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Jim Brown dies at 87; NFL legend was prominent civil rights activist in 1960s

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:28:10 GMT

By Tom Withers | Associated PressPro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown, the unstoppable running back who retired at the peak of his brilliant career to become an actor as well as a prominent civil rights advocate during the 1960s, has died. He was 87.A spokeswoman for Brown’s family said he passed away peacefully in his Los Angeles home on Thursday night with his wife, Monique, by his side.One of the greatest players in football history and one of the game’s first superstars, Brown was chosen the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1965 and shattered the league’s record books in a short career spanning 1957-65.Brown led the Cleveland Browns to their last NFL title in 1964 before retiring in his prime after the ’65 season to become an actor. He appeared in more than 30 films, including “Any Given Sunday” and “The Dirty Dozen.”An unstoppable runner with power, speed and endurance, Brown’s arrival sparked the game’s burgeoning ...

Jeff Bezos gave Lauren Sanchez what every billionaire’s girlfriend will now want

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:28:10 GMT

Now that Jeff Bezos has revealed that he decorated the prow of his new $500 million yacht with a sculpture of a “curvaceous winged goddess,” which bears a striking resemblance to his girlfriend Lauren Sanchez, it’s easy to imagine that the partners of other billionaires will also want their likenesses to be incorporated into the designs of their family mega-yachts.As the Daily Mail first reported this week, Bezos and Sanchez were seen lounging on one of the decks of his enormous new yacht, Koru, as it was moored off the coast of the Spanish island Mallorca. The yacht is believed by many to be the largest sailing yacht in the world.As paparazzi captured images of the Amazon founder shirtless, and Sanchez wearing a tiny pink bikini, they also snapped photos of the ship’s figurehead. It appears to be a highly visible gesture of Bezos’ love for the former TV personality, as well as his idea of a cool new status symbol that will be the envy of other billiona...

Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano shudders to life

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:28:10 GMT

By María Verza | Associated PressMEXICO CITY — Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano rumbled to life again this week, belching out towering clouds of ash that forced 11 villages to cancel school sessions.The residents weren’t the only ones keeping a close eye on the towering peak. Every time there is a sigh, tic or heave in Popocatepetl, there are dozens of scientists, a network of sensors and cameras, and a roomful of powerful equipment watching its every move.The 17,797-foot (5,426-meter) volcano, known affectionately as “El Popo,” has been spewing toxic fumes, ash and lumps of incandescent rock persistently for almost 30 years, since it awakened from a long slumber in 1994.The volcano is 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Mexico City, but looms much closer to the eastern fringes of the metropolitan area of 22 million people. The city also faces threats from earthquakes and sinking soil, but the volcano is the most visible potential danger — and the most closely...

The Cost of Dying: Index of the stories, plus end-of-life planning resources

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:28:10 GMT

Here are links to the Cost of Dying project, a series by Bay Area News Group science writer Lisa M. Krieger examining end-of-life issues. All of the articles, plus more recent coverage of the topic, can also be found at www.mercurynews.com/tag/cost-of-dying.StoriesLife-and-death decisions: “My father’s final days in a hospital bed were far from the natural death he desired. His story poses a modern dilemma: Just because it’s possible to prolong a life, should we?”Nine lessons I learned about ‘a good death’: Lisa Krieger draws on reader response in this follow-up two weeks after the original story.Planning your death: How others make — and how you should make — the deeply personal and difficult decisions.One nurse’s end-of-life choice: The clarity of the San Jose woman’s decision also gave her loved ones the ability to celebrate her final days, more than suffer her death.Palliative care improves lives and eases the cost of dying: Outpatient palliat...

Hotline mailbag: ESPN’s move to streaming (what it means for the Pac-12), the wait for SDSU, the hope for UNLV and more

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:28:10 GMT

The Hotline mailbag is published every week. Send questions to [email protected] and include ‘mailbag’ in the subject line or hit me on Twitter: @WilnerHotline.Some questions have been edited for clarity and brevity.What are the media rights implications for the Pac-12 (and college sports) resulting from ESPN selling its main channel directly to consumers as a standalone streaming service?  — @MattZemekFor those who missed it, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that ESPN will indeed become a direct-to-consumer offering.Yes, the main network is being turned into a streaming platform, just like Apple and Amazon, Peacock and Paramount … and ESPN+.When the transition happens — it’s undoubtedly years away — all the college football content owned and licensed by ESPN will be available on streaming.Which would seem to undercut the narrative that the Pac-12 is doomed if the next media rights deal includes a streaming component.Which is what the...

