WASHINGTON – Federal investigators say a Southwest Airlines jet landed on the identical runway as a small private plane that had stopped after an air traffic controller allowed each planes to land on the identical runway in California in October.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday that the planes were inside 900 feet (275 meters) of one another before the smaller plane taxied off the runway.

The board said in a preliminary report that investigators interviewed the controller, a supervisor and others involved within the Oct. 19 incident in Long Beach, California. There was no comment on these interviews.

The NTSB said an air traffic controller told the crew of a four-seat Diamond DA40 to land on the major runway and stop in need of an intersecting runway. Approximately two minutes later, the air traffic controller cleared the pilots of the Southwest Boeing 737 to land on the major runway, and shortly thereafter the Diamond crew informed the air traffic controller that they’d been stopped on the runway as instructed.

As they accomplished their landing, the Southwest pilots told air traffic controllers that there was one other plane on the major runway, the NTSB said. Both aircraft taxied to their parking areas without further incident.

Originally published: December 11, 2024 at 7:32 am PST

Disney theme park chairman Josh D'Amaro promised to deliver “something you haven't seen before” with the brand new Avatar-themed land based on the sequels to the $5 billion motion sci-fi film series based, debuted at Disney California Adventure.

“We are so excited about the future of the Disneyland resort, especially at Disney California Adventure, where we are creating a new experience inspired by the 'Avatar' films – including something you haven't seen before,” said D 'Amaro at D23 Brazil.

D'Amaro made the comments over the weekend during D23 Brazil – a smaller version of it Disney fan event which took over the Anaheim Convention Center in August.

SEE ALSO: 7 Things You Need to Know About Disneyland's New Avatar Land

D'Amaro didn't elaborate on his joke DCA's Avatar-themed landbut D23 Brazil offered a sneak peek on the upcoming “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” which hits theaters in December 2025.

Just revealed below #D23Brazil. New concept art for Avatar: Fire & Ash.

Experience Pandora like never before in cinemas from December 19, 2025.

Illustrated by Dylan Cole pic.twitter.com/EZmS2DOE8s

– Avatar (@officialavatar) November 9, 2024

Concept art Created by Oscar-nominated production designer Dylan Cole, the film “Avatar: The Way of Water” featured an aerial shot of a dozen canoes surrounded by a gaggle of whale-like tulkun sea creatures in a brilliant blue biological Pandora Reef.

The Tulkan sea creatures have appeared in concept art for the brand new DCA Avatar-themed land.

Just revealed below #D23Brazil. New concept art for Avatar: Fire & Ash.

Experience Pandora like never before in cinemas from December 19, 2025.

Illustrated by Dylan Cole pic.twitter.com/gheUjWRqqp

– Avatar (@officialavatar) November 9, 2024

Additional “Avatar: Fire and Ash” Concept art The image created by Cole showed five floating jellyfish-like structures flown by Pandora's nomadic Windtraders clan.

The floating structures of the Windtraders were subsequently briefly seen during D23 in Anaheim Avatar Theory Vlog.

DCA's recent Avatar-themed land relies on the second film “The Way of Water” from 2022, the third film “Fire and Ash” from 2025 and other upcoming movies within the series.

All Disneyland Magic Key passes sell out in 7 days

Disney officials have announced that the brand new Avatar experience shall be situated at Disney California Adventure – without specifying a precise location.

A sprawling themed land based on “Avatar: The Way of Water” and other upcoming movies within the series is being built at Disneyland Resort, promising action-packed excitement on the vast seas of Pandora.

Among the numerous recent attractions announced throughout the recent D23 fan event in Anaheim and set to launch over the subsequent five years as a part of an ambitious expansion plan is a brand new Avatar experience planned for Disney California Adventure.

7 recent Disneyland attractions and when they’ll open

Much of the data available concerning the Avatar land coming to DCA is predicated on concept art from Walt Disney Imagineering. Disney's creative department uses concept art to visualise potential ideas and get fans enthusiastic about a project — which might change and evolve over time.

