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Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s longtime sidekick at Berkshire Hathaway, dies at 99

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:57 GMT

By JOSH FUNK (AP Business Writer)OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Charlie Munger, who helped Warren Buffett build Berkshire Hathaway into an investment powerhouse, has died at a California hospital. He was 99.Berkshire Hathaway said in a statement that Munger’s family told the company that he died Tuesday morning at the hospital just over a month before his 100th birthday.“Berkshire Hathaway could not have been built to its present status without Charlie’s inspiration, wisdom and participation,” Buffett said in a statement. The famous investor also devoted part of his annual letter to Berkshire shareholders earlier this year to a tribute to Munger.Munger served as Buffett’s sounding board on investments and business decisions and helped lead Berkshire for more than five decades and served as its longtime vice chairman.Munger had been using a wheelchair to get around for several years but he had remained mentally sharp. That was on display while he fielded hours...

Arrest made after Mater Dei High School receives shooting threat

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:57 GMT

CHULA VISTA, Calif. — A 15-year-old was arrested on Tuesday after Mater Dei High School received an anonymous school shooting threat, according to Chula Vista police.Entry to or exit from the school was briefly suspended with the implementation of the "secure campus" protocol shortly before 12:30 p.m. The pause was initiated after CVPD was notified by a staff member that a caller threatened to commit a shooting at the school, authorities said.Police were on scene and had support from a DFR drone to search for any active threats, CVPD said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. At about 1:35 p.m., officers determined the campus was safe and lifted the closure.Preliminary investigation findings identified the possible individual that called in the threat as a 15-year-old juvenile in Chula Vista, who was not a student at the school. According to CVPD, he was arrested at about 3:05 p.m."At this point in the investigation, it appears the call was a hoax and the students and staff at Mater De...

Australia apologizes for thalidomide tragedy as some survivors listen in the Parliament gallery

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:57 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Survivors of the harmful morning sickness drug thalidomide were in the public gallery Wednesday when Australia’s Parliament made a national apology to them on the 62nd anniversary of the drug being withdrawn from sale in the country.Thalidomide, also sold under the brand names Contergan and Distaval, was available in 46 countries and caused birth defects, stillbirths and miscarriages.Survivors with limb deformities and one with no limbs were in the House of Representatives gallery to hear Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s apology.“Today, on behalf of the people of Australia, our government and this Parliament offers a full unreserved and overdue apology to all thalidomide survivors, their families, loved ones, and carers,” Albanese said.“This apology takes in one of the darkest chapters in Australia’s medical history,” he added.Doctors had assured pregnant women that the drug was safe.“There was no system for properly evaluating the safety of medicines, an...

Opinion: The Bears won, but Luke Getsy's time as offensive coordinator may be up

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:57 GMT

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears squandered a lead and Justin Fields bucked his fourth quarter woes to lead them to a comeback victory over the Minnesota Vikings Monday, but Luke Getsy's play-calling continued to be the bane of the Bears' offensive existence, and change needs to happen fast if he wants to keep his job. Last Week: The Chicago Bears lack vision – literally and metaphorically Before I go on this tangent, I am not going to sit here and advocate for Getsy to be ousted outright. At the end of the day, this is a man who's built his life around working as a coach for one of America's most recognizable football teams — and if he get's the boot — I don't want to be counted toward the crowd who metaphorically danced on his grave as his life was thrown into chaos.I am sure Bears fans, Getsy and I would all prefer things to be sunshine and daffodils when it comes to the football team who plays their home games at Soldier Field. Unfortunately, that is not our reality.I am just here ...

Dolly Parton reveals why she won't send text messages

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:57 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – If country megastar Dolly Parton doesn't respond to a text message, don't take it personally.While chatting with Drew Barrymore on the actress' self-titled show Monday, the 77-year-old Rock & Roll Hall of Famer revealed why she'd rather send a fax than a text message."I'm a low-tech girl in a high-tech world," Parton said. "I surround myself with all these people that are into that high-tech world, but I don't want to talk to everybody that wants to talk to me."The decision to keep texting out of her "9 to 5" is a conscious one."I don't text because I don't want to have to answer," Parton continued. "If somebody calls me I'll answer if I want to talk to them, or I'll call them back when I can. Otherwise I've got too much to think about than to clutter my mind up with everything else." Dolly Parton has a ‘secret’ song locked in a time capsule, but she’s upset no one will hear it until 2045 The "Jolene" singer made it clear that she could text ... if she wanted to."I...

