Walking Backwards is Good for One's Health

During the 19th Century, the activity of "retro-walking" was little more than an eccentric hobby, but today research is revealing it can have real benefits for your health and brain.

On an apparent wager to win $20,000 (about £4,250 at the time), a 50-year-old cigar-shop owner called Patrick Harmon embarked on a curious challenge in the summer of 1915 – he planned to walk backwards from San Francisco to New York City.

With the aid of a friend and a small car mirror attached to his chest to help him see where he was going, Harmon made the 3,900 miles (6,300km) journey in 290 days, apparently walking every step backwards. Harmon claimed the journey made his ankles so strong that "it would take a sledge hammer blow to sprain them".  READ MORE...

Democrat Assaulted In HOME

Paul Pelosi, husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was "violently assaulted" by someone who broke into his San Francisco home early Friday, according to her spokesperson.

The suspect is in custody, her spokesperson, Drew Hammill, said in a statement.

Paul Pelosi, 82, is in the hospital and "is expected to make a full recovery," Hammill said.

Nancy Pelosi was in Washington, D.C., with her protective detail at the time, according to the Capitol Police.

The motive is under investigation, Hammill said.

The Capitol Police, FBI and San Francisco Police Department are all involved in the investigation. The San Francisco District Attorney's Office said the case will be handled locally. Charges are forthcoming but have not yet been filed, the district attorney's office said.

"The Speaker and her family are grateful to the first responders and medical professionals involved, and request privacy at this time," Hammill added.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Self-driving Cars

Residents in a "dead-end" street in San Francisco say they are being plagued by an influx of self-driving vehicles.

Autonomous-driving firm Waymo's cars have been going up and down the cul-de-sac at all hours "for weeks", according to local news station KPIX.

Residents say vehicles sometimes have to queue before making multi-point turns to leave the way they came.

Waymo says the vehicles are just "obeying road rules" designed to limit traffic in certain residential streets.

"There are some days where it can be up to 50," Jennifer King told KPIX. "It's literally every five minutes. And we're all working from home, so this is what we hear."

She said the human "safety drivers" supervising the automated cars "don't have much to say other than the car is programmed and they're just doing their job".

A spokesman for Waymo said the cars sometimes made a detour because of the presence nearby of one of San Francisco's "slow streets", which aim to limit traffic in certain residential areas.

"We continually adjust to dynamic San Francisco road rules. In this case, cars travelling north of California on 15th Avenue have to take a u-turn due to the presence of 'slow streets' signage on Lake," the company said.  READ MORE...