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How to avoid drowsy driving during the holidays

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:14:44 GMT

In case you missed it (because we did!), Nov. 5 to Nov. 11 was Drowsy Driving Prevention Week, according to the National Sleep Foundation.We’re writing about this now because the topic of driving drowsy is just as important now as it was last month.Drowsy driving will always be a major safety issue, and especially during the holiday season. Christmas Day can be a long day for people who travel and perhaps get on the freeway late at night to return home after a heavy meal and a few eggnogs.Driving drowsy is an unappreciated road hazard that’s more common than many people think, and it leads to countless accidents and fatalities. AAA research found that drivers often don’t realize how drowsy they are and they continue to drive when they really should stop for a break. The good news is that driving drowsy is preventable with adequate sleep and other prevention measures.“Drowsiness refers to a state of increased tendency to fall asleep” states an Auto Club article. “Beyond the danger of...

Poverty: Here’s how many Americans are struggling to get by

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:14:44 GMT

Poverty in the U.S.Related ArticlesNational Politics | Kaiser Permanente teams up with food bank to feed Bay Area families National Politics | Social Security clawbacks hit a million more people than agency chief told Congress National Politics | Share the Spirit: Lincoln Families opened the doors for one mother to learn English — and so much about herself National Politics | Medicaid ‘unwinding’ makes other public assistance harder to get National Politics | Share the Spirit: Woman’s career goal back on track thanks to Rubicon Programs The number of Americans struggling to get by has increased in the past few years.The U.S. Census Bureau produces annual poverty estimates to measure the economic well-being of households, families and individuals.The report offers the official poverty measure and the supplemental poverty measure. The official figure, produced since the 1960s, defines poverty b...

California doctor accused of strangling his wife convicted of second-degree murder

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:14:44 GMT

A fertility doctor accused of strangling his wife in 2016, and then staging the body to make it look like she took a fatal fall down the stairs at their San Clemente home, was convicted Tuesday of murder.An Orange County Superior Court jury deliberated for roughly three hours before convicting Dr. Eric Scott Sills of second-degree murder for the slaying of 45-year-old Susann Sills, after finding he was not guilty of a more serious count of first-degree murder. Dr. Sills, who had been free on bail, was handcuffed and taken into custody immediately after the verdict.Eric and Susann Sills worked together at the Center of Advanced Genetics, a fertility clinic in Carlsbad. He handled the medical work, according to testimony during the trial, while she ran the business side of the practice. The couple and their twin children — a boy and girl who were 12 years old at the time of their mother’s death — lived in an upscale San Clemente neighborhood.On the morning of Nov. 12, 2016, Dr. Sills ...

California police must tell drivers why they’re being stopped starting next year under new law

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:14:44 GMT

California police will soon be required to tell drivers why they’ve stopped them before they can start asking questions.The new bill, A.B. 2773, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2024, will also require all police agencies to track whether officers who stop drivers are complying with the law.During its meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 19, members of the Los Angeles Police Commission asked commanders what the new law would mean for officers making traffic stops.“This is instead of the officer asking a driver, ‘Do you know why I pulled you over?’” LAPD Captain Steven Ramos told the commission. “Now, the onus is on the officer to tell the individual why they pulled them over.”On its face, the law written by state Assemblyman Chris Holden of Pasadena and passed in 2022 would require officers to give drivers basic information about the reason they’re being detained.But the changes to what police are required to tell drivers could also lead to fewer of what are known as pretextual stops: That is, ...

Ex-New York Giants running back arrested in California robberies

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:14:44 GMT

LOS ANGELES — Derrick Ward, a former running back and a member of the 2008 Super Bowl-winning New York Giants team, has been arrested in Los Angeles on suspicion of robbery.Ward, 43, was arrested Monday in the North Hollywood area, police said. He was being held Tuesday on $250,000 bail, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department inmate search website.Police didn’t immediately provide details of the alleged crime, and it wasn’t immediately clear whether Ward had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.A call by The Associated Press to the police department seeking information wasn’t immediately returned Tuesday evening.Police told NBC News that Ward allegedly robbed five businesses, including gas stations, and that the 6-foot-tall, 230-pound ex-player didn’t use a gun during the alleged crimes.Ward was drafted by the New York Jets in 2004 in the seventh round but was cut without playing a regular season game.He went on to play for the Giants from 2004 to 2008, the Tamp...

