Category: Deserts

As millions struggle to stay afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic, the last purchases on most minds are Louis Vuitton and diamonds. But in a state facing a 6.5% unemployment rate last August, one North Carolina woman allegedly used a $149,000 Covid-19 relief loan to purchase items at businesses including Louis Vuitton, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, IKEA and multiple diamond stores. Jasmine Johnnae Clifton, a 24-year-old Charlotte resident, appeared in federal court this week after being charged with two counts of fraud for using a business that had been dissolved to get Covid-19 relief funds, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. The loan was part of the CARES Act’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. Funds were provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to North Carolina small businesses “suffering substantial economic injury” due to the pandemic, according to an SBA press release. Clifton did not respond to CNN requests for comment, and her public defender declined to comment due to the case’s pending status. Indictment: The loan was for a business that no longer existed Clifton…

Click here for updates on this story     TORONTO, Ontario (CTV News) — A new study has found that the novel coronavirus can survive on some forms of fabric and transmit to other surfaces for up to 72 hours in a laboratory setting. The study, conducted by researchers at the De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester, U.K., reported that traces of the coronavirus can remain infectious on polyester, polycotton, and 100 per cent cotton for up to three days. “When the pandemic first started, there was very little understanding of how long coronavirus could survive on textiles,” lead researchers and DMU microbiologist Dr. Katie Laird said in a press release. “Our findings show that three of the most commonly used textiles in healthcare pose a risk for transmission of the virus. If nurses and health-care workers take their uniforms home, they could be leaving traces of the virus on other surfaces,” she added. To find this out, researchers added droplets of a model coronavirus called HCoV-OC43, which they reported has a “very similar structure and survival pattern” to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to the…

The decision came after seven eastern Coachella Valley growers voiced strong opposition to the including farmworkers in the ‘hero pay’ measure.       

Aura Rivera Vidal, 32, was arrested Feb. 18 and is charged with one felony count each of willful child cruelty and witness intimidation. According to court papers, both charges involve the same 14-year-old victim.       

The project’s developer pulled the proposal from the Palm Springs Planning Commission’s agenda about two hours before Wednesday’s meeting.       

Even after his emergency surgery, the path to recovery is long and uncertain for golf legend Tiger Woods, following his car accident in California. “He is still in that acute phase where they may still have a lot of work to do in the present, in moments, in days to come,” Dr. Jeremy Faust, emergency physician Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, told CNN on Wednesday. “It’s unclear to me whether he will be going back to the operating room or not.” The 45-year-old was driving Tuesday in Rancho Palos Verdes, near Los Angeles, shortly after 7 a.m. PT when his SUV crossed a median and veered across two lanes of road before hitting a curb, hitting a tree and landing on its side in the brush, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Tuesday. Woods sustained injuries to his leg that required a rod, screws, pins and a surgical release of the muscle covering — one that surgeons likely believed would save his leg from amputation, Faust said. Authorities believe that the incident was “purely an accident,” but will have to pull the black…

(CNN) — Hasta este miércoles, los rumores sobre el título de la tercera película de Spider-Man habían sido una telaraña de mentiras. Pero la verdad ha sido revelada. Tom Holland se balanceará en los cines en diciembre en «Spider-Man: No Way Home», confirmaron Sony y Marvel. ‘Spider-Man’ seguirá salvando al mundo: Marvel y Sony se reconcilian La película será la tercera entrega de la franquicia protagonizada por Holland que también incluye «Spider-Man: Homecoming» y «Spider-Man: Far From Home». This, we can confirm. #SpiderManNoWayHome only in movie theaters this Christmas. pic.twitter.com/kCeI8Vgkdm — Spider-Man: No Way Home (@SpiderManMovie) February 24, 2021 El director Jon Watts, quien dirigió las dos primeras, regresa para esta película. ¿Por qué ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ es revolucionaria? Hablamos con un colombiano que trabajó en la animación A principios de esta semana, Holland y otros miembros del elenco, como Zendaya y Jacob Batalon, presentaron en redes sociales una serie de títulos falsos (como «Spider-Man: Home Slice» y «Spider-Man: Phone Home»), lo que generó especulaciones de que el título oficial pronto sería revelado. La película se estrenará el 17 de diciembre de 2021. The…

The return to in-class learning using a hybrid model only applies to elementary-aged students in fifth grade or younger       

Active coronavirus cases have been declining in Riverside County for weeks. Riverside County currently meets one of the state’s metrics to move into the red tier, however, both the red tier’s metrics for adjusted case rate and positivity rate must be met to move forward. Riverside County public health officials remind residents that getting tested for coronavirus helps slow the spread of the disease, and may also help meet the red tier metric for adjusted case rate. “With the recent focus on coronavirus vaccination, it is not surprising the rate for COVID-19 testing among Riverside County residents has dropped significantly over the past few months,” said Board Chair Karen Spiegel, Second District Supervisor. “We want to keep moving forward in reopening and ask residents to continue to do their part by getting tested, wearing a mask and socially distance.” PCR swab tests for active infections slow the spread of the disease by identifying infected individuals who can then be isolated as well as their close contacts. This process disrupts the virus and slows its spread. “We’re not at the point where enough people are vaccinated…

