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New Zealand says it’s the first to ban thin plastic bags from supermarkets

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:21 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beginning Saturday, New Zealand will become the first country to ban the thin plastic bags that supermarket customers use to collect their fruit and vegetables.The new ban will also extend to plastic straws and silverware, as the government expands a campaign against single-use plastics it started in 2019 when it banned the thicker plastic shopping bags that customers used to carry home their grocery items. These days, most customers bring their own reusable tote bags to stores.Officials estimate that on average, each New Zealander sends more than three-quarters of a ton of waste to landfills every year.“New Zealand produces too much waste, too much plastic waste,” said Associate Environment Minister Rachel Brooking.Brooking said the 2019 bag ban had already prevented more than 1 billion plastic bags from being used in New Zealand, and the new ban on thin bags would add a further reduction of 150 million bags per year.Officials investigated concerns th...

Suspected cooking gas explosion in Philippine restaurant injures 15 people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:21 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A suspected cooking gas explosion in the Philippines injured at least 15 people and damaged a restaurant and two nearby food outlets on Thursday in a province south of Manila, officials said.Twelve parked cars were slightly damaged by the blast at Mr. Won’s Samgyeopsal Korean restaurant in the port city of Calapan in Oriental Mindoro province.The injured included four restaurant employees and a delivery crew member who were preparing to open the restaurant, which is located on the ground level of a shopping mall, officials said.“We understand the concerns and anxieties of the community and we want to emphasize that the situation is being given the highest priority,” regional police chief Brig. Gen. Joel Doria said.Doria urged the public to report any information that may help in an ongoing police investigation.The Associated Press

Flames and fire – more to Azerbaijan than F1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:21 GMT

The only image many people may have of Azerbaijan is of F1 drivers speeding around the streets of its capital. The city has hosted an annual F1 grand prix since 2017 and the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have become familiar features on the city’s streets each year, writes Martin Banks.What is less familiar to most are the many other wonderful things this country has to offer. There really is much more to the “Land of Fire” and, while tourism is still in its relative infancy here, it hopes to become more of a real visitor destination in the coming years.Actually, some may recall that, culturally, the country really thrust itself onto the international stage when it was chosen to host the Eurovision song contest back in 2012 after Ell and Nikki triumphed the previous year with "Running Scared". The country spent an estimated €160 million on hosting the 2012 contest, including building a completely new arena for the event, now one of the standout landmarks you can see fro...

2 environmental scientists team up to find Kristen Smart's remains

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:21 GMT

A pair of scientists, along with a former analyst at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, have joined forces to find the missing remains of Kristin Smart some 27 years after her disappearance and murder.  While Smart’s body has never been located, the case has gained renewed interest from the true crime podcast “Your Own Backyard.” Now, in a mission dubbed “Project Homecoming,” two scientists believe the soil in an actual backyard may be the key to finding the missing Cal Poly San Louis Obispo student’s remains.  Dr. Steve Hoyt is a Cal Poly graduate and an environmental scientist whose business tests soil samples. Timothy Neligan, an environmental engineer who also attended Cal Poly, had an actual run-in with 19-year-old Smart.  “She came knocking at our door a week before she went missing to use the telephone to call somebody,” Neligan explained. “We followed the case ever since and wanted to help the family.” Paul Flores, the last person to see Smart alive, is...

Candlelight vigil held for teen victims killed in crash on 710 Freeway in Long Beach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:21 GMT

Hundreds of people gathered at the Artesia overpass overlooking the 710 Freeway in Long Beach on Wednesday for a candlelight vigil to remember five people killed in a single vehicle crash earlier in the week. The crash occurred around 4 a.m. in northbound lanes near the 91 Freeway interchange, according to the California Highway Patrol.  Authorities say the driver of the Hyundai Sonata appeared to be speeding when they lost control and slammed into the barriers, flipping the vehicle which led to an explosion. The horrific accident was captured on dash-cam video. At the vigil, mourners remembered the victims, including 15-year-old Ariahh Slemaker.  “I woke up and she was gone,” Ariahh’s mom, Amanda Lopez, told KTLA. “I’m hurting, my family, her sisters, everybody that loved her.”  Ariahh’s uncle, William Pearson said he feels for his brother and his niece’s mom, saying no parent should ever have to bury a child.  “We just miss her. I’m expecting her to w...

