use the bathroom, Philadelphia Department of Prisons Commissioner Blanche Carney said at the time. The guard checked the restroom when Hagenkotter failed to return, but he wasn’t there, officials said.Hagenkotter scaled a fence, walked through a city sanitation department yard next to the prison, took off his jumpsuit and was last seen on surveillance video walking down the stree...

Switch from selling COVID-19 drugs on market rather than to governments continues to sting at Pfizer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

Pfizer’s forecast for sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment next year falls more than $5 billion short of the Wall Street consensus. The drugmaker’s sales tumbled in early morning trading.Pfizer expects sales for both the treatment, Paxlovid, and the vaccine, Comirnaty, to total $8 billion in 2024, according to an initial forecast the drugmaker released Wednesday.Analysts expect nearly $14 billion combined sales, with $8.34 billion coming from Comirnaty and Paxlovid contributing $5.55 billion, according to FactSet.Those products combined to rake in more than $56 billion in sales last year, Paxlovid’s first full year on the market. But both Pfizer and the Street expected a decline starting this year as demand waned and the drugmaker switched to selling through the commercial market instead of in bulk to the federal government.Still, Pfizer warned in October that sales of the vaccine and treatment were turning out weaker than expected. T he drugmaker also reported a third-...

Ambush kills 9 Israeli soldiers in Gaza City, where battles rage weeks into devastating offensive

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian militants ambushed Israeli troops in a dense Gaza City neighborhood, killing at least nine of them, the military said Wednesday, as Hamas put up stiff resistance in areas that Israel has isolated and pounded with airstrikes for over two months.The air and ground war has killed thousands of Palestinian civilians and pushed nearly 85% of Gaza’s population from their homes, sparking international outrage. The United States has repeatedly called on Israel to take greater measures to spare civilians, even as it has blocked international calls for a cease-fire and rushed military aid to its close ally.More than six weeks after Israeli soldiers invaded Gaza’s north in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, ground troops are still locked in heavy combat with Palestinian fighters in and around Gaza City. Clashes raged overnight and into Wednesday in multiple areas, with especially heavy fighting in Shijaiyah, a dense neighborhood that was the scene...

Rembrandt portraits that were privately held for nearly 200 years go on show in Amsterdam

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — After nearly 200 years in a private collection, a pair of small portraits by 17th century Dutch Master Rembrandt van Rijn went on display Wednesday after a long-term loan to the Netherlands’ national art and history museum.The Rijksmuseum said the portraits of Jan Willemsz van der Pluym and his wife Jaapgen “disappeared from view for almost two centuries, before resurfacing two years ago.”The paintings, believed to be the last known pair of privately held Rembrandt portraits, were sold at auction this year and given on long-term loan by the family of wealthy Dutch businessman Henry Holterman, the museum said.“Given my close relationship with the museum and the fact that the team of experts has been conducting research into these portraits over a period of years, I feel that these works belong in the museum,” Holterman said in a statement.The museum said that based on their small size and “dynamic, sketchy style,” the portraits likely were pa...

Palestinian poll shows a rise in Hamas support and close to 90% wanting US-backed Abbas to resign

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — A wartime opinion poll among Palestinians published Wednesday shows a rise in support for Hamas, which appears to have ticked up even in the devastated Gaza Strip, and an overwhelming rejection of Western-backed President Mahmoud Abbas, with nearly 90% saying he must resign.The findings by a Palestinian pollster signal more difficulties ahead for the Biden administration’s postwar vision for Gaza and raise questions about Israel’s stated goal of ending Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.Washington has called for the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, currently led by Abbas, to eventually assume control of Gaza and run both territories as a precursor to statehood. U.S. officials have said the PA must be revitalized, without letting on whether this would mean leadership changes.The PA administers pockets of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and has governed Gaza until a takeover by Hamas militants in 2007. The Palestinians have not...

Tesla recalls nearly all 2 million of its vehicles on US roads

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

New York (CNN) — Tesla is recalling nearly all 2 million of its cars on US roads to limit the use of its Autopilot feature following a two-year probe by US safety regulators of roughly 1,000 crashes in which the feature was engaged.The limitations on Autopilot serve as a blow to Tesla’s efforts to market its vehicles to buyers willing to pay extra to have their cars do the driving for them.The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the Autopilot system can give drivers a false sense of security and be easily misused in certain dangerous situations when a Tesla’s technology may be unable to safely navigate the road. The over-the-air software update will give Tesla drivers more warnings when they are not paying attention to the road while the Autopilot’s “Autosteer” function is turned on. Those notifications will remind drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and pay attention to the road, according to a statement from NHTSAAfter the recall, Teslas with Autosteer tu...

The Hispanic vote in 2024 is up for grabs, new FIU survey shows

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:40 GMT

The Hispanic vote has trended democratic for decades. But a new annual Hispanic Public Opinion Survey, conducted by Florida International University, shows the voting bloc is up for grabs in next year’s presidential election. The poll finds that Hispanic voters are dissatisfied with both major parties and they don’t want to see neither President Joe Biden nor former President Donald Trump at the top of the ticket next November. ‘When asked if either candidate should run for president, 45% of voters surveyed said they do not believe Biden should run for president, with 57% saying they do not want to see Trump on the ballot,’ the survey reads. Similiary, 52.9% of Hispanic voters have a negative view on where the country is headed and cite inflation, the economy, and immigration as their top concerns. ‘This poll makes it clear what happens when one party consistently takes Hispanics for granted: support for it erodes; and the other party does not make sust...