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Barabak: Why Trump shouldn’t be kicked off California’s 2024 ballot

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:43 GMT

Donald Trump is a cancer on the body politic, a malignant tumor of a man who turns just about everything he touches into rot.He’s coarsened our culture, trampled our Constitution and helped widen the country’s partisan divide into a yawning, seemingly unbridgeable chasm.In a just and sane world, Trump will never come remotely close to holding elected office ever again.But that doesn’t mean he should be kicked off the 2024 ballot, or otherwise prevented from putting his name before voters as he bids to return to the White House and wreak further havoc.That’s a terrible idea, which several misguided California lawmakers took up this week, asking Democratic Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta to unilaterally strike Trump’s name from consideration in the March 5 primary.The notion, resting on legally shaky ground, may enthrall Trump’s critics. It may entice those who rightly worry about what would remain of our democracy if Trump — unbound, unhinged — were restored to power with a voter mandate that n...

Bay Area poker player who drew donations for Las Vegas event lied about dying from cancer

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:43 GMT

LAS VEGAS  — A poker player who said he had terminal cancer and accepted thousands of dollars in donations so he could play in a World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas now admits it was all a lie.Rob Mercer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he made up a stage 4 colon cancer diagnosis for his GoFundMe page in June, the newspaper reported Wednesday.Mercer, of Vallejo, California, was trying to raise enough funds to meet the $10,000 buy-in for the No-limit Hold’em World Championship. He received contributions worth between $30,000 and $50,000, including a stay at a suite in the Bellagio. Even a fellow player from Arizona who suffers from chronic illness donated $2,500.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Oakland homicide victim identified as 40-year-old city resident Crime and Public Safety | San Jose police set to classify gun-pointing as a use of force Crime and Public Safety | Man shot at Berkeley bus stop Crime and P...

Opinion: High-speed broadband is essential for every California family

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:43 GMT

“Leave no family behind.”  That’s the ambitious and appropriate goal of Gov. Gavin Newsom and the federal government’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to bring affordable, reliable, high-speed, home broadband to every unserved and underserved family in California.Like water and electricity, home broadband is essential.  Reliable internet impacts our ability to access telehealth, education, jobs, public safety and emergency services.With state and federal funds described as “once-in-a-lifetime” to finally bridge the digital divide, we have the opportunity to meet the moment and achieve this vital goal.  In California alone, 996,302 locations — primarily families — are depending on our policymakers to get this right.The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) appropriately insists that reliable home broadband deliver 100 megabits per second (Mbps) “download” and 20 Mbps “upload.”  To meet (or exceed!) that 100/20 Mbps broadband...

Outdated headline about the killing of former California police chief sparks vicious online hate campaign directed at Las Vegas newspaper

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:43 GMT

By DAVID BAUDER | AP Media WriterNEW YORK — A Las Vegas newspaper is being viciously attacked online for its coverage of an alleged murder of a retired police chief, either because of a misunderstanding or a deliberate attempt to mislead.Deputy Chief Nick Farese speaks at a news conference on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, in Las Vegas. Las Vegas police on Tuesday announced a second teenager has been arrested in a series of hit-and-run crashes, including the death of a former California police chief who was riding a bicycle last month. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil) The “firehose of hatred” has led the Las Vegas Review-Journal to sift through email directed at one of its reporters to protect her from the worst of it, the paper’s executive editor, Glenn Cook, said on Wednesday.On Aug. 18, four days after a 64-year-old former California police chief, Andreas Probst, was killed when he was struck by a hit-and-run motorist while riding his bike in Las Vegas, Review-Journal reporter Sabrina Schnur i...

Single family residence sells for $1.7 million in Dublin

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:43 GMT

4667 Myrtle Drive – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 4600 block of Myrtle Drive in Dublin was sold on July 19, 2023 for $1,700,000, or $776 per square foot. The house, built in 1997, has an interior space of 2,191 square feet. This single-story home offers a spacious layout with four bedrooms and three baths. In addition, the home includes a two-car garage, ensuring ample room for parking and storage.Additional houses that have recently changed hands close by include:In July 2022, a 2,580-square-foot home on Roscommon Way in Dublin sold for $1,680,000, a price per square foot of $651. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 2,800-square-foot home on the 4300 block of Foxford Way in Dublin sold in June 2023, for $2,020,000, a price per square foot of $721. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Persimmon Drive, Dublin, in June 2023, a 3,322-square-foot home was sold for $2,490,000, a price per square foot of $750. The home has 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms.&n...

