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How one woman helped start the California gold rush

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:50:30 GMT

James Marshall is enshrined in California history as the man who discovered gold at Sutter's Mill, but the name Jennie Wimmer should be equally well known. In January 1848, while constructing a lumber mill to supply timber for Sutter's Fort, James Marshall spotted a shiny piece of metal in the canal underneath the mill. Having never seen raw gold before, Marshall was unsure if it was actually gold. He knew the only person who had seen raw gold in the field before was the camp's only woman: Jennie Wimmer. Before coming to California and the gold fields of Georgia In 1838, Wimmer – then named Elizabeth Jane Cloud – and her family arrived in Auraria, Georgia, to start a new life in the gold fields of the south. Wimmer and her mother tended a boarding house for miners, while her father and brother mined. The nation’s first environmental law resulted from destructive California mining operations During her free time Wimmer would journey out to the fields to prospect. She developed an ...

What SF Giants’ Gary Sánchez signing means for Joey Bart, other catchers

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:50:30 GMT

NEW YORK — With the additions of two veterans on minor-league deals and the selection of an unproven outfielder-turned-catcher in the Rule 5 draft, the Giants have given every indication that they are not satisfied with the state of things behind the plate.But, manager Gabe Kapler reiterated Saturday before the second game of their series with the Yankees, the “best possible outcome” has been here all along. On Saturday, he was supposed to receive his first start of the season but instead Joey Bart was scratched with back tightness.“I can’t stress it enough: We really want to see Joey (Bart) kick some ass tonight and going forward,” Kapler said prior to the lineup change. “I know there’s been a lot of conversation about Joey and how we feel about Joey. There’s nothing that would be more impactful for the San Francisco Giants than Joey being a great major-league catcher.”While that was certainly the expectation when the previous regime drafted Bart...

Angels’ Rendon in the lineup, won’t comment on skirmish with A’s fan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:50:30 GMT

OAKLAND — Anthony Rendon, the Los Angeles Angels’ third baseman caught on a video that went viral taking a swing at a fan on Opening Day, was in the lineup and batting cleanup Saturday against the Athletics.Rendon declined comment to reporters due to a pending investigation, although it was unclear if the incident was being investigated by Major League Baseball, the Oakland Police Department or both.“I don’t even know,” Rendon said. “They haven’t told me.”An MLB official said they “are aware of the video and looking in to the matter.”A phone call to the Oakland Police Department’s Public Information department was not immediately returned.A short video posted on Twitter for a Los Angeles sports talk show catches Rendon uttering a profanity at a fan who he believed was being abusive. The fan was being pushed by another spectator toward the Angels who were departing behind home plate. Rendon grabbed the fan briefly, the...

Series of small earthquakes rattle Oakland hills, East Bay

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:50:30 GMT

A series of three earthquakes — registering between a magnitude of 2.7 and 3.2 — struck Saturday morning in the Oakland hills, beneath the Oakland Zoo, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.The temblors began at 9:24 a.m. Saturday, with the first one, a magnitude 3.0, occurring at a depth of about 4.3 miles underneath the zoo, nestled in the Oakland hills just outside of San Leandro and just west of Lake Chabot Regional Park, the agency reported.A second quake, with a magnitude of 2.7, happened at 9:43 a.m. at almost the exact same spot. A third, a magnitude 3.2, followed just 15 seconds later, though it was shallower by about a half-mile, the agency said.The USGS initially reported all three quakes had a magnitude of 3.2, before revising two of those estimates.Hundreds of people told the USGS that they felt the quakes, with nearly all of them reporting light shaking. There were no immediate reports of damage, including at the Oakland Zoo.“All of our animals and ...

Staley defends players again; Iowa coach says no ill intent

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:50:30 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has taken issue with how her team’s style is characterized, apparently taking aim at Iowa coach Lisa Bluder for suggesting rebounding against the Gamecocks was like “going to a bar fight.”A day after the Hawkeyes ended the undefeated defending national champion’s bid for a repeat, Bluder said Saturday there was no ill intent in comments made three days before her team’s 77-73 victory in the semifinals at the Final Four.“There was absolutely no ill intent,” Bluder said in the news conference setting up the Hawkeyes’ meeting Sunday with LSU in the national championship game.“I know coaches will take things and spin it to try to motivate their team,” the Iowa coach said. “I’ve done that, I’m sure. So be it with that. I really meant it as a compliment, like you are going to have to fight harder than you’ve ever fought in your life to get a defensive rebound against this team because they are so good. That’s what my i...

