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Tech moguls used ‘strong-armed’ tactics to buy Bay Area land for secret city, farmers say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:54:00 GMT

By Nadia Lopez | BloombergA group of landowners say a Silicon Valley-backed company trying to build a sustainable city northeast of San Francisco used unfair and “strong-armed” tactics to force farmers to sell their land, including pitting family members against each other, court documents show.The details emerged on Friday as part of a lawsuit the company, Flannery Associates LLC, filed in May in District Court in Sacramento, alleging various farmers conspired to inflate the value of their land by $170 million. The landowners deny the claim and are seeking to dismiss the suit.The latest allegations, contained in a report on a conference held by both parties in September, provide the most complete account to date of the landowners’ accusations against Flannery, which has backing from former Sequoia Capital Chairman Mike Moritz, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, among others.A combine sits on top of a hill on farmland south of Highway 12 near Su...

Environmental disasters and ‘dark’ tourism: The modern-day ghost towns created by the climate crisis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:54:00 GMT

By Elissa Garay | CNNThink of “ghost towns” and images of dusty, lost-to-time towns, like those in America’s Wild West, may come to mind.Indeed, in the second half of the 19th century, a slew of boomtown-gone-bust mining towns were deserted by residents as natural resources and economic viability dried up. Over time, some of these relics have found new life as fun and kitschy tourist attractions.And while iterations of such abandoned settlements are found on every continent, with varying manmade and natural causes to blame, a new era of ghost towns is now emerging that, while eerie, feels far off from good touristic fun.Climate change and ensuing environmental disasters – marked by an increasing frequency and intensity of destructive floods, droughts, storms, wildfires and extreme temperatures – are now fueling what experts say are just the first waves of places abandoned due to climate displacement.“We are going to see a movement – it’s already happening – where people are moving a...

High school football rankings Week 11, 2023: Bay Area News Group Top 25

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:54:00 GMT

After an impressive win on Friday at previous No. 8 California, Clayton Valley made the biggest leap in the latest version of the Bay Area News Group high school football rankings.The Ugly Eagles jumped from No. 25 to No. 17 heading into their regular-season finale Friday at second-ranked De La Salle.St. Francis returned to the top 10 after edging the previous No. 5, Riordan. The Lancers leaped from 11th to eighth.St. Ignatius is the other new team in the top 10. The Wildcats moved up two spots from No. 12 after winning at home over Mitty.The top four remained the same: Serra, De La Salle, San Ramon Valley and Pittsburg.If you have not already, please subscribe here for digital access all season. Your contributions keep us going.On to the rankings …Bay Area News Group Top 25(Mercury News & East Bay Times)No. 1 SERRA (9-0)Previous ranking: 1Last week: Beat Valley Christian 24-13Up next: Friday vs. St. Ignatius, 7 p.m.No. 2 DE LA SALLE (7-2)Previous ranking: 2Last week: Beat Monte...

Mountain West power ratings: Unbeaten Air Force remains No. 1 as Fresno State rises, Wyoming falls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:54:00 GMT

Last season, the Hotline published weekly ‘Best of the West’ power ratings that considered not only Pac-12 teams but those in the Mountain West and Brigham Young. The exercise was so popular that we’re adding a MW-specific column to our array of offerings this season.(All times Pacific)1. Air Force (8-0/5-0)Last week: 1Result: Won at Colorado State 30-13Next up: vs. Army (11:30 a.m. on CBS Sports Network)Comment: Easy to envision some poor Power Five team that loses its conference championship game, then gets assigned to face the Falcons in the New Year’s Six and must deal with the triple option. In that situation, take the points.2. Fresno State (7-1/3-1)Last week: 3Result: Beat UNLV 31-24Next up: vs. Boise State (7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network)Comment: Whatever Jeff Tedford told the Bulldogs at halftime, he should bottle it for future use. Down 17-7, they scored 24 points in the third quarter to beat back UNLV’s upset bid.3. Boise State (4-4/3-1)Last week: 4Result: Beat ...

