Sacramento, California Local News | ReportWire publishes the latest breaking U.S. and world news, trending topics and developing stories from around globe.
“I’m angry at what happened to them. I’m angry at the people who sold them those drugs,” Casey Pereira said at a community vigil for her sister Tuesday.
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — On Super Bowl Sunday, a group of friends in South Lake Tahoe had a few drinks and used what they thought was cocaine.
Hours later on Monday morning, four of them were pronounced dead from a suspected fentanyl overdose.
Among the victims was 33-year-old Keely Pereira, whose “generosity was unmatched and style was effortlessly cool,” according to her younger sister Casey Pereira.
“I’m angry at what happened to them. I’m angry at the people who sold them those drugs,” Casey told ABC10 at a community vigil for her sister Tuesday.
Keely Pereira was visiting her hometown from Mexico, where she was working as a boat captain.
“When she was on the boat, it was like the boat was built around her,” her father, Donnie Pereira, said.
How the group of friends came into possession of the tainted drug is under investigation.
The CDC said drug dealers often cut cocaine and other drugs with powdered fentanyl to make them cheaper and more powerful. But it also makes them more dangerous.
Now, Keely’s family is spreading the word about the dangers of fentanyl.
They’re also passing out a life-saving medication, Naloxone, also known referred to as Narcan.
The city of Folsom is looking for a new way to develop a sustainable and reliable water future for its community.The Folsom Water Vision project is a long-term plan to manage water resources for the next 50 years. Marcus Yasutake, the lead for the project, said they will do this by identifying different water supply alternatives to create a portfolio with them.“Knowing that the city is planning for how we will deliver water to them in times of infrastructure failure or drought,” Yasutake said.Currently, all of the city’s drinking water supply comes from Folsom Lake. Implementing this project Yasutake believes is a way to meet future demand. As part of the process to develop this plan, they are holding six community meetings to understand the community’s needs and concerns. Once they gather the feedback, city staff will develop a water supply portfolio and an implementation plan to present to the city council. The next meeting will be on April 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Folsom Police Department Training Room on 46 Natoma St. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
The city of Folsom is looking for a new way to develop a sustainable and reliable water future for its community.
The Folsom Water Vision project is a long-term plan to manage water resources for the next 50 years. Marcus Yasutake, the lead for the project, said they will do this by identifying different water supply alternatives to create a portfolio with them.
“Knowing that the city is planning for how we will deliver water to them in times of infrastructure failure or drought,” Yasutake said.
Currently, all of the city’s drinking water supply comes from Folsom Lake.
Implementing this project Yasutake believes is a way to meet future demand.
As part of the process to develop this plan, they are holding six community meetings to understand the community’s needs and concerns.
Once they gather the feedback, city staff will develop a water supply portfolio and an implementation plan to present to the city council.
The next meeting will be on April 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Folsom Police Department Training Room on 46 Natoma St.
(FOX40.COM) — Efforts to conserve water continue in Sacramento with new watering rules that will go into effect on March 1. •Video Above: California uses innovation to improve groundwater storage
Residents and businesses in the city of Sacramento are required to follow a seasonal schedule when watering areas using sprinklers, per city ordinance:
Spring and summer schedule:
•Customers with even-numbered addresses can water on Wednesday and Sunday. •Customers with odd-numbered addresses can water on Tuesday and Saturday. Watering must be done before 10 a.m. and/or after 7 p.m. •Watering is not allowed 48 hours after one-eighths inch of rain.
The spring and summer water scheduling is effective from from March 1 to Oct. 31.
Fall and winter schedule:
•Watering is allowed one day per week, on Saturday or Sunday, at any time of day. •No weekday watering is permitted.
The fall and winter water schedule is effective from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28, 2025.
Exemptions:
There are several exemptions to the city’s watering schedule:
•Drip irrigation watering with a hose and spray nozzle. •Smart controllers that have been validated by city staff. •Potted plants. •Edible gardens. •New landscaping, up to 30 days after installation. •When there are two or more consecutive days above 100 degrees.
To put it briefly, $73 billion is the estimate for the budget deficit from the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
CALIFORNIA, USA — Expectations for California’s budget deficit have gone up and down over the past few months, with some calculations putting it at a historic level… but California’s Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) says it might be worse than that.
In December, the LAO said California would likely need to solve a budget problem of $68 billion. It came as a result of severe and unprecedented revenue drops in 2022-23. Officials said tax receipts were lower than expected and victims of flooding after back-to-back winter storms were given until October to file their taxes.
However, that number for the deficit has been up for debate. In January, the number from LAO was dropped to $58 billion under the Newsom administration’s revenue forecast at the time, but the governor’s office has put it around $38 billion.
Under the latest update from LAO, the deficit is up to $73 billion — a $15 billion increase from their last projection.
That being said, the Department of Finance said there could still be some other factors impacting those numbers.
“From now through April, more than $51 billion in income and corporate tax receipts are forecast to come in,” said H.D. Palmer, deputy director for the Department of Finance. “No one can say today with certainty how those numbers may change the budget estimate of a $38 billion shortfall. A responsible step would be for the Legislature to act now on the early action budget measures needed for $8 billion in solutions to help close this gap.”
If things go as projected, the analyst’s office said solutions could include revenue increases and spending reduction, from both one-time and ongoing sources, but other tools like reserves and cost shifts could play a role too.
Some of the possible reductions identified by the LAO could impact programs in areas like housing and homelessness, environment, transportation, education and more over three years.
Senate Budget Committee Vice Chair Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) referred to the state’s deficit as fiscal irresponsibility.
“Democratic legislators and the governor’s continued fiscal irresponsibility is troubling, as evidenced by their unchecked spending and the alarming growth of the state’s budget problem,” said Niello. “Californians deserve better than the reckless approach we’ve seen in recent years. It’s time for a course correction and a renewed commitment to responsible budgeting that puts the needs of our residents first.”
