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World’s population slated to be 8 billion on New Year’s Day

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

By Mike Schneider | Associated PressThe world population grew by 75 million people over the past year and on New Year’s Day it will stand at more than 8 billion people, according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday.The worldwide growth rate in the past year was just under 1%. At the start of 2024, 4.3 births and two deaths are expected worldwide every second, according to the Census Bureau figures.The growth rate for the United States in the past year was 0.53%, about half the worldwide figure. The U.S. added 1.7 million people and will have a population on New Year’s Day of 335.8 million people.If the current pace continues through the end of the decade, the 2020s could be the slowest-growing decade in U.S. history, yielding a growth rate of less than 4% over the 10-year-period from 2020 to 2030, said William Frey, a demographer at The Brookings Institution.The slowest-growing decade currently was in the aftermath of the Great Depression in the 193...

Watch: Monster waves crash into streets, cars, pedestrians along Northern California coast

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

Scenes of angry, towering waves hitting streets in Northern California coastal towns flooded social media Thursday. Buildings and businesses from Pacifica to Santa Cruz reported damage and beaches were evacuated. A combination of an offshore storm and high tide led to the onslaught — and another storm is on the way.The high surf warning continues until 3 a.m Friday as waves are expected to be as high as 33 feet.  The weather service advises people to stay away from beaches, piers, and other waterside infrastructure.Absolutely insane waves today in Pacifica! High Surf Warning remains in effect until 3am tomorrow, Be safe and smart around the ocean! @NWSBayArea #CAwx pic.twitter.com/az6Lj4kWYA— Antonio Maffei (@AGMaffei) December 28, 2023WIPEOUT! Kids watching the waves in Santa Cruz were tossed when a big one crashed into the rocks. pic.twitter.com/UMljSqBWln— KSBW Action News 8 (@ksbw) December 28, 2023Don't be this person! Massive wave nearly sweeps this perso...

'Unacceptable': 21 hazardous materials releases, spills recorded at Martinez refinery

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

(KRON) -- 2023 was not a good year for Martinez Refining Company, according to county health officials.Anna Roth, director of Contra Costa Health, wrote a letter to the refinery's managers on Thursday, stating, "In the past year, CCH has documented 21 releases or spills of hazardous materials at the Martinez refinery. The number of incidents at the refinery over the past year is unacceptable for a facility operating in Contra Costa County."A high number of hazardous materials releases from the refinery, including three incidents involving metallic coke dust, compromised health and safety in nearby communities, according to county officials. Coke dust is a byproduct of oil refining. PBF Energy owns the Martinez refinery as the parent company of Martinez Refining Company. "PBF Energy is responsible for ensuring the reliability of its systems and establishing and maintaining a culture of safety at the refinery," the letter states. According to the county’s Community Warning System reco...

CF Kevin Kiermaier staying in Toronto on $10.5 million, 1-year contract

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

TORONTO (AP) — Gold Glove-winning center fielder Kevin Kiermaier is staying in Toronto, agreeing to a $10.5 million, one-year contract.The team announced the contract on Thursday. The Blue Jays also have Daulton Varsho and George Springer in their outfield.The 33-year-old Kiermaier hit .265 with eight homers and 36 RBIs in 129 games in his first season with Toronto. He also won his fourth Gold Glove.Kiermaier was selected by Tampa Bay in the 31st round of the 2010 amateur draft. He played for the Rays for 10 years before they declined his $13 million option for 2023. He then signed a $9 million, one-year contract with the Blue Jays.Kiermaier is a .249 hitter with 90 homers, 352 RBIs and 126 steals in 1,043 major league games.Toronto went 89-73 this year and finished third in the AL East, trailing Baltimore and Tampa Bay. It made the playoffs as a wild card and was swept by Minnesota in the opening series.The Blue Jays have been fairly quiet so far this offseason. They made a play fo...

United Cup gets underway in Perth with Spain playing Brazil. Djokovic arrives to represent Serbia

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

PERTH, Australia (AP) — The United Cup tennis tournament began Friday with Spain playing Brazil and Australia taking on Britain in the higher-profile late match at Perth, Western Australia.The tournament involving mixed teams from 18 countries is being played in Perth and Sydney, where matches begin on Saturday. Two quarterfinalists will be determined from each of the Perth and Sydney group games with the semifinals and the Jan. 7 final set for Sydney.The format sees men’s and women’s singles matches played ahead of mixed doubles, the same used by the highly-successful Hopman Cup that was formerly played in Perth.No. 1-ranked woman Iga Swiatek is representing Poland and playing in Perth. Top-ranked and defending Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has arrived to represent Serbia, also in Perth.Serbia will take on China on Sunday and Czech Republic on Tuesday in the group stage, with Djokovic set to face world No. 58 Zhang Zhizhen and No.31-ranked Jiri Lehecka in his ...

