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New hybrid work schedule means a move back to Bay Area

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:14:35 GMT

Question: About your October 21, 2023, column titled “Parents step back on selling now in the Bay Area; is that a smart move?” on The Mercury News and East Bay Times websites:  During the pandemic, we swapped the bustling Bay Area for a serene resort town and embraced remote work. It was a dream come true — until last week. We must soon follow our Bay Area employer’s three-day, in-office mandate in a housing catch-22. Selling our mountain home will be challenging, as will navigating the ridiculous Bay Area market. Our dilemma boils down to two questions: Bay Area homes for sale: With interest rates expected to fall, will 2024 finally bring the housing inventory increase everyone’s been predicting? Or will it remain a seller’s paradise, leaving homebuyers like us in multiple bidding wars? Resort market ripple effect? Will resort towns like ours follow suit if the Bay Area housing inventory increases? Or will these havens retain their pandemic-fueled appeal, keeping housing inventory ...

1-2-3 … Walk (down the aisle)! Couples race to get married in Las Vegas this numerical New Year’s Eve

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:14:35 GMT

Decorations adorn The Wedding Chapel at Vegas Weddings on December 19 in Las Vegas. Decorations adorn The Wedding Chapel at Vegas Weddings on December 19 in Las Vegas. (CNN) — Getting hitched in Las Vegas is famous for being as easy as 1-2-3. Now, the nation’s top wedding destination is prepping for an influx of couples hoping to embrace that simplicity by marrying on New Year’s Eve, when the date will be: 12/31/23 – alternately, 1-2-3 1-2-3.“Magic dates” long have been among the most coveted days for tying the knot. “Lucky 7s” day – 7/7/2007 – stands as the most popular wedding date in Las Vegas history, with 4,492 couples married, the clerk of Clark County, Nevada, said in news release. The most recent popular “...

DC man arrested, charged in fatal Southeast shooting

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:14:35 GMT

A D.C. man has been arrested and charged in a shooting that claimed the life of a 22-year-old man last month.Tremon Jackson, 20, of Southeast D.C., was arrested Thursday and charged with second degree murder while armed, according to a release from D.C. police.Around 3:45 p.m. on Nov. 4, officers responded to the 1400 block of L Street in Southeast for a report of a shooting. There, they found Charles Towles, of Southeast D.C., suffering from gunshot wounds, police said.D.C. Fire and EMS personnel were called, but police said “all lifesaving efforts failed,” and Towles was pronounced dead at the scene.Jackson is expected in court for a preliminary hearing on Jan. 16.WTOP’s Matt Small contributed to this report. Source

Envía tu nombre a Europa, la luna de Júpiter, antes de que acabe el año

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:14:35 GMT

(CNN) — Aunque todavía no es posible que los humanos se aventuren a los intrigantes mundos oceánicos de nuestro sistema solar, la NASA enviará un mensaje cósmico en una botella a la luna Europa de Júpiter que llevará más de dos millones de nombres.Y tu nombre puede ser uno de ellos si te apuntas antes de que acabe el año.El lanzamiento de la nave espacial Europa Clipper de la NASA es una de las misiones más esperadas de 2024. Se espera que la sonda despegue del Centro Espacial Kennedy en octubre y emprenda un viaje de 2.900 millones de kilómetros hasta la luna Europa de Júpiter.Tras entrar en órbita en 2030, Europa Clipper pasará los próximos años sobrevolando la luna cubierta de hielo para ver si el océano que hay bajo ella puede albergar vida. Europa es una de las lunas oceánicas consideradas como uno de los mejores lugares para buscar vida más allá de la Tierra.Además de un conjunto de nueve instrumentos científicos, Europa Clipper llevará un poema escrito por Ada Limón, po...

How long does it take to form a habit?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:14:35 GMT

Embarking on a difficult workout may sound like a great way to see progress fast, but research has shown incorporating a fun element will help you stick with it.(Samo Trebizan - stock.adobe.com) Embarking on a difficult workout may sound like a great way to see progress fast, but research has shown incorporating a fun element will help you stick with it.(Samo Trebizan - stock.adobe.com) (CNN) — As you’re drafting your New Year’s resolutions, you may think that it takes 21 days of repeating an action for that action to become a habit. So, you set out to go to the gym for 21 days, thinking that by day 22 heading to the gym will feel automatic — maybe even fun. It can be daunting to think about going to the gym...

