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Photos: First lady Jill Biden unveils White House holiday decorations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:07 GMT

By Christy Choi and Sam Fossum | CNNComplete with 98 Christmas trees, 72 wreaths and 2.8 miles of ribbon, the White House has been transformed into a classic winter wonderland for the holidays.Letters to Santa Claus appear to fly magically in and out of old mailboxes and a vintage train weaves around the base of an 18.5-foot Fraser fir Christmas tree, while all manner of candied treats deck the halls — including a huge gingerbread White House.Unveiling the decorations Monday, first lady Jill Biden said this year’s theme, the “Magic, Wonder and Joy” of the holiday season, was inspired by “childlike marvel and awe.”“Children are unbound by time and inherently know beauty: the rich, colorful mosaic of autumn leaves piled high on an emerald blanket of grass; the mesmerizing rhythm of soft, powdery snow as it falls from a glistening night sky,” said Biden as she welcomed  National Guard and local military families to the White House as the first guests to experience the holiday décor.WAS...

Niles: Who really makes the decisions at Disneyland?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:07 GMT

Disneyland employs hundreds of people to design and develop new stuff at its theme parks. Imagineers create rides. Disney Live Entertainment creates shows and nighttime spectaculars. Chefs prepare new menus, and other designers help create new toys and merchandise to be sold across the resort.But let’s not forget who might be the most important person shaping what gets built and sold at Disney — you.When I visited Hong Kong Disneyland a few weeks ago, I walked through one of the most unusual stores I have seen in a Disney theme park. Tick Tock Toys and Collectibles is the shop at the exit of the Frozen Ever After boat ride in the park’s new World of Frozen land. Like everything else in World of Frozen, it feels like a location that is authentic to the Kingdom of Arendelle.The shop offers knitted Olaf snowmen, handsome sweaters, cute dresses and accessories to help a visitor dress like an Arendelle villager. It even sells Arendelle stamps and coins. The design of the store fits the l...

Man brandishes handgun at someone who ‘got in his face’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:07 GMT

Nov. 20Overnight in the 600 block of Harriet Avenue: A 2014 Hyundai Elantra was stolen and later recovered.Overnight at Foreman and McGlincy: Someone took all four rims and tires off of a Camaro SS.8:50 p.m. in the 400 block of East Hamilton Avenue:  A man, 25, got into an altercation with a 62-year-old who got in his face. The man grabbed his handgun and brandished it at the victim to get him to stop. At some point, the man left the gun in the car and the victim took it from him.Nov. 21Overnight in the 100 block of Harrison Avenue: A black 1997 Chevy Silverado with a camper shell was stolen.5:35 p.m. in the 1700 block of South Bascom Avenue: Four women entered a store and stole items.Midnight at Midway Street and El Moro Drive: A man, 29, was stopped for a traffic violation and was found to be in possession of methamphetamine.Nov. 226:15 a.m. in the 600 block of Creekside Way: Someone broke into a vehicle and took several items.5:11 p.m. in the 1300 block of Dell Avenue: The victim...

New pro baseball team coming to Oakland

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:07 GMT

(KRON) -- Despite the departure of the Oakland A’s to Las Vegas, the City of Oakland will have a new professional baseball team. The Oakland Ballers is launching in the Spring of 2024, the team announced Tuesday. According to the Ballers, community leaders and a group of A’s fans are joining forces to “steal back Oakland’s baseball legacy.”“I strongly believe that the real value of a sports team is in its relationship to the community it serves. Baseball is a sport with deep roots in this country and a rich legacy in the East Bay,” said Paul Freedman, co-founder of the Oakland Ballers. “That could never be owned by one person. That’s why with the Oakland B’s we intend to build a team committed to honoring that legacy and our community. With the Oakland B’s, we are going to bring joy back to the game and give Oaklanders something to be proud of.” MLB owners approve A’s move from Oakland to Las Vegas, with a new ballpark to open in 2028 The Oakland B’s will join the Pioneer Bas...

