Category: Bay Area

December introduces a new month of events and more importantly it heralds the Season of Heritage. From the looks of it, the three-month event from 10 a.m. Dec. 1 to 10 a.m. March 1 will have two tent poles that players should watch out for. The first will likely happen around January as “Pokemon Arceus” is scheduled for release Jan. 28. It’s the big entry to the main series of games on the Nintendo Switch and introduces players to the Hisui region and a past age in the “Pokemon” universe. If the area looks familiar, it should to fans of “Pokemon Diamond” and Pokmeon Pearl.” The Hisui region ends up being the Sinnoh region in the modern day. ‘POKEMON ARCEUS’ AND TOUR DATES With the latest entry, players should expect new variants of old Pokemon. Nintendo has already revealed Hisuian Growlithe and Hisuian Braviary. In addition, players will find evolved forms of old favorites in the form of Basculegion, Kleavor and Wyrdeer. Players should expect some of these new Pokemon to show up in “Pokemon Go” or perhaps relatives tied to them. The second big…

Coach Bob Boughner feels the challenges the Sharks have faced through the first quarter of the season have been as significant as any NHL team’s so far this season. The Sharks experienced a COVID-19 outbreak in late October and early November – taking seven players out of the lineup — and right now, they’re already on their third five-game road trip of the season. So far, they’ve handled it all about as well as could be expected. Noah Gregor had a goal and an assist and James Reimer made 31 saves as the Sharks used a strong second period to beat the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Tuesday for their fourth win in their last five games. In the second period, Alexander Barabanov had assists on goals by Jake Middleton and Erik Karlsson, and Timo Meier scored his 10th as the season as the Sharks improved to 2-0-0 on their five-game road trip that is scheduled to continue Thursday at UBS Arena against the New York Islanders. Meier also had an empty-net goal with 3:01 left in regulation time as the Sharks (12-9-1) have now…

Daniel Jones is considered week-to-week with a neck strain, the Daily News has learned, and Giants backup quarterback Mike Glennon is expected to start Sunday against the Dolphins in Miami. The team signed quarterback Jake Fromm off the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad as insurance because Jones hurt his neck early in Sunday’s 13-7 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Jones, 24, lowered his head on a read-option quarterback run on the second play of the game and was crunched by Eagles safety Rodney McLeod and linebacker Alex Singleton. Fullback Eli Penny motioned to the official looking for a helmet-to-helmet flag, but none was thrown. Jones was not removed by the NFL’s concussion spotter. He finished the game and talked to the media after. But Jones felt the injury more acutely on Monday. Jones’ injury is not landing him on injured reserve at this time, which means there is hope he may only miss two games at most. The third-year quarterback typically tries to play through injuries, too. Still, Joe Judge and the Giants have to be careful managing a neck injury, which means protecting Jones from…

By Christopher Sherman | Associated Press TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras — The candidate from Honduras’ ruling party conceded Tuesday that opposition candidate Xiomara Castro won Sunday’s presidential election. Tegucigalpa Mayor Nasry Asfura of the National Party said in a statement Tuesday that he had personally congratulated Castro, despite only about half of the voting tallies having been counted. He was trailing by about 354,000 votes. With 52% of the tallies counted, Castro had 53% support to Asfura’s 34%, according to the National Electoral Council. The council has 30 days from the election to declare a winner. Asfura said he met with Castro and her family. “Now I want to say it publicly,” Asfura said. “That I congratulate her for her victory and as president elect, I hope that God illuminates and guides her so that her administration does the best for the benefit of all of us Hondurans, to achieve that development and the desires for democracy.” Asfura’s recognition of the outcome was a relief to many Hondurans who had feared another contested election after a debacle in 2017 led to protests that left 23 people dead.…

Separated by 10 feet and a see-through, anti-COVID barrier, Elizabeth Holmes faced off against federal prosecutor Robert Leach for six hours Tuesday as Leach sought to highlight her alleged lies about the failed blood-testing startup and emphasize her decision-making role at the firm — while also showcasing the affection between Holmes and the former company president she yesterday accused of sexually abusing and controlling her. Taking the witness stand for the fifth day, Holmes was at times gruff, the frequent small smiles she gave while answering her lawyers’ questions largely absent as she fought back against allegations that she deceived investors, retaliated against whistleblowers and controlled her purported abuser and ex-lover, rather than the other way around. The testimony followed stunning claims Holmes made Monday accusing former Theranos president Sunny Balwani, with whom she had an intimate relationship for more than a decade, of forcing sex on her when she displeased him, as well as controlling how she worked, her hours and even what she ate. The testimony — coupled with pre-trial filings from Holmes’ attorneys — suggested that Holmes may cite Balwani’s alleged emotional…

