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Instant analysis of Ravens taking WR Zay Flowers in first round of NFL draft

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:12 GMT

Here’s what The Baltimore Sun staff had to say immediately after the Ravens selected Boston College wide receiver Zay Flowers with the No. 22 overall pick in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night.Childs Walker, reporter: Lamar Jackson’s big day continues with the Ravens adding another dynamic target for their franchise quarterback in Zay Flowers. Flowers is on the small side, but he’s a deep threat from the slot who produced despite the fact he was surrounded by mediocre talent at Boston College. Teams raved about his character and work ethic throughout the predraft process. The Ravens still need a young starter at cornerback and could’ve had one in Joey Porter Jr. or Deonte Banks, but they chose to keep building a high-octane attack around their quarterback. It’s hard to argue with that thinking.Mike Preston, columnist: Zay Flowers is what this offense needs: a speed guy. He is small, but can absolutely fly. He is a good complement to wide...

Bodycam video shows shooting involving deputy in North County

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:12 GMT

FALLBROOK, Calif. -- The San Diego County Sheriff's Department on Thursday released bodycam video of an armed suspect who was shot by a deputy in the Fallbrook area.The incident occurred last Friday around 1 a.m. in the 4900 block of White Lilac Road in Fallbrook, according to Lt. Adam Sharki with the San Diego Police Department. A woman reported her husband, identified as 41-year-old Jorge Alberto Sandoval, was despondent and making suicidal threats, according to police. She told law enforcement her husband had another firearm and locked himself in the bathroom. Falling debris closes tracks between San Juan Capistrano, Oceanside Sandoval then walked out of the residence armed with a scoped rifle toward deputies and the woman, Sharki said. The sheriff's department shouted commands, but he did not comply and was shot in the leg and lower body by a patrol deputy from the Fallbrook Substation.The suspect was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries while the woman suf...

City of San Diego sues California Theatre owners for creating public nuisance

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:12 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- The San Diego City Attorney on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the owners of the California Theatre for creating a public nuisance.The building has sat vacant for decades and drew in the wrong kind of attention.The city attorney said the lawsuit is the last resort to make the building and the area around it a safe place."Patience has worn thin because it's now health and safety. We can't stand by and wait for them to get their act together. They need to do something now," said City of San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott.The City of San Diego is suing the owners of the California Theatre, Caydon Property Group which is based in Australia.The attorney argues because the owners are letting the building sit vacant with no plans for safety changes, it created a public nuisance."Its roof is close to falling through. We don't even feel it's safe enough for city personnel to walk through so we used a drone to look inside of it, and it's in terrible condition," Elliott said.Th...

Summer Movie Guide: What to watch from May through Labor Day

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:12 GMT

There is something for everyone at the movies this summer, both in theaters and streaming at home. In May, audiences can bid farewell to the Guardians of the Galaxy, go to Italy with Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen, or under the sea with Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy.June brings “Indiana Jones 5,” a “Spider-Verse” sequel, “The Flash” a new Pixar pic and one film many have already called the best of the year (“Past Lives”). And things get really exciting in July with the highly anticipated debuts of “Oppenheimer,” “Mission: Impossible 7,” “Barbie,” while August promises a new take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and introduces a new DC superhero, Blue Beetle.Here’s a month-by-month guide of this summer’s new movies.May 5“ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ” (Disney/Marvel, theaters): Nine years after the non-comic obsessed world was introduced to Peter Quill, Rocket, Groot and the rest of the Guardians...

Corden addresses divided America in final ‘Late Late Show’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:12 GMT

James Corden used part of his farewell speech on Thursday’s final episode of CBS’ “ The Late Late Show” to address the deep rift in America over hot button issues including politics and ideology.“We started this show with Obama, then Trump and a global pandemic. I’ve watched America change a lot. I’ve watched divisions grow and I’ve felt a sense of negativity boil over,” said the host. He implored his audience to “remember what America signifies to the rest of the world. My entire life it has always been a place of optimism. … Yes, it has flaws but show me a place that doesn’t. Show me a person that doesn’t.“Just because somebody disagrees with you it doesn’t make them bad or evil. We are all more the same than we are different. There are so many people who are trying to stoke those differences and we have to try as best we can to look for the light, look for the joy. If you do, it’s out there. That’s all this show has ever been about,” he said.Corden announc...

