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DePetris: Is the Middle East in danger of spinning out of control?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:40:22 GMT

There is only so much a single person can do to control the events around them. Joe Biden is learning in real time that one of life’s golden rules also applies to the president of the United States.Despite holding the most powerful position in the world, Biden is finding it increasingly difficult to accomplish one of his top priorities in the Middle East today: ensuring the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza doesn’t snowball into a wider escalation that draws in the region’s big powers. If anything, regardless of Biden’s best efforts, the risk of a regional conflagration may only grow as long as the fighting in Gaza persists — and if we take Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s word for it, Israel is no mood to stop its military offensive anytime soon.Netanyahu aims to destroy Hamas in its entirety and deradicalize the Palestinian polity, understandable objectives given the depravities of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. But they portend a dismal future ahead for Palestinians in Gaza...

All-Bay Area News Group high school football 2023: Offensive linemen

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:40:22 GMT

ALL-BAY AREA NEWS GROUP FOOTBALL 2023OFFENSIVE LINEMENFirst teamJulian Cambra, San Ramon Valley, 6-2, 230, juniorFirst-team all-EBAL Mountain. Blocking skills helped NCS Division I runners-up average 398 yards from scrimmage. John Mills, St. Ignatius, 6-6, 315, juniorWCAL offensive lineman of the year. Led the way for a rushing offense that had 18 touchdowns on the ground. Champ Taulealea, Valley Christian, 6-3, 335, juniorWCAL junior of the year. Helped Valley Christian improve from 1-9 in 2022 to 6-6 in 2023.Tommy Tofi, Archbishop Riordan, 6-7, 330, sophomoreFirst-team all-WCAL. One of three Riordan offensive linemen to make the all-WCAL first team. Sione Vailea, McClymonds, 6-4, 280, juniorFirst-team all-OAL. Top offensive lineman on a team that averaged 39 points per game. Second teamFrank Anderson, Campolindo, 6-4, 250, seniorFirst-team all-DAL Foothill. Helped propel Cougars to share of DAL Foothill championship. Jayse Hope, Antioch, 6-4, 240, seniorBVAL offensive lineman of t...

Construction start for San Jose housing tower is a “few months” away: developer

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:40:22 GMT

SAN JOSE — A housing tower that would produce several hundred residences in downtown San Jose could break ground during the first half of 2024, offering some rays of hope amid a gloomy Bay Area real estate market.The project is known as Orchard Residential and would be built on the site of the former Bo Town restaurant in downtown San Jose’s trendy and hip SoFA district, according to one of the project’s developers.Upper levels of Orchard Residential tower at 409 South Second Street in downtown San Jose, concept. The housing highrise is being developed at the long-time Bo Town restaurant site. (JKMC Architects + Steinberg Hart)Canada-based Westbank, a renowned major developer with a global reach, and San Jose-based Urban Community, a Bay Area developer, have teamed up to build the housing tower in San Jose.The housing highrise is being planned for a site at 409 South Second Street in San Jose. If built, the tower would be an eye-catching addition to the city&#...

What’s next for SF Giants in abnormally quiet offseason?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:40:22 GMT

With six weeks until pitchers and catchers report, more than half of MLB Trade Rumors’ Top 50 free agents are still available.Only six teams have spent $100 million or more so far this winter, the Giants among them, allocating $121.25 million to Jung Hoo Lee and Tom Murphy.Although the front office struck out on its two top targets in the worst possible way — with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto teaming up on the archrival Dodgers — the offseason hasn’t been a total dud for Farhan Zaidi and his crew.They set out to get younger and more athletic, and signed about the only free agent who fit that profile, a 25-year-old center fielder with the charisma to one day grow into the face of the franchise. They wanted to commit to Patrick Bailey behind the plate, and brought in a veteran backup all but assuredly ending his predecessor’s time in the organization.But after big talk of adding star power — prioritizing Ohtani and Yamamoto “above all other options,R...

Best TV 2023: In tumultuous year for Hollywood, these 10 shows found their mark

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:40:22 GMT

We close the book on a year that saw Hollywood weather writers and actors strikes, resulting in almost no work for nearly six months. Tough times for anyone who makes a living in TV.But it also functioned as an overdue course correction. Streamers have been loathe to admit they’re churning out more shows than audiences can keep up with — and providing inadequate budgets to market them all — and the 2023 work stoppage was an excuse to cut back on things instead. How convenient.The strikes hit TV networks the hardest. Broadcasters resorted to an unsatisfying mix of reruns and reality. But weekly episodic TV was already in a diminished state, and this is ironic considering older seasons of these very shows, from “NCIS“ to “Grey’s Anatomy,“ are among the most popular on streaming platforms. Only NBC managed to premiere new shows in the fall (completed before the strike and held back just in case) with “The Irrational“ and “Found.” Though mediocre, at least they were new! (The bar is low...