High school football: Why Serra, De La Salle teamed up for a college showcase and what it means moving forward

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:28:10 GMT

SAN MATEO — May is a busy time for college football coaches tasked with evaluating high school players who one day might help their teams on Saturdays.From city to city, school to school, they pile up miles and long hours away from home in the name of recruiting.Thursday, two of Northern California’s premier high school programs — Serra and De La Salle — made it easier on the coaches. They used one of their spring practice days to hold a two-hour showcase at Serra’s Brady Family Stadium.Rules prohibit high school teams from working out together. So Serra went through its drills in the first hour. De La Salle arrived by bus from Concord just as Serra was finishing and practiced in the second hour.Essentially, they took a page out of Southern California’s playbook as powerhouse teams from that end of the state have held similar showcases for years.The combination of weather (chamber of commerce perfect) and turnout (a number of college coaches attended) could not have worked out bette...

Security guard who shot Banko Brown felt 'on edge' before Walgreens killing

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:28:10 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony wailed with tears when San Francisco homicide detectives told him that Banko Brown was dead and he was going to jail. Anthony, 33, shot Brown at point-blank range on April 27 while Brown was attempting to dash out of a Walgreens store with a bag of stolen items. The unarmed transgender man collapsed on Market Street's sidewalk while the guard yelled at bystanders to call 911. Police handcuffed the guard then hauled him into an interrogation room where Anthony answered detectives' questions for several hours. It wasn't until the very end of the 3-hour-long interrogation that detectives informed the guard that he killed someone and he was going to spend the night in jail. Anthony sobbed and said, "Oh God. This can't be happening. I swear. I just threw my whole f**king life away, man. I was trying to protect myself. I can't believe (Brown) died! I can't believe that! I never wanted to end no f**king life at all! I’m sorry."Brown's pare...

Antioch mayor calls for decommission of military vehicle, termination of officers who sent racist texts

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:28:10 GMT

(KRON) -- In an open letter to Antioch Police Chief Dr. Steve Ford, Antioch Mayor Lamar Thorpe asked that all the officers involved in sending racist text messages be terminated immediately. Mayor Thorpe also requested the decommissioning of "the tank," a surplus military vehicle from the Iraq War used by Antioch PD."I strongly believe that Antioch residents deserve a police department that every segment of Antioch's racially diverse community can trust," Thorpe wrote. "In order for us to get there, as well as beginning the healing process, the immediate termination of officers who violated the public's trust by displaying racism is required." SF restaurant that hosted anti-trans dinner apologizes amid backlash Two explosive reports released earlier this year by the Contra Costa District Attorney's Office revealed egregiously racist text messages sent and received between Antioch PD officers. In the texts, Black people were referred to as "zoo" and "circus" animals, and by other d...

The Yemen War Can Be Over — If Biden Wants It

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:28:10 GMT

Yemeni tribal figures from Abyan province wait to get their military commander freed from prison in Sanaa, Yemen, on April 30, 2023.Photo: Mohammed Hamoud/Getty ImagesI’ve always thought of the famous John Lennon refrain, “War is over, if you want it,” as mostly a thought experiment meant to shake us out of the learned helplessness that can lead to forever wars. But in the case of the war in Yemen, the war really is over if we want. Everybody else directly or indirectly involved — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Houthis, China, Oman, Qatar, Jordan, etc. — appears to want to put the war behind them. A ceasefire has held for more than a year, and peace talks are advancing with real momentum, including prisoner exchanges and other positive expressions of diplomacy. Yet the U.S. appears very much not to want the war to end; our proxies have been thumped on the battlefield and are in a poor negotiating position as a result. Reading between the lines, the U.S. seems...

Truck driver arrested in multi-vehicle freeway crash that killed 7 in Oregon

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 19:28:10 GMT

ALBANY, Ore. (AP) — The driver of a semitruck that slammed into a passenger van on Interstate 5 in western Oregon, killing 7 people in one of the state’s deadliest crashes in recent years, was arrested Friday on suspicion of manslaughter, DUI and other charges, police said.Eleven people were in the van when it was struck, authorities said. Six people died at the scene, one more died after being airlifted to a hospital and four were injured, according to Oregon State Police. Lincoln Clayton Smith, 52, of North Highlands, California, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, manslaughter and assault, police said. Smith was being held in Marion County Jail, He had not yet made a court appearance, and it was not clear if he had an attorney. Two semitrucks and the van were involved in the Thursday afternoon crash near Albany in an agricultural area in the Willamette Valley.The truck left the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 on Thursd...