The Oakland Unified School District has done so little to stave off its enormous looming budget deficit that the Alameda County Office of Education can intervene, state officials have concluded. Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L.K. Monroe had warned Oakland school board members last month she was concerned about the district’s reliance on one-time revenues to stay afloat instead of making the deep funding cuts needed. The school district is facing declining enrollment yet has failed to take any steps such as reducing staff levels or adopting a long-term financial plan, Monroe’s letter to the board explained. The school district needs to cut about $90 million, according to Monroe. Her letter ordered the district to hand over its “Board-approved, budget-balancing solutions” by Jan. 31, 2022 and noted the county will review its financial controls. “Because the District has yet to develop budget balancing solutions that do not rely on one-time funding solutions, and because there is an increased level of fiscal solvency uncertainty, ACOE will now provide more intensive intervention and support to the District,” Monroe wrote. In response, the school district’s chief governance officer,…

Oakland police chief LeRonne Armstrong on Tuesday praised a new proposal by the mayor to unfreeze dozens of positions and beef up his department’s staffing after a wave of killings and organized robberies across the city. The chief’s comments came amid a heated debate over the role of police in Oakland, and the number of officers needed to stem a rise in homicides. A steady run of departures has left the Oakland Police Department with 676 officers — more than 70 fewer than at this time last year. It’s also two fewer officers than is needed for the department to meet a key staffing benchmark that allows it to use certain taxpayer money for violence prevention work. “I thank Mayor (Libby) Schaaf for her proactive approach to assisting the department in helping us identify potential opportunities for resources with additional academies, hopefully unfreezing positions,” Armstrong said. “That is the smallest staff that we’ve had in several years.” He also said the department would place a new emphasis on trying to hire officers currently working in other departments, and who want to transfer to Oakland. Armstrong’s…

By Lindsay Whitehurst | Associated Press The wife of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison after pleading guilty to helping her husband run his multibillion-dollar criminal empire. Emma Coronel Aispuro also helped her husband plan a dramatic escape through a tunnel dug underneath a prison in Mexico in 2015 by smuggling a GPS watch to him disguised as a food item, prosecutors said during a hearing in federal court in Washington. That helped those digging the tunnel pinpoint his location and reach him. The leader of the Sinaloa cartel was recaptured the following year. Prosecutors had asked for four years in prison, but U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras imposed a shorter term, saying her role was a small piece of a much larger organization. Her arrest doesn’t seem to have reduced the harm caused by the cartel, he said. “There appears to be no shortage of willing participants,” he said. She had faced a minimum of 10 years in prison, but was subject to a so-called “safety valve” provision because she had no criminal record, was…

By LARRY NEUMEISTER and TOM HAYS NEW YORK (AP) — The first of four women described as key accusers in the indictment against British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell testified Tuesday that Maxwell was often in the room when the witness, then just 14, had sexual interactions with the financier Jeffrey Epstein. Prosecutors went to the heart of their sex trafficking case against Maxwell with their second witness, a woman in her early 40s who was introduced to jurors as “Jane,” a pseudonym she said she prefers, in part to protect a 22-year acting career. During sexual encounters that began in 1994 and continued through 1997, Maxwell “was very casual,” she told a New York City jury. “Like it was no big deal.” The witness testified in a quiet but steady voice, though she got choked up twice and also dabbed at her nose with a tissue as she described the sexual encounters. She said Maxwell instructed her on how to give Epstein sexual massages and sometimes physically participated. She also largely avoided looking at Maxwell, except when she pointed an index finger when she was asked…

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor. Politicians performed as expected in Glasgow Re. “Experts wanted more from nations’ agreement,” Page A4, Nov. 15: There is no magic bullet that will cure global warming. The answer involves a basket of solutions I’m sure weren’t discussed sufficiently at the recent world meeting. With billions of cars on the road, one commitment to greater efficiency would pay rich dividends. Instead, we manufacture and sell SUVs, an inefficient vehicle that few should drive. The author was right of course, but these meetings are not about solutions. They are about talking about solutions. After all, these people are politicians. It’s naïve to think otherwise. Robert Sinuhe Oakland In Sacramento, budget surplus in wrong hands I’m so glad I live in a state that taxes me into oblivion only to have so much tax revenue they don’t know what to do with it. I’m sure my money is in good hands, though, with the people building a train to nowhere or paying for needles for IV drug users. If they give some of…