Let’s take a better have a look at seven things you might want to find out about DCA’s recent Avatar-themed land.

1) What is the story behind the brand new Avatarland?

The backstory of the brand new Avatar experience coming to Disney California Adventure ties into the $5 billion motion sci-fi franchise that can span five movies by 2031.

Disney acquired the Avatar franchise in 2019 as a part of a $71 billion deal to purchase twenty first Century Fox.

DCA's recent Avatar-themed land is predicated on the second film, “The Way of Water,” coming in 2022, the third film, “Fire and Ash,” coming in 2025, and other upcoming movies within the franchise.

Disney has not yet referred to the Avatar extension as a “theme land,” but has alternately described it as an “experience,” a “destination,” and an “area.”

Concept art suggests that the Avatar experience in DCA will likely be a large themed land on the dimensions of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge (16 acres) at Disneyland and Pandora (12 acres) at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida.

“It will have a scope and level worthy of these epic stories,” said Imagineer Ali Rubinstein throughout the D23 event in Anaheim.

2) What attractions will there be in the brand new Avatar Land?

So far, Disney has only discussed one recent attraction that guarantees motion and thrills on the vast seas of Pandora.

The modern boat ride takes passengers on a journey through Pandora's rainforest, glowing in vibrant shades of blue, green and purple.

“Guests will have the adventure of a lifetime, seeking out majestic natural wonders unique to Pandora and experiencing the beauty – and danger – that the journey brings,” Rubinstein said during D23. “This will be a dynamic, intense and emotional experience on a grand scale that we know our guests will love.”

Concept art shows boaters heading toward a towering, ribbed rock structure that likely hides a large attraction constructing. The boats pass under two bridges on an unlimited body of water fed by several waterfalls.

The concept drawing of the positioning shows three other possible locations where additional attractions could possibly be situated.

An aerial photograph of the positioning shows interconnected Quonset huts which will house a second major attraction, the precise address of which has not yet been disclosed.

A series of tiered ponds with bubbling geysers resembles the brand new “Journey of Water” attraction, inspired by the film “Moana,” at Epcot theme park in Florida.

A hoop of Panopyra love flowers in an enclosed, cocoon-like area looks like a flat teacup ride, just like the Mad Tea Party in Fantasyland.

3) Which Pandora creatures will appear in the brand new Avatar Land?

Highly territorial and cooperative, viperwolves hunt in packs, devouring their prey with bone-crushing jaws. Concept art shows a pack of viperwolves stalking within the branches above the water while riders pass by in a ship below.

“This world can be beautiful, but if we lose our bearings, it can also be dangerous,” Rubinstein said during D23.

The fast and chic dart deer has characteristic sail-like membranes on its head and neck that may expand and contract.

The massive hammerhead titanothere fish with 4 eyes and 6 limbs raises its beautiful purple crest when it feels threatened or is mating.

The boat ride concept image features dart deer lining the riverbank and a hammerhead shark wading within the water.

The huge, passive, whale-like Tulkun is very smart and verbal, with strong musical and poetic abilities. Concept art shows one among the majestic sea creatures leaping out of the water to the surprise of boaters.

4) Which Pandora flora will appear in the brand new Avatar land?

Concept art of the boat ride in the brand new Avatar land shows Panopyra, Helicoradian and other Pandora plants.

The healing and nutritious Panopyra, also often known as the “love flower,” looks like a jellyfish and has a primitive nervous system.

The salmon-colored Helicoradian plant has the flexibility to quickly roll up and retract on the lightest touch.

Concept art shows Panopyra and Helicoradian dangling over boats traveling through a lush rainforest.

“Along the way, we discover dense forests filled with incredible animals and bioluminescent flora, all of which transport us to the vast open seas of Pandora,” Rubinstein said during D23.

5) What Na'vi environments and RDA structures will appear in the brand new Avatar Land?

On the sting of the Avatar-themed land, concept art shows interconnected Quonset huts and military-style base buildings built by the Resources Development Administration (RDA), which mines unobtainium.

