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TV station owner Sinclair plans to branch into nonbroadcast business through billion-dollar private-equity fund

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:54 GMT

Lorraine Mirabella | Baltimore Sun (TNS)Media company Sinclair may be best known for its empire of television stations and local news programming across the United States, its founders’ conservative bent and its recent failed foray into regional sports network ownership.Now, officials say the Hunt Valley-based company’s future will become more tied to industries outside broadcast.Instead of buying more television stations, the company is shifting its investment strategy to acquire growing, nonbroadcast businesses, Sinclair President and CEO Chris Ripley said in a recent interview.It plans to pursue acquisitions of companies that stand to benefit over the next decades from trends such as the aging of the population, the expanding decarbonization of the economy, the increase in pet ownership and spending, and the “do-it-for-me” sector.“Our core business and our legacy might be in media and broadcasting, but at the end of the day we’re looking to make Sinclair a success in any industry...

After ‘miracle’ water year, can California agencies capture more from next El Niño?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:54 GMT

It was a perfect storm of, well, pretty perfect storms.There was a lot of rain and snow during California’s just completed “water year,” from Oct. 1, 2022 to Sept. 30 — nearly double the historical average in the southern half of the state. But all of that rain didn’t fall too fast, and snowpack-melting temperatures didn’t spike too high, making it possible for most areas to avoid major flooding.The agencies that capture and store stormwater also have become better at finding ways to keep more of that precipitation in Southern California rather than letting it all run out to the ocean.Recent projects by the Chino Basin Watermaster, for example, which manages the aquifer that sits under much of northwestern Inland Empire, allow the agency to capture an additional 4,000 acre feet of stormwater. (Each acre foot is enough to serve two households for a year.) And given how much rain fell, Justin Nakanowater, who serves as the agency’s manager of technical resources, said the Chino Basin ...

Philz Coffee closing original location in SF's Mission District

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:54 GMT

(KRON) – A community staple is closing its doors today. Philz Coffee’s original location in San Francisco's Mission District is officially closing its door on Monday. "Though the physical space may close its doors, the Mission will always hold a special place in our hearts as our first home, where Philz Coffee was born and nurtured."Philz Coffee LinkedIn announces layoffs of over 660 roles The coffee shop opened in 2003 and has become popular in the Mission District.(Photo: KRON4's Will Tran)There are 13 more Philz Coffee stores in San Francisco and 40 other locations across the Bay Area. Philz Coffee now has dozens of locations across California, including Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego counties. There are also six locations in the Chicago area.

Climate change activists on kayaks tease oil tankers in Richmond

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:54 GMT

(BCN) -- What started two years ago as a club for black and brown kayakers has turned into a league of activists who want to do something rather than nothing about climate change.Thirty-two kayakers buzzed a berthed oil tanker at the Chevron Oil Refinery Sunday afternoon. As the fog lifted, a company security guard with a megaphone told the paddlers to back up beyond a 100-yard safety zone. Ten boaters got brave and darted closer, teasing authorities to escalate. In the end, the activists did not stop the departure of a 2 p.m. oil tanker. But they will try again."I think next time we're going to get a little closer to their departure time," said one of the group's organizers, Alfredo Angulo, 23.The Rich City Rays is a collection of hobbyists and seasoned kayakers that perform their First Amendment rights on water. They acted at Lake Merritt on Earth Day in 2021 and again in support of Greenpeace International, as that legacy environmental group fought a seven-year slap lawsuit in th...

Victoria legal: familias migrantes separadas durante el gobierno de Trump podrán vivir y trabajar en EEUU

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:54 GMT

WASHINGTON DC – El gobierno del presidente Joe Biden y más de 4,000 inmigrantes que fueron separados de sus familias en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México durante el gobierno del expresidente Donald Trump llegaron a un acuerdo legal este lunes que permite a las familias vivir y trabajar en EEUU durante tres años mientras reciben vivienda, salud mental y asistencia jurídica para solicitar asilo.El acuerdo también prohíbe al gobierno federal separar a cualquier familia de migrantes que cruce la frontera durante ocho años, a menos que los padres sean considerados un peligro para sus hijos o el público o hayan ingresado previamente al país ilegalmente más de dos veces.El acuerdo, anunciado por el Departamento de Justicia, pondría fin a uno de los capítulos más oscuros de la política de inmigración de EEUU, en el que las familias que cruzaron ilegalmente la frontera sur en 2017 y 2018 fueron separadas sistemáticamente. Los niños menores de 18 años fueron enviados a la custod...

