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Cowboys for Trump leader arrested over US Capitol riot - SFGate

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico county official and founder of the group Cowboys for...

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico county official and founder of the group Cowboys for Trump who had vowed to return to Washington after last week’s riot at the U.S. Capitol to place a flag on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk has been arrested Sunday by the FBI.Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin was arrested on charges of illegally entering the U.S. Capitol.According to court documents, Griffin told investigators that he was “caught up” in the crowd, which pushed its way through the barricades and entered the restricted area of the U.S. Capitol, but he said he did not enter the building and instead remained on the U.S. Capitol steps. A video posted to Griffin's personal Facebook page shows Griffin in the restricted areas, according to the affidavit. Griffin did not immediately respond to phone or text messages seeking comment. On Thursday, Griffin, said he planned to travel with firearms to Washington, D.C., for Biden’s inauguration. “I’m gonna be there on Jan. 20 ... and I’m gonna take a stand for our country and for our freedoms,” Griffin said during a meeting of the Otero County Board of Commissioners. “I’m gonna leave either tonight or tomorrow. I’ve got a .357 Henry Big Boy rifle lever action that I’ve got in the trunk of my car and I’ve got a .357 single action revolver, the Colt Ruger Vaquero that I’ll have underneath the front seat on my right side and I will embrace my Second Amendment,” he said. ___ Associated Press journalist Morgan Lee contributed to this report.

Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce join forces to build a COVID-19 vaccination app - SFGate

If you're one of the lucky few to have received the COVID-19 vaccine, then all you have...

If you're one of the lucky 10.8 million who have received the COVID-19 vaccine (that's roughly one in every 30 Americans), then all you have to show for it right now is a piece of paper, but that may soon change.A coalition of tech companies and health organizations announced Thursday that they are working on the development of an app that will enable people to share their immunization status, reports the New York Times.The companies, including Salesforce, Oracle, Microsoft and the Mayo Clinic, are working to build a "vaccine passport app" that will allow people to establish their vaccination status for work, travel and other activities. There is already a similar app available to air travelers to show airlines that they have recently tested negative for COVID-19 to board a plane. The Common Pass is currently being used by United Airline and JetBlue among other carriers. The Vaccination Credential Initiative (VCI) is being launched to provide a "trustworthy, traceable, verifiable, and universally recognized digital record of vaccination status," the coalition said in a news release. A digital record "is urgently needed worldwide to safely enable people to return to work, school, events, and travel," the release said. VCI’s goal is to give individuals access to an encrypted digital copy of their immunization records. The coalition also stated that those without smartphones could receive paper printed with QR codes containing the credentials. The current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-issued paper COVID-19 records state the vaccine manufacturer, batch number and date of inoculation, but there is no federal system in place that allows easy access to immunization records online. “As the world begins to recover from the pandemic, having electronic access to vaccination, testing, and other medical records will be vital to resuming travel and more,” said Mike Sicilia, executive vice president of Oracle’s Global Business Units, in the statement. “This process needs to be as easy as online banking."

Here's the costume that may have infected 44 people and killed one at San Jose Kaiser - SF Gate

NBC Bay Area news reporter Marianne Favro shared an image of the costume on Twitter.

With a red nose and big smile, a Christmas tree costume worn by a Kaiser employee in a California emergency room on Christmas was meant to spread cheer.Instead it may have help spread COVID-19, infecting more than 40 staff and killing one at the Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center.NBC Bay Area news reporter Marianne Favro shared an image of the costume on Twitter. It shows a red-nosed smiling Christmas tree strung with red garlands and yellow balls and a star on top. Costumes such as this work via a battery-operated fan that pulls air into the suit and gives it shape. Kaiser is investigating whether the costume, worn briefly by the staffer on Dec. 25, may have contributed to the outbreak by spreading droplets through the air. “Any exposure, if it occurred, would have been completely innocent, and quite accidental, as the individual had no COVID symptoms and only sought to lift the spirits of those around them during what is a very stressful time," said Kaiser San Jose Senior Vice President Irene Chavez, adding that the holiday costume was not approved beforehand by Kaiser. Chavez said 44 staff members of the emergency department have tested positive for the virus since Dec. 27; one person has died. Kaiser isn't releasing the name of the employee who passed away due to COVID complications. "Out of respect for patient privacy and the family, we have no additional information to provide," Kaiser said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this terrible loss. We are providing support to our employees during this difficult time." The emergency department is open and undergoing a deep cleaning, Chavez said. Nearly 40,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers in Northern California have already received COVID-19 vaccinations, she said. Dr. Bob Wachter, chairman of the Department of Medicine at UCSF, talked about the tragic incident at Kaiser on KCBS Radio on Monday morning. "The idea that they wanted to bring a little bit of joy is noble," Wachter said. "It’s really a sad and terrible thing. It emphasizes the thing over and over again: You can’t tell who has COVID." The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Apple closes all California stores as COVID cases rise - SFGate

