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The Lady Doth Protest Too Much: Was Shakespeare a Woman?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:45 GMT

Higher education is, ideally, where learning grows by way of questioning, curiosity, venturing along dimly lit avenues of inquiry, and weighing new evidence. But not when it comes to the identity of Shakespeare. The subtitle of Elizabeth Winkler’s new book, Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies: How Doubting the Bard Became the Biggest Taboo in Literature, hints at what the book delivers: an investigation into the realm of closed minds in academia.The author takes us on her own journey toward understanding why this subject is commonly ruled off-limits by its well-entrenched — and often celebrated — guardians. On what basis should anyone challenge the identity of the author of the plays and sonnets published under the name William Shakespeare? Winkler devotes her early chapters to surveying the paucity of what is documented about the man whom the locals of Stratford-upon-Avon knew as William Shakspere (the spelling that appears most often in Stratford records, which also include...

Pittsburgh synagogue killer will be sentenced to death

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:45 GMT

By Peter Smith and Michael Rubinkam | Associated PressPITTSBURGH — The gunman who stormed a synagogue in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Jewish community and killed 11 worshippers will be sentenced to death for perpetrating the deadliest antisemitic attack in U.S. history.Robert Bowers spewed hatred of Jews and espoused white supremacist beliefs online before methodically planning and carrying out the 2018 massacre at the Tree of Life synagogue, where members of three congregations had gathered for Sabbath worship and study. Bowers, a truck driver from suburban Baldwin, also wounded two worshippers and five responding police officers.The same federal jury that convicted the 50-year-old Bowers on 63 criminal counts recommended Wednesday that he be put to death for an attack whose impacts continue to reverberate nearly five years later. He showed little reaction as the sentence was announced, briefly acknowledging his legal team and family as he was led from the courtroom. A judge wil...

Don’t call it ‘toilet to tap’ — California plans to turn sewage into drinking water

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:45 GMT

Californians could drink highly purified sewage water that is piped directly into drinking water supplies for the first time under proposed rules unveiled by state water officials.The drought-prone state has turned to recycled water for more than 60 years to bolster its scarce supplies, but the current regulations require it to first make a pit stop in a reservoir or an aquifer before it can flow to taps.The new rules, mandated by state law, would require extensive treatment and monitoring before wastewater can be piped to taps or mingled with raw water upstream of a drinking water treatment plant.“Toilet-to-tap” this is not.Between flush and faucet, a slew of steps are designed to remove chemicals and pathogens that remain in sewage after it has already undergone traditional primary, secondary and sometimes tertiary treatment.It is bubbled with ozone, chewed by bacteria, filtered through activated carbon, pushed at high pressures through reverse osmosis membranes multiple times, cl...

Milpitas badminton coach arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting 14-year-old at sports facility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:45 GMT

MILPITAS — A Milpitas badminton club coach was arrested in late July on suspicion of sexually assaulting a minor at one of the club’s facilities, according to authorities.Phu Khuu, 51, of Fremont, is accused of engaging in “inappropriate physical conduct” with a child under the age of 14. Until the allegations surfaced, Khuu was the co-owner and coach at Bintang Badminton, which has several locations in the Bay Area including the one at 746 South Milpitas Avenue where the alleged assault took place, police said.Khuu was arrested on July 25 on suspicion of felony lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 after the victim disclosed the inappropriate physical conduct and “sexual communications” to police. He was later booked into Santa Clara County Main Jail.On the company’s website, Bintang Badminton released a statement saying it terminated Khuu after the allegations surfaced.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Oakland man cha...

Safest sunscreens to use this summer, according to experts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:45 GMT

By Sandee LaMotte | CNNEeny, meeny, miny, moe — choosing a sunscreen for summer used to be child’s play. Today, market shelves are packed with dozens of options, each promising to be better than the others at protecting skin from the sun’s harmful rays.However, most sunscreen options contain one or more of a dozen chemicals the US Food and Drug Administration said should be researched by manufacturers before the ingredients can be considered GRASE or “generally regarded as safe and effective,” according to a recent analysis.“We found only 25% of sunscreens on the market offer good broad-spectrum protection without troublesome chemical ingredients,” said Emily Spilman, Healthy Living Science program manager for the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group that has investigated sunscreen products for 17 years.This year’s report, titled EWG 17th Annual Guide to Safer Sunscreens, was released in late May.The 2023 report has some good news too, for both people and...

