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They’re not hummingbirds, but giant sphinx moths appearing all around the Bay

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:14 GMT

Diane Winkler was hiking with her wife about a week ago at Point Reyes National Seashore when she spotted something that drew her up short.“Along the Abbotts Lagoon Trail, we got to a boardwalk where there’s a marsh and beautiful flowers,” says Winkler, an amateur photographer from Oakland. “I noticed these little things zipping around and hovering next to the flowers, and at first I thought, ‘Aww, these are hummingbirds.’”When she got closer she saw that, in fact, they were not birds. They were giant moths with wingspans of three-and-a-half inches, sucking sweet nectar from the flowers with long, snaking proboscises.A white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) seen at Point Reyes National Seashore in August, 2023. (Photo courtesy of Diane Winkler) “I do bird photography, so my radar was up for hummingbirds. But I’d recently seen photos from friends of mine who’d gone to the High Sierra that were these beautiful, white-lined sphinx moths,” says Winkle...

Florida’s already-volatile insurance industry is bracing for aftermath of Hurricane Idalia

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:14 GMT

New York  — As it hits the disaster-prone Sunshine State, Hurricane Idalia could be a litmus test for Florida’s increasingly volatile and expensive insurance landscape.Despite several insurance companies exiting Florida, experts say the state’s residents are still mostly covered this hurricane season.But insurers are keeping a wary eye on Idalia. Experts say the state’s insurance industry can absorb potential losses for now, but an Idalia hit on a highly populated area could affect those companies’ future outlooks.“This would be a very different event if it was going right into Tampa versus much less populated areas,” said Matthew Carletti, an analyst at JMP Securities. “There should be much less loss where it’s headed now, but that could change. Tampa is on the edge of the cone, but (the storm) could still end up there, and that will have a big impact of ultimate loss. It’s still very early in that regard.”It is on a path to hit less-populated areas on Florida’s Gulf Coast, making ...

AVs might be an inconvenience now, but they are getting smarter and worst human drivers aren’t: Roadshow

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:14 GMT

Q: I’m sympathetic to SF drivers inconvenienced by AV’s (autonomous vehicles), especially those that stop awkwardly, block traffic, and don’t move. But imagine if there were a daily report on the actions of the worst drivers in the city that day, both incompetent ones who inconvenience us and dangerous ones who cause accidents. There are lots of bad human drivers we never hear about. Are AV’s really more dangerous, or just more annoying?The big difference between human and AV drivers is that AV computers are getting smarter every year and eventually will be safer than human drivers. We’re suffering now through their learning curve but they can’t learn without real-world testing.John WhiteA: A good point.Q: My son works for Cruise. Their vehicles presently have limited hours and a limited geographic area in San Francisco in which they can operate. They don’t do HOV lanes, so that’s a future concern.John BeckA: AVs in HOV lanes may be here sooner than we think.Q: I have a ...

Kurtenbach: The 49ers’ roster cuts revealed this team’s biggest secret

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:14 GMT

Roster cut-down day used to be stressful around Santa Clara.Making the 49ers the 53ers meant cutting NFL-caliber players. The rest of the NFL kept an eye on who was jettisoned from Santa Clara, knowing that the Niners’ roster was the league’s deepest.San Francisco’s trash has proven to be other teams’ treasure.In 2020, the Niners cut Jauan Jennings (but were able to sign him to the practice squad). In 2021, they traded away linebacker Jonas Griffin for a late-round draft pick. He’s made 92 tackles in 22 games for the Broncos. Last season, running back JaMychal Hasty was released on cut day and subsequently had a nice season as the Jaguars’ third-down back.Are any of these players future Pro Bowlers? No. Even after leaving the Bay, they’re not even close to household names.But it was telling that the Niners felt compelled to move on from them.They’re solid, capable NFL players. The Niners simply had too many of those kind of players in ...