Concept art shows triangular parasols covering the Marui villages of the reef-dwelling Metkayina clan seen in “The Way of the Water.”

Pandora's famous floating Hallelujah Mountains are connected to the bottom and to one another by cable-like vegetation bridges.

Disney's most “romantic” attraction is the hotspot for marriage proposals

The concept art shows a semicircular rock formation in the middle of the Avatar-themed land that appears just like the ribs of a large animal.

Nearby, a rock formation that appears like tendons winds around several pools with bubbling geysers.

6) Where will the brand new Avatar Land be built?

Disney officials have announced that the brand new Avatar experience will likely be situated at Disney California Adventure, but without specifying an actual location.

This means the Way of Water destination could possibly be built inside the present DCA theme park, within the Disneyland Forward Westside expansion area, or on the esplanade between the 2 parks.

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A possible location for a West Coast version of the world of Pandora can be DCA's unused studio lot, Hollywood Land, and the adjoining pedestrian promenade and bus depot between the 2 parks.

An Avatar experience has been hinted at as a possible Disneyland Forward expansion project. The DCA portion of the theme park expansion area is situated within the Downtown Disney parking zone south of the Pixar Place hotel.

According to Disneyland officials, DisneylandForward will allow Walt Disney Imagineering to think more broadly about the probabilities and develop ideas for the event of the Avatar destination.

7) When will Avatarland open?

Disneyland has not yet announced a start date for construction or a gap date for the Avatar-themed destination.

Of all the brand new attractions announced for the Disneyland Resort during D23, constructing an Avatar-themed land from scratch would take the longest.

A full Avatar-themed land based on The Way of Water would likely take as long to construct as Star Wars Galaxy's Edge – which took 4 years. A single Avatar attraction with no full land could possibly be accomplished more quickly.

Will Disneyland replace the Winnie the Pooh ride in Bayou Country?

Given the projects planned for the Disneyland Resort, the opening of the brand new Avatar land is unlikely to occur until 2028 on the earliest – and 2029, if the brand new attractions planned for the Avengers Campus are planned before Pandora.

The prolonged timeline for constructing a brand new Avatar-themed land of epic proportions likely signifies that construction might want to begin inside the subsequent yr or so.

Originally published: September 12, 2024 at 5:52 am

Firefighters didn’t contain California's largest wildfire early Thursday because it continued to ravage acres in two Northern California counties and a national forest.

The containment rate remained at 34%, which emergency responders reached on Monday, Cal Fire said.

According to Cal Fire, there have been no reported injuries in the hearth, but it surely destroyed a complete of 640 structures and damaged 49 others in Butte and Tehama counties.

The fire is anticipated to be lively again Thursday, spreading quickly up the hillsides and spot fires are expected, in response to the agency. Crews are expected to battle the hearth in temperatures as high as 102 degrees, in response to the National Weather Service. Humidity is anticipated to be around 25%.

Aircraft continued to drop flame retardant on the hearth, and crews are working to maintain it inside containment lines, in response to Cal Fire. In total, 109,253 acres have burned in Lassen National Forest, the agency said.

Evacuation orders remained in effect for parts of Tehama County, while warnings were issued in Tehama, Butte, Plumas and Shasta counties. Cal Fire said that in some areas within the southernmost a part of the hearth, residents have already been capable of return home.

Originally published: August 8, 2024 at 9:12 am

The Milpitas City Council recently passed an ordinance to create recent zoning districts in town. The council's June 18 vote also updated town's zoning map to implement recent land use policies approved as a part of the updated General Plan in 2021 and the brand new Metro-Specific Plan in 2023.

The recent zoning districts include the Business Park Research and Development (BPRD) zone, which covers a big light industrial area within the southwest a part of Milpitas, west of Interstate 880 and south of Calaveras Boulevard.

“We are excited about the potential of this zone to transform our industrial areas and spur economic growth,” City Manager Ned Thomas said in a press release. “The city aims to use the BPRD zoning regulations to stimulate redevelopment of underused industrial areas, attract new businesses and create good-paying jobs.”

