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Oscars vs. 'The Last of Us': What are you watching Sunday?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:51 GMT

Will Joel and Ellie finally reach the doctors in “The Last of Us”? Will Michelle Yeoh take home the Oscar for best actress?Both questions will be answered this Sunday, but viewers may have to make a choice about which answer they want in real time. The season finale of the HBO hit is up against the live telecast of the Oscars on ABC.Of course, there’s an opportunity to see both. The Oscars begin at 8 p.m. Eastern; “ The Last of Us ” airs at 9 p.m. Viewers could begin their night watching the Oscars, click over to “The Last of Us,” and return for the ceremony's last hour. That's when the biggest categories are usually handed out, but that plan comes with the risk of missing any buzzy, unscripted moments. And if you choose to stick with the Oscars throughout? You risk spoilers on the fate of Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal's characters.The debate essentially boils down to zeitgeist, says Robert Thompson, a professor at Syracuse University specializing in media and director for the Bleie...

Jenny O Loves the Stones

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:51 GMT

Jenny O Loves the Stones: L.A. singer and songwriter Jenny O told us about her Rolling Stones experience.Jenny O: It remains difficult to wrap my head around the use of the word “gig” to describe a concert I did not perform myself, as gig to me has always implied employment. But I will describe to you the time I saw the Rolling Stones in concert, Los Angeles, 2021.First of all, we are alive at the same time as THEE Rolling Stones. Well, except Charlie Watts now. They are still touring, and they are still absolutely incredible. The Rolling Stones performed a rock concert for me and my friends (and like 50 thousand other people) on October 17, 2021. After everything we went through in 2020, after all they went through, and survived, we got in that room together and danced and sang our hearts out for two hours, on the floor of the So-fi stadium, right over the field where the LA Rams play football. One smash hit after another. I absolutely lost my mind during “Miss You.” I was perplexe...

Bay Area Storm: Atmospheric River rocks Bay Area causing closures, evacuations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:51 GMT

The latest atmospheric river storm system walloped the Bay Area on Thursday evening into Friday morning, unleashing a powerful combination of rainfall and gusty winds that left roads flooded and trees leveled.A vast majority of the storm’s rain fell in Thursday evening or later. According to National Weather Service 12-hour rain totals around 5 a.m. Friday, most Bay Area urban population centers hovered near the one-inch mark. San Jose received .88 inches, slightly more than downtown San Francisco’s .77. Other measurements along the Peninsula and in the South Bay included 1.23 in Redwood City, .99 in Palo Alto, 1.15 in Sunnyvale and .98 in Mountain View.The rain packed a stronger punch in East Bay communities as many communities cleared the one-inch hurdle with ease. Oakland saw a considerable amount of rain at 1.47 inches, while Walnut Creek was at 1.30. Other totals included 1.13 in Concord, 1.23 in Hayward, .96 in Hayward and 1.43 in Fremont. Most inland communities s...

Antioch: Police share images of gunpoint robbery, shooting suspects

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:51 GMT

ANTIOCH — Police shared images from surveillance-camera footage of three suspects sought in connection with an injury shooting during an armed robbery last month in the city’s Sycamore corridor, hoping members of the public can assist in identifying them.Antioch police shared images Thursday, March 9, 2023 taken from surveillance-camera footage of suspects sought in connection with a Feb. 9 armed robbery and injury shooting outside a liquor store in the 1100 block of Sycamore Drive in Antioch, Calif. (Courtesy Antioch Police Department) Shortly after 8:40 p.m. Feb. 9, dispatchers received a call about a person possibly shot in a parking lot outside a liquor store in the 1100 block of Sycamore Drive, police said in a statement Thursday.When officers arrived, they found a victim suffering from a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, and first responders provided care before taking the victim to a hospital for treatment.Detectives assigned to the incident later learned t...

What do you do if you’re stuck between road boulders and autobahn wannabes: Roadshow

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:51 GMT

Q: I was surprised by your answer regarding the express lane speed limit. I just took the in-person exam at the DMV and one question was, “How fast should you drive on a highway with a posted limit of 65 mph if the flow of traffic is exceeding the limit?” The answer was that it would be illegal to drive over 65 mph in order to keep up with the flow of traffic. Please help. We are caught between road boulders and autobahn wannabes.Dick Powers, Los GatosA: Technically, you’re correct. Drivers need to find a lane where they can safely go with the flow. Traffic in some lanes may exceed the speed limit, but often, not all do.Q: I fail to see how Interstate 980 disrupts West Oakland. Half of it is elevated, with lots of streets crossing below. The half not elevated has 5 bridges crossing over it.If you want to see a town made unusable by freeways, try Milpitas. We are chopped up by two freeways and a major rail yard in a town less than 4 miles across. Two east-west thoroughfar...

