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Pundits are picking against Saint Mary’s, but Gaels have hidden gem on their side

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:00:14 GMT

MORAGA — It’s the unheralded team from Moraga, the adorable little brother to Gonzaga, the not-quite-good-enough bunch of amicable underdogs that might win one game in the Big Dance, but even one could be a stretch.Despite No. 5 Saint Mary’s being four-point betting favorites over No. 12 Virginia Commonwealth University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Albany, N.Y., to pick a Gaels win is uncool. It’s unfashionable. It’s maybe even a little crazy.Within seconds of the Gaels being announced as the No. 5 seed in the East bracket, VCU was already being picked as an upset special.“VCU is going to win,” CBS analyst Seth Davis quickly announced on the national broadcast.In a piece he wrote for The Athletic the next day, Davis said the Gaels “have a rather low ceiling for a No 5 seed. Given the frequency of 12-over-5 upsets, this one was easy for me.”While the analytics are favoring Saint Mary’s — FiveThirtyEight.com gives the Gaels a 59% chance to w...

Retrial ordered: Bay Area pair accused of killing Italian cop as teens

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:00:14 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italy’s highest court has ordered a retrial for two young Bay Area men who were convicted in the slaying of an Italian police officer when they were teenagers vacationing in Rome.The Court of Cassation late Wednesday threw out the guilty verdicts against Finnegan Lee Elder, now 23, and Gabriel Natale-Hjorth, 22, both convicted in the stabbing death of the 35-year-old caribiniere during a plainclothes operation in July 2019.The two had been classmates at Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley; they met up in Rome after their first year of college. Elder, from San Francisco, was 19 at the time; Natale-Hjorth, from Mill Valley, was 18.The court will issue its reasons for the verdict in the coming weeks and instruct an appeals court on the precise issues to examine in a new trial.Elder’s lawyer, Roberto Capra, expressed satisfaction at the decision, saying a new trial would open the possibility of recalculating the sentence.“It confirms a topic we raised from...

Oakland A’s roster projection: Will it be Pache or Ruiz in center field?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:00:14 GMT

The A’s opened camp with no shortage of roster battles, and even with Opening Day just two weeks away, little has changed.That doesn’t mean players haven’t improved – or hurt – their stock in Arizona. This is Year Two of the franchise’s major overhaul, and there still is much work to be done. The A’s used a franchise-record 64 players last season, and it would be surprising if they don’t come close to that number again in 2023.There will be 26 players on the roster when the A’s face Shoeni Ohtani, Mike Trout and the Angels at the Coliseum on March 30, and then the evaluations and depth-chart jockeying really pick up.Most of the decisions are long-term, but there are still plenty of moving pieces general manager David Forst, manager Mark Kotsay and the A’s staff to consider before the team breaks camp.Here is a look at how the A’s roster is shaping up and what the Opening Day roster might look like:Starting rotation (6)RHP Paul Blackburn, RHP Shintaro Fujinami, RHP Drew Rucinski, RHP...

Krugman: How bad was the Silicon Valley bank bailout? Pretty bad

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:00:14 GMT

So the feds stepped in to protect all deposits at Silicon Valley Bank, even though the law says that deposits only up to $250,000 are insured and even though there was a pretty good case that allowing big depositors to take a haircut wouldn’t have created a systemic crisis. SVB was pretty sui generis, far more exposed both to interest risk and to potential runs than any other significant bank, so even some losses for larger depositors may not have caused much contagion.Still, I understand the logic: If I were a policymaker, I’d be reluctant to let SVB fail, merely because while it probably wouldn’t have caused a wider crisis, one can’t be completely certain and the risks of erring in doing too much were far smaller than the risks of doing too little.That said, there are good reasons to feel uncomfortable about this bailout. And yes, it was a bailout. The fact that the funds will come from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. — which will make up any losses with increased fees on bank...

U.S. says video shows Russian jet dumping fuel on its drone

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:00:14 GMT

By KARL RITTER and DINO HAZELL Associated PressKYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Pentagon on Thursday released footage of what it said was a Russian aircraft pouring fuel on a U.S. Air Force surveillance drone and clipping the drone’s propeller in international airspace over the Black Sea.The 42-second video shows a Russian Su-27 approaching the back of the MQ-9 drone and beginning to release fuel as it passes, the Pentagon said. Dumping the fuel appeared to be aimed at blinding the drone’s optical instruments and driving it out of the area.On a second approach, either the same jet or another Russian fighter that had been shadowing the MQ-9 struck the drone’s propeller, damaging one blade, according to the U.S. military.The U.S. military said it ditched the MQ-9 Reaper in the sea after what it described as the Russian fighter making an unsafe intercept of the unmanned aerial vehicle.The video excerpt released by the Pentagon does not show events before or after the apparent...

