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Italian companies to build Sicily bridge, deputy PM says

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:30:21 GMT

A consortium led by Italy is likely to win the contract for the Messina bridge that connects Sicily and the mainland. This was announced on Tuesday (4 April) by Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Prime Minster Matteo Salvini.Italian group Salini Impregilo led the consortium that won the 2006 European tender for the bridge. However, the plan was later withdrawn due to cost concerns.The project has been revived by Rome's nationalist government. Although there is a lot of interest from overseas companies, Salvini stated that he believed the original Italian group could retain the contract.Salvini, a member of the Foreign Press Association in Rome, stated that the government has received expressions from around the globe, including China, but the goal is to have the bridge constructed by Italian companies.In an interview with Pei Minshan, the group's deputy general manager, Il Sole 24 Ore stated that China Communications Construction Company had expressed interest in the Messina bridge ...

NPR criticizes Twitter for slapping it with a ‘state-affiliated media’ label

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:30:21 GMT

By Brian Fung | CNNNPR sharply criticized Twitter on Wednesday after the social media platform, in an apparent violation of its own policies, labeled the radio broadcaster as a “state-affiliated media” organization akin to foreign propaganda outlets such as Russia’s RT and Sputnik.In a statement, NPR CEO John Lansing called the decision to lump NPR in with other outlets that Twitter identifies as being under government control as “unacceptable.”“We were disturbed to see last night that Twitter has labeled NPR as ‘state-affiliated media,’ a description that, per Twitter’s own guidelines, does not apply to NPR,” Lansing said. “NPR and our member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide. NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable. It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way. A vigorous, vibrant free press is e...

Tech executive Bob Lee, founder of Cash App, dead after apparent stabbing attack in San Francisco

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:30:21 GMT

By Catherine Thorbecke | CNNBob Lee, the former chief technology officer of Square who helped launch Cash App, has died after an apparent stabbing attack in San Francisco.Lee’s death was confirmed by Josh Goldbard, the CEO of his current employer, MobileCoin. Lee joined MobileCoin, a cryptocurrency and digital payments startup, in 2021 as its chief product officer.“Our dear friend and colleague, Bob Lee passed away yesterday at the age of 43, survived by a loving family and collection of close friends and collaborators,” Goldbard said in a statement to CNN Wednesday morning. “Bob was a dynamo, a force of nature. Bob was the genuine article. He was made for the world that is being born right now, he was a child of dreams, and whatever he imagined, no matter how crazy, he made real.”Goldbard continued: “We will miss you Bob. We love you.”Rick Lee, Bob’s father, also confirmed the news in a statement on Facebook, writing, “I just lo...

Four-bedroom home sells in Saratoga for $3.5 million

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:30:21 GMT

19616 Ladera Court – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 19600 block of Ladera Court in Saratoga was sold on March 17, 2023. The $3,505,000 purchase price works out to $1,753 per square foot. The house, built in 1965, has an interior space of 1,999 square feet. The property features four bedrooms, three baths, a garage, and two parking spaces. It sits on a 10,880-square-foot lot, which also has a pool.These nearby houses have also recently been sold:On Northampton Drive, Saratoga, in October 2022, a 2,792-square-foot home was sold for $3,800,000, a price per square foot of $1,361. The home has 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 2,520-square-foot home on the 12200 block of Titus Avenue in Saratoga sold in October 2022, for $2,500,000, a price per square foot of $992. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In September 2022, a 1,484-square-foot home on Bibel Avenue in San Jose sold for $2,530,000, a price per square foot of $1,705. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. 

Manhattan Beach formally apologizes for taking Bruce’s Beach, other Black-owned land

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:30:21 GMT

Manhattan Beach has formally apologized to the Bruces and other Black families who had their land taken from them in the 1920s by previous city leadership that, at the time, wanted to preserve the town as a White community.The formal apology, which the City Council approved this week, came two years after the panel stopped short of doing so, instead condemning and acknowledging the actions of their early 20th centure predecessors.Black entrepreneurs Willa and Charles Bruce ran a seaside resort for Black beachgoers in Manhattan Beach in the early 20th century — between 26th and 27th streets by what’s now the Strand. The resort, Bruce’s Beach Lodge, was also near where several other Black families owned cottages on land that is now a city-owned park.But the City Council at the time used eminent domain to take their property and others for racially motivated reasons, under the guise of needing more park land, the historical record shows.Other tactics to deter Black residents and visito...