The move comes less than a week before Christmas.

Signs are seen on a window to warn consumers that the Apple Store in Santa Monica, California, is closed on July 28, 2020, amid the coronavirus pandemic. VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images As California becomes a new epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple has temporarily shuttered all 53 of its stores in the state less than a week before Christmas. The period between Thanksgiving and Christmas is traditionally one of the busiest shopping periods of the year. The move comes a day after the Cupertino-based company closed all of its Los Angeles-area stores. The Southern California region had recently hit 0% ICU bed capacity as the pandemic continues to surge in the area. Customers can still visit the stores, but only to pickup existing online orders or attend already scheduled tech support appointments and already scheduled shopping sessions made through Tuesday, December 22, store location websites in California say. There is no word yet on when stores will reopen. However, the state's Department of Public Health website says that Southern California and San Joaquin regions would be eligible to exit stay-at-home orders on December 28th, but only if ICU bed capacity projections are equal to or above 15% for the following month. The Bay Area could see its shutdown lifted on January 8th. California has seen 1.8 million cases of COVID-19, with 22,432 deaths, according to the state's dashboard. Today, the state recorded 43,608 new cases, though that number includes cases prior to yesterday since test results reporting can be delayed.

1 killed in Black Friday shooting at Sacramento's Arden Fair Mall - SF Gate

The popular mall was evacuated around 6 p.m. after shots rang out.

At least one person is dead after a shooting on Black Friday at Sacramento's Arden Fair Mall.The popular mall was evacuated around 6 p.m. after shots rang out. "SPD officers are on scene of a shooting that occurred at Arden Fair Mall," the Sacramento Police Department tweeted at 6:47 p.m. "Two shooting victims have been located and the suspect has fled the area.  There is no active threat at this time. Police will remain in the area as the investigation continues." The Sacramento Fire Department told KCRA one person died and another has life-threatening injuries. A KCRA reporter on the scene for Black Friday coverage saw people running out of the mall shortly after 6 p.m. LIVE | Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento evacuated after shooting. See the full story >>> https://t.co/sBq5tQ6ocXhttps://t.co/PWShcgrroA — kcranews (@kcranews) November 28, 2020 Police said it was not an active shooter incident but did not provide any further details about the circumstances of the shooting. The mall is closed until further notice as police continue the investigation.

Strong winds knock California: Peak gusts top 100 mph - SFGate

From the Tahoe Basin to Los Angeles County, the wind is blowing.

