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Covid-19 has changed and so has our immunity. Here’s how to think about risk from the virus now

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:55:45 GMT

By Brenda Goodman | CNNCovid-19 was never just another cold. We knew it was going to stick around and keep changing to try to get the upper hand on our immune systems.But we’ve changed, too. Our B cells and T cells, keepers of our immune memories, aren’t as blind to this virus as they were when we first encountered the novel coronavirus in 2020. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has screened blood samples and estimates that 97% of people in the US have some immunity to Covid-19 through vaccination, infection or both.Then there’s science: We have updated vaccines and good antivirals to lean on when cases start to rise. Masks still work. Rapid tests are in stores. We now know to filter the air and to ventilate our spaces.Those strategies, plus our hard-won immunity, had helped bring our national numbers of infections, hospitalizations and deaths down to levels that felt almost forgettable.Almost.Now that Covid-19 infections have started to rise again, it feels like peo...

2024 poll: Voters see Biden as ‘old,’ Trump as ‘corrupt’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:55:45 GMT

By Will Weissert, Emily Swanson and Darlene Superville | Associated PressWASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is “old” and “confused,” and former President Donald Trump is “corrupt” and “dishonest.” Those are among the top terms Americans use when they’re asked to describe the Democrat in the White House and the Republican best positioned to face him in next year’s election.Unflattering portraits of Biden and Trump emerge clearly in a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which asked an open-ended question about what comes to mind when people think of them.For Biden, the largest share of U.S. adults — including both Democrats and Republicans — mentioned his age. At 80, Biden is just three years older than Trump, but many Americans expressed real concerns about his ability to continue as president.Trump, meanwhile, has been indicted in four cases featuring 91 total criminal counts and elicits ...

Hawaii utility takes responsibility for Maui fire

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:55:45 GMT

By Jennifer McDermott and Jennifer Sinco Kelleher | Associated PressHONOLULU — Hawaii’s electric utility acknowledged its power lines started a wildfire on Maui but faulted county firefighters for declaring the blaze contained and leaving the scene, only to have a second wildfire break out nearby and become the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century.Hawaiian Electric Company released a statement Sunday night in response to Maui County’s lawsuit blaming the utility for failing to shut off power despite exceptionally high winds and dry conditions. Hawaiian Electric called that complaint “factually and legally irresponsible,” and said its power lines in West Maui had been de-energized for more than six hours when the second blaze started.In its statement, the utility addressed the cause for the first time. It said the fire on the morning of Aug. 8 “appears to have been caused by power lines that fell in high winds.” The Associated Press reporte...

Pirate crime spree, vigilantes throw Oakland estuary into lawlessness

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:55:45 GMT

In recent weeks, the Oakland Estuary has morphed from an innocuous playground for water sports into what the local boating community describes as a semi-lawless stretch roamed by marauding thieves and patrolled by vigilantes.It’s a drama more suited for the high seas than the placid, 800-foot-wide channel separating Oakland and Alameda. Yet according to those who live and own boats in the area, the situation has escalated into a true crisis.On August 16, half the boats at the Alameda Community Sailing Center, a sailing nonprofit for kids, were taken in the night. At the Marina Village Yacht Club, residents say they have been threatened by “pirates” scouting out the docks. The Encinal Yacht Club, Jack London Square Marina and the Outboard Motor Shop have all been victimized. In total, over a dozen small boats and dinghies have been stolen in the past three weeks.“Piracy is the only way I can think to describe it,” local boat owner Jonathan Delong said during a public meeting of the B...

Can fruits and vegetables be made better? It might be possible with gene editing.

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:55:45 GMT

Brian Gordon | (TNS) The News & Observer (Raleigh)DURHAM, N.C. — Raw mustard greens, in their genetically unaltered form, leave a bitter aftertaste. Their flavor evokes horseradish or wasabi, lingering on the tongue until a chaser is found.This astringency is caused by myrosinase, an enzyme that is liberated from the plant’s cells with each bite. Heat eliminates myrosinase, and cooked mustard greens are a staple of Southern cuisine, but the fresh greenish, purplish leaf is not widely beloved in salads.The staff at Pairwise, a 6-year-old agricultural tech startup in Durham, believe this is a missed opportunity.Nutrient rich, mustard greens possess more vitamin A than spinach and double the calcium. According to some studies, the vegetable even has more vitamin C than oranges.This spring, Pairwise introduced the first food in the United States created with the genome-editing technology CRISPR. It’s a salad featuring non-pungent, myrosinase-free mustard greens that don’t leave cons...