Liz Truss sparks outrage with resignation honors for allies

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:14:35 GMT

Liz Truss, Britain’s shortest-serving prime minister, has handed out peerages and other honors to 11 political allies despite staying in office for only 49 days, sparking a backlash. Her resignation honors list rewards a key Brexit architect and a major donor to the Conservative Party with seats in the House of Lords. Former prime ministers are entitled to gift knighthoods, peerages and other honors to colleagues and allies upon leaving office. But current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced calls to block Truss from submitting a list, given that she served such a short and controversial tenure, which ended with her resignation in October 2022 after a tax-cutting budget proposal sent markets into meltdown. Nevertheless, Truss was permitted to send three close allies to the House of Lords — Matthew Elliott, the chief executive of the Vote Leave campaign for Brexit; Jon Moynihan, a Tory donor and Vote Leave chairman; and her former deputy chief of staff Ruth Porter. She also nomina...

Patriots-Bills preview: Can Bill Belichick upset Josh Allen and Co. again?

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:14:35 GMT

A year ago, the Patriots’ season ended with a painful trip to Buffalo.In their shared regular-season finale, the Bills pulled away with a 12-point win that killed the Pats’ playoff hopes and punctuated a season defined by dysfunction. Almost 12 months later, the Pats are again headed to Buffalo with a ball-and-chain offense. But now, there’s nothing to lose.Their postseason dreams died weeks ago. The team has rallied around a new quarterback with a few road wins, most recently upsetting the Broncos in Denver. A repeat of that performance won’t be good enough to beat the Bills, but might the Bailey Zappe Patriots be building to something?Will they play like a team with nothing to lose? Here’s what to watch for in Orchard Park:When the Patriots runLast Sunday’s win at Denver marked a severe step back for what had been one of the most consistent run games in the league all season.Ezekiel Elliott averaged 2.3 yards per carry, while the Patriots failed...

NFL notes: 9 Patriots share Bill Belichick’s impact on them

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:14:35 GMT

Next weekend, Bill Belichick might coach his final game for the Patriots.Speculation over his future has dominated much of the team’s 4-11 season to date, fueled by reporting that ownership decided it would part ways during a mid-November bye week. Belichick’s contract reportedly runs only through next season. He owns a 29-26 record over the last four seasons and hasn’t clinched a playoff year in five.Of course, Belichick’s legacy as the greatest coach of all time still remains intact. A record Super Bowl rings as a head coach cemented that long ago, though his impact runs even deeper in Foxboro. Speaking to that, nine players spoke with the Herald this week about what Belichick has meant to them during their time in New England.Author’s note: The following answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.CB Jonathan JonesEighth season in New England, originally signed as an undrafted rookie in 2016“Just a model of consistency. You can’t fin...

Thousands accuse Serbia’s ruling populists of election fraud at a Belgrade rally

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:14:35 GMT

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Thousands of people rallied in Serbia’s capital on Saturday, chanting “Thieves!” and accusing the populist authorities of President Aleksandar Vucic of orchestrating a fraud during a recent general election. The big rally in central Belgrade capped nearly two weeks of street protests against reported widespread irregularities during the Dec. 17 parliamentary and local ballot that were also noted by international election observers.The ruling Serbian Progressive Party was declared the election winner but the main opposition alliance, Serbia Against Violence, has claimed the election was stolen, particularly in the vote for the Belgrade city authorities. Serbia Against Violence has led daily protests since Dec. 17 demanding that the vote be annulled and rerun. Tensions have soared following violent incidents and arrests of opposition supporters at a protest last weekend. The crowd at the rally on Saturday roared in approval at the appearance of Marinika T...

Taiwan’s presidential candidates emphasize peace in relations with Beijing

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 16:14:35 GMT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s presidential candidates expressed desire for peaceful relations with Beijing, which has described Jan. 13 elections on the self-ruled island as a choice between war and peace and stepped up harassment of the territory it claims as own. William Lai, the frontrunner and currently Taiwan’s vice president from the ruling Democratic People’s Party, said in a televised debate Saturday that he was open to communicating with the government in Beijing, which has refused to talk to him or President Tsai Ing-wen.Beijing favors the candidate from the more China-friendly Nationalist, or Kuomintang, Party, and has criticized Lai and Tsai as “separatists” and accused them of trying to provoke a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Taiwan split from China amid civil war in 1949, but Beijing continues to regard the island of 23 million with its high-tech economy as Chinese territory and has been steadily increasing its threat to achieve that goal by military force if necess...