“The goal of this zoning update is to promote sustainable development, ensure affordable housing and foster vibrant neighborhoods,” said Mayor Carmen Montano.

The creation of the brand new zoning districts is the primary phase of the City's Comprehensive Zoning Code Update project, which began in February 2023 and is scheduled to be accomplished in summer 2025. The full update features a reorganization of the City's zoning code, which is an element of the Milpitas Municipal Code, to make it clearer and more user-friendly.

For more information, contact the City Planning Department at 408-586-3279 or planningdepartment@milpitas.gov.

Originally published: July 14, 2024 at 7:32 am

Although the late Akira Toriyama is widely known for his work on Dragon Ball and its sequels, the artist and storyteller was not limited to a single medium or creation. He is accountable for the visual design of legendary games resembling “Chrono Trigger” and the “Dragon Quest” franchises, and in addition created other projects resembling “Dr. Slump” and a post-“Dragon Ball Z” effort called “Sand Land.”

The latter attempt never caught as much fire as Goku and Co., but “Sand Land” demonstrated his fertile imagination. Now Bandai Namco has brought this world to life through an open-world adventure game of the identical name. As the name suggests, it is about in a desert world where water is scarce. A greedy king sells the resource for an exorbitant amount.

A SEARCH FOR WATER
Tired of exploitation, Sheriff Rao discovers a clue to an answer. He notices blue birds in trees and realizes that they’re an indication that there may be loads of water somewhere on this planet. He stops by the powerful demon village, asks for help and offers a video game console as payment. It's enough to get the eye of the devil prince Beelzebub. He asks his father for permission to go on an adventure with Rao. He and an older advisor named Thief accompany Rao in the hunt for the legendary source.

“Sand Land” embodies Toriyama’s distinctive art style. It shows in every thing from the character design to the vehicles. Beelzebub, Rao, Thief and Ann could easily be a part of the Dragon Ball universe, but the large difference between the 2 works is that Sand Land is more down-to-earth. The emphasis is more on exploration, and that happens through the tanks, cars, and robots that players construct with the assistance of a mysterious character named Ann, who has an affinity for the mechanic.

VEHICLES ARE THE KEY
As Beelzebub, players first steal a tank and later expand a fleet of vehicles and bots. Developer ILCA designed the world in order that crafting serves as a strategy to unlock parts of the world. The armored vehicle can initially only reach a limited range. It can't hop over cliffs like a Jump-Bot and it may well't lift containers just like the Battle Armor. The more players receive blueprints for the seven different vehicles and bots, the more they learn in regards to the world and its secrets.

In addition, crafts play a significant role in combat. Players will encounter enemies resembling Queen Scorpions and Mechs which are difficult to combat on foot. No matter how strong Beelzebub is, it is commonly higher to attack enemies in a vehicle. The fundamental reason for that is that the tank can take punishment and be upgraded to benefit from a playstyle. If players need more agility, they’ll use the Uniride. If they should attack from above, they’ll switch to Jump-Bot in a snap.

ADVENTURES ON FOOT
Sometimes Beelzebub doesn't have room to call a vehicle. In this case, he has to depend on his fists and special skills. As a Fiend Prince, he is hard enough to compete with bandits and other villains. The combat is just not complex and feels easy. Don't expect a Platinum Games level combat system. Beelzebub has some special abilities that players can access using the bumper buttons. You may also call on allies to affix the fight. All of this costs Power of Darkness, which acts as a mana bar that fills up over time, meaning players can't always use the Prince's strongest attacks.

Beelzebub could also be expert in battle, but that isn't all the time needed in Sand Land. Players will encounter levels where stealth is required, and ILCA provides an easy system for this, but like combat, there isn't much depth beyond the necessity to stay out of an enemy's line of sight.

