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Trans-Siberian Orchestra holiday concert tour is ‘biggest, best one ever’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:19:13 GMT

People celebrate the holidays in many different ways.Yet, those who prefer to mark the season with face-melting electric guitar solos, symphonic rock music arrangements, laser light shows, towering special effects and an abundance of pyro are most likely very much into the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.Indeed, they might even be what TSO’s Al Pitrelli calls “repeat offenders” — i.e., the die-hard fans who turn out each year to see the Orchestra’s annual over-the-top touring extravaganza.This year’s road show, “The Ghosts of Christmas Eve — the Best of TSO & More,” will be performed on Nov. 29 at SAP Center in San Jose, Nov. 30 at Save Mart Center in Fresno, Dec. 1 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento and Dec. 2 at Toyota Arena in Ontario. (See trans-siberian.com for all show info.)The Orchestra — which was founded by the visionary producer-composer-lyricist Paul O’Neill in 1996 — will be revisiting its popular TV special/album/rock opera “The Ghosts of...

Exclusive: Police say a San Jose couple waited 10 hours to report their baby’s fentanyl overdose. Now they’re charged with murder

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:19:13 GMT

SAN JOSE — The scourge of fentanyl has claimed the life of another Bay Area toddler, an 18-month-old San Jose girl named Winter, born on Christmas eve.This time, the parents are being charged with murder. The San Jose couple didn’t call police for at least 10 hours after they woke up in the early afternoon of Aug. 12 and found their daughter not breathing, court documents say. They told police they were “in denial” and “wanted to grieve together” before calling 911.By the time San Jose Police arrived, rigor mortis had set in, police say. Winter Rayo’s lips were blue. A toxicology report later determined that the concentration of fentanyl in her blood was 24 times the lethal dose.Santa Clara County District Attorney filed charges Monday against the parents, 26-year-old Kelly Gene Richardson and 25-year-old Derek Vaughn Rayo, who court documents say were caught in photos and videos “recklessly smoking narcotics” while holding the baby an...

How did Minnesota become the nation’s top turkey state?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:19:13 GMT

By Christopher Vondracek, Star TribuneMinnesota is a turkey powerhouse.Minnesota has been a national leader in the production of this flightless bird since the late 1950s, ranking No. 1 among states for the last two decades. Today, one in five turkeys grown commercially in America hail from Minnesota, which produced about 37 million birds last year.So this Thanksgiving, there is a good chance the turkey on your plate (if you’re a traditionalist) was raised on one of Minnesota’s more than 650 turkey farms. Two special birds from Jennie-O in Willmar will even receive official Thanksgiving pardons at the White House this year.Related ArticlesBusiness | Bay Area scientist with bees in his bonnet gives Gov. Newsom a buzz in his ear Business | What’s behind E. coli in Point Reyes National Seashore? Beef grows between ranchers and environmentalists Business | Minnesota braces for wild ‘super pigs’ from Canada Business | ...

LB Sinclair available for Stanford vs. Notre Dame after Pac-12 rescinds targeting penalty

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:19:13 GMT

Stanford received bittersweet news this week when fifth-year linebacker Tristan Sinclair’s targeting penalty against Cal was overturned.On the one hand, it meant that the team’s defensive leader and second-leading tackler will be available to play the entire game Saturday when the Cardinal closes its season against No. 17 Notre Dame at Stanford Stadium (4 p.m., Pac-12 Network) instead of being forced to sit out the first half.On the other hand, it meant Sinclair was ejected based on an erroneous call midway through the third quarter of last Saturday’s Big Game loss to Cal. At the time, Sinclair had a game-high 10 tackles and had almost forced a first-quarter fumble (the ruling was changed to an incomplete pass after further review).“We wish that they would have overturned it immediately,” fellow fifth-year linebacker Spencer Jorgensen said. “Tristan played for one half and was defensive player of the game, in my opinion – leading tackler, he laid all the best hits. So initially all ...

Fan’s death, tour ‘chaos’ may keep Taylor Swift from Travis Kelce on Thanksgiving

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:19:13 GMT

Earlier this week, a report suggested that America’s favorite lovebirds, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, would try to be together on Thanksgiving. The report from TMZ said they hoped to take the next step in their relationship by not only celebrating the national holiday as a couple but by bringing their families together as well.But Page Six has raised doubts about the Thanksgiving reunion because the South America schedule for Swift’s Eras Tour has been the thrown into “chaos,” following the death last Friday of a 23-year-old fan who attended Swift’s concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, amid an extreme heat wave.“She doesn’t know her holiday plans yet,” a source told Page Six on Monday.“The Brazil concerts … She is devastated about a fan dying,” the source also said. “The weather is extreme. It’s a mess she didn’t expect. It’s been a traumatic experience. It’s been a lot.”Ana Clara Benevides Machado fell sick during Swift’s concer...