Investigators looking for a Los Angeles woman missing for more than a month began searching a landfill north of the city on Monday. Heidi Planck. (Via Los Angeles Police Department)  The Los Angeles Police Department issued a statement saying that Heidi Planck is believed to be dead. She was last seen alive on security video recorded Oct. 17 near a downtown Los Angeles apartment high-rise. Half an hour later, her dog was found wandering alone on the building’s 28th floor. “Forensic evidence was located inside the building which has led detectives to believe an incident occurred resulting in Planck’s death,” the police statement said. The announcement coincided with the start of excavation at the Chiquita Canyon Landfill, near Castaic. The police said they are searching for human remains and “related evidence.” Planck, 39, is the mother of a boy, who turned 11 after her disappearance; she shared custody of him with her ex-husband, James Wayne. Planck works for the Los Angeles investment advisers Camden Capital. The map above shows key locations from the investigation: 1/ Sunday, Oct. 17, afternoon: Planck attends her son’s football game…

The Lego universe, which began as a simple Danish plastic toy building-block some 90 years ago, has expanded in mind-blowing fashion. It now encompasses movies, theme parks and museums, competitions and much more. But one of the most eye-opening developments has been the art of Nathan Sawaya, who quit his job as a Hollywood lawyer in 2004 to become a Lego artist. He has since created a stunning collection of sculptures using the brightly colored plastic bricks. He’s designed re-creations of Van Gogh and Da Vinci paintings as well as a 20-foot Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton. Arguably his most famous work is “Yellow,” a sculpture depicting a man ripping open his chest with scads of Legos pouring out. All these works and much more, not to mention a series of multimedia Lego works Sawaya created with Dean West, are part of “The Art of the Brick,” an acclaimed global tour of the artist’s works. And now that tour is landing at 1 Grant Avenue in San Francisco (former home to the Museum of Ice Cream) for a two-month run. The exhibit, including more than 70 works,…

The Miami Dolphins’ secondary has gotten much of the praise for the way the defense has played during their four-game winning streak — and rightfully so, with the game-changing plays cornerback Xavien Howard and safety Jevon Holland, among others, have made — but much of the credit should go to the front seven, as well. In this lights-out stretch for the defense in wins against the Houston Texans, Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, the Dolphins have begun turning near sacks into actual sacks, batted down balls at the line of scrimmage when not getting to the quarterback and have been stout against the run. To start with the pass rush, 16 of the Dolphins’ 28 sacks have come in the past four games. “A big part is finishing,” said Dolphins defensive line coach Austin Clark of what the pass rushers have done better in this stretch. “We missed quite a few earlier in the year in different games where they’re right there and we just missed a sack or [the quarterback was] able to move around more and we didn’t finish on…

Each week of the NFL season, The Baltimore Sun will rank all 32 NFL teams. The rankings will take into account not just weekly performance, but how well each team measures up as Super Bowl contenders, regardless of win-loss record. Here are the rankings after Week 12: The top contenders 1. Arizona Cardinals (9-2; No. 1 last week) 2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8-3; No. 2) 3. Green Bay Packers (9-3; No. 3) 4. New England Patriots (8-4; No. 9) 5. Baltimore Ravens (8-3; No. 5) 6. Kansas City Chiefs (7-4; No. 6) 7. Buffalo Bills (7-4; No. 13) The contenders started to separate from the pack this week. The Buccaneers, Packers and Patriots earned the most impressive wins of the weekend, further establishing themselves as betting favorites to reach the Super Bowl. Tampa Bay rallied to beat the Colts, 38-31, with Leonard Fournette outshining fellow running back Jonathan Taylor by scoring four total touchdowns. Tom Brady led four second-half touchdown drives, including a game-winning eight-play, 75-yard march with 3:29 left, to help the Bucs keep pace with the Cardinals and Packers in the race for…

Let’s play the “what if game” for one minute with the hope that it might provide some clarity on the 2021 Miami Dolphins season, and the lessons we should be taking from it. If the resurgent Dolphins had received the calls and bounces they didn’t get during their seven-game losing streak, and it had resulted in three more wins, would our assessment of the team, coaches, front office and roster be different? If Will Fuller had gotten a pass interference call in the end zone, and Miami scored at the 1-yard line, turning an overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders into an overtime win, would you view this team the same? If Urban Meyer hadn’t outsmarted Miami’s entire coaching staff, putting the Jacksonville Jaguars in position to kick the game-winning field goal instead of forcing overtime, and Miami somehow managed to pull off a win, would you view these coaches more favorably? If Kyle Pitts hadn’t put on a superhero cape and delivered two big receptions in the game-winning drive that propelled the Falcons to a 30-28 win, the Dolphins might be sitting atop…

