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Gov. Newsom signs laws to fast-track housing on churches’ lands, streamline housing permitting process

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:47 GMT

By TRÂN NGUYỄN | Associated PressSACRAMENTO  — Religious institutions and nonprofit colleges in California will be allowed to turn their parking lots and other properties into low-income housing under a new law aimed at combating the ongoing homeless crisis.The law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday, rezones land owned by nonprofit colleges and religious institutions, such as churches, mosques, and synagogues, to allow for affordable housing. Starting in 2024, they can bypass most local permitting and environmental review rules that can be costly and lengthy. The law is set to sunset in 2036.California is home to nearly a third of all homeless people in the U.S. The crisis has sparked a movement among religious institutions, dubbed “yes in God’s backyard,” or “YIGBY,” in cities across the state, with a number of projects already in the works.But churches and colleges often face big hurdles trying to convert their surplus land and underutilized parking lots into housing because t...

San Francisco bar to open drag queen school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:47 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- San Francisco will soon be home to California’s first drag queen school. The school will be opened by Stud Collective, a non-profit formed by The Stud, which is one of San Francisco’s most iconic and long-serving LGBTQ+ bars.The Stud School of Drag will teach the fundamentals of drag performance. According to the announcement, evening classes will gather on a weekly basis and will be taught by drag queen subject experts. The curriculum includes topics such as the history of drag, makeup 101, creating character through costuming, lip-synching and marketing fundamentals. Banana Republic opens new flagship store in Downtown SF Chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party Honey Mahogany will serve as its inaugural headmistress. “I thought drag was just about being campy and female impersonation -- which is cool -- but the Stud taught me that drag can be political, dark, scary, weird, emotional and so much more,” Mahogany said in a statement. ...

NATO will hold a major nuclear exercise next week as Russia plans to pull out of a test ban treaty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:47 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO will hold a major nuclear exercise next week, the alliance’s chief said Thursday, in an announcement that came after Russia warned it would pull out of a global nuclear test ban agreement.NATO’s “Steadfast Noon” exercise is held annually and runs for about a week. It involves fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear warheads but does not involve any live bombs. Conventional jets and surveillance and refueling aircraft also routinely take part.“This is a routine training event that happens every October,” Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. “This year the training will take place over Italy, Croatia and the Mediterranean Sea.”He said the exercise will help ensure the “credibility, effectiveness and security of our nuclear deterrent, and it sends a clear message that NATO will protect and defend all allies.”Stoltenberg said that Russia’s war on Ukraine is a reminder of the important role that NATO’s nuclear weapons play in deterring aggressi...

UNC’s Maye, NC State’s Wilson and Louisville’s Brohm headline the AP’s ACC midyear honorees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:47 GMT

North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye, North Carolina State linebacker Payton Wilson and Louisville coach Jeff Brohm headline the honorees in The Associated Press’ midseason report for the Atlantic Coast Conference.Maye was picked as the top offensive player through the season’s first half in voting by AP writers covering league teams, while Wilson was picked as top defensive player. Brohm was the choice as top coach after the 14th-ranked Cardinals’ fast start, which also made Louisville the pick as the most surprising team so far.Maye, a third-year passer and top NFL prospect, edged out quarterback Jordan Travis of fourth-ranked Florida State after helping the No. 12 Tar Heels (5-0, 2-0) post their best start since 1997. He entered the season facing massive expectations and got off to a slow start with TD throws as the team leaned more on the running game under new coordinator Chip Lindsey, but he ranks among the Bowl Subdivision leaders in passing yardage (fourth...

Jessica Pegula reaches quarterfinals at Korea Open. Ons Jabeur wins opener at Zhengzhou Open

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:47 GMT

SEOUL (AP) — Jessica Pegula advanced to her 12th quarterfinal match of the season by beating Ashlyn Krueger 6-3, 6-1 Thursday at the Korea Open.Pegula will play another American, Claire Liu, in the quarterfinals on Friday.Back Da-yeon, the 569th-ranked wild-card who eliminated second-seeded Jelena Ostapenko in the opening round, lost to Kimberly Birrell 6-0, 6-1.Also, fourth-seeded Marie Bouzkova advanced when Eva Lys retired from the match after losing the first set 6-1, and Emina Bektas defeated Jang Su-jeong 6-3, 6-4 to advance to her second tour-level quarterfinal match.Zhengzhou OpenOns Jabeur won her opening match at the Zhengzhou Open and advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 7-6 (5).The seventh-ranked Jabeur will next play eighth-seeded Daria Kasatkina, who beat wild card Bai Zhuoxuan 6-2, 6-4.Also, Laura Siegemund rallied to beat Liudmila Samsonova 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. The 133rd-ranked Siegemund will play Jasmine Paolini in the quarterfinals.Hong Kong Op...

