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What's the latest with the Disney, Charter Communications dispute?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:10 GMT

Both sides of a dispute that has left nearly 15 million cable TV subscribers without ESPN or other networks affiliated with The Walt Disney Co. are directing customers to other services where they can watch television.The offers speak to the unusual nature of the business dispute between Disney and Charter Communications, and doesn't offer a quick resolution.Charter is telling its Spectrum TV customers about a special deal being offered by the Fubo live television streaming service to get two months at discounts of 25% or 30%, depending on the plan.“I've covered carriage disputes for more years than I would like to remember, and I don't recall a TV provider ever offering its customers a discount to another TV provider during a channel blackout,” wrote journalist Phillip Swann, who runs tvanswerman.com.Spectrum had no comment Tuesday on the offer's implications. ESPN networks go dark on Charter Spectrum cable systems on busy night for sports Disney, meanwhile, is also offering upse...

Rich DeMuro visits Europe's biggest tech show

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:10 GMT

Perhaps you've heard of CES in Las Vegas, but halfway around the world, in Berlin, Germany, there's another tech trade show with lots to see."This is actually the 99th year of IFA Berlin," said Oliver Merlin, managing director for this year's show.Show organizers brought me to Berlin to experience IFA's rich mix of history and cutting-edge innovation."IFA is Berlin and Berlin is IFA," said Merlin.The show is sprawling: 130,000 square meters to see spread across 26 different halls.It's almost tricky to describe. Think the biggest Best Buy you've ever seen, mixed with somewhat of a carnival atmosphere. Yep, there are pretzels and beer.There are brands from all over the globe, some were recognizable, and others were new to me."In the United States we tend to think the United States is the center of the universe, and at this show you see lots and lots of products that may not be available in the United States," said Mark Vena, principal analyst with SmartTech Research and host of the Sm...

Want your California driver's license on your smartphone? Here's how to sign up

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:10 GMT

Californians can sign up to be a part of the state's Department of Motor Vehicles' newly expanded mobile driver's license program. The program allows users to have an official digital version of their driver's license on their smartphone.During the pilot program, users can make age-restricted purchases at a limited number of locations and fly out of specific terminals at certain California airports. For now, users will also still need to carry their physical licenses as law enforcement and other government agencies are not equipped to accept the license. In order to participate, users must first download the CA DMV Wallet app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.Users are able to enroll remotely without being at a DMV office.Users must then sign in to or create their MyDMV account and provide information such as their driver's license number. Users will then be prompted to take a photo of the front and back of their physical driver's license using their phone's camera. Califor...

Creative Horizons: Arts Calendar September 7-13

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:10 GMT

Expand your arts appreciation and creative horizons with a panoply of new gallery and museum exhibitions, open houses, neighborhood art nights, theater and poetry, films by artists, engagements with science and nature, technology-enhanced cultural experiences, future architectures, Latine authors, spoken word, conscious gatherings, a new bookstore, and a festival of historical trainspotting.Diane Severin Nguyen: Still from IF REVOLUTION IS A SICKNESS at MOCA (Photo courtesy of the artist)Thursday, September 7Artist Film Series: Diane Severin Nguyen at MOCA. Filmed entirely in Ho Chi Minh City, Tyrant Star (2009) prompts viewers to consider how cultural touchstones like songs and shared histories are fragmented and woven together in new ways over time. Set in Warsaw, IF REVOLUTION IS A SICKNESS (2021) follows the character of an orphaned Vietnamese child who grows up to be absorbed into a South Korean pop-inspired dance group. Widely popular within a Polish youth subculture, K-pop is...

Taste of victory: For the SF 49ers, what they put on their plates and into their bodies is part of the job

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:10 GMT

SANTA CLARA – Training camp’s first practice was over, so the 49ers hit their refueling station: a fully stocked cafeteria located between their practice fields and Levi’s Stadium.Over 90 filets of grilled salmon got devoured at dinner. This, however, is not a fish tale, all due respect to salmon, broccoli and brown rice being players’ most popular meal in a routine-oriented world.There is not much uniformity when it comes to player-specific diets for a roster that starts with 90 men in camp (plus coaches and staff) before whittling to 53 players for the regular season.“Our goal is to provide the highest quality and as much as we can for them, to take the guesswork out for them when they leave this building,” Jordan Mazur, the 49ers’ director of nutrition, said in an exclusive interview with this news organization.When Mazur joined the 49ers seven years ago, only a third of the NFL’s teams had a full-time dietician, starting with the New England Patriots. Now, 30 of 32 are on board,...

