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Ohtani’s $700 million contract a surprise? Not to this journalist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:54 GMT

So $700 million for baseball star Shohei Ohtani was a surprise?Not to my trusty spreadsheet.Back in July, this “unicorn” athlete who oddly excels at pitching and hitting – then with the Angels – was headed toward free agency after the season ended. Speculation swirled about the heft of his future payday. I could not resist the mathematical opportunity.My guess: a $701 million contract over 10 years, perhaps the most generous estimate one could find.Last week, we learned the Dodgers and Ohtani agreed to a record-smashing $700 million deal – though most of it will be deferred and paid in the decade after his 10-year playing commitment ends.My science was relatively simple, as I wrote five months ago: “All the spreadsheet did is take what teams are currently paying top stars and extrapolate those salaries to account for this peerless, two-way phenom.”Let’s say there were doubters. The Washington Post claimed such lofty estimates seemed “extraordinarily high for a player who recently tu...

Stanford added to US Civil Rights investigation into antisemitism and Islamophobia on college campuses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:54 GMT

By Janet Lorin and David Voreacos | BloombergStanford University and Rutgers University are among US universities now being investigated by the US Education Department for discrimination.The agency updated its Office of Civil Rights website Tuesday, adding to a growing list of schools that already included Harvard University, Columbia University, Cornell University, the University of Pennsylvania and Cooper Union. Investigators have opened at least 20 investigations into antisemitism and Islamophobia on college campuses since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.Title VI of the Civil Rights Act bars discrimination based on race, color or national origin in institutions that receive federal funding. While the Education Department could withhold funding from schools, it typically seeks to negotiate settlements.Related ArticlesEducation | Stanford launches emerging-tech project co-led by Hoover Institution’s Condoleezza Rice Education | US college campuses h...

Order up some culinary Christmas cheer at South Bay eateries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:54 GMT

Because both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve fall on a Sunday, many restaurants are closed. But celebrations must go on, and there are options.At BE. STÉAK. A. in Campbell’s Pruneyard Shopping Center, Chef Patrick Capurro offers a holiday tasting menu featuring the season’s most familiar flavors plus new soon-to-be favorites. Cozy up and indulge in handmade pasta and ultra-luxury beef, through the month of December. Open Christmas Eve.The Bywater in Los Gatos has you covered with Christmas Eve dinner to go—specifically, smoked prime rib dinners, including confit banana fingerling potatoes with rosemary, blue lake beans with almond and lemon, cream spinach with winter spices, maple-glazed carrots with cracked coriander, and brown butter cornbread. For dessert, Manresa Bread’s chocolate mousse grasshopper pie will sate your sweet tooth. Available for two and four people. Pick-ups available Dec. 24, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. https://www.exploretock.com/thebywaterThe Tasting House in Los...

Great-aunt sentenced to 36 years in prison for beating 8-year-old Colorado boy to death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:54 GMT

The woman who pleaded guilty to beating her 8-year-old great-nephew to death in October has been sentenced to 36 years in prison in Denver District Court.Susan Baffour, a 63-year-old woman from Denver, pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse, a Class 2 Felony, on Oct. 16 — a plea deal that dropped the charge of first-degree murder from her case, according to the district court case file.On Nov. 27, Denver District Judge Alex Myers sentenced Baffour to 36 years in prison, 5 years of mandatory parole and $1,928.50 in monetary fines. Myers could have sentenced Baffour to a maximum 48 years in prison.“Dametrious Wilson’s death was a terrible tragedy for his family and friends and for the entire City of Denver,” District Attorney Beth McCann said in an emailed statement. “This sentence all but ensures that Susan Baffour will never be able to hurt anyone again. I want to thank the prosecutors and investigators in my office, as well as the detectives with the Denver Police Department, ...

Netflix’s unprecedented viewing report shows these 5 shows at the top

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:54 GMT

In a major step in transparency, Netflix for the first time released on Tuesday a report of what people watched on the streaming service during a six-month period.The report, titled “What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report,” is set to be published twice a year, going forward, the company said in a memo.The report measures the hours viewed for every title, the premiere date and whether the title was available globally. The report included only titles that had more than 50,000 hours viewed.It’s among the most in-depth metrics Netflix has released about its subscriber engagement. As part of the Writers Guild of America contract ratified in October, streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ pledged to increase transparency about how many hours certain programs are streamed.This report covers 18,000 titles, measuring views from January to June 2023. Here’s what viewers spent the most hours watching:• The Night Agent, season 1 (812.1 million hours). Spy thriller.• Ginny & Ge...

