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Kaiser hospitals to pay $49 million after medical waste, private information dumped

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Three Bay Area district attorneys and Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals to resolve allegations that the healthcare provider unlawfully tossed hazardous waste, medical waste, and confidential health information into dumpsters. The $49-million settlement is the result of undercover inspections conducted by Alameda, San Francisco, and San Mateo district attorneys' offices focused on dumpsters located at Kaiser facilities. During the undercover inspections, district attorney investigators dug into unsecured dumpsters destined for disposal at publicly accessible landfills. They found hundreds of items of hazardous and medical waste -- syringes, medical tubing with body fluids, aerosols, sanitizers, batteries, electronic wastes, and pharmaceuticals -- and over 10,000 paper records containing the information of over 7,700 patients, according to Bonta's office."As the largest hea...

Petaluma suspected drunk driver arrested after car crash Friday night

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

(BCN)--Petaluma officers arrested a suspected drunk driver after a car crash occurred in the city Thursday night, according to police. The Petaluma Police Department said that shortly before 10:30 p.m. Thursday, an officer was driving in the area of East Washington Street and Ely Boulevard South, when he saw a vehicle that had been involved in a collision and was resting on its side. Police said the officer attempted to rescue the driver, who was the sole occupant of the vehicle, but was unable to do so due to the major damage of the vehicle. Magnitude 5.0 earthquake shakes Northern California More officers arrived and they continued to try and get the driver out of the vehicle until Petaluma firefighters arrived on scene, police said. Firefighters then used hydraulic rescue tools and were able to create an opening to enable them to remove the driver from the vehicle. As officers continued to investigate the crash, they saw a large amount of alcohol inside the vehicl...

OSU, WSU ask court to prevent departing Pac-12 schools from standing in way of rebuilding conference

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

Oregon State and Washington State on Friday filed a complaint in Washington state court against the Pac-12 and Commissioner George Kliavkoff, seeking to prevent departing member schools from taking any actions that could stand in the way of the Pacific Northwest schools’ effort to rebuild the conference.The breach of bylaws complaint was filed in Whitman County and requests a temporary restraining order that would keep departing members of the Pac-12 board of directors from taking any action regarding the status or governance of the conference, according to a news release from Oregon State and Washington State.The Pac-12 currently has 12 members, but 10 of them are leaving next year: Southern California, UCLA, Washington and Oregon are leaving for the Big Ten; Stanford and Cal are leaving for the ACC; and Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are leaving for the Big 12. Each school has cited the desire for more financial stability in abandoning the “Conference of Champions...

Investigators pinpoint house as source of explosion that killed 6 near Pittsburgh last month

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

PLUM, Pa. (AP) — Investigators said Friday the location of an explosion that killed six people and destroyed three houses near Pittsburgh last month was inside one of the homes, ruling out an outside cause.The Allegheny County fire marshal’s office said all potential outside factors were eliminated, including wells, pipelines and other utilities, pinpointing the source as a home on Rustic Ridge Drive in Plum Borough.The cause of the explosion remains under investigation, the office said, and there is no time frame for when the probe will be completed. The investigation at the scene of the explosion has been completed and the property is being returned to its owners, the agency said in a release. That house and two others were so badly damaged they must be demolished, and 10 others were not safe for residents in the weeks after the Aug. 12 blast about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh. All of the victims were found at the home. Officials have said one was found outsid...

‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3’ inspires similar flavors at Mediterranean restaurant in Georgetown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley highlights 1310 Kitchen + Bar (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); In 2002, “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” became one of the biggest surprise indie hits of all time, grossing $369 million on just a $5 million budget. It shocked Hollywood as a Top 5 grosser of the year, behind only “Spider-Man,” “Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones,” “Ha...

2 hospitalized after boat sinks near Matheson Hammock Park in Coral Gables

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

Two people were hospitalized after a boat sank in South Florida.Coral Gables Fire Rescue arrived at the scene near Matheson Hammock Park, located 9610 Old Cutler Road, Friday morning. According to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, two people were on board the boat when the driver tried to turn, causing the boat to flip. The two boaters then swam to shore.Good Samaritans assisted the boaters as they made there way to shoreThey were transported to the hospital in critical condition. A friend of one of the boaters believes there was an issue with boat.“I think there was a malfunction ’cause Frankie knew what he was doing, you know, he wasn’t a rookie or nothing,” Joseu Rodriguez said. “It was just probably a malfunction with the trim or a tie bar, something went wrong there. The water’s pretty calm today.”To operate speed boats there has to be a throttle person.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is the lead investigator in this incide...

Aventura Police officer charged with battery after allegedly molesting estranged wife while she slept

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

An Aventura Police officer was arrested this week stemming from an incident involving his soon-to-be ex-wife who, police said, he allegedly molested while she slept. According to Aventura Police, 50-year-old Kevin Bascle was arrested Tuesday by Plantation Police on two counts of domestic battery. Officials said the victim, who has been married to Bascle for seven years and is currently in the process of divorcing him, informed the police that she takes prescription medication to help her sleep, which leaves her unable to recall events, even if she is woken up. As a result, the victim had installed a surveillance camera in her separate bedroom.On two separate occasions in July and September, police said, the camera captured video of Bascle entering the victim’s bedroom and engaging in unwanted sexual acts while she was asleep. Police said the victim maintained that she had repeatedly expressed her lack of interest in any intimate relations with him.Armed with the video evidence...

Woman who jumped into Biscayne Bay with 3-year-old nephew, took clothes off after officers arrived appears in court

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

A woman accused of putting a child’s life in danger after jumping into Biscayne Bay appeared in court.A judge charged 27-year-old Natalia Marina with child abuse and set a bond of more than $6,000, Friday morning.Officer worn body camera video captured the dramatic moments Thursday morning as officers surrounded Marina and her 3-year-old-nephew in the water.She was also ordered to stay away from the child.

Hurricane Lee barrels through open Atlantic waters as powerful Cat 4 storm

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Hurricane Lee charged through warm Atlantic waters on Friday and threatened to unleash heavy swells across the northeast Caribbean. It became the season’s first Category 5 storm before weakening slightly.Currently a Category 4 hurricane, it is not expected to make landfall, but meteorologists warned it would generate dangerous waves of up to 15 feet (5 meters) across the northern coast of Puerto Rico and other nearby islands. While Lee is on a path that would take it a couple hundred miles (kilometers) northeast of the Caribbean, tropical storm conditions are not forecast for the region.“Although the hurricane is incredibly powerful, its wind field is not particularly large,” the National Hurricane Center said.The hurricane was located about 565 miles (910 kilometers) east of the northern Leeward Islands. It had winds of up to 155 miles per hour (250 kilometers per hour) and was moving west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).“Fluctuations in intens...

Storms bring strong winds, lightning to much of Massachusetts as region remains under Severe Thunderstorm Watch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:55 GMT

Storms rolled through parts of the area Friday afternoon, damaging trees and utility poles. Much of central and western Massachusetts is under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch until 11 p.m. Friday night. Middlesex, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire counties are all a part of the watch. In Andover, a tree splintered and fell onto a vehicle. In western Massachusetts, this includes the cities of Fitchburg, Framingham, Gloucester, Greenfield, Hartford, Lawrence, Lowell, Northampton, Springfield, Union, Vernon and Worcester.Middlesex County is also under the same watch. In Maynard, strong winds knocked down trees and electrical poles. In Tewksbury, a tree was completely uprooted and ripped up a sidewalk.Hartford and Tolland counties in Connecticut are also affected by the watch.