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NASA uses airborne imagery to identify diseased California grape crops

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:41 GMT

Scientists at NASA have successfully deployed an advanced airborne imaging instrument to help grape growers identify the early signs of a devastating crop-killing disease.The disease, grapevine leafroll-associated virus complex 3, aka GLRaV-3, is believed to be responsible for billions in damage and losses each year for U.S. grape growers and vintners. The disease is spread mostly by insects and can cause reduced crop yields and soured fruits.Treating the disease early on is critical for grape growers, but early detection is expensive and requires molecular testing and thorough "vine-by-vine" inspections, NASA said.“Like humans, sick plants may not exhibit outward symptoms right away, making early detection the greatest challenge facing growers,” said plant pathologist Katie Gold, an assistant professor at Cornell University and senior author of the study. Researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California were able to use an imaging system mounted in the belly o...

Zoom, patron saint of remote work, calls workers back

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:41 GMT

The word "ironic" hardly seems sufficient to describe this development.Zoom, which came into its own during the pandemic by enabling people to work from home, is notifying most staffers that they need to return to the office at least a couple of days a week.Like other tech companies, San Jose-based Zoom has determined that things would be better if most of its 7,400 employees were back in their cubicles part of the week."We believe that a structured hybrid approach -- meaning employees that live near an office need to be on site two days a week to interact with their teams -- is most effective for Zoom," a company spokesperson said.Google, Amazon and other tech heavyweights have come to similar conclusions, transitioning from remote work to hybrid schedules for most staffers.But if any company should be committed to a work-from-home structure, it's Zoom.The company's video-chat platform played an indispensable role during the pandemic, making remote work not just feasible but also e...

Cyclist Badly Injured in Hit-and-Run Crash on Old Pecos Trail [Santa Fe, NM]

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:41 GMT

49-Year-Old Man Hospitalized after Being Struck in a Crash on Old Pecos TrailSANTA FE, NM (August 7, 2023) – Tuesday morning, a cyclist sustained injuries in a hit-and-run crash on Old Pecos Trail.The incident happened on August 1st, at around 6:15 a.m., on Old Pecos Trail near the intersection of Santa Barbara Drive.According to reports, a 49-year-old bicyclist was riding along Old Pecos Trail when a white or gold-colored sedan struck him from behind. The impact of the collision caused the rider to sustain serious injuries.Dispatchers sent emergency crews to the area shortly after. From there, paramedics transported the 49-year-old cyclist to a local hospital for treatment.Officials urge anyone with information to call Crash Investigator Officer Jeremy Duran at 505-603-1545 as soon as possible.A driver must stop and take certain actions when involved in a motor vehicle accident. Especially one that results in property damage or injury to another party. If you ever get involve...

One Injured in Motorcycle Accident on Procyon Avenue [Las Vegas, NV]

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:41 GMT

Rider Seriously Injured in Motorcycle Collision on Tropicana AvenueLAS VEGAS, NV (August 7, 2023) – Friday morning, a rider sustained injuries in a motorcycle accident on Procyon Avenue.On July 28th, at around 6:00 a.m., officers responded to a motorcycle accident in the area just west of Interstate 15.Furthermore, the motorcyclist suffered serious injuries and he was transported to University Medical Center in a critical state.Meanwhile, the officers blocked the westbound lanes of the intersection and they advised the motorists to avoid the area.At this time, the events that led to the collision were not yet determined. Officers suspected speed was a factor in the accident.No other information was added by the authorities and the crash is still under active investigation.It is important to observe proper caution when riding a motorcycle. When turning or changing lanes, use hand and turn signals to give other drivers enough time to slow down and prepare for you to get over. To...

Video: CDC scientist peeved by holiday party chatter named Legionnaires’ disease in 1976

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:41 GMT

News broke this weekend that the deaths of two people and the illness of a third have been linked to Legionnaires’ disease at a day spa in Richmond. The bacteria Legionella pneumophila continues its lethal growth and steady rise in cases nationwide, which the Centers for Disease and Control says began in 2000.The pathogen spreads when victims inhale mist or small droplets of water in the air that contain legionella. Joseph McDade, the microbiologist who named the disease following an outbreak at an American Legion convention at a hotel in Philadelphia in summer 1976 that ultimately sickened more than 220 people and killed 34, said in a CDC video that he discovered the bacterium after being insulted at a holiday party that winter over why the agency was taking so long to find it.The researchers who worked with McDade at the CDC through the Legionnaires’ discovery retold their experience of initial hypotheses reaching dead ends in a short video touting the organizationR...