Man held to answer for two South San Francisco bank robberies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:21 GMT

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO – A 48-year-old San Francisco man has been held to answer on all charges related to a pair of bank robberies late last year in South San Francisco, prosecutors said.Damon Shoemaker is charged with two counts of first-degree robbery, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.Prosecutors said Shoemaker was held to answer following a preliminary hearing Tuesday. His defense attorney, Ross Green, did not present any evidence, while two victims and two South San Francisco police officers took the stand for the prosecution.The bank robberies were reported on Nov. 28 and Dec. 28 at the Chase Bank on McLelland Drive. In both cases, Shoemaker allegedly displayed a semiautomatic handgun and demanded cash from a bank teller, according to the district attorney’s office.Between the two robberies, Shoemaker made off with roughly $3,400, prosecutors said.Video surveillance collected by investigators showed a gray van leaving the scene of one of the robberies....

Sharks update: Size, skill and ‘pushback’ added with second pick; Grier on Michkov: ‘We had some concerns’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:21 GMT

The San Jose Sharks added some size and skill to their prospect pool Wednesday night by selecting Sudbury Wolves left winger Quentin Musty with the 26th overall pick in the first round of the NHL Draft in Nashville, Tennessee.Musty, listed at 6-foot-2 and 197 pounds on the Wolves’ website, had 78 points in 53 regular season games, with most of his production coming at even strength after he missed some time this season with an injury.Musty played for Team USA at the Hlinka-Gretzky tournament and had five points in four games. With the Wolves, Musty enjoyed an 18-game point streak early in the season in which he had 35 points.Going into the draft, Musty was ranked as high as No. 12 by Elite Prospects, No. 20 by Daily Faceoff, and No. 25 by TSN’s Bob McKenzie.“He has size, reach, he has the skill, he can score goals,” said Chris Morehouse, the Sharks’ director of amateur scouting, of Musty.“Certainly in the second half of the year, he took off a little bit in F...

Family grieves grandmother killed in Oakland hit-and-run

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:21 GMT

(KRON) -- A family in Oakland is grieving after their loved one was killed in a hit-and-run crash on June 16. Police are still searching for the driver that hit the woman before fleeing the scene. Santu Maya, 73, was in a crosswalk near Foothill Boulevard and Vicksburg Avenue when she was struck by a black Mercedes. Witnesses say the car may have been racing, and it was driving at a high speed. (Photos courtesy of Maya family)Lilly Medina was an eyewitness to the crash, and says she watched as Maya's body was thrown into the air and back down to the pavement in the collision. Medina told KRON4 she knew from the blood that it was bad. She called 911 eight or nine times before she could get connected. RPD released photos of the suspect's car at a car wash nearby. The license plate in the photos reads: 5AUT731. (Photo courtesy of OPD)The car’s license plate may have been removed, police said. It’s not known if drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash, but police say speed and street...

Family loses everything in San Jose storage facility fire

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:21 GMT

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) – It’s now been two weeks since a massive fire tore through a public storage facility in San Jose. On Wednesday, KRON4 spoke to a family who lost everything that night.The family is devastated. They were getting ready to move their whole house to Sacramento, but they are now left with nothing. Bryce Grenon and his long-time girlfriend Melissa are starting from scratch. That’s hard for anyone, but it’s especially tough for his 8-year-old daughter. Female bank robber sought by Brentwood, Antioch police “Having to tell her about the day before her birthday party that everything was gone was the hardest day of my life,” Grenon said. He says the mid-June fire destroyed all of his daughter’s belongings and memories.“Daughter’s birth pictures and toys, about 95 percent of our stuff was in there,” he said. Also gone is the military jacket that belonged to Grenon’s grandfather, who was a Korean War veteran and a recipient of the Purple Heart medal.Gre...

Cell phone thefts on the rise in San Francisco

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:42:21 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – More people are getting their phone stolen in San Francisco. Many of the cases involve physical assaults and guns.These violent and brazen cell phone robberies have become more frequent in the last week or so. One man says his wife recently got her phone stolen at gunpoint.San Francisco Board Supervisor Rafael Mandelman says police are trying to find out if this is an organized crime ring. $100K a year is low-income in the Bay Area, according to new report "Some in neighborhoods I represent,” Mandelman said. “And in other parts of the city… often targeting women, often taking cell phones.""It seems like there may be a pattern that we have seen over the last few days, and it seems like these incidents may be related,” he said.Police logs from the last week show at least eight cell phone robberies. Some include being robbed at gunpoint or being physically assaulted. It’s happening all over the city in neighborhoods like the Mission, Tenderloin, Nob Hill and Ou...