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Medical panel determines torture made 9/11 defendant psychotic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:17 GMT

By Ellen Knickmeyer | Associated PressWASHINGTON — A military judge at Guantanamo Bay has ruled one of the 9/11 defendants unfit for trial after a military medical panel found that the man’s sustained abuse in CIA custody years earlier has rendered him lastingly psychotic.The judge, Col. Matthew McCall, said the incompetency finding for Ramzi bin al-Shibh meant the prosecution of his four co-defendants would continue without him. Al-Shibh remains in custody.McCall issued his ruling late Thursday. Pre-trial hearings for the remaining defendants resumed Friday in the military courtroom at the U.S. naval base on Cuba. No trial date has been set for the case, which has been slowed by logistical problems, high turnover and legal challenges.A Yemeni, al-Shibh is accused of organizing one cell of the 19 hijackers who commandeered four commercial airplanes to carry out the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people outright in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The ...

Sharks’ top-six winger and pending UFA says he wants to re-sign in San Jose

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:17 GMT

SAN JOSE — Pending unrestricted free agent Alexander Barabanov said he doesn’t want to spend time dwelling on his next contract but added he would like to remain with the San Jose Sharks past this season and gain some long-term security in the process.Barabanov is entering the second year of the two-year, $5 million contract he signed with the Sharks after the 2021-2022 season and has been on short-term deals since he came to North America in 2000 as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.“I try to not think too much about this. Just try to work hard and do my job. That’s it,” Barabanov said Friday. “Because if you think too much, it doesn’t help you.“Of course, I want to stay here. My two babies were born here and I like the group here. That’s it. But it’s a business, so we’ll what happens.”General manager Mike Grier said Thursday he’s open to re-signing some of his pending UFAs such as Barabanov, 29, and An...

Surgeons transplant a pig heart into a dying man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:17 GMT

By Lauran Neergaard | Associated PressWASHINGTON — Surgeons have transplanted a pig’s heart into a dying man in a bid to prolong his life – only the second patient to ever undergo such an experimental feat. Two days later, the man was cracking jokes and able to sit in a chair, Maryland doctors said Friday.The 58-year-old Navy veteran was facing near-certain death from heart failure but other health problems meant he wasn’t eligible for a traditional heart transplant, according to doctors at University of Maryland Medicine.“Nobody knows from this point forward. At least now I have hope and I have a chance,” Lawrence Faucette, from Frederick, Maryland, said in a video recorded by the hospital before Wednesday’s operation. “I will fight tooth and nail for every breath I can take.”While the next few weeks will be critical, doctors were thrilled at Faucette’s early response to the pig organ.“You know, I just keep shaking my head – how...

Review: Squabbling siblings anchor absorbing ‘Bald Sisters’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:17 GMT

There is no warmth between Him and her younger sister Sophea when they gather together for the first time in four years. Their initial words bypass any and all pleasantries, with each going straight for the throat about her mutual disregard for the other’s hairstyle — one representing a curious choice, the other a byproduct of chemotherapy’s cruelty.Those beginning moments in San Jose Stage’s West Coast premiere production of “Bald Sisters,” directed fluidly by Jeffrey Lo, mark the first of many tense interactions between the two main characters in Vichet Chum’s insightful narrative. The script comes off as formulaic at times, but this is overpowered by plenty of moments of fresh, truthful dialogue.While the pacing can get slacky, much of that is overcome by the talents of a very tight cast. Lo has assembled a collection of those who understand how to create a beat, the collective deftly delivering multiple moments of richness.There is a serious edge to Ma (Keiko Carreiro), a ...

First atmospheric river storm of the season heading into Northern California, bringing rain

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:17 GMT

The first atmospheric river storm of the season is forecast to hit Northern California on Sunday and Monday, bringing much needed help fighting fires in remote, rugged areas near the Oregon border that have sent smoke wafting to the Bay Area.The storm, powering in from the North Pacific, will mostly hit the far northern reaches of the state, bringing 2 to 3 inches of rain in Eureka and other communities, forecasters said Friday.“There’s a wet storm coming,” said Marty Ralph, director of the Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes at UC San Diego. “It should be largely beneficial. And it’s going to be fairly long lasting — over 48 hours.”But most Bay Area residents probably won’t need their umbrellas.About half an inch is expected late Sunday and Monday in Santa Rosa, Cloverdale and other parts of the North Bay, according to the National Weather Service. San Francisco may get one-tenth of an inch. Farther south, there will be significantly le...