UK rate cut speculation swells as inflation falls by more than anticipated to 2-year low of 3.9%

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:14:44 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Inflation in the U.K. as measured by the consumer prices index eased back to its lowest level in more than two years, official figures showed Wednesday, in a development that stoked speculation that the Bank of England may start cutting interest rates sooner than expected.The Office for National Statistics said inflation dropped to 3.9% in the year to November, its lowest level since September 2021, from 4.6% the previous month. That decline was bigger than anticipated in financial markets.The agency said the biggest driver for the fall was a decrease in fuel prices after an increase at the same time last year. Food price inflation also contributed to the decline.The sharp drop has fueled expectations that the Bank of England, which sets interest rates in order to hit a 2% target, may move to reduce borrowing rates possibly in the first half of 2024.The pound dropped 0.6% to $1.2650, a sign that traders think the central bank may look to cut rates soon, which would red...

Los residentes de una ciudad islandesa amenazada por un volcán no pueden regresar a casa antes de Navidad, dice el alcalde

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:14:44 GMT

(CNN En Español) — Los residentes de la ciudad de Grindavík, situada a unos 3 kilómetros de un volcán en erupción en Islandia, no podrán regresar a sus hogares antes de Navidad, dijo este martes por la noche el alcalde de la ciudad, Fannar Jónasson, en un comunicado.“Desafortunadamente, la esperanza que se había encendido en los corazones de muchos sobre la posibilidad de celebrar la Navidad en casa en Grindavík se extinguió cuando comenzó la erupción ayer”, dijo Jónasson.Más de 3.000 personas recibieron la orden de evacuar la pequeña ciudad costera en noviembre, cuando una serie de terremotos en la península de Reykjanes provocaron que Islandia declarara el estado de emergencia en previsión de una erupción volcánica.Científicos de la Universidad de Islandia toman medidas y muestras de la cresta de una parte activa de la fisura este martes (Marco Di Marco/AP)Tras la erupción de este lunes, Jónasson destacó la necesidad crucial de “abordar la crisis de la vivienda” con “toda su...

Firefighters battle a wildfire on the slopes of a mountain near Cape Town in South Africa

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:14:44 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — More than 300 firefighters battled a blaze on the slopes of a mountain near Cape Town in South Africa for a second day on Wednesday and residents were evacuated from at least one neighborhood overnight, emergency services said.Five firefighters were injured and two were taken to the hospital, Cape Town Emergency Services spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said.The wildfire on the slopes near the seaside town of Simon’s Town, around 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Cape Town, threatened houses in the pre-dawn hours after it started on Tuesday. That threat was narrowly averted, Carelse said. He said only one derelict building on the grounds of a nearby South African navy base had been damaged.Residents were evacuated from the neighborhood most at threat as a precaution, he said. Five helicopters were scooping up water from the ocean to drop it on the blaze.The city of Cape Town said the number of firefighters working on the mountain was scaled back to ...

Encampment in City Park West neighborhood to close Thursday

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:14:44 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The city of Denver will clear another homeless encampment on Thursday.Denver Mayor Mike Johnston's Office confirmed the closure to FOX31 on Tuesday. The encampment is located at 18th Avenue and North Marion Street near Saint Joseph Hospital, and it has been causing problems for residents who live nearby. Several residents told the Problem Solvers in early December that they were prepared to break their leases. Those living in the upscale Kendrick apartment buildings said they had several safety concerns. “Drug dealers are coming by. Drug deals are happening, open drug use, there’s needles and human waste everywhere. We’ve had residents report that they found people in stairwells doing fentanyl,” said Corinne, a recent transplant from San Diego.Other residents reported multiple cars inside their garage were broken into. Denver approves plan to lease another hotel for homeless shelter The Denver Department of Public Safety said firefighters responded to the area nine...

Denver restaurant recognized nationally for having best dish in US

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:14:44 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — There are an endless number of restaurants in the U.S. and even more delicious dishes, and yet, a Denver dish was named one of the best of 2023.The New York Times put together a list of "23 of the Best American Dishes of 2023." Every year, they send reporters and editors across the country to search for the best restaurants, and during their travels, they find one-of-a-kind dishes. 2 Denver restaurants make The New York Times’ best restaurant list "Each year as we travel the country to scout out candidates for our many best-restaurant lists — whether the big national listing in the early fall or the new 'best of' city lists we’ve begun rolling out — our reporters and editors eat hundreds of meals in dozens of states. Inevitably we come across that one dish that we almost wish we’d ordered two of, and wish we could find closer to home," said the New York Times.Hearth bread at BrutøThe New York Times said one dish at Denver's Brutø was one of the best across the...