From the Tahoe Basin to Los Angeles County, high winds howled across California on Thanksgiving Day.The blustery conditions are the result of an upper-level trough that's diving south into the Great Basin, said National Weather Service forecaster Scott Rowe.In Tahoe, wind speeds topping 90-100 mph knocked mountaintops and South Lake Tahoe saw isolated gusts up to 30 mph. A weather gauge on a ski lift at Kirkwood at the crest of a mountain recorded a speed of 160 mph. Rowe explained this anemometer was in a highly exposed location and not representative of what people would be experiencing on the ground. "I’ve heard chair 6 is at the top of a summit, at the top of a chair lift…it’s like as high as you can go," said Rowe. "Some of those stations are extremely exposed sites, which are beyond what we would consider meteorologically standard sites. They’re not representative of the near-surface environment." In the Sacramento Valley a wind advisory was in effect Thursday through 5 p.m. with gusts up to 35 mph expected. The weather service warned of fallen tree limbs and loose objects and holiday directions being blown around. Kirkwood now gusting to 161 mph. Extra windy today. #CAwxpic.twitter.com/U58ECvqTJn — Craig Smith (@weathertrader) November 26, 2020 These northerly winds whipping across the state Thursday are common in the fall, and called Diablo winds in Northern California and Santa Ana winds in Southern California. The offshore winds blow hot air from inland areas toward the coast and are known for drying out the landscape, and essentially sucking the moisture out of the vegetation and leaving it tinder-dry and vulnerable to burning. Wildfire risk can be high during these wind episodes. The event in the Bay Area ranged from moderate to weak but the weather service still warned of wildfire risk. "It should be noted that fires in November/December are not totally unheard of - Pfeiffer Fire in Big Sur and McCabe Fire both in 2013," the Bay Area weather service office noted in its Thursday forecast. Over peaks across the North Bay and East Bay, gusts ranging from 55-65 mph were recorded Thursday morning. Valley areas saw weaker winds with speeds up to 30 mph at the San Francisco International Airport. Santa Ana wind for later this week - Thanksgiving Day through late Friday evening. Strong NE wind gusts across much of LA/VTA Counties and low humidity. This is a cold #SantaAna so highs will be in the 60's to low 70's. #CAwx#SOCal#LAwindpic.twitter.com/BayKEsElFJ — NWS Los Angeles (@NWSLosAngeles) November 24, 2020 The situation in Southern California was more severe than in the north where winds Thursday morning howled above 60 mph across the hills that have seen little rain since last winter. Southern California Edison preemptively turned power off Thursday to nearly 5,000 customers, mostly in Ventura County, to reduce the risk of fallen or damaged power lines sparking wildfires. The utility company is considering shutoffs for tens of thousands more in Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties as well as additional customers in Ventura. Early Thursday, winds were blowing up to 62 mph in the San Gabriel Mountains and peak speeds aren't expected until Thursday night into Friday morning. Humidity levels are forecast to drop down to 10-25% Thursday and some local spots on Friday could dip into the single digits. The weather service extended a red flag warning in effect Thursday for the mountains of Los Angeles and Ventura counties into Saturday evening. The blustery weather is expected to calm in Southern California Friday night and Saturday but the weather service warned of "very dry" conditions. Unfortunately not much sign of meaningful precip in California for foreseeable future. While fire season has been greatly mitigated in many areas, that is not the case everywhere--esp. in south. At least record warmth has finally retreated... #CAwx#CAfirehttps://t.co/2rLgoPJQWI — Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) November 23, 2020 A handful of storms have passed over California in recent weeks, delivering healthy amounts of rain to the far reaches of Northern California and piling up snow in the northern Sierra Nevada range. But the systems haven't delivered the widespread rain the state desperately needs to dampen the landscape and curb wildfire risk. "In the wettest locations, that precipitation may well be considered 'fire season ending' — and rains elsewhere have significantly dampened wildfire risk," Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UC Los Angeles, wrote on his Weather West blog. "But true season-ending rains have still not yet arrived across some parts of NorCal, and certainly not yet across most of SoCal." Swain noted that fall 2020 is on track to be among the top-five driest on record across much of California. "This comes immediately following the warmest August-October period on record in California," Swain wrote. In short, wildfire season is not over.

Kamala Harris shares how to brine a turkey in viral video - SF Gate

“Just like lather that baby up on the outside and in the cavity."