Like any open-world game, Sand Land has many side quests, but ILCA designs them to make them more meaningful. The heart of this gameplay design is the town of Spino. It was previously allied with rebels, but was almost destroyed by the king and his royal army. When Beelzebub and his crew find it, Spino is sort of a ghost town.

As players enterprise through Sandland and complete side quests to assist its residents, Beelzebub recruits the residents and sends them to Spino. If you complete enough side quests, players will notice the town changing and growing. It's a worthwhile strategy to make these optional redirects more useful.

Players can see the people they assist construct a life in the town. They also open shops and other establishments, turning a junk village right into a bustling oasis. All of this helps Beelzebub and his crew overcome the challenges ahead. It's one of the vital rewarding parts of the campaign. The narrative is geared toward children, but is exciting enough to maintain older players excited to seek out out what happens next.

All in all, Sand Land is an adventure that's higher than its competitors because of Toriyama's imagination. ILCA makes probably the most of the world he imagined and interprets it in a way that's fun as a video game. In doing so, they create one other opportunity for fans to understand the work of the legendary creator.

---

“Sandland”

3½ out of 4 stars
Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, PC
Evaluation:teenager

Electricity generation within the U.S. is rapidly shifting away from fossil fuels toward cleaner, lower-carbon sources. The fundamental reasons for this are government clean energy goals and dramatic declines in the associated fee of renewable electricity.

But Fossil fuel power plants still produce 60% the US electricity supply, causing air, water and soil pollutants in addition to greenhouse gases. To reduce these impacts, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a algorithm on April 25, 2024. They focus totally on coal-fired power plants, the country's most polluting source of electricity.

As Environmental lawyer I imagine that this curbing of power plant pollution is long overdue. The recent rules close loopholes in existing laws which have allowed coal-fired power plants to pollute the country's air and water for a long time. And they require utilities to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from these facilities or close them.

opponents, including Industry groups and Republican attorneys general have expressed concerns, and a few have done so vowed to sue. They argue that the EPA has overstepped its legal authority and is imposing crippling costs on the coal industry. While these arguments may appeal to conservative judges, I imagine the EPA's fastidiously crafted rules are on solid legal ground and have a very good likelihood of being upheld.

Mercury, sewage and coal ash

The first rule updates the Clean Air Act of 2012 Mercury and air toxics standards. Mercury, which is released into the air when coal is burned, is a neurotoxin causes developmental damage in children and has contaminated fisheries across the United States

The recent regulation excludes the so-called “Brown coal loophole“As a result, plants that burn lignite – the bottom grade of coal – can emit greater than 3 times as much mercury as other coal-fired power plants. There is just ONE Handful of brown coal power plants still operates within the US and is targeted on Texas and North Dakota. The recent rule reduces the mercury emissions standard from these plants by 70%.

A second rule tightens the standards for Wastewater from coal-fired power plants under the Clean Water Act. These systems use plenty of water for cooling, steam generation and industrial processes. The wastewater they discharge into rivers, lakes and streams comprises toxic pollutants comparable to mercury and arsenic that threaten drinking water supplies and fisheries.

The EPA estimates that the brand new rule will reduce these pollutants by about £670 million a 12 months. Coal-fired power plant owners have until 2029 to comply unless they conform to permanently stop burning coal by 2034.

Burning coal also produces tens of millions of tons of ash, which comprises toxic heavy metals comparable to: Mercury, arsenic and cadmium. The third recent rule deals with “Legacy Sites” – inactive coal-fired power plants – that collectively store 500 million tons of coal ash in unlined, unmonitored waste pits and catch basins.

Coal ash spills have polluted rivers in Tennessee, North Carolina and elsewhere. Over 160 unlined lagoons remain. Most older web sites are situated in low-income communities and communities of color.

The recent rule responds to a Judgment from 2015 from the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The EPA had adopted a rule that regulated the storage of coal ash at energetic power plants but not at inactive power plants – an approach the court found illegal. The recent regulation requires secure disposal of coal ash at previously unregulated sites.