Preparing for Beyoncé concert at Levi's Stadium

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:14 GMT

(KRON) -- Beyoncé fans are getting ready to take over Levi's Stadium Wednesday night ahead of her “Renaissance World Tour."Here's everything you need to know if you are planning to attend the concert.Timeline3 p.m.: Parking lot and box office open.3:30 p.m.: Early check-in begins for Club Renaissance or BeyHive VIP concertgoers. 6 p.m.: Stadium gates open.8 p.m.: Show begins.TransportationParking for regular vehicles start at $60 and parking for oversized vehicles, such as buses and RVs, start at $130. Traffic and delays are expected and fans are strongly encouraged to take public transportation. Here’s what it costs to see Beyoncé at Levi’s Stadium The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority is offering more light-rail trains ahead of tonight's concert.What to bringWhen it comes to what you are allowed to bring inside the concert, Levi’s Stadium only allows clear bags that do not exceed 12 by 6 by 12 inches.Small cameras and cell phones are permitted. Professional cameras wit...

CHP issues Silver Alert for missing 77-year-old in San Jose

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:14 GMT

(KRON) -- A Silver Alert has been issued for a missing 77-year-old man who was last seen on Paddington Way and Farringdon Drive in San Jose, according to the California Highway Patrol.Crispin Ramirez-De La Cruz is described as 5-foot-7 and weighs 140 pounds. He has gray hair and brown eyes. According to CHP, Ramirez-De La Cruz was wearing a gray polo shirt, black pants, black sandals and a black baseball cap with a United States flag before he went missing. He is believed to be on foot.Ramirez-De La Cruz was last seen on Tuesday around 3:40 p.m.

Collision results in overturned car in SF's Richmond District

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:14 GMT

(KRON) -- A car overturned following a collision at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and 27th Avenue on Tuesday, according to the San Francisco Police Department.    Around 5:28 p.m., a car, which was traveling along 27th Avenue, ran a red light and struck a car that was traveling along Geary Boulevard. The impact caused the car to overturn after being struck at the intersection, police said. SF store owner killed after robbery, assault with bat The drivers and occupants of both cars were uninjured and refused medical attention. The driver of the overturned car was taken to a local hospital as a precaution, SFPD said. San Francisco police remind all drivers to drive with caution as the Geary Boulevard corridor is known to have increased traffic.

Stock market today: Wall Street edges higher in early trading following 3 straight gains

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:14 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are edging mostly higher in early trading on Wall Street chipping a bit more away from the market’s losses in August. Treasury yields fell early Wednesday after some weaker-than expected readings on the U.S. economy and job market. The S&P 500 was just barely higher, up less than 0.1%. The benchmark index is coming off three straight gains but is still down for the month. The Dow was up 68 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note fell to 4.83%. HP sank 10% after cutting its profit forecast for the year.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street drifted between small gains and losses early Wednesday ahead of more economic news, including an inflation indicator and more jobs data. Futures for the Dow Jones industrials and the S&P 500 were both essentially unchanged about an hour before the opening bell.Markets rallied Tuesday after the Conference Board reported that co...

Honk!: DC area ranks high for confrontational drivers

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:14 GMT

The legendary commuting congestion around D.C. does more than just make people late — it’s prompting road rage and fueling some of the country’s angriest drivers.A new national study by Forbes Advisor ranks Virginia No. 4 for having the most confrontational drivers — West Virginia’s drivers rank even worse at No. 3. Maryland comes in at No. 19. The District of Columbia wasn’t included in the study.Of those polled, more than half in Virginia said they’ve been involved in an incident where the other driver got out of their vehicle to yell at or fight them. Ninety percent have had another driver curse at them, insult them, or make threats.Drivers in the commonwealth tied with Oklahoma drivers for being fourth most likely to report that another driver had cut them off on purpose, at just below 60%.Virginia drivers also tied with Missouri drivers for being fifth most likely to experience rude or offensive gestures while driving (67%).Maryland drivers reporte...

After anger from victims’ families, UK says criminals will be forced to attend sentencing

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 20:45:14 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The British government said Wednesday it will change the law to force serious criminals to attend their sentencing hearings, after an outcry from the families of murder victims.The move follows widespread outrage at the refusal of nurse Lucy Letby to come to court this month to be sentenced for the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of six others.That meant the killer did not have to hear anguished victims’ statements from the babies’ families, or listen as judge James Gross imposed a sentence of life without parole, saying Letby had acted with “deep malevolence bordering on sadism.”Politicians and victim advocates were already calling for changes in the law to force criminals to appear for sentencing after several high-profile convicts chose not to face their victims in recent months.Currently, offenders can be found in contempt of court if they refuse to attend, but they can’t be forced to come. The government said it will change the law to make clear t...