A woman in her 70s was taken to the hospital following a fire at a duplex in Modesto.The Modesto Fire Department responded to a duplex in the 2000 block of Celeste Drive on Tuesday for the report of smoke coming from a residence. When crews arrived they upgraded the call to a working structure fire.Officials said firefighters found a woman inside the duplex and rescued her within minutes.One side of the duplex sustained serious damage, while the other half had only minor damage, according to the fire department.Officials have not shared how seriously the woman is injured or the cause of the fire.KCRA 3 has a crew on scene and will continue to update this story with more information.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
MODESTO, Calif. —
A woman in her 70s was taken to the hospital following a fire at a duplex in Modesto.
The Modesto Fire Department responded to a duplex in the 2000 block of Celeste Drive on Tuesday for the report of smoke coming from a residence. When crews arrived they upgraded the call to a working structure fire.
Officials said firefighters found a woman inside the duplex and rescued her within minutes.
One side of the duplex sustained serious damage, while the other half had only minor damage, according to the fire department.
Officials have not shared how seriously the woman is injured or the cause of the fire.
KCRA 3 has a crew on scene and will continue to update this story with more information.
A chain message from 2020 claiming Facebook is banning a Christian prayer has resurfaced on the site — and it’s still not true.
VERIFY viewer “RL” asked in an email, “Did [Facebook founder] Mark Zuckerberg say that posting the Lord’s Prayer went against policy?”
RL’s question stems from chain Facebook posts asking others to share the Lord’s Prayer, which is a popular Christian prayer, to their timelines to protest an alleged Facebook ban. It’s one version of a series of similar chain posts that have spread over the years alleging that Facebook banned Christian content.
THE QUESTION
Is Facebook banning posts containing the Lord’s Prayer?
Archive search of Facebook posts containing the Lord’s Prayer
THE ANSWER
No, Facebook is not banning posts containing the Lord’s Prayer. Posts containing the Christian prayer are regularly shared thousands of times without being removed from the site.
WHAT WE FOUND
“Posting the Lord’s Prayer does not violate our policies,” said Ayobami Olugbemiga, a spokesperson for Meta, Facebook’s parent company.
The only mention of religion or Christianity in Facebook’s Community Standards is in its section forbidding hate speech, in which hate speech against a religious affiliation is banned from the site.
A search for the Lord’s Prayer on Facebook shows content related to the topic has existed on the site for years. Since Jan. 1, 2022, there have been several posts with thousands of likes that include the Lord’s Prayer, posted by both pages and individuals.
As for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, he has never made a public statement stating Facebook intends to ban the prayer, or Christian messaging in general, from its platform.
SOURCE OF MISINFORMATION
This claim, and similar claims about Facebook banning Christian content, have circulated for years.
In 2020, the Lord’s Prayer claim spread like wildfire across Facebook. Fact-checkers who investigated the claim at that time found no evidence that Facebook was banning the prayer and spoke to Facebook to confirm it was not against the social media’s content policies.
While not specifically about the Lord’s Prayer, claims that Facebook is banning Christian content can be traced at least to 2016, when an article making the claim went viral. That article, which has since been deleted and is not archived, was posted by Associated Media Coverage — a website known by multiple fact–checking organizations and the Knight Foundation as one that posted fabricated stories. While the original article no longer exists, multiple articles from 2016 referencing Associated Media Coverage as the source still exist today.
Christian content that adheres to Facebook’s guidelines has been shared on the site uninterrupted since 2016, proving the claim to not be true.
(FOX40.COM) — One of California’s most iconic natural features will be closed for much of 2024 as the state works to repair trail and environmental impacts caused by constant use of the area, according to California State Parks.
All of the main trails to McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park will be closed on April 1 through the summer and possibly into the fall, according to state parks.
Plans are in place to do a repair and improvements worth $835,000 on Falls Loop Trail and Burney Creek Trail due to “high visitation and substantial use of these sensitive areas for foot access to the pool.”
Although the namesake feature of the park will not have any open access points, other areas of the park will remain open.
The Rim, PSEA, Headwaters and Pioneer Cemetery trails will remain open. Along with the Rim and Pioneer campgrounds, Burney Falls General Store, Marina, Visitor Center and day-use areas.
Those planning to travel to the park should also know that Caltrans is working on a large rehabilitation project along Highway 89, which can cause traffic, delays and intermittent closures near the entrance.
A Sacramento County family is grieving and waiting for answers after their father was killed in a crash earlier this month. Jon DeWitt, Jr, 59, was one of two people killed in the three-vehicle crash on Feb. 4. The crash happened on Elkhorn Boulevard near Andrea Boulevard in North Highlands around 3:30 p.m.DeWitt had been on his way home, driving his wife back from a date at the movies before he was killed, his daughter said. “He still had a lot of life to live and then, just in a second, it was gone,” Desiree Good said Monday. “They were even on a date the day that it happened.”DeWitt’s daughter described her father Monday as hardworking, a provider, and the kind of dad who always showed up.”To me, he was perfect,” Good said.Following the crash, a spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol said preliminary investigation indicated that a Honda driver was traveling eastbound on Elkhorn Boulevard when he made an unsafe lane change for an unknown reason, hitting another eastbound driver of a Nissan. Their two vehicles, officials said, then crossed the median into westbound traffic, hitting DeWitt and his wife, who were in a Ford vehicle. DeWitt died and his wife was badly hurt.The 33-year-old man in the Honda, Cole Schooley, also died in the crash. The Nissan driver suffered minor injuries. Good said her mother is still recovering from her injuries. She shared her mother had prior health challenges and had not worked for several years. DeWitt provided for them both, she said. “She has me and my sister. We’re taking care of her. We’re getting her to her appointments. We’re handling all the paperwork and planning, so she can focus on healing,” she said.The family is raising money through a GoFundMe to help provide for Good’s mother’s care and for the unexpected funeral costs.“She lost her person – You can’t fix that for them,” Good said. “When things like this happen, you don’t get to say goodbye. I don’t know if that makes it better or worse.”Services are scheduled for Tuesday.The cause of the crash remains under investigation. KCRA 3 has reached out to CHP for an update. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.
