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Spring bloom may be beautiful, but causing allergies for many

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:42 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The superbloom of wildflowers has arrived in a bust of extraordinary colors, lighting up the canyons, beach dunes, foothills and just about anywhere natural in the county.The extremely wet winter has produced the bloom along with all the pollen in the air kicking off allergies for anyone sensitive. "We start seeing a lot of obstruction of the nose, pressure in the face, sinus infections. And then we start seeing even, you know, upticks in asthma symptoms like difficulty breathing, wheezing. All of this is allergy related," said Dr. Marsha Reuther, MD an Otolaryngology (Ear, Nose & Throat) Specialist.   Ready for a challenge? Here are the hardest hikes in San Diego Even people who have never shown issues with allergies in the past have been lining up to get some help from a specialist. "The antihistamines, Zyrtec, Allegra, Claritin, those are usually what people will have tried. A good thing to try that maybe some people don't always think of is just nasal irrigati...

Amtrack Pacific Surfliner resumes full service from Oceanside to Irvine

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:42 GMT

OCEANSIDE, Calif. -- Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner is once again running with full weekday service between San Diego and Orange counties.“I'm very happy -- it's gonna be a much easier commute to work today," said Colton Shanley, who commutes from Orange County to San Diego once a week for work.For more than six months, that commute was a hassle for riders, after a stretch of track in San Clemente was shut down in September.Jason Jewell with the LOSSAN Rail Corridor Agency says it is the same section of track that was worked on in 2021.“That particular area had some slope stabilization issues and emergency repair work had to be done in order to stabilize the tracks and make sure that there is no movement in the track itself," said Jewell. San Diego among cities where inflation is increasing the most: study That work affected surfliner and Metrolink riders, with many having to catch shuttle buses to get to their destinations.In February, officials determined the tracks were safe enough...

Man charged in shooting of Black teen Ralph Yarl at his door

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:42 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — An 84-year-old white man who shot a Black teen that approached the wrong house in Kansas City, Missouri, while trying to pick up his siblings was charged Monday with first-degree assault.Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said at a news conference that there was a “racial component” to the incident last Thursday night in which Andrew Lester twice shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, who is recovering at home after being released Sunday from the hospital. But nothing in the charging documents says the shooting was racially motivated, Thompson clarified.“We understand how frustrating this has been but I can assure you the criminal justice system is working and will continue to work,” Thompson said at a news conference.The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. Civic and political leaders — including President Joe Biden demanded justice. Some, including lawyers for Yarl, pressed the racial dimension of the case. Rev. Vernon Howard, president of...

Costco executive tells MPs it has not sought to increase profits amid inflation

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:42 GMT

OTTAWA — Costco has not sought to increase its profits amid rapidly rising grocery prices in Canada, said Pierre Riel, the executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Costco Wholesale International and Canada, in front of a parliamentary committee studying food inflation. Riel, who spoke before the committee Monday evening, is the fifth executive of a major grocer to appear before the committee, after calls from federal politicians for the grocery industry to be more transparent about rising prices and profits. Early in March, the heads of Loblaw, Metro and Empire, the largest Canadian grocers, told MPs that food inflation has not been caused by profit-mongering. Later the same month, Walmart Canada’s CEO echoed the others, saying the American giant is not trying to profit from food inflation. At the meeting, Riel touted Costco’s employee benefits and pay as well as the retailer’s unique model, where customers pay for memberships in order to access the company’s wa...

Massive landslide buries trucks in northwest Pakistan

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:42 GMT

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A massive landslide struck a key highway near the Torkham border town in northwestern Pakistan before dawn Tuesday, burying several trucks and injuring some people, police and rescue officials said.Police official Ishrat Khan said dozens of firefighters and rescuers were trying to save the lives of the truck drivers and other people hit by the landslide near Afghanistan. Officials said the landslide was triggered by lightning amid rain. He said the injured are being transported to a nearby hospital. Volunteers have also joined the search for survivors. Authorities are dispatching heavy machinery to Torkham so that the massive mudslide could be removed, Khan said.Torkham border crossing is a trade route between Pakistan and Afghanistan where landslides often block highways, especially in the mountainous areas. Last summer, floods caused by monsoon rains killed 1,739 people in Pakistan.The Associated Press

