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Opinion: Kevin McCarthy’s predicament: His debt ceiling deal is doomed

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:37 GMT

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been strutting his stuff for two weeks since wheedling his slim majority of House Republicans to (barely) pass a bill to raise the debt limit, supposedly strengthening his hand for negotiations with President Biden and Senate Democrats to avoid a first-ever default.McCarthy should relish his victory march for now. Because that strut is about to become a slog and, ultimately, a surrender of sorts. At stake is the job he fought so hard, and sold his soul, to get.“We lifted the debt limit. We’ve sent it to the Senate. We’ve done our job,” McCarthy crowed after the 217-215 vote. Note to the speaker: You didn’t lift the debt limit, not without Senate approval and Biden’s signature, and you won’t get either of those for this bill.So, no, your job is not done. To get the job done, you will have to compromise with the Democrats.And that’s McCarthy’s predicament. The handcuffs that House Republicans have p...

San Jose site of proposed real estate project lands Bay Area buyer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:37 GMT

SAN JOSE — The site of a proposed real estate project in San Jose that has yet to be built has gained a local buyer, public records show.A 2.8-acre site consisting of three parcels at the corner of Berryessa Road and Jackson Avenue has been bought by investors based in San Jose, according to documents filed on May 15 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.The new owners paid about $6.9 million for the parcels, the county records show. The San Jose-based buyers obtained the property through an all-cash deal, according to real estate documents.The just-bought property has addresses that include 2002 Berryessa Road.In 2019, the sellers proposed the development of 48,000 square feet of retail or restaurant development on the property, San Jose planning records show.A construction loan has yet to be filed in connection with the site.The development was proposed just ahead of the outbreak in 2020 of the coronavirus, which unleashed an array of cataclysmic economic woes....

Opinion: Global supply chain realignment creates Bay Area opportunity

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:37 GMT

Events are converging to create a window of opportunity for North America — if the United States, Canada and Mexico can seize it. It’s an opportunity for Bay Area companies as well.Global supply chains are realigning. Heavy reliance on China is a particular concern, as pandemic lockdowns there hurt manufacturing, tariffs from the U.S.-China trade war remain in place, China’s government pursues statist policies, and the potential for more political disruption looms. This doesn’t mean that companies will just pick up their bags and leave China. It’s market is too large and its supplier base too deep for any sudden change. But a recent survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai shows that U.S. companies are reconsidering their long-term future, and many have either moved some investment elsewhere or are planning to.Where that investment goes is up for grabs. Apart from businesses that return to the United States, most are likely to go to these three places: Southeast ...

U.S. scientists discover genetic variant that protects against Alzheimer’s disease symptoms

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:37 GMT

Researchers have made another breakthrough in their effort to help Alzheimer’s patients, as Boston scientists on Monday reported they have found a new genetic variant that protects against Alzheimer’s disease symptoms.Meanwhile, other researchers in the city recently discovered how the FDA-approved Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab slows cognitive decline, and the FDA gave the green light for a drug to treat agitation symptoms that are associated with dementia.Mass General Brigham investigators on Monday said they identified what’s causing Alzheimer’s, and also what protects against the disease — helping pave the way for future treatments.The researchers studied a patient with a genetic predisposition for early-onset Alzheimer’s disease who remained cognitively intact more than two decades beyond the expected age of memory impairment.“The genetic variant we have identified points to a pathway that can produce extreme resilience and protection against Alzheimer’s disease symptoms,” said Jos...

Opinion: Kudos to East Bay park district for testing new trail ideas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:37 GMT

The Briones Pilot Project is a positive step forward by the East Bay Regional Park District to address the need for both equitable access to publicly funded parks and better trail management.With less than 20 miles of new trail construction over the past 25 years, explosive demand for park use and the current limits on bike access to narrow trails, change is needed. The lack of progress has frustrated many mountain bikers who have resorted to illegally riding on hiker-only trails and building their own trails. The result has been increased conflict between various trail users and environmental degradation in some areas.The pilot project reflects a paradigm shift by EBRPD to address trail-user conflict and habitat impacts. The new strategy is to “test some new ways to safely share trails and improve the trail experience for all users while protecting habitat, wildlife and watersheds,” according to the park district. “A key component of the project is the restoration of il...