CIF Division IV championship preview: Half Moon Bay on ‘Cloud 9’ heading into state final

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:51 GMT

The day after winning the first NorCal title in school history, Half Moon Bay coach John Parsons described his mental and emotional state as “still pretty much on Cloud 9.”Parsons grew up in the small coastal town and was a two-time San Mateo County player of the year as a combo guard for the Cougars in the early 2000s. As someone who came of age there, he has first-hand knowledge of the intimate connection between the school’s athletic teams and the community at large.Half Moon Bay (21-10), which will play Valencia (26-10) for the state Division IV title on Saturday at noon at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, has won four road games in the CIF playoffs as a No. 10 seed. The team may have found itself in unfamiliar surroundings, but played with a sense of comfort thanks to the support of its fan base.“I can’t say enough about our fans,” Parsons said. “Our community is an incredible place. At Hillsdale, at Marin Catholic, at Chico we had mo...

Banks feel sting of Fed fight against inflation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:51 GMT

The banking sector is in retreat, as it has been all week, as the effects of the Federal Reserve’s fight against inflation begins to weigh heavily on a small number of banks that cater to the tech sector. Late Thursday, SVB Financial Group, the parent of Silicon Valley Bank, lost 60% of its value after announcing plans to raise up to $1.75 billion in order to strengthen its capital position amid concerns about higher interest rates and the economy. Major financial institutions like Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan were not immune, falling between 4% and 6%. That sell-off continues before the opening bell Friday. Silicon Valley plunged sharply and was extraordinarily volatile before trading was halted. The banking sector is leading all others in declines. Driving anxiety in the sector is the fight by the U.S. Federal Reserve against inflation. As the Fed raises its benchmark interest rate, the value of bonds, typically a stable asset, are starting to fall. That is not ty...

Wall St futures up on jobs data; Silicon Valley Bank halted

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:51 GMT

Wall Street futures reversed course Friday after the government reported another healthy month of hiring in February.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 0.1% and futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.3%. Both were down before the report was released. Oil prices also rebounded.The Labor Department reported Friday that America’s employers added a substantial 311,000 jobs in February, fewer than January’s huge gain but enough to keep pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates aggressively to fight inflation.The unemployment rate rose to 3.6% from a 53-year low of 3.4%, as more Americans began searching for work and not all of them found jobs.On Thursday, the S&P 500 index fell by its biggest one-day margin this year after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned rates might be raised faster than expected to cool stubbornly high inflation.Adding to the rout was SVB Financial Group, which lost 60% of its value Thursday after announcing plans to raise up ...

Haiti police pursue new suspects in presidential slaying

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:51 GMT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Authorities in Haiti have identified new suspects in the July 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse, including a pastor and a well-known gang leader.Police spokesman Garry Desrosiers said in an interview Friday with Radio Télévision Caraïbes that warrants also have been issued for eight police officers.None of the new suspects have been arrested, and it wasn’t clear what alleged roles they might have played.Desrosiers identified the gang leader as Vitel’Homme Innocent, leader of the Kraze Barye gang, which roughly translates to “breaking barriers.” He is also sought by the FBI, which accused him of helping kidnap 17 U.S. missionaries in October 2021. Desrosiers did not provide further details, and he did not immediately return a message for comment.Before the new arrest warrants were announced, more than 40 suspects had been detained in the case, including at least 18 Colombian ex-soldiers accused of raiding Moïse’s private residence in an attack that ...

World Baseball Classic players get artsy with custom cleats

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:05:51 GMT

When Joc Pederson takes the field for Israel in the World Baseball Classic, he’ll be wearing bright silver cleats with blue Stars of David inside each Nike swoosh.Edwin Díaz commissioned two different designs to wear for Puerto Rico: blue with a bronze trumpet across the Adidas stripes, and red with white and blue trumpets, a reference to the closer’s intro music.Flashy footwear is the work of Stadium Custom Cleats, a company owned by Alex Katz, a pitcher for Israel at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and at this year’s WBC.“You can express yourself more,” Pederson said. “It’s pretty boring when it’s just plain Jane black-and-white shoes. I like to spice my shoes up a little bit, add some extra flair.”When Israel plays its Group D opener against Nicaragua at Miami on Sunday, Katz’s cleats will feature the Mensch on a Bench mascot of Israel’s team, the Western Wall, Haifa. The 28-year-old left-hander’s shoes even have multicolor reflective soles.Others with the spiffy shoes include Dani...