Mother of embattled Spanish soccer official stages hunger strike

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:55:45 GMT

By Ciaran Giles | Associated PressMADRID — The mother of Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales started a hunger strike Monday in a church in southern Spain in defense of her son, who is under fire for kissing a player during the Women’s World Cup awards ceremony.Ángeles Béjar told the state news agency EFE she would remain on hunger strike “night and day” until a solution is found to the “inhumane hounding” of her son.Speaking outside the church in the southern town of Motril, Rubiales’ cousin, Vanessa Ruiz, joined his mother in calling on the player, Jenni Hermoso, to “tell the truth.”Hermoso has denied Rubiales’ claim that she consented to what he called the “mutual” kiss during the Aug. 20 medal ceremony after the Spanish women’s team won the final in Sydney, Australia.In a statement Saturday Hermoso said she considered herself the victim of abuse of power and accused the Spanish soccer federation...

Fall arts 2023: Bay Area dance troupes ready bold new works, revivala

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:55:45 GMT

A beguiling meditation on aging and the body’s inevitable betrayal, the Joe Goode Performance Group’s recent dance theater production “As We Go” turned the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts into a labyrinthine memory palace.The vignettes and narratives woven through the production were deeply personal, but also seemed to speak to the conundrum facing some of region’s leading dance companies as the founding innovators and mavericks who came of age in the 1960s and ‘70s leave the stage or warily contemplate an exit.More than any other kind of performing arts organization, dance companies tend to reflect the personality and vision of founding choreographers, which can lead to an identity crisis or worse when the leaders move on. Ever since the decade-long legal struggle over control of Martha Graham’s seminal dances — following Graham’s death in 1991, her heir claimed ownership of her classic works and tried to prevent her namesake company from performing them — modern ...

Who’s behind transgender policies in Southern California schools?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:55:45 GMT

Sidelined in Sacramento, California conservatives went back to school.They won school board seats last fall and are now working to advance what they see as an agenda that respects parents’ rights.Key examples are seen in the Chino Valley, Murrieta Valley and Temecula Valley school districts, which, following long, crowded and contentious public meetings, recently passed policies requiring parents to be notified if their child identifies as transgender. The Orange Unified School District board is considering a similar policy.A look at the policies shows they share a lot of the same language. That’s no coincidence. A coalition of school board members and their allies drew up the policies and is sharing them statewide.RELATED: Third Southern California school board OKs policy to tell parents if students are transgender“Being that we knew as parents we needed to join together, it’s kind of what’s happening organically now with school board members,” said Sonja Shaw, president of the Chi...

4 arrested for stealing over $3K in goods at Sephora in San Mateo

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:55:45 GMT

(KRON) -- Four people, including two juveniles, were arrested Sunday afternoon for stealing thousands of dollars worth of fragrances from a Sephora, according to the San Mateo Police Department.Around 2:30 p.m., SMPD received a call from Sephora regarding three suspects who stole several bottles of fragrances and fled the store into a waiting car. The security officer at the Sephora was able to provide police with the license plate and description of the suspect car, officials said.  San Mateo police located the suspect car attempting to merge onto Highway 101. Officers conducted a traffic stop and found four people inside of the car. SMPD recovered 26 bottles of fragrances which was valued at over $3,500.The following four suspects were arrested and booked on charges of burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime.Andre Beckosteen-Mixon, 20, of OaklandChristopher Range, 18, of Carmichael17-year-old female of Yuba City13-year-old male of San Mateo 

Police release photo of gunman at large on or near UNC's campus, university on lockdown

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:55:45 GMT

CHAPEL HILL (WNCN) — Police have released a photo of a gunman at large on or near UNC-Chapel Hill's campus on Monday afternoon. According to the UNC website, the suspect image matches an ID photo for a student named Tailei Qi. The alert, which went out at about 1 p.m. urged everyone on the school's campus to stay inside and avoid windows.A massive presence of law enforcement and EMS vehicles are lining the road outside of the Genome Sciences Building and South Road is largely blocked off. At least four agencies are responding on the scene as of 2:15 p.m.Chapel-Hill area buses are on hold due to the incident, according to a tweet sent by Chapel Hill Transit. Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools are also under a "Secure Mode" across all campuses and offices, according to an update posted on their Facebook page.CHCCS says that building doors are closed and locked and no one is able to enter or leave the school building until given an "all-clear" by authorities. NC State Highway Patrol ha...