NORTH HIGHLANDS, Calif. —
A Sacramento County family is grieving and waiting for answers after their father was killed in a crash earlier this month.
Jon DeWitt, Jr, 59, was one of two people killed in the three-vehicle crash on Feb. 4. The crash happened on Elkhorn Boulevard near Andrea Boulevard in North Highlands around 3:30 p.m.
DeWitt had been on his way home, driving his wife back from a date at the movies before he was killed, his daughter said.
“He still had a lot of life to live and then, just in a second, it was gone,” Desiree Good said Monday. “They were even on a date the day that it happened.”
DeWitt’s daughter described her father Monday as hardworking, a provider, and the kind of dad who always showed up.
“To me, he was perfect,” Good said.
Following the crash, a spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol said preliminary investigation indicated that a Honda driver was traveling eastbound on Elkhorn Boulevard when he made an unsafe lane change for an unknown reason, hitting another eastbound driver of a Nissan.
Their two vehicles, officials said, then crossed the median into westbound traffic, hitting DeWitt and his wife, who were in a Ford vehicle. DeWitt died and his wife was badly hurt.
The 33-year-old man in the Honda, Cole Schooley, also died in the crash. The Nissan driver suffered minor injuries.
Good said her mother is still recovering from her injuries. She shared her mother had prior health challenges and had not worked for several years. DeWitt provided for them both, she said.
“She has me and my sister. We’re taking care of her. We’re getting her to her appointments. We’re handling all the paperwork and planning, so she can focus on healing,” she said.
“She lost her person – You can’t fix that for them,” Good said. “When things like this happen, you don’t get to say goodbye. I don’t know if that makes it better or worse.”
Services are scheduled for Tuesday.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. KCRA 3 has reached out to CHP for an update.
A 2% chance of tornado development exists in the Sacramento Valley on Tuesday.
SACRAMENTO, Calif —
The Sacramento and northern San Joaquin Valley have been relatively calm in terms to the expected thunderstorm activity on Monday, but the risk remains through the evening hours.
Widespread showers and limited sunshine since the morning hours have helped to stymie thunderstorm development apart from a few areas, including a storm that produced pea-size hail near Willows.
Monday still has all the ingredients to be an impactful severe weather day.
The Storm Prediction Center issued a level 2 out of 5 “slight” risk for severe weather for Monday in the Southern Sacramento and northern San Joaquin Valley.
Slight risk days in California are rare. There aren’t a lot of them in the area, but they do happen and Monday is one of those days.
Since 1970, Sacramento County has had 15 confirmed tornadoes and San Joaquin County has had 17. Tuolumne County had its first confirmed tornado last March near Tuttletown.
Thunderstorms will also be possible on Tuesday but they won’t have the severe potential that the storms on Monday have. Regardless, a 2% chance of tornado development exists in the Sacramento Valley on Tuesday.
While the valley and foothills are dealing with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms, the Sierra will continue to pickup snowfall. Another 1-2 feet of snow is expected above 5,500 feet through Wednesday before the region gets a chance to dry out the second half of the work week.
The International Olympic Committee will not change its rules on age limits to let boxing great Manny Pacquiao compete at the Paris Games.Pacquiao, who retired in 2021, wanted to box at age 45 in the Olympic tournament in Paris, where medal bouts will be held in the Roland Garros tennis complex.The IOC said Sunday it wrote to Olympic officials in the Philippines explaining the age limit for boxers of 40 will be upheld. The IOC now oversees Olympic boxing after de-recognizing the International Boxing Association governing body.Video above: The Manny Pacquiao obsessionThe age limit for Olympic boxing was raised to 40 from 34 in 2013 — a move that would have let Pacquiao try to compete at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He chose not to at the time when he was also elected to be a senator in his home country. It is unclear if Pacquiao would have tried to earn a place at the Paris Olympics in one of two qualification tournaments that open later this month in Italy and in May in Thailand. The Philippines Olympic body had talked of trying to get a so-called “universality” entry to the Paris Summer Games. These are effectively free passes to events given to countries that have few athletes at the Olympics and typically struggle to qualify on merit.However, the IOC explained Sunday that the Philippines had been too successful to benefit from the scheme.”Universality places are not allocated to (teams) with an average of more than eight athletes in individual sports/disciplines at the last two editions of the Olympic Games,” the IOC said. “This is the case for the Philippine Olympic Committee.”Pacquiao ended his storied career in September 2021 at age 42 after 72 fights, winning 12 world titles at a record eight different weight divisions.
LAUSANNE, Switzerland —
The International Olympic Committee will not change its rules on age limits to let boxing great Manny Pacquiao compete at the Paris Games.
Pacquiao, who retired in 2021, wanted to box at age 45 in the Olympic tournament in Paris, where medal bouts will be held in the Roland Garros tennis complex.
The IOC said Sunday it wrote to Olympic officials in the Philippines explaining the age limit for boxers of 40 will be upheld. The IOC now oversees Olympic boxing after de-recognizing the International Boxing Association governing body.
Video above: The Manny Pacquiao obsession
The age limit for Olympic boxing was raised to 40 from 34 in 2013 — a move that would have let Pacquiao try to compete at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He chose not to at the time when he was also elected to be a senator in his home country.
It is unclear if Pacquiao would have tried to earn a place at the Paris Olympics in one of two qualification tournaments that open later this month in Italy and in May in Thailand.
The Philippines Olympic body had talked of trying to get a so-called “universality” entry to the Paris Summer Games. These are effectively free passes to events given to countries that have few athletes at the Olympics and typically struggle to qualify on merit.
