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‘A new era for MMA’: Gov. Gavin Newsom signs bill establishing a pension fund for retired MMA fighters

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:52 GMT

Retired mixed martial arts fighters who have fought in at least 12 to 14 fights in California will now have access to a state-run pension fund.On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill from Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) that would establish the Mixed Martial Arts Retirement Benefit Fund. The fund will be managed by the California State Athletic Commission and won’t be paid for using tax payer dollars. Instead, it will be funded from $1 on every ticket sale, as well as sports merchandising and souvenirs. The commission will start creating the fund in January 2024.“California is the biggest state in the country for professional mixed martial arts, with more fights, fighters, fans than any other state,” Haney said in a news release. “The sport brings in billions of revenue worldwide, and the athletes who compete in this highly-skilled, state regulated sport, should be protected while they are in the ring and be able to live with security and di...

With better depth around him, can Sharks winger return to top-nine role?

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:52 GMT

SAN JOSE – Kevin Labanc began last season in the San Jose Sharks’ top-six forward group, playing alongside captain Logan Couture.This year, Labanc will have to watch the Sharks’ season opener from the press box, or elsewhere inside SAP Center.“It’s tough,” Labanc said. “You play because you want to play in those games, and you’ve just got to make sure that you’re ready to go for the next game, or whatever the case may be.”Sharks coach David Quinn said Labanc is still getting his conditioning all the way back after he missed more than a week of training camp with an upper-body injury. But even when Labanc is fully ready to play again – and the forward said he probably could go right now if need be – it might be a challenge for him to get back to regularly being in a top-six or top-nine role again, considering some of the skilled forwards the Sharks added in the offseason.For the Sharks’ season-opener against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, Hertl was projected to hav...

Home decor: A little bit of great beats a lot of mediocre

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:52 GMT

“I think of you every time I buy soap,” says the young woman, a friend of my daughter’s from college. We are chatting at a wedding. “Triple-milled,” she continues. “Your daughter drilled this into my head.”I’m not sure how to take this.“Well, I’m glad some lessons have sunk in,” I say.My son-in-law overhears this exchange and chimes in, “How about the time she said that if anyone ever smothers her with a pillow, she hopes it has a 400-thread-count, Egyptian cotton pillowcase.”“I said that?”He nods vigorously. I don’t recall that, but It sounds like the way I would want to go.Though the soap-and-linen dialogue may seem trifling, it lies at the heart of a topic I’ve thought a lot about and written a lot about this past year —rightsizing. It’s the subject of my next book, which will come out in January.Here I thought I was addressing my generation when exploring how to decide where to live, in what size house and with what stuff to create a rightsized life, but the younger ...

Gov. Newsom signs bill creating MMA pension fund

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:52 GMT

(BCN) -- A bill creating the nation's first pension fund for mixed martial arts fighters has been signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Assembly Bill 1136 from Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, will build the Mixed Martial Arts Retirement Benefit Fund using $1 from each ticket sold and some proceeds from sports paraphernalia and souvenirs. Eligible fighters will become vested after 12 to 14 fights."California is the biggest state in the country for professional mixed martial arts, with more fights, fighters, fans than any other state," Haney said in a news release after the governor signed the bill Wednesday. Governor signs bill to prevent vehicles from blocking driver view at crosswalks "The sport brings in billions of revenue worldwide, and the athletes who compete in this highly-skilled, state regulated sport, should be protected while they are in the ring and be able to live with security and dignity when they retire," said Haney.The California State Athletic Commis...

Effort to recall Alameda County DA Pamela Price gaining momentum

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:52 GMT

(KRON) -- In Alameda County, an effort to recall District Attorney Pamela Price is gaining momentum. Organizers of the recall say they are set to begin gathering signatures.On Thursday, the lead organizers of Save Alameda For Everyone -- or SAFE -- said that they will begin collecting signatures this week. They have until March 5 to gather 73,195 signatures that will all need to be verified by the county. The group says that since being elected, DA Pamela Price has not been aggressive in addressing crime in Oakland and across Alameda County.  They also say she has not been supportive enough to those who have been the victims of crime. "Everyone is talking about public safety," said Community Activist Carl Chan. "Look at the businesses. The people we talk to, we go to every city, and everyone is talking about, 'My god. We don’t feel safe.'”   "We want everybody to be safe," said SAFE Organizer Brenda Grisham. "The current administration, that is not their main foc...

