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La Nina, which worsens Atlantic hurricanes and western drought, is gone

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:09 GMT

By SETH BORENSTEIN | Associated PressWASHINGTON — After three nasty years, the La Nina weather phenomenon that increases Atlantic hurricane activity and worsens western drought is gone, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday.That’s usually good news for the United States and other parts of the world, including drought-stricken northeast Africa, scientists said.The globe is now in what’s considered a “neutral” condition and probably trending to an El Nino in late summer or fall, said climate scientist Michelle L’Heureux, head of NOAA’s El Nino/La Nina forecast office.“It’s over,” said research scientist Azhar Ehsan, who heads Columbia University’s El Nino/La Nina forecasting. “Mother Nature thought to get rid of this one because it’s enough.”La Nina is a natural and temporary cooling of parts of the Pacific Ocean that changes weather worldwide. In the United States, because La Nina is connected to more Atlantic storms and deeper droughts and wildfires in th...

After WCC title blowout loss, Saint Mary’s regroups for NCAA Tournament run

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:09 GMT

Within 30 minutes of his team’s worst performance in two years, Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett was moving forward to something he hasn’t always been able to do.He was looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament and what the Gaels must do to make sure they stick around for more than one game.The Gaels were run out of Las Vegas by Gonzaga in Tuesday night’s West Coast Conference tournament championship game, losing 77-51 after trailing by as many as 37 points. Even so, they are certain to hear their name called on NCAA Selection Sunday, by virtue of not only a 26-7 record but also a still-sturdy No. 10 spot in the NET computer rankings.ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s updated NCAA projections have the Gaels as a No. 6 seed — down just one spot after the lopsided defeat.Just getting the program’s ninth NCAA bid since 2005 isn’t enough. Not for Bennett or this team, which won a share of the WCC regular-season title, beat Gonzaga in their first meeting this season and was top-seeded in...

Housing development could sprout at San Jose fast-food restaurant site

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:09 GMT

SAN JOSE — A housing development could sprout on the site of a fast-food restaurant in San Jose that would be cleared away to accommodate the project.The proposed residential complex would occur at 1999 Camden Avenue, across the street from Cambrian Park Plaza, a shopping center with a familiar carousel where a massive redevelopment has been in the works for years.The residential project at the northeast corner of Camden Avenue and Union Avenue is being proposed on a 0.5-acre site, according to preliminary plans on file with San Jose city officials.Abode Communities has proposed the development of 90 apartments on the site, the city documents show.Related ArticlesHousing | Bay Area apartments land local buyers Housing | Leaving California? Here are the healthiest states to consider Housing | Adobe’s new tower symbolizes tech titan’s San Jose commitment Housing | Adobe broadens commitments to its San Jose ho...

Where does the California drought stand heading into spring?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:09 GMT

California's snowpack is as healthy as it has been in years, and reservoirs across the state have steadily crept back to typical seasonal levels all winter. So can we take a long shower without feeling guilty now? Even though the storms have brought much-needed moisture to the state and boosted mountain snowpack, it will not be enough to fully reverse the impact of many dry winters and broader climate patterns that have crippled California's water supply, experts told KTLA. Why California’s wet winter won’t be a drought-buster “While recent rain and snow have been promising, it will take more than a single wet year for California to fully recover from the last three years – the driest ever recorded in state history,” Karla Nemeth, the director of California’s Department of Water Resources, told KTLA.While some cities benefit from the snowpack runoff, others depend on groundwater or local reservoirs for the bulk of their local water supply. As a result, recovery from the drought m...

The War in Ukraine Is Just Getting Started

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:09 GMT

For nearly a decade in the 1980s, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and the newly founded Islamic Republic of Iran waged a merciless war against each other. The fighting saw the return of World War I-style human-wave offensives, trench warfare, and chemical weapons attacks.Though it dragged on for years, the Iran-Iraq war benefited neither side. In the end, the conflict claimed the lives of over a million people, since, despite the carnage and wishes of ordinary people on both sides to end it, no diplomatic solution proved possible over eight years of fighting.There is good reason to worry that this ugly history is repeating itself today in Eastern Europe.Like the Iran-Iraq war, the war in Ukraine was triggered by an expansionist dictator hoping to make quick work of a neighbor whom he had wrongly predicted would prove incapable of defending itself. Now, over a year into the fighting, the conflict, which has already claimed hundreds of thousands of casualties by some estimates, has ground to a ...

