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New Zealand immigration hits an all-time high as movement surges following pandemic lull

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:40 GMT

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s immigration numbers have hit an all-time high, enabling employers to fill jobs but also putting pressure on the housing market, according to economists.The net number of immigrants was 110,000 in the year ending August, beating the previous high of 103,000 set a month earlier, according to figures released Wednesday by Statistics New Zealand. The numbers represent a big turnaround after more people left New Zealand than arrived during much of the COVID-19 pandemic.“We are talking very, very big numbers for a small economy like ours,” said Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank. Kerr said the surge likely reflected pent-up demand that had built during the pandemic. He said it had come as a relief to employers, who last year were having great difficulty finding skilled workers to fill vacant roles.New Zealand’s unemployment rate remains at a relatively low 3.6%. But Kerr also cautioned the migrants would need a lot of resource...

Internal conflicts and power struggles have become hallmarks of the modern GOP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:40 GMT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — After Ohio Republicans bolstered their statehouse majority last year due to their dominating showing in the midterm elections, they split into rival camps over who should lead the lower chamber.The division between younger, more impatient conservatives and more traditional ones was only settled when Democrats crossed party lines to end a standoff over who would become speaker of the Ohio House.Since then, despite their power over all levels of state government, Ohio Republicans have been convulsed by infighting as party leaders censured everyone who had voted for their new speaker, Republican Jason Stephens. Amid the divisions, the Legislature managed to pass only 10 bills this year.“Childish would be my word,” said Republican state Rep. Sara Carruthers of her colleagues who persist in opposing the speaker or refuse to attend caucus meetings. “We’re on the right path, doing the right things, wanting to get good legislation passed and he’s helping them do ...

Hundreds attend L.A. vigil in solidarity with Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:40 GMT

As the Israel-Palestinian war intensifies, communities across Southern California are rallying in support of innocent lives lost and affected overseas.Los Angeles is home to the second-largest Jewish population outside of Israel. Hundreds of supporters gathered for a candlelight vigil in Westwood on Tuesday night, saying they wanted to be with their community as they prayed for those affected by the war.Roxanna Eli organized the vigil at the Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel. She said many in her community find it difficult to even speak about the deadly conflict overseas in Israel.“I beg you to understand, Hamas is a terrorist organization that doesn’t care about Palestine,” Eli said. “They don’t care about Palestinians. Hundreds gathered for a candlelight vigil at the Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel in Westwood on Oct. 10, 2023, standing in solidarity with the innocent lives lost in the Israel-Palestinian war. (KTLA)Hundreds gathered for a candlelight vigil at the Sephar...

One arrested, four others sought in San Jose smash-and-grab robbery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:40 GMT

SAN JOSE — A 27-year-old Nevada man is in custody and four others are being sought in connection with a smash-and-grab robbery last week at Westfield Valley Fair mall, police said.On Oct. 5, five masked male suspects entered the Gucci store and stole $50,000 worth of purses and other merchandise, the San Jose Police Department said in a news release Tuesday.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | San Jose: Arrest made in connection to deadly July shooting Crime and Public Safety | “Watch this guys”: San Jose police encouraged residents of a homeless camp to observe as they beat a mentally ill man Crime and Public Safety | San Jose police body camera footage casts doubt on officers’ version of incident where man was subdued Crime and Public Safety | How we investigated San Jose police use of force against the mentally impaired Crime and Public Safety | Losing control: When San Jose po...

Four-bedroom home sells in Los Gatos for $3 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:40 GMT

354 Bachman Court – Google Street ViewA 2,207-square-foot house built in 1987 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 300 block of Bachman Court in Los Gatos was sold on Sept. 15, 2023. The $3,000,000 purchase price works out to $1,359 per square foot. This two-story house provides a generous living space with its four bedrooms and three bathrooms. In addition, the house includes a two-car garage.These nearby houses have also recently changed hands:On Bachman Avenue, Los Gatos, in October 2022, a 2,634-square-foot home was sold for $3,590,000, a price per square foot of $1,363. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 2,964-square-foot home on the 200 block of Massol Avenue in Los Gatos sold in December 2022, for $4,600,000, a price per square foot of $1,552. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In January 2023, a 1,726-square-foot home on Belmont Avenue in Los Gatos sold for $2,990,000, a price per square foot of $1,732. The home has 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.&...

