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Central California restaurant’s comeback shows how outdated, false Asian stereotype of dog-eating persists

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:49:13 GMT

By TERRY TANG | Associated PressFRESNO — David Rasavong’s cultural pride is evident all throughout his restaurant.It’s on the wall of family portraits and where a stunning mural depicts his family’s journey from Laos to California. It’s on the menu filled with Lao and Thai dishes like the crispy coconut rice salad of Nam Khao and the stir-fried rice noodles of Pad See Ew.And it’s in the fact that Love & Thai in Fresno, California, restaurant is open at all. A baseless accusation grounded in a racist stereotype about Asian food using dog meat brought a six-month barrage of harassment so heated that Rasavong, 41, closed down its previous location over fears for his family’s safety.His earlier restaurant had itself only been open for seven months when a so-called animal welfare crusader in May implied on social media that a pitbull tied up at an unconnected home next door was going to be served on the menu.A day after the initial commentary, vitriolic statements, voicemails and cal...

Program to offer 50% discounted transit fares to lower-income Bay Area residents

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:49:13 GMT

(BCN) -- Lower-income Bay Area residents are invited to apply for a pilot program aiming to offer them 50 percent discounted fares, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority said Tuesday.The Clipper START initiative, administered by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, will give eligible participants a 50 percent discount on single adult fares for the VTA, AC Transit, Marin Transit, SolTrans, BART, Muni, Sonoma County Transit, Caltrain, and Napa VINE, among others.According to the VTA, individuals must meet the following criteria to be eligible for the program:Be a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area.Be aged 19-64 years.Not possess an RTC Clipper Card for people with disabilities.Have a household income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. Brock Purdy leads all players in Pro Bowl votes, nine 49ers named to roster The VTA said applying residents must also provide proof of identity and income​ to receive a personalized Clipper card in the mail to get their...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts following signs that job market remains solid

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:49:13 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting following signals that the job market remains solid, but may be a touch too strong. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% early Thursday, on track for its first losing week in the last 10. The Dow rose 65 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.3%. Treasury yields rose. Walgreens Boots Alliance sank 10% after nearly halving its dividend. Stocks have regressed this week after rallying powerfully into the end of last year, driven largely by hopes that inflation is cooling enough for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates this year. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Markets on Wall Street drifted higher early Thursday in search of their first gains of the new year.Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.1% before the bell, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved 0.3% higher.With earnings season still weeks away from kicking off, investors will have their eyes on more data from the Labor Department. Thursday brings the gov...

Microsoft’s new AI key is first big change to keyboards in decades

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:49:13 GMT

Computer keyboards are making room for an artificial intelligence chatbot button as Microsoft unveils its first major keyboard redesign in three decades. Starting this month, some new personal computers that run Microsoft’s Windows operating system will have a special “Copilot key” that launches the software giant’s AI chatbot.Getting third-party computer manufacturers to add an AI button to laptops is the latest move by Microsoft to capitalize on its close partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and make itself a gateway for applications of generative AI technology.Although most people now connect to the internet — and many AI applications — by phone rather than computer, it’s a symbolic kickoff to what’s expected to be a competitive year as tech companies race to outdo each other in AI applications even as they haven’t yet resolved all the ethical and legal ramifications. The New York Times last month sued both OpenAI and Microsoft alleging that tools l...

With 2024 being a UK election year, the opposition wants an early vote. PM Rishi Sunak is in no rush

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:49:13 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The politician favored to become Britain’s next prime minister accused the governing Conservatives on Thursday of leading the country into decline and despair during their 14 years in power, and urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “bring it on” and hold an early election.Sunak, whose party is trailing in opinion polls, resisted pressure for an early vote, saying he planned to wait until “the second half of this year.”Kicking off a year likely to be dominated by electioneering, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer urged voters to reject a “tide of cynicism” about politicians. He said a Labour government would deliver “Project Hope,” though he ruled out major tax cuts or spending rises soon after an election.Starmer is aiming to return his left-of-center party, out of office since 2010, back to power in an election that must be held by January 2025.Opinion polls consistently give Labour a double-digit lead over Sunak’s Conservatives, who have churned through three prime mini...