Daly City man who molested child relative found guilty on 11 charges

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:19:13 GMT

REDWOOD CITY — A Daly City man who terrorized a family member throughout her childhood, was convicted of 11 felony child molestation counts by a San Mateo County jury on Tuesday, according to prosecutors.Antonio Mandilag Oliveros, 58, could face a sentence of life in prison, prosecutors said.The family member first reported the abuse when she was 13 but said that it began when she was in the second grade, escalating from touching at night, while the family was asleep, to more serious acts of molestation in the fourth grade. The victim told authorities that Oliveros would tell her that he’d reward her with trips to the mall for complying with the abuse.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | San Francisco resident charged with murder of man whose body was found in the Presidio Crime and Public Safety | Peninsula man convicted on felony sex trafficking, pimping charges Crime and Public Safety | Jury signs off on aggravating factors fo...

Brad Pitt won’t react to son calling him ‘awful human being,’ prefers ‘dignified silence’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:19:13 GMT

Because Brad Pitt has “great respect for all of his children,” he will continue his stance of generally not commenting on them to the media, even after news broke Monday that his second son Pax Jolie-Pitt allegedly called him a “world-class a-hole” and an “awful human being” in a resurfaced social media post.Page Six cited a source close to the Oscar-winning actor who said that he has “no reaction” to a Daily Mail report, which published a screenshot of Pax Jolie Pitt’s private 2020 Instagram post. According to the screen shot, the then-16-year-old slammed Pitt on Father’s Day of that year, penning a screed over a photo of the actor accepting his Oscar several months earlier for his best supporting actor performance in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”FILES – A picture taken 12 November 2006 shows US actors Angelina Jolie (L), daughter Zahara (2L), husband Brad Pitt (R) and son Maddox taking a stroll on the seafront promenad...

American University Called on the FBI to Investigate Defaced Posters

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:19:13 GMT

American University in Washington, D.C., brought in the Federal Bureau of Investigation to probe the defacement of posters on campus, according to an email sent to students last week.“No community member should remove or deface any poster,” administrators wrote in the November 16 email. “We are investigating incidents of poster defacement, including in some cases with our FBI partners, and they will be addressed through our policies and conduct process.”The notice went out the same day a university official sent an email about a recital poster in the campus performing arts center that had been vandalized with “antisemitic language and symbols.” American University students told The Intercept they have seen other posters and campus materials vandalized and taken down, including ones critical of Israel’s killing of civilians in Gaza and U.S. backing for the war.The FBI’s involvement at American University comes as college campuses across the country witness a heightened presence of la...

10 More Things to Be Grateful for This Thanksgiving

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:19:13 GMT

A painting of the first Thanksgiving by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe made in 1870.Photo: Corbis/VCG via Getty ImagesIn both 2021 and 2022, I wrote a Thanksgiving article listing 10 things for which Americans should be grateful. Now I have 10 more things, 21 through 30, for which we can give thanks this holiday.Scientific studies have found that focusing on gratitude doesn’t just make you more pleasant to be around. It’s good for you, physically and psychologically. It even makes you sleep better.One thing for which I’m personally grateful is that I can get away with writing pieces like this. I’m actually paid money to do it, which I then exchange for broccoli seeds. (See No. 3 below.) Did you know there are approximately 137,600 individual seeds in one pound of broccoli seeds? Please write to my editors and tell them how much you value this kind of information, so I can continue producing these pieces and buying broccoli seeds indefinitely.References to the First ThanksgivingThe “fir...

Maryland man sentenced to life in prison in fatal 2021 Applebee’s shooting

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:19:13 GMT

The victim's mother speaks at a news conference on Nov. 21, following the sentencing hearing. She's accompanied by other members of the family as well as Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy. (Courtesy Prince George's County State's Attorney's Office) The victim's mother speaks at a news conference on Nov. 21, following the sentencing hearing. She's accompanied by other members of the family as well as Prince George's County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy. (Courtesy Prince George's County State's Attorney's Office) A Suitland, Maryland, man who shot and killed an Applebee’s employee and wounded two others more than two years ago was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison, plus 80 years.The fa...