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Scotland's external affairs secretary comments on Horizon research announcement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

Responding to the announcement that the UK is to re-join the Horizon research programme, External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson (pictured) said: “While it’s welcome the UK government has finally listened to the Scottish government, which has long called for full participation in Horizon, this announcement simply confirms the folly of Brexit. “The impact of three years of delays and uncertainty for this sector cannot be repaired overnight. "On top of disrupted research and lost job opportunities, the ongoing lack of free movement limits EU researchers’ ability to work in Scotland and vice versa. Ministers will be looking closely at the details of the agreement to ensure that Scotland’s interests are fully represented. However, the fact remains that the only way to meaningfully reverse the damage of Brexit and restore the benefits Scotland previously enjoyed, is for an independent Scotland to re-join the European Union.”

Firefighters battle 3-alarm blaze in Santa Ana

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

Firefighters are at the scene of a three-alarm fire burning in Santa Ana Thursday morning. The fire was reported shortly after 5 a.m. in the 2700 block of Harbor Boulevard. Crews were forced to take a defensive mode in attacking the blaze, the Orange County Fire Authority posted in a tweet. Fire crews battle a 3-alarm blaze in Santa Ana on Sept. 7, 2023. (KTLA)Aerial video from Sky5 showed a large portion of the roof had collapsed as crews continued working to douse the fire.The building housed multiple businesses including a dental office and a Waba Grill.Crews appeared to have gained some access to the building as of 6:30 a.m.The OCFA said that fire investigators had arrived at the scene in an updated tweet. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. There have been no injuries reported as a result of the incident.Check back for updates on this developing story.

Hollywood strikers face eviction, seek unemployment benefits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

Months into the strike by writers and actors against Hollywood studios, the financial impact on union members is adding up, and they're asking the state of California for help.Many union members need help to pay their rent or mortgage, as detailed in a Hollywood Reporter article, with some of them even facing eviction.It seems at least some executives connected to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers were hoping that would eventually be the case. An infamous Deadline report from July quoted one anonymous executive who said the evictions were all part of the plan.“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” they said.With a housing crisis looming for their members, the writers and actors unions are working to gather resources for assistance while also pushing a change to California state law that would provide financial help.Senate Bill 799 would allow workers to collect unemployment pay afte...

Larry Magid: Cleaning up your internet browser

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

My computer’s internet browser is, by far, the program that I use the most. That’s not the case with my mobile device, because so many of the services I use have their own apps. But, when I’m sitting at my PC or Mac, almost everything I do – including writing this column – happens within my browser.Related ArticlesBusiness | Magid: Managing privacy on Facebook Business | Magid: Google simplifies controlling information about you Business | Magid: Backing up is not hard to do Business | Magid: Being courteous in your use of technology At the moment, I’m using Microsoft Edge, but I sometimes use Google Chrome, Firefox, Brave or Apple Safari. Frankly, it doesn’t matter much. They all do essentially the same things, although there are differences in terms of privacy features and small differences when it comes to user interface or overall performance.Second only to the speed of your internet connection, the way your b...

NFL 2023 predictions: How the NFL divisional and wild card races will play out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

How the NFL divisional and wild card races shape up in 2023:NFC West49ers. Imagine being good enough to be a prohibitive division favorite with any of the quarterbacks on the roster. Either Brock Purdy or Sam Darnold could — and will — win with this team.NFC NorthDetroit Lions. OK, I’m on board with Detroit after its 8-2 finish last season. We’ll find out right away as they drew the Thursday night opener. Oh, and quarterback Jared Goff may be better than Matthew Stafford, the man who replaced him with the Rams. Imagine that.NFC SouthCarolina Panthers. The Panthers are the strongest of the weakest in a division where 9-8 ought to be enough to finish first. No. 1 pick Bryce Young, the former Heisman Trophy winner out of Alabama, is in a good position with Frank Reich as his head coach and a roster that had a strong finish in 2022.NFC EastPhiladelphia Eagles. The NFC’s best team a year ago, no matter what the 49ers say. There could be a bit of a drop-off from 14-3 a year ag...