Delays on I-95 as VDOT prepares roads for weekend snowstorm

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:49:13 GMT

A pre-storm treatment truck that will be treating highways and roads before winter storms to keep ice off roadways.(Courtesy VDOT) A pre-storm treatment truck that will be treating highways and roads before winter storms to keep ice off roadways.(Courtesy VDOT) Listen to WTOP Traffic on the 8s for the latest on road conditions.Snow is forecast for the D.C. area this weekend, leading to delays Thursday on Interstate 95 as roads are treated to keep ice off major highways.The Virginia Department of Transportation said trucks will be pretreating the highway with brine from Quantico to Hannover County, by Kings Dominion. Crews will start pretreating more than 300 lane miles of I-95 Thursday morning, covering ramps and ...

La reina de la cocina, Alana Lliteras, es la nueva participante de La Casa de los Famosos

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:49:13 GMT

MIAMI, Florida –  Telemundo, la casa de los realities, continua confirmando celebridades que se unen a La Casa de los Famosos que estrena en vivo el 23 de enero a las 7pm/6c. Iniciando el año nuevo, Alana Lliteras, la talentosa joven ganadora de la segunda temporada de Top Chef VIP, confirma su entrada a la casa más famosa de la TV hispana donde convivirá con otras personalidades tales como Pedro “La Divaza” Figueira, Thalí García, Gregorio Pernía, José Reyes, Lupillo Rivera y Maripily Rivera, y otros que se revelarán próximamente. Alana Lliteras es una distinguida personalidad de la televisión en su natal México que fue la ganadora y la participante más joven de la competencia culinaria de Telemundo, Top Chef VIP. Desde sus 18 años, fue uno de los rostros televisivos más prometedores de su país. Su primera experiencia en la televisión fue a través de la cocina ya que a los 12 años se coronó como la ganadora de una importante competencia culinaria de adolescentes. De ahí...

LIVE: Shooting reported at Iowa high school; possible injuries unknown

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:49:13 GMT

PERRY, Iowa (WHO) -- Multiple law enforcement agencies were responding to a Perry, Iowa, high school on reports of a shooting Thursday morning.The first reports about a possible active shooter situation at Perry High School came in around 7:40 a.m.A woman who answered the Perry Police Department phone confirmed the shooting at the school but did not provide any further information.Nexstar's WHO reported police and Iowa State Troopers blocked off the streets surrounding the school, where multiple ambulances were seen entering and leaving. Some students were seen having tearful reunions with parents near the area of the building that houses the town's middle school and high school.Erica Jolliff said that her daughter, a ninth grader, reported getting rushed from the school grounds at 7:45 am. Distraught, Jolliff was still looking for her son Amir, a sixth grader, one hour later.“I just want to know that he’s safe and OK,” Jolliff said. “They won’t tell me nothing.”Sgt. Alex Dinkla of...

The key question about fiery crash at Tokyo airport: Did one or both planes have OK to use runway?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:49:13 GMT

Passengers on Japan Airlines Flight 516 were buckled up and ready to land at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport as their pilot made a final approach. “Cleared to land,” the pilot repeated after receiving an instruction from air traffic control to put the jet down on Runway C.About two minutes later, the Airbus A350 that had traveled from New Chitose Airport near Sapporo was engulfed in an orange fireball, spewing gray smoke from the side as it continued on the runway.Manabu Kotake, a Sapporo resident visiting Tokyo, felt a strong bang and initially thought the airliner had made a rough touchdown. He looked out the window and observed flames, then noticed a burning smell. Seated near the engine, Kotake saw it falling apart.“I panicked and thought I may not be able to survive,” he told Japanese news agency Jiji Press.The A350 had collided with a much smaller coast guard plane that had received permission to approach the same runway but no takeoff clearance, according to a transcript of traf...

Davie Fire Rescue: Unintentional, accidental fire at Tyreek Hill’s residence caused by child

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 09:49:13 GMT

Davie Fire Rescue has determined the cause of the fire at Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s mansion, labeling it an “unintentional, accidental” incident caused by a child playing with matches or a lighter. Firefighters responded to the home on Wednesday shortly after 2 p.m., extinguishing the fire that caused black smoke to billow from the mansion’s roof in Southwest Ranches. 7Skyforce captured aerial footage of the scene, showing firefighters on the roof as they worked to identify the source of the fire. A portion of the roof had to be knocked down to manage the blaze.Miami Dolphins released a statement, stating that Hill, in communication with his family, confirmed everyone was out of the house and safe. Hill left practice to address the situation. Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, shared that the fire was limited to one room, and Hill remains in good spirits. “It is very difficult for anybody, obviously, to have your home catch on fire, but Hill...