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Fed inflation gauge tumbles as prices continue to drop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

By Paul Wiseman | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of prices fell last month, another sign that inflation is easing and that Americans should benefit from reduced interest rates and get relief from painful price shocks in 2024.Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that U.S. consumer prices slid 0.1% last month from October and rose 2.6% from November 2022. The month-over-month drop was the largest since April 2020 when the economy was reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic.Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core inflation last month rose 0.1% from October and 3.2% from a year earlier.The numbers show somewhat more progress against inflation than economists had expected. Inflation is steadily moving down to the Fed’s year-over-year target of 2% and appears to be clearing the way for Fed rate cuts in 2024. That, in turn, could translate into lower rates on everything from mortgages to credit cards.Rates ...

Gaza death toll exceeds 20,000 as Israel expands ground war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

By Najib Jobain and Sam Magdy | Associated PressRAFAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s war to destroy Hamas has killed more than 20,000 Palestinians, health officials in Gaza said Friday, as Israel expanded its offensive and ordered tens of thousands more people to leave their homes.The deaths amount to nearly 1% of the territory’s prewar population — the latest indication of the 11-week-old conflict’s staggering human toll.Israel’s aerial and ground offensive has been one of the most devastating military campaigns in modern history, displacing nearly 85% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and leveling wide swaths of the tiny coastal enclave. More than half a million people in Gaza — a quarter of the population — are starving, according to a report Thursday from the United Nations and other agencies.Israel declared war after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, in which militants from Gaza stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking some 240 hostages. Is...

A quick guide to reading the newest California School Dashboard data

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

After a three-year hiatus, the California School Dashboard has been released, giving California educators and families a detailed snapshot of how the education system has been running post-pandemic.The CSD is an online database, originally created in 2017, that shows how California’s education agencies and schools are performing on state and local indicators. It is a product of a 2013 law that changed how California funds public schools and holds local education agencies accountable for student performance.The dashboard plays a pivotal role in the state’s school accountability system, providing up-to-date information on graduation rates, suspension rates, test scores, the progress of English learners, how prepared high school students are for success after graduation, chronic absenteeism and other more local indicators.“It is our hope that the dashboard results will provide valuable information to educators about the effectiveness of learning acceleration efforts and other programs ...

Three-bedroom home sells in Saratoga for $2.5 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

18420 Purdue Drive – Google Street ViewA 1,400-square-foot house built in 1957 has changed hands. The property located in the 18400 block of Purdue Drive in Saratoga was sold on Dec. 1, 2023, for $2,450,000, or $1,750 per square foot. The layout of this single-story home includes three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. In addition, the house provides a one-car garage, offering a dedicated parking spot and storage area.Additional houses that have recently been sold close by include:In November 2022, a 1,232-square-foot home on Paseo Lado in Saratoga sold for $2,050,000, a price per square foot of $1,664. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Clemson Avenue, Saratoga, in June 2023, a 1,723-square-foot home was sold for $2,600,500, a price per square foot of $1,509. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 1,200-square-foot home on the 18300 block of Vanderbilt Drive in Saratoga sold in June 2023, for $1,840,000, a price per...

Emerging COVID variant is spreading ahead of the holidays. Are you still protected?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

Irene Wright | (TNS) The Charlotte ObserverFor a third season, COVID-19 cases are rising ahead of the holidays, this time with a more recent variant driving infections.JN.1, a variant of omicron, now accounts for an estimated 21% of new infections in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.Cases of JN. 1 infections rose from just more than 8% at the end of November to double digits by Dec. 9, according to CDC data.International health experts say the sudden jump isn’t cause for concern – yet.Here’s what you need to know:What is JN.1?The JN.1 variant is closely related to another omicron subvariant named BA.2.86, according to the CDC.Health officials started tracking BA.2.86 in August but noticed some cases had a single change to the spike protein, the part of a virus that penetrates host cells to cause infection, according to the CDC.JN.1 was first detected as its own variant in the United States in September, the CDC reported, and has since been id...