A 2019 video of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris offering tips on how to brine a Thanksgiving turkey is spreading across social media faster than you can pass the gravy.The video was captured and posted on Twitter by Washington Post journalist Jonathan Capehart who asked Harris for her tips on cooking a turkey as she was preparing for an appearance on MSNBC's "PoliticsNation." Capehart was recording the advice for his husband, Nick, who Harris addresses in the video.In the clip, the then-senator shares recipes for both wet and dry brines, though she said the dry brine is easier, recommending that the turkey be seasoned with Kosher salt and thyme 48 hours ahead. Before the turkey goes into the oven, she suggests combing butter, more salt, fresh-ground pepper, thyme and maybe some rosemary and rubbing the mixture all over the turkey and under the skin. “Just like lather that baby up on the outside and in the cavity," she explains. Finally, she bastes her turkey with a "nice big bottle of cheap white wine." TikTok user @feministmama said Harris' turkey is the best she has "ever made" and turned it into an instructional video to go along with the recipe. The video has been liked more than 1.3 million times. Harris hasn't only shared her turkey brining recipe with her fans. Earlier this week, she posted her family cornbread recipe on Twitter. "During difficult times I have always turned to cooking," Harris wrote. "This year, I wanted to share one of my family’s favorite Thanksgiving recipes with you. I hope whenever you’re able to make it in life, it brings you as much warmth as it has brought me—even when separated from those I love." During difficult times I have always turned to cooking. This year, I wanted to share one of my family’s favorite Thanksgiving recipes with you. I hope whenever you’re able to make it in life, it brings you as much warmth as it has brought me—even when separated from those I love. pic.twitter.com/68LUeat4fE — Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 25, 2020 On the day before Thanksgiving, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, visited DC Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C., to thank volunteers preparing meals for those facing food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Emhoff announced food insecurity will be one of his top issues win his new role as second gentleman. DC Central Kitchen is a nonprofit providing healthy meals to local families and training people with the culinary skills needed to work in restaurants since 1989.

Newsom suggests when mass vaccination could be available in California - SF Gate

The beginning of an end is in sight.

With three COVID-19 vaccines now showing promising results, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a Monday press conference the state is preparing for delivery and distribution, but widespread availability to the public is still months away.As Newsom has said before, he noted the state's health care workers will be the first in line to receive inoculations and this could happen before the end of the year."Mass vaccination is unlikely to occur any time soon," Newsom said. "March, April, June, July, that's where we start to scale." The Food and Drug Administration is likely to approve one or more vaccines in early December, and Newsom said the state is ready to act quickly with the wheels already in motion. California launched a community advisory committee of community groups, school leaders and nonprofit organizations to advise on distribution and allocation. A draft of the Phase 1a allocation, targeting 2.4 million health care workers across the state, is due Dec. 1. Next, the committee will look at allocation of vaccines to individuals in congregate care, the medically vulnerable, medical first responders and those involved in safety infrastructure. Earlier this month, drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna reported preliminary results from late-stage trials revealing their COVID-19 vaccines were almost 95% effective. AstraZeneca said Monday that late-stage trials showed its vaccine is highly effective, and unlike the others, this one doesn’t have to be stored at freezer temperatures, making it potentially less expensive and easier to distribute. Newsom said the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are likely to be distributed first in "very limited supplies." "The first round of vaccinations will be extraordinarily limited," he said. "We begin with a framework of scarcity." The state's scientific safety review workgroup has already reviewed the Phase I and II study data on both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and will be able to review the Phase III data close to when the FDA and CDC receive information to expedite the review and avoid any delay. The most populated state in the country, California has implemented mass vaccinations in the past, administering tens of millions of routine vaccines on a yearly basis, and will draw from this experience. Last season, 19 million flu vaccines doses were given across three to four months. During the H1N1 pandemic, local health departments doubled the routine administered doses, according to the governor. "We’re not starting from scratch … we’re building off this rich experience," Newsom said. "We’re building off existing infrastructure at the state and local level and a history of partnerships that have been organized at all levels." The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Why COVID-19 is surging in California and the Bay Area - SF Gate

The reasons are many, but there's one major source that keeps popping up.