Map: Sudden crack in Yosemite Valley rock face causes trail and climbing closure

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:10 GMT

A crack that suddenly appeared in a rock face in Yosemite Valley has prompted the closure of a trail near the Ahwahnee hotel as well as of some popular climbing routes.An announcement Thursday by park officials said the new crack had “partially detached a large pillar of rock, and that cracking was actively occurring,” raising fears of rockfall.The temporary closure covers part of the Valley Loop Trail and all climbing routes from Peruvian Flake to Rhombus Wall, including the popular Super Slide, Serenity Crack and Sons of Yesterday. No estimated date was given for lifting of the restriction.The opening of the 200-foot crack delighted climbers; the first to complete the new route named it Super Natural and determined the difficulty grade to be 5.10, according to the climbing magazine Gripped. But a park geologist observed falling rock chips and creaking noises, and he said the crack had widened considerably in just a week.

Donald Trump is liable in the second E. Jean Carroll defamation case, judge rules; January trial will determine damages

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:10 GMT

By Kara Scannell | CNNA federal judge ruled that the jury hearing E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit will only need to decide how much money Donald Trump will have to pay her, after the judge found the former president was liable for making defamatory statements.The finding is a significant blow to Trump, who is facing numerous criminal indictments and civil lawsuits – many of them coming to a head as he embarks on a presidential campaign.Judge Lewis Kaplan said that a federal jury’s verdict earlier this year against Trump will carry over to the defamation case set to go to trial in January involving statements Trump made in 2019 about Carroll’s sexual assault allegations.In May after a two-week trial, a jury found Trump sexually abused Carroll and defamed her when he said in 2022 that he didn’t rape her, didn’t know her, and that she wasn’t his “type.”“The truth or falsity of Mr Trump’s 2019 statements therefore depends – like the truth or falsity of his 2022 statement – on wheth...

Sophie Turner felt ‘trapped’ by early ‘Game of Thrones’ stardom, marriage to Joe Jonas and motherhood

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:10 GMT

Several days before Joe Jonas filed for divorce Tuesday, Sophie Turner was spotted downing shots at a pub in Birmingham, England, supporting the narrative that the 27-year-old English actor was eager to live out the carefree youth she never had because she became an international star at age 14, married singer Joe Jonas and began having children in her early 20s.“Sophie feels like she’s only just waking up to what her life and reality really is,” a close friend told the Daily Mail about Turner, who shares two daughters, 3 and 1, with Jonas. “She became famous at a very young age, then married and had kids at a young age and never really had the teenage years of sleeping around and just having carefree fun with friends.”BEVERLY HILLS, CA – FEBRUARY 24: Joe Jonas (L) and Sophie Turner attend the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 24, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. (...

Former San Jose Sharks GM starts new role with Pittsburgh Penguins

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:10 GMT

Former San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson, now in improved health, has been hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins to be a senior advisor of hockey operations.Per the Penguins, Wilson “will provide counsel, opinions and expertise to hockey operations leadership on all matters including personnel decisions” and will join the team at various points during the season and offseason.“Doug brings over 40 years of NHL experience to our program,” said Kyle Dubas, the Penguins’ president of hockey operations and general manager, in a statement. “Doug will serve as a source of both experience and wisdom to our entire hockey operations department. His ability to maintain high standards of performance and professionalism over two decades with Sharks is the type of consistency we all aspire to these positions.”Wilson, 66, stepped down as the Sharks’ GM in April 2022 to focus on his recovery from an undisclosed health issue, but also noted at the time that he wanted to continue his career in t...

Pac-12 picks of the week: Utah and Oregon cover as road favorites, Colorado handles the Huskers and Cal pulls a stunner

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:10 GMT

The defining week of the final year of the Pac-12 is here, and it’s loaded: 14 hours of action, all packed into Saturday, with seven showdowns against Power Five opponents, five games on broadcast television and four kickoffs in primetime on the East Coast.By the close of Week 2, the conference will have set its trajectory for the remainder of the season.Win the majority of duels against the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12, and this will be a memorable fall for two reasons.That said, not all matchups are created equal. Utah’s trip to Baylor and Oregon’s visit to Texas Tech carry greater postseason implications than, say, Cal’s under-the-lights affair with Auburn.At the root of Week 2 lies the multiplier effect. A slew of marquee wins Saturday would guarantee the Pac-12 enters round-robin conference play with five or six teams in the AP top-25 poll.That would lead to a slew of ranked matchups on ABC and FOX later in the season … to more quality wins for playoff ...