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Highland Fire containment grows to 50%

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:24 GMT

The Highland Fire in Riverside County continues to burn, but Cal Fire said Friday morning that containment has grown to 50%, That's up from 15% containment on Wednesday.Working in the firefighters' favor is the "minimal" fire behavior and lack of fire growth overnight, Cal Fire said in a news release."Steep and rugged terrain remains a challenge, but weather conditions are expected to be slightly more favorable today," Cal Fire added. "Firefighters will continue building containment line around the fire perimeter while cooling hot spots."Full containment is expected to be reached by Wednesday.So far, 10 structures have been destroyed, six damaged and 1,500 threatened by the nearly 2,500-acre fire near Aguanga.Two firefighters have been hurt. No civilian injuries have been reported. Multiple evacuation orders and warnings remain in place. To see where, check out this interactive map.The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Matthew Perry Foundation launches after actor's death

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:24 GMT

A new nonprofit organization is being launched in memory of actor Matthew Perry. Those closest to the "Friends" actor have announced the formation of the Matthew Perry Foundation, which aims to help people battle drug and alcohol addiction. Matthew Perry attends the GQ Men of the Year Party 2022 at The West Hollywood EDITION on Nov. 17, 2022, in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for GQ)"The Matthew Perry Foundation is the realization of Matthew's enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction," the website's mission statement reads. "It will honor his legacy and be guided by his own words and experiences and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible."Perry had been planning the new foundation in the months before his death, according to TMZ.The site also contains a powerful quote from Perry that reads: "When I die, I don't want 'Friends' to be the first thing that's mentioned – I want ...

Israel’s Netanyahu rules out Gaza cease-fire as Blinken presses for more aid, civilian protection

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:24 GMT

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel on Friday to ensure more humanitarian aid and do more to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza or else there will be “no partners for peace.” Israel warned that it was on high alert for attacks on its border with Lebanon as fears grew that the conflict could widen.Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of Gaza City, the focus of their campaign to crush the enclave’s ruling Hamas militants, who launched a brutal attack on Israeli communities that started the war.But ever since that Oct. 7 assault, there have been concerns the conflict could ignite fighting on other fronts, and Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah have repeatedly traded fire along the Lebanon border.In his first public speech since the war began, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said his group had “entered the battle” with the past weeks’ unprecedented cross-border fighting. “We will not be limited to this,” he...

Welcome to 21st Century fire: And no, you’re not safe

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:24 GMT

For a book revolving around a city-consuming wildfire in Canada, John Vaillant’s Fire Weather — named this month a U.S. National Book Award non-fiction finalist — features a great deal of California content. This state’s fiery cataclysms, Vaillant says, opened a window into everybody’s future.California’s eight largest fires in recorded history came in the past seven years, an abrupt escalation that “anticipated what a lot of us are experiencing now,” Vaillant said in an interview. “A lot of North Americans comforted ourselves: ‘Well, that’s just a California thing. This couldn’t happen to us.’ We are learning that no, it can happen anywhere.”Vaillant, a U.S.-born journalist and author, visited Redding in Northern California shortly after the Carr Fire in 2018, the state’s eighth-most damaging blaze that killed eight people and torched 1,600 structures. It also spawned the world’s second ...

Prep roundup: Los Gatos edges Branham in a thriller to reach CCS D-I volleyball final

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:24 GMT

Girls volleyballCCS PLAYOFFSDivision I: Los Gatos 3, Branham 1Los Gatos coach Nicole Ciari called it an “absolute battle.”With a spot in the Central Coast Section Division I final on the line, the second-seeded Wildcats and third-seeded Branham played an epic semifinal match on Thursday night.Los Gatos, on its home court, ultimately prevailed 26-24, 27-25, 28-30, 25-22 to advance to play top-seeded Salinas on Saturday at Palo Alto High. The championship match is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.Salinas reached the final with a 25-13, 26-24, 25-11 victory at home on Thursday over fourth-seeded Mountain View.“Branham brought their A game and really pushed us to step up to the challenge,” Ciari said in an email to the Bay Area News Group. “Going point for point (to) the end of all 4 sets was a testament to both teams’ mental toughness and desire to win the match. I am so proud of how our team worked together for each and every point no matter what the score was.̶...