In the wake of the rollover crash that left pro golfer Tiger Woods with severe leg injuries, county Supervisor Janice Hahn Wednesday ordered a safety review of the stretch of road in Rancho Palos Verdes that has seen more than a dozen accidents in the past year. “Traffic safety across Los Angeles County is a tremendous concern for me and my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors,” Hahn said in a statement. “The accident occurred along a stretch of roadway between two coastal communities: the cities of Rancho Palos Verdes and Rolling Hills Estates. But the issue of traffic safety is one that affects the entire L.A. County region.” County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told reporters Wednesday that since January 2020, there have been 13 accidents at the location on Hawthorne Boulevard near Blackhorse Road where Woods’ crash occurred Tuesday, four of them resulting in injuries. He pointed to the downhill, curving nature of the northbound roadway. “Even if you’re not accelerating, just by gravity alone you’re going to start going faster,” Villanueva said. “In fact, there’s a turnout for trucks and a warning about testing…

It is very possible that we are going to see outdoor sports in the valley. Riverside county’s case-rate number for COVID-19 is currently at 16.6 per 100,000 (As of 2/24). The state’s department of health said last week that in order for organized outdoor sports to play the county must be at 14 cases per 100,000. So, that number 16.6 is extremely promising, especially for high school sports. Below is the timeline for outdoor high school sports to return once Riverside County is below the 14 case rate. When the county is below 14 cases per 100,000, water polo can begin immediately. As for indoor sports, it’s not looking as promising. If sports like wrestling, volleyball, and basketball want to see a season this school year, they would have to convert to outdoors. If they did that, here are the dates we are looking at for the return of those sports: Now, as for football, once the county is under the 14 case rate threshold, football can begin full practices, and 14 days after the county goes under the threshold, High school football can play…

  Drive-through restaurants are found in almost every Coachella Valley city, except for the heart of Palm Desert. “It was a way to, in the minds of the council who made these decisions, be environmentally conscious, to make sure they weren’t contributing to air pollution or to trash,” said Mayor Pro Tem Jan Harnik, Palm Desert. The restriction has been an on-going conversation for the council over the last few years, as other cities expand drive-through options. Locally, residents are divided over the issue, citing several pros and cons.  “I‘m sure there are locations where it would effect the traffic and all that stuff,” said Ata Yazizi, Palm Desert. “You know, we need something quick, fast, always there for us, and drive-throughs are just the most convenient thing,” said Chris Curieo, Palm Desert. At the council meeting on Thursday at 4 pm, the city will consider lifting a ban on drive-through businesses near HWY 111. “It was brought forward by a developer. The developer has asked for consideration and a hallmark of the city is to listen to everyone. So we’ll bring it back for…

The Cathedral City Council extended the drive-in’s permit through May, and forgave rent owed by the theater to the city.       

The proposed ordinance would require certain grocery and retail pharmacy stores to pay employees an additional $4 an hour for at least 120 days.       

(CNN Español) –– La presidenta del Consejo de Ministros de Perú, Violeta Bermúdez, anunció el fin de la cuarentena social obligatoria entre el 1 de marzo y el domingo 14 de marzo, durante una conferencia de prensa este miércoles. En su lugar, las autoridades decretaron la inmovilización social los domingos durante todo el día y de lunes a sábado desde las 9 p.m. hasta las 4 a.m. Esto en aquellos lugares considerados de riesgo extremo, porque se han presentado un mayor número de contagios. Procuraduría de Perú pide detención preliminar de involucrados en escándalo de vacunas conocido como «vacunagate» Bermúdez dijo que de las 32 provincias que se encontraban en riesgo extremo, 14 mejoraron sus indicadores y abandonaron este grupo. Sin embargo, otras 6 ingresaron. Es decir, 24 de las más de 190 provincias que tiene el país permanecen en riesgo extremo. El ministro de Salud Oscar Ugarte, también presente durante la conferencia de prensa, dijo que estas medidas se adoptaron respondiendo a una reducción de nuevos casos de covid-19, según cifras oficiales de su ministerio. También a una desaceleración en el crecimiento de las…

(CNN Español) — Los contagios globales de coronavirus cayeron un 11% en la semana antes del 21 de febrero. Es la sexta semana consecutiva que bajan los casos de covid-19. Esto según datos de la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Además, según la OMS hay una caída del 20% en las muertes esta semana. Muchos países en América Latina y el mundo están viendo esta tendencia. Las vacunas aún no llegan a una masa crítica suficiente para frenar los contagios, los casos de nuevas variantes siguen aumentando, no estamos ni cerca del nivel de confinamiento o restricciones de marzo del año pasado. Entonces, ¿por qué están bajando los casos de covid-19 en el mundo? Hay varias posibles explicaciones. La esperanza de la vacuna Aunque para algunos, sobre todo en los países en desarrollo, la vacuna parezca lejana, igual es una promesa. «La gente se vuelve más consciente porque está a la expectativa porque no se quiere morir antes de que llegue la vacuna, sabiendo que es algo que lo puede salvar», explica el Dr. Antonio Quispe, epidemiólogo peruano, quien afirma que ante la perspectiva de…