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Dan Wilson and his San Jose team ready to blanket Bay Area

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:30 GMT

Rarely glimpsed in public, the musicians’ grapevine is a wonder of efficiency, delivering timely information that can profoundly shape an artist’s life and career.Guitarist Dan Wilson’s emergence over the past decade as one of jazz’s most soulfully incisive guitarists can be traced directly to drummer Carmen Intorre Jr., who was working with the late Philadelphia guitar legend Pat Martino in 2014.Joey DeFrancesco, the Philly multi-instrumental wonder who almost singlehandedly revived the popularity of the Hammond B3 organ as a teenage phenomenon in the late 1980s, was getting ready to launch a new combo and asked Intorre if there were any guitarists he’d recommend.Intorre dropped Wilson’s name. DeFrancesco, who died last August at age 51,  dutifully checked the guitarist out on YouTube and picked up the phone. “When I got the first call I was deer hunting, just getting ready to go into the woods,” said Wilson, who lives in Akron, Ohio. “I see a number from Phoenix and thought it was...

Wish You Were Here: Antarctic adventures with some extremely helpful advice

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:30 GMT

Our readers’ travels have taken them to locations near — Oregon bike trails, for example — and far, as they explored Old Montreal and hiked Kauai’s Napali Coast. Today, we’re headed for Antarctica, where two intrepid Oakland travelers are sharing their tales of adventure and offering travel tips, including one extremely helpful one for people who want to actually go ashore and see the penguins, and not just hear about it afterward!Wish You Were HereANTARCTICA: In January, Oakland residents Joe Schieffer and Cathy McDonald traveled to Antarctica, their seventh continent. “It is not as cold as you would expect,” Joe says. “During the Antarctica summer — the only time ships go there — the air temperature is a steady 35 degrees due to the modulating effect of the 38 degree water. But 38 degrees is still mighty cold, if you do a polar plunge.” (Joe did!) “Interesting fact: Since the water is warmer than the air, the ...

New Edition leads star-studded R&B show on Easter Sunday in Oakland

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:30 GMT

It’s been 40 years since New Edition released “Candy Girl,” the 1983 debut featuring the chart-topping title cut as well as the popular R&B singles “Is This the End” and “Popcorn Love.”The Boston band is celebrating that milestone with its 31-city Legacy Tour that touches down on Easter Sunday at Oakland Arena. Other stops on the tour include San Diego’s Pechanga Arena on April 6 and Inglewood’s Kia Forum April 8.The trek features all five original New Edition members — Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Bobby Brown, Ronnie DeVoe, and Ralph Tresvant — as well as longtime bandmate Johnny Gill. It also includes fellow new jack icons Keith Sweat and Guy (featuring original members Teddy Riley, Aaron Hall and Damion Hall).Rounding out the bill is soul singer Tank.Showtime is 7 p.m. and tickets are $59.50-$179.50; ticketmaster.com.I recently had the chance to catch up on New Edition during a Zoom video interview with Bivins (two i’s, no e’s — more on that later...

Concord man slain in Pleasant Hill parking-lot shooting

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:30 GMT

PLEASANT HILL — A dispute between two groups of people led to the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old Concord man early Monday in the parking lot of a sports bar, authorities said.The man’s name was not released Monday morning. No arrests were announced.In a news release, police said they responded about 1:12 a.m. Monday to 911 calls of a shooting with a victim down in the parking lot of Farrington’s Bar, 1938 Contra Costa Blvd.The man was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity was not immediately released pending confirmation and notification of next of kin.Police said the suspected shooter apparently fled in a vehicle before officers responded.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Three men shot in East Oakland neighborhoods Crime and Public Safety | I-80 lanes reopen after suspect standoff  Crime and Public Safety | Jewelry store at Sunvalley Shopping Center invaded by trio in smash-and-grab robbery Crime and Public Safety | ...

Former California teen loses leg after injury during high school wrestling meet: ‘Bump in the road I gotta get through’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:30 GMT

By Nick Krupke | KPTVPORTLAND Oregon (KPTV) — Emillio Ayala took up the sport of wrestling two years ago when his family moved from southern California to southern Oregon.The 17-year-old Eagle Point High School senior is a testament to will, courage and strength, and that has nothing to do with his athletic achievements on the mat or the football field for the Eagles.The AP honors student spoke with FOX 12 from his hospital bed at OHSU on Saturday where he’s has been since suffering a freak injury during the state wrestling meet at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum five weeks ago.“I am so excited and ready,” Ayala said. “I know this sounds kind of mean but I just don’t want to be here no more. I just want to go back and be in my comfort zone.”So far, Ayala has undergone 12 surgeries in 24 days.“I just deal with the pain, there is obviously going to be pain, but I guess you could say I still feel like I have two legs,” he said.Ayala had his right leg amputated below the knee three...

