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Contra Costa County fire crews respond to nearly 200 calls during July 4 celebrations

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:22 GMT

(KRON) – The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District responded to more than 194 calls including 82 fires overnight on July 4. Fifty of those fires are suspected to be caused by fireworks, officials said. In addition to fires, incidents Con Fire responded to Tuesday included a hazard investigation, one rescue, two alarms, three public services, four PD requests, six accidents and 95 EMS callsIn the 11 p.m. hour, Con Fire responded to 10 fires with all likely being caused by fireworks. One person had a serious injury to their hand due to fireworks, officials said.(Photo: Con Fire)In the 10 p.m. hour, firefighters responded to 19 grass and exterior fires along with two structure fires. Officials said three of the fires are known to have been caused by fireworks with the other 16 fires being suspected as firework-starters. (Photo: Con Fire)At 10:53 p.m., Con Fire responded to a two-story house on fire in the 1500 block of Fieldcrest Drive in Pleasant Hill. Fire crews reported ...

Alameda County firefighters save homes from blazes ignited by fireworks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:22 GMT

(KRON) -- Countless illegal aerial fireworks lit up San Francisco Bay Area skies on July 4 and firefighting crews worked through the night dousing dozens of blazes. "Alameda County Fire Department had a very busy night last night," ACFD spokesperson Cheryl Hurd told KRON4. A flurry of 911 calls were made by residents between 10 p.m. Tuesday and 2 a.m. Wednesday.In Union City, a homeowner reported that embers from illegal fireworks landed in his backyard on Begonia Street at 10:23 p.m. Flames spread from the embers through the backyard as firefighters worked to protect the house. "The home had extensive amounts of debris in the backyard.  It took firefighters an hour and a half to bring it under control," Hurd said. At 11:11 p.m., a six-acre fire burned wildland along Lake Chabot Road in Alameda County. The fire threatened a housing development near Arcadian Drive and Arcadian Court. Firefighters with East Bay Regional Parks and Cal Fire protected nearby homes and doused the blaze. T...

San Francisco shooting being investigated as homicide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:22 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A shooting in San Francisco that took place Tuesday night is being investigated as a homicide, the San Francisco Police Department said. Officers with the SFPD Bayview Station responded shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday on a report of a shooting to Jamestown Avenue and Ingalls Street. Nearly 5 pounds of fentanyl seized, 3 arrested in SF drug bust Officers arrived on the scene and located a man suffering from gunshot wounds. Officers rendered medical aid and summoned medics to the scene. The victim was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. However, despite efforts, he succumbed to his injuries and was declared deceased, police said.An investigation into the shooting is being led by the SFPD Homicide Detail. No arrests have been made and the investigation remains ongoing, police said.KRON On is streaming live news now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-containe...

Canada’s government will stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:22 GMT

OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — Canada’s government announced Wednesday it would stop advertising on Facebook and Instagram, in response to Meta’s decision to block access to news content on their social platforms as part of a temporary test.Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government’s decision at a news conference.Canada’s move is the latest episode in a spat that started after Trudeau’s administration proposed a bill that would require technology companies to pay publishers for linking to or otherwise repurposing their content online. Meta promised at the time to block Canadian news content on its Facebook and Instagram platforms to address Canada’s recently passed Online News Act.Rodriguez said the decision from Meta is “unreasonable” and “irresponsible,” and as a result Canada would stop advertising on their platforms.The annual report on government spending shows the federal government spent just over 11.4 m...

John Berylson, American businessman and owner of English soccer team Millwall, dies at age 70

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:22 GMT

LONDON (AP) — John Berylson, an American businessman and owner of English soccer team Millwall, has died. He was 70. His death was announced by the second-division London team, which said Berylson had “lost his life in a tragic accident” on Tuesday. “It is with a collective broken heart and the deepest of regret that we announce the passing of our beloved owner and chairman, John Berylson,” Millwall said in a statement. It has since been reported that Berylson died in a car crash in Falmouth, Massachusetts.“John was, without any doubt whatsoever, the best club owner I have ever worked with, and I would argue strongly that he was the best chairman of any club in this country,” Millwall CEO Steve Kavanagh said. “I feel so desperately sad for John’s family and our thoughts and prayers are with them at what is just such a devastatingly cruel time.”Berylson became involved with Millwall in 2006 and, by the following year, was a significant shareholder after leading a consortium to ...