Robert Wickens on cusp of winning a championship 5 years after he was paralyzed in IndyCar crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:47 GMT

Robert Wickens was determined from the very first days after his life-changing 2018 IndyCar accident not to let it define — or end — his racing career.The Canadian was 29 years old at the time, engaged to be married, and a breakout rookie star in a United States-based racing series after a successful career in Europe. Wickens nearly won his IndyCar debut, scored four podiums, and was sixth in the championship race when he sailed into the fence at Pocono Raceway with three races remaining in the season.He was paralyzed from the waist down.Wickens moved to a rehabilitation facility in Colorado, at first as an in-patient, before he moved into an extended stay motel to continue the work. Six hours a day, six days a week.“In the months and years that I spent rehabbing my body, trying to get the best quality of life possible for myself and for my family, always in the back of my mind I was wanting to return to racing,” Wickens told The Associated Press. “I wanted my own closure on m...

Thai and Filipino workers filling labor gap in Israel get caught up in war between Israel and Hamas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:47 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — The first group of Thai workers evacuated from Israel after the past few days’ bloody events in southern Israel and Gaza arrived Thursday in the Thai capital of Bangkok, greeted by anxious relatives and senior officials.Hamas militants stormed through a border fence Saturday and killed hundreds of Israelis in their homes, on the streets and at an outdoor music festival. The Israelis have responded with punishing airstrikes and preparations for a possible ground invasion. The conflict has claimed at least 2,600 lives on both sides, including some Southeast Asian workers living in Israel.The 41 Thais who returned home on a commercial flight of the Israeli airline El Al included two men wounded in the violence who had to use wheelchairs to exit the aircraft.Farm laborers from Thailand seek work in more developed countries where there is a shortage of semi-skilled labor — at wages considerably higher than they can earn at home.Tens of thousands of workers in Israel from n...

La ONU reporta la muerte de varios de sus funcionarios en Gaza y pide ayuda de emergencia tras ataques de Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:47 GMT

(CNN) — Al menos 11 empleados de la Organización de Naciones Unidas han muerto en los ataques aéreos de Israel sobre Gaza desde el fin de semana, informó la ONU este miércoles. Además, hizo un llamado a ayuda económica de emergencia para continuar el trabajo humanitario en el asediado enclave palestino.El secretario general Antonio Guterres declaró que los funcionarios de la ONU que perdieron la vida pagaron “el precio máximo” en una breve declaración a la prensa.Entre los fallecidos se encuentran cinco profesores, una ginecóloga, un ingeniero, un consejero psicológico y tres miembros del personal de apoyo, según Jenifer Austin, directora adjunta de la Agencia de Naciones Unidas para la Población Refugiada de Palestina en Oriente Próximo (UNRWA, por sus siglas en inglés) en Gaza, quien añadió que algunos fueron “asesinados en sus hogares con sus familias”.La organización también informó que treinta estudiantes de escuelas de la ONU perdieron la vida.Gaz...

A Japanese court rules it’s unconstitutional to require surgery for a change of gender on documents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:47 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A court in central Japan ruled Thursday that it is unconstitutional to require a transgender person to undergo surgery to remove their current reproductive organs in order for them to receive documentation under their new gender.The verdict in Shizuoka family court upholds a transgender plaintiff’s request to change their gender from female to male without having surgery, a decision that was hailed as a landmark by LGBTQ+ advocates. The verdict sets only a limited precedent, but a similar case before Japan’s Supreme Court could set legal precedent nationally.Gen Suzuki, 48, filed a lawsuit in 2021, seeking a court decision to allow a change of his biologically assigned gender of female to male to match his self-identity without an operation. He said the requirement to undergo surgery was inhuman and unconstitutional.On Thursday, the Shizuoka family court upheld his request, saying that surgery to remove sexual organs would cause an irreversible loss of reproductive func...

Denver Nuggets 2023-24 full game schedule released

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:12:47 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The Denver Nuggets are back in action. Preseason is underway, and the team's first regular season game starts in late October.Some key games include the home opener against the Los Angeles Lakers at Ball Arena. On Oct. 24, the Nuggets will raise the championship banner.The Nuggets will also play at home on Christmas against the Golden State Warriors. Nuggets 2023 preseason schedule released Look out for the game on Feb. 8 against the Lakers. While the Nuggets will be at Crypto.com Arena, a special Kobe Bryant statue will be unveiled at the game. Here is the entire schedule including the date, team, stadium and time.Denver Nuggets 2023-24 scheduleTuesday, Oct. 24 vs. Los Angeles Lakers, Ball Arena, 5:30 p.m.Friday, Oct. 27 @ Memphis Grizzlies, FedExForum, 5:00 p.m.Sunday, Oct. 29 @ Oklahoma City Thunder, Paycom Center, 1:30 p.m.Monday, Oct. 30 vs. Utah Jazz, Ball Arena, 7:00 p.m.Wednesday, Nov. 1 @ Minnesota Timberwolves, Target Center, 6:00 p.m.Friday, Nov. 3 vs. D...