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Manjoo: Twitter is permanently broken thanks to Elon Musk

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:35 GMT

About six months ago, Elon Musk bought your favorite neighborhood bar. Then he fired veteran bouncers and bartenders, tried to stiff the landlord and at least one vendor, and demanded that regulars pay a cover charge. He’s frequently struggled to serve his customers, yet he’s penalized them for mentioning the competition. He’s tamped down the revelry in general, really — a lot of conversation at his watering hole has been drowned out by Musk’s own never-ending stage act, which consists mainly of him yelling dad jokes at customers through a bullhorn.Pour one out for Twitter, then. I’d been open to Musk’s purchase of the social network, but half a year in, it’s been an unmitigated disaster. Musk moved fast and broke nearly everything — the speed and totality with which he’s ruined the site has been almost impressive. By Musk’s own reckoning, the company is now worth less than half of what he paid for it. It has lost many large advertisers, most of its employees and, with them, much of...

It’s reckless for homebuyers and sellers to not have contingencies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:35 GMT

Question: Regarding “What if presale seller inspections are not required in other regions?” on The Mercury News and East Bay Times websites on April 7, 2023: We gave our daughter and son-in-law money for a down payment. We signed a gift letter confirming the funds aren’t a loan. Fair enough. As retired schoolteachers, it’s a sizable amount of money to give.Yesterday we learned their offers are devoid of contingencies. We found this alarming. Many homes had only two presale inspections. In your April 7 article, you listed six presale seller inspections.Today, in discussions with our daughter and son-in-law, we shared our noncontingent offer concerns. In your past articles, you reference Realtor forms for various topics. There must be Realtor buyer-beware forms. If so, this buyer’s agent is not using them. Are there buyer-beware forms our daughter and son-in-law should have read by now?A: Since the dot-com era, forms have been lauding the use of contingencies vs. the risks of nonconti...

Miles de hectáreas están bajo el agua en California, y la inundación podría triplicarse en tamaño este verano

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:35 GMT

(CNN) — Torrentes de lluvia inundaron miles de hectáreas de tierras de cultivo en el Valle Central de California este invierno y resucitaron un lago que desapareció hace décadas. Hasta donde alcanza la vista, el agua se extiende hasta el horizonte: a través de carreteras, campos de cultivo, casas y edificios.Ahora, la enorme capa de nieve que se acumuló en Sierra Nevada este invierno es una bomba de tiempo. A medida que se derrita, la inundación podría triplicarse en tamaño para el verano, amenazando a las comunidades circundantes y costando miles de millones en pérdidas.“Todos los cultivos están completamente inundados y arruinados”, dijo la residente Martina Sealy mientras sostenía a su hijita y contemplaba el agua cubierta de blanco, donde habían crecido vastos campos de algodón y alfalfa durante toda su vida. “Se necesitan muchos trabajos para las personas. Esa es una gran cantidad de alimentos que proporcionamos en todo California y en todo el país. Da bastante miedo̶...

Maryland plans to stockpile abortion drug as Supreme Court weighs ruling on restrictions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:35 GMT

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller announced Friday that the state will be purchasing a substantial amount of mifepristone, an abortion drug used for the majority of abortions in the United States, as abortion access is being threatened across the country.Mifepristone has been approved for medical use by the Food and Drug Administration since 2000, but that approval was recently challenged in a ruling by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas.The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans overturned the Texas ruling, allowing the drug to still have federal approval but with some older regulations that would limit access to it. This included requiring the drug to be taken in the presence of a physician, so it could no longer be mailed out to patients.On Friday, the Supreme Court announced that it was temporarily keeping federal approval of mifepristone in place for five days, while the high court considers whether the restrictions in the newest ruling sho...

Arrestan a un hombre tras explosión que provocó la evacuación del líder japonés Fumio Kishida durante un discurso

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:35 GMT

(CNN) — El primer ministro de Japón, Fumio Kishida, fue evacuado ileso este sábado después de una explosión en un lugar donde estaba dando un discurso al aire libre.Las imágenes de video publicadas por la cadena pública japonesa NHK mostraban a miembros del público huyendo y a un hombre arrestado luego de la explosión. Se veía a varios hombres, que se cree que eran policías, sujetando al sospechoso en el suelo. Otras imágenes mostraban un cilindro plateado que parecía haber sido arrojado en dirección a Kishida.Un hombre es arrestado luego de que arrojaran un objeto cerca del primer ministro japonés, Fumio Kishida, mientras pronunciaba un discurso en Wakayama, Japón, el 15 de abril. (Kyodo/Reuters)La agencia de noticias local Kyodo News informó que un hombre había sido arrestado después de lanzar “lo que parecía ser una bomba de humo”.Las escenas dramáticas tuvieron lugar en la ciudad de Wakayama, poco después de una visita de Kishida al puerto pesquero local de Saikazaki.Las c...