Four-bedroom home in Palo Alto sells for $2 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:45 GMT

2400 Amherst Street – Google Street ViewA 2,467-square-foot house built in 2018 has changed hands. The spacious, recently built property located in the 2400 block of Amherst Street in Palo Alto was sold on July 12, 2023, for $2,000,000, or $811 per square foot. This two-story home presents a roomy floor plan, featuring four bedrooms and three baths. The property is equipped with forced air heating and a cooling system. Additionally, the home is equipped with a two-car garage, accommodating vehicles and storage needs efficiently. Spanning 5,202 square feet, the property’s expansive lot showcases a pool.Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby:A 2,489-square-foot home on the 2500 block of Amherst Street in Palo Alto sold in May 2023, for $2,000,000, a price per square foot of $804. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In November 2022, a 2,302-square-foot home on Drake Way in Palo Alto sold for $1,800,000, a price per square foot of $782. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 ...

Climate change-attributed heat touched 81% of the world’s population in July, study finds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:45 GMT

Hayley Smith | (TNS) Los Angeles TimesLOS ANGELES — Four out of every five humans alive experienced at least one day of abnormally hot temperatures in July — a global onslaught of extreme heat that would not have been possible without climate change, according to new research.The sweltering month appears to have been the hottest month ever recorded on the planet, although official verification from federal meteorological agencies is still pending.But an analysis of daily temperatures in 4,700 cities found that climate change-attributed heat touched 6.5 billion people — or 81% of the world’s population — in July. The report, released Wednesday by nonprofit news organization Climate Central, measured the impact using the Climate Shift Index, a tool that compares the current climate to one without excess heat-trapping emissions.Global exposure peaked July 10, when 3.5 billion people experienced a Climate Shift Index level of 3 or higher, indicating that human-caused climate change made...

CHP: Truck hits disabled vehicle on Livermore freeway causing it to strike and kill driver standing outside

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:45 GMT

LIVERMORE — A person standing outside their disabled car on Interstate 580 in Livermore was killed Wednesday morning when the vehicle hit them after it was struck by a truck, the California Highway Patrol said.Authorities have not yet released any information about the person killed.The CHP said the person killed was driving a car that became disabled in the far right lane of the freeway near Greenville Road. It was not immediately known if the vehicle was involved in some kind of minor solo-collision.The driver got out and was standing near the car when it was hit by a big-rig truck, causing the vehicle to hit the driver. The person was pronounced dead on the freeway. No other injuries were reportedRelated ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | 5 killed in Northern California I-5 crash that left ex-SJPD captain dead included pregnant woman, young girl Crashes and Disasters | Police: Man who fled Southern California collision dies when car crashes again ...

Waves along parts of California coast are getting bigger and badder due to climate change, new study says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:45 GMT

Gary Robbins | The San Diego Union-Tribune (TNS)SAN DIEGO — The average height of winter waves along parts of the California coast have increased by as much as 1 foot since 1970 largely due to climate change, increasing the threat of sea cliff collapses, according to a new study by UC San Diego.The study, which heavily focuses on central California, also found that storms generating waves at least 13 feet tall now occur, on average, 23 times each winter, more than double what it was from 1949 to 1969.“The dividing line was 1970, when global warming began to accelerate,” said Peter Bromirski, a researcher at UCSD’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the lead author of the paper, which was published Tuesday in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Ocean.“Warming puts more energy into the atmosphere, and you end up with stronger storms, which produce stronger winds and higher waves,” he said.The study’s publication follows an extremely stormy wint...

Politicians urge Taylor Swift to postpone Los Angeles concerts in solidarity with striking hotel workers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:45 GMT

LOS ANGELES — California’s lieutenant governor and other elected officials on Tuesday urged Taylor Swift to postpone her Los Angeles concerts as a way to stand in solidarity with striking hotel workers.Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis and dozens of state and local politicians signed an open letter telling Swift that her tour makes the region’s hotels money, with some properties “doubling and tripling what they charge because you are coming.”Meanwhile, the letter said, many housekeepers and other hotel workers can’t afford to live close to their jobs and some sleep in their cars and risk losing their homes.“Hotel workers are fighting for their lives. They are fighting for a living wage. They have gone on strike. Now, they are asking for your support,” they wrote. “Stand with hotel workers and postpone your concerts.”FILE – California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis speaks during a debate in Sacramento, Calif., on April 17, 2018, back when she was a candidate for the office. California’s lieutenan...