Robbers are following shoppers home, Alameda police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

(KRON) -- If you are out holiday shopping this week and it feels like you're being followed, do not go home, the Alameda Police Department said.APD sent out an alert to all Alameda residents warning of a spike in grand thefts and robberies victimizing shoppers. Police said they received multiple reports from victims who were followed home recently.The shoppers were victims of grand thefts and robberies, police said. "Your safety is a top priority and we want to ensure you have the information you need to protect yourselves," police wrote. If you are driving and suspect that a vehicle is following behind you, make a series of turns and change directions to determine if your suspicions are right, Alameda police said. If you are still being followed, head to a public place or police station. APD continued, "Do not go home. Avoid leading people to your residence. Call 911, remain on the phone with the dispatcher, and provide your exact location. If possible, note the suspect’s appearanc...

Cancer-causing chemicals found in soil at former Richmond dry cleaning business

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

(KRON) -- A high concentration of cancer-causing chemicals was found in the soil at a former dry-cleaning business in Richmond this week, according to the Contra Costa County Department of Health. The department was notified of the chemicals by the California Department of Toxic Substance Control. Bay Area city makes list of most dangerous in the US, study finds Results of a soil gas sampling cited by DTSC revealed unsafe levels of chemicals that included:tetrachloroethylene (PCE)trichloroethylene (TCE)vinyl chloridebenzeneOther chemicals known to cause cancer and non-cancer adverse effects were also found at the cite, Contra Costa Health said. Dry cleaning businesses operated at the site at 2022 Barrett Avenue from at least 1960 to 2001, officials said.The building at that address is now occupied by an unrelated business.DTSC began investigating the site back in September due to its former use as a dry cleaner business. Soil gas samples were taken from a public right-of-way adjac...

Man who advertised 'free meth for new users' outside SF grade school convicted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

(KRON) – The District Attorney’s office has convicted Joseph Moore of willfully and unlawfully committing a public nuisance trial by jury, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced on Friday.  One person dead in Vallejo shooting According to the trial’s testimony and evidence, Moore, 46, piled his belongings near Ninth Avenue and Geary Boulevard, taking up half of the sidewalk and blocking access to the e-bikes. Moore displayed signs advertising “Meth for Stolen Items” and “Free Fentanyl for New Users” across the street from Stella Maris Academy, which is a preschool on October 19 and October 20, 2023. “I would like to thank the jury for their service in this case,” said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. “This verdict sends a clear message that Mr. Moore’s conduct will not be condoned in San Francisco. While San Francisco remains a compassionate city we understand that we must prioritize and protect our children and their surroundings.”  Mo...

Joe Biden Abstains From Watered-Down U.N. Gaza Resolution, Then Takes Credit Anyway

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

An estimated 570,000 people in the Gaza Strip are now starving. Three-quarters of the territory’s 36 hospitals are closed. The remaining nine, all in Southern Gaza, are “partially functional.” The shuttered hospitals in the north are serving as impromptu shelters for some of the 85 percent of Palestinians in Gaza who have been displaced, but did not trek south to escape the ravages of Israel’s ground invasion. Beyond an estimated death toll of 20,000, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, a devastating 355,000 are suffering from infectious diseases as conditions in the territory worsen.Amid all of this suffering, President Joe Biden delayed a U.N. vote for humanitarian aid to Gaza at least 8 times, watering it down until he felt satisfied enough to not veto it.The vote is on a U.N. Security Council proposal, put forward by the United Arab Emirates and repeatedly whittled down just for Biden, that calls for limiting the hostilities in Gaza and expanding aid distribution. Official...

Man United scoring drought a team problem, Ten Hag says. Højlund awaits first EPL goal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:05 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United’s inability to put the ball in the net is about more than just Rasmus Højlund, manager Erik ten Hag said on Friday.United paid $82 million to land the promising young striker, and while he’s delivered in the Champions League, the Denmark international has yet to score his first goal in the English Premier League.United’s scoring drought is at three games and counting ahead of Saturday’s game at West Ham.Ten Hag’s team has been blanked in four of its five matches in December. Unheralded midfielder Scott McTominay is the only United player to have scored this month — twice in a 2-1 home win over Chelsea on Dec. 6.“My philosophy (is) we have to attack with 11, so it’s not only about one player, it’s about everyone,” Ten Hag said. “We have to (make) the movements better, decision-making on the ball has to be better, and sometimes also we have to be more clinical.”The spotlight inevitably shines on the 20-year-old...