Coronavirus cases are surging in California again, and many may be wondering why.Private gatherings, especially when moved indoors and without masks, seem to be a primary cause."People are letting their guard down," Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a press conference this week. Newsom noted there's some early indication from contact-tracing data that gatherings on Halloween and with people moving indoors due to colder weather may be in part responsible for the rise in cases. California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly added that information gathered by health officials in individual counties reveals essential workers, places of worship and restaurants are causing transmission in some counties. But in all counties with surges, he said health directors consistently point to private household gathering as a "major source of spread." "These masks, even with loved ones that we haven’t seen in a while, are really important," Ghaly said. "That sense that we’re safe, because we know someone, it’s not the case with COVID. It’s not a surprise we see household gatherings as a major source of transmission, but at the same time, it’s a place where we can make important inroads, where our own choices can reduce that transmission and help not just transmission rates to come down in our communities, but help keep our economy moving forward." Also, this week, Ghaly outlined the activities that the state has determined to be most high risk, including those where you see people outside your household, especially for a long duration, and where it is difficult to wear a mask the entire time such as eating and drinking. Activities where it's difficult to keep at least 6 feet away from others are also problematic. Ghaly gave a group sitting around a small table playing a board game or sharing a meal as something to avoid. Gathering in places that don't allow plenty of fresh air to circulate can increase the risk for transmission. 1/ Covid (@UCSF) Chronicles, Day 237 California hit its millionth case today. A milestone like that might seem an odd occasion to highlight the state as a national model for its Covid response. But I will. Here's @nytimes piece marking millionth case https://t.co/Pw4abQQgXs — Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) November 13, 2020 Coronavirus cases have surged across the United States since the start of fall, while California has generally remained protected from an explosion of cases. But in early October, the Golden State began to see a slight uptick, and now the rate of increase is accelerating. California became the second state after Texas to top 1 million cases on Thursday. Health officials are concerned. "The level of COVID transmission is higher in this environment than we've seen over the past couple weeks," said Ghaly. The increase in transmission is concerning with the weather changing to cold conditions and people more likely to bring activities indoors. The seven-day positivity rate (the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of all individuals who are tested) was 4.2% on Tuesday. This is the first time the positivity rate has risen above 4% since late August, Ghaly said. Newsom introduced a color-coded tier system that sorts counties into four tiers — "purple" (widespread), "red" (substantial), "orange" (moderate) or "yellow" (minimal) — measuring the spread of COVID-19 and dictating what types of businesses and activities are allowed to open. This week, 11 counties fell back into more restrictive tiers. While only one of the nine Bay Area counties regressed a tier (Contra Costa went from orange to red), cases are increasing in all counties. Both Napa and Santa Clara counties are seeing rises in infection that could move them from orange to red next week. Solano County is on track to return to the purple tier. San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced Tuesday the elimination of indoor dining, a limit on capacity at gyms and movie theaters, and a pause on the reopening of additional high schools until further notice. "The hard choices we make now will help make our future better," said Breed. "We have to do what is necessary to protect the people of San Francisco." Indoor dining at restaurants or bars serving meals are required to close Saturday. Indoor dining establishments in hotels, museums or at other venues will also need to shutter. Outdoor dining may continue. Fitness centers and movie theaters will be required to maintain 25% capacity with more more than 50 people, reversing the previous limit of 100 people beginning Saturday. San Francisco Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax said he's alarmed by the recent rate of spread in the city. From Oct. 21 to Nov. 5, the number of new daily cases per 100,000 residents jumped up from 3.7 to 9 per 100,000 residents. The city is currently averaging 80 new cases a day, up from 32 at the end of October. "This is consistent with what we're seeing across the Bay Area and California," Colfax said. While the California surge is alarming, Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of the Department of Medicine at UCSF, wrote in one of this regular Twitter threads that there's still time to turn the ship around. "While CA’s numbers are going in the wrong direction, when compared to the Midwest we’re doing OK – at least not so badly that we can’t turn this thing around," he wrote. "the Midwest may well have reached that moment of exponential growth when the entire region needs to resort to a complete shutdown. But in CA, we should be able to manage our surge with less extreme measures."

Airline passenger dies of COVID-19 on plane - SF Gate

A newly reported case in Texas could be the first instance of an airline passenger dying...

