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Review: Beyonce falls well short of delivering a masterpiece at Levi’s Stadium

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:04 GMT

“Today is special,” Beyonce said to the nearly 50,000 fans who stood before her. “Because today I am the mayor.”It may indeed been a special day for the multiplatinum-selling pop star — who had been made honorary mayor of the city of Santa Clara — but the night turned out to be a completely different story, as Beyonce muddled through a concert that was far more mixed bag than masterpiece on Wednesday at Levi’s Stadium.Maybe it’s indeed been a different story in other cities, given that Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour has received pretty much rave reviews in all previous stops. But it’s hard to see how given the many flaws in the production, which bombards viewers with everything short of the kitchen sink but still fails to really connect with fans.The result could be seen in the lackluster response from the audience, which exhibited far less energy and enthusiasm than what you’re use to seeing at big stadium shows.It...

Single-family home sells for $1.9 million in San Jose

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:04 GMT

A 1,905-square-foot house built in 1973 has changed hands. The property located in the 5900 block of Crimson Drive in San Jose was sold on Aug. 11, 2023, for $1,875,000, or $984 per square foot. This single-story home offers a roomy layout with four bedrooms and two baths. Inside, a fireplace adds character to the home. Additionally, the home includes a two-car garage.Additional houses have recently been purchased nearby:A 2,303-square-foot home on the 1400 block of Beattie Court in San Jose sold in December 2022, for $2,300,000, a price per square foot of $999. The home has 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Beattie Court, San Jose, in July 2023, a 2,024-square-foot home was sold for $2,080,000, a price per square foot of $1,028. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.In May 2023, a 2,008-square-foot home on Blackbird Court in San Jose sold for $2,300,000, a price per square foot of $1,145. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.

Single-family house sells for $1.5 million in San Jose

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:04 GMT

4958 Country Lane – Google Street ViewThe property located in the 4900 block of Country Lane in San Jose was sold on July 20, 2023 for $1,500,000, or $1,309 per square foot. The house, built in 1959, has an interior space of 1,146 square feet. This single-story house has three bedrooms and two baths. Inside, a fireplace enhances the ambiance of the living area. In addition, the house includes a two-car garage. Situated on a spacious 6,120-square-foot lot, the property offers ample outdoor space along with the added bonus of a pool.Additional houses have recently been sold nearby:In June 2023, a 1,364-square-foot home on Constanso Way in San Jose sold for $1,625,000, a price per square foot of $1,191. The home has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 1,585-square-foot home on the 1400 block of Constanso Way in San Jose sold in May 2023, for $1,624,000, a price per square foot of $1,025. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.On Lassen Avenue, San Jose, in April 2023, a 1,570-square-foot hom...

Lo que debe saber sobre el fenómeno del fuego de San Telmo y cómo mantenerse a salvo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:04 GMT

(CNN) — No es solo el título de una película del llamado Brat Pack de la década de 1980: el fuego de San Telmo es el nombre que se le da a los destellos brillantes y repentinos de aparentes relámpagos que pueden bailar a través de un cielo nublado cuando hay tormentas cercanas.Dos pilotos compartieron imágenes del fenómeno que salpicaban la vista desde la ventana de su cabina este martes mientras evacuaban de una base aérea de Florida en preparación para el huracán Idalia. Mientras el avión volaba, rayos de luz azul brillante parecieron golpear el aire afuera, desapareciendo tan rápido como aparecieron.Los marineros han observado esta característica de las tormentas durante siglos, según un artículo de 2020 sobre el fuego de San Telmo de la oficina de noticias del Instituto Tecnológico de Massachusetts. Y le pusieron el nombre de San Telmo, o Erasmo de Formia, el santo cristiano de los marineros.Se sabe que el fenómeno ocurre cuando la fricción dentro de una nube de tormenta p...

Grant Shapps announced as new UK defense secretary to replace Ben Wallace

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:04 GMT

Grant Shapps has been moved from his current role as energy secretary to take on the defense brief.The appointment was made to replace Ben Wallace, who stepped down as the U.K.’s defense minister Thursday after four years in the role.Shapps, who has held several senior Cabinet posts during his career, is a long-time ally of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and will take over responsibility for guiding the U.K.’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.The decision to appoint Shapps will lead to a significant shake-up at the top of government, with a new energy secretary expected to be appointed later today.In his resignation letter Thursday, Wallace said the Ministry of Defence was a “more modern, better funded and more confident than the organization I took over in 2019”.But he implored the Prime Minister and his successor to push for additional funding for the military.“I know you agree with me that we must not return to the days where defence was view...

