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SpaceX waves off first test flight of massive Starship; another historic try could come Wednesday

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:30:11 GMT

By MARCIA DUNN | AP Aerospace WriterHawthorne-based SpaceX called off its first launch attempt of its giant rocket on Monday, April 17.Elon Musk and his company had planned to launch the nearly 400-foot Starship rocket from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. SpaceX postponed the launch because of a problem with the first-stage booster.No people or satellites were aboard for this attempt. There won’t be another try until at least Wednesday.The company plans to use Starship to send astronauts and cargo to the moon and, ultimately, Mars.The company is about to take its most daring leap yet with a round-the-world test flight of its mammoth Starship.It’s the biggest and mightiest rocket ever built, with the lofty goals of ferrying people to the moon and Mars.Musk’s company got the OK from the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday., with the rocket awaiting launch jutting almost 400 feet (120 meters) into the South Texas sky.It will be the first launch with Starship’s...

TasteFood: Deconstructing the BLT

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:30:11 GMT

Shopping tip: If you spy a lumpy bag of bacon ends in the market, buy it. Bacon ends are key to this salad, which essentially takes a classic BLT (bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich) and tosses it into a big salad bowl as a deconstructed version of itself. It’s not a vegetarian’s dream, admittedly, but for bacon lovers, it’s heavenly.You can find bacon ends in vacuum-packed pouches in the deli and meat departments of your market. At first glance, the contents of the hefty packages, jammed with irregular hunks of bacon, are unidentifiable. They are not the neatly fanned bacon slices with which you are familiar. Bacon ends are just that — the hunks and ends of the meat that are trimmed and (gasp) discarded during production of those neatly arranged bacon strips. I am here to tell you that the chunks are revelatory. They are thick and meaty, with lots of pointy edges that will crisp to perfection when cooked.The best way to cook bacon ends is in the oven or on a...

Bay Area transplant being tormented by persistent robin attacking windows

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:30:11 GMT

DEAR JOAN: After 40-plus years in the Bay Area, I have moved to the countryside east of Seattle. My house is surrounded by trees and has large windows in all rooms. For the past three weeks, a male robin has been hitting my windows mostly in the mornings, all morning.I figured he saw a reflection of a male bird in the window that could be a rival, so I have: closed the blinds; put up netting on the outside; put up paper on the outside to block the reflection; put up paper on the very few places that didn’t have paper, as he found every one of the open ones; cut out black shapes of predator birds and taped them to the outside paper.He has progressively gone to the adjacent window, then to the next, then the next. He is working his way around the outside of the house. I have lunged at him when I saw him coming and tried to scare him, but he keeps coming back. He is not hurting himself, but I just wonder if there is something else I can do to deter him, or if he will just stop wh...

San Jose: Four arrested after police sideshow bust

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:30:11 GMT

Four were arrested and more than one dozen were cited after a sideshow bust in South San Jose on Sunday night, according to authorities.The San Jose Police Department said officers flooded the area of Almaden Road and Curtner Avenue on Sunday night after reports of sideshow activity around 10:30 p.m. Four arrests were made in all — three on suspicion of fleeing or evading police, and one for a felony warrant.Last night, SJPD Patrol officers responded to sideshow activity at the intersection of Old Almaden Rd and Curtner Av. With the assistance of AIR3, patrol officers flooded the area in a coordinated response and detained a large portion of the participants. Here’s the tally from… pic.twitter.com/HdPWDjRWF0— San José Police Media Relations (@SJPD_PIO) April 17, 2023Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Palo Alto: Service resumes after person dies in Caltrain collision Crime and Public Safety | Watsonville police investigate fatal shooting on cit...