A newly reported case in Texas could be the first instance of an airline passenger dying of COVID-19 on a flight.Although the incident happened in July, it was only this week that Dallas County officials confirmed the cause of death was COVID-19.According to a report from Dallas County Health and Human Services, the victim was a woman in her 30s – a resident of Garland, Texas — who was traveling from Arizona to Dallas on July 25.  “She expired on an interstate airline flight, and did have underlying high risk health conditions,” the agency said. The report didn’t identify the airline involved, or the airports where the woman departed and arrived. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins told the local NBC TV affiliate that the woman was having trouble breathing, and after the plane had landed, “they tried to give her oxygen. It was not successful, and she died on the jetway,” Jenkins said in an interview. It was unclear whether the woman knew she had the disease when she boarded. Major airlines began requiring passengers to wear face masks on board in May, but it wasn’t until more than  two months later that they really started to crack down on violators after too many complaints and online videos from travelers showing that the rule often wasn’t enforced. Some U.S. airports have started pilot programs to check travelers’ temperatures in an effort to prevent sick passengers from getting on a plane. Frontier Airlines is the only large U.S. carrier that has a firm policy of checking every passenger’s temperature at the airport before boarding – something it has been doing since June. Don't miss a shred of important travel news!Sign up for our FREE weekly email alerts. Airlines and airports have long been urging the federal government to impose a nationwide system of passenger temperature checks, to be undertaken by the Transportation Security Administration at its screening checkpoints. But so far the agency has shown little interest in taking up that additional responsibility. Universal temperature checks are much more common at foreign airports. Frontier Airlines has been checking passengers' temperatures since June. Frontier Airlines A few weeks ago, two members of the Senate Commerce Committee introduced a bipartisan bill that would require TSA to implement temperature checks. The bill would give the agency 120 days to conduct pilot testing of various temperature screening technologies, and then another 90 days to create a national plan to implement the policy. Critics maintain that temperature checks wouldn’t be 100% effective because individuals who were newly infected with the COVID-19 virus but weren’t yet showing symptoms – including a fever — wouldn’t be identified by the procedure. Interestingly, the report of this incident comes on the heels of a Deparment of Defense study showing that it's nearly impossible to contract COVID-19 in flight. Read all recent TravelSkills posts here Don't miss a shred of important travel news by signing up for FREE weekly email updates! SFGATE participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites.

Thousands march across Golden Gate Bridge over Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict - SF Gate

The march was organized by Bay Area Armenians.

Thousands of people marched across the Golden Gate Bridge on Saturday to draw attention to the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region involving Azerbaijani and Armenian forces.An estimated 3,000 people attended the event, with no incidents reported. Golden Gate Bridge 10/10/2020 pic.twitter.com/caNYqrjAws — Lernick (@LernickH) October 11, 2020 Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to a Russia-brokered cease-fire in Nagorno-Karabakh starting Saturday, but immediately accused each other of derailing the deal intended to end the worst outbreak of hostilities in the separatist region in more than a quarter-century. The two sides traded blame for breaking the truce that took effect at noon (0800 GMT) with new attacks. The cease-fire announcement came overnight after 10 hours of talks in Moscow sponsored by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The deal stipulated that the cease-fire should pave the way for talks on settling the conflict. If the truce holds, it would mark a major diplomatic coup for Russia, which has a security pact with Armenia but also cultivated warm ties with Azerbaijan. But the agreement was immediately challenged by mutual claims of violations. Minutes after the truce took force, the Armenian military accused Azerbaijan of shelling the area near the town of Kapan in southeastern Armenia, killing one civilian. Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry rejected the Armenian accusations as a “provocation.” The Azerbaijani military, in turn, accused Armenia of striking the Terter and Agdam regions of Azerbaijan with missiles and then attempting to launch offensives in the Agdere-Terter and the Fizuli-Jabrail areas. Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov charged that “conditions for implementing the humanitarian cease-fire are currently missing” amid the continuing Armenian shelling. Armenia’s Defense Ministry denied any truce violations by the Armenian forces and said in the evening that the truce was “largely holding” despite Azerbaijani “provocations,” to which the Armenian troops responded in kind. The latest outburst of fighting between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces began Sept. 27 and left hundreds of people dead in the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh since a separatist war there ended in 1994. The region lies in Azerbaijan but has been under control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

'Boycott the MLB' crowd takes an L as Giants-Dodgers and Yankees-Nationals draw record TV ratings - SF Gate

Despite the repeated insistence by some that the return of national anthem protests would cause MLB television ratings to crater, the two games televised to a national audience on Thursday night set multiple viewership records.

• Hunter Pence #8 of the San Francisco Giants looks on during batting practice before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on July 23, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Hunter Pence #8 of the San Francisco Giants looks on during batting practice before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on July 23, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. Photo: Harry How / Getty Images