However, the IOC explained Sunday that the Philippines had been too successful to benefit from the scheme.
“Universality places are not allocated to (teams) with an average of more than eight athletes in individual sports/disciplines at the last two editions of the Olympic Games,” the IOC said. “This is the case for the Philippine Olympic Committee.”
(FOX40.COM) — After a lengthy negotiation process and strikes, the California Faculty Association ratified a vote that adds pay increases and other benefits for California State University instructors to their employment contracts. •Video Above: Faculty begins weeklong strike at Sacramento State, other CSU campuses
“The California State University (CSU) is pleased with the results of the California Faculty Association’s (CFA) ratification vote,” the CSU chancellor’s office said in a statement on Monday.
The tentative agreement provides a 10 percent general salary increase to all faculty by July. It also includes a raise in salary minimums for the lowest-paid faculty that will result in increases—some as high as 21 percent—for many of them, according to the chancellor’s office.
It also addresses issues that the CFA identified as “extremely important to its members, such as increased paid family leave from six to 10 weeks and a process for making gender-inclusive restrooms and lactation spaces more easily accessible.”
“We look forward to the CSU Board of Trustees Committee on collective bargaining ratification of the agreement in March and to continue working in partnership with the CFA and its members to carry out our mission in service to our students and the university,” the CSU chancellor’s office said.
The CFA went on strike in 2023 and again in January 2024. The most recent strike (January 2024) was planned for the first week of the spring semester. After one day, CSU agreed to negotiate.
As of mid-February, the Sacramento area has now received more than a foot of rain in the current water season.
The rain and snowfall from this winter’s storms have been swelling rivers, adding to the Sierra Nevada snowpack and hopefully replenishing reservoirs.
Water experts say if we don’t change the way we store and use the water we will be in trouble in the future, likely facing higher water bills and laws that seriously restrict water use.
There could be another way, however, if we look beneath our feet.
When massive storms bring lots of water to California, bodies of water like Folsom Lake have to release water to make room for more water.
All that water that is released heads out to sea unused. A lot of storm runoff also goes unused.
But what if there was a way to capture a good chunk of that unused water and store it for a drought that we know is possible?
That is exactly what state officials are trying to do by putting excess water underground.
For decades hydrogeologist Tim Godwin has been studying groundwater.
“This is fundamentally changing the way we look at how we manage water in the state,” Godwin said.
He says the state’s Dept. of Water Resources is now looking at the whole water picture.
“Notice I am not distinguishing groundwater from surface water… it is one resource, and they are connected, and now we are starting to manage the basins, the bottom of our system,” he said.
So how much water can be stored underground?
Imagine a standard bucket. That bucket can represent all the water in California’s lakes and rivers in one year, about 40 to 50 million acre-feet of water.
Four standard garbage bins —the ones that you set out on the curb every week— represent the capacity of how much water can be stored underground.
Even though the aquifers are not empty, they can still take two to four times the amount of water California gets in a normal year.
Scientists have found two main ways to get all of that water underground.
“Roseville was key in sort of pioneering the process really from the start,” Sean Bigley with Environmental Utilities of Roseville said.
The massive pumps can withdraw groundwater, but when we aren’t in a drought, these pumps can put large amounts of treated water back into the ground.
“This past year we were able to recharge about 2000-acre feet of water. That is 6-thousand households worth of water (in an entire year),” Bigley said.
It’s hard to visualize where all the water goes underground.
They send water hundreds of feet down, saturating layers of rock, dirt, sand and silt, replenishing the aquifers that have been slowly shrinking over decades of use.
The other way to get a lot of water underground fast is with groundwater basins. These big areas of land can be flooded with storm runoff, water we couldn’t otherwise capture.
Dr. Graham Fogg, professor emeritus of hydrogeology at UC Davis, said, “If you look across this landscape, I mean it looks all the same, so people think, ‘Oh, the aquifer is uniform.’ Well, it’s not uniform.”
“It’s kind of like a complex architecture underground. Where water moves quickly and where we can recharge relatively rapidly is sand and gravel,” Dr. Fogg added.
To find where the best, most porous soil is, the DWR uses a high-tech electromagnetic device carried high above the ground by a helicopter traveling up and down the state.
Think of it like a giant X-ray or MRI that looks deep into the ground, around 1,000 feet, to map where the most porous areas are located.
Whether it is with big basins or reversible pumps, these tools will become more important as our climate is changing and storms have the potential to get stronger.
“Our surface water storage can fill quickly as we saw last year, (but) then what?” Godwin said. “This is the ‘then what?’”
This way of thinking about groundwater storage is so different from what was applied in previous decades. It takes years to get the different water agencies and thousands of landowners on board.
However, cities like Roseville, as well as the state’s water administrators and countless owners, are catching on and making those changes to save California’s water future.
This eclipse will take a different and more populated route, entering over Mexico’s Pacific coast, dashing up through Texas and Oklahoma, and crisscrossing the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England, before exiting over eastern Canada into the Atlantic.
An estimated 44 million people live inside the 115-mile-wide (185-kilometer-wide) path of totality stretching from Mazatlán, Mexico to Newfoundland; about 32 million of them are in the U.S., guaranteeing jammed roads for the must-see celestial sensation.
The eclipse will allow many to share in the “wonder of the universe without going very far,” said NASA’s eclipse program manager Kelly Korreck.
The moon will line up perfectly between the Earth and the sun, blotting out the sunlight. It will take just a couple hours for the moon’s shadow to slice a diagonal line from the southwest to the northeast across North America, briefly plunging communities along the track into darkness.
Fifteen U.S. states will get a piece of the action, albeit two of them — Tennessee and Michigan — just barely.
Among the cities smack dab in the action: Dallas; Little Rock, Arkansas; Indianapolis, Cleveland, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; and Montreal — making for the continent’s biggest eclipse crowd.
