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Bill to provide $17,000 for those opting out of public schools defeated in California senate committee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:37 GMT

The latest push for education savings accounts – a type of school choice voucher that would give parents money to finance their children’s non-public schooling – was defeated in a 5-2 vote in California’s senate education committee earlier this week.If passed, Senate Bill 292 would have established a fund for students who opt out of attending public schools that is equivalent to the amount the state spends on each student every year — around $17,000 per pupil during the 2022-23 academic year. Families could have used the money for private school tuition or other educational expenses. Leftover funds could be put toward higher education costs once the student graduates from high school.“California’s government run schools are failing too many students,” said the bill’s author, Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) in an emailed statement. “The government focuses more on funding institutions than students, and most parents have no other options.”Similar education savings ac...

49ers’ last-pick Purdy magic has inspired NFL to dig in on this year’s late-round QBs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:37 GMT

SANTA CLARA — One year ago, Brock Purdy’s phone rang, he retreated into his parents’ bedroom to take the call, then faked out his family by pretending it was just another team looking to sign him if he went undrafted.It was the 49ers calling. They would select him with the 262nd and final pick in the NFL Draft. Nine months later, Purdy directed them to eight straight wins, before his elbow got hurt and they lost the NFC Championship Game in Philadelphia.Purdy’s stunning breakout has a carryover effect on this coming NFL Draft.The 49ers are enamored with Purdy, and they envision him as their long-term starter, as long as his surgically repaired elbow recovers by fall, as expected. (That arm showed nice range of motion Friday night as he acknowledged fans who gave him a standing ovation while attending the San Francisco Giants’ game, seated near home plate with a few 49ers offensive linemen.)Nice to see you, Brock #BayAreaUnite pic.twitter.com/2FDiwHMpw3— SFGiants (@SFGia...

Prep baseball: Bold decision pays off for James Logan – ‘We needed to try something’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:37 GMT

UNION CITY – With the game between James Logan and Washington-Fremont tied during the top of the fifth inning, first place in the Mission Valley Athletic League was still up for grabs. That’s when James Logan’s Aeryk Hernandez made as gutsy a call as a coach could make with two outs and sophomore Jordan Medina on third. “I felt like we needed to try something, so I just said ‘Let’s put this straight steal on and hope that something happens,’” Hernandez said.“I read the signs and I was in complete shock,” Medina recalled thinking before he sprinted home.   “I was wondering, ‘Am I really about to do this?’” Washington’s catcher initially appeared to tag the runner out, but the home plate umpire deemed him to be blocking the plate. That gave James Logan a lead in what would eventually become a 5-2 victory. UNION CITY – James Logan players Jesus Vasquez (3) and Jordan Medina (16) celebrate after the final out. James Logan and Washington-Fremont played...

Mathews: Newsom’s “Campaign for Democracy” should start in California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:37 GMT

Gov. Gavin Newsom is doing a good thing by launching “Campaign for Democracy” against authoritarian governors who are limiting freedom in Republican states like Alabama and Florida.But what he’s campaigning for is not democracy.If democracy were his mission, he’d be campaigning in California — because our state has a deficit of it.Newsom’s “Campaign for Democracy” — the name he’s given to a series of events in Republican states and to the political action committee paying for them — isn’t just a misnomer. It’s part of an epidemic of leaders who portray whatever they are doing as “democracy,” and their political opponents as a threat to it.To understand the problem, let’s start with a definition: Democracy is everyday people governing themselves.But Newsom’s campaign has little to do with getting together with your neighbors to practice self-government. The governor instead is leading a large national media campaign to confront sins of politicians with whom he disagrees.On the Campai...

Customers shred electricity bill plans backed by PG&E, other utilities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:37 GMT

OAKLAND — A prominent Bay Area energy economist is warning that forthcoming changes to the way PG&E and other power companies in California bill customers could leave many people with sticker shock.The plan, enabled by state legislation and revealed recently by PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, envisions the addition of a monthly charge for all residential customers that receive electricity services from one of the three power utilities along with ongoing charges based on how much electricity people use each month.Ahmad Faruqui, an economist who has consulted with all three of the utilities involved in the revamp and who has testified in proceedings before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which oversees them, doesn’t like the idea of grafting on a new fixed income-linked fee to the existing system of electricity charges.“Right now, monthly bills are totally based on energy consumption and user behavior,R...

