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US developing plans to evacuate Americans from Mideast

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:52 GMT

By Aamer Madhani, Lolita C. Baldor and Seung Min Kim | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The White House said Tuesday that “prudent contingency planning” is underway to evacuate Americans from the Middle East in case the Israel-Hamas war spreads into a broad regional conflict.White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stressed there are currently no “active efforts” to evacuate Americans from the region beyond charter flights the U.S government began operating earlier this month out of Israel.“It would be imprudent and irresponsible if we didn’t have folks thinking through a broad range of contingencies and possibilities,” Kirby said. “And certainly evacuations are one of those things.”The White House addressed the contingency plans amid growing concerns that the 18-day-old Israel-Hamas war could further escalate. The U.S. has advised Israel that postponing a possible ground invasion of Gaza could be helpful as the U.S...

Wedding bells ringing at Santa Clara County’s new chapel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:52 GMT

Andrew Flores and Tania Landin probably didn’t expect their wedding to be a media event, complete with reporter interviews and TV cameras recording. But that’s what happened Tuesday when the couple got married at Santa Clara County’s brand-new wedding chapel.Susan Ellenberg, president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, officiated the 11:30 a.m. ceremony, which was attended by more than a dozen of Landin and Flores’ family members, including their children, Maya, who turns 1 on Thursday and 4-year-old, Jordan, who was the ring bearer. Ellenberg, who had only officiated one wedding previously, said she won’t be the regular officiant at the chapel but enjoyed the honor Tuesday.“It was very special to be asked to be part of the first ceremony in this new chapel,” Ellenberg said.Andrew Flores and Tania Landin are the first couple to tie the knot at the county’s new wedding chapel in a ceremony officiated by Santa Clara County Board o...

Former 49er Aldon Smith is out of jail, says he’s done with football

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:52 GMT

At age 34, Aldon Smith could probably get another NFL tryout if he wanted. Instead, he has put football in his rear-view mirror as he embarks on living life sober and pursuing other things.“I’m done with ball,” Smith told host Brandon Marshall on Monday’s episode of Marshall’s “I Am Athlete” podcast. “I’ve been working on me at a deep level . . . now that I get to let people see this version of me, I’m excited about it.”Smith was released from San Mateo County Jail on Oct. 4 after serving six months for felony DUI stemming from arrest after rear-ending a work truck on an off-ramp on Dec. 6, 2021. Smith, whose life has included previous arrests for DUI and domestic violence as well as repeated NFL suspensions for violating the substance abuse policy, agreed to a plea deal for the sixth months in jail plus five years of probation.In an emotional hour-long interview with Marshall, diagnosed with borderline personality di...

Bay Area pilot charged with attempting to murder 83 people on plane

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:52 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Prosecutors filed criminal charges on Tuesday against a Bay Area pilot accusing him of attempting to murder 83 people who were aboard a flight from Washington to San Francisco International Airport. Joseph David Emerson, 44, of Pleasant Hill, was off-duty and sitting in the cockpit Sunday evening when he suddenly tried to cut off the jet's engines, according to on-duty pilots who flew Horizon Air Flight AS 2059.The pilots said they wrestled with Emerson for control of the aircraft, he pulled on emergency controls to cut the engines' fuel, and the jet was "seconds away" from becoming a glider, prosecutors wrote in court documents. The quick-thinking captain, co-pilot, and flight crew were able to throw Emerson out of the cockpit, handcuff him, and make an emergency landing at a Portland airport.Joseph David Emerson, left, 44, was arraigned in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tues., Oct. 24, 2023, in Portland. Ore. Emerson pleaded not guilty Tuesday. (Dave Kil...

Lions release veteran WR Marvin Jones, who says he’s stepping away to deal with family matters

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:52 GMT

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Lions have released veteran receiver Marvin Jones, who posted on social media that he is stepping away from football to deal with a personal family matter.“Although this was no easy decision, I cannot be the person/player that I need to be for this team as well as tend to my family from afar,” Jones posted Tuesday on Instagram. He moved his wife and five children from Miami to San Diego and planned to sign with an NFL team on the West Coast.When the 33-year-old Jones signed in April, he could not resist an opportunity to play in Detroit again for a vastly improved franchise. He had five catches for 35 yards in six games this season.Jones did not travel with the team to its most recent game in Baltimore, where the NFC North-leading Lions were routed by the Ravens.Detroit (5-2) hosts Las Vegas (3-4) on Monday night.Jones has 547 catches for 7,421 yards and 58 touchdowns, a total that ranks ninth among active players. The Cincinnati Bengals drafted ...