Stanford Cardinal defense faces another big passing challenge at Washington State

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:24 GMT

Stanford has allowed more passing yards than any other FBS team so far this season, and on Saturday night at Washington State the Cardinal will face one of the most productive quarterbacks in the country.Cameron Ward, the Cougars’ junior quarterback, ranks fifth nationally in passing yards (316.5) and fourth in total offense (337.2) heading into the game (6 p.m. kickoff on the Pac-12 Network.)The Cardinal is allowing an average of 322.5 passing yards per game, the worst among all 130 FBS teams and 12 yards per game more than the second-worst team, Colorado. Arizona State defensive lineman Prince Dorbah (32) blocks a pass thrown by Washington State quarterback Cameron Ward (1) during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin) A significant chunk of those passing yards have come in the past month, as Stanford (2-6, 1-5 Pac-12) has allowed more than 40 points in each of its last four games. But t...

Can explosive Ott help Cal hang with Oregon?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:24 GMT

A side benefit of being the quarterback at Cal are the moments Fernando Mendoza enjoyed last Saturday against USC when Jaydn Ott found a crease at the line of scrimmage and was gone.The sophomore running back had touchdown dashes of 43 and 61 yards, and Mendoza had the best seat in the house.“I’m trying to come up with a word to describe it — it’s exhilarating,” Mendoza said. “It’s kind of like when you go on a rollercoaster and it just takes off. When you hand the ball off to him and you see an open hole, you know it’s going to be a touchdown.“You see the No. 1 with Ott above it and you just see it get smaller and smaller and smaller.”The No. 24 Trojans overcame all of it, rallying from a 14-point hole in the fourth quarter to escape Memorial Stadium with a 50-49 victory.“Our hopes were to get the team a win on offense,” Ott said. “It was pretty much running a track meet out there but it obviously wasn’t enough.”In a surprising role reversal, it’s been the Cal offense most of...

Matthew Perry went to rehab 15 times before getting sober. Here’s why it’s so hard

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:24 GMT

By Madeline Holcombe | CNNIt took 15 entries into rehab before the late actor Matthew Perry found long-term sobriety, he wrote in his memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.” And after his death, loved ones and fans alike are honoring his commitment to recovery.“I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my life and a lot of wonderful accolades,” Perry told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015. “But the best thing about me is that if an alcoholic comes up to me and says, ‘Will you help me stop drinking?’ I will say, ‘Yes. I know how to do that.’”Having spent years advocating for people with substance use disorder, why did it take so long for him — and so many others in the public eye — to reach a point of sustained sobriety?While admitting there is a problem and getting into treatment such as a rehabilitation center is an important first step, it isn’t the end of the journey as movies and TV shows often portray, said Dr. Danielle Dick, director of the Rutgers Addiction Research Cente...

Tuition-free access expanding across California community college campuses

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:24 GMT

(BCN) -- As enrollment rates across California's community college system took heavy losses following the Covid-19 pandemic, colleges have focused on advertising their tuition-free access in recent months. Tuition-free community college has been a reality for many students for several decades under the California College Promise Grant, which waives tuition fees for California resident students and non-residents under the California Dream Act who meet the needs-based criteria spelled out in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as FAFSA.For students who don't qualify for that grant, colleges have the option of using another pot of funding to waive tuition. The separate but similarly named California Promise, created under Assembly Bill 19 in 2017, set aside $46 million annually to be split among the state's community colleges to support students. Southbound I-680 closures this weekend Colleges get flexibility with how they spend their portion of the funds, but...

Jeff Bezos, after founding Amazon in a Seattle garage three decades ago, packs his bags for Miami

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:00:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Jeff Bezos is leaving Seattle, where the billionaire founded Amazon out of a garage nearly three decades ago.In a Thursday night Instagram post, the 59-year-old Bezos announced plans to return to Miami — where he spent his high school years — to be closer to his parents and his partner, Lauren Sánchez.Bezos stepped down as the CEO of Amazon, still based in Seattle, almost three years ago and said in his social media post that operations for his rocket company, Blue Origin, are “increasingly shifting” to Cape Canaveral. Miami is about 200 miles south of Cape Canaveral.“As exciting as the move is, it’s an emotional decision for me,” Bezos wrote Thursday, noting that he’s lived in Seattle longer than he’s lived anywhere else.Seattle has been Bezos’ home since 1994, when he started Amazon out of his garage. Thursday’s Instagram post includes a brief video tour led by Bezos of Amazon’s first, humble office, with his father behind the camera. ...