California Dolphin

Malik Nabers would’ve been a Hollywood pick. The same with Rome Odunze, the other top receiver who was available. The Chargers went in another direction Thursday. Offensive tackle Joe Alt, whom they chose fifth overall in the NFL draft, was a trademark Jim Harbaugh selection. Harbaugh wants the Chargers to run the ball? Alt, who was measured at the combine at 6-foot-9 and 321 pounds, should allow them to do that. Harbaugh wants to protect quarterback Justin Herbert? Alt, who was a two-time All-American at Notre Dame, should help them do that. Harbaugh wants toughness? Alt, who didn’t miss a game in his three-year college career, should provide that. “He’s there every day, he’s there every game,” Harbaugh said. “That tells me he’s a competitor.” Who knows if a Los Angeles team can ever be a blue-collar team, but Harbaugh is doing what he can to transform the Chargers into at least a powder-blue-collar team. “Competitors welcome,” Harbaugh said. “Any country in the world, any state in our country, any team — competitors welcome.” In the wake of the salary-cap-forced departures of Keenan Allen and

Updated on: April 26, 2024 / 6:21 AM EDT / AP Blinken arrives in China for talks Blinken arrives in China for talks over Russia, Taiwan, Middle East and more 04:37 Beijing — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese officials, warning of the dangers of misunderstandings and miscalculations as the United States and China butted heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues. Blinken met with Xi in Beijing after holding talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong. Talks between the two sides have increased in recent months, even as differences have grown. “We are committed to maintaining and strengthening lines of communication between us,” so that the two sides can prevent any “any miscommunications, any misperceptions and any miscalculations,” Blinken said. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, April 26, 2024. Mark Schiefelbein/Pool/REUTERS Earlier, Blinken and Wang also underscored the importance of keeping lines of communication open as they lamented persistent

Henry Cervantes was a Fresno-born, 19-year-old son of Mexican farmworkers when the Navy told him in 1942 that he could not fight for his country. An enlistment officer sent him home, saying the Navy didn’t take Mexicans, Filipinos or Black people. In an interview with the American Patriots of Latino Heritage, Cervantes said he directed a couple of choice epithets at the officer and declared, “I’ll prove you wrong,” before running out the door. He found a spot instead in the Army and the Army Air Force, where he flew more than two dozen missions as part of the “Bloody 100th” Bomb Group. He later served as a test pilot and flight instructor, among other roles, before retiring as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force in the mid-1960s. Cervantes lived to see his 100th birthday before his death on April 7 at his home in Playa Vista. The centenarian is remembered by his friends as a man with “impeccable diction” and gentle spirit, but he was no shrinking violet. Cervantes was born on Oct. 9, 1923, to a young Mexican couple, María Rincón and

Arbor Day has its roots in the 1870s, when the horticulturist J. Sterling Morton spearheaded a movement to green Nebraska’s largely treeless plains. Since then, citizens, businesses and governments have marked April 26 by planting trees in schoolyards, parks and neighborhoods. In recent years, tree-planting has been touted as no less than a means of empowering people to combat climate change. Gratifying and photographable, planting a tree seems to be a small but tangible act that almost anyone can undertake to reduce their carbon footprint and feel good about it. The science, however, suggests a more strategic use of our time and resources. Newly planted trees take many years to become effective carbon sinks. By contrast, properly caring for the forests we already have — and letting them grow older — can make a huge difference immediately. Instead of simply mass-planting saplings on Arbor Day or any other occasion, governments, businesses and people should look for ways to restore and conserve forests. The hard truth is that a singular focus on planting can cause us to literally and figuratively miss the forest — and its

