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Maui wildfire: Disasters more likely in California or Texas, not Hawaii

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:40:49 GMT

If you were going to guess where the next major American natural disaster would happen, Hawaii wouldn’t be high on your list.You’d most likely bet on California. Or Texas.Look at what my trusty spreadsheet, filled with some federal climate-risk stats, tells us about the odds of where Mother Nature’s wrath may fall.The nation’s deadliest wildfire – with 100-plus fatalities on Maui as the count grows – came in a state known for its natural beauty, not natural disasters. The cause is yet unknown, but it was likely a fatal mix of dry conditions, brisk winds and human error.Disaster history tells us a catastrophe of this scope is a Hawaiian rarity. Since 1980, the state was hit by just one disaster costing $1 billion or more – Hurricane Iniki in 1992. Only the District of Columbia had fewer billion-dollar events in this grim ranking – none – that tracks damages from wind, precipitation, heat or cold, and earthquakes.California, as a comparison, has had 46 billion-dollar losses in the 44 ...

Chick-fil-A adds pimento to its chicken sandwiches

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:40:49 GMT

Since the ““chicken sandwich wars” started in 2019, several fast food chains have added sandwiches to their menus with the same basic ingredients: battered chicken breasts sitting on toasted buns with pickles and mayonaise.Chick-fil-A will shake it up a little bit next week with an item called the Honey Pepper Pimento Chicken Sandwich. It will go on the Atlanta-based chain’s fall menu beginning Aug. 28.The sandwich features creamy pimento cheese made with sharp cheddar, green chilis and red pimentos, pickled jalapeños and a drizzle of honey on the bun, according to the news release.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | Maui Fire fundraisers: Restaurants, grocery stores, livestream concert Restaurants, Food and Drink | Palo Alto: Former two-star Michelin restaurant team says ‘au revoir’ Restaurants, Food and Drink | Bay Area adventures: 4 day trips via a San Francisco Bay Ferry Restaurants, Food and Drink | ...

Barabak: Another day, another Trump indictment isn’t some ho-hum event

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:40:49 GMT

It’s not every day a former president of the United States is criminally indicted.In the case of Donald Trump, it’s just about every month.As a congressional staffer noted on Twitter — er, make that X — Trump now faces prosecution “in every NL East city other than Philadelphia” — a waggish observation suggesting perhaps we’ve reached the first-as-tragedy-then-as-farce stage of Trump’s legal travails.To fill out the scorecard, the felonious former president has rolled up a rap sheet:In New York, for allegedly falsifying business documents to hush up his extramarital dalliances.In Miami, for skulking off with super-secret White House documents and spreading them like confetti around his Mar-a-Lago estate.In Washington, for trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat and inciting a mob that staged a deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.In Atlanta, for trying to strong-arm Georgia officials into “finding” the votes needed to reverse his loss in the Peach State.If making off with the Libert...

Federal judge says San Rafael can’t enforce homeless camping law that restricts location and size of encampments

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:40:49 GMT

A federal judge has temporarily banned San Rafael from enforcing a city ordinance that restricts where homeless camps are allowed and how much space they can occupy.U.S. District Judge Trina L. Thompson issued the temporary restraining order Wednesday after a group of homeless residents argued that the city’s ordinance was unconstitutional and violated the Eighth Amendment’s cruel and unusual punishment clause. They alleged the city law criminalizes homelessness.The ruling will halt enforcement of the city’s ordinance at least until Sept. 6, the day the next hearing on the matter has been scheduled.“This is a monumental victory for the homeless,” Eddy Metz, one of the plaintiffs in the case, wrote in an email. “I’m proud that I could help others and myself through the victory of getting this restraining order.”In a city statement, officials wrote that its ordinance “is a sound, responsible, and lawful regulation of public property,” and the city “intends to vigorously defend its reg...