UFC, WWE combine to form $21.4 billion sports entertainment company

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:30 GMT

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN | AP Business WriterWWE and the company that runs Ultimate Fighting Championship will combine to create a $21.4 billion sports entertainment company.A new publicly traded company will house the UFC and World Wrestling Entertainment brands, with Endeavor Group Holdings Inc. taking a 51% controlling interest in the new company. Existing WWE shareholders will hold a 49% stake.The companies put the enterprise value of UFC at $12.1 billion and WWE’s value at $9.3 billion.The new business, which does not yet have a name, will be lead by Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel. Vince McMahon, executive chairman at WWE, will serve in the same role at the new company. Dana White will continue as president of UFC and Nick Khan will be president at WWE.“Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity,” McMahon said in a prepared statement Monday.He also provided some ide...

Pentagon Tries to Cast Bank Runs as National Security Threat

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:30 GMT

The next time banks need a bailout, they’ll have a new argument for why it’s necessary: national security.In recent months, the Pentagon has moved to provide loans, guarantees, and other financial instruments to technology companies it considers crucial to national security — a step beyond the grants and contracts it normally employs. So when Silicon Valley Bank threatened to fail in March following a bank run, the defense agency advocated for government intervention to insure the investments. The Pentagon had even scrambled to prepare multiple plans to get cash to affected companies if necessary, reporting by Defense One revealed.Their interest in Silicon Valley Bank stems from the Pentagon’s brand-new office, the Office of Strategic Capital. According to the Wall Street Journal, the secretary of defense established the OSC in December specifically to counteract the investment power of adversaries like China in U.S. technologies, and to secure separate funding for companies whose p...

It’s Embiid vs. Doncic for scoring title in NBA’s final week

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:30 GMT

For the second time, the NBA will have an international player as its scoring champion.It will be the second time in as many years.Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid — who was born in Cameroon — is on the cusp of becoming a back-to-back scoring champion, though he and Dallas’ Luka Doncic might take that race down to the wire.Embiid opened up a bit of breathing room on Sunday, when he had 28 points in the 76ers’ loss to Milwaukee while Doncic — who is from Slovenia — scored 28 in the Mavericks’ overtime loss to Atlanta.Embiid now has 2,110 points in 64 games; that’s an average of 32.97 per game. Doncic has 2,096 points, also in 64 games; that’s an average of 32.75 per game.Philadelphia has four games remaining, Dallas has three. No NBA games were being played Monday, with the league taking off the day of the NCAA men’s Division I championship game.Portland’s Damian Lillard is third in the scoring race at 32.2 points per game. He’ll finish at that average, because the Trail Blazers have...

Stocks are mixed, S&P 500 inches lower as oil prices jump

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:30 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stock markets around the world are mixed Monday, as a jump in oil prices threatens to add upward pressure on inflation. The S&P 500 was 0.1% lower in midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 191 points, or 0.6%, at 33,465, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time, while the Nasdaq composite was 0.9% lower. It’s the first day of the year’s second quarter for markets, and a more than 5% jump in oil prices is denting one of the main themes that helped stocks rise in the first quarter: that turmoil in the banking system and a continued slowdown in inflation could push the Federal Reserve and other central banks to take it easier soon on their hikes to interest rates. The Fed has already jacked rates up at a feverish pace over the last year in hopes of undercutting high inflation. Higher rates can do that by slowing the economy, but they risk causing a recession later on.They also drag down prices for stocks, bonds and other investments. That’s a factor that helped c...

Encuesta CNN: la mayoría de los estadounidenses aprueba la acusación a Trump

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 13:00:30 GMT

(CNN) — El 60% de los estadounidenses aprueba la acusación contra el expresidente Donald Trump, según una nueva encuesta de CNN realizada por SSRS tras la noticia de que un jurado investigador de Nueva York votó a favor de acusarlo en relación con supuestos pagos de dinero por silencio realizados a la actriz de cine para adultos Stormy Daniels.Alrededor de tres cuartas partes de los estadounidenses dicen que la política jugó al menos algún papel en la decisión de acusar a Trump, incluido el 52% que dijo que jugó un papel importante.Los independientes se alinean mayoritariamente a favor de la acusación: el 62% la aprueba y el 38% la desaprueba. Los demócratas son casi universales en su apoyo a la acusación (el 94% la aprueba, incluido el 71% que la aprueba firmemente), con los republicanos menos unificados en la oposición (el 79% la desaprueba, con un 54% que la desaprueba firmemente).Aunque las opiniones sobre la acusación están divididas en función de los partidos, la encuest...