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Want to garden but don’t have a lot of space? We asked the experts for help

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:40 GMT

Gardening may generally be easier for people who have a large backyard space because it allows them the flexibility to grow. But apartment dwellers aren’t shut out of the gardening game. In fact, experts say there are a wide variety of options for things that can be grown on a postage-sized patio or a sunny window, including herbs, tomatoes and leafy greens, and the options don’t stop there. Darren Butler, a Los Angeles-area consulting arborist, landscape expert and co-founder of gardening help website GardenZeus, said that there are lots of options from fruiting plants to even trees. Here’s a look at some of the varieties recommended from experts and how to grow them:Let’s get litWhether growing indoors or outdoors, space can be negotiable, but light is definitely not. Justin McKeever, a plant specialist at H&H Nursery in Lakewood, said that most fruiting plants need about 6 hours of light whereas some broad-leaf herbs can do with 3-4 hours so it’s important that gardeners make...

Tiny downtown LA store near Skid Row sells winning Powerball jackpot ticket worth over $1 billion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:40 GMT

By MARCIO SANCHEZ (Associated Press)LOS ANGELES (AP) — A tiny neighborhood store in downtown Los Angeles sold the winning ticket for the Powerball jackpot worth an estimated $1.08 billion, the sixth largest in U.S. history and the third largest in the history of the game.The winning numbers for Wednesday night’s drawing were: white balls 7, 10, 11, 13, 24 and red Powerball 24. The winner can choose either the total jackpot paid out in yearly increments or a $558.1 million lump sum before taxes. Winners don’t have to come forward publicly but their names and the disposition of the money are public records, according to the California Lottery.The state lottery said via Twitter that the winning ticket was sold at Las Palmitas Mini Market, which will receive a $1 million bonus from the lottery. Located in the city’s Fashion District, it’s a few blocks from Skid Row’s scenes of homelessness and distress where thousands of people live in makeshift shant...

Recipes: Spinach is good for you; these dishes make it tasty

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:40 GMT

I feel so darn good when I eat spinach. Those emerald-green leaves elevate my energy level and brighten my mood. When producers started packaging pre-washed baby leaves in cellophane bags a few years ago, I made a vow to eat it more frequently.There are loads of good things in spinach, so I’m not sure which of its many attributes gives me a boost. It could be its abundance of antioxidants (beta carotene and lutein). Or perhaps it’s folic acid and vitamins (C, K, and thiamine). Maybe the minerals are magic: iron, calcium, potassium, and zinc.Eat it raw in salads and sandwiches, substituting it for less-interesting lettuce. Or cook up a bagful of those spade-shaped baby leaves, then toss with a little extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.Cooking it is quick and easy, once you get over the somewhat disappointing fact that you start out with a mountain and end up with a hill. Never mind, just feed it into a Dutch oven a handful at a time, and let it wilt down sligh...

Comic-Con begins in downtown San Diego

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:40 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego Convention Center is buzzing with action as thousands of fandoms flock to day one of this year's highly anticipated Comic-Con.Crowds began to gather as early as Thursday, which was seen throughout the Gaslamp District and other areas of downtown. This sold-out event is expected to draw around 60,000 attendees a day, with around 200,000 people possible for the entire event weekend. From roaming cosplayers and free experiences scattered throughout San Diego, you don't have to have a badge to enjoy some Comic-Con fun this weekend.FOX 5 was on the ground in various parts of the city Thursday morning to get a first-hand look at the fun and excitement enjoyed by so many every year. While joining artists atop the Hard Rock Hotel, Keithan Jones -- a passionate cartoonist and the owner of Kid Comics -- told FOX 5 that this annual event is "almost like a birthday party." Despite major studios dropping out this year due to an ongoing writers strike in Hollywood, Jon...

Alabama lawmakers are divided on eve of major redistricting deadline impacting Black voters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:40 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — On the eve of a court deadline, Alabama lawmakers are still divided Thursday over the map designating new congressional districts and sparred over what constitutes an “opportunity” district that the state was ordered to create for Black voters. Republican-controlled committees in the House of Representatives and Senate continue to advance separate plans that increase the number of Black voters in the state’s 2nd congressional district but fail to establish the second majority-Black district, as sought by plaintiffs who won the Supreme Court case last month.Under the state Senate plan, the number of Black voters in the 2nd congressional district would increase from about 30% to 38%; under the House plan, it would increase to 42%. “We believe it does meet the Voting Rights (Act) standard because we followed all the guidelines. As an opportunity district, nobody knows what the definition of opportunity is. They didn’t give us (a definition),” Sen. Steve Livingst...