Sheriff-coroner to hold inquest into Pittsburg woman's death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:07 GMT

(BCN) -- Contra Costa County Sheriff-Coroner David Livingston will hold an inquest Friday into the death of a Pittsburg woman who was killed in Antioch when she crashed on an on-ramp to state Highway 4 while fleeing from CHP officers in February. The Sheriff's Office holds an inquest anytime law enforcement is involved in a fatal incident in Contra Costa County. Vallejo police looking for smiling jeans thieves Elsy Zapien-Vasquez, 31, was being pursued by the CHP on Feb. 8 when she crashed her gray Saturn SUV into a tanker truck on the Contra Loma Boulevard on-ramp after exiting the freeway, running a light, and trying to re-enter the freeway. A CHP unit tried pulling Zapien-Vasquez over about 13 miles to the west, near Bailey Road on Highway 4. The inquest will convene at 9 a.m. Friday at the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse, Department 3, Room 312, 725 Court St., Martinez. A jury at the inquest will hear the facts of the case deliberate before finding the manner of death. The inquest...

Koch network endorses Nikki Haley in Republican presidential primary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:07 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans for Prosperity, the political arm of the powerful Koch network, formally endorsed Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign on Tuesday, promising to commit its nationwide army of activists — and virtually unlimited funds — to helping Haley defeat former President Donald Trump in the GOP primary contest. “AFP Action is proud to throw our full support behind Nikki Haley, who offers America the opportunity to turn the page on the current political era, to win the Republican primary and defeat Joe Biden next November,” AFP president and CEO Emily Seidel wrote in a memo announcing the group’s decision. “She has what it takes to lead a policy agenda to take on our nation’s biggest challenges and help ensure our country’s best days are ahead. With the grassroots and data capability we bring to bear in this race, no other organization is better equipped to help her do it.”Americans for Prosperity, perhaps the most powerful conservative organization in the nat...

Indian rescuers pull out all 41 workers who were trapped in a tunnel for 17 days, minister says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:07 GMT

UTTARKASHI, India (AP) — India’s transportation minister said Tuesday that all 41 construction workers who were trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in the country’s north for more than two weeks have been pulled out after rescuers reached them earlier in the day. Nitin Gadkari, the minister of road transport and highways, said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was “completely relieved and happy” after all were rescued from the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi after an ordeal that lasted 17 days. “I am very happy that all the 41 trapped workers have come out and their lives have been saved,” he said in a video message posted on X. Gadkari added that “this was a well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, marking one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years.” The workers were being pulled out through a passageway made of welded pipes which rescuers previously pushed through dirt and rocks. They will each go through an initial health checkup at a ...

All 41 workers who were trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel have been pulled out, Indian transportation minister says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:07 GMT

UTTARKASHI, India (AP) — All 41 workers who were trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel have been pulled out, Indian transportation minister says.Source

Women’s soccer in England to be run by independent organization in bid to set new standards

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:07 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Women’s soccer in England will be run by an independent organization rather than the Football Association from next year in a move aimed at setting new standards in the game.Clubs in the Women’s Super League and the second-tier Women’s Championship will operate under NewCo, whose first chief executive will be Nikki Doucet — a former investment banker and Nike executive.The FA has run the WSL since its formation in 2010 and the Championship since 2014, but announced plans last year for an independent equity to take over the commercial activities of the women’s game and give clubs greater control of their future.The Premier League has run men’s top-division soccer since 1992 and grown to become the world’s most popular and richest league.“The women’s professional game is in the strongest place that it has ever been thanks to the hard work of everybody involved in its development so far,” said Sue Campbell, director of women’s soccer at the Football Association, “but we f...

Defending champ UConn ready for Allen Fieldhouse and showdown with Kansas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:07 GMT

Purdue is back on top of the AP Top 25 this week, but the team it replaced will still be in the spotlight this week.Kansas, the preseason No. 1, will return from the loaded Maui Invitational and attempt to pick up another marquee win when the fifth-ranked Jayhawks play defending national champion and fourth-ranked UConn on Friday night in Allen Fieldhouse.Rarely do top programs play each other on college campuses these days, opting instead for easy matchups against the likes of Eastern Illinois, which the Jayhawks played Tuesday night. The big-time showdowns have been increasingly pushed onto neutral floors in lucrative made-for-TV tournaments and events, such as the Maui Invitational, where the Jayhawks lost to fourth-ranked Marquette in the semifinals before rebounding to beat No. 10 Tennessee in the third-place game.“Whenever you play a tournament, exempt tournament, everybody wants to go into it thinking 3-0. In this field, I guarantee you all the coaches were thinking 2-1’s a g...