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Children’s Hospital Oakland’s pioneering gene therapy aims to free patients of blood disease. Is a cure at hand?

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:49:58 GMT

Faith in God called Clint and Alissa Finlayson to adopt two sick girls from an orphanage in China. Faith in medicine called them to Oakland.Born with a deadly blood disease, the Finlayson’s daughters — Ada, 9, and Lily, 12 — are the first patients on the West Coast to receive a new gene therapy offered by UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland.Already, Ada is already feeling better 10 weeks after receiving her stem cell transplant. Lily started treatment last week. Both have 90% chance of a permanent cure.“It’s science, and it’s a miracle,” said their mother Alissa, sitting in the small yard of their guest home in downtown Oakland, far from their small mountain town of Kalispell, Montana.Alissa Finlayson, left, along with her daughters Lily, 12,, Ruby, 10, and Ada, 9, create art with Foil Fun in the patio at Ronald McDonald House create art with Foil Fun in the patio at Ronald McDonald House where Ada and Lily are being monitored after gene therapy for beta...

Apple announces ‘scary fast’ October event

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:49:58 GMT

By Samantha Murphy Kelly | CNNApple announced its second product event of the season, a month after introducing its new iPhone 15 lineup. New iMacs are likely.The company sent invitations to members of the media for a scheduled keynote on Monday, October 30 at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT, later than it typically kicks off events. It will be accessible via livestream only; Apple usually hosts its product launches both in person and online.The tagline for the event – “scary fast” – is an apparent nod to the likely unveiling of its next-generation silicon chip, M3, as well as Halloween. The company is expected to show off new iMac computers boasting the new powerful chipset in a move that should also boost Mac sales. Mac sales have been down this year.Related ArticlesTechnology | ‘It Starts Here’: San Francisco billionaires, CEOs battle ‘doom loop’ with new ad campaign Technology | The cheap streaming era is over. Here’s why your bills are going up ...

49ers-Bengals preview: Can Burrow-led offense push Niners’ losing streak to three?

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:49:58 GMT

MINNEAPOLIS – Brock Purdy digested the 49ers’ second straight defeat in the same humble fashion he assessed the preceding 10 regular-season wins.“For me, second one in a row hurts obviously,” Purdy said after Monday night’s 22-17 loss to the Vikings. “We’ve just got to be better. Got a big one ahead this week, too.”Yes, they’re all big. But this Sunday’s game could have been – and still could be – a Super Bowl preview.The 49ers (5-2) look to rebound from back-to-back road losses when they play host Sunday to the Cincinnati Bengals (3-3).The Bengals are coming off their bye, as was the case with the Cleveland Browns when they ended the 49ers’ undefeated start with a 19-17 upset. Over the past two seasons, the Bengals used their byes as a launch point, winning 12 of 15 games afterward on their way to the playoffs.TOP 5 STORYLINES1. Home sweet homeThe 49ers have won their last 11 home games, including a pair in January’s playoffs and this season’s three-game homestand, which they swept...

As San Jose Earthquakes prepare for MLS playoffs, former USMNT captain shares his unique perspective

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:49:58 GMT

As the San Jose Earthquakes take the field in Kansas City for a 6:30 p.m. PT kickoff on Wednesday night and begin their quest to win an MLS playoff game for the first time since 2012, one former Earthquakes star will be watching the game with internal conflict.Call it the Jimmy Conrad Derby.The former United States Men’s National Team captain began his MLS career in San Jose and won an MLS Cup with the Earthquakes in 2001 before he was traded to KC. He said he’ll be watching Wednesday’s game like a “mom who just wants both teams to have fun.”The Earthquakes infamously dealt Conrad to Kansas City for a second-round draft pick after the 2002 season. It was in KC that Conrad became an MLS legend, being named to the All-Star team six times, earning four MLS Best XI selections and being named the 2005 MLS Defender of the Year.Today, Conrad calls the Bay Area home. He’s the technical director and an assistant coach for the San Francisco Glens, a minor league soccer team, and he’s a ...

Walters: California’s lagging schools should look to Pentagon’s model

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:49:58 GMT

The state Department of Education released results from the latest round of academic achievement tests of California’s nearly 6 million public school students last week and there were — unfortunately — no surprises.California’s kids continue to display subpar skills in English language arts and mathematics — fewer than half meeting standards in the former and scarcely a third in the latter, with fractional gains at best.As usual, the state’s educational establishment tried to put a positive spin on the results while blaming the pandemic for any deficiencies.“These results suggest that California’s public schools are beginning to turn the corner on pandemic recovery, with gains on most assessments and a substantial reduction in chronic absenteeism, especially for our most vulnerable groups of students,” Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the state school board, said in a statement.As usual, too, Darling-Hammond and other officials touted their efforts to improve ed...