Two Missouri men accused of assaulting officers during riot at the U.S. Capitol charged

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:54:00 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Two Missouri men accused of assaulting police officers during the U.S. Capitol riot, including pushing bike racks that were being used as barricades into a police line, have been charged.Jared Luther Owens, 41, of Farmington, and Jason William Wallis, 49, of St. Clair, were charged Monday with obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and assault on law enforcement with a deadly or dangerous weapon, both felonies. They also face several misdemeanor counts. The charges were filed in Washington, D.C.Owens was arrested Friday, and Wallis was arrested Saturday. Owens’ attorney, Paul Vysotsky, declined comment. Wallis requested an attorney through the Federal Public Defender’s office in St. Louis, but does not yet have one, a man answering phones at the office said Tuesday.Court records say the two men were seen on video during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot pursuing and screaming at Capitol police officers, at one point yelling, “Coming up the stairs, with you or n...

Boris Johnson’s former top aide is withering about UK government during COVID-19 pandemic inquiry

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:54:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The former top aide to ex-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday painted a picture of widespread chaos and dysfunction in the U.K. government during the coronavirus pandemic. In keenly awaited testimony to the country’s public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic, Dominic Cummings, a self-styled political disruptor, was withering about many of the people dealing with the situation, including his former boss.“I would say, overall, it’s widespread failure, but pockets of excellent people and pockets of excellent teams doing excellent work within an overall dysfunctional system,” he said. He added that it was “crackers” that he had been appointed by Johnson to such a senior political position in government, using a British slang term for something that is ridiculous.In emails and WhatsApp messages that were handed to the inquiry, Cummings also slammed many ministers in expletive-ridden terms.“My appalling language has always been my own but my judgment of a l...

Commanders Corner: Deja vu right before the trading deadline

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:54:00 GMT

Wide receiver Jahan Dotson enjoyed his biggest game of the season — will this be the start of something special?(AP/Daniel Kucin Jr.) Wide receiver Jahan Dotson enjoyed his biggest game of the season — will this be the start of something special?(AP/Daniel Kucin Jr.) Sunday’s 38-31 loss to Philadelphia delivered equal parts encouragement and aggravation to the Washington Commanders fan base.For the second time in five weeks, they played the reigning NFC champs to a one-possession game, but for the second time this fall, they let a double-digit first-half lead evaporate.We saw last year’s first round pick Jahan Dotson emerge for his best game of the season while this year’s first-rounder Emmanuel ...

Biden’s Cabinet secretaries pushing a divided Congress to send aid to Israel and Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:54:00 GMT

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, in Washington. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Blinken will make the case Tuesday that the United States should immediately send aid to Israel and Ukraine, testifying at a Senate hearing as the administration’s massive $105 billion emergency aid request for conflicts in those countries and others has already hit roadblocks in the divided Congress. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)(AP/Alex Brandon) Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, in Washington. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Blinken will make the case Tuesday that the United States should immediately send aid to Israel and Ukraine, testifying at a Senate hearing as the admin...

US closes investigations into problems with 2 Jeep SUVs without seeking recalls

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:54:00 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto safety regulators have closed two investigations into problems with Jeep SUVs without finding seeking recalls.In July of 2022, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration o pened a probe into over 1,600 complaints of the electronic parking brakes activating inadvertently on 2014 to 2016 Jeep Cherokee small SUVs.But the agency found that in most cases the brakes came on when the vehicles weren’t moving, and a small number happened when the SUVs were moving at low speeds. In September of 2019 the agency began investigating complaints of frame weld problems on 2018 and 2019 Jeep Wrangler SUVs. The agency said at the time over 3,500 owners complained about weld problems or steering issues including a shimmy or wobble. No crashes or injuries were reported.The agency said Stellantis has addressed steering concerns with a 2018 recall as well as design changes and other repairs. Source

Chiefs and Patriots compete for fans and influence in Germany ahead of games in Frankfurt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 16:54:00 GMT

The Patriots have the history. The Chiefs have the juice.New England is bringing its six Super Bowl trophies. How about a yacht? Kansas City has that, not to mention the star quarterback and tight end.They’re all headed to Frankfurt to take part in two weeks of American football because beyond the games, there are German fans to win over. A lot of them.“Most Germans don’t have a team yet,” said Alexander Steinforth, the NFL’s general manager for Germany.The fandom is in the millions — a barely tapped gold mine for teams and a league which have mostly maxed out domestically. The league says it has 18 million casual fans — that would be roughly one in five residents of Germany — and 3.6 million “avid” ones.“We are reaching that state of maturity where you see fans are actively seeking out teams and are looking for teams that they can follow,” Steinforth said. “That’s why the market is so exciting for franchises to be active in because right now they have a massive opportun...