San Francisco Nets Nearly $4 Million From Zyn Sellers in Crusade Against Flavored Tobacco
According to the 2023 California Youth Tobacco Survey, most high school respondents who used tobacco reported using flavored tobacco products, and nicotine pouches were the second-most common form of tobacco use among eighth-graders. Experts say the proliferation of flavored tobacco products, which are more attractive to young people, has threatened decades of progress in reducing youth tobacco use. Zyn, a Swedish brand of nicotine pouches that has dominated the market, has been around for a decade and was initially marketed to help users kick smoking habits. Though the pouches don’t contain cancer-causing tobacco, nicotine is addictive, and experts have raised alarm bells about the consequences of nicotine exposure to developing adolescent brains. The San Francisco settlement was announced the day after California unveiled a list of tobacco products that can be legally sold in the state, following a statewide flavored tobacco ban in 2020 that voters upheld in a 2022 referendum.
Source:The Guardian
January 09, 2026 04:15 UTC
Alameda Coast Guard Cutter ‘Munro’ Assists in Seizure of Venezuelan Oil Tanker
United States forces seized two sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela in back-to-back pre-dawn actions in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean on Wednesday, January 7, according to U.S. Secretary of State Kristi Noem. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro, which is based in Alameda, chased the Bella I tanker “across the high seas and through treacherous storms,” Noem announced in a lengthy post on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday morning, January 7. The U.S. European Command first announced the seizure of Bella I for “violations of U.S. sanctions” in a social media post. The U.S. had been pursuing the tanker since last month after it tried to evade a U.S. blockade on sanctioned oil vessels around Venezuela, according to the Associated Press. His lawyer said he expects to contest the legality of his “military abduction,” according to a San Jose Mercury News report.
Source:The Guardian
January 09, 2026 03:48 UTC
Today’s Alameda Treasure – 1724 Santa Clara Avenue – The Greenleaf House/Cedar Gables Inn, Part 5
It became the Cedar Gables Inn at that point, and has continued as a bed and breakfast inn ever since. Entering the Cedar Gables Inn and being greeted by manager Nicole Boyle, I felt that I already knew the layout of this place. A difference here is how the living room windows extend higher up on the Cedar Gables Inn as compared to the Greenleaf House. For more information or to book a room, visit the Cedar Gables Inn website. Some information for this article is from the history binder of the Cedar Gables Inn.
Source:The Guardian
January 09, 2026 03:48 UTC
Tesco and M&S: Strong Christmas food sales
Source: theguardian.comUK: Tesco and M&S report strong Christmas food salesRetail giants Tesco and Marks & Spencer both saw a bump in food sales over the vital Christmas period despite both mentioning a challenging economic backdrop. M&S said that it had seen a record number of customers over Christmas and its food sales were "strong". Tesco boss Ken Murphy said he was "delighted" with the supermarket's performance over Christmas amid "intense" competition. Source: corporate.asda.comHolland: Revenue for Sligro Food Group N.V. for 2025 came in at €2,668mlnSligro Food Group N.V. reported: "Revenue for Sligro Food Group N.V. for 2025 came in at €2,668mln, an increase of 1.7% compared to the 2024 revenue excluding tobacco of €2,623mln. Provencia, by far the largest franchisee of the French supermarket group, is considering leaving the Carrefour network and is in talks with competing formulas.
Source:The Guardian
January 09, 2026 02:09 UTC
83-year-old Inland Empire Author Wins Inlandia Institute's 2025 Eliud Martínez Prize
Inlandia Institute has awarded its 2025 Eliud Martínez Prize to Soledad Rivera, an 83-year-old Inland Empire resident, for her debut novel "Candido." The annual prize recognizes first-time authors in fiction or creative nonfiction who identify as Hispanic, Latino/a/x, or Chicana/o/x. Rivera's novel follows a 12-year-old boy's journey from Central Mexico to the American Southwest during the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The Eliud Martínez Prize honors the late UC Riverside professor who championed multiethnic literature. Martínez introduced UCR's first multiethnic literature course and developed required creative writing courses focused on race, ethnicity, and ancestry.
Source:The Guardian
January 09, 2026 01:17 UTC
🗞️ Riverside News- January 8, 2026
"That's a lot of time to take away," said Councilmember Chuck Conder, who faces re-election in 2026. What's next: The City Attorney's office will clarify legal questions around election restrictions before the policy returns to full City Council. read)Advertisement (Become an advertiser)Council Unanimously Certifies Convention Center EIR, Denies Union-backed AppealsDecision clears environmental hurdle for Riverside Alive project after seven-year process. The Riverside Alive project concept rendering shows a holiday-lit downtown plaza alongside the existing Riverside Convention Center at right. Riverside Transit Agency hosts walk-in interviews Saturday, January 10 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at for community bus driver positions with benefits.
