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Found: Largest male specimen of world's most poisonous spider

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — With fangs that could pierce a human fingernail, the largest male specimen of the world's most poisonous arachnid has found a new home at the Australian Reptile Park where it will help save lives after a member of the public discovered it by chance.The deadly Sydney funnel-web spider dubbed “Hercules” was found on the Central Coast, about 50 miles north of Sydney, and was initially given to a local hospital, the Australian Reptile Park said in a statement Thursday.Spider experts from the nearby park retrieved it and soon realized it was the largest male specimen ever received from the public in Australia.The spider measured 7.9 centimeters (3.1 inches) from foot to foot, surpassing the park’s previous record-holder from 2018, the male funnel-web named “Colossus".Sydney funnel-web spiders usually range in length from one to five centimeters, with females being generally larger than their male counterparts but not as deadly. They are predominantly found in forested areas...

All-Bay Area News Group high school football 2023: Running backs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

ALL-BAY AREA NEWS GROUP FOOTBALL 2023RUNNING BACKSFirst teamKingston Keanaaina, St. Francis, 6-0, 190, juniorRunning back of the year in the WCAL. Ran for 1,309 yards and 16 touchdowns in 208 attempts for a team that finished second to Serra in the league standings.Boxer Kopcsak-Yeung, Los Gatos, 5-10, 170, seniorPAL Bay’s offensive back of the year. Helped lead the Wildcats to section and regional titles, rushing for 1,653 yards and 26 TDs. Also caught 29 passes for 360 yards and a TD.Herschel Turner, Mt. Diablo, 5-10, 190, seniorRan for a North Coast Section regular-season record 2,957 yards and was named offensive MVP in DAL Valley. Finished with 3,027 yards and 42 TDs on the ground.Second teamJosh Gagni, Live Oak, 5-6, 185, seniorBVAL Mt. Hamilton MVP. Rushed for 1,417 yards and 17 touchdowns as the Acorns captured the league championship.Kamarri Robinson, Livermore, 5-8, 175, juniorFirst-team all-EBAL Valley. Had one of California’s all-time great games, rushing for 534 yards a...

72-year-old man charged with threatening to kill East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell and his kids

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

By Mary Kay Mallonee | CNNA Florida man, 72, was arrested Wednesday and charged with threatening to kill Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell and his children in several voicemail messages allegedly left at the lawmaker’s office in Washington, DC.Michael Shapiro called Swalwell’s office the evening of December 19 from his home in Greenacres, according to court records, and left five threatening voicemail messages. The member is not identified in the court documents, but Swalwell confirmed that he and his family were the target of Shapiro’s threats.“I’m gonna come after you and kill you,” Shapiro said in one message, according to court records.“I’m gonna kill your children,” Shapiro threatened in another voice message, investigators said in the court records.In some of the expletive-filled messages Shapiro called Shapiro “a Chinese spy” and a “greaseball,” the records stated.An investigator with the US Capitol Police Investigations Division, Threat Assessment Section, wrote in the court doc...

Second Aryan Brotherhood prison gang member pleads to California inmate murder 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

A second Aryan Brotherhood prison gang member has pleaded guilty to murder in aid of racketeering, a U.S. Attorney announced Wednesday.Pat Brady, 53, of Lake Forest (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California) Pat Brady, 53, of Lake Forest, entered his plea — part of a long-running investigation into the notorious gang — in a Sacramento courtroom, Phillip A. Talbert, who leads the Department of Justice’s Eastern District of of California, said in a press statement.U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller is scheduled to sentence Brady — who faces a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison — on March 25.According to court documents, between 2011 and 2016, Aryan Brotherhood, or AB, members and associates engaged in racketeering activity, “committing multiple acts involving murder, conspiracies to murder, and drug-trafficking crimes,” noted Talbert.The charges allege that AB members oversaw a significant heroin and methamphetamine trafficking operation from their Ca...

49ers: How McCaffrey’s maniacal preparation has kept him healthy to carry massive physical burden

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Within a week after the 49ers saw their season end in the NFC Championship Game against the Philadelphia Eagles, running back Christian McCaffrey met coach Kyle Shanahan for a drink.“He actually had a second one,” Shanahan said. “He says, ‘Well, I’ve only got four more days left, so I’m going to have a couple for the next four days.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, we just finished up five days ago.’ He gives himself 12 days off and then he is right back to preparing.”McCaffrey is sitting out the regular-season finale with a calf strain, something he said was “minor” and would be pushed aside if the Rams game had any bearing playoff seeding. He and quarterback Brock Purdy won’t play, and there will likely be others.Since joining the 49ers on Oct. 20 of last season, McCaffrey has put his myriad talents on display, and if there’s anything missing in his game, no one has yet to find it. He wi...