Bob Menendez Indicted for Taking Bribes to Sell Weapons to Egypt Dictatorship

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:17 GMT

The Chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was indicted Friday over bribes he allegedly took — in one case involving gold bars — in exchange for favorable treatment of the Egyptian government. The indictment says Menendez, through his wife, took cash in exchange for greasing the wheels of major arms sales to the Egyptian dictatorship.“Menendez has been feeding at the Egyptian trough with lavish bribes in exchange for pushing unquestioning military support to the dictatorship.”The Foreign Relations Committee reviews U.S. arms sales abroad and can block the deals. The indictment says, “At various times between 2018 and 2022, MENENDEZ also conveyed to Egyptian officials … that he would approve or remove holds on foreign military financing and sales of military equipment to Egypt in connection with his leadership role on the SFRC” — the Foreign Relations Committee. In exchange, the indictment says, his wife was promised money.While Menendez ...

North Carolina GOP Hides Redistricting Process From State Public Records Law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:17 GMT

In one of the most gerrymandered states in the country, GOP leaders are taking new measures to shield redistricting records from public view.The changes to public records laws first came to light when North Carolina’s Republican-controlled General Assembly released its $30 billion budget on Wednesday, following months of negotiations. The bill includes raises for state employees, cuts to income taxes, and an expanded school voucher program — as well as sneaky language that will deal a major blow to government transparency in the state. Buried deep in the 625-page budget is a provision overturning a state law that made legislators’ redistricting communications and drafting documents part of the public record once the new electoral maps became law. The repeal of that provision will go into effect in 10 days, dropping a veil of secrecy over a contentious issue that has roiled North Carolina state politics for decades. “It’s critical to understand from the public’s perspe...

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow was back to practice ahead of Monday’s showdown with the Rams

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:17 GMT

CINCINNATI (AP) — Quarterback Joe Burrow participated in practice on Friday, a good sign for the Cincinnati Bengals that a lingering calf injury may not keep him out of the Monday night game against the Los Angeles Rams.Burrow walked to the practice field in full pads and afterward the team listed him as having “limited participation” in the session.Burrow aggravated the right calf strain he suffered early in training camp in last week’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens.Talking to reporters on Thursday, Burrow said he was day to day and didn’t know at that point if he’d be able to play on Monday in Cincinnati.Burrow strained the muscle on the second day of on-field workouts in training camp on July 27. That sidelined him for more than a month, depriving him of valuable preseason reps with the offense. The Bengals lost their first two games for the second consecutive season.Receiver Tyler Boyd said Burrow’s teammates know the quarterback will do whatever it ...

49ers are focused on fixing flaws after rolling to their third straight win to open the season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:17 GMT

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Three straight wins with 30 points scored in each game is just the kind of start the San Francisco 49ers wanted to get off to this year after being forced to climb out of early holes the past two years.Despite the relatively easy wins and gaudy numbers, the 49ers are lamenting the missed chances and little mistakes that they were able to overcome in the 30-12 victory Thursday night against the New York Giants.Quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns. But he also had two near interceptions on the opening drive that his receivers needed to break up, a few stalls in the red zone and a botched snap that nearly became a costly turnover. “There were some looks that were there that I was off and inaccurate or some things just didn’t happen right within our scheme,” Purdy said. I felt like it was a little choppy at first. … We had a good feel for it, a couple drives into the game once we got rolling, we were putting some drives together...

Things to know about California’s new proposed rules for insurance companies

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:37:17 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Months after California’s home insurance market was rattled by major companies pausing or restricting their coverage, the state’s top regulator said Thursday that he would write new rules aimed at persuading insurers to continue doing business in the nation’s most populous state.Seven of the 12 largest insurance companies by market share in California have either paused or restricted new policies in the state since last year.Some state lawmakers tried to come up with a bill that would address the issue. But they failed to reach an agreement before the Legislature adjourned for the year last week.Here’s a look at what California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara proposed and how it would affect the state’s insurance market:WHAT ARE THE RULES FOR INSURANCE COMPANIES?Unlike most states, California heavily regulates its property insurance market.In 1988, California voters approved Proposition 103. It said insurance companies had ...