California travel 2024: 10 hot new hotels, attractions and theme park rides in the Golden State

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:39:29 GMT

California travel 2024: 10 hot new hotels, attractions and theme park rides in the Golden State A new year brings all kinds of novelties, including new travel experiences, theme park attractions and hotels. Here are 10 fab things unfolding on the California travel scene in 2024.A Palm Springs surf spotThe wave pool at the new Palm Springs Surf Club makes it possible to surf in the desert. (Courtesy Ridge BenBen) We’re not talking virtual reality, either. The new Palm Springs Surf Club, which opens New Year’s Day, offers a wave pool that generates two- to seven-foot high waves for up to a dozen surfers at a time.A surf spot in the middle of a desert isn’t quite as insane as it sounds. Surf wave pools have become a thing in Florida, Texas, New Jersey and beyond. Up until now, California had just one wave pool designed for surfers — Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch in Lemoore, just south of Fresno, which offers World Surf League-certified competitive waves to a very select clientele. (You’ll need “a personal invite,” according to Surf...

San Francisco street vendors are back in Mission District

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:39:29 GMT

San Francisco street vendors are back in Mission District SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- San Francisco leaders facilitated a ban on street vending, which went into effect in late November. Street vending has been prominent, especially in the Mission District, for years. A little over a month after the ban went into effect, street vending has made its return to San Francisco. Video taken this week on New Year's Eve (above) shows merchandise being sold in the area of 24th Street and Mission. SF business owner claims NAACP leader made threats after music video critical of mayor After the street vending ban went into effect in November, it was met with strong opposition from the vendors who rely on selling items in the neighborhood for a living. A group of vendors held a rally on Dec. 8, calling for city leaders to allow them to legally sell merchandise in the Mission District.Vendor Luis Ledesma told KRON4 he was forced to spend the holidays at a shelter with his wife and child once the ban went into effect. Ledesma says he has lost a significant...

BART delay on Antioch line, seek other transportation

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:39:29 GMT

BART delay on Antioch line, seek other transportation (KRON) -- According to Bay Area Rapid Transit, there is a major delay on the Antioch Line in the Antioch and SFO directions due to an equipment problem on a train between Orinda and Lafayette stations. A train is not able to move between Lafayette and Orinda BART stations. The passengers have evacuated.BART Police Department and fire crews are at the scene, BART said.BART suggested on their X account for commuters to seek alternate means of transportation.BART states the company will provide updates every 15 minutes.

St. Helena police say missing woman has been located

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:39:29 GMT

St. Helena police say missing woman has been located (KRON) -- A woman who was reported missing has been located and safely reunited with family, the St. Helena Police Department announced Friday evening.The woman had last been seen at the Speedway gas station, located at 1300 Trancas St. in Napa at 1 a.m. Thursday. Bay Area Storm: Live Updates Her car was found abandoned on the 1900 block of Yountville Cross Road at about 7:30 a.m. Thursday, SHPD said. It was parked on the eastbound side of the road, partially blocking a traffic lane.

South Carolina still No. 1 in AP women’s basketball poll, Syracuse enters Top 25

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:39:29 GMT

South Carolina still No. 1 in AP women’s basketball poll, Syracuse enters Top 25 South Carolina started the new year where it finished off 2023 — atop The Associated Press women’s basketball poll.The Gamecocks received 34 of the 35 first-place votes from a national media panel Monday. They had been unanimous the previous six weeks.UCLA got the other No. 1 vote after beating then-No. 6 USC in a Los Angeles showdown Saturday. The No. 2 Bruins have now defeated four top-25 teams this season, with two wins coming at neutral sites and one on the road.Syracuse entered the poll at No. 25, marking its first appearance since Jan. 18, 2021. The Orange beat then-No. 13 Notre Dame on Sunday. The Irish fell to 16th. The Orange (11-1) have lost this season only to Maryland and will next play at North Carolina on Thursday. Syracuse is off to its best start since 2017-18 and the Orange hope to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2021.The Tar Heels fell out of the Top 25, ending a 34-week streak in the poll. That was the seventh-longest active run.No. 3 North...

POLL ALERT: South Carolina still No. 1 in AP women’s basketball poll, though no longer unanimous; Syracuse enters Top 25

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:39:29 GMT

POLL ALERT: South Carolina still No. 1 in AP women’s basketball poll, though no longer unanimous; Syracuse enters Top 25 NEW YORK (AP) — POLL ALERT: South Carolina still No. 1 in AP women’s basketball poll, though no longer unanimous; Syracuse enters Top 25.Source

Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down a key component of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:39:29 GMT

Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down a key component of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s Supreme Court strikes down a key component of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul.Source

Australia advances to United Cup quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over defending champion US

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:39:29 GMT

Australia advances to United Cup quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over defending champion US PERTH, Australia (AP) — Host Australia advanced to the quarterfinals of the United Cup on Monday with a 2-1 victory over defending champion United States.Matthew Ebden and Storm Hunter combined effectively in the decisive mixed doubles match to beat Jessica Pegula and Rajeev Ram 6-3, 6-1 in Perth and ensured that Australia finished top of Group C in the 18-country mixed-teams event with the Americans second.“This means everything,” Hunter said. “It is a dream come true. Playing in front of the home crowd and playing with Matty, a Perth local, it is a dream come true to win and go into the quarterfinals at home.”Alex de Minaur had provided Australia with a 1-0 lead by beating Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-2 but Pegula responded by defeating Ajla Tomljanovic 7-6 (6), 6-3 to make it 1-1.No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek led Poland into the quarterfinals, winning both her singles and doubles matches in Perth while France kept its hopes alive with a thrilling 2-1 win over Germany in Sydney.Swiatek needed t...

Woman found fatally shot in hotel room on New Year’s Day — DC’s first homicide of 2024

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:39:29 GMT

Woman found fatally shot in hotel room on New Year’s Day — DC’s first homicide of 2024 D.C. police began investigating what could be the first shooting of 2024 at the Embassy Suites Hotel located across from the Friendship Heights Metro Station on Jan. 1, 2024. (WTOP/Ivy Lyons) D.C. police began investigating what could be the first shooting of 2024 at the Embassy Suites Hotel located across from the Friendship Heights Metro Station on Jan. 1, 2024. (WTOP/Ivy Lyons) A woman suffering from fatal gunshot wounds, who was found inside a Northwest D.C. hotel room not long after midnight on New Year’s, is believed to be the District’s first homicide victim of 2024.The woman’s death comes as the District ended 2023 with its highest number of killings in more than two decades.D.C. police s...

Doug J.J. Peters, a popular former lawmaker, dies at age 60

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:39:29 GMT

Doug J.J. Peters, a popular former lawmaker, dies at age 60 Former Sen. Doug J.J. Peters (D-Prince George’s). (Maryland Matters/Danielle Gaines) Former Sen. Doug J.J. Peters (D-Prince George’s). (Maryland Matters/Danielle Gaines) Doug J.J. Peters, an influential former state senator who was popular among Democrats and Republicans, died Saturday. He was 60.In a statement, the family of the former senator said he died as the result of complications from multiple myeloma.“He was a tremendous public servant, and a remarkable businessman. More than anything, he was our rock, our north star,” the Peters family said in a statement.Born in 1963, Peters attended Springbrook High School in Silver Spring. He later attended the University of Maryland where he earned a bach...