Attorney calls Antioch police force ‘clear and present danger,’ asks for federal oversight

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:41 GMT

A Bay Area civil rights attorney who represents more than a dozen plaintiffs in lawsuits against the Antioch Police Department has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into the police department, calling its officers a “clear and present danger” to the city’s residents.In a letter sent to Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen M. Clarke and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Ismail J. Ramsey, attorney John Burris accused officers of engaging in “racially biased policing over a sustained period of years.”Burris said his law group already has filed two federal civil rights lawsuits representing 13 plaintiffs, each of whom have alleged violations against the police department. Burris said he and attorney Ben Nisenbaum have interviewed 150 people who could become plaintiffs in later lawsuits, he wrote in the letter sent last week.Burris called the behavior “a sustained pattern and practice of pervasive disc...

San Leandro: Man wounded in East Bay’s most recent freeway shooting

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:41 GMT

SAN LEANDRO — A man was shot Sunday afternoon while riding in a car on Interstate 580, the California Highway Patrol said.The man sustained non life-threatening injuries. The CHP did not provide any additional information about the victim.The shooting happened about 2 p.m. Sunday on eastbound I-580 near Benedict Drive. No one else in the vehicle was injured. The victim was initially driven to the San Leandro Police Department, where he was treated by paramedics before being taken to a hospital.A motive for the shooting has not been released yet by the CHP. Nor has any information been released about suspects or the vehicle they were in.The shooting was the fourth non-fatal shooting on freeways between Richmond and Hayward since July 29.About 1:25 a.m. Friday a vehicle was hit by gunfire on westbound Interstate 80 near Central Avenue in the Richmond area but none of the occupants were injured. The CHP is investigating that case as one of possible road rage. No arrests have been...

Single family residence sells in Fremont for $1.6 million

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:41 GMT

1503 Bridges Court – Google Street ViewA house located in the 1500 block of Bridges Court in Fremont has new owners. The 1,487-square-foot property, built in 1985, was sold on June 16, 2023, for $1,578,500, or $1,062 per square foot. The layout of this single-story home consists of three bedrooms and two baths. The home’s outer structure has wood shake roofing / shingles. Inside, there is a fireplace. In addition, the house is equipped with a garage. The lot size of the property measures an impressive 7,050 square feet.These nearby houses have also recently been purchased:In April 2023, a 1,958-square-foot home on Shinn Court in Fremont sold for $1,602,000, a price per square foot of $818. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 1,874-square-foot home on the 1400 block of Skelton Avenue in Fremont sold in August 2022, for $1,420,000, a price per square foot of $758.On Acacia Street, Fremont, in May 2023, a 1,587-square-foot home was sold for $1,500,000, a price per square foot of ...

Sadly, Natalie Portman’s Big Sur wedding (with guest Ivanka Trump) didn’t end in a fairytale

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:41 GMT

Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied couldn’t have picked a more perfect spot for a wedding filled with romance, inclusivity and bohemian bonhomie.They exchanged vows on a starlit night in Big Sur on Aug. 4, 2012, surrounded by local wildflowers and with traditions that reflected her Jewish faith, his French nationality and her adherence to a strict vegan diet, Glamour reported at the time. Celebrity friends were there, including Mike Nichols, Diane Sawyer, Macaulay Culkin and Ivanka Trump, who attended with her husband Jared Kushner, Portman’s 2003 Harvard classmate.Sadly, Portman and Millepied’s idyllic wedding didn’t lead to a happily ever after. The Academy Award winner, 42, and her former dancer husband, 46, have separated, following revelations that he allegedly had an affair with Camille Étienne, a 25-year-old French climate activist, Us Weekly reported.“After news of his affair came out, they’ve been trying to work on their marriage but are currentl...

Woman in critical condition, man in jail after Antioch weekend sideshow

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:41 GMT

(BCN) -- A woman suffered major injuries after a suspected sideshow participant crashed into her car while fleeing police early Sunday in Antioch. Police received multiple reports at approximately 2:51 a.m. about a sideshow developing at the Antioch Marina Harbor and Smith's Landing parking lots. As officers set up to disperse the sideshow, a vehicle fled the marina at a high rate of speed with no lights on, police said. An officer initially followed the vehicle, but called off the chase because the officer saw the fleeing vehicle's hood was blocking the windshield. Elderly woman and boy stabbed to death in San Jose home The vehicle crashed into another car at West Ninth and G Street, causing major injury to an unrelated Antioch woman in her 50s and damaging a city water hydrant. The victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition. The 21-year-old male driver fled from the crashed car but was caught by police after a short foot chase. He was arrested on...