Don’t fret if you don’t have front-row seats. Practically everyone on the continent can catch at least a partial eclipse. The farther from the path of totality, the smaller the moon’s bite will be out of the sun. In Seattle and Portland, Oregon, about as far away as you can get in the continental U.S., one-third of the sun will be swallowed.
WHY IS TOTALITY LONGER?
By a cosmic stroke of luck, the moon will make the month’s closest approach to Earth the day before the total solar eclipse. That puts the moon just 223,000 miles (360,000 kilometers) away on eclipse day.
The moon will appear slightly bigger in the sky thanks to that proximity, resulting in an especially long period of sun-blocked darkness.
What’s more, the Earth and moon will be 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) from the sun that day, the average distance.
When a closer moon pairs up with a more distant sun, totality can last as long as an astounding 7 1/2 minutes. The last time the world saw more than seven minutes of totality was in 1973 over Africa. That won’t happen again until 2150 over the Pacific.
HOW DO I SAFELY WATCH THE ECLIPSE?
Sunglasses won’t cut it. Special eclipse glasses are crucial for safely observing the sun as the moon marches across the late morning and afternoon sky, covering more and more and then less and less of our star.
During totality when the sun is completely shrouded, it’s fine to remove your glasses and look with your naked eyes. But before and after, certified eclipse glasses are essential to avoid eye damage. Just make sure they’re not scratched or torn.
Cameras, binoculars and telescopes must be outfitted with special solar filters for safe viewing. Bottom line: Never look at an exposed sun without proper protection any day of the year.
WHERE ARE SOME ECLIPSE WATCH PARTIES?
Towns up and down the path of totality are throwing star parties. Festivals, races, yoga retreats, drum circles and more will unfold at museums, fairgrounds, parks, stadiums, wineries, breweries and even one of Ohio’s oldest drive-in movie theaters and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Besides looking up, you can attend a “space prom” in Texas Hill Country, get married at eclipse-themed ceremonies in Tiffin, Ohio, and Russellville, Arkansas, or brush up on moonwalking history at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio — Neil Armstrong’s hometown.
As the eclipse unfolds, NASA will launch small rockets with science instruments into the upper atmosphere from Virginia and chase totality’s shadow from high-altitude planes. Satellites and the International Space Station crew will attempt to capture the show from space.
WHEN IS THE NEXT TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE?
Full solar eclipses occur every year or two or three, often in the middle of nowhere like the South Pacific or Antarctic. The next total solar eclipse, in 2026, will grace the northern fringes of Greenland, Iceland and Spain.
North America won’t experience totality again until 2033, with Alaska getting sole dibs. Then that’s it until 2044, when totality will be confined to Western Canada, Montana and North Dakota.
There won’t be another U.S. eclipse, spanning coast to coast, until 2045. That one will stretch from Northern California all the way to Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Aside from Carbondale, Illinois, in the crosshairs of both the 2017 and 2024 eclipses, it usually takes 400 years to 1,000 years before totality returns to the same spot, according to NASA’s Korreck.
Astronomers have discovered what may be the brightest object in the universe, a quasar with a black hole at its heart growing so fast that it swallows the equivalent of a sun a day.The record-breaking quasar shines 500 trillion times brighter than our sun. The black hole powering this distant quasar is more than 17 billion times more immense than our sun, an Australian-led team reported Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy. While the quasar resembles a mere dot in images, scientists envision a ferocious place.The rotating disk around the quasar’s black hole — the luminous swirling gas and other matter from gobbled-up stars — is like a cosmic hurricane.”This quasar is the most violent place that we know in the universe,” lead author Christian Wolf of Australian National University said in an email.The European Southern Observatory spotted the object, J0529-4351, during a 1980 sky survey, but it was thought to be a star. It was not identified as a quasar — the extremely active and luminous core of a galaxy — until last year. Observations by telescopes in Australia and Chile’s Atacama Desert clinched it.”The exciting thing about this quasar is that it was hiding in plain sight and was misclassified as a star previously,” Yale University’s Priyamvada Natarajan, who was not involved in the study, said in an email. These later observations and computer modeling have determined that the quasar is gobbling up the equivalent of 370 suns a year — roughly one a day. Further analysis shows the mass of the black hole to be 17 to 19 billion times that of our sun, according to the team. More observations are needed to understand its growth rate.The quasar is 12 billion light-years away and has been around since the early days of the universe. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles. ___The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. —
Astronomers have discovered what may be the brightest object in the universe, a quasar with a black hole at its heart growing so fast that it swallows the equivalent of a sun a day.
The record-breaking quasar shines 500 trillion times brighter than our sun. The black hole powering this distant quasar is more than 17 billion times more immense than our sun, an Australian-led team reported Monday in the journal Nature Astronomy.
While the quasar resembles a mere dot in images, scientists envision a ferocious place.
The rotating disk around the quasar’s black hole — the luminous swirling gas and other matter from gobbled-up stars — is like a cosmic hurricane.
“This quasar is the most violent place that we know in the universe,” lead author Christian Wolf of Australian National University said in an email.
The European Southern Observatory spotted the object, J0529-4351, during a 1980 sky survey, but it was thought to be a star. It was not identified as a quasar — the extremely active and luminous core of a galaxy — until last year. Observations by telescopes in Australia and Chile’s Atacama Desert clinched it.
“The exciting thing about this quasar is that it was hiding in plain sight and was misclassified as a star previously,” Yale University’s Priyamvada Natarajan, who was not involved in the study, said in an email.
These later observations and computer modeling have determined that the quasar is gobbling up the equivalent of 370 suns a year — roughly one a day. Further analysis shows the mass of the black hole to be 17 to 19 billion times that of our sun, according to the team. More observations are needed to understand its growth rate.