DETROIT —  First offensive player selected in the NFL draft: USC. First defensive player: UCLA. But how could we have guessed there would be so many picks between Trojans quarterback Caleb Williams going No. 1 to Chicago and Bruins edge rusher Laiatu Latu going 15th to Indianapolis? Williams, the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner, has clear goals in the coming weeks and months: “Learn all my teammates’ names, their families, learn the playbook and get ready to go win games.” Chicago had the opening selection for the first time since 1947, and followed that by picking Washington receiver Rome Odunze at No. 9. It was a bizarre first round Thursday night, with half of the first 12 selections being quarterbacks, tying the opening-round record of that historic 1983 draft that included future Hall of Famers John Elway, Jim Kelly and Dan Marino. Even the Atlanta Falcons used their first pick on a quarterback, Washington’s Michael Penix, a head-scratcher of a decision seeing as that club signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180-million deal last month. (Jeff Lewis / Associated Press) In order, the quarterbacks chosen Thursday were

In 1973, the National Hurricane Center introduced the Saffir-Simpson scale, a five-category rating system that classified hurricanes by wind intensity. At the bottom of the scale was Category 1, for storms with sustained winds of 74 to 95 mph. At the top was Category 5, for disasters with winds of 157 mph or more. In the half-century since the scale’s debut, land and ocean temperatures have steadily risen as a result of greenhouse gas emissions. Hurricanes have become more intense, with stronger winds and heavier rainfall. With catastrophic storms regularly blowing past the 157-mph threshold, some scientists argue, the Saffir-Simpson scale no longer adequately conveys the threat the biggest hurricanes present. Earlier this year, two climate scientists published a paper that compared historical storm activity to a hypothetical version of the Saffir-Simpson scale that included a Category 6, for storms with sustained winds of 192 mph or more. Of the 197 hurricanes classified as Category 5 from 1980 to 2021, five fit the description of a hypothetical Category 6 hurricane: Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, Hurricane Patricia in 2015, Typhoon Meranti in 2016, Typhoon Goni in

Most comedy clubs in L.A. can book a lineup on any given night, but it’s the special venues that know how to treat comedians properly when they walk in the door. For Katie Cazorla, that starts with giving them respect. “Comics should never have to pay for drinks when they’re performing,” Cazorla says. “If you perform and you get a tab, that’s bull—. You just provided the entertainment.” Since 1999, Cazorla’s life in L.A. has included living out of her car, starring in a pair of reality series — “Nail Files” and “Second Wives Club” — being involved in animal rescue and becoming a Hollywood restaurateur, a Studio City wellness owner and a multi-hyphenate comic-writer-live producer. As owner of the new Kookaburra Lounge comedy venue, Cazorla is intent on maximizing comfort — of performers and audience members — above exorbitant club cover charges. The “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” guest knew she wasn’t alone in her frustrations with traditional venues. Cazorla recalls one day posting a question on on Instagram, “’What are the top one or two things you cannot stand about comedy clubs?’ People were DM-ing

By Aaron Navarro April 26, 2024 / 6:00 AM EDT / CBS News Where Biden and Trump stand on labor issues Where Biden and Trump stand on labor issues 05:20 Washington — President Biden often calls himself the most “pro-union president in history,” and the ballroom packed with labor members Wednesday needed no more convincing. The crowd at the North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) conference booed at the sight of former President Donald Trump during an video before Mr. Biden’s speech, with some chanting “lock him up!” before the president took the stage.  “Donald Trump is incapable of running anything,” said NABTU president Sean McGarvey in the video, where the union announced its endorsement of Mr. Biden. Seeking to contrast himself with Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Mr. Biden said “Trump preferred non-union workers in his real estate projects,” and added his predecessor put “union busters” on the National Labor Relations Board. Nearly all the major labor unions have endorsed Mr. Biden. The board of the AFL-CIO, which represents 60 unions and has over 12 million members, was one of the first to

David Pecker will end his week where he began: on the stand in former President Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial . The former National Enquirer publisher was the first witness called to the stand after opening statements Monday. Over hours of testimony over three days, Pecker described a scheme in which he agreed to spend tens of thousands of dollars to purchase the rights to stories that might embarrass Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign in order to keep them from being made public, a process known as “catch and kill.” On Thursday, Pecker said that arrangement led him to pay $150,000 to the model Karen McDougal, who claimed to have had an affair with Trump in 2006. Trump denies that relationship. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The charges relate to reimbursements to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who paid adult film star Stormy Daniels to suppress her claim of a sexual encounter with Trump days before the 2016 election. Pecker said he remembered speaking to Cohen about Daniels and refusing to buy her story. Pecker