10 California laws that may impact your workplace in 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:54 GMT

(KRON) -- Every year, hundreds of laws get passed in California to go into effect the following year. In 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed a slew of new bills into law that give workers new rights for 2024.Here are 10 new California laws you'll want to know about:California's minimum wage increasingThe biggest employment-related thing changing is that California's minimum wage will increase to $16 per hour. This is a 50-cent increase from the state's minimum wage in 2023.Health care workers getting minimum wage increaseHealth care workers will be getting a minimum wage raise starting in June 2024 to $23 per hour. This will increase by $1 every two years until the base minimum wage reaches $25 per hour.Minimum wage increase for fast food workersEffective in April 2024, the minimum wage for fast food workers will be $20 per hour. This salary could increase year over year by up to 3.5 percent.Employers to cover food handling cardsCertain food workers are required to obtain food handle...

Woman carjacked in Kensington by suspects wielding shotgun

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:54 GMT

(KRON) -- A woman who was getting into her car Monday morning in Kensington was confronted by armed carjackers brandishing a shotgun, according to the Kensington Police Department.Police responded to the 300 block of Colusa Avenue at around 10:30 a.m. after a woman was reportedly carjacked by two masked male suspects. During the incident, two suspects got out of a white Kia Soul and approached the woman who was getting into her BMW, police said, with one of them carrying a shotgun. Man arrested for pulling gun during road rage incident The suspects demanded her keys and purse, and the victim followed their demands. One of the suspects left the scene in the BMW, while the other left in the Kia.The stolen BMW was tracked to Oakland using GPS and camera technology, where the signals were then lost, according to Kensington PD. The Oakland Police Department found the stolen car abandoned later in the day.The two suspects were described as males of unknown age or race wearing all black ...

Wizards, Capitals would move to Virginia in tentative deal, Youngkin says. Mystics would stay in DC

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:54 GMT

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has reached a tentative agreement with the parent company of the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals to move those teams from the District of Columbia to what he called a new “visionary sports and entertainment venue” in northern Virginia. The proposal, which would need the state legislature’s approval, calls for the creation of a $2 billion sports and entertainment district south of Washington in Alexandria, just miles from the existing arena, Youngkin said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of a news conference Wednesday at the site. It would include an arena for what would be the state’s first professional sports teams, as well as a new Wizards practice facility, a separate performing arts center, a media studio, new hotels, a convention center, housing and shopping.“The Commonwealth will now be home to two professional sports teams, a new corporate headquarters, and over 30,000 new jo...

Michigan prosecutors outline case against false Trump electors in first hearing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:54 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Prosecutors began to outline their case Wednesday against 15 Michigan Republicans who face forgery and other charges for serving as false electors for then-President Donald Trump in 2020, in what is expected to provide the fullest glimpse yet at the state’s case. Former state Republican Party co-Chair Meshawn Maddock and Kathy Berden, a Michigan committeewoman for the Republican National Committee, were among the six defendants appearing for preliminary examinations, which are for the judge to determine if there’s sufficient evidence to substantiate the charges.Attorney General Dana Nessel announced the charges against Michigan’s slate of 16 false electors in July. All defendants have pleaded not guilty, but one, James Renner, had all criminal charges dropped in October after he reached a cooperation deal with the state.One defendant, Kenneth Thompson, on Wednesday had his case moved to a later date after his attorney did not show up. The othe...

Emirates fabrica equipaje de lujo a partir de piezas de avión recicladas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:21:54 GMT

Nota del editor: esta serie de contenidos de CNN está, o estuvo, patrocinada por el país que destaca. CNN conserva el control editorial total sobre el tema, los informes y la frecuencia de los artículos y videos patrocinados, de conformidad con nuestra política.(CNN) — Si alguna vez has querido poseer una pieza del icónico superjumbo A380, esta es tu oportunidad: Emirates lanzará una colección de edición limitada de equipaje y accesorios hechos con piezas recicladas, procedentes de los aviones Airbus A380 y Boeing 777 de la aerolínea.La colección incluye maletas, mochilas, bolsos, tarjeteros, neceseres, cinturones y zapatos, todos confeccionados internamente y hechos a mano por un equipo de sastres en una instalación de Emirates Engineering en Dubai.La colección, cuya venta está prevista para 2024, se fabrica íntegramente bajo pedido, lo que significa que los clientes podrán solicitar artículos según especificaciones personales o incluir grabados de sus iniciales. Todos los in...