‘Really alarming’: Santa Cruz County nursing homes hit hard by recent COVID spike

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:40:49 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — Rates of COVID-19 have been steadily rising across Santa Cruz County and the nation for weeks.But as has been the case since the early days of the pandemic, the impact on elderly residents is being disproportionately felt and local health officials are concerned.Santa Cruz County Deputy Health Officer Dr. David Ghilarducci told the Sentinel that four of the county’s seven nursing homes were experiencing COVID outbreaks as of Tuesday, meaning each had three or more infections at once. He added that, tentatively, five deaths had been reported across the seven facilities in the past two weeks, though county officials are still waiting for death certificates to come through that confirm the official cause.“This is really alarming to us,” said Ghilarducci. “We think it could get a lot worse.”Lack of vaccinationsThough county officials have consistently emphasized that elderly and immunocompromised individuals are high risk for adverse outcomes from a COVID infection, Ghilard...

Opinion: Strikes show need to break up Netflix and other streamers

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:40:49 GMT

The Hollywood writers’ strike is in its fourth month, and the actors’ strike is in its fourth week with no end in sight. Many have called the stalemate an existential crisis because it concerns new issues such as residuals from streaming services and rules for the use of artificial intelligence. These go beyond the usual labor issues such as wages and benefits and cut to the heart of an industry in which streamers such as Netflix can dominate all aspects of the business.Antitrust laws need to be invoked — as they were in the 1940s in U.S. vs. Paramount — to break up streaming services that both produce content and distribute it. This vertical integration has deeply changed the longstanding entertainment industry ecosystem, which allowed employees to survive and studios to prosper.In recent decades, U.S. antitrust law has primarily taken aim at “horizontal monopolies” in which one or two huge companies dominate an industry and can force consumers to pay more. The vertical version — c...

Plan a beautiful, clutter-free home

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:40:49 GMT

There’s nothing quite as effective as an impending move to help a household declutter itself. But let’s be real. The household doesn’t declutter itself. The people in it do.When the impending move features a brand new house, there’s even more reason to declutter and to do it well. That’s where the time it takes to build the home comes in handy — as does a plan.The declutter processIn the existing home, tackle only one room at a time. Take pictures of each room before and after the hard work; you’ll gain a nice sense of gratification when you see the results.That way, you’re less likely to feel overwhelmed. Start with cabinets and closets, sorting items into four groups: things that should stay in that space, things that can go in another storage area in the home and items to donate or throw away.When storing items, use clear boxes or large labels with clear writing that describes exactly what’s inside.Sort out the sentimental itemsTake a closer look at sentimental items that have re...

Walmart shines in Q2 and bumps up expectations for the year

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:40:49 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Walmart reported strong second-quarter sales results as the retailer’s low-price model continues to attract budget conscious consumers in a tough economic environment. The nation’s largest retailer boosted its annual outlook again, sending shares up 2% before the opening bell Thursday. Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, earned $7.89 billion, or $2.92 per share, for the three-month period ended July 31. Adjusted results were $1.84 per share, or 13 cents better than Wall Street had expected, according to a survey of industry analysts by FactSet. It was also up from last year’s quarterly profit of $5.15 billion.Sale rose nearly 6% to $161.63 billion, a shade better than expected. Comparable store sales — those from established stores and online operating over the past 12 months — rose 6.4% at Walmart’s U.S. division. That compares with 7.4% in the quarter ended April and the 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Global online sales surged 24% In ...

LSI: Fiscal Q4 Earnings Snapshot

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:40:49 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — CINCINNATI (AP) — LSI Industries Inc. (LYTS) on Thursday reported profit of $8.4 million in its fiscal fourth quarter.The Cincinnati-based company said it had net income of 28 cents per share.The lighting and LED display company posted revenue of $123.6 million in the period.For the year, the company reported profit of $25.8 million, or 88 cents per share. Revenue was reported as $497 million._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LYTS at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LYTSSource

Walmart: Fiscal Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 23:40:49 GMT

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Walmart Inc. (WMT) on Thursday reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $7.89 billion.The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said it had profit of $2.92 per share. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, came to $1.84 per share.The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 14 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.69 per share.The world’s largest retailer posted revenue of $161.63 billion in the period, also topping Street forecasts. Ten analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $159.82 billion.For the current quarter ending in October, Walmart expects its per-share earnings to range from $1.45 to $1.50.The company expects full-year earnings in the range of $6.36 to $6.46 per share._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on WMT at https://www.zacks.com/ap/W...