Source:The Guardian
January 09, 2026 01:02 UTC
Fact Check: No, ex-NATO general didn't say, 'If Trump moves on Greenland, Europeans must be ready to fight the US'
Amid this geopolitical tension, a claim emerged that a former top NATO general, Michel Yakovleff, called for Europe to "fight" the U.S. if Trump seized Greenland. Rather than call for war, Yakovleff advocated "divorce" from the U.S. if NATO ends and "Trump talks to us like that." AP News, 6 Jan. 2026, https://apnews.com/article/trump-european-union-greenland-denmark-c5995b27ac8aee84d0064991c86d633e. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
Source:The Guardian
January 09, 2026 00:56 UTC
Russian River Wastewater Spill Is Halted After Sonoma County Storms
The spill was officially stopped at 6:50 a.m. Thursday, though warnings to stay out of the water remain in effect, according to Sonoma Water. District staff are now assessing the total volume of untreated wastewater released and are preparing reports for state regulatory agencies. Tiffen noted that a final estimate will not be available until those reports are submitted, adding that the massive volume of stormwater in the river makes testing for pathogens more difficult. “It’s complicated by the amount of storm water and how that would affect testing regardless of a spill,” Tiffen said. Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins said turbidity levels in the river were too high to deploy the facility’s ultraviolet sanitization system, which is used to disinfect the water.
Source:The Guardian
January 09, 2026 00:53 UTC
Albertsons: Third quarter of fiscal 2025 results
Source: progressivegrocer.comUS: United Supermarkets launches loyalty campaign to help shoppers keep their New Year's wellness resolutionsUnited Supermarkets brought back its "28-Day Challenge" campaign to the United Supermarkets, Albertsons Market, Market Street and Amigos banners on January 1, 2026. Source: en.mercopress.comUS: Albertsons records higher sales amid shaky economyAlbertsons saw net sales and other revenue increase by just under 2% during the third quarter of fiscal 2025, to about $19.1bln, driven primarily by strong growth in pharmacy sales, the supermarket operator announced. M&S said that it had seen a record number of customers over Christmas and its food sales were "strong". Source: corporate.asda.comHolland: Revenue for Sligro Food Group N.V. for 2025 came in at €2,668mlnSligro Food Group N.V. reported: "Revenue for Sligro Food Group N.V. for 2025 came in at €2,668mln, an increase of 1.7% compared to the 2024 revenue excluding tobacco of €2,623mln. Provencia, by far the largest franchisee of the French supermarket group, is considering leaving the Carrefour network and is in talks with competing formulas.
Source:The Guardian
January 09, 2026 00:53 UTC
San Francisco’s Historic ‘Relief Cottages,’ Built After the 1906 Earthquake, Are Hidden in Plain Sight
Charity Vargas: How many earthquake cottages are left and you know, are they still used and where they are? Olivia Allen-Price: Today on the show, we’ll dig into the history of San Francisco’s earthquake cottages. I live in Bernal Heights, San Francisco, California in an earthquake cottage or earthquake shack, as some would like to say. It’s a modestly sized room, but has tall ceilings and windows that look out over a sweeping view of San Francisco. Katrina Schwartz: Woody LaBounty is President and CEO of San Francisco Heritage, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving San Francisco history.
Source:The Guardian
January 09, 2026 00:52 UTC
Treasury ‘doesn’t appreciate’ potential risks of private markets boom
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Source:The Times
January 09, 2026 00:51 UTC
Analysis: The charism of ‘weak establishment’
Back in 1943, at the request of the Church Assembly, Archbishop William Temple set up a commission under the Bishop of Rochester to “survey the whole problem of modern evangelism”. Our round table, set in the context of Archbishop Welby’s resignation, was entitled “Towards the Conversion of the Church of England by the Rest of England”. A significant theme to emerge from the round table was that of identity. Professor Grace Davie, reflecting in a blog on Professor Woodhead’s response, proposes the advantages of a weak “Established” Church. Dr Chris Baker is William Temple Professor of Religion, Belief and Public Life at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Director of Research at the William Temple Foundation.
Source:The Times
January 09, 2026 00:14 UTC
Nigel Farage is open to more questions to win affection abroad
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Source:The Times
January 09, 2026 00:02 UTC
DemosAU: 52-48 to Labor (open thread)
The first federal poll of the year finds the One Nation surge redoubling in the wake of Bondi, putting their primary vote level with the Coalition. The first voting intention poll of the new year has been conducted by DemosAU for Capital Brief, and it offers the remarkable finding that One Nation has drawn level with the Coalition at 23% of the primary vote. The further surge to One Nation has also taken its toll on Labor, whose 29% is three points lower than in any published poll since the election. A two-party preferred result has Labor leading the Coalition 52-48 uses preferences flows from last year’s election, which means the 74.5-25.5 split of One Nation preferences in favour of the Coalition is doing exceptionally heavy lifting. Demographic breakdowns will be provided in a full report to be published later today.
Source:The Guardian
January 08, 2026 23:48 UTC
Tell Me Three Things, and I’ll Recommend a Book You’ll Love
The other day, I was texting with an old friend, who told me he reads only non-fiction but wants to read more fiction. You’ll devour it in one big gulp; it’s funny at times but also serious and sad and thrilling; and there’s lots of morality/immorality baked in. This book challenge was compelling, so I asked friends and family to give me their three things, so I could suggest a book for them, too. Now tell us: What are three things you like? A darkly funny book I can’t stop thinking about, and what are your three favorite books?
Source:The Guardian
January 08, 2026 23:43 UTC