The quasar is 12 billion light-years away and has been around since the early days of the universe. A light-year is 5.8 trillion miles.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Entertainment icon Jennifer Lopez will be bringing her “This Is Me…Now” tour to Sacramento this summer. The tour is named after her album of the same name and the accompanying Amazon Original short film, “This Is Me Now: A Love Story” which were both released on Feb. 16. Lopez has not toured in five years but will be hitting the road in a major way, visiting more than 30 cities between June 26 and Aug. 31. The Sacramento stop will be on July 17 at the Golden 1 Center. Presale tickets will be available on Feb. 20 on select platforms, with general ticket sales starting on Feb. 22.
Entertainment icon Jennifer Lopez will be bringing her “This Is Me…Now” tour to Sacramento this summer.
The tour is named after her album of the same name and the accompanying Amazon Original short film, “This Is Me Now: A Love Story” which were both released on Feb. 16.
Lopez has not toured in five years but will be hitting the road in a major way, visiting more than 30 cities between June 26 and Aug. 31.
The Sacramento stop will be on July 17 at the Golden 1 Center.
Presale tickets will be available on Feb. 20 on select platforms, with general ticket sales starting on Feb. 22.
The top-two vote-getters in March advance to the November general election, resulting in some gamesmanship, according to political analyst Steve Swatt.
SACRAMENTO, Calif — The race for one of California’s U.S. Senate seats is heating up ahead of the March 5th primary election.
The top four candidates will meet again in a televised debate Tuesday, exactly two weeks before voters go to the polls.
The top two vote getters in March advance to the November General Election, regardless of party, a voting method that has resulted in some gamesmanship, according to political analyst Steve Swatt.
“A change in tactics, and it’s really kind of topsy-turvy,” Swatt said.
In this so-called jungle primary, Democratic U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff leads the polls, followed by Republican former baseball star Steve Garvey. Schiff’s colleagues in the U.S. House, Democratic Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee trail behind.
Swatt says Schiff’s campaign wants to avoid a run-off against a fellow Democrat, so it’s running ads and boosting the Republican challenger’s profile, thinking he’d be easier to beat in November.
“Calling him a Trump voter and very conservative, in the hopes that Republicans watching those ads will galvanize behind Garvey and push Garvey to the number two spot,” Swatt said.
Meanwhile, Porter’s campaign is running ads boosting Republican Eric Early, in hopes of knocking Garvey out of the number two spot.
“Some very interesting shenanigans going on here,” Swatt said.
Basically, it comes down to the fact that Katie Porter right now is trying desperately to become at least second to make that run-off. And Adam Schiff does not want another Democrat in that run-off, Swatt said.
This is the seat that was held by Dianne Feinstein for more than thirty years, until her death last September.
Governor Newsom appointed Laphonza Butler to fill the seat; she announced in December that she would not run in the election.
(FOX40.COM) — While severe weather was forecasted for Monday in the Sacramento region, plenty of rain and windy conditions came down on the area on Sunday night and has left over 4,000 SMUD customers without power, per the utility’s outage map.
According to SMUD, over 4,000 customers are without power in Sacramento as of 10:15 p.m. on Sunday.
Although the day began dry with some windy conditions, but once the sun went down, the intensity of the rain went up.
An image of SMUD’s outage map at 10:21 p.m. on Sunday night. (Image Credit: SMUD Outage Map)
Video shared to social media by the FOX40 News Team shows rain pouring down in East and South Sacramento on Sunday night.
Craig Shoemaker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS) said this current storm system is “very complex” and has “numerous weather elements that could cause hazardous conditions across Northern California.”
Those hazardous conditions include flooding, power outages, and maybe even some tornadoes.
According to NWS, windy conditions are expected to last through Tuesday. The agency is also encouraging those caught in the rain to monitor the weather before heading outside while the storm system moves through the area.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NBA wanted more competition. It got more points instead — more than ever before.
And once again, the All-Star Game was all offense.
All-Star MVP Damian Lillard of the Milwaukee Bucks scored 39 points and the Eastern Conference beat the Western Conference 211-186 on Sunday night, with the winners putting up the most points in the game’s 73-year history. The previous mark: 196 by the West in 2016.
“We had fun,” East captain Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks said.
It was a flurry of records: The total points of 397 smashed the record of 374 set in 2017, while the East made 42 3-pointers to break the mark of 35 set by Team LeBron in 2019. The sides combined for 193 points in the first half to break the any-half record of 191 set last year, and the East tied an any-half record by scoring 104 by intermission.
Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics had 36 and Tyrese Haliburton from the hometown Indiana Pacers finished with 32 for the East, while Antetokounmpo had 23 and Jayson Tatum finished with 20.
“To be able to have this kind of accomplishment, it’s special,” Lillard said.
Perhaps unnoticed: Karl-Anthony Towns of the Minnesota Timberwolves scored 50 points for the West in just 28 minutes. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder scored 31 points for the West.
“The shot-making from the East was incredible,” West forward Kevin Durant said. “Hard to play defense when somebody’s shooting 30-, 40-footers over you.”
The West scored a ton of points, too: At 186, it had the fourth-most by any team in All-Star history. And obviously, the most ever in a loss.
Among the other records:
— The East tried 97 3-pointers; the previous record was 90 by Team LeBron in 2019.
— The teams combined for 66 3s made and 168 3s attempted (previous records were 62 and 167 in 2019).
— The teams combined for 163 field goals made and 289 attempted (previous records were 162 in 2017 and 286 in 2016).
“Obviously, it wasn’t high intensity, at all,” Haliburton said.
Lillard made some history, too. He defended his 3-point shootout title on Saturday night — then won MVP on Sunday night. The only other player to win a Saturday event and All-Star MVP in the same weekend was Michael Jordan in 1988, when he won the dunk contest as well as the MVP trophy.
“Dame put on a show,” Tatum said, “and I was happy for him.”
The highlights were from everywhere. Lillard pulled up from halfcourt in the third quarter — swish. Luka Doncic tried a shot from about 70 feet late in the first half; it hit near the top of the backboard. Towns even threw an alley-oop to Stephen Curry; the Warriors star is much more of a shooter than a dunker, so he simply laid it in instead.