What exodus? California has 4th ‘stickiest’ population in US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

Many of my long-time readers know I have an odd fascination with trying to explain why there’s really no California exodus.My thesis is based on math that shows ex-Californians are proportionally a small share of the state’s population. I’m well aware that my “no exodus” argument runs against conventional wisdom that’s based on statistics tracking California’s nationally leading number of residents exiting. But those figures overlook California being the most-populated state in the US.So, I was thrilled to see a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas ranking states by the “stickiness” of their population. Stickiness refers to percentage of residents of a state who were born there.Dallas Fed economists found California was the fourth “stickiest” state with 73% of its residents being native-born. Who knew? Wink!No. 1 was Texas at 82.2%, then came North Carolina (75.5%), and Georgia (74.2%). Following California was Utah (72.9%) and Florida (72.7%). Let me call them the ...

Al Pacino ‘still together’ with girlfriend despite custody drama over ‘surprise’ baby

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

Conflicting stories emerged early Thursday over the status of Al Pacino’s relationship with Noor Alfallah, the 29-year-old mother of his “surprise” fourth baby after she filed court documents seeking full custody of their 3-month-old son.TMZ initially reported Thursday that the 83-year-old Pacino had split from Alfallah after a year of dating as their “child custody drama” heats up. But Pacino’s representative told Page Six that the actor and Alfallah are “still together.” The rep also suggested that the court filing is a formality, saying “Al and Noor have successfully worked together and have mutually reached agreements regarding their child Roman.” TMZ later updated its story to include the representative’s statement about Pacino and Alfallah still being romantically involved.Even if Pacino and Alfallah are still a couple, as his representative said, the court filing indicates that they are living separately and th...

By dealing with anxiety, Oakland A’s closer finds success, acceptance and peace

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

OAKLAND – Trevor May was gearing up to face Shohei Ohtani in a save situation over the weekend when the ruling came in from the Oakland A’s dugout: In a one-run game with a runner on third and first base open, the Los Angeles Angels superstar was going to be intentionally walked.May understood the decision by A’s manager Mark Kotsay to issue the free pass to Ohtani, Major League Baseball’s home run leader at that point with 44. But May – as he’s done for most of his career — would have welcomed the challenge of trying to retire Ohtani, the likely winner of this year’s American League MVP award.“Those are the types of guys you want to face in the big spots,” May said Sunday, a day after he finished off the A’s 2-1 win over the Angels for what was then his 16th save. “If you’re going to get a save, getting the best player in the league out probably sticks in your mind a little more.”May’s approach illustrates how far he’s come with the A’s since mid-April when he went on the inj...

Bay Area high school football 2023: Week 3 preview, schedule

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

De La Salle hasn’t started a season without a victory through three games since going 0-2-1 in 2004.The Spartans are 0-2 this season as they travel to St. Francis on Friday night for the first time since their 30-year unbeaten streak against regional opponents ended there two years ago.St. Francis lost at DLS 35-3 last season.The rematch headlines a Week 3 lineup that also includes top-ranked Serra visiting Central Catholic-Modesto, Oakland schools Bishop O’Dowd and McClymonds meeting for the first time in 11 years and Los Gatos playing host to Grant-Sacramento.The Bay Area News Group will have complete coverage this weekend and all season. If you have not already, please sign up for a digital subscription. Your contributions keep us going.Here are this week’s top matchups and schedule:FridayNo. 1 Serra (2-0) at Central Catholic-Modesto (2-1), 7 p.m.: First road game of the season for the Bay Area News Group’s top-ranked team as Serra tries to beat Central Catholic...

Salinas man gets 28 years in prison for sexually assaulting family members

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:55:00 GMT

(BCN) -- A Salinas man has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for sexually assaulting two family members for years, Monterey County prosecutors said. Marco Ramirez Serna, 51, was sentenced last week after being convicted of two counts of forcible lewd acts upon a child under 14 years old and one count of lewd act upon a child under 14 years old, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office said in a news release Tuesday. Prosecutors said that Serna began sexually assaulting a female family member when she was 6 years old. According to the victim, Serna would wait for her mother to go to work before he sexually abused her, and this went on for four years. Police standoff with armed suspect near SF high school resolved When the victim finally reported the sexual assault to her mother, another family member also disclosed that Serna also abused her for two years, since she was in fourth grade, prosecutors said. Both victims initially kept Serna's sexual abuse secret ...