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San Francisco names first drag laureate in U.S.

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:40:35 GMT

By STEFANIE DAZIO and HAVEN DALEY | Associated PressSAN FRANCISCO — Anti-trans legislation is roiling the nation. Bills prohibiting drag performances are cropping up in statehouses. Violence and vitriol are turning children’s drag story hour events into headline-news protests.San Francisco is fighting back Thursday by naming the nation’s first drag laureate, an ambassador-style position designed to represent the city’s famous LGBTQ+ community at a time when rights are under attack.In a city known for its support of LGBTQ+ rights, San Francisco Mayor London Breed says it was a natural step to create a position that not only embraces drag culture but puts government resources toward it. D’Arcy Drollinger, a well-known drag performer and nightclub owner, will receive a $55,000 stipend in her 18-month role as the city’s inaugural drag laureate.“My goals are to make San Francisco sparkle. I think drag performers bring a lot of sparkle and humor and glamor and silliness to the world. I th...

NorCal boys volleyball: Thursday’s semifinal matchups in all four divisions

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:40:35 GMT

CIF NorCal boys volleyball(all matches start at 6 p.m.)Division INo. 5 St. Francis (27-9) at No. 1 Clovis East (39-3)No. 3 Clovis (29-4) at No. 2 Valley Christian (34-5)Division IINo. 4 Moreau Catholic (31-6) at No. 1 Bishop O’Dowd (33-2)No. 3 Sacred Heart Cathedral (30-12) at No. 2 Sanger (39-8)Division IIINo. 5 De La Salle (26-13) at No. 1 Carlmont (36-6)No. 3 Berean Christian (27-3) at No. 2 Whitney (24-7)Division IVNo. 5 California Crosspoint (27-4) at No. 1 Branham (26-6)No. 3 Merced (29-6) at No. 2 Carmel (23-7)Related ArticlesHigh School Sports | NCS baseball playoffs: St. Mary’s-Berkeley advances to face top seed Cardinal Newman High School Sports | NCS softball playoffs: Castro Valley stifles Amador, defending champion Heritage survives High School Sports | NCS baseball playoffs: Wednesday’s first-round results, quarterfinal matchups High School Sports | NCS softball playoffs: Wednesday’s first-round results, ...

After threatening scene at youth team’s workout, man is killed in Central Valley town

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:40:35 GMT

A knife-wielding man who approached a youth team’s workout in a small Fresno County town was fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies.The initial encounter was reported around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 17, in Caruthers, said a release from the Fresno County sheriff’s office.The man “tried contacting” student wrestlers who were working out at the Caruthers Fairgrounds, near the town’s high school, the report said. Two coaches confronted the man; he pulled out a knife and began walking away.A parent of one of the team members approached the man as he walked along the town’s main street. The man reportedly attempted to stab the parent, then kept walking.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Map: California is investigating these fatal law enforcement shootings of unarmed people Deputies found the suspect at a strip mall five blocks from the fairgrounds. He reportedly refused commands to drop his knife. Beanbag projectiles fired at ...

Larry Magid: AI has risks but can also make us safer

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:40:35 GMT

We’re hearing a lot about the dangers of generative AI like ChatGPT, the new Microsoft Bing and Google Bard. For example, Geoffrey Hinton, who is often referred to as the “godfather of AI,” recently quit his job at Google so he could speak freely about the risks of AI being developed by Google and other companies.Related ArticlesBusiness | Larry Magid: Google unveils new devices while focusing on AI Business | Larry Magid: Voice cloning makes virtual kidnapping more convincing Business | The caller said he’d kidnapped my wife. Here’s what I did wrong then. Business | Magid: Teens can now use Meta Horizon Worlds He told PBS News Hour that he worries about “the risk of super intelligent AI taking over control from people.” Numerous tech experts, including Elon Musk, have called for a pause in the development of powerful generative AI models while we explore their risks and ways to make them safer.There’s...