No. 7 Penn State looking for first win in Columbus since 2011 as game with No. 3 Ohio State looms

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:54 GMT

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — The first half of the season went about as well as it could for Penn State. It’s about to get much tougher.If the seventh-ranked Nittany Lions (6-0) want to maximize their chances of playing for a Big Ten championship, they will need to do something they haven’t done in more than a decade — beat Ohio State in Columbus.They’ll have their shot against the No. 3 Buckeyes (6-0) on Saturday in the Horseshoe, a place where Penn State hasn’t won since 2011.“It is another top-10 opponent,” defensive end Adisa Isaac said. “Obviously we’ve been battling these guys for years and years, so this is a great test for us.”There weren’t many of those in the first half of the season, when the Nittany Lions found different ways to blow out every opponent they faced.Sophomore quarterback Drew Allar carved up West Virginia in the opener and still hasn’t turned the ball over. Running backs Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen helped the offense run over Illinois, Iowa and Northweste...

Arrest made in airport parking garage shooting that killed 1 Philadelphia officer and wounded another, authorities say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:54 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Arrest made in airport parking garage shooting that killed 1 Philadelphia officer and wounded another, authorities say.Source

Prince George’s Co. man sentenced to 6 years in prison for role in fentanyl distribution ring

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:54 GMT

A Prince George’s County, Maryland, man was sentenced to six years in prison in connection to a fentanyl distribution ring he took part in, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.Prosecutors said 33-year-old Garnell Lucas, of Upper Marlboro, pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, according to a Justice Department news release.On March 29, 2022, the FBI searched a Southeast D.C. apartment where the group operated out of and found more than 516 pills and more than 76 grams of a mixture containing fentanyl.Law enforcement started to investigate the group, which distributed fentanyl in D.C. and Maryland in August 2021, court documents said. Investigators found that the group used at least three pill presses to make fake prescription pills out of fentanyl.Prosecutors said that Lucas and others took part in the drug trafficking operation, which lasted from May 2020 to September 2022.Lucas and t...

Virginia school bus driver and 12 children hurt after bus overturns, officials say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:54 GMT

SUFFOLK, Va. (AP) — A bus driver and 12 children were hurt when a school bus headed to a southeastern Virginia elementary school overturned Monday morning, officials said.City of Suffolk spokesperson Jennifer Moore said the crash happened around 9:30 a.m. on Cypress Chapel Road, WAVY-TV reported.The school bus was headed to Southwestern Elementary School when the crash occurred. Images from the scene showed the bus on its side across much of the road.The driver and children were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, Moore said. School personnel notified the parents of the students involved.Suffolk is 19 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of Norfolk. The cause of the crash is under investigation.Source

In wake of Reyna-Berhalter feud, US Soccer Federation discussing rule to curb parent pressuring

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:54 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — More than 10 months after the Reyna family pressured U.S. Soccer Federation staff to give more playing time to Gio Reyna at the World Cup, the team has not yet adopted rules to prevent similar lobbying.“That’s something that U.S. Soccer leadership is discussing, and as of now, nothing’s been put in place,” coach Gregg Berhalter said Monday, a day ahead of the Americans’ exhibition against Ghana.Gio Reyna didn’t play in the Americans’ World Cup opener against Wales on Nov. 21. The following day, the midfielder’s father, former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna, sent a text message to then-USSF sporting director Earnie Stewart, according to a report last March for the federation by the firm Alston and Bird.“What a complete and utter … joke,” Claudio Reyna texted. “Our family is disgusted in case you are wondering. Disgusted at how a coach is allowed to never be challenged and do whatever he wants.”Claudio Reyna sent a text mes...