Shooting at Golden Gate and Leavenworth in Tenderloin, police investigating

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:52 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The San Francisco Police Department is investigating a reported shooting at Golden Gate Avenue and Leavenworth Street. SFPD officers responded at around 12:43 p.m.Arriving at the scene, officers located two victims suffering from possible gunshot wounds. Officers rendered aid and summoned paramedics to the scene, SFPD said. Emergency crews are on the scene, and people are being advised to avoid the area. Dior store in downtown SF broken into by thieves, closed for next few days Traffic delays are expected, and the SF Dept. of Emergency Management recommends considering alternative routes and allowing for additional travel times.An investigation into the incident is ongoing. Police declined to provide any additional details.This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Federal agents in Puerto Rico seize $35 million worth of cocaine, arrest 3 after boat runs aground

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:52 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Federal agents seized an estimated $35 million worth of cocaine from a boat that ran aground a reef off Puerto Rico’s south coast, authorities said Thursday.Two men from the Dominican Republic and a man from Colombia were arrested and accused of transporting more than 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilos) of cocaine, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.Officials said the 30-foot (nine-meter) boat was traveling north toward Puerto Rico when it was spotted on Wednesday.It is one of the largest drug seizures in waters off Puerto Rico reported this year. A record $50 million worth of cocaine was seized in 2021 off the island’s southeast region.The U.S. territory is considered a transit point for drugs heading to the U.S. mainland and other countries.Source

South Carolina man pleads guilty to ambush that killed 2 officers and wounded 5

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:52 GMT

AIKEN, S.C. (AP) — A 79-year-old South Carolina man avoided a possible death sentence Thursday by agreeing to plead guilty to ambushing police officers coming to his home, killing two of the officers and wounding five others.Frederick Hopkins court appearance was unannounced and reporters following the widely publicized case were not in the courtroom in Aiken County, some 120 miles (169 kilometers) from where the October 2018 attack took place.Hopkins was charged with two counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder.Hopkins will be sentenced later, but his attorney Boyd Young told media outlets after the hearing that prosecutors agreed to take the death penalty off the table. Hopkins would face 30 years to life in prison for murder.Three Florence County deputies told Hopkins they were coming to his home in an upscale subdivision to execute a search warrant against his son for possible sexual abuse charges.Hopkins, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, armed himself in a upstairs ...

Business Highlights: US inflation eased slightly last month, Ford says it’s at the limit

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:52 GMT

___US inflation eased slightly last month as price increases extend slow descentWASHINGTON (AP) — Measures of U.S. inflation barely declined in September, evidence that consumer price increases are grinding lower at a gradual pace. Consumer prices rose 0.4% from August to September, below the previous month’s 0.6% pace. Year-over-year inflation was unchanged last month from a 3.7% rise in August. And underlying inflation declined a bit: So-called core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, climbed 4.1% in September from a year earlier, down from a 4.3% pace in August. That is the smallest such increase in two years. Economists pay particularly close attention to core prices because they provide a good signal of inflation’s likely future path.___Social Security benefits will increase by 3.2% in 2024 as inflation moderatesWASHINGTON (AP) — The acting Social Security commissioner says a 3.2% increase in benefits next year “will help millions of people keep up with expens...

Ecuadorians are picking a new president, but their demands for safety will be hard to meet

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:51:52 GMT

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The contest comes Sunday, and whoever wins the prize — a job that starts on Christmas — will face a difficult, if not impossible, task. What awaits is a shorter-than-normal 15-month run as president of Ecuador, which is engulfed in a surge of violence tied to drug trafficking.The runoff election pits an heir to a banana empire, Daniel Noboa, and an attorney, Luisa González. In a different year or in another country, their business and lawyering experience might help them deliver on campaign promises. But all that Ecuadorians want is safety, and they are demanding to get it in a tiny fraction of the time that has taken other countries to address the issue.“There’s nothing that fails like success,” said Lowell Gustafson, a Latin American politics professor at Villanova University. “Whoever wins this election is going to have to deal with this … but I don’t know what can be expected from the president in that kind of short time with what sure look to be virtua...