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San Diego Convention Center events on track to rival pre-pandemic years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:39:23 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego Convention Center business is on track to rival pre-pandemic years. Since events have returned with no restrictions, some of the biggest like the Optical Fiber Communications Conference in town this week, are helping the local economy continue to bounce back.“Being back in person again I think is the most rewarding way for people to share ideas and collaborate with each other,” said Ryan Strowger, a member of OFC management.Just last year, events were still having to follow pandemic restrictions. In 2021, many events were canceled or like OFC, went fully virtual.“The great fun of it is a lot of those technologies are enabled by what you see here on the show floor,” Strowger said.The tech conference is among those with the largest economic impact at the convention center annually because of its size. More than 10,000 people registered for the event, representing 70 different countries.OFC is a repeat visitor to San Diego, with this year set to bring in nearly $...

SDSU professor dies following Legionella pneumonia diagnosis

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:39:23 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego State professor who had recently been diagnosed with Legionella pneumonia died over the weekend, the university announced Tuesday.Dr. Michael J. Buono, a professor in the School of Exercise and Nutritional Sciences, was identified as the individual who was exposed to the bacteria, which prompted a temporary closure of one of the school's buildings in mid-February. He died from the disease on Saturday.SDSU notified the campus of a Legionella exposure on Feb. 14, however, the name of the individual affected was not disclosed. In the statement Tuesday, officials said they withheld the information due to employee confidentiality.The initial report indicated that the individual was quarantined from campus and recovering, prior to the announcement of Buono's death.In a statement, school officials honored Buono's 40 years as a member of the Aztec community and the contributions he made as an educator. SDSU building closed for Legionella pneumonia investigation "M...

Minivan heist: Armed woman holds-up rental car business

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:39:23 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- An armed woman allegedly drove away in a stolen minivan after holding-up a rental car business in Little Italy on Tuesday, authorities said.An employee of Economy Rent-A-Car, located at 2300 India St., was washing a white 2022 Chrysler Voyager in the parking lot shortly before 4:30 p.m. when the incident occurred, according to the San Diego Police Department. Man fatally stabbed at gas station in San Ysidro The minivan was reported to be unlocked with the keys inside the vehicle when a female suspect allegedly pointed a knife at the employee before driving off in the Chrysler, police said.The woman headed northbound on Interstate 5 and was later involved in a vehicle pursuit with Montebello Police, authorities said. The suspect was described as a black female in her late 30s who stood 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighed 150 pounds with long black hair.SDPD says robbery detectives responded and are handling the investigation. Authorities did not say whether or not the s...

Tanzania’s 1st female president praises political tolerance

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:39:23 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has said that as the East African country’s first female leader, she has brought a new level of political tolerance to the nation.Hassan spoke at a rally for International Women’s Day which had been organized by an opposition party. More than 3,000 women were at the event including leaders from 19 opposition parties.“The opposition is lucky that it is a woman president in charge because if a misunderstanding occurs, I will stand for peace and make the men settle their egos,” she said amid cheers, singing and dancing.She said there was a “new culture of unity” between the opposition and her government and although some critics are not happy with it, “they will get used to it.”Hassan shared the platform with the chairman of the main opposition party Chadema, Freeman Mbowe. He said Hassan’s agreement to attend the opposition event elicited mixed reactions because the country experienced “fear, hate and mis...

Feds suspect Tesla using automated system in firetruck crash

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:39:23 GMT

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. investigators suspect that a Tesla was operating on an automated driving system when it crashed into a firetruck in California last month, killing the driver and critically injuring a passenger. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Wednesday it has dispatched a special crash investigation team to look into the Feb. 18 crash in Northern California where emergency responders had to cut open the Tesla to remove the passenger. Four Contra Costa County firefighters had minor injuries.The probe is part of a larger investigation by the agency into multiple instances of Teslas on Autopilot crashing into parked emergency vehicles that are tending to other crashes.The $1.4 million ladder truck was damaged in the crash on Interstate 680. The truck was parked to shield a crew clearing another accident, fire officials said.The driver of the the 2014 Tesla Model S was declared dead at the scene.NHTSA is investigating how Tesla’s Autopilot system detects and ...