California man accused of allowing teen daughter to sell nude photos online

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:57 GMT

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. (KTXL) — A California man accused of allowing his 16-year-old daughter to sell nude photos online has been arrested, according to authorities.In August, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office said detectives began investigating a 16-year-old girl who they learned had a very well-known online presence on a variety of social media platforms. During their investigation, officials said the teen was allegedly selling illegal content online and made about $40,000. Homeless woman living in vehicle with six dogs arrested for animal abuse Detectives said the girl's father was aware of her online activity and the profits made from selling the photos. On Nov. 15, the sheriff's office said detectives served a search warrant on the father's home and he was arrested for a variety of charges including sex trafficking, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and child abuse. The sheriff's office said Tuesday that the investigation was ongoing and anyone who has informa...

Georgia's Fran Brown becomes the new SU Football head coach

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:57 GMT

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR) -- The Syracuse University Football Team officially has a new coach. There were numerous names floating around Monday night into Tuesday Evening, but Syracuse University has officially revealed that Fran Brown, Georgia Defensive Backs coach, is the new head coach for the Orange. LOCAL SPORTS SU Head Coach could be named in next 24-36 hours Fran Brown is actually ranked as the number one recruiter in the country right now for the class of 2024 by 247 Sports.And that's not just because he's at Georgia. He was known for landing top talent during his time at Baylor and Temple as well. Brown also has northeast ties which John Wildhack, SU's director of athletics, said was going to be important.He's a New Jersey native who actually spent a couple of years on the same staff as SU's interim head coach, Nunzio Campanile, at Rutgers.Coach Brown joined the Georgia coaching staff in February of 2022 and prior to that was Rutgers' secondary coach from 2020 to 2021. Durin...

Keeler: CU Buffs, Sean Lewis should’ve been perfect football marriage. So why did Deion Sanders speed up the divorce?

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:57 GMT

Winning at Kent State is two holy rungs down from turning water into wine. If Deion Sanders was the splash, Sean Lewis was the coup.And don’t be the schmuck on social media who tries to argue that because Lewis went 24-31 as the head coach of the Golden Flashes, his reported departure from the CU Buffs is no big loss.KSU averaged 2.8 wins in the five years before Lewis took over. They were 1-11 this past fall in the Flashes’ first season after he left. For all the grief CU gets as a “coaching graveyard,” Boulder’s Club Med compared to Kent. The man grew daisies in the desert. He made a shambling, zombified MAC program watchable.He also made the Buffs fun as heck, if only for seven or eight weeks. Which is why Aztec fans are giving each other virtual high-fives after multiple outlets reported Tuesday that Big Sean is expected to replace Brady Hoke as San Diego State’s football coach.Whether it’s Byron Leftwich, Hue Jackson or Hue knows, Lewis...

Google apologizes for sending drivers on off-road detours between L.A. and Vegas

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:57 GMT

Google has issued something of an apology after sending some drivers using Google Maps to travel between Los Angeles and Las Vegas on dangerous desert road detours, at least one of which turned out to be a road to nowhere that left people stranded.  The I-15 corridor between SoCal and Vegas is a popular one, especially during the Thanksgiving Holidays, which is why Shelby Easler, and her family took that route to watch the Las Vegas Grand Prix on Saturday, Nov. 18.  Everything went great, according to Easler, until they used a Google Maps detour on their way back to L.A. to avoid a dust storm that shut down portions of the 15 Freeway on Sunday. “We thought it would be safer to avoid the dust storm,” she told KTLA’s Shelby Nelson. “So, it was like dust storm warning on this side, then an alternative route that would save you 50 minutes.”  Skipping a high wind event in the Mojave Desert seemed like a good idea, so Easler’s brother opted for the app’s alternate rout...

Malibu is bracing for El Niño

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:05:57 GMT

Residents of Malibu are being urged to prepare for the potential impacts of El Niño this winter.El Niño is the temporary warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean near the equator, which experts say is occurring now and is likely to produce above-average rainfall in Southern California.  When the ocean water rises 1.5 degrees Celsius above normal, that’s considered a strong El Niño. El Ninos are far costlier than once thought, in the trillions, study says — and one’s brewing now “It does appear as though this 2023 is going to come pretty close to that if not exceed that,” Ben Reppert, a meteorology professor at Penn State University, recently told KTLA.In the past, these conditions have produced periods of heavy rainfall that trigger mudslides, flooding and debris flow, both along the coast and inland.Ocean water temperatures show El Niño conditions developing along the Pacific Ocean near the equator. November 2023. (NOAA)There is a 95% chance that El Niño conditions will continue...