Alien motherships: Pentagon official floats a theory for unexplained sightings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:35 GMT

The official in charge of a secretive Pentagon effort to investigate unexplained aerial incursions has co-authored an academic paper that presents an out-of-this-world theory: Recent objects could actually be alien probes from a mothership sent to study Earth.In a draft paper dated March 7, Sean Kirkpatrick, head of the Pentagon’s All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, and Harvard professor Avi Loeb teamed up to write that the objects, which appear to defy all physics, could be “probes” from an extraterrestrial “parent craft.”It’s unusual for government officials, especially those involved in the nascent effort to collect intelligence on recent sightings, to discuss the possibility of extraterrestrial life, although top agency officials don’t rule it out when asked.After Loeb posted it online, the paper gained notoriety from a post on Military Times and has also circulated among science-focused news outlets.More than half of the five-page paper is devoted to discussing the ...

Still Boston Strong: families of marathon bombing victims remember 10 years later

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:35 GMT

Three people were killed at the finish line of the Boston Marathon 10 years ago, and the tragedy would also claim two police officers lives. This morning, on One Boston Day, the families of the victims joined state and city leaders for a somber walk down Boylston Street to honor their loved one’s lives.Mayor Michelle Wu and Governor Maura Healey joined families for a private ceremony to lay wreaths on the memorial sites and observe moments of silence. Daffodils, a symbol of hope, were also at the site of the bombings.The explosions killed Boston University student Lingzi Lu, Medford resident Krystal Campbell and, the youngest victim, Martin Richard, 8. His family, including his now-17-year-old sister who lost her leg in the bombing, walked in the front of the procession.The Boston Police, Watertown Police and MIT Police had representatives at the sites to celebrate the lives of MIT police officer Sean Collier and BPD officer Dennis Simmonds who died in the wake of the attack.Other t...

Police investigating violent crash overnight in Boston

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:35 GMT

Boston police are investigating a violent multi-car crash overnight. Officers could be seen around several crumpled vehicles at Blue Hill Avenue and American Legion Highway. No additional information was immediately released.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Seiya Suzuki returns — and Chicago Cubs get a glimpse of offense’s potential with 5 HRs in 8-2 win at Dodger Stadium

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:35 GMT

Seiya Suzuki felt ready.Despite only 15 plate appearances in four rehab games with Triple-A Iowa — well below the average PAs in a typical spring training — he cleared all the requirements to return to right field for the Chicago Cubs. Checked swings and whiffs didn’t bother his oblique and he activated him from the injured list before Friday’s series opener at Dodger Stadium. The Cubs optioned infielder/outfielder Miles Mastrobuoni to Iowa.“I just want to make sure that I don’t want to bring any bad vibes in here,” Suzuki said before the game through interpreter Toy Matsushita. “I want to make sure the team keeps on going and make sure we win a lot of games.”Suzuki didn’t need to worry, at least for one night.The good vibes remained Friday thanks to a suddenly home-run happy Cubs lineup. They went deep five times in an 8-2 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers, including back-to-back homers in the eighth by Ian Happ and ...

Mets walked 17 times by A’s pitchers in 17-6 romp in Oakland; Francisco Lindor smacks grand slam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:35 GMT

OAKLAND — There was a total of $286,425,268 between the two teams on the field Friday, and did it ever show.The Mets posted some gaudy numbers against the lowly Oakland A’s on Friday night but don’t let them fool you because 28 other teams are going to post gaudy numbers against the A’s this season.The Mets have to parse out what’s behind those numbers after obliterating the A’s 17-6 at RingCentral Coliseum. Five pitchers and one position player tasked with mopping up the A’s mess combined to issue 17 walks, tied for the third-most allowed in a nine-inning game in Major League history.For the Mets (8-6), it illustrated a patient approach at the plate.“We passed the baton, no one was trying to be a hero,” said shortstop Francisco Lindor. “We were focused on trying to get a good pitch and if it wasn’t there, we’d take it.”Every member of the starling lineup walked at least once. Former Mets closer Jeurys Fam...