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Review: ‘Mortal Kombat 1’ hits reset on the franchise — with mixed results

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:04 GMT

The smartest thing that Warner Bros. Games did with the “Mortal Kombat” franchise was start from the beginning. The ninth main installment of the series was a reboot that retold the events of the first three games and offered a clean slate.Since then, the “Mortal Kombat” series has gotten messier following the steps of another Warner Bros. property — the DC universe. And much like the superhero comics, the fighting game is again getting a reboot, but it’s not cleaning much up. In fact, “Mortal Kombat 1” is making things a little more complicated.The 12th franchise installment follows the events of “Mortal Kombat 11” when Liu Kang defeated Kronika and became the new Keeper of Time. With that power, he remade the universe and its six realms. He also decided to fix some of the more tragic events of the past. He made peace between Sub Zero and Scorpion and steered the franchise’s villains down paths of harmless anonymity....

Spare the Air alert extended as Bay Area’s 2023 summer fades to brown behind thick haze

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:04 GMT

The final official hours of summer 2023 ticked away behind another layer of thick Bay Area haze Friday, with a Spare the Air alert extended for the fourth straight day.In a way, the season’s fade was appropriate: Until this four-day blip of foul air, the sometime-torturous season did little over 13 weeks in 2023 to make conditions miserable.“You’re talking a lot cooler than normal,” Jeff Robel, a scientist for the National Centers for Environmental Information, said of the Bay Area’s summer conditions. “Four to five degrees on average.”Robel said the average temperature in Concord, one of the NCEI’s measuring centers, was 66 degrees in June, the most recent month in which the agency has record. Robel said June generally is a measuring stick for how the rest of the summer will play out.The average 30-year June temperature for the city is 70 degrees.At Oakland International Airport, another measuring station, the average June temperature...

Fatal pedestrian collision under investigation in San Jose

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:04 GMT

(KRON) -- A pedestrian was fatally struck by a vehicle in San Jose Friday morning, according to the San Jose Police Department.At 10:31 a.m., San Jose PD responded to the 2000 block of Fruitdale Avenue after a fatal collision involving a vehicle and a man, police said.Investigators will be on scene for several hours, the department said. Traffic on Fruitdale Ave. will be impacted and motorists are advised to use alternative routes. Fatal pedestrian collision in SF escalates call for safer streets This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

New pilot study in Northern Va. will screen firefighters for cancer risks

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:04 GMT

Their work is already dangerous — but firefighters also face an increased risk of certain types of cancer. Now, a Northern Virginia hospital is preparing to launch a new pilot program aiming to increase early cancer screening for firefighters in the D.C. area.The pilot study will be run by Inova’s Saville Cancer Screening and Prevention Center and Inova Occupational Health.Dr. Rebecca Kaltman, executive director of the Saville Center, said the study will include intensive screening, including scans, as well as some more novel tools, such as “liquid biopsies,” which are blood tests that “can detect cancer on the earlier side,” she told WTOP.When it is up and running, the study will seek to enroll firefighters from across the D.C. area who are over 35 years or who have more than 10 years of service as a firefighters. The study will follow them for the next three years.“We are hoping that by following individuals a little bit more closely than they n...

Judge peppers lawyers in prelude to trial of New York’s business fraud lawsuit against Trump

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:04 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York judge peppered Donald Trump’s lawyers with questions Friday as they tried to persuade the court to throw out a civil lawsuit brought by New York’s attorney general accusing the former president and his company of deceiving banks, insurers and others by exaggerating his wealth.At times, Judge Arthur Engoron argued with Trump attorney Christopher Kise. In one case the judge ended a back-and-forth by simply saying, “Disagree.”Later, the judge pounded his fist on the top of his bench in disagreement with Kise’s interpretation of one law, opining the intent of that law is, “You cannot make false statements.”The hearing served as prelude to a trial that could begin as soon as Oct. 2.A lawyer for New York Attorney General Letitia James also tried to persuade Engoron to hand down a summary judgment on the lawsuit’s most significant claim — that Trump committed fraud by inflating property values and exaggerating his net worth by as much as $3.6 billion ...

