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Pro Bowl preview: 49ers dominate fan ballots; official honors unveiled today

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:53 GMT

SANTA CLARA – The 49ers’ talent pool sure has changed since coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch inherited a roster that had no Pro Bowlers seven seasons ago.At 5 p.m. today, a slew of 49ers players will draw that all-star designation, perhaps their most since 2012, when 10 bypassed their Pro Bowl nod to play in the Super Bowl.The 49ers overwhelmingly won the fan voting, which counts for just a third of the selection process, as players and coaches also have their say.Brock Purdy, who stands to become the 49ers’ first Pro Bowl quarterback since Jeff Garcia in 2002, led all players in fan balloting with 451,864 votes, according to the NFL. Teammate Christian McCaffrey placed second (429,993) ahead of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (414,502), 49ers tight end George Kittle (373,750) and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (327,263).Of course, as the NFC’s No. 1 seed, the 49ers (12-4) prefer to be heading to the Super Bowl (Feb. 11, Las Vegas) than s...

Clerk who denied same-sex marriage licenses hit with $360,000 ruling

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:53 GMT

By Chris Boyette | CNNThe former Kentucky county clerk who in 2015 declined to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples must pay $260,000 in fees and expenses to the couple’s attorneys in addition to the $100,000 in damages awarded by a jury last year, a federal judge ruled.Kim Davis, ex–clerk of Rowan County in northeastern Kentucky, became a national figure in 2015 when she defied the US Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. Davis refused to sign marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing her religious beliefs. At the time, US District Judge David Bunning found her in contempt of court and ordered her to jail, and she spent five days behind bars.David Ermold and David Moore sued Davis after being denied marriage licenses multiple times by her or her office. In 2022, Bunning ruled Davis violated their constitutional rights, and in September 2023 a jury awarded the couple $100,000 in damages.Last week, Bunning ruled in favor of the couple on the question...

2024 Banished Words List: At the end of the day, Lake Superior State University slays once again

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:53 GMT

The marking of a new year not only inspires us to look ahead but to reflect on the past and consider what can be done to make things better including our cringe worthy use of the English language.It’s with this in mind that Lake Superior State University (LSSU) recently unveiled its 2024 Banished Words List.“This season is marked by various joyful traditions, and the Banished Words List remains one of the most iconic, humorous, and quirky traditions in the region,” Sheridan Worth, director of marketing at LSSU, said in a news release.A tradition since 1976, LSSU’s annual list highlights certain words that are often misused, overused, or have lost their meaning over the past year. It also encourages us to laugh at ourselves as we reconsider and reflect on the importance of our vocabulary.“The tradition provides a lighthearted opportunity to pause and reflect on the past year—our experiences, communication styles, and the phrases we commonly use. At the end of the day, it serves as a ...

Downtown San Jose retail building may become vet center, pet daycare

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:53 GMT

SAN JOSE — A long-time retail building in downtown San Jose has been bought in a deal that clears the way for its transformation into a pet care and kennel complex.The store and warehouse at the corner of North First Street and Devine Street in downtown San Jose has been bought for $2.2 million by a Bay Area veterinarian who wants to turn the property into a site to care for pets.Elevated view of 260 North First Street, a retail building in downtown San Jose near Devine Street, showing a nearby neighborhood. (Meacham Oppenheimer)The building, located at 260 North First Street in San Jose, was bought by an affiliate controlled by Gurjeet Ghumman, who is a veterinarian operating in Mountain View, according to documents filed on Dec. 29 with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office.“The buyer wants to convert this to a veterinary hospital with overnight care and pet daycare,” said David Taxin, a partner with Meacham Oppenheimer, a commercial real estate fir...

Russia, Ukraine exchange hundreds of prisoners of war

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:53 GMT

Associated PressRussia and Ukraine on Wednesday exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in the biggest single release of captives since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.Ukrainian authorities said that 230 Ukrainian prisoners of war returned home in the first exchange in almost five months. Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 248 Russian servicemen have been freed under the deal sponsored by the United Arab Emirates.The UAE’s Foreign Ministry attributed the successful swap to the “strong friendly relations between the UAE and both the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine, which were supported by sustained calls at the highest levels.”The UAE has maintained close economic ties with Moscow despite Western sanctions and pressure on Russia after it launched its invasion in 2022.Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said it was the 49th prisoner exchange during the war.Some of the Ukrainians had been held since 2022. A...