Holes-in-one: Aces carded at Bay Area golf courses last week

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:43 GMT

The following golfers made the most perfect shot in the game recently:Brian Azevedo: Diablo Hills GC, No. 4, 87 yards, pitching wedgeDenise Helm: Spring Valley GC, No. 11, 124 yards, 9-woodLeo Wang: Rancho del Pueblo GC, No. 1, 64 yards, driver

Worries are rising about inflated profit expectations on Wall Street

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:43 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Corporate profits may have already hit bottom: After falling for much of the last year, S&P 500 companies are expected to report 0.2% profit growth for the summer.While that sounds anemic, it would be the first quarter of growth in a year, according to FactSet.For three straight quarters, profits have fallen from year-ago levels due to pressure from higher costs and a fragile global economy. Hopes for a return to growth are crucial for the stock market to extend this year’s rally.“Now, the bull case is shifting to one premised on reaccelerated earnings,” says Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, of the narrative driving the market.One problem though: Inflation remains high, even if it’s eased since last summer’s peak, and it’s continuing to eat into companies’ profits.Several big airlines have recently warned of the hit they’ll take to profits for the summer because of higher fuel costs in particular.American Airlines,...

Bank of England joins US Fed in keeping interest rates unchanged after inflation declines

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:43 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The Bank of England on Thursday paused nearly two years of interest rate increases after a surprising fall in U.K. inflation eased concerns about the pace of price rises.In a development that few predicted just two days ago, the central bank kept its main interest rate unchanged at a 15-year high of 5.25%. It comes to the relief of millions of homeowners who are facing higher mortgage rates.Central banks worldwide appear to be near the end of an aggressive rate-hiking cycle meant to curb an outburst of inflation triggered by the bounceback from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine. The U.S. Federal Reserve also left rates unchanged Wednesday.Clearly influencing the U.K. bank’s decision was news Wednesday that inflation unexpectedly fell to 6.7% in August, its lowest level since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.Four of the nine members of the Monetary Policy Committee voted for a hike. The five who voted to keep rates on hold said inflation had been ...

England and Arsenal player Leah Williamson calls for equality in soccer

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:43 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — When England soccer player Leah Williamson addressed the United Nations in New York this week, she spoke of her recent visit to Za’atari in Jordan, the world’s biggest Syrian refugee camp. She spoke of the power of sport — soccer in particular — to change lives after witnessing the work being done by Save The Children and The Arsenal Foundation within the camp. Girls, she says, became empowered after being introduced to the sport, while male attitudes were changed as a result. Williamson’s message, however, goes beyond one laudable project with refugees in Jordan. She is using her status to challenge gender stereotypes that she says continue to hold women and girls back and is calling for parity in soccer.“The world has been the way it has been for a long, long time,” she told The Associated Press before her address on Tuesday. “Not only do we face the stereotype from these sort of archaic beliefs that women are only meant to be a certain...

Rested Argentina versus rushed Samoa in key Rugby World Cup pool match

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 14:12:43 GMT

Argentina is one of 12 fortunate teams at the Rugby World Cup to have a long break of 12-14 days between games at some point during the pool stage.Samoa is not one of them.Manu Samoa and Los Pumas meet in a key Pool D clash on Friday in Saint-Etienne.Argentina goes into it after a 13-day break — timely, considering all of the issues revealed in the dismal 27-10 defeat to England on the opening weekend.Samoa, though, will operate on a six-day turnaround after beating Chile 43-10 last Saturday.The tournament schedule was a lot more sympathetic to tier two teams than previous Rugby World Cups — when four- and five-day turnarounds were common — and the schedule was released more than 2 1/2 years ago, so Samoa has known what to expect. But that doesn’t make it any easier to manage.“We waited a couple of weeks to play our first game and then I felt like we blinked and we are straight into the second game,” Samoa coach Seilala Mapusua said.The future doesn’t get any easier for ...