The only drama in the fourth was about the record — and really, that wasn’t in doubt. The East had 160 points through three quarters, only needing 37 more to set the team All-Star record.
Brown’s 3-pointer with 1:54 left broke the mark, giving the East 197. Haliburton made the shot that sent a scoreboard to the 200-point mark for the first time in any sort of official NBA history, connecting from deep with 1:27 left.
Lillard said the East wanted the record.
“Everybody was asking what the record was,” Lillard said. “We found out and went after it.”
And Lillard ended it in style — a 44-footer to close the scoring. He made 11 3-pointers on the night, with the official distance of those recorded at 347 feet. A typical NBA 3-pointer is 24 or 25 feet; Lillard averaged 31 1/2 feet on his 3s Sunday night.
Durant said he was watching Lillard on the West bench while sitting with the Los Angeles Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard. “We were in awe,” Durant said.
Defense was optional, sometimes accidental. There were 14 steals, most of those coming off wayward passes. And there were even three blocked shots.
Otherwise, it was shooting practice. And the tone was set quickly — Haliburton had five 3-pointers in a wild span of just 1:32 in the first quarter, helping the East take a 53-47 lead after the opening 12 minutes.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and other league executives were seeking a more competitive All-Star Game after last season’s 184-175 matchup was widely panned — and television ratings plummeted.
Even Hall of Famer Larry Bird, honored Sunday at the NBA Legends Brunch, said was hoping the message from the league resonated and players took the All-Star Game a little more seriously.
“I know what this league’s all about and I’m very proud of it,” Bird said. “I’m proud of today’s players. I like the game they play. … I think it’s very important when you have the best players in the world together, you’ve got to compete and you’ve got to play hard and you’ve got to show the fans how good they really are.”
They might not have competed the way Bird wanted — but they showed the fans plenty about how good they are.
It had a big-game, Finals-type atmosphere — but obviously, nothing near a playoff feel. Donovan Mitchell threw a 50-foot inbounds pass underhand, Bam Adebayo inbounded a ball off Nikola Jokic’s backside before dribbling downcourt and making a 3, and Devin Booker went through pregame with a hat on backwards.
Fun was had, and LeBron James — in his 20th All-Star Game, extending his record — said there was one big takeaway.
“The good thing that came out of tonight is none of the players were injured,” James said. “Everybody came out unscathed.”
Except the scoreboard, perhaps.
UP NEXT
The 74th NBA All-Star Game is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2025, at Chase Center in San Francisco, the home of the Golden State Warriors. It’ll be the first time for the game in the Bay Area since 2000.
The strongest winds are expected Sunday evening and early Monday afternoon.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — 20 to 30 mph winds with gusts up to 45 mph are expected as a storm hits Northern California.
According to the National Weather Service, the wind advisory is in effect from Sunday afternoon to 4 a.m. Tuesday.
The advisory impacts the Sacramento Valley, Carquinez Strait and Delta, Northern San Joaquin Valley, Mountains Southwestern Shasta County to Western Colusa County, Northeast Foothills/Sacramento Valley, Motherlode, Western Plumas County/Lassen Park and West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada.
The strongest winds are expected Sunday evening and early Monday afternoon.
California Storm Watch
An active start to 2024 continues Sunday as a third storm in seven days strikes Northern California.
The second storm in the sequence pushed through Northern California on Saturday and generally dropped 0.3-0.5” in the Sacramento area, but a strong line of rain pushed through areas like Citrus Heights, Roseville, and Rocklin and totals were closer to an inch.
Further south in San Joaquin County, totals were much lighter with only 0.1-0.2” falling.
Sierra snow totals ranged from 4-10″. The Central Sierra Snow Lab received 7.5” and the station is now at 85% average snowfall to date.
Sunday will be on the warmer side with highs in the mid to upper 60s in the valley and breezy winds as the storm spins closer to the coast.
Sunday night through Monday morning will be marked by periods of heavy rain and snow. Rain is expected to begin in the Sacramento area around 4 p.m., continuing until around sunrise Monday.
The heaviest rain is expected around 3 a.m. in the valley but is expected to lighten up by the Monday morning commute.
A Flood Watch goes into effect across the valley on Sunday afternoon and continues until Wednesday morning. Creeks and streams will be running high, as will the major rivers.
Weather models are picking up on the possibility of some entrainment happening with the rainfall overnight.
A band of rain may develop and become somewhat stationary during the evening and overnight hours.
If this band sets up and does indeed become somewhat stationary, the flood risk on roadways and other urban areas increases. Rainfall totals under the band will also be inflated and could blow past the forecast.
In the Sierra, extreme impacts are expected due to snowfall rates of 2-3″ per hour creating whiteout conditions when paired with the gusty winds. Chain controls and road closures are possible through Wednesday.
Following the main band of precipitation on Sunday night through Monday morning, scattered showers will continue through Wednesday thanks to the low pressure parked off the coast.
Monday has all the ingredients to be an impactful severe weather day. The Storm Prediction Center has issued a level 2 out of 5 “slight” risk for severe weather for Monday in the Southern Sacramento and northern San Joaquin Valley.
Thunderstorm development will be dependent on how much clearing there will be in the cloud field. Clearer skies early in the day will help to destabilize the atmosphere, aiding in the formation of thunderstorms in the afternoon.
The environment will also be favorable for tornado or funnel cloud development, with a 5% chance according to the Storm Prediction Center.
Since 1970, Sacramento County has had 15 confirmed tornadoes and San Joaquin County has had 17. Tuolumne County had its first confirmed tornado last March near Tuttletown.
Rain and snow continue on Tuesday but do get lighter. Some non-severe thunderstorms are possible on Tuesday. When it’s all said and done, rainfall totals are expected to be between 0.5″ – 1.5″ in the San Joaquin Valley and 1.5″ – 3.0″ in the Sacramento Valley.