Las Vegas police took laptops, documents from home searched in Tupac Shakur’s 1996 killing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:40 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A home that Las Vegas police searched this week in connection with the 1996 drive-by shooting of Tupac Shakur is tied to a man long known to investigators, whose nephew had emerged as a suspect shortly after the rapper’s killing.The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department confirmed it served a search warrant Monday in the neighboring city of Henderson. But the department hasn’t released other details, including whether they expect to make an arrest for the first time in the slaying of the rapper nearly 30 years ago.Public records, including voting records, link the property to the wife of Duane “Keffe D” Davis, a self-described “gangster” and the uncle of Orlando Anderson, one of Shakur’s known rivals who authorities have long suspected in the rapper’s death. Anderson denied involvement in Shakur’s killing at the time, and died two years later in an unrelated gang shooting in Compton, California.A copy of the warrant obtained Thursday by The Associated ...

Netanyahu visit to Canada ‘not on the table,’ says PM Trudeau

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:40 GMT

OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is not currently planning to join the American president in inviting his Israeli counterpart for a visit.“We remain steadfast friends of Israel, but every now and then we do have to point out where we disagree,” Trudeau told reporters Thursday.Trudeau is slated to speak with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soon, after months of strain between the two countries.Canada has expressed concern over the past year about rising violence and ajudicial reform that Ottawa argues would undermine democracy in the Jewish state. Trudeau said that reform should only be made with widespread support of Israeli society, which has protested the proposal repeatedly in large demonstrations. The plan would allow Israel’s parliament to overturn decisions by the country’s Supreme Court.“We’re also very concerned about the judicial reforms that the Israeli government is determined to move forward with,” ...

Host Ginella Massa departs CBC’s ‘Canada Tonight’ weeknight news program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:40 GMT

TORONTO — Ginella Massa says she is not returning this fall as host of CBC News Network’s weeknight show “Canada Tonight with Ginella Massa.” Massa says that after nine months of maternity leave she has decided to pursue personal projects and build her brand through media consulting, partnerships and public speaking engagements.Massa announced her plans on her social media accounts, explaining that giving birth has been “transformative” and made her contemplate what success means to her. Massa says it’s been “an honour” to be the first woman in a hijab to host a national newscast in Canada, and hopes her mainstream success will inspire other Muslim women.  The news veteran also said she’s joining Toronto Metropolitan University as a part-time journalism instructor.Before joining CBC, Massa worked as a journalist for CityNews in Toronto and CTV News in Kitchener, Ont. She was named the host of her own CBC show in 2020. This report...

Biden administration asks employers to give more help to workers who lose Medicaid

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:40 GMT

The Biden administration on Thursday asked employers to give workers who lose Medicaid coverage more time to sign up for health insurance through their jobs.Medicaid is the state- and federally funded program that covers health care costs for people with low incomes. States have resumed checks for Medicaid eligibility this year after pausing the practice during the COVID-19 pandemic.Federal officials have estimated that about 3.8 million people who lose Medicaid coverage may qualify for health insurance through their employers, which is how most people in the U.S. get coverage.Employers typically give people 60 days to sign up for coverage offered through work after they lose Medicaid. The administration’s letter Thursday asked employers, insurers and plan sponsors to voluntarily extend that window to July 31, 2024.The letter notes that people on Medicaid may miss notices that their coverage is ending, and they might not realize this until they visit a doctor.People shopping f...

New US sanctions are aimed at choking off Russia’s access to battlefield supplies and revenue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:24:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on roughly 120 firms and people from Russia to the United Arab Emirates to Kyrgyzstan in an effort to choke off Moscow’s access to products, money and financial channels that support its invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions imposed by the Treasury and State departments target dozens of Russian mining, technology and munitions firms and commercial banks. In addition, a group of Kyrgyzstan-based electronics firms and its leadership were targeted as exporters of components and other technology to Russia. A UAE-based engineering company that sent dozens of shipments of electronics to Russia was also sanctioned. The latest sanctions build on those imposed on Russia when the U.S. and other Group of Seven nations rolled out a wave of global actions during a Japan summit in May.“Since Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine, the United States, working with our allies and partners, has taken unprecedented steps ...