‘I feel manipulated,’ daughter says at mother’s murder trial

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:42 GMT

DENVER (AP) — The daughter of a woman accused of killing her stepson in Colorado, putting his body in a suitcase and dumping it off a bridge in Florida said Monday that she never suspected his body was in the van they drove in together across the country.Testifying at Letecia Stauch’s murder trial in Colorado Springs, Harley Hunt said it never crossed her mind that her mother was transporting the body of 11-year-old Gannon Stauch in a suitcase in their rented van after killing him, as prosecutors allege.“I’m still in shock. I defended her for years. I just feel manipulated and lied to,” Hunt said.When pressed by the defense, Hunt said she never looked in the back of the van where their luggage was as they traveled through Texas and Louisiana on their way to Florida and then South Carolina in February 2020. She said she never smelled anything unusual. But Hunt also said her mother insisted on keeping the air conditioning on even when she complained of being too cold. Prosecutor...

Mexico searches for 3 missing US sailors with plane, ships

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:42 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican Navy said Monday it is using ships and a plane to search for three Americans who went missing along with their sailboat off Mexico’s northern Pacific coast. The Navy said it is using four patrol boats and a twin-engine prop airplane to search the area, but apparently no sign of the missing people has turned up yet. The three Americans were aboard the 44-foot (13.5 meter) sailing vessel “Ocean Bound.” The U.S. Coast Guard gave their names as Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien, and William Gross. They have not been heard from since April 4, when they were near the Pacific coast port of Mazatlán, Mexico. The three had planned to stop for supplies in the Baja resort town of Cabo San Lucas, before proceeding to San Diego.However, the Coast Guard said marinas in Baja California have not reported seeing the vessel.The Associated Press

Victims identified in Alabama birthday party shooting that killed 4, injured 32

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:42 GMT

DADEVILLE, Ala. (NEXSTAR) — The people killed in a weekend shooting at a teenager's birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, were identified Monday. The four victims identified by the Tallapoosa County Coroner to Nexstar's WRBL were 23-year-old Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 18-year-old Philstavious "Phil" Dowdell, 19-year-old Marsiah Emmanuel “Siah” Collins, and 17-year-old Shaunkivia Nicole “Keke” Smith. All of the victims were from Dadeville or the surrounding area. Authorities initially reported that 28 people had been injured. In a Monday evening update, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency increased that number to 32. It wasn't clear if all of those injured were shot or suffered other injuries. Their names and ages have not been released.The Saturday night shooting happened at a 16th birthday party at a downtown Dadeville dance studio, and witnesses said many of those injured were teenagers.The Associated Press reported Monday that the birthday party was for Philstavious Dowdell's sist...

Former Austin ISD PE teacher faces felony drug charges

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A man who had worked as a PE teacher in Austin ISD for five years was arrested in December and accused of having drugs he intended to distribute, according to Travis County court records.Drugs found in the man's car during a traffic stop in December included Adderall as well as smaller amounts of cocaine, alprazolam and MDMA, according to an arrest affidavit.Abraham Allen Ligon faces a Possession of a Controlled Substance in group 1/1-B of between 1-4 grams and a Manufacturing or Delivering a Controlled Substance in group 2 of between 4-400 grams. He also faces a misdemeanor unlawful carrying of a weapon charge. A spokesperson for AISD said Ligon is no longer employed with the district and "resigned a couple months ago." The district did not immediately provide any further information. KXAN will update this story when we get additional insight. KXAN has also reached out to Ligon's attorney, and will update this story when we receive a response.On the night of Dec. 20...

No exceptions coming for Texas abortion ban, both parties say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:15:42 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- With just 21 days left to pass House bills out of committee, there is no sign in the Texas legislature that any changes are coming to the state's strict abortion ban.On Monday morning, lawmakers who authored the legislation that made providing abortion a felony stood with activists to denounce any possible changes to the law."The origin of the conception is not what determines the value of life," State Sen. Angela Paxton said. "I am the result of an unplanned pregnancy."Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, (R-Southlake), said his goal this session is to prevent any exceptions that would weaken the restrictions."There is no such thing as an unplanned pregnancy. There's a plan for everyone," he said.The activists included men and women who said they were conceived or impregnated as a result of rape. They drew upon their own experiences to present themselves as living arguments against an exception for rape in the abortion ban law."Even though my birth mom was the victim of t...