UK prime minister Rishi Sunak appoints new defense secretary ahead of next year’s general election

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:04 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Grant Shapps, one of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s staunchest Cabinet allies, was named U.K. defense secretary on Thursday as Sunak began a Cabinet reshuffle ahead of a general election that is expected to take place next year.The move came after Ben Wallace formally submitted his resignation earlier in the day, honoring a promise made last month. Wallace was defense secretary for four years, overseeing Britain’s military response to the war in Ukraine.Shapps, who supported Sunak during his campaign to become Conservative Party leader and prime minister last year, has been a Cabinet member since 2019, most recently serving as secretary of state for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.Wallace used his resignation letter to press for increased funding for the military, long his primary issue.“I genuinely believe that over the next decade the world will get more insecure and more unstable,’’ Wallace wrote in his letter to Sunak. “We both share the belief...

Typhoon Saola churns toward south China, suspending transport and delaying the school year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:04 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese state media report at least 121 passenger trains are suspending service in anticipation of the arrival of Typhoon Saola. People in areas of southern China were warned to stay away from the coastline and several cities delayed the start of the school year. The suspensions on key lines running from north to south as well as on regional networks will begin Thursday and continue through Sept. 6, state broadcaster CCTV reported. China’s National Meteorological Center said Saola was moving toward the coast at a speed of about 15 kph (9 mph) and was due to make landfall Friday afternoon in the southern province of Guangzhou with sustained winds of 119 kph (74 mph) and gusts of up to 220 kph (137 mph). The storm will then travel west down the coast into the Guangxi region before curving south out to sea between Saturday night and Sunday morning, gradually weakening as it goes. The Guangdong city of Shanwei, closest to where Saola is expected to make landfall, ordered ...

UBS reports huge 2Q profit skewed by Credit Suisse takeover and foresees $10B in cost cuts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:04 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss banking giant UBS on Thursday announced plans to save $10 billion in costs, including through 3,000 staff reductions in Switzerland in the coming years, as it moves ahead with “full integration” of longtime rival Credit Suisse’s domestic operations following a takeover.The announcement came as the Zurich-based bank reported $29 billion in net and pre-tax profit in the second quarter, its first earnings release since the government-orchestrated merger to help stave off a possible global financial meltdown.Underlying profit before taxes came in at $1.1 billion, which excludes some $29 billion in negative goodwill, integration costs and other impacts of the takeover. Goodwill is an accounting technique, and the figure stems from the difference between the $3.25 billion that UBS paid for Credit Suisse and the underlying value of its assets.In a separate statement, Credit Suisse, calling itself a UBS subsidiary following the completion of the deal on June 12, an...

The USA is in great position entering Round 2 of the World Cup. So are many other teams

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:04 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The opponent names will become more recognizable for USA Basketball now. Nikola Vucevic awaits on Friday, Jonas Valanciunas on Sunday, and if the Americans keep progressing through this FIBA World Cup the challenges will only get tougher.To that, they say this: Good.Second-round play at the World Cup starts Friday, with a 32-team field to start the tournament now down to 16 contenders for the Naismith Trophy. The U.S. is one of eight teams with 3-0 records, and those are the teams that have the easiest path to the quarterfinals.“There’s an immediate respect level from guys going against them in the NBA,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said. “The familiarity really helps as well. The hard part is when you go into a game and there’s a great player who these guys don’t know, and he’s got a last name with lots of letters, and you have to refer to him as No. 5 or whatever and our guys aren’t ready for how good this player is. That’s a huge challenge in this tournament.”...

Palestinian kills 1 after ramming truck into soldiers at West Bank checkpoint and is fatally shot

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:35:04 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A Palestinian driver slammed his truck into soldiers at a busy checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, killing one Israeli before being shot dead, Israeli authorities said, in the latest bloodshed in a relentless cycle of violence to roil the region.The violence came a day after Israeli police shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy who stabbed a man in a Jerusalem light-rail station and after Palestinian militants detonated a bomb near a convoy of Israeli troops escorting Jewish worshippers to a holy site in the West Bank, wounding four Israeli troops. The unrest is part of more than a yearlong wave of violence that has surged to levels unseen in the West Bank in some two decades. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said one person was killed in the attack. At least two others were injured, according to paramedics. Israel’s Defense Ministry said the driver sped away and was stopped by security guards at a separate checkpoint nearby. P...