Cape Mendocino and the Coastal Range could see up to 5″ of rain while the Sierra foothills pick up more than 3″.
1-2 feet of snow are expected in the Sierra above 5,500 feet and 3 to 4 feet at the highest peaks.
A return to dry weather is expected on Thursday but more wet weather is possible by next Sunday.
Two police officers and a first responder were shot and killed early Sunday and a third officer was injured at a suburban Minneapolis home in an exchange of gunfire while responding to a call involving an armed man who had barricaded himself inside with family, including seven children. The suspect in the shooting also died, officials said.The shootings took place in a suburban neighborhood in Burnsville, Minnesota, which was ringed with police cars that kept the press and public away from the scene where the shootings took place.City officials said in a news release that it started as a report of a domestic situation. “After arriving, the situation escalated into gunfire with responders,” the statement said, adding that the officers and first responder “were killed by the gunman during the response.”The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association said negotiations with the suspect went on for four hours before a SWAT team entered the home. Seven children were inside the house, but the city said the family was able to leave the home safely.Details on how the suspect died were not immediately released.City officials identified the slain officers as Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, both 27. Adam Finseth, 40, a firefighter and paramedic, also was killed. Another police officer, Sgt. Adam Medlicott, was injured and being treated at a hospital with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries, the city said.The shooting happened in a tree-lined neighborhood with two-story homes. A police armored vehicle parked nearby had bullet damage to its windshield, but there was no confirmation on whether that was the result of the incident. The street was lined with police cars, firefighters and ambulances.Police scanner recordings on Broadcastify.com capture a rattled man saying, “I need any ambulance,” as he struggled to catch his breath. Someone later could be heard talking about three being loaded into ambulances, uttering the word “critical.””We must never take for granted the bravery and sacrifices our police officers and first responders make every day,” said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. “My heart is with their families today and the entire State of Minnesota stands with Burnsville.”Other law enforcement agencies immediately began posting messages of condolence on social media, including images of badges with blue bars through them. It is a mark of solidarity in mourning.As the bodies of the dead left a hospital, officers saluted, before they were taken in a convoy to the medical examiner’s office. Medical staff watched in scrubs.The Law Enforcement Labor Services represents rank-and-file officers and the supervisors of the Burnsville Police Department. The organization’s executive director, Jim Mortenson, said in a statement that “thoughts and prayers are with the family of the officers and first responder” who responded.The State’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a news release that it was asked to investigate the shooting. It said it would provide more information later. The statewide agency provides investigative and other services to help solve crimes, often to back up smaller law enforcement agencies that lack sufficient resources.In neighboring Goodhue County, Sheriff Marty Kelly wrote that it was closely monitoring the situation as it unfolds.”In times like these,” Kelly said, “it is essential to come together as a community and support one another through the uncertainty and grief.”Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota said in a statement that she had been in touch with the mayor, police chief and state officials to offer any federal resources needed.”Today,” she said, “serves as another solemn reminder that those who protect our communities do so at great personal risk.”Burnsville, a city of around 64,000, is located about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of downtown Minneapolis.
BURNSVILLE, Minn. —
Two police officers and a first responder were shot and killed early Sunday and a third officer was injured at a suburban Minneapolis home in an exchange of gunfire while responding to a call involving an armed man who had barricaded himself inside with family, including seven children. The suspect in the shooting also died, officials said.
The shootings took place in a suburban neighborhood in Burnsville, Minnesota, which was ringed with police cars that kept the press and public away from the scene where the shootings took place.
City officials said in a news release that it started as a report of a domestic situation. “After arriving, the situation escalated into gunfire with responders,” the statement said, adding that the officers and first responder “were killed by the gunman during the response.”
The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association said negotiations with the suspect went on for four hours before a SWAT team entered the home. Seven children were inside the house, but the city said the family was able to leave the home safely.
Details on how the suspect died were not immediately released.
City officials identified the slain officers as Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, both 27. Adam Finseth, 40, a firefighter and paramedic, also was killed. Another police officer, Sgt. Adam Medlicott, was injured and being treated at a hospital with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries, the city said.
The shooting happened in a tree-lined neighborhood with two-story homes. A police armored vehicle parked nearby had bullet damage to its windshield, but there was no confirmation on whether that was the result of the incident. The street was lined with police cars, firefighters and ambulances.
Police scanner recordings on Broadcastify.com capture a rattled man saying, “I need any ambulance,” as he struggled to catch his breath. Someone later could be heard talking about three being loaded into ambulances, uttering the word “critical.”
“We must never take for granted the bravery and sacrifices our police officers and first responders make every day,” said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. “My heart is with their families today and the entire State of Minnesota stands with Burnsville.”
Other law enforcement agencies immediately began posting messages of condolence on social media, including images of badges with blue bars through them. It is a mark of solidarity in mourning.
As the bodies of the dead left a hospital, officers saluted, before they were taken in a convoy to the medical examiner’s office. Medical staff watched in scrubs.
The Law Enforcement Labor Services represents rank-and-file officers and the supervisors of the Burnsville Police Department. The organization’s executive director, Jim Mortenson, said in a statement that “thoughts and prayers are with the family of the officers and first responder” who responded.
The State’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a news release that it was asked to investigate the shooting. It said it would provide more information later. The statewide agency provides investigative and other services to help solve crimes, often to back up smaller law enforcement agencies that lack sufficient resources.
In neighboring Goodhue County, Sheriff Marty Kelly wrote that it was closely monitoring the situation as it unfolds.
“In times like these,” Kelly said, “it is essential to come together as a community and support one another through the uncertainty and grief.”
Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota said in a statement that she had been in touch with the mayor, police chief and state officials to offer any federal resources needed.
“Today,” she said, “serves as another solemn reminder that those who protect our communities do so at great personal risk.”
Burnsville, a city of around 64,000, is located about 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of downtown Minneapolis.