3 injured in collision of BART train, pickup truck

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:37 GMT

(BCN) -- A total of three people were injured in the collision late Tuesday between a BART train and a pickup truck that had crashed through the fence onto the trackway of a northbound BART train in Oakland between Fruitvale and Lake Merritt, transit officials said early Tuesday. BART trains are about to begin running. Riders should not have any problems until the Coliseum station where you will have to offload and take a bus to the Lake Merritt station. The train operator was taken to a local hospital for treatment, said James Allison, BART's media relations manager. One train passenger was reportedly injured as well, he said, but it is unknown whether that person was taken to a local hospital. The pickup driver was treated at the scene by Oakland police officers, who also conducted a field sobriety test. The police are the lead agency on the investigation of the collision, since it began in their jurisdiction, Allison said. The collision occurred about 11:35 p.m.,...

Lebanese central bank governor no-show in Paris corruption probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:37 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s embattled central bank governor failed to appear before French prosecutors on Tuesday to be questioned on corruption charges, officials said.A European judicial team from France, Germany and Luxembourg is conducting a corruption probe into an array of financial crimes, including illicit enrichment and alleged laundering of $330 million, implicating the Lebanese governor, Riad Salameh.Salameh, 72, who has held his post for almost 30 years, has repeatedly denied all allegations against him. He has insisted that his wealth comes from his previous job as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch, inherited properties, and investments.The three European governments in March 2022 froze over $130 million in assets linked to the probe. During a visit to Lebanon in March, the European delegation questioned Salameh about the Lebanese central bank’s assets and investments outside the country, a Paris apartment — which the governor owns— and his brother Raja Salameh’s ...

The Weeknd has started using his birth name on social media

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:37 GMT

The Weeknd performs onstage during his “After Hours Til Dawn” tour on August 11, 2022, in Atlanta. (Getty Images)This Monday marks not only the end of the weekend, but potentially, the end of The Weeknd, too.Pop star Abel Tesfaye — previously known under his stage name, The Weeknd — has started using his given name on social media accounts, quietly changing his moniker after saying last week that he wanted to “kill The Weeknd” in an interview with W Magazine.“The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd,” he said in the interview, adding, “This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”Fans took to Twitter to express their thoughts on the name change. One user posted a gif of Miley Cyrus quick changing into her former Disney Channel pop star character, Hannah Montana — likening the two transformations.“I don’t know if I’m ready to say goodbye to...

Retail sales up 0.4% in April from March, buoyed by solid job market, easing inflationary pressures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Consumers picked up their spending in April from March, buoyed by a solid job market and easing inflationary pressures.Retail sales increased 0.4% in April from March when it was down 0.7%. It marked the first increase since January when unusually warm weather and a big jump in Social Security benefits likely spurred more spending. Excluding car dealers and gas stations, retail sales rose 0.6%. Spending increased 1.2% at online retailers and ticked up 0.6% at restaurants and bars. Department stores, electronic stores and home furnishings stores all saw declines. The figures are not adjusted for inflation unlike many other government reports.Spending by Americans has remained remarkably resilient with signs of weakness elsewhere in the economy, but there are still signs that still high inflation and rising interest rates are taking a toll. Still, a solid job market has helped to prop up spending. Source

Early warning, preparedness likely saved thousands of lives during Cyclone Mocha

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:50:37 GMT

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Early warnings from weather agencies and better preparedness by local governments and aid agencies likely saved thousands of lives during a powerful cyclone that slammed into Bangladesh and Myanmar over the weekend. But there are concerns about a large number of people still unaccounted for in areas where preparations were lacking.At the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar district, thousands of Rohingya from Myanmar were moved to safer areas until Cyclone Mocha passed. But at camps for displaced Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, where the storm hit harder, the presence of aid agencies is spotty and help from the country’s military government negligible.Only about two dozen deaths have been reported by media in Myanmar, but many people remain missing from the camps, which were reportedly heavily damaged by storm surges. Information from the affected areas has been hard to obtain because telecommunication facilities w...