SAN JOSE – Evander Kane took part in his first practice back with the Sharks’ organization in over five months Tuesday. But instead of skating on the south rink at Solar4America Ice, where he was for over three seasons, Kane was on the north rink, practicing for the first time with the Sharks’ top minor league affiliate, the Barracuda. Shortly before the start of practice at 10:15 a.m., Kane stepped onto the ice with Barracuda coach Roy Sommer, passing by a handful of photographers and videographers on the way. He was in an unfamiliar-looking yellow jersey, instead of the white or teal practice jerseys he wore with the Sharks. Kane’s linemates were different, too. By the end of last season, Tomas Hertl, Alexander Barabanov, and himself had formed the Sharks’ top line. Tuesday, he was with Kyle Topping and Steenn Pasichnuk, two players at 26 and 22, respectively, who have NHL dreams, but are on AHL contracts. Kane and other Barracuda players listened intently to assistant coach Jimmy Bonneau as he explained one drill just after the start of practice. A few minutes later, fellow…

“Bubble Watch” digs into trends that may indicate economic and/or housing market troubles ahead. Buzz: The housing market’s buying binge has largely inflated prices in what were already some of the nation’s most-expensive metropolitan areas. Source: My trusty spreadsheet’s analysis of data from the National Association of Realtors of third-quarter median selling prices for existing, single-family homes for 182 metropolitan areas — looking at the latest median prices and how they’ve changed from two years ago. The Trend Despite much chatter about a supposed exodus of residents from big, expensive housing markets in the pandemic era, metro areas ranked in the top 20% of all selling prices had a median two-year price gain of 34% — better than a 26% median gain for the rest of the nation. The Dissection You see another example of how the rich got richer in the pandemic era when the nation’s housing markets are sliced into five groups based on pricing — with a handful of exceptions … Upper Crust: The priciest fifth had a $548,350 median, up from $408,550 two years earlier — a gain of 34%, the…

By David Morgan | Reuters WASHINGTON – A new fault line opened between Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday, as lawmakers squabbled publicly over accusations of religious bigotry and racism among party conservatives. In a fight that could further complicate Republican efforts to forge unity ahead of next year’s elections, firebrand congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene on Twitter branded Representative Nancy Mace as “trash” for criticizing Republican Lauren Boebert for remarks about a Democrat that have been decried as Islamaphobic. “@NancyMace is the trash in the GOP Conference. Never attacked by Democrats or RINO’s (same thing) because she is not conservative, she’s pro-abort. Mace you can back up off of @laurenboebert or just go hang with your real gal pals, the Jihad Squad. Your out of your league,” Greene wrote in a tweet early on Tuesday. RINO, the acronym for “Republican In Name Only,” is an epithet often used to criticize party members not seen as adequately conservative. Greene was attacking Mace over a recent CNN interview in which her fellow congresswoman likened Boebert’s remarks about Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar to other “racist…

Almost two years to the day Chris Petersen announced he was stepping down, Washington has found a replacement … for the replacement. Diehard UW supporters and fans of Pac-12 alike should hope the Huskies got it right with Kalen DeBoer, who was hired away from Fresno State on Monday. The conference needs Washington to thrive the way Oregon has thrived in recent years and in the same manner USC is expected to thrive in coming years. Those are the three pillar programs — the only members of the Pac-12 to have participated in the College Football Playoff or won a national championship in the 21st century. When they sag, the collective sags. When they soar, the collective soars. There was more sagging than soaring this fall, which helps explain why two of the three schools made coaching changes. One day after USC stunned the sport by luring Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma, the Huskies countered with DeBoer. A full evaluation of the latter hire requires a look below the surface, because the surface is not quite ideal. The Huskies (understandably) view USC and Oregon as…

By Andrew Kaczynski | CNN Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado suggested to a crowd in September that Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, whom she called “black-hearted” and “evil,” was a terrorist. In those same remarks, she said that she felt safe around Omar because the Democrat wasn’t wearing a backpack while they were in an elevator together. It’s another instance in which Boebert suggested Omar, who is Muslim and wears a hijab, was a terrorist. On Monday, the two lawmakers sent dueling statements about a phone call between the pair set up by Boebert after she apologized last week to “to anyone in the Muslim community I offended,” when similar comments surfaced on social media. The video of Boebert’s anti-Muslim comments, made in New York at a September Staten Island Conservative Party dinner, were posted on Facebook that month by an attendee running for borough president. “One of my I staffers, on his first day with me, got into an elevator in the Capitol. And in that elevator, we were joined by Ilhan Omar,” Boebert told the crowd in September. “It was just…