Swanson and Williamson among the top players sidelined for the Women’s World Cup

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:22 GMT

Just as the United States appeared to solidify its front-line starters for the Women’s World Cup, the team was thrown by the loss of Mallory Swanson to a knee injury.Swanson was injured in early April during an exhibition match against Ireland. She cried in pain as she went down and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher in Austin, Texas.The next day, the national team announced the news: Swanson had torn the patellar tendon in her left knee and required surgery. While no timeline was given for her recovery, the World Cup was happening just too soon for a comeback.Swanson was the team’s leading scorer this year with seven goals and a six-game scoring streak, tied for fourth longest in team history. The 25-year-old forward had formed a solid front line with Sophia Smith and Alex Morgan.Swanson joined a long list of high-profile players who will miss the Women’s World Cup. England, considered one of the contenders for the title, has been especially hard hit.CATARIN...

Montgomery Co. reports uptick in students arrested on school grounds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:22 GMT

A least thirteen students were arrested on the grounds of Montgomery County Public Schools in the most recent school year — up from three during the academic year prior.The data was shared by school officials in a presentation on student well-being and safety during a June 27 Board of Education meeting. Eight of the students arrested during the 2022-2023 school year were Black, and five were white, according to county data. The data doesn’t cite what the students were arrested for.Some school board members expressed frustration that Hispanic students weren’t included in the data. Dana Edwards, the school’s systems chief of district operations, said some Hispanic students were arrested in the 2022-23 year, but it wasn’t included in the presentation because “it’s not an identified race” in federal reporting procedure.The presentation came after Superintendent Monifa McKnight condemned a rise in hate and bias incidents at county schools this ye...

Federal Reserve minutes: Some officials wanted to raise interest rates last month

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:22 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Federal Reserve officials pushed to raise the Fed’s key interest rate by one-quarter of a percentage point at their meeting last month to fight high inflation, though the central bank ultimately decided to forgo a rate hike.In a sign of growing division among the policymakers, some officials favored a quarter-point increase or said they “could have supported such a proposal,” according to the minutes of the June 13-14 meeting released Wednesday. In the end, the 11 voting members of the Fed’s interest-rate setting committee agreed unanimously to skip a hike after 10 straight increases. But they signaled that they may raise rates twice more this year, beginning as soon as this month.In Fed parlance, “some” is less than “most” or “many,” evidence that the support for another rate hike was a minority view. And some who held that view were likely unable to vote at the meeting; the 18 members of the Fed’s policymaking committee vote on a rotating basis.Though the vo...

A Chinese mining company has opened a giant lithium processing plant in Zimbabwe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:22 GMT

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — A Chinese mining company formally opened a $300 million lithium processing plant Wednesday in Zimbabwe, which has one of the world’s largest reserves of the metal as demand surges globally because of its use in electric car batteries.Zimbabwe has the largest lithium reserves in Africa and has in recent years drawn investors in battery minerals from Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, although China is the dominant player.The plant opened by Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, an arm of Chinese company Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, has a capacity to process 4.5 million metric tons of hard rock lithium into concentrate for export per year, Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa said. Mnangagwa was present for the official opening of the sprawling plant in Goromonzi, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southeast of Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare.“Lithium is the mineral of the present and the future … and value addition will position our country as an emerging and compe...

Neuma and SLC launch psychedelic foundations course

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:19:22 GMT

St. Lawrence College is partnering with local health and wellness startup Neuma to deliver the country’s first course focused on foundations of psychedelics and psychedelic therapy.As the medicinal potential of psychedelics like psilocybin continues to be explored, the Neuma Centre believes there’s value to people gaining an understanding of the history, science, principles, and philosophy of psychedelics and bringing those things into real practice.Neuma hosted a launch event last Thursday at the college to talk about why they think starting the “Foundations for Psychedelic Exploration” course is important, and as an opportunity for people to ask questions about and provide feedback on what Neuma is doing and the new course they’ll be delivering.Nearing a year old, Neuma’s goal is to provide more tools for mental health and wellness that people can use on their own. The Wellness Centre’s Co-Founder Cory Firth says that Neuma thinks it’...