Australia to buy nuclear-powered submarines made in the US

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:09 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Australia will purchase U.S.-manufactured, nuclear-powered attack submarines to modernize its fleet, a European official and a person familiar with the matter said Thursday, amid growing concerns about China’s influence in the Indo-Pacific region.The purchase agreement for Virginia-class submarines will be announced Monday when President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meet in San Diego for talks on the 18-month-old nuclear partnership known by the acronym AUKUS. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the matter ahead of the announcement.The AUKUS agreement, announced in 2021, paved the way for Australia to get access to nuclear-powered submarines, which are stealthier and more capable than conventionally powered boats.“We all recognize the imperative of ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific over the long term,” Biden said in September 2021 when the partnership was announc...

Kansas coach Self to miss Big 12 tourney game with illness

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:09 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self will miss the seventh-ranked Jayhawks’ quarterfinal game against West Virginia in the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday with what the school called an undisclosed illness.Kansas officials announced the news about five hours before tipoff between the top-seeded Jayhawks and eighth-seeded Mountaineers. Assistant Norm Roberts will serve as the acting coach; he filled the same role earlier in the season when Self served a school-imposed four-game suspension.The Jayhawks are the defending Big 12 Tournament champions and are trying to secure a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, where they will attempt to defend the national championship they won last April.“Self is doing well and receiving great care at the University of Kansas Health System,” the school said Thursday in a statement. It did not say whether Self would be back should the Jayhawks advance to the semifinals.The 60-year-old Hall of Fame coach led Kansas to the regular-season ch...

Italy to stiffen smuggling punishment after migrant tragedy

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:09 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni on Thursday brought her planned crackdown on people smugglers to a southern town near the coast where a wooden boat packed with migrants broke apart, killing scores and leaving many missing.In a symbolic move to highlight what she has described as her conservative government’s genuine concern for migrant lives, Meloni and her ministers flew to Calabria, in the toe of the Italian peninsula, to hold a Cabinet session in Cutro’s town council hall.Meloni, anti-migrant leader Matteo Salvini, who heads the infrastructure ministry which includes the coast guard, and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, posed for photos outside the town hall after she was greeted by the local bishop and other dignitaries.The Cabinet was widely expected to approve far stiffer punishments for smugglers, who guide unseaworthy boats crowded with migrants to Italy’s shores.Also expected to be adopted are measures to facilitate refugees’ access to so-...

3 geologists die as tunnel collapses in Spanish potash mine

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:09 GMT

SURIA, Spain (AP) — Three Spanish geologists died in a tunnel collapse deep inside a potash mine in northeastern Spain on Thursday, officials said.The accident occurred inside the Cabanasses de Súria mine just before 9 a.m., at a depth of 900 meters (nearly 3,000 feet), local authorities said. Efforts were ongoing to secure the mine — around 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Barcelona — and recover the bodies, they said.The mine is operated by ICL Iberia, the Spanish subsidiary of Tel Aviv-based ICL Group. An official from the Spanish company confirmed that the three men were Spanish nationals and experienced geologists, and that two of them were postgraduate students at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia’s Manresa engineering school.A minute’s silence was held at the university on Thursday afternoon.Mine employee Carlos Arnaldo said the collapsed section was only built “a few days ago.” Catalonia’s regional head of business, Roger Torrent, stated that the...

2023 National Cherry Blossom Festival FAQ

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 14:52:09 GMT

It may still be winter, but spring has been knocking on the D.C. area’s door with unseasonably warm weather – and the city has the perfect idea for how to bring the spring in.The annual National Cherry Blossom Festival will take place in D.C. on March 18 through April 16. This year’s theme is “Spring It On!”See a preview of this year’s events and performances:Here’s everything you need to know:2022 Cherry Blossom EventsMore Cherry Blossom Festival NewsMore Local NewsWhat is the Cherry Blossom Festival?The National Cherry Blossom Festival is held every year in D.C. to commemorate the gifting of over 3,000 cherry blossom trees from the Mayor of Tokyo to the District in 1912, and honors the relationship between the U.S. and Japan.Thousands come into the city to witness the beautiful flowers line the waterfront daily. Organizers expect more than one million visitors over the weeks of the festival.When is “peak bloom?”Peak bloom is when 70 ...