DePetris: Is the Middle East in danger of spinning out of control?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

There is only so much a single person can do to control the events around them. Joe Biden is learning in real time that one of life’s golden rules also applies to the president of the United States.Despite holding the most powerful position in the world, Biden is finding it increasingly difficult to accomplish one of his top priorities in the Middle East today: ensuring the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza doesn’t snowball into a wider escalation that draws in the region’s big powers. If anything, regardless of Biden’s best efforts, the risk of a regional conflagration may only grow as long as the fighting in Gaza persists — and if we take Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s word for it, Israel is no mood to stop its military offensive anytime soon.Netanyahu aims to destroy Hamas in its entirety and deradicalize the Palestinian polity, understandable objectives given the depravities of the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. But they portend a dismal future ahead for Palestinians in Gaza...

All-Bay Area News Group high school football 2023: Offensive linemen

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

ALL-BAY AREA NEWS GROUP FOOTBALL 2023OFFENSIVE LINEMENFirst teamJulian Cambra, San Ramon Valley, 6-2, 230, juniorFirst-team all-EBAL Mountain. Blocking skills helped NCS Division I runners-up average 398 yards from scrimmage. John Mills, St. Ignatius, 6-6, 315, juniorWCAL offensive lineman of the year. Led the way for a rushing offense that had 18 touchdowns on the ground. Champ Taulealea, Valley Christian, 6-3, 335, juniorWCAL junior of the year. Helped Valley Christian improve from 1-9 in 2022 to 6-6 in 2023.Tommy Tofi, Archbishop Riordan, 6-7, 330, sophomoreFirst-team all-WCAL. One of three Riordan offensive linemen to make the all-WCAL first team. Sione Vailea, McClymonds, 6-4, 280, juniorFirst-team all-OAL. Top offensive lineman on a team that averaged 39 points per game. Second teamFrank Anderson, Campolindo, 6-4, 250, seniorFirst-team all-DAL Foothill. Helped propel Cougars to share of DAL Foothill championship. Jayse Hope, Antioch, 6-4, 240, seniorBVAL offensive lineman of t...

Construction start for San Jose housing tower is a “few months” away: developer

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

SAN JOSE — A housing tower that would produce several hundred residences in downtown San Jose could break ground during the first half of 2024, offering some rays of hope amid a gloomy Bay Area real estate market.The project is known as Orchard Residential and would be built on the site of the former Bo Town restaurant in downtown San Jose’s trendy and hip SoFA district, according to one of the project’s developers.Upper levels of Orchard Residential tower at 409 South Second Street in downtown San Jose, concept. The housing highrise is being developed at the long-time Bo Town restaurant site. (JKMC Architects + Steinberg Hart)Canada-based Westbank, a renowned major developer with a global reach, and San Jose-based Urban Community, a Bay Area developer, have teamed up to build the housing tower in San Jose.The housing highrise is being planned for a site at 409 South Second Street in San Jose. If built, the tower would be an eye-catching addition to the city&#...

What’s next for SF Giants in abnormally quiet offseason?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

With six weeks until pitchers and catchers report, more than half of MLB Trade Rumors’ Top 50 free agents are still available.Only six teams have spent $100 million or more so far this winter, the Giants among them, allocating $121.25 million to Jung Hoo Lee and Tom Murphy.Although the front office struck out on its two top targets in the worst possible way — with Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto teaming up on the archrival Dodgers — the offseason hasn’t been a total dud for Farhan Zaidi and his crew.They set out to get younger and more athletic, and signed about the only free agent who fit that profile, a 25-year-old center fielder with the charisma to one day grow into the face of the franchise. They wanted to commit to Patrick Bailey behind the plate, and brought in a veteran backup all but assuredly ending his predecessor’s time in the organization.But after big talk of adding star power — prioritizing Ohtani and Yamamoto “above all other options,R...

Best TV 2023: In tumultuous year for Hollywood, these 10 shows found their mark

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:59 GMT

We close the book on a year that saw Hollywood weather writers and actors strikes, resulting in almost no work for nearly six months. Tough times for anyone who makes a living in TV.But it also functioned as an overdue course correction. Streamers have been loathe to admit they’re churning out more shows than audiences can keep up with — and providing inadequate budgets to market them all — and the 2023 work stoppage was an excuse to cut back on things instead. How convenient.The strikes hit TV networks the hardest. Broadcasters resorted to an unsatisfying mix of reruns and reality. But weekly episodic TV was already in a diminished state, and this is ironic considering older seasons of these very shows, from “NCIS“ to “Grey’s Anatomy,“ are among the most popular on streaming platforms. Only NBC managed to premiere new shows in the fall (completed before the strike and held back just in case) with “The Irrational“ and “Found.” Though mediocre, at least they were new! (The bar is low...