Oakland man charged with shooting clerk who refused to lower price of $40 liquor bottle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:40 GMT

OAKLAND — Nearly four months after a liquor store clerk was shot for refusing to lower the price of a $40 bottle of booze, police have arrested a suspect.A 34-year-old Oakland man was arrested in late September in connection with the June 23 shooting, court records show. He is next due in court for an arraignment hearing on Oct. 16.The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office charged the man with attempted robbery, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and multiple counts of illegal gun possession, court records show. In a police interview, he claimed that he was worried the clerk was pulling a gun on him so he fired his own handgun.But the clerk’s story — which police say is backed up by surveillance footage — is markedly different. The clerk reported to police that the man shot him three times in the belly during a heated argument over a liquor bottle’s price.Police said the suspect didn’t bother to the take the bottle with him after shoo...

Hayes Valley residents continue to complain about fires in homeless encampments

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:40 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Residents in some San Francisco neighborhoods are increasingly concerned about fires at homeless encampments. In the city’s Hayes Valley, multiple complaints are sent to the city on a daily basis.One resident captured pictures of a homeless encampment fire over the weekend.For months, the city had its hands tied with homeless encampments because of a federal injunction that barred them from moving unhoused people living in tents. That’s not the case anymore, but according to the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association the encampments are still causing safety concerns. 7 Bay Area high schools make Niche’s top 10 in California “Neighbors are afraid,” said David Robinson of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association.At the corner of Gough and Page streets in San Francisco Saturday afternoon firefighters and police responded to the scene of a homeless encampment where a tent caught fire.Robinson, who lives in the neighborhood, captured images of the scene.“Burnt r...

Orioles get swept for 1st time in 2023, lose AL Division Series in 3 games to Rangers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:40 GMT

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Gunnar Henderson and the Baltimore Orioles picked the wrong week to get swept for the first time in 2023.The rookie shortstop didn’t even know what losing in a sweep felt like in the big leagues before the AL Division Series against the Texas Rangers.After winning 101 games and finishing the regular season with the American League’s best record, the Orioles trailed by six runs after just two innings Tuesday night. They never gave themselves a chance in a 7-1 loss, their eighth postseason defeat in a row over 10 seasons. Baltimore still has a 91-series streak without getting swept in the regular season, going back to before Henderson was called up in the summer of 2022.The Orioles went 52 series over the entire 2023 regular season without getting swept, a first for the franchise since it moved to Baltimore in 1954. They became the fourth big league team since 2000 to accomplish that feat.It means little now.“We have a lot of guys who have never bee...

Orioles’ season ends with playoff sweep after 7-1 loss to Rangers in Game 3 of ALDS: ‘Hopefully that’s us next year’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:40 GMT

A defining feature of the 2023 Orioles was their American League-record streak without being swept. When they pick it up in 2024, it will have an asterisk next to it.The Orioles on Tuesday night were swept out of the postseason, falling 7-1 to the Texas Rangers in Game 3 of the AL Division Series.“It’s an ironic situation,” center fielder Cedric Mullins said. “We avoid sweeps the entire year, come in the postseason — I don’t think pressure was the deal. I think it was just execution in certain moments. Baseball does what it does.”Baltimore entered Globe Life Field with the daunting task of needing to win three straight games to advance. But the Rangers barely let that possibility linger.Texas’ powerful and patient offense did to Dean Kremer what it did to Grayson Rodriguez in Game 2, scoring five runs in the second inning to end his first postseason start early. Unlike Sunday, though, Baltimore’s bats couldn’t mus...

Australian-Chinese journalist detained for 3 years in China returns to Australia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:30:40 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — A Chinese-Australian journalist who was convicted on murky espionage charges and detained in China for three years has returned to Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday.Cheng Lei has reunited with her two children in Melbourne, Albanese said. The 48-year-old Lei worked for the international department of China’s state broadcaster CCTV.“Her matter was concluded through the legal processes in China,” Albanese told reporters.Her return comes ahead of Albanese’s planned visit to Beijing this year on a date yet to be announced.Albanese’s government has been lobbying for the release of Cheng and another Chinese-Australian held in China since 2019, Yang Hengjun.The Associated Press