3 injured in fiery train derailment caused by rockslide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:39:23 GMT

SANDSTONE, W.Va. (AP) — An empty coal train hit a rockslide along tracks in West Virginia on Wednesday morning, causing a fiery derailment that injured three crewmembers, CSX Transportation said in a statement.Four locomotives and 22 empty cars derailed in Summers County near the New River, CSX said. The lead locomotive, which carried a conductor, an engineer and an engineer trainee, caught fire and the crewmembers were being evaluated and treated for non-life threatening injuries, the company said.CSX said an unoccupied locomotive was partially in the waterway where an unknown amount of diesel fuel and oil spilled, officials said. Environmental teams were deploying containment measures.The derailment occurred in a remote area just south of Sandstone inside the New River National Park and Preserve, according to a statement from the West Virginia Emergency Management Division. Several state agencies are monitoring the situation and said public water systems downstream have been notif...

Tyre Nichols death spurs Justice Department police review

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:39:23 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The Justice Department announced Wednesday that it will review the Memphis Police Department policies on use of force, de-escalation policies and specialized units in response to the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols during an arrest. The review was requested by the city’s mayor and police chief, the department said. In a separate effort, it will examine the use of specialized units around the country and produce a guide for police chiefs and mayors on their use, according to the announcement. “In the wake of Tyre Nichols’s tragic death, the Justice Department has heard from police chiefs across the country who are assessing the use of specialized units and, where used, appropriate management, oversight and accountability for such units,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta. The U.S. Justice Department has previously opened a civil rights investigation into Nichols’ death. The city on Wednesday also plans to release about 20 hours of video and ...

4 killed when 2 small planes collide over Florida lake

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:39:23 GMT

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (AP) — A pilot and and a 19-year-old student pilot were among four people killed when two small planes collided in midair over a central Florida lake, sheriff’s officials said.A Piper J-3 Cub seaplane and a Cherokee Piper 161 fixed-wing plane collided around 2 p.m. Tuesday over Lake Hartridge near Winter Haven Regional Airport, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.“All of a sudden it was a giant boom,” Caridad Fernandez, who lives along the lake, told WESH-TV. “It literally sounded like when a rocket takes off and hits the atmosphere.”Fernandez said she and many of her neighbors in the community about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Orlando ran outside.“We pretty much saw everything hit the water,” Fernandez said.Numerous rescue workers responded to the scene, where one of the planes was submerged under about 21 feet (6.4-meters) of water, while the other was partially submerged. They pulled four bodies from the planes, the sheriff said.Faith Irene Bake...

Ukraine first lady Olena Zelenska in UAE amid Russia’s war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:39:23 GMT

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Ukraine’s first lady on Wednesday offered spirited support to her nation’s people while visiting the United Arab Emirates, a country that still remains open to Russia despite Western sanctions. Olena Zelenska described her role and that of other first ladies and gentlemen in the world as a real power while speaking before a packed ballroom on International Women’s Day. She also applauded the work of the average Ukrainian amid the ongoing war. “We are a force and we can continue to change the world,” Zelenska said at the Forbes 30/50 Summit via a translator.Zelenska’s trip to the United Arab Emirates capital comes as the UAE remains one of the few direct routes out of Moscow — for both people fleeing conscription and for the wealthy who want to park their money in a nation with access to Western financial markets. Already, the U.S. Treasury has expressed concerns with the Russian money flowing into Dubai’s red-hot r...

Founder of Love’s Travel Stops dies in Oklahoma at age 85

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:39:23 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores says the founder of the truck stop chain known for its red and yellow heart logo, “Clean Places, Friendly Faces” motto and in-store showers has died.The company announced on its website that Tom Love died Tuesday in Oklahoma City. He was 85. A cause of death was not given.“We are deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved husband, father and grandfather,” family members said in the statement. “While the grief we feel is unmeasurable, we celebrate his life and will continue his legacy of living a life filled with integrity, honesty and faith.”Love and his wife, Judy, founded what became Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores as Musket Corporation in 1964, according to the statement. They leased a closed service station for $5,000 in Watonga, about 50 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.“In many respects, he was an ordinary person who built an extraordinary business alongside his wife Judy and his family, who he loved deeply,...