April 26, 2024 / 5:38 AM EDT / CBS/AP Toledo, Ohio — An Ohio man who was handcuffed and left facedown on the floor of a social club last week died in police custody, and the officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave. Police body-camera footage released Wednesday shows a Canton police officer responding to a report of a crash and finding Frank Tyson, a 53-year-old East Canton resident, by the bar in a nearby American Veterans, or AMVETS, post. The crash at about 8 p.m. on April 18 had severed a utility pole. Officer Beau Schoenegge’s body-camera footage shows that after a passing motorist directed police to the bar, a woman opened the door and said: “Please get him out of here, now.” Police grabbed Tyson and he resisted being handcuffed and said repeatedly, “They’re trying to kill me” and “Call the sheriff,” as he was taken to the floor. This image, taken from Canton Police body camera video, shows 53-year-old Frank E. Tyson on April 18, 2024, in Canton, Ohio. Police say Tyson, a resident of East Canton, was arrested in

By Sara Moniuszko Edited By Paula Cohen April 26, 2024 / 5:00 AM EDT / CBS News Tracking your health data through wearable devices Tracking your health data through wearable devices 05:48 From smart wearables like the Apple Watch or Garmin trackers to the celebrity-sported Oura ring and trendy WHOOP strap, health tech has come a long way from just tracking your steps. “There’s lots of different metrics now that we can begin to look at,” says Dr. Davin Lundquist, family physician and chief medical officer at Augmedix. “Anytime that we can have a greater awareness of our health and paying attention to it, it tends to influence behavior in a positive way.” Here are four that doctors say can be useful to monitor: Sleep  Most healthy adults can benefit from sleep tracking to some level, says Dr. Carlos M. Nunez, chief medical officer at medical device company ResMed. “Many users aren’t tracking the right information and can end up fixating or misinterpreting the data rather than observing the larger trends that the trackers can help to indicate,” Nunez says. “Users should start by tracking

The Morro Bay Kite Festival returns this weekend. The family-friendly event is scheduled to take place all weekend Friday night and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Hundreds of kites will take flight throughout the weekend, with 500 free kites provided to kids through Central Coast Funds for Children. “It’s just an amazing event,” said Shaun Farmer, the founder of the Morro Bay Kite Festival. “Where you can come with your family enjoy relax.” The Friday night flight will include kites with LED lights. Event organizers tried to do a night flight last year which didn’t end up working out. This year may be the first successful attempt if the wind cooperates. “There’s something about being in control of that kite up in the air and watching it fly,” Farmer said. “It’s just soothing … I tell people all the time: ‘You want to lose stress? Go fly a kite.'” The event is free to attend for community members of all ages. You can learn more on the Morro Bay Kite Festival website.

The 30th annual San Luis Obispo International Film Festival is taking place through April 30. Skye McLennan, the executive director for the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, says the six-day event has something for everyone. I would say that we truly have something for everyone, said McLennan. We have narratives, documentaries, short films. We have films about sports like surfing, skateboarding this year. Theres no genre that we dont cover here at the festival. Even horror actually. She says seeing the audience’s reaction makes all the effort worth it. Seeing people laugh, cry, enjoy themselves, said McLennan. Thats what we work all year long on is bringing the people together. It means so much. The directors and writers told KSBY News that it’s an honor to participate in the festival. This is terrific, said David R. Hardberger, “Homecoming” short film director. Im glad that theyre doing this here. It gives independence. It gives people like myself short films. It gives people an opportunity to get out there and see it. Its stunning,” said Kelly OSullivan, “Ghostlight” film director and writer. “Even just walking into