Four-time Gold Glove SS Andrelton Simmons announces retirement

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

Andrelton Simmons, a four-time Gold Glove-winning shortstop during his 11 years in the majors, has decided to retire.The 34-year-old Simmons made the announcement via an Instagram post from his agency, ISE Baseball.Simmons was selected by Atlanta in the second round of the 2010 amateur draft. The Curacao native made his big league debut with the Braves in 2012.Simmons is a .263 hitter with 70 homers and 444 RBIs in 1,226 career games, also playing for the Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs. He made his last major league appearance with Chicago in July 2022.He won Gold Gloves in 2013 and 2014 with Atlanta and 2017 and 2018 with Los Angeles.___AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLBSource

EXCLUSIVA | El equipo de Trump voló a Washington las papeletas de los falsos electores en un último esfuerzo por anular las elecciones de 2020

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

(CNN) — Dos días antes de la insurrección del 6 de enero, el plan de la campaña de Trump de utilizar falsos electores para impedir que el presidente electo Joe Biden asumiera el cargo se enfrentó a un contratiempo potencialmente crucial: los certificados de electores falsos de dos estados disputados críticos se quedaron atascados en el correo.Así que los operativos de la campaña de Trump se apresuraron a enviar por avión copias de los certificados falsos de Michigan y Wisconsin a la capital del país, recurriendo a una cadena desordenada de mensajeros, así como a la ayuda de dos republicanos en el Congreso, para tratar de hacer llegar los documentos al entonces vicepresidente Mike Pence mientras presidía la certificación del Colegio Electoral.Los operativos incluso consideraron alquilar un jet para asegurarse de que los archivos llegaran a Washington, a tiempo para los procedimientos del 6 de enero de 2021, según los correos electrónicos y las grabaciones obtenidas por CNN.Los ...

Will Boebert's district switch help her stay in Congress?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Lauren Boebert's announcement that she's no longer running for her current seat in Colorado's 3rd Congressional District has folks talking ahead of a critical year for the balance of power in Congress.So what does her move mean for her chances of staying in Congress? What about all the other candidates involved? Donald Trump currently slated to appear on Colorado ballots Boebert's move to run for the 4th Congressional District changes a lot for her and the other candidates running for Congress in Colorado. FOX31 political analyst Michael Fields believes name recognition can go a long way in a primary race amongst Republicans."I didn't see it coming, but once it happened, it kind of made sense in a lot of ways for her," Fields said.Like many other Republicans around Colorado, Fields did not know Boebert was planning to change the congressional districts. The congresswoman will leave her home in the 3rd District, which includes the Western Slope and Pueblo, opting fo...

Puttery to blend mini golf, restaurant experiences for 21-plus crowds in Wynwood

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

Mini golf has gone grown-up at one new hotspot in Wynwood. Opening in mid-January, Puttery combines the game with all we love about restaurants, bars and lounges. So grab your friends, or your sweetie, just not the kiddos.Mini golf is maxi fun.Guest 1: “Not to brag, but I’m winning.”At Puttery in Wynwood.Kyle Rickman: “We want to create the experience where you get to just make the time for yourself. If you want to go play, you play. If you want to go sit and hang with your friends, it’s up to you.”Alex Miranda: “How does it work again?”Kyle Rickman: “The max strokes at putter is six, so your goal is to get the lowest number of strokes. So you’ll see on each hole we have a par, so if it’s par two, you want to try and get it in two shots. You have to be really bad to get six.”But, kiddos, this playground is for adults only … and 21-plus at that.Kyle Rickman: “The whole goal of us at Puttery is for you to es...

Marching Conchs: Key West High School band headed to London to perform in New Year’s Day parade

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:11:59 GMT

A South Florida high school band is going to London, England. You gotta be a pretty darn good marching band to get this invitation.Tonight, a high school band from Key West is about to cross the pond and toot their own horns.They call themselves the Marching Conchs. These Conchs have been practicing for months, and they’ve got it down.The Key West High School marching band is going global.Gary Hernandez, band director: “This is probably the largest stage that we’ve ever performed on as the Key West High School band.”Invited to play in the famous London New Year’s Day parade.Eddie Strunk, band captain: “The London New Year’s Parade is really their version of the Thanksgiving Macy’s parade, and there’s gonna be so many people lining the streets, and members of the Royal Family in the audience.”Perhaps the King and Queen will be among the 500,000 spectators on the streets of London … but probably in some comfy chairs.Gar...