Opinion: What does March Madness tell us about societal ills?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:00:14 GMT

It’s March and my uncontrollable passion for college hoops is starting to simmer. Two teams I have loved for decades are headed for the big dance. But I’m troubled. Is the sense of passion, belonging and comradery that bonds me to college basketball teams part of the poison that is driving the decline of civility in our society?Sociologists and anthropologists tell us humans are tribal. We form a sense of solidary around shared experiences, geographical proximity, religious affiliation and family. The exact basis for forming tribes varies, but once established we will fight to defend our tribe and the principles that separate us from those outside our physical or social boundaries.What does bond us to basketball teams?  It’s probably not identification with the players, who are genuine elites. They are separated from most of us by stature, strength, physical conditioning, discipline and God-given talent. But the small number of exceptionally tall human specimens offer a sense of com...

The five most expensive reported home sales in Los Gatos the week of March 6

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:00:14 GMT

A house in Los Gatos that sold for $2.7 million tops the list of the most expensive real estate sales in Los Gatos in the past two weeks.In total, 5 real estate sales were recorded in the area during the last two weeks, with an average price of $2.1 million, $1,137 per square foot.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded from the week of February 27 to the week of March 13 even if the property may have been sold earlier.5. $1.7 million, condominium in the 100 block of Via ColladoA sale has been finalized for the condominium in the 100 block of Via Collado in Los Gatos. The price was $1,700,000 and the new owners took over the condominium in February. The condo was built in 1977 and the living area totals 1,440 square feet. The price per square foot ended up at $1,181. The condominium features 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.4. $1.9 million, single-family residence in the 200 block of Barbara DriveThe property in the 200 block of Barbara Drive in...

Cast your vote in the Bay Area News Group’s comics contest

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:00:14 GMT

For two weeks, we’ve filled the vacancy on our comics pages with something new. Mercury News and East Bay Times readers have had Loose Parts, a witty, offbeat strip by award-winning artist Dave Blazek. Marin Independent Journal readers have enjoyed the wry, heartwarming Grand Avenue from Pulitzer nominee Mike Thompson. But Blazek and Thompson aren’t the only gifted artists out there. We’re hoping you’ll help make the final decision.Today and over the weekend, we’ll take four comics for a spin:Crabgrass, Tauhid Bondia’s engaging strip set in pre-cellphone suburbiaF Minus, Tony Carrillo’s quirky look at everyday lifeGrand Avenue, Thompson’s tale of twins being raised by their grandmotherLoose Parts, Blazek’s take on oddball characters in unexpected situationsYou’ll find the quirky quartet in print editions of the Mercury News and East Bay Times on March 16, 18 and 19 — with a vote by mail ballot running on the 19th. But subscribers can vote here instead. (One ballot per ho...

Major delays on westbound lanes of Bay Bridge

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:00:14 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- There is heavy police presence on the Bay Bridge Thursday morning near westbound 80 and the Treasure Island offramp, according to the California Highway Patrol incident page. Traffic has been backed up since around midnight Thursday and is now impacting Thursday's morning commute.As of 3:49 a.m., CHP reported that the left two lanes are open while all other lanes remain closed. It is taking people an average of one to two hours to get over the Bay Bridge heading into the city.As an alternate route, take the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge to the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Mateo Bridge or the ferry to get into San Francisco. Around 10 p.m. Wednesday, someone climbed on to the railing of the Bay Bridge.CHP responded to the scene and said the person was on the west bound lanes just east of the center anchorage.About an hour later around 11:15 p.m. Wednesday, CHP said there was a three-vehicle collision on the west bound incline with those involved sufferi...

Charles Co. schools add AI gun detection

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 10:00:14 GMT

Charles County Public Schools in Maryland will join a growing number of D.C. area public schools with advanced gun detection technology.Weeks after a number of Virginia schools detailed security screeners that could be coming to schools in Prince William and Alexandria City Public Schools, the Maryland school system announced plans to incorporate artificial intelligence “visual gun detection technology” into their schools.More Charles County NewsMore Maryland NewsMore Local NewsThe new technology, which combines outdoor school camera software and an emergency alert system, is expected to provide a “robust response within seconds of a gun detection being verified.”Director of School Safety and Security Jason Stoddard said the system will be critical to providing valuable time to respond to potential safety threats.“Through system alerts, we will be able to notify police more quickly of a possible safety concern and place a school or campus in an emergenc...