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Biden’s Medicare price negotiation push is broadly popular. But he’s not getting much credit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:35 GMT

By SEUNG MIN KIM and LINLEY SANDERS (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is trumpeting Medicare’s new powers to negotiate directly with drugmakers on the cost of prescription medications — but a poll shows that any immediate political boost that Biden gets for enacting the overwhelmingly popular policy may be limited. Three-quarters of Americans, or 76%, favor allowing the federal health care program for the elderly to negotiate prices for certain prescription drugs. That includes strong majorities of Democrats (86%) and Republicans (66%), according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About one in five Americans are neutral on the issue, while 6% outright oppose it. But the poll shows Biden’s approval rating, at 40%, is about where it’s been for the last year. Americans are split on how the Democratic president is handling the issue of prescription drug prices — 48% approve, making it...

Nearly 100 delays, 12 cancellations reported at DIA Friday after evening of severe weather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:35 GMT

The effects of an evening of severe weather that caused a temporary ground stop at Denver International Airport have lingered into Friday morning.As of 8:30 a.m., nearly 100 flights in and out of Denver are delayed, and 12 flights have been canceled as of 8:15 a.m. Friday morning, according to flight tracking site FlightAware.Southwest Airlines with 47 delays account for almost half of the 99 total delays. United Airlines, regional airline SkyWest and Frontier Airlines have six, four and two cancellations, respectively.The delays are almost evenly split between arrivals and departures. Ten of the canceled flights are arriving flights.Related ArticlesTransportation | Colorado weather: Rotating thunderstorm passes over Arapahoe County Transportation | Mike Johnston’s first Denver budget sheds light on how much micro communities, other homeless efforts will cost Transportation | Denver Mayor Mike Johnston names nominees to run airport, l...

Aurora police respond to car crash and find two gunshot victims, one of whom died

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:35 GMT

A man was killed and another injured in a shooting overnight in Aurora.Aurora police responded at 10:50 p.m. Thursday night to a report of a crash in the 13600 block of East Bates Avenue, according to an Aurora Police Department post on Twitter. Two men were in the vehicle when officers arrived, both with gunshot wounds.#APDAlert: Officers initially responded to a call about a crash in the 13600blk of E. Bates Ave about 10:50p. Once on scene, officers discovered two men inside of the vehicle, both suffering from gunshot wounds. One was transported to the hospital and the other was pronounced… pic.twitter.com/cCFC4N9xdt— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) September 15, 2023One of the men was pronounced dead at the scene; the other was taken to a hospital.Detectives are still investigating the shooting and subsequent crash.Anyone with information is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | More than a third of Lat...

Los Angeles gym owner told to remove iconic Kobe Bryant mural

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:35 GMT

The owner of a downtown Los Angeles gym says she was told by her landlord recently to remove an iconic mural dedicated to Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna.The mural outside Hardcore Fitness at 400 W. Pico Blvd. has drawn visitors from all over just to take pictures in front of the image of Kobe and Gianna depicted with angel wings and halos as they look lovingly at each other. "With profound sadness, I must share that today, I received notice from my landlord that I must remove the Kobe and LA mural from our walls," Hardcore Fitness L.A. owner Cecilia Moran texted KTLA. A mural depicting deceased NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, painted by @sloe_motions, is displayed on a building on February 13, 2020, in Los Angeles, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)Moran said the mural has "immense significance" to the community but was told she had until Sept. 30 to remove it. "We believe that this mural serves as a powerful symbol of inspiration, unity, and resi...

Rush-hour busing made easier on La Brea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:35 GMT

City and county leaders are gathering Friday morning to celebrate the opening of a project they hope will ease congestion on one of the major thoroughfares traveling through Los Angeles and West Hollywood.The construction of nearly 6 miles of priority bus lanes between Sunset Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard began on July 5. The project ultimately aims to reach all the way to Coliseum Street, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority said.The lanes will be in operation on weekdays from 7 to 9 a.m. and from 4 to 7 p.m., during which drivers can be ticketed for stopping or parking in those areas.The initial construction was completed last month, and on Friday, Mayor Karen Bass, L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, West Hollywood Mayor Sepi Shyne and other officials will gather at the intersection of La Brea and Santa Monica Boulevard to celebrate the project.That event is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m.