Retired Santa Cruz high school coach arraigned on charge of indecent exposure

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:40:22 GMT

SANTA CRUZ — A retired high school sports coach and educator was arraigned Wednesday on a charge of indecent exposure.Mark Christensen, 57, of Live Oak, was arrested and released on a $100,000 bond for the misdemeanor charge on Dec. 1. A criminal complaint filed by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office states that the alleged offense occurred Sept. 21.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | 12-year-old Peninsula child punched, robbed of phone Crime and Public Safety | Arrest made in string of Morgan Hill arsons Crime and Public Safety | Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price barred from prosecuting her loudest critic, a former prosecutor Crime and Public Safety | San Francisco homicide: Man stabbed in South of Market Crime and Public Safety | Teen shot in Oakland attempted robbery According to Sentinel archives and minutes from San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District Board of Trust...

Protests erupt after People's Park in Berkeley cordoned off

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:40:22 GMT

BERKELEY, Calif. (KRON) -- University of California, Berkeley started to close off the People’s Park construction site overnight Thursday ahead of plans to build housing for students and low-income housing residents. In the midst of the closure, a protest broke out, and police showed up in riot gear to move them away from work now underway in the park.All four corners of People’s Park in Berkeley have been closed off by police from multiple agencies, including the California Highway Patrol. Authorities are monitoring the situation as cargo containers arrive and are being placed in a perimeter around the park.(AIO Filmz)UC Berkeley, the City of Berkeley, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Berkeley councilmembers want to resume construction on the People’s Park development. Dispatch audio: Oakland officer Tuan Le’s killer is in custody The protests are peaceful, according to KRON4’s Will Tran at the scene. Protesters are not getting into the faces of police officers at this time. ...

Md. health department urges masks, vaccination after respiratory illness-related hospitalizations

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:40:22 GMT

As people return home from holiday travel and spending time with loved ones over the past couple weeks, the Maryland Department of Health is urging clinicians to strengthen protective measures to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses.The rate of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 and other viruses increased during the last week of 2023, and the state Department of Health is urging clinicians to implement “broad facility-wide” prevention measures such as masking and vaccination efforts to bring the hospitalization rate back down.According to a letter on Dec. 28, Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services Nilesh Kalyanaraman said that the weekly respiratory virus-associated hospitalization rate increased “due in large part to increasing COVID and flu infections” based off of data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The combined data includes hospitalizations for COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.At the time of the advisory letter t...

Lamb Weston: Fiscal Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:40:22 GMT

EAGLE, Idaho (AP) — EAGLE, Idaho (AP) — Lamb Weston Holdings Inc. (LW) on Thursday reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $215 million.On a per-share basis, the Eagle, Idaho-based company said it had net income of $1.48. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring gains, were $1.45 per share.The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of five analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.40 per share.The frozen foods supplier posted revenue of $1.73 billion in the period, also surpassing Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $1.7 billion.Lamb Weston expects full-year earnings in the range of $5.70 to $6.15 per share, with revenue in the range of $6.8 billion to $7 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on LW at https://www.zacks.com/ap/LWSource

Extreme cold leaves thousands without power in Nordic countries as floods persist in Germany

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:40:22 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Extremely cold temperatures compounded by gale-force winds and snow wreaked havoc across the Nordic region Thursday, leaving thousands without power while others braved the cold for hours stuck in their cars along clogged highways. Heavy rains in Germany, France and the Netherlands again caused floods in regions that have seen persistent flooding in the last two weeks. One death was reported in France.The deep freeze disrupted transportation throughout the Nordic region amid reports of traffic chaos following closures of sections of highways and major roads. Problems with rail service have also been reported.Electricity was cut to some 4,000 homes in Arctic Sweden where temperatures plummeted to minus 38 degrees Celsius (minus 36.4 degrees Fahrenheit), according to Swedish public radio. In the southern part of the country, motorists were stuck in their cars or evacuated to a nearby sporting complex where they spent the night. In neighboring Denmark, police...