Pac-12 WBB preview: L.A. rivalry heats up among crowded top of conference

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 06:22:30 GMT

Pac-12 WBB preview: L.A. rivalry heats up among crowded top of conference Nothing is hotter than Los Angeles in the sizzling world of Pac-12 women’s basketball.UCLA is ranked a school-record No. 2 in the AP poll, behind only South Carolina, while USC is No. 6 — the highest placement for the Trojans since 1994.Both teams are undefeated and feature two of the Pac-12’s brightest young stars in 6-foot-7 sophomore Lauren Betts (UCLA) and 6-2 freshman JuJu Watkins (USC).Their first crosstown showdown, Dec. 30 at UCLA, is expected to draw more than 10,000 fans to Pauley Pavilion; a repeat of that crowd on Jan. 14 would completely fill USC’s Galen Center.In a conference that’s on pace to send eight teams to the NCAA Tournament before it dissolves, the L.A. schools are a tick above even 2023 regular season co-champions Stanford and Utah. (Colorado also is highly ranked.)The buzz about women’s basketball is “so palpable, it’s everywhere we go,” USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb told the Hotline.“It’s hard not to think about it (playing UCLA), because som...

South Bay high school district gets new maintenance and operations building

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 06:22:30 GMT

South Bay high school district gets new maintenance and operations building Three campuses in the Fremont Union High School District saw construction of new buildings and/or classroom modernizations this fall, and the district got a new maintenance and operations building.Designed by McKim Design Group and Quattrocchi Kwok Architects and built by Blach Construction, the projects include a new wellness center and classroom modernization at Cupertino High School, a new science building at Lynbrook High School and classroom modernization and a new library quad at Homestead High School.Cupertino High SchoolThe new wellness center at Cupertino High School addresses the emotional well-being of students. After receiving a grant to hire personnel, the school realized an opportunity to renovate two classrooms. Designed by McKim, the updated spaces include dedicated therapy and counseling rooms and areas for students to decompress and implement calming techniques throughout the day. A variety of furnishings such as group table seating, bean bags and privacy tents all...

Two Antioch minors killed in fatal hit-and-run  

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 06:22:30 GMT

Two Antioch minors killed in fatal hit-and-run   (KRON) – Two minors were killed in a traffic collision involving two vehicles in Antioch on Friday. Antioch police responded to the intersection of W. 6th St. & G St. at 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 22. According to police, a black SUV was traveling northbound on G St. on W. 6th St. sided with the blue vehicle that was traveling eastbound on W. 6th St.  Robbers are following shoppers home, Alameda police say The black SUV then collided with a fire hydrant. The suspect(s) subsequently fled the scene on foot, leaving the vehicle behind, police said.  The minors in the blue vehicle were transferred to the hospital and later succumbed to their injuries. The minors were 12 and 13 years old.According to police, the father of one of the minors appeared at the scene. It is undetermined if the two minors were driving the blue vehicle or if there was another driver in the vehicle, police said. The victims' names are being withheld until proper family notifications.An...

Grant to fund cannabis education program to curb drugged driving

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 06:22:30 GMT

Grant to fund cannabis education program to curb drugged driving (BCN) -- Monterey County has been awarded a state grant of more than $210,000 to fund a public safety campaign through the county public health bureau's Cannabis Education Program.The grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety will go toward expanding drugged driving prevention messages to the public by using social media and other educational materials. Two Antioch minors killed in fatal hit-and-run "With this funding, we will be able to enhance our efforts to address impaired driving in our community and promote safer roads for all," said Michelle House, a county health department program coordinator. Cannabis is the second most prevalent drug associated with impaired driving, after alcohol, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The grant will fund the Public Health Cannabis Education Program through next September.Copyright © 2023 Bay City News, Inc.

‘The Boys in the Boat’ gives the Hollywood treatment to rowing during an Olympic year

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 06:22:30 GMT

‘The Boys in the Boat’ gives the Hollywood treatment to rowing during an Olympic year COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The journey from nowhere to an Olympic gold medal is a tale as old as time.Just as well-worn, but far less explored, are the stories about great athletes who realize they can’t make it anywhere unless they have a way to bankroll the trip.“The Boys in the Boat” is Hollywood and director George Clooney’s way of stringing those plot lines together. That it opens Christmas Day, a mere seven months before the start of the Paris Olympics, is good fortune for the people who oversee rowing in the U.S. and know the general public mostly either a) doesn’t think about that sport or b) sees it as the exclusive playground for East Coast and Ivy League elites.USRowing worked with producers of the movie to sponsor dozens of screenings across the country with two purposes: raising funds for an organization that received about $3.5 million of its $15 million budget in 2023 from charitable donations, and building awareness across racial and socioeconom...