A Haunting In Venice is a Creepy but Cut-Rate Whodunit

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:35 GMT

For his third outing as Hercule Poirot, Kenneth Branagh, together with screenwriter Michael Green, made the shrewd decision to select one of Agatha Christie’s least read and most tepidly reviewed later novels for adaptation. Almost nobody going into A Haunting in Venice will know ahead of time whodunit. But whether they will care whodunit is another matter.Based on Dame Agatha’s 1969 Hallowe’en Party, this creepy caper brings Branagh the actor in conjunction with Branagh the director once again, plopping Poirot down in Venice. Although Christie’s book unfolds in London, few should complain about the decision to relocate to the city where Don’t Look Now, The Comfort of Strangers, and Curtis Harrington’s The Assignation—choice thrillers, all—were shot.The setting is a cavernous palazzo after World War II. Poirot, living in the kind of genteel self-exile that most of us dreamt of during the COVID lockdown, gets called out of retirement by an old friend (Tina Fey, playing it straight). ...

Q&A: Steve Levy sees bright spots and challenges for Bay Area economy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:35 GMT

Veteran economist Stephen Levy has his finger on the pulse of the Bay Area’s dynamic — and often befuddling — economy.The Bay Area has unleashed numerous boom and bust and boom cycles that have given birth to and killed off countless cutting-edge companies and Levy is keeping track of all that.This news organization spoke with the director of the Palo Alto-based Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy about the Bay Area’s restless economy.Q: What is your assessment of the Bay Area economy right now?A: 2023 is coming in a little better in the Bay Area than I had expected. But it’s still going to be a slow year in the Bay Area. Interest rates are very high and they are a problem.Q: How do things look farther down the road for the Bay Area?A: Long-term, I’m very optimistic about the future of the Bay Area economy. Things look particularly good if we can address the region’s housing and transportation challenges.Q: What are some of...

Tom Brady is Irina Shayk’s second choice after Bradley Cooper in this A-list love triangle, report says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:35 GMT

Right now, Tom Brady is single and available, and supermodel Irina Shayk is having some fun, but she’s only biding her time with the retired NFL star until she can get Bradley Cooper to commit to marriage.That’s the scenario offered up by an insider to Page Six, and it almost sounds like the plot for a bad 1960s sex comedy or a 2000s rom-com that Cooper himself could have starred in.The source spoke out about “the world’s best-looking love triangle” after the Russian-born model, 37, was photographed rushing into Brady’s New York City apartment earlier this week. Shayk’s visit came two weeks weeks after she reconnected with Cooper, 48, in Italy, where they were photographed on vacation with their 6-year-old daughter.Tom Brady (VALERIE MACON, AFP via Getty Images) When it comes to Brady versus Cooper, the source told Page Six that Shayk is still hoping to tie the knot and settle down with the “Maestro” star. She and the actor/director dat...

Google reaches $93 million settlement in tracking location case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:35 GMT

By Ramishah Maruf | CNNNew York — Google has reached a $93 million settlement with the state of California to resolve allegations that it was collecting consumers’ data without their consent, the state’s attorney general said in a statement Thursday.The California Department of Justice found that, after a multi-year investigation, the tech giant was “deceiving users by collecting, storing, and using their location data for consumer profiling and advertising purposes without informed consent.”California Attorney General Rob Bonta also said Google accepted taking future actions to prevent those practices. These actions would apply beyond California to other states, according to the proposed order.“Consistent with improvements we’ve made in recent years, we have settled this matter, which was based on outdated product policies that we changed years ago,” a Google spokesperson said.The company pointed to a 2022 blog post which introduced transparency tools, such as auto-delete controls ...

Pac-12 recruiting: Assessing the impact of realignment on Cal, Oregon State and Washington State (so far, so good)

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:31:35 GMT

The Hotline is delighted to provide Pac-12 fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on Sept. 14 …By the time Cal took the field for its season opener at North Texas, the Bears knew they had a future in a Power Five conference. The day before, the ACC had officially invited Cal, along with Stanford and SMU, to join in 2024.So there was plenty of anticipation when the Bears returned to Berkeley and began preparations for their home opener against Auburn. There were also plenty of recruits who were excited to see the Bears coming off their win over North Texas, to watch them play an SEC program and to know Cal had a future in the power conferences.While the Bears lost a late lead and fell to Auburn, the fourth-quarter collapse didn’t ruin their mojo.Linebacker Marco Jones, who attends San Ramon Valley High School in San Ramon, is ...