They backed it up with a plus-136 run differential (a fairly absurd figure across just 60 games), and then in the postseason went 13-5 en route to winning the World Series for the first time since 1988.,Because of the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, fans weren't permitted to attend MLB games last season until the very last rounds of the playoffs.,The plan right now is for fans to be in attendance at spring training games and regular season games, albeit in limited numbers and in accordance with local guidelines.,Last season, no fans attended any regular season Astros games even as they advanced as far as the ALCS, so they've yet to hear about their transgressions in the typical manner.,Last season, the Padres busted out in a big way, as they won at a .617 clip -- the best win percentage in franchise history -- and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2006.

The last time San Diego elected a moderate Republican mayor with strong potential for appealing to voters statewide, it was Pete Wilson, a onetime state assemblyman who later won election to the U.S. Senate and two terms as governor.,Now, while Californians think about possibly recalling Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, there’s San Diego’s recently termed-out ex-Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who figures to be on both the recall’s list of possible replacement governors and the state’s June 2022 primary ballot.,With Faulconer as mayor, San Diego was the largest American city with a Republican governor.,Faulconer has sometimes sought to downplay his Republican identity in this state where the GOP label has lately meant certain defeat for anyone seeking statewide office other than the movie muscleman Schwarzenegger.,Faulconer said San Diego cut homelessness after a hepatitis outbreak by sending nurses and paramedics to “every riverbed, canyon and street corner, vaccinated more than 100,000 persons, sanitized streets and built four bridge shelters.”

Boyle bases his argument on circumstantial evidence: the presence of a Biosafety Level 4 lab in Wuhan, the fact that other viruses have escaped from other labs in the past, and his belief that governments around the world are engaged in a secret arms race over biological weapons.,A World Heath Organization team concluded it was extremely unlikely the virus escaped from the Wuhan lab, and other experts have said the virus shows no signs of genetic IT IS: A website that was an early promoter of the theory that the coronavirus was engineered.,The coronavirus most likely first appeared in humans after jumping from an animal, a World Health Organization panel announced this month, saying an alternate theory that the virus leaked from a Chinese lab was unlikely.,COVID CLAIM: While the center has published several articles about the virus, one suggesting it originated in the U.S. caught the attention of top Chinese officials.,The story by Larry Romanoff, a regular author at the center, cites several debunked theories, including one that members of the U.S. military brought the virus to China during the Military World Games in fall 2019.

By William Turton | Bloomberg

Conservative social media website Parler has returned to the internet after its service provider suspended the site in the wake of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.,Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud unit pulled Parler’s internet service after users planned and supported the riot on the website.,It’s unclear which service provider Parler is using to host the site.,Parler’s users included high-profile figures in Republican politics and conservative media such as Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity.,Participants in the Jan. 6 riot posted videos of themselves inside the Capitol to Parler. read more

Santa Clara attorney Todd Rothbard got a sober letter from the IRS a few weeks ago.,“This kind of thing does happen,” said IRS spokesman Raphael Tulino, while declining to comment on the specifics of Rothbard’s case.,The IRS letter sent on Jan. 4 said the agency reviewed his tax return and determined he had miscalculated and overestimated his alternative minimum tax, qualified business income deduction and his overall rate.,SARATOGA – FEBRUARY 10: Todd Rothbard holds a $285,422.75 check from the IRS in his home in Saratoga, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021.,Rothbard received the check from the IRS by mistake and is trying to return it.

But Orange County, at least, has lower tax rates that any large metropolitan area in the state.,Taxes at least stayed low in Orange County, as Moorlach again insisted: No new taxes.,Sure enough, Orange County led California out of the recovery that began in 2010, its unemployment rate well below the state rate.,In his current run for supervisor, Moorlach again has pledged to stop all new county taxes.,Moorlach’s experience in complex matters of government finance would be especially valuable to help Orange County navigate the difficult path through the pandemic without incurring reckless debt or saddling families and businesses with damaging tax increases.

5:16 p.m.: In diverse Stockton, people of color still underrepresented in vaccination People of color in California are still underrepresented among COVID vaccine recipients, even in Stockton, which U.S. News and World Report ranked last year as the most racially diverse city in the country.,According to the Associated Press, as more people are vaccinated and the daily number of COVID-19 cases and deaths drop, public health officials are starting to relax on containment strategies.,While stressing that people should avoid close contact — including sex — with anyone outside their household, the city’s public health department told the San Francisco Chronicle it was updating guidance it first issued last year “to reflect the latest science on COVID-19.”,12:09 p.m.: Some fitness trainers got vaccine as 'health care workers'

Some fitness trainers in California were able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 after state health officials created a loophole that helped them qualify as health care workers.,KGO-TV reports that in January, the California Department of Public Health released updated guidelines on vaccination allocation that classified outdoor recreation as health care, the first tier eligible to get the vaccine along with people over 75. read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on former President Donald Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial (all times local):

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ROME — On the eve of what was supposed to finally be the much-delayed opening of Italy’s ski slopes, the government yanked permission because high circulation of a coronavirus variant.,PRAGUE — The Czech government has re-declared its state of emergency for next two weeks to be able to effectively tackle the coronavirus pandemic in one of the hardest hit European countries.,UNDATED -- Though many people with disabilities are more vulnerable to COVID-19, in some U.S. states they’re being left behind in the massive effort to get limited vaccines into the arms of those who need them most.,LONDON — The U.K. government said Sunday that it reached its goal of giving at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot to at least 15 million of the most vulnerable people in the country by mid-February, increasing pressure on ministers to clarify when they will ease a lockdown imposed in early January.,NEW YORK — Millions of New Yorkers with health conditions that leave them at high risk of illness from COVID-19 can theoretically sign up for appointments at state-run vaccination sites starting Sunday, but a lack of vaccine supply means many will be frustrated in thei read more

Quarterbacks coach Dana Bible has decided to retire after three seasons at UCLA.,With the Bruins, Bible has helped with the progression of quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who started as a true freshman and has led the team during the past three seasons.,Thompson-Robinson had a 156.29 pass efficiency rating, the best mark by a UCLA starting quarterback since 2005, in five starts during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.,No decision has been announced on a replacement for Bible, but former UCLA quarterback and current wide receivers coach Jerry Neuheisel might be a candidate.,Neuheisel, the son of former UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel, was brought on as a graduate assistant in 2018 and worked closely with the quarterbacks and receivers.