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Hajj pilgrims brave intense heat to cast stones at the ‘devil’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:29 GMT

By Riazat Butt | Associated PressMINA, Saudi Arabia — Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims on Wednesday braved intense heat to perform the symbolic stoning of the devil during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.With morning temperatures rising past 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Farenheit), huge crowds of pilgrims walked or took buses to the vast Jamarat complex just outside the holy city of Mecca, where large pedestrian bridges lead past three wide pillars representing the devil.Using pebbles collected the night before at a campsite known as Muzdalifa, the pilgrims stone the pillars. It’s a reenactment of the story of the Prophet Ibrahim — known as Abraham in Christian and Jewish traditions — who is said to have hurled stones at Satan to resist temptation.The ceremony was marred by tragedy on a number of occasions in the 1990s and 2000s, when hundreds died in stampedes during the stoning ritual. Saudi authorities have since built an expanded network of massive pedestria...

Trump’s lewd talk about daughter Ivanka in front of White House staff recalled in new book

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:29 GMT

While president, Donald Trump made sexual comments about his daughter Ivanka in front of his employees that were so lewd and disturbing that he was rebuked by his one-time Chief of Staff John Kelly, a former Trump official writes in a new book.“Aides said he talked about Ivanka Trump’s breasts, her backside, and what it might be like to have sex with her, remarks that prompted Kelly to remind the president that Ivanka was his daughter,” writes Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, in his new book, according to Newsweek.Taylor is the official who penned the blistering 2018 New York Times op-ed about the former president under the pen name “Anonymous.” In his new book, “Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump,” Taylor uses Trump’s alleged comments about his beloved oldest daughter, who worked as his senior presidential adviser, to illustrate the almost daily instances of “na...

Learn about life Beyond The Bay

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:29 GMT

Are you contemplating a move beyond The Bay? Discover what it is like to live in areas outside the Bay Area.Beyond The Bay sections publish in the Mercury News, East Bay Times and the Marin Independent Journal every March, June and September. Check out the county comparisons on property taxes school rankings average home value and much more.Click here to view our latest edition!

H-1B visa: Canada launches new bid to poach skilled tech workers from U.S.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:29 GMT

Canada, with a history of seeking to lure away skilled foreign technology workers from Silicon Valley, on Tuesday announced a new program to poach such talent from the U.S.The nation to the north, with a population of 40 million, is once again attempting to leverage foreign workers’ difficulties with the H-1B visa, the work permit of choice for Bay Area companies wanting to employ tech talent.“We’re targeting newcomers that can help enshrine Canada as a world leader in a variety of emerging technologies,” Canada’s immigration minister Sean Fraser said in a statement.Canada’s new “H1-B specialty occupation visa holder work permit,” available starting July 16, will give approved applicants permission to work for up to three years for nearly any employer anywhere in Canada, the Canadian government announced. Spouses and dependents will be eligible to apply for temporary resident visas and permission to work and study.“This will expand the...

Man with restraining order turns himself in after Monterey County woman found fatally stabbed

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:29 GMT

A man with a restraining order against him turned himself into police in Salinas Sunday after a woman was stabbed to death, the Salinas Police Department said Tuesday.Officers arrived around 3 p.m. in the under 100 block of Natividad Road. There they found Eleni Tavau, 30, unresponsive and appearing to have been stabbed multiple times. Her two toddler-aged children were present, police said.Tavau was taken to the hospital where she died of her injuries.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Double homicide, police shooting roil Vallejo Crime and Public Safety | East Bay police chase ends in Marin County Crime and Public Safety | East Bay couple get decades in federal prison for documenting their sexual abuse of two girls Crime and Public Safety | Former Fremont city manager pleads not guilty to theft by false pretenses charge Crime and Public Safety | Images released of suspect, vehicle in fatal Oakland hi...

Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy joins Al-Ahli as latest Chelsea player heading to Saudi Arabia

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:29 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Goalkeeper Edouard Mendy joined Saudi Arabian team Al-Ahli on Wednesday, becoming the latest Chelsea player to head to the oil-rich kingdom. N’Golo Kante and Kalidou Koulibaly have already made moves to the lucrative Saudi Pro League during this transfer window. Hakim Ziyech is also expected to join Al-Nassr, where he will team up with Cristiano Ronaldo. Al-Ahli and Chelsea both confirmed the move. In a video posted on Al-Ahli social media channels, Mendy is wearing a shirt which reads 2026 on the back, likely in reference to the length of his contract.No financial details were given but media reports said the fee was 17 million pounds ($21.5 million).Mendy, 31, joined Chelsea from French team Rennes in 2020 and went on to win the Champions League in his first season at the club. The Senegal goalkeeper also lifted the Club World Cup the following year. He made 105 appearances in all competitions, but was reduced to back-up keeper last season after Kepa Arrizabala...

Superfund town’s health clinic accused of submitting false asbestos claims

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:29 GMT

MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — A major U.S. railroad found liable for spreading hazardous asbestos that killed hundreds of people in a Montana town is trying to convince a federal jury that a local clinic submitted hundreds of asbestos claims for people who weren’t sick, earning them lifetime government benefits and bilking taxpayer funds.The case focuses on the Center For Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, Montana, and the health clinic’s high-profile doctor, Brad Black, who has been at the forefront of efforts to help residents of the town, which came to national prominence when it was declared a deadly Superfund site in 2000.Since 2003, Black and the CARD clinic have certified more than 3,400 people, primarily from the Libby area, with asbestos-related diseases.BNSF Railway — controlled by billionaire Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate — has alleged during a trial taking place in Missoula that more than half the certifications were based on false medical submissions fr...

Taika Waititi’s soccer pic ‘Next Goal Wins’ set for Toronto Film Festival premiere

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:29 GMT

Taika Waititi’s soccer comedy “ Next Goal Wins ” will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall, organizers said Wednesday.The Searchlight Pictures film is based on a true story and stars Michael Fassbender as a Dutch-American soccer coach assigned to help the struggling American Samoa national team in its quest to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The team at that point was best known for suffering the worst loss in international football history — a 31 to 0 game against Australia in 2001.Waititi and co-writer Iain Morris based the film off of a 2014 British documentary of the same name, from Mike Brett and Steve Jamison, which chronicled the comeback attempt. The new film also stars Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, Will Arnett and Elisabeth Moss.“Next Goal Wins” is the first major Hollywood film this year to stake its claim on the busy fall film festival season, where many studios debut awards hopefuls. Waititi’s last film to premiere at Toronto, “Joj...

South African court rules against government over ending permits for nearly 200,000 Zimbabweans

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:29 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A South African court on Wednesday ruled against the government and ordered it to reconsider its decision to terminate the special permits allowing nearly 200,000 Zimbabwe nationals to live and work in the country.The government’s decision was set to force Zimbabweans to return home if they didn’t obtain regular work visas, even if they have children who were born in South Africa and are South African citizens.In its ruling, the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria said the Department of Home Affairs’ decision in 2022 to end the special exemption for citizens from neighboring Zimbabwe was “unlawful” and “unconstitutional” because it didn’t follow “a fair process” of consultation.The permits were extended until at least June 28 next year under the court ruling.The department initially set a deadline of June 30 this year — Friday — for the termination of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit system. That deadline was recently extended to the end of the ye...

Rachel Garcia wins Athletes Unlimited AUX softball championship

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:14:29 GMT

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Pitcher Rachel Garcia is the 2023 Athletes Unlimited AUX Softball champion.The former UCLA standout scored 1,392 points to finish atop the group of 42 players in the individual competition. She compiled a 4-1 record, led the league with a 3.19 earned run average and set an AUX single-season record with 34 strikeouts over 37.1 innings.Middle infielder Aubrey Leach placed second with 1,158 points and designated player Mia Davidson finished third with 1,122 points.Infielder Jessie Warren was voted 2023 Athletes Unlimited AUX Defensive MVP.Athletes Unlimited said the final two games were canceled due to poor air quality in the Chicago area from the Canadian wildfires on Tuesday evening.The Athletes Unlimited championship season will run from July 28 to August 27 in Rosemont, Illinois. ___AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25Source