The 10 Senate seats most likely to flip in 2024

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:49:58 GMT

By Simone Pathe | CNNWhile events on the other side of the world – and the other end of the US Capitol – have dominated recent news, the race for control of the Senate is a crucial factor in what Washington could look like after next year’s elections.The 2024 Senate map is advantageous for Republicans as they try to pick up the one or two seats needed to flip the chamber, depending on who wins the White House next year. Members of the Senate Democratic Caucus are defending the most competitive seats – the top eight on this list of 10 seats most likely to flip – which is not likely to change ahead of November 2024.The order of the ranking, however, is changing. (Rankings are based on CNN’s reporting, fundraising figures and historical data about how states and candidates have performed.) Pennsylvania, for example, shoots up from No. 7 in July to No. 4 this month – in large part because it’s the one battleground where Republicans aren’t facing a messy primary.GOP candidate fields else...

DJ Dusty Street, radio pioneer with Bay Area history, dies at 77

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:49:58 GMT

Dusty Street, who broke ground as a woman DJ in rock and roll radio and helped shape the sound of KROQ-FM/106.7 in the ’80s, died Sunday, Oct. 22 at her home in Eugene, Oregon. She was 77.Her death was first reported by longtime friend and KLOS-FM/95.5 colleague Geno Michellini on Facebook on Sunday.“I have been in Eugene the last two days at Dusty Street’s bedside,” he wrote. “The numerous afflictions that she has been so indomitably fighting these last years finally caught up to her. I am writing with a broken heart to say that Dusty left us tonight.“Tonight I lost one of the best friends I ever had and the world lost a radio and music legend as befitting her starring role in the ‘San Francisco Sounds’ documentary movie that just came out recently,” he continued. “She was all that and so much more.“There will never be another Dusty Street. The queen is gone, but she’ll never be forgotten.”Sirius satellite radio disc jockey Dusty Street and Greg Steele, a Sirius programming directo...

Girl kidnapped from her San Francisco home found safe, police say

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:49:58 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- The San Francisco Police Department Special Victims Unit asked Tuesday for the public’s help to find a 4-year-old girl who was allegedly kidnapped by her relative without her father's consent. Overnight Wednesday, SFPD confirmed to KRON4 that the girl was found in good health.No arrests have been made in the alleged kidnapping, according to police.Before being located, police said Fatima Abuzahra, 4, was last seen with the suspected kidnapper, 30-year-old Enas Birawi, on the 600 block of Eddy Street in the Tenderloin. The girl's father alerted police at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday that his daughter was gone. Birawi allegedly took the girl without the father's knowledge nor consent, police said."The investigation determined that Fatima was taken from her home by a relative, Enas Birawi," Officer Robert Rueca said.Police did not say how the girl and suspect are related. SFPD wrote, "Fatima and Enas were last seen in the area of the 600 block of Eddy St. It is possib...

Bob Melvin is leaving the San Diego Padres to manage the San Francisco Giants: AP sources

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:49:58 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The San Francisco Giants have hired manager Bob Melvin away from the division rival San Diego Padres, three people with direct knowledge of the agreement said Tuesday.The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither team had made a formal announcement about the move. The Athletic first reported Melvin was the Giants' choice.The 61-year-old Melvin will be returning to the Bay Area where he grew up cheering the Giants. He later played for them and then managed the Oakland Athletics from 2011-21. An introductory news conference was planned for Wednesday.“I’m very excited to work with Bob Melvin,” Giants ace Logan Webb said in a text message Tuesday night. "I’ve heard nothing but fantastic things from everyone that has played for him. Excited to get to meet him, play for him, and learn from him!”Melvin had one year left on his contract with San Diego but leaves amid reports of friction with general manager A.J. Preller. Melvin manag...

Reagan National Airport reaches record for guns carried on, caught at security

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:49:58 GMT

More guns are being found in carry-on luggage and stopped at airport checkpoints this year at Reagan National Airport, reflecting a troublesome national trend recorded by the Transportation Security Administration.As of Nov. 23, TSA officers say they have stopped 30 guns from getting through DCA’s airport security in 2023, already reaching the previous record of most firearms caught in a year at the airport.“It is disappointing to see travelers continue to bring their guns to our checkpoints because in doing so they create a potentially dangerous situation through their own actions,” said John Busch, TSA’s federal security director at DCA. “Responsible gun owners know where their guns are and they know not to bring them to a checkpoint.”TSA officers at DCA stopped a traveler with this loaded handgun on August 11, 2023. (Courtesy Transportation Security Administration)Guns can be transported legally on a flight if they are checked in a locked, hard-sided case, declared to...