California doctor indicted for allegedly poisoning husband with liquid drain cleaner

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:30:21 GMT

An Irvine woman who allegedly poisoned her husband by putting Drano in his drinks last year was indicted by a grand jury on three felony counts of poisoning and one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury, authorities said Wednesday, April 5.Dr. Yue “Emily” Yu, who works as a dermatologist in Mission Viejo, faces a maximum sentence of more than eight years if convicted as charged, said Kimberly Edds, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Yu was scheduled to make her first court appearance on the charges on April 18.Yu’s husband suspected she had been putting something in his drinks after he had noticed a strange taste to his tea beginning in April 2022, Edds said. He installed a pair of video cameras in their kitchen, one of which was placed in a cabinet under the sink.Dr. Yue “Emily” Yu, 45, leaves court at the Lamoreaux Justice Center in Orange, CA on Thursday, August 18, 2022. Yu’s husband, Jack Chen, is seeking a new restraining order preven...

California police unit not operating as illegal police gang, independent probe concludes

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:30:21 GMT

An independent probe commissioned by Santa Ana Police Chief David Valentin has concluded that an elite team of officers sharing skull tattoos and implicated in an off-duty assault allegation is not operating as an illegal police gang.However, the report by the Playa del Rey-based OIR Group also noted serious lapses in the handling by Santa Ana officers of a sexual assault allegation involving members of the department’s Major Enforcement Team in August 2020.In all, the report appeared to clear the eight-member team of violating state law against police gangs, which prohibits “rogue” groups that violate the law while on duty. OIR investigators stressed that the group has not been involved in any officer shootings since its formation in 2020 and used force in only 3% of its nearly 2,000 arrests.“Too often, crime suppression teams have taken their mandate to address dangerous behavior as a license to engage in harassment and excessive force toward targeted groups — often without proper...

City of LA sues to recover photos of undercover police officers it ‘inadvertently’ released

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:30:21 GMT

The city of Los Angeles sued a local reporter and a police watchdog group Wednesday in hopes of recovering photos of undercover police officers the city said it inadvertently released last year, broadcast reports said.The lawsuit alleges that reporter Benjamin Camacho, who works for local nonprofit newsroom Knock LA; as well as several other defendants — including the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition and 50 other unnamed “Does” — are “willfully exposing to the public the identities of (LAPD) officers” on the Watch the Watchers website.In the lawsuit, the city claimed Camacho furnished the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition and the other defendants with the information he received from the city last year after filing a records request. The Watch the Watchers website includes officers’ photographs, badge numbers, hiring dates and other information.The initial public records request was made by Camacho in 2021 and asked for “[T]he most up-to-date roster of LAPD names, badge numbers, serial numbers, ...

Baltimore Triple Header: Orioles home opener as CFG Bank Arena opens with Bruce Springsteen, Eagles band

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:30:21 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews CFG Bank Arena (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); If you’re a local baseball fan — or just a fan of classic rock — it’s a great weekend to visit Baltimore, Maryland.Not only does Friday mark the home opener at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, it also marks the launch of the newly renovated CFG Bank Arena with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band performing o...

Hail, wind and lightning threaten the DC region Thursday

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:30:21 GMT

Strong to severe storms Thursday threaten the D.C. area on Thursday afternoon with potential gusty winds, hail and lightning. Here’s what you need to know to prepare.Wednesday’s record warmth gives way to a very mild, but somewhat muggy overnight, ahead of the next weather maker on Thursday.The extent of anything more severe than wind, hail and lightning is uncertain, according to 7News First Alert meteorologist Steve Rudin.Listen to WTOP online and on the radio at 103.5 FM or 107.7 FM.Current traffic conditionsWeather forecastClosings and DelaysSign up for WTOP alerts“With the front moving to the east during the late afternoon and early evening, the greatest risk will be experienced during these times” on Thursday, Rudin said.Heavy rain is likely to fall at some point during the afternoon and into the evening, 7News First Alert meteorologist Veronica Johnson said.“Storms could pack a punch with some high winds, even some hail. And well, we’re cer...