Author: ricardofrancois

A 3-year-old brown pelican stumbles around the San Pedro Pier, injured and unable to feed itself for at least a day. The wounds were parallel to the jaw, straight up the back of the neck and into the feathered skin, the bird rescue group reports.A local sportfishing crew spotted the disoriented bird on March 10 and landed a fish on it. The pelican caught it in its beak, but the snack slipped out of its exposed and damaged pouch.The hunter transported the bird two miles to International Bird Rescue, which is known for providing care and rehabilitation services. The organization…

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Car insurance is becoming more expensive. The average annual premium for full coverage auto insurance in the U.S. rose to $2,543 in 2024 — up 26% from the previous year, according to Bankrate.Factors such as longer repair times and higher rental car costs are driving up rates, according to a report from the American Property Casualty Insurance Association.Car repairs are also becoming more expensive.“In the last 12 months or so, we've been in an environment where basically all insurers have significantly increased premiums,” said Stephen Crewdson, senior director of insurance business intelligence at J.D. Power. “This has created an environment…

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President Joe Biden speaks at the United Auto Workers Political Conference at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C., on January 24, 2024.Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty ImagesDETROIT — The Biden administration's decision to ease its timeline for adopting all-electric vehicles and give automakers more ways to meet new tailpipe emissions standards is expected to be a win for legacy automakers.New EPA rules released Wednesday aim to reduce tailpipe emissions by 49% between 2027 and 2032. The EPA has set a goal for electric vehicles to make up at least 35% of new vehicle sales by 2032.The standards are less…

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Sacramento — The former head of the Federal Election Commission has filed a complaint against the California congressman, alleging he excessively used campaign funds to support a conservative coalition seeking to repeal parts of Proposition 47.“Honestly, I've never seen anything so extreme,” Anne Ravel told the Times. She served as chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission in 2011 and as chair of the Federal Election Commission from 2013 to 2017. In her complaint with the Federal Election Commission, Raffel alleges that Rep. Kevin Kelly (R-Rocklin), who is seeking re-election this year, solicited and spent congressional funds in excess…

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Open Editor's Digest for freeRula Khalaf, editor of the Financial Times, picks her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter.In early February, a large oil slick appeared about 60 kilometers off the coast of Bintan, an island in northern Indonesia near Singapore that is popular with Western and Asian tourists.The black sludge strip was 185 kilometers long, more than the distance from London to Birmingham, and about 2 kilometers wide at its widest point. He fell behind the ship in a way that appeared to be the result of intentional sinking. The oil slick was one of more than 2,700 identified…

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Some partners go hand in hand. Think Rolex and Wimbledon, Coca-Cola and the Olympics, or Adidas and German football.Think again about the latter. US sportswear maker Nike swooped in to break up the partnership that has defined German football since 1950. The deal was so significant that Nike chief John Donahue was in Germany to attend the stadium. The Swoosh will replace the Three Stripes in 2027, but the repercussions will continue and continue. Adidas will now “move heaven and earth” to win deals with German national team players, says sports marketer Tim Crowe. But the big goal could be…

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Russian law enforcement officers walk at the site of an armed attack on Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, outside Moscow, on March 23, 2024.stringer | AFP | Getty ImagesMOSCOW (AP) — Eleven people were detained after gunmen stormed a Moscow concert hall and opened fire on the crowd, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service told President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, according to Russian news agency TASS.Russian authorities said on Saturday that at least 93 people were killed in the attack, including three children.Images published by Russian state media on Saturday showed a fleet of emergency vehicles still gathered outside…

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Washington – The Senate passed a $1.2 trillion spending package of bills in the early morning hours of Saturday, a long-awaited measure nearly six months into a budget year that will push any threats of a government shutdown into the fall. The bill now goes to President Biden to be signed into law.The vote was 74 to 24. This came after funding for some government agencies expired at midnight, but the White House sent a notice shortly after the deadline announcing that the Office of Management and Budget had halted preparations for the shutdown because there was a high degree…

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Stability AI founder and CEO Imad Mushtaq has resigned from the top role and from the board of directors of the unicorn startup, the buzzy company said on Friday night, making it the second hot AI startup to go through major changes this week. Stability AI, which is backed by investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners and Coatue Management, has no immediate permanent replacement for the CEO role but has named COO Shan Shan Wong and CTO Christian Laforte as interim co-CEOs, it said in a blog post. AI Stability, which has lost more than six key talents in recent quarters,…

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At the 18th minute of every Reading FC home match, fans rise up in unison to boo, regardless of the score. The number 18 represents the total points suffered by the third-tier club due to breaches of football's financial rules in recent years, and the mockery is directed at Dai Yong, the Chinese businessman whose ownership has left one of the oldest football clubs in crisis. Opposition fans often join the protest in solidarity with Reading's unfortunate predicament. The British government this week introduced legislation to create a new independent regulatory body for English football, which it hopes will help…

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