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Lionel Messi says he's joining Major League Soccer's Inter Miami after exit from Paris Saint-Germain

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:21 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Lionel Messi says he is coming to Inter Miami and joining Major League Soccer.After months of speculation, Messi announced his decision Wednesday to join a Miami franchise that has been led by another global soccer icon in David Beckham since its inception but has yet to make any real splashes on the field.That likely will soon change. One of Inter Miami's owners, Jorge Mas, tweeted out a photo of a darkly silhouetted Messi jersey shortly before the Argentinian great revealed his decision in interviews with Spanish news outlets Mundo Deportivo and Sport.It was widely believed that Messi eventually would choose to play for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, following fellow great and his longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo to a nation where some clubs now are funded by the state’s sovereign wealth fund. Going back to Barcelona, a storied franchise that he spent most of his career with, was another possibility.But in the end, he made the call that surprised many. Messi is joining MLS...

One of The Iron Sheik's final tweets was hilarious

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:21 GMT

The former professional wrestler known as The Iron Sheik has died, according to an announcement posted to his Twitter page Wednesday morning. He was 81 years old.Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri was born in Iran but came to prominence in the United States in 1979 with World Wrestling Entertainment, which was then known as the World Wrestling Federation.During the 1980s, he was a mainstay of professional wrestling, developing a fierce rivalry with Hulk Hogan.More recently, his Twitter account, @the_ironsheik, drew hundreds of thousands of followers to read his often profane reactions, usually in capital letters and utilizing the word "JABRONI.""F— THE APPLE VISION PRO HEADSET," he wrote in one of his final missives. Several other tweets also included F-bombs directed at wildfires, "THE RHYTHM AND THE RHYME," The Little House on the Prairie, and Mondays.The Sheik is survived by Caryl, his wife of 47 years. "Their bond was an anchor, providing him the strength to face the challenges that lif...

Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke and more to perform at Orange County Fair

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:21 GMT

Orange County Fair officials announced its entertainment line up for the upcoming summer fair on Wednesday. Guests can expect performances from singer-songwriters Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke and Mario, among others.This year’s fair will have a total of 71 performances across the fair’s three entertainment venues: Pacific Amphitheatre, The Hangar and Action Sports Arena, a news release said. Orange County hosting free summer events at local parks The Pacific Amphitheatre will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. It will kick off the entertainment performances with two pre-fair concerts from Stephen Marley on July 1 and The Green, Hirie, Mike Love, Jesse Royal and Common Sense will perform on June 8.A few days after those performances, the Toyota Summer Concert Series will celebrate the fair's opening weekend with performances from Bee Gees Gold and ABBA LA on July 14, Doors Down and Candlebox on July 15, and The Happy Together Tour on July 16.Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke and Mario will pe...

Bay Area arts: 7 cool live shows to catch this weekend and beyond

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:21 GMT

There are a lot of great live shows in the Bay Area to catch this weekend and beyond. Here’s a partial rundown.Center Rep reaches the ‘Heights’“In the Heights” often seems relegated in theater discussions to being “that Lin-Manuel Miranda musical that isn’t ‘Hamilton,'” a designation which unfairly overlooks many of its wonderful attributes.First off, the music and choreography are beautiful and exhilarating and practically guaranteed to put you in great mood. The show immerses viewers in a vibrant Dominican American neighborhood in northern Manhattan for a three-day stretch with a fascinating cast of characters and storylines. And while it is not given credit, as “Hamilton” was, of rewriting the rules of the contemporary theater, it was groundbreaking in its own ways.Opening a decade before “Hamilton,” “In the Heights” featured a primarily Latin cast and score heavy on Latin and hip-hop songs ...

Public invited to tour Palo Alto’s colorful new murals

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:21 GMT

Palo Alto’s California Avenue has been getting a colorful makeover this week thanks to a mural festival sponsored by the city’s public art program. Three artists — Paz de la Calzada, Nicole Ponsler and Olivia Losee-Unger — were invited to create the large-scale paintings and have been working on them all week.Ponsler and Losee-Unger brought a little “flower power” to their work. Losse-Unger painted “Moonflowers for Georgia” on the wall at Izzy’s Brooklyn Bagels, with the white blooms bursting out of a green and lavender background. (They were a favorite flower of Georgia O’Keeffe — Losse-Unger’s personal artistic hero. Meanwhile, Ponsler’s “Bloom” has come to life of Palo Alto Central, a few blocks away adding the sunset colors of marigolds to a blank wall.The third mural is a ground mural by Paz de la Calzada, who is working with groups of volunteers at the intersection of California Avenue an...