Club World Cup let visitors see how Saudi Arabia wants to change ahead of 2034 World Cup

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 06:22:30 GMT

Club World Cup let visitors see how Saudi Arabia wants to change ahead of 2034 World Cup JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — In Saudi Arabia this week to work at the Club World Cup, seeing a woman driving a car on the busy roads of Jeddah was proving elusive.The kingdom’s ban on women drivers was lifted in 2018 — a key modernizing reform in a long-time ultraconservative society — yet first-hand evidence was missing for nearly four full days at a soccer event that was an early milestone on the road to the men’s World Cup in 2034.Spending one hour each day in taxis is easily done in a city with almost no public transport for more than five million people. A ride was requested on Thursday evening on a Middle East booking app to pick up at the five-star hotel where FIFA stayed.The driver of the economy grade sedan that arrived was a woman in her 20s, wearing western clothes and her head uncovered. Her avatar on the Jeeny app was not a photograph but a purple and white image of a hijab head covering.The skeptical bubble of a western visitor was popped and the frequent claims by Saud...

Bad Bunny entrega regalos de Navidad a miles de niños en Puerto Rico

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 06:22:30 GMT

Bad Bunny entrega regalos de Navidad a miles de niños en Puerto Rico SAN JUAN.- El artista puertorriqueño Bad Bunny entregó este sábado por cuarta ocasión, junto a su Fundación Good Bunny, artículos e instrumentos de música, deporte y pintura a miles de niños y jóvenes de Puerto Rico, como parte de las festividades navideñas.El Centro de Convenciones de Puerto Rico en San Juan fue el lugar del evento ‘Bonita Tradición’, donde Benito Antonio Martínez -Bad Bunny- repartió instrumentos musicales como teclados, guitarras y timbales, equipo deportivo como guantes de boxeo, pelotas y bates, y material de arte como libretas de dibujo, lienzos y pinceles.Hasta allí, miles de personas de todas partes de la isla esperaron pacientemente, incluso, desde la noche del viernes, a que uno de los artistas más aclamados, seguidos y escuchados en el mundo les entregara alguno de los tantos detalles.Así, Bad Bunny, ataviado de un abrigo negro, vaqueros y tenis, saludó primero a los niños con discapacidades especiales con abrazos, incluyendo uno que el propio...

Tributes flow for Luton captain Tom Lockyer in team’s first game since his on-field cardiac arrest

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 06:22:30 GMT

Tributes flow for Luton captain Tom Lockyer in team’s first game since his on-field cardiac arrest LUTON, England (AP) — Tributes flowed for Luton captain Tom Lockyer on Saturday in the team’s first game since he collapsed on the field after suffering cardiac arrest.When Andros Townsend gave Luton the lead in the 25th minute against Newcastle in the Premier League at Kenilworth Road, he ran to the touchline and was handed a jersey with “Lockyer No. 4” on the back. Townsend raised it into the air.Fans had earlier applauded en masse in the fourth minute — marking Lockyer’s number — while Newcastle’s supporters rolled out a banner in the visiting end with the message “Get Well Soon Tom. NUFC.”Lockyer is at home recovering after collapsing during the second half of the match at Bournemouth last Saturday. That game was abandoned and will be replayed.He underwent a procedure on Tuesday that saw him fitted with a defibrillator.It was the second time Lockyer collapsed during a match. The other time was in May during the second-tier Championship playoff final and that wa...

El presidente de Brasil otorga indultos navideños a presos

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 06:22:30 GMT

El presidente de Brasil otorga indultos navideños a presos (CNN Español) — El presidente de Brasil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, indultó a un grupo de presos que cumplían ciertas condiciones, por ejemplo, a aquellos con condenas menores a ocho años y que ya hubiesen cumplido una cuarta parte de su pena, y para aquellos que eran reincidentes, el requisito fue haber cumplido un tercio de la condena.Según se publicó en el diario oficial este viernes, el mandatario otorgó el perdón presidencial colectivo también a aquellos reos que tenían más de 60 años de edad y que hubiesen cumplido un tercio de su pena, así como a mujeres privadas de su libertad con hijos menores o con enfermedades crónicas. El factor común entre todos estos indultados fue no haber cometido delitos con violencia.Como cada vez que se otorga este indulto, se incluyen excepciones. Este año el decreto excluyó a presos que fueron condenados por realizar crímenes contra el Estado democrático, específicamente dirigido a un grupo de 30 reclusos que participaron en el intento de ...

Czech Republic marks a day of mourning for the victims of its worst mass killing

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 06:22:30 GMT

Czech Republic marks a day of mourning for the victims of its worst mass killing PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic came to a standstill at noon Saturday as people across the country observed a minute of silence for the victims of its worst mass killing that left 14 dead and questions about the shooter’s motive.National flags on public buildings flew at half-staff and bells tolled at noon. President Petr Pavel and speakers of both houses of Parliament attended a Mass for the victims at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, the country’s biggest, which was packed. “We’re all still in a shock in our own ways,” Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner said. “We need to clearly condemn what happened but we also need to look into the future.”“Nobody should be left alone in these tough moments,” Charles University rector Milena Kralickova said in her remarks toward the end of the Mass. The shooting occurred inside the university’s Faculty of Arts on Thursday. Twenty-five other people were wounded before the gunman killed himself. Police and prosecuto...