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Rest in space: A Bay Area astronaut gets a celestial burial

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:50 GMT

Space scientist Michael Lampton, on the far right, inside NASA’s Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS-1) Module, which was carried by the Space Shuttle in 1992 during its STS-45 mission. A cancer diagnosis meant Lampton could not join the mission. A sample of his ashes will sent into space on December 24, 2023, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. (Photo courtesy Jennifer Lampton) In death, Berkeley space scientist and astronaut Michael Lampton is venturing where he could never go in life: into orbit.In late December, small samples of the cremated remains of Lampton and 233 others, packed into a satellite’s cargo bay, will hitch a ride on a commercial rocket to make vast and eternal loops around the sun — more than 200 million miles from home.“It’s important for him to be up there,” said Lampton’s daughter, Jennifer Lampton, an Oakland-based computer scientist, still grieving his death at age 82 last June. “He was fascinate...

Empty Bed Bath & Beyond stores are hot real estate. Here’s who’s moving in

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:50 GMT

By Nathaniel Meyersohn | CNNNew York — When Sears, Toys “R” Us and Circuit City filed for bankruptcy in recent years, it was an opportunity for other retailers to move into their old storefronts.Now, retailers are pouncing on empty Bed Bath & Beyond stores.“Some of our best stores were created from carved-up Kmart or Sears locations,” Burlington Stores CEO Michael O’Sullivan said earlier this year. Burlington has taken over 44 former Bed Bath & Beyond spaces.This is the first holiday shopping season in more than 50 years without physical Bed Bath & Beyond stores after the chain went out of business earlier this year and closed its final 360 stores and also 120 buybuy BABYs in one of the largest retail bankruptcies in years. (Overstock.com bought Bed Bed & Beyond’s brand out of bankruptcy and has relaunched it online, complete with the 20% coupons.)But hundreds of empty Bed Bath & Beyond stores auctioned off as part of the bankruptcy proceedings are turning out to...

In Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers have created a touchdown monster

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:50 GMT

When Christian McCaffrey needed a new helmet Thursday night, cameras caught members of the 49ers’ support staff working on each side of the new shell with screwdrivers while it was still on his head.“They keep two helmets. I didn’t know that,” McCaffrey said after a 31-13 road win over the Seattle Seahawks. “They were making sure the chin strap fit on the second helmet.”Voila! McCaffrey had become a social media meme.“Nice. I’ll have to check it out,” McCaffrey said. “I felt like Frankenstein.”Confirmed: Christian McCaffrey is not human pic.twitter.com/YrcHj6JqVL— 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙎𝙁𝙉𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨 (@TheSFNiners) November 24, 2023At the rate McCaffrey is scoring touchdowns for the 49ers, it’s as if he was created in a laboratory by a mad scientist. He got two more against Seattle on runs of 1 and 8 yards, giving him 11 rushing touchdowns and 16 for the season with five more on receptions. That leads the NFL and is a franchise si...

California mother arrested on suspicion of killing 9-year-old daughter

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:50 GMT

A 32-year-old mother was arrested by Westminster police Friday, Nov. 24 on suspicion of killing her 9-year-old daughter, whose body was found inside a home, authorities said.Police were called to the 14100 block of Goldenwest Street just past noon after a concerned family member asked officers to do a welfare check at the home, Sgt. Eddie Esqueda said.The girl was found dead inside with obvious signs of trauma, Esqueda said. No one else was inside the home.While investigating, detectives identified the girl’s mother, Khadiyjah Aliyyah Ali Pendergraph, as a person of interest, Esqueda said. With help from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, Pendergraph was found and arrested at an Aliso Viejo shopping center.She was booked into jail on suspicion of murder, the sergeant said.“While police officers are exposed to tragedies on a daily basis, this murder is particularly disturbing, due to the senseless loss of a child allegedly at the hands of her own mother,” Westminster Police Chie...

Union Berlin appoints Croatian coach Nenad Bjelica in bid to turn troubled team’s fortunes around

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:50 GMT

Union Berlin has appointed Croatian coach Nenad Bjelica as the successor to Urs Fischer in a bid to improve the team’s fortunes and leave the Bundesliga’s relegation zone.Union announced Bjelica’s signing on Sunday without giving details about the length of his contract.“In Nenad Bjelica, we have been able to attract an experienced coach who has worked successfully in various countries. He has a clear idea of how he wants to lead our team and what type of soccer it should play,” Union president Dirk Zingler said. “We are entrusting him with the task of leading the team to success again.”Union enjoyed unprecedented success under Fischer, who led the club to its first Bundesliga promotion in 2019 and ever higher in each of the following seasons, culminating in Champions League qualification.But this season has not gone to plan. Union lost nine Bundesliga games in succession before Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Augsburg, when the team was led by interim coach Marco Grote and assistant Marie...