San Francisco homicide: Man stabbed in South of Market

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:53 GMT

A man was fatally stabbed Thursday in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood, the police said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Bay Area homicides 2023: Map and details The attack was reported shortly after 5:30 a.m. Dec. 28 near Mission and Washburn streets. Officers found a man and a woman who had been stabbed.The man, later identified as Brandon Mitchell, 45, was pronounced dead at a hospital. The 38-year-old woman was treated for injuries considered life-threatening.No arrest has been made, and police have not released any suspect details.

Single-family home sells in Los Gatos for $3.9 million

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:53 GMT

920 Cherrystone Drive – Google Street ViewThe spacious property located in the 900 block of Cherrystone Drive in Los Gatos was sold on Dec. 11, 2023. The $3,850,000 purchase price works out to $1,387 per square foot. The house, built in 1960, has an interior space of 2,775 square feet. This two-story home provides a generous living space with its five bedrooms and three bathrooms. Inside, there is a fireplace. In addition, the house features a two-car garage.These nearby houses have also recently been purchased:On Lilac Lane, Los Gatos, in September 2022, a 2,608-square-foot home was sold for $3,609,000, a price per square foot of $1,384. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.A 1,840-square-foot home on the 800 block of Cherrystone Drive in Los Gatos sold in October 2023, for $2,890,000, a price per square foot of $1,571. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.In August 2023, a 2,890-square-foot home on Cherrystone Drive in Los Gatos sold for $3,850,000, a price per square foot o...

Rudy Giuliani’s creditors may join forces to collect following bankruptcy bid

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:53 GMT

Molly Crane-Newman | New York Daily NewsNEW YORK — Rudy Giuliani’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy bid may see him go up against a crowd of creditors currently planning to join forces — and could end up policing every penny he spends if they succeed, the Daily News learned Tuesday.Hunter Biden, a fired Staten Island grocery store worker, defamed Georgia election volunteers, voting machine companies, Giuliani’s former assistant turned sexual assault accuser Noelle Dunphy, and several high-powered law firms are among the eclectic list of creditors the ex-mayor says are looking to drain his accounts.Federal bankruptcy officials on Dec. 22 informed those demanding the highest sums of their right to form an unsecured creditors committee, according to documents obtained by The News.“The United States Trustee urges you to consider serving on the Committee,” wrote Andrea Schwartz, a trial attorney with the Office of the U.S. Trustee. “The Committee performs a vital role in Chapter 11 reorganizations,...

How Andrew Haigh made one the year’s most talked about films

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:53 GMT

One of the many heartrending moments in Andrew Haigh’s “All of Us Strangers” occurs during an intimate exchange in an isolated, mostly barren London apartment building between Adam (Andrew Scott), a lonely screenwriter who has been communing with his dead parents, and his devastatingly attractive neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal). Harry, basking in the aftermath of a romantic interlude, tenderly reveals a secret: How he feels like an outsider whenever he’s with family — an outlier present in body yet whose soul lingers along the fringes of the tattered remnants of a discarded welcome mat.That vulnerable moment will likely strike a chord for numerous queer people who have felt the same and anyone who feels like they’re apparitions when engaged with their family. It’s a powerful theme which haunts “All of Us Strangers” as if it were a restless spirit.It also comes from a personal but not autobiographical place for Haigh, the award-winning English director and screenwriter, who ...

Jeffrey Epstein-linked John Does are about to be named publicly. Here’s what we know

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 10:31:53 GMT

By Allison Morrow, Michelle Watson, Kara Scannell, Emma Tucker and Samantha Delouya | CNNNew York  — The identities of dozens of people linked to Jeffrey Epstein are expected to be revealed as soon as Wednesday, potentially removing a cloak of anonymity that had shielded much of the accused sex trafficker’s prominent network of friends and business partners from public scrutiny.An official with the Manhattan federal court said he expects the unsealing of documents to begin Wednesday.“We have no specific timing, the information will be filed by the parties,” said Ed Friedland, district executive for the Southern District of New York, in a statement to CNN. “We expect it to begin today.”The expected revelations in a trove of court documents come more than four years after Epstein, a convicted sex offender who nevertheless kept elite company, died in jail while awaiting federal sex-trafficking charges.For years, the names of many of Epstein’s accusers and associates had been redacted i...