How California’s historic wet winter could make wildfire season even worse

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:30:11 GMT

By David R Baker, Brian K Sullivan and Mark Chediak | BloombergDon’t let all the flooding fool you: The same rain and snow that have drenched California this winter and spring risk making the state’s next seasonal calamity — fire season — even worse.An epic winter left parts of the Central Valley underwater, a problem that may persist for months as one of California’s largest mountain snowpacks on record melts. That elevated moisture is now fueling an explosion of plant growth unlike anything the state’s seen in years. Whole landscapes are blossoming into so-called “superblooms,” as flowering bushes starved by years of drought make the most of the bounty. Soon, that growth will dry out, transforming buds and blossoms into kindling.“What we expect to see out of the rains is an increase in the amount of fuel there is to burn,” said Issac Sanchez, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.Although the full price tag won’t become clear ...

‘A house of cards’: When the Big One comes, will Alameda be ready?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:30:11 GMT

When the “Big One” eventually hits, the city of Alameda will have plenty to worry about.Like many East Bay cities, it’s covered in older, wood-frame buildings that would serve as tinder for post-quake fires. The island doesn’t have neighborhood water reservoirs, meaning there is less water readily available within city limits. And there are only five roads on and off Alameda — all in hazardous liquefaction zones.But perhaps the most pressing concern is the structural reality of the island. Much of it is manmade. Although there have been efforts to improve the island’s earthquake readiness, including a new drinking water connection installed just last week, Alameda still faces serious concerns about its construction.“All those apartment houses along the South Shore, that’s all soup,” said Dennis Evanosky, a longtime resident, documentarian and community historian. “Everything the water side of Otis, everything the water side of Clement, everything the water side of Main a...

Bay Area tech bust emerges after yearslong regional hiring boom

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:30:11 GMT

The Bay Area tech sector is shedding jobs in a big way after a prolonged pandemic-era hiring boom, an ominous turn for an industry that has spent decades as the primary engine of the region’s economy.Throughout its history, the tech industry has been known for its cycles of cataclysmic hiring downturns followed by equally dramatic upswings. But job losses in the early months of 2023 have unleashed warning signs, and even some soul-searching, in a sector that once again seems to have overstaffed for conditions.“The best way to make sense of this is to understand that tech is having a ‘moment,'” said Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a San Jose-based think tank. “If you’ve been around long enough, you know that Silicon Valley goes through downturns like this, usually about every eight to 10 years.”Long-time Valley watcher Tim Bajarin agreed. “Hiring and layoffs are not a precise science,” said Bajarin, a p...

San Jose police arrest 4, cite 21 during sideshow over weekend

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:30:11 GMT

(KRON) -- The San Jose Police Department reported a sideshow that happened Sunday night at the intersection of Old Almaden Road and Curtner Avenue. Police arrested three suspects for fleeing or evading police and one suspect on a felony warrant. They also issued 21 spectator citations and impounded three cars for 30 days, officials said. SJPD officials said tow fees can range from $3,000 to $4,000."Sideshows have no business in San Jose," officials said on social media. "It’s just not worth it. Stay home."This event joins two other sideshows that happened in the Bay Area over the weekend: one in Oakland and another in San Francisco both on Saturday. Video from the San Francisco sideshow shows a red Mustang spinning donuts in front of St. Matthews Lutheran Church. The crowd ebbs and flows around the vehicle to avoid being hit. VIDEO: Sideshows bombard Bay Area intersections overnight The incident in Oakland reportedly had over 100 vehicles participating. Video from the scene shows ...

SpaceX calls off launch attempt of its giant new rocket

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:30:11 GMT

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (AP) — SpaceX calls off launch attempt of its giant new rocket.Source

Malala Yousafzai working on new book, her ‘most personal’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:30:11 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai is working on a new memoir, the latest book by the young activist from Pakistan known for her advocacy for education for girls and for surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban when she was in her teens.Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced the memoir Monday. It is currently untitled and has no scheduled release date. Yousafzai’s previous works include the million-selling “I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban,” published in 2013, the year before she won the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17. She has since graduated from Oxford University and married Asser Malik, a manager with the Pakistan Cricket Board. Her production company, Extracurricular, has a deal with Apple TV+ for a wide range of film and television projects.“The last few years of my life have been marked by extraordinary transformation, and all the anguish and joy that accompanies growth,” Yous...