Hallan en el Mar de China Meridional una embarcación que naufragó en la Segunda Guerra Mundial con 1.000 prisioneros

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:37 GMT

(CNN) — Hallan un barco mercante japonés que se hundió durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial mientras transportaba a más de 1.000 prisioneros de guerra, en la mayor pérdida de vidas en el mar de Australia.El Montevideo Maru fue descubierto frente a la costa noroeste de la isla Luzón de Filipinas a una profundidad de más de 4.000 metros (13.000 pies) en el Mar de China Meridional, confirmó el viceprimer ministro de Australia, Richard Marles, en un video que publicó este sábado desde su cuenta de Twitter.Una vista lateral de estribor del barco de pasajeros japonés Montevideo Maru, que se hundió en 1942 después de ser torpedeado por un submarino de la Marina de EE.UU. mientras transportaba a más de 1.000 prisioneros. (Australian War Memorial)El descubrimiento puso fin a “uno de los capítulos más trágicos de la historia marítima de Australia”, dijo.El buque transportaba aproximadamente 1.060 prisioneros de alrededor de 16 países, incluidos 850 miembros del servicio australiano, desde ...

Muere a los 89 años el comediante australiano Barry Humphries, mejor conocido por su alter ego Dame Edna Everage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:37 GMT

(CNN) — El comediante australiano Barry Humphries, mejor conocido por su personaje drag Dame Edna Everage, murió a los 89 años.“Fue completamente él mismo hasta el final, nunca perdió su mente brillante, su ingenio único y su generosidad de espíritu”, dijo su familia en un comunicado, según el Sydney Morning Herald.El primer ministro de Australia, Anthony Albanese, rindió homenaje en un tuit, llamándolo “un gran ingenio, satírico, escritor y absolutamente único”.El artista había sido readmitido en el hospital este miércoles por complicaciones luego de una cirugía de cadera el mes pasado, informó el Sydney Morning Herald. Humphries tuvo un reemplazo de cadera luego de una caída en febrero.Humphries realizó una gira por el Reino Unido en 2022, entonces con 88 años, contando las historias de su vida e inspiraciones en un set llamado “El hombre detrás de la máscara”.Nacido en Melbourne, Australia en 1934, Humphries creó el personaje del ama de casa Edna Eve...

Greece’s legislative election confirmed for May 21

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:37 GMT

The Greek president on Saturday approved a request by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to dissolve the country’s parliament, Reuters reported.The parliament will officially be dissolved on Sunday, paving the way for national elections on May 21.Mitsotakis asked for parliament to be dissolved on April 23. It had already been closed for Orthodox Easter.“I hope we have a calm and fruitful pre-election period, for the good of the country,” President Katerina Sakellaropoulou said, according to Reuters.Mitsotakis announced new elections for May 21 in March. His government’s term expires in July. “Elections are a great celebration of democracy,” Mitsotakis told local press in a statement, adding that he hoped elections would be free from poison. This is a thinly veiled jab against rival party Syriza after he accused them of vulgarity and toxicity in a statement on Friday.The vote will take place under a new proportional representation system in the 300...

NYT: Mass. Air National Guardsman leaked intel for over a year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:37 GMT

The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman posted sensitive, leaked information to a much larger chat group months earlier than previously thought, the New York Times reported.Jack Teixeira, 21, was arrested last week at his home in Dighton, Massachusetts. Court documents allege he shared classified information to a Discord group of about 50 members starting in December. The Times is now reporting that a profile matching Teixeira’s began posting secret intelligence days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, over a year ago. This information was posted in a chat group with about 600 members.The Justice Department declined to comment on the latest report.

Elon Musk’s Twitter begins purge of blue check marks

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:37 GMT

  (CNN) — Elon Musk’s Twitter on Thursday began a purge of blue verification check marks from users who have not signed up for its subscription service, with the checks disappearing from the accounts of journalists, academics and celebrities.The blue checks even disappeared from the accounts of some of the most well-known and widely followed people on the social network, including Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, Bill Gates, Pope Francis, former president Donald Trump and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey.Some government agencies — including the official account for US Citizenship and Immigration Services and accounts for some state Customs and Border Patrol offices — also lost their blue checks, which weren’t immediately replaced by the gray checks Twitter has designated for government accounts.The initial rollout of the change appeared to be fairly glitchy, as blue checks disappeared and reappeared on some accounts. Some other high-profile legacy verified accounts al...