17 Israeli hostages released and reunite with families during temporary ceasefire

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:50 GMT

Two Israeli children have been reunited with their families after Hamas, released 17 hostages late Saturday night.Since the ceasefire, no American hostages have been released. The Biden administration said that the US will keep fighting to bring them home.A Red Cross convoy from Gaza made it to Egypt’s Rafah crossing before heading back to Israel on Saturday.Thirteen Israelis and four Thai nationals were released from Hamas captivity.Thomas Hand thought his daughter Emily was killed during the October 7th attacks after spending the night at a friend’s house.“They said ‘We found Emily, she’s dead,’ and I went, ‘Yes’ and smiled because that is the best news of the possibilities that I knew,” said Hand.After spending her ninth birthday in captivity, the Irish-Israeli girl is alive and back in Israel as one of the 17 hostages released on day two of a hostage-prisoner swap.It accompanies a four-day humanitarian pause in fighting betwe...

Cranberry Bites / Belkys

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:50 GMT

Ingredients:All-purpose flour (for dusting work surfaces)8 ounce crescent dough sheet8 ounce wheel of brie cheese1 cup whole cranberry sauce (not jellied)Method of Preparation:Preheat oven to 375°F degrees. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. Spread a little flour out onto your counter then roll out crescent dough. If using crescent rolls rather than the crescent roll dough sheet, be sure to pinch the seams together to make one sheet. Cut dough into 24 squares.Place squares into muffin tin slots. Cut brie into small pieces and place inside the crescent dough squares. Top with a generous spoonful of cranberry sauce. Bake for 6-8 minutes until golden brown. Let cool and serve.Enjoy!

US national security adviser doesn’t rule out extension of 4-day cease-fire in Gaza

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:50 GMT

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday did not rule out the possibility that the four-day ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that began Friday could be extended, but said that the decision was up to Hamas.“I think it is certainly a possibility, and we would like to see that happen,” Sullivan told NBC’s Kristen Welker during an interview on “Meet the Press.”Israel has proposed extending the ceasefire one additional day for every 10 more hostages Hamas releases beyond the 50 women and children the two sides agreed to in the initial deal. But it’s unclear whether Hamas will agree to such an extension.“Hamas is going to make the decision about whether they’re prepared to release another 10 hostages. Israel has put its cards on the table. They’re prepared to extend the pause in the fighting,” Sullivan said.“So the ball is in Hamas’ court. Will Hamas step up and release another 10 hostages? If they won’t, then they’re the ones choosing to bring an end to the pause i...

Moscow adds Meta spokesperson to criminal wanted list, TASS reports

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:50 GMT

Russia’s interior ministry has added the spokesperson of U.S. tech giant Meta Andy Stone to its wanted list, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported. Stone “is wanted under an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation,” the agency reported, citing the ministry’s database. The reason Stone was added to the list was not indicated, according to the report. In 2022, following Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, Moscow officially designated the American tech company — which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — as a “terrorist and extremist” organization. That opened the door to heavier legal proceedings against its users in the country.Western social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) were banned from Russia and are only accessible in the country through VPNs. On Sunday, Russian authorities also said they downed 24 Ukrainian drones. The day before, Russia had launched the larg...

Hamas, Israel prepare to swap more hostages, prisoners as fragile truce holds

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:50:50 GMT

Israel and Hamas are expected to go through a third round of hostage-prisoner swap on Sunday amid a fragile truce in the fighting in the Gaza Strip.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has received a list of the names of the hostages set to be freed and has informed the families, Israeli media reported on Sunday. According to Haaretz, at least one of the hostages expected to be released is Russian and part of a deal between Hamas and Moscow. The exchanges are part of a four-day truce agreement brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. that started on Friday. Overall, Hamas is set to free 50 hostages in exchange for Israel releasing 150 Palestinian prisoners. On October 7, Hamas’ armed wing led an attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping about 240 more. In retaliation, the Israeli armed forces relentlessly bombarded the Gaza Strip and launched a ground operation, leveling entire neighborhoods and killing over 14,000 Palestinians. About 1.7 million Gazans ha...