Judge overseeing case to remove Trump from ballot agrees to order banning threats and intimidation

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:04 GMT

DENVER (AP) — The Colorado judge overseeing the first significant lawsuit to bar former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential ballot on Friday issued a protective order prohibiting threats and intimidation in the case, saying the safety of those involved — including herself and her staff — was necessary as the groundbreaking litigation moves forward. “I 100% understand everybody’s concerns for the parties, the lawyers, and frankly myself and my staff based on what we’ve seen in other cases,” District Judge Sarah B. Wallace said as she agreed to the protective order.The order prohibits parties in the case from making threatening or intimidating statements. Scott Gessler, a former Colorado secretary of state representing Trump in the case, opposed it. He said a protective order was unnecessary because threats and intimidation already are prohibited by law.It was sought by lawyers for the liberal group Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Wash...

Dallas mayor switches parties, making the city the nation’s largest with a GOP mayor

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:04 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson announced Friday that he is switching to the Republican Party, making the city the largest in the U.S. to be led by a GOP mayor. Although mayoral offices in Texas are nonpartisan, the switch is a boost for Texas Republicans who have been losing ground around the state’s major cities for more than a decade. Johnson was elected mayor in 2019 after serving more than a decade as a Democrat in the Texas House of Representatives.Making the announcement in an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, Johnson said he was never a favorite of Democrats in the Capitol and called on mayors to champion “law and order” and fiscal conservatism. “This is hardly a red wave. But it is clear that the nation and its cities have reached a time for choosing,” Johnson wrote. “And the overwhelming majority of Americans who call our cities home deserve to have real choices—not ‘progressive’ echo chambers—at city hall.”Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott quickly...

Ravens have a chance to improve to 3-0 when they host Indianapolis; Richardson ruled out for Colts

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:04 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — The last time the Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts met, it was a prime-time showcase for Lamar Jackson and Jonathan Taylor.Only one of those two stars is available this week when the teams face each other again.For a while, Jackson’s contract dispute with the Ravens was one of the NFL’s biggest offseason stories, but once Baltimore and its quarterback resolved that with a new five-year deal, the Colts and Taylor took center stage. Indianapolis didn’t agree on a contract with its standout running back, and Taylor — who had offseason ankle surgery — began the season on the physically unable to perform list.The Colts (1-1) also enter Sunday’s matchup at Baltimore (2-0) with an injury at quarterback after rookie Anthony Richardson was ruled out Friday because of a concussion. Gardner Minshew replaced him in a win over Houston last week.“That’s what you sign up for, you know?” Minshew said earlier in the week. “Happy to get out ...

Giorgio Napolitano, former Italian president and 1st ex-Communist in that post, has died at 98

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:04 GMT

ROME (AP) — Giorgio Napolitano, the first former Communist to rise to Italy’s presidency and the first person to be elected twice to the mostly ceremonial post, died on Friday, the presidential palace said. He was 98. A statement issued Friday night by the presidential palace confirmed Italian news reports of the death of Napolitano, who had been ailing in a Rome hospital for weeks. The current president, Sergio Mattarella, in a message hailed his predecessor as head of state, saying that Napolitano’s life “mirrored a large part of (Italy’s) history in the second half of the 20th century, with its dramas, its complexity, its goals, its hopes.”As a prominent member of what had long been the largest Communist party in the West, Napolitano had advocated positions that often veered from party orthodoxy. He sought dialogue with Italian and European socialists to end his party’s isolation, and he was an early backer of European integration. Turin daily La Stampa once wrote of ...

Jordan Smith cards 7-under 64 to take 3-shot lead after 2nd round of French Open

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:33:04 GMT

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (AP) — English golfer Jordan Smith coped well with the windy conditions to post a 7-under 64 and take a three-shot lead after the second round of the French Open on Friday.Smith began the day with five consecutive birdies and added four more on the back nine, but his charge was held back by two bogeys. He heads into Saturday’s third round with a 12-under total of 130.“Just hit some awesome iron shots. The challenge was mainly the wind. A lot of time it was crosswind, so you’re trying to figure out if it’s helping or hurting,” said the 30-year-old Smith, who has two career wins on the European Tour. “I’ve just been putting lovely. A lot of drills and a lot of time on the putting green. The greens (here) are soft so you can go straight for the pins.”Ewen Ferguson’s 67 moved him up to second place, while last year’s runner-up Rasmus Højgaard of Denmark is among a group of six players sitting a further two strokes bac...