Dodgers un-invite SF drag group from pride event, appearing to bow to conservative pressure

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:40:35 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Long-running San Francisco drag group that dress as nuns have been un-invited from appearing at the Los Angeles Dodgers pride event next month. The group, which has been performing and making appearances since 1979, was due to appear at the Dodgers' 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride Night on June 16.However, in a tweet Wednesday, the Dodgers announced that the Sisters would no longer be invited due to unspecified "controversy." San Francisco is naming the nation’s first drag laureate "We are now aware that our inclusion of one group in particular -- The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence -- in this year's Pride Night has been the source of some controversy," the tweet read. "Given the strong feelings of people who have been offended by the sisters' inclusion in our evening, and in an effort not to distract from the great benefits that we have seen over the years of Pride Night, we are deciding to remove them from this year's group of honorees."The San Francisco chapter...

Correction: Racial Slur-Student Suspended story

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:40:35 GMT

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — In a story published May 16, 2023, about a student suspended for videotaping a teacher using a racial slur, The Associated Press misspelled the last name of the student’s mother. She is Kate Welborn, not Kate Wellborn. Source

Pentagon leak suspect was warned multiple times about mishandling of classified information

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:40:35 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Superiors of the Massachusetts Air National Guard member charged with leaking highly classified military documents had raised concerns internally on multiple occasions about his handling or viewing of classified information, according to a court filing Wednesday. Justice Department lawyers made the disclosure in a court papers urging a magistrate judge to keep Jack Teixeira behind bars while he awaits trial in the case stemming from the most consequential intelligence leak in years. The judge is expected to hear more arguments Friday on prosecutors’ detention request and issue a ruling. Teixeira is accused of sharing highly classified documents about top national security issues in a chatroom on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. He has not yet entered a plea. Prosecutors told the judge in their filing that Teixeira continued leaking documents even after he was admonished by superiors on two separate occasions last year over &#...

Denz claims first Grand Tours stage win, Thomas stays in Giro lead

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:40:35 GMT

RIVOLI, Italy (AP) — Nico Denz won the 12th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Thursday for his first victory in a Grand Tour, while Geraint Thomas kept hold of the pink jersey as the race prepares to head into the mountains.Denz, who rides for Bora-Hansgrohe, beat Toms Skujiņš and Sebastian Berwick at the end of the 185-kilometer (115-mile) hill leg from Bra to Rivoli in the Piedmont region.The first stage win for Denz in his sixth Giro prompted the German to yell in joy after crossing the line and put his hands on his head as his eyes appeared to tear up.All three riders were in a large breakaway that had to battle to escape at the beginning of the day.The trio pulled away from its fellow escapees and had an advantage of more than eight minutes on the general classification group on the toughest part of the stage, a second-category climb 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the finish.The rest of the breakaway rolled across the line two minutes, 20 seconds behind, around six minutes ahead of ...

Hurricanes’ Teravainen set to return for Game 1 of East final against Florida

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:40:35 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said Thursday that forward Teuvo Teravainen is set to return from injury for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final against Florida.Teravainen hasn’t played since suffering a thumb injury in Game 2 of the first-round series against the New York Islanders. The injury required surgery on April 20, so his expected return Thursday night will come exactly four weeks later.Teravainen has worked on the top line and is a strong passer. He also is a valuable penalty killer. He has been skating with the team in practices this week leading up to the best-of-seven series, working on a line with captain Jordan Staal and Martin Necas in Thursday’s morning skate.___AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsSource

Looking for a house? High mortgages, few homes lead to biggest annual price drop in 11 years

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 10:40:35 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A persistently low inventory of homes on the market held back U.S. home sales again in April, even as the national median sale price posted its biggest annual drop in 11 years. Existing home sales fell 3.4% in April from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.28 million, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. That’s slightly below what economists were expecting, according to FactSet.Sales sank 23.2% compared with April last year. The annual drop was steepest in markets across the Western part of the country, where sales plunged more than 30% from a year earlier.The national median home price slipped 1.7% from April last year to $388,800, the NAR said. While modest, the year-over-year decline is the biggest since January 2012, the tail end of a a multiyear slide in home prices after the mid-2000s housing bubble burst.The latest housing market figures are more evidence that even with prices easing back after rising for more than a decade many w...