Man stopped near Michigan governor’s home worked on research against Democrats, report says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:52 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A man dressed in black who works for a group specializing in opposition research about Democrats was stopped while climbing a bluff near Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s summer residence in August, according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press.The man, whose name was redacted in the document, said he worked as a “political tracker” for America Rising. The police report links to two websites as potential employers, one at an America Rising corporation and one for an America Rising political action committee.The man said he was “climbing the hill to get a ‘view up here’ when he was stopped Aug. 26. When members of the Executive Protection Section advised there was no view to see where he was at, (the man) stated, ‘I guess I’m leaving now,’” state police said.The mansion on Mackinac Island is a summer residence for a Michigan governor in office. It’s on a bluff overlooking the Straits of Mackinac, according to the island’s tourism offic...

Florida officials ask US Supreme Court to block rulings limiting anti-drag show law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:52 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The state of Florida is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to block lower court rulings that prohibit the enforcement of a new law targeting drag shows.Florida officials filed an application with the nation’s highest court on Friday asking that the prohibition against enforcing the anti-drag show law only be limited to the Orlando, Florida, restaurant which challenged its constitutionality. The law should be enforced at other Florida businesses since to do otherwise will “erase from Florida’s statute books” a law meant to protect children, the application said.Earlier this month, a panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s granting of a preliminary injunction stopping the law from being enforced. The district court found that the law likely restricted free speech and the injunction should be extended to all Floridians.The appeals court panel ruled against a request from Florida officials to limit the injunction to the Hamburger Mary...

Western Energy: Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:52 GMT

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Western Energy Services Corp. (WEEEF) on Tuesday reported a loss of $1 million in its third quarter.On a per-share basis, the Calgary, Alberta-based company said it had a loss of 3 cents.The drilling services company posted revenue of $41 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on WEEEF at https://www.zacks.com/ap/WEEEFSource

Ronaldo scores twice in Al-Nassr’s victory in Asian Champions League

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:52 GMT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo scored two second-half goals as Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr beat Al-Duhail of Qatar 4-3 in the Asian Champions League on Tuesday.Al-Nassr has nine points from three games in Group E, three clear of Persepolis after the Iranian team defeated Tajikistan’s Istiklol 2-0.Ronaldo’s backheel set up Anderson Talisca for the opening goal and Sadio Mane doubled the lead before halftime. The Portugal star’s left-footed curler from outside the area made it 3-0 before the hour mark.Al-Duhail pulled two goals back thanks to Ismaeel Mohammed and Almoez Ali.Ronaldo intervened once more with nine minutes remaining as he volleyed a deep cross into the net, and Al-Nassr hung on after Michael Olunga’s strike made it 4-3.On Monday Al-Hilal routed Mumbai City 6-0. Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a hat trick for the four-time champion to put Al-Hilal atop Group D with seven points from three games.In the absence of the injured Karim Benzema, a last-mi...

Paul Giamatti stars in Christmas dramedy ‘The Holdovers’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:46:52 GMT

Not everybody gets to go home for Christmas. In a new drama, starring Paul Giamatti, the kids at one prep school with nowhere to go during break are called holdovers.So what happens when the school’s crankiest teacher, trouble-making student and cook spend two intimate weeks together?I don’t know, watch the movie.Ahh, winter break.Well, in “The Holdovers,” those two weeks aren’t so heavenly, at least not at first.At a New England prep school in the 1970s, a curmudgeonly instructor sticks around for Christmas break to keep an eye on a handful of students with nowhere to go.Dominic Sessa: “It’s these three people who you know come from very different worlds, very different experiences and create a special bond, a familial bond, and it brings them together in ways that I don’t think many would expect.”Paul Giamatti plays the killjoy. But soon forms an unlikely bond with brainy student Angus.Dominic: “Being at a boarding school...