Two SF Giants prospects win monthly honors, plus more minor-league updates

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:21 GMT

The San Francisco Giants are getting major-league contributions from their latest crop of prospects earlier this season than most anybody expected thanks to the aggressive promotions of Casey Schmitt and Patrick Bailey, and they aren’t the only ones in the farm system who have moved quickly this season.A pair of 2022 draftees — well, one second-round pick and one undrafted free agent — excelled to such a degree in May that, when they earned monthly honors for their respective leagues, each had already been promoted to the next level.Left-hander Carson Whisenhunt, the 66th overall selection in the 2022 MLB draft, was named Pitcher of the Month in the High-A Northwest League, and outfielder Carter Howell, who signed for $50,000 out of Augustana University (Sioux Falls, S.D.), was named Hitter of the Month in the Single-A California League.Whisenhunt, 22, earned a promotion to Double-A Richmond on Saturday, reaching his third level in his first full professional season. He posted...

Explainer: Why is the GOP attacking the FBI director?

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:21 GMT

By Farnoush Amiri and Eric Tucker | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The yearslong feud between congressional Republicans and the FBI is reaching a new level of rancor as lawmakers prepare a resolution to hold bureau director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress.Rep. James Comer, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has scheduled a committee vote for Thursday morning on the contempt resolution against Wray. He says the FBI has failed to comply with a lawful subpoena for an FBI record that documents an unverified tip about President Joe Biden.The resolution to hold Wray in contempt — which would have to be approved by the full House — is just the latest broadside from Republicans against the FBI. They accuse the bureau of harboring bias against conservatives dating back to Donald Trump’s presidency and allege the bureau is now stonewalling legitimate congressional oversight.Release of the document in question, FBI officials have warned, would jeopardize the...

Santa Clara County to expand substance use treatment, distribute naloxone with opioid settlement money

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:21 GMT

With opioid overdoses rising, Santa Clara County is expanding substance abuse support at schools, distributing more naloxone and fentanyl testing strips and boosting youth inpatient treatment using money from a settlement with opioid distributors.In 2014, Santa Clara County became the first jurisdiction to file a lawsuit against major opioid manufacturers for their roles in creating a nationwide opioid epidemic. In July 2021, opioid manufacturer Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and three major distributors offered up $26 billion to settle more than 3,000 opioid lawsuits across the country.Santa Clara County could be paid up to $48 million over an 18-year period, and so far has received $5.8 million. On Tuesday, the county’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved how to spend some of those dollars to fight the local opioid crisis, with a good chunk of the money going toward youth-based programming.Approximately $1.5 million will go to help expand the School Linked Services Initiativ...

Photos: Bald eagle crashes into home in Palo Alto

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:21 GMT

(KRON) -- A bald eagle recently had an unfortunate run-in with the back patio window of a home in Palo Alto, according to Palo Alto Animal Control. Officers with PA Animal Control got a report late last month of a bald eagle that was injured in the backyard of a home in the Greenmeadow neighborhood."The officers thought that surely the report of an eagle was incorrect, and the bird was most likely a hawk or owl," read a Facebook post from Animal Control.However, when officers were dispatched to the residence they found a 4 to 5-year-old bald eagle that had crashed into the home's back patio window and was sitting in the side yard. The bird had stunned himself and was recuperating when officers arrived, according to Animal Control. What happened to Frank Somerville? A timeline of events "The eagle also appeared to be partially covered in baylands mud, so we could tell he was not having the best day," the post continued.The exterior pane of the window had been shattered by the impac...

A's stadium funding set for special session as Nevada Legislature meets in Carson City

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:21 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) -- The A's stadium has the full attention of Nevada lawmakers as a special session begins today in Carson City.Gov. Joe Lombardo issued a proclamation after last night's special session finished, ordering the Nevada Legislature to take up the funding plan for the stadium, which is planned at the site of the Tropicana Las Vegas Casino Resort on the Strip. Updates on the special session will be added to this report as the session begins, expected at about noon on Wednesday.Special-Session-Proclamation_June-7-2023Download