Catcher Gary Sánchez gets minor league deal from Giants

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:50:30 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Catcher Gary Sánchez agreed to a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants and will report to Triple-A Sacramento.San Francisco’s major league catchers are Roberto Pérez and 2018 first-round pick Joey Bart.“We’ve been talking to and thinking about Gary for quite some time and done a lot of work on him dating back to the middle of the offseason, maybe even earlier,” San Francisco manager Gabe Kapler said Saturday. “He was available and healthy, and we thought it was a good opportunity for us to add some depth on a guy that we feel like has a chance to make a contribution at the major league level at some point.”Sánchez was a two-time All-Star with the New York Yankees. The 30-year-old hit .299 with 20 homers in 2016 and hit .278 with 33 homers and 90 RBIs in 2017.He struggled after 2017, especially in his final two seasons in New York. Sanchez hit .147 in 49 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season and .204 with 23 homers and 54 RBIs in 2021. The Ya...

Anthony Rendon ‘can’t comment’ on fan altercation in Oakland

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:50:30 GMT

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Anthony Rendon wasn’t very talkative Saturday, two days after video surfaced of the Los Angeles Angels All-Star appearing to take a swipe at an Oakland fan after a 2-1 opening day loss to the Athletics. “I’m sorry. I can’t comment,” the third baseman told a throng of reporters Saturday at the end of a news conference on the field at the Oakland Coliseum that lasted fewer than five minutes. MLB said Friday it was looking into the incident.Rendon went hitless and struck out twice in three at-bats on Thursday. He left the Angels dugout and was on his way to the tunnel leading to the clubhouse when he stopped and apparently confronted a fan sitting near the railing. Rendon accused the fan of calling him a slur. The man denied it, and Rendon cussed at the fan and took a swipe at him with his left hand before walking away. Someone nearby caught the incident on video and posted it on social media.“This happens a lot unfortunately,” Angels manager Phil Nevin said. “A ...

Chelsea down to 11th after Villa defeat; spotlight on Potter

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:50:30 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Chelsea’s mini-revival looks to be over after a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa on Saturday put manager Graham Potter’s position back in the spotlight. Goals from Ollie Watkins and John McGinn at Stamford Bridge made it two games without a win for Potter’s team, which dropped into the bottom half of the Premier League in 11th place. Villa moved up to ninth and potentially in position to challenge for Europe. Chelsea looked to have turned a corner before the international break by advancing to the Champions League quarterfinals, where it faces Real Madrid. But this was the latest setback for Potter, who has struggled to get the Londoners’ season on track since he was hired in September.There were boos from inside the stadium after the final whistle. Watkins fired Villa ahead when racing onto a mistake from Marc Cucurella in the 18th-minute and lifting his shot over Kepa Arrizabalaga. Chelsea had chances to equalize.Joao Felix forced a good save from Emil...

Tuchel’s Bayern beats Dortmund 4-2 in ‘Klassiker’ to go top

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:50:30 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Thomas Müller scored twice and Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund 4-2 in “der Klassiker” on Saturday to overtake the visitors at the top of the Bundesliga and give Thomas Tuchel a winning start as coach.Bayern capitalized on a poor performance from Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel on his return from injury to move two points above Dortmund with eight rounds of the league remaining.It was Tuchel’s first game in charge of the Bavarian powerhouse – and against his former club. “It was a good first step,” Tuchel said.Bayern fired his predecessor Julian Nagelsmann last week after the team’s 2-1 loss at Bayer Leverkusen. Kobel was adjudged to have scored an own-goal after letting through Dayot Upamecano’s hopeful forward ball, Müller added two more by the 23rd minute, and Kingsley Coman got the fourth in the 50th as Bayern overran the visitors.Emre Can scored a penalty in the 72nd, and Donyell Malen added another goal in the final minute for Dortmund’s consolation.It was D...

Man arrested at Dulles Airport on felony sex abuse charges

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 15:50:30 GMT

A man wanted in Montgomery County, Maryland, on multiple felony sex abuse charges was arrested Friday after arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport on a flight from El Salvador.Just after midnight Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested 57-year-old Calixto Lazo Cabrera on charges including sex abuse of a minor and both second and third degree sex abuse, according to a release.More Montgomery Co. NewsMore Local NewsBefore Lazo Cabrera’s flight landed, CBP’s National Targeting Center identified him as the subject of a Montgomery County arrest warrant and initiated an alert. Once his identity was confirmed by comparing international passenger and cargo documents to law enforcement databases, he was turned over to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police officers, CBP said.“Customs and Border Protection is happy to help our law enforcement partners in Montgomery County by capturing an allegedly dangerous person wanted for very serious crim...