Carbon Pollution Standards

Potentially probably the most controversial provision in the brand new package concerns greenhouse gas emissions from existing coal-fired power plants and recent gas-fired power plants. Section 111 of the Clean Air Act Directs EPA to define the “best emissions reduction system” for air pollutants, including greenhouse gas emissions, from power plants. States must then submit plans to the EPA to implement these systems. If a state refuses, the agency takes over implementation.

The EPA has determined that carbon capture and sequestration is one of the best emissions reduction system for each existing coal-fired power plants and recent gas-fired power plants. The agency originally proposed regulating emissions from existing gas plants, but is postponing that step.

The rule takes over a tiered approach to compliance This promotes early retirement within the country aging coal fleet. Plants which might be shut down before 2032 are usually not covered by the regulation. Facilities scheduled to shut by 2039 would have to scale back their emissions by 16% by 2030. Plants scheduled to be operational beyond 2039 must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2032.

To give utilities some flexibility, the rule allows sources to “green hydrogen” – produced by splitting water using renewable energy – into their fuel mix and take part in it Emissions trading programs.

Next stop: court

In my opinion, regulation coping with greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants faces the best legal challenge. The mercury and coal ash regulations merely fill gaps in existing regulations, and the wastewater regulation is an issue long overdue update of technology standards to manage toxic discharges. All three rules rest squarely inside EPA's regulatory board and are based on explicit statutory authority.

The path to the climate rule might be made tougher by the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling West Virginia v. United States. EPA Ruling that invalidated the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan and applied a brand new approach to interpreting laws often called “Main query of teaching.” This concept essentially states that in cases where a brand new regulation would have “significant economic and political significance,” Congress must expressly entrust the agency with authority over the difficulty and the court must exercise its authority no matter political considerations or expertise the authority won’t bow to the authority's interpretation.

The fate of the climate rule could rely on how courts answer these three questions:

– Does the fundamental query doctrine apply?

The EPA has gone to great lengths to differentiate this rule from the ill-fated Clean Power Plan and to follow the Supreme Court's direction to remain in line. The recent rule follows a standard, proven approach to setting emissions limits based on pollution controls available to individual facilities.

Indeed, carbon capture and sequestration is the case analogous to scrubbers – Equipment that the EPA has needed for a long time to remove pollutants like particulate matter, sulfur dioxide and mercury from power plant smokestacks. And the brand new rule doesn’t require utilities to modify from coal or natural gas to renewable fuels, which was what most concerned the court within the West Virginia case.

– Is carbon capture and sequestration ready for prime time?

The Clean Air Act requires that an optimal emissions reduction system “shall be.”sufficiently proven.” Courts have interpreted this phrase to incorporate options which might be forward-looking and “technology-driving”—meaning that the standards is probably not achievable today, but information available now shows that they might be achievable in the long run.

The D.C. Circuit Court has repeatedly affirmed that the EPA “has the authority to hold industry to a standard of improved design and operational advances, if so required.” substantial evidence that such improvements are feasible and can provide the improved performance required to satisfy the usual.”

– Will the rule impact the reliability of the ability grid?

Too abrupt a shift to recent fuels and technologies could make it difficult for utilities to generate enough electricity to satisfy demand. However, the EPA consulted with state and federal agencies and electric utilities and conducted an in depth evaluation that concluded that the ability plant regulation applies wouldn’t have a significant impact on reliability.

The rule gives owners until 2032 to include carbon capture and sequestration and allows states to maintain power plants online for an extra 12 months in the event that they can reveal that shutting them down threatens grid reliability. Other provisions give utilities additional flexibility.

As of April 2024, there are roughly 200 coal-fired power plants still operating within the United States, accounting for 1 / 4 of this capability expected to be closed by 2029 for economic reasons independent of the regulations.

These recent rules will definitely make coal-fired power plants dearer to operate. This will reflect the worth of electricity from coal the true cost to society more accurate. Given the impact of coal energy on our nation's air, water, land and climate, in addition to on public health, I view this motion as fully inside EPA's mission.