Stock market today: Asia shares gain, tracking Wall St rally

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:12 GMT

NEW YORK — Shares advanced in Asia on Friday after Wall Street rallied to its best day since January. Gains in Asian markets were more modest as traders waited to see what the Bank of Japan would do in its first policy meeting since Kazuo Ueda took the helm. The central bank kept its ultra-lax policy unchanged, and the Japanese yen weakened sharply against the U.S. dollar. The dollar rose to 134.92 yen from 133.96 yen earlier in the day. “With extremely high uncertainties surrounding economies and financial markets at home and abroad, the bank will patiently continue with monetary easing while nimbly responding to developments,” the BOJ said in a statement. Rising prices are putting pressure on the central bank to tighten its ultra-lax monetary policy: Japan reported inflation excluding volatile fresh food costs was at 3.5% in March. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index added 1.1% to 28,764.98 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong gained 0.6% to 19,951.51. The Shanghai Composite index surged 0.7...

British military says ship comes under attack off Yemen

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:12 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A ship came under attack Friday off the coast of Yemen in unclear circumstances, a British military organization said. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which provides support to ships across the Mideast, said the attack happened off Nishtun, Yemen, in the country’s far east near the border with Oman. It said shots had been fired at the unidentified vessel, with three boats chasing after it.There was no additional information immediately available. There have been incidents in the past off Yemen, though Nishtun is held by forces allied to Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition. The Associated Press

In Arizona, fresh scrutiny of Saudi-owned farm’s water use

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:12 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In rural Arizona’s La Paz County, on the state’s rugged border with California, the decision by a Saudi-owned dairy company to grow alfalfa in the American Southwest for livestock in the Gulf kingdom first raised eyebrows nearly a decade ago. Now, worsening drought has focused new attention on the company and whether Arizona should be doing more to protect its groundwater resources.Amid a broader investigation by the state attorney general, Arizona last week rescinded a pair of permits that would have allowed Fondomonte Arizona, a subsidiary of Almarai Co., to drill more than 1,000 feet (305 meters) into the water table to pump up to 3,000 gallons (11 kiloliters) of water per minute to irrigate its forage crops. In an interview with The Associated Press, Attorney General Kris Mayes said she thought most Arizonans see it as “outrageous” that the state is allowing foreign-owned companies “to stick a straw in our ground and use our water for free to grow alfalfa and s...

GOP uses state capitol protests to redefine ‘insurrection’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:12 GMT

Silenced by her Republican colleagues, Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr looked up from the House floor to supporters in the gallery shouting “Let her speak!” and thrust her microphone into the air — amplifying the sentiment the Democratic transgender lawmaker was forbidden from expressing.It was a brief moment of defiance and chaos. While seven people were arrested for trespassing, the boisterous demonstration was free of violence or damage. Yet later that day, a group of Republican lawmakers described it in darker tones, saying Zephyr’s actions were responsible for “encouraging an insurrection.”It’s the third time in the last five weeks — and one of at least four times this year — that Republicans have attempted to compare disruptive but nonviolent protests at state capitols to insurrections.The tactic follows a pattern set over the past two years when the term has been misused to describe public demonstrations and even the 2020 election that put Democrat Joe Biden in th...

What to know about tick, Lyme season following a mild winter

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:40:12 GMT

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — After a mild winter in the U.S., will there be an uptick in ticks this year?Researchers say it is hard to predict how the tick season will play out. This year’s mild winter and early snow melt, though, could mean more ticks earlier than usual and a wider spread of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, scientists said.In Connecticut, ticks are showing up in greater numbers this year, according to Goudarz Molaei, a tick expert for the state. So far, more than 700 ticks have been sent in for a testing program that normally would have gotten 200 to 300 by now. The state typically sees a lot of Lyme disease, which got its name from a Connecticut town.“It’s going to be an above average year for tick activity and abundance,” Molaei said.WHAT DISEASES DO TICKS SPREAD?Infected ticks spread bacteria, viruses and parasites that make people sick. Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne infection in the U.S., mostly in the Northeast and Midwest. An estimated 476,0...