San Francisco was a dominant franchise in the 1980s with four Super Bowl victories and still successful in the 1990s, when it added its fifth championship in 1994. Then, from 2003-10, San Francisco hit the skids and missed the playoffs eight straight seasons. Trent Baalke and Jim Harbaugh arrived as the general manager/head coach tandem in 2011, and the 49ers flourished again through excellent drafting and great coaching. They returned to elite status with three straight trips to the NFC title game and a Super Bowl appearance in 2012....

According to the South China Morning Post, the four students were members of a pro-independence group that recently announced its mission to turn Hong Kong into a republic. During the recent press conference, Li Kwai-wah, senior superintendent of the Department for Safeguarding National Security under the city’s police force, stated that the suspects’ group recently announced the establishment of a body to build a “Republic of Hong Kong” and to encourage pro-independent political ideals, according to the Post....

Hachimura had a solid debut, scoring 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting and grabbing six rebounds in his 22 minutes off the bench. More impressive was his team-high plus-17. Hachimura did a lot of things to contribute to the Lakers’ 113-104 win that didn’t show up in the box score, hinting after just one game at what kind of value he can bring to the team. NBA LEAGUE PASS: Sign up to watch every game (FREE 7-day trial)...

Naturally, on the other end of the spectrum, going from that sort of versatility at center to Dwight Howard will change the Hawks significantly. No longer do they have the luxury of playing 5-out on offense with the type of size most teams can’t match — Howard is a traditional big man who offers little-to-no spacing outside the paint. Figuring out how to incorporate that into their free-flowing system will take major adjustments from everyone on the roster....

If the call to keep him has been made privately, it would be dangerous for the Patriots to give the polarizing quarterback a lot of playing time. Another inept performance would make it even tougher to justify one of those coveted 53 roster spots. MORE: Top 10 players on the bubble | Cut-day toughest on rookies | AFC predictions | Preseason images That's also why it's dicey for the Raiders to give Terrelle Pryor a lot of playing time....

The House select committee presented its first public hearing in a prime-time televised special on Thursday evening to begin laying some of the evidence and information investigators have collected regarding the assault against the federal legislative branch of government as well as Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. During the hearing, committee chair Representative Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, and vice chair Representative Liz Cheney, a Wyoming Republican, highlighted the alleged actions of the far-right groups the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers....

While speaking on Fox News PrimeTime with guest host Pete Hegseth, Logan said people have told her that Fauci is like the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, also known as the Angel of Death. Earlier that night on Fox News, Carlson also said that Fauci was like fascist WW2 Italian leader Benito Mussolini. Carlson said: “Someday when the fog lifts and art returns somebody is going to right a hilarious novel about this moment....

Trump withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known commonly as the Iran nuclear deal, in May 2018. The international agreement–which was signed by the administration of former President Barack Obama, the European Union, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia and China–offered Iran sanctions relief and international investment in exchange for curbing its nuclear program. Despite consistent reports from U.N. nuclear inspectors showing that Iran was abiding by the pact’s requirements, Trump withdrew and chose to reimplement harsh sanctions targeting the country....

MeidasTouch, a liberal political action committee and creator of the ad, instead took it to Twitter, where it was retweeted by Scott Dworkin of the Democratic Coalition. “Fox blocked this Meidas ad from airing, because they don’t want the truth to ever be on their fake news station,” Dworkin tweeted. Ben Meiselas, one of the co-founders of MeidasTouch, told The Los Angeles Times that he had not expected their ad to be blocked by Fox News, saying none of their previous advertising had been rejected before....

“You take these positions because you are welcoming fraud and you are welcoming illegal voting,” McEnany said before being cut off. In a clip shared to Twitter, McEnany said that they want “every legal vote to be counted” and before she could finish her sentence about “illegal votes,” Fox News’ Neil Cavuto abruptly cut her feed off. “Whoa whoa whoa,” he began. “I just think we have to be very clear that she’s charging [that] the other side is welcoming fraud and welcoming illegal voting....

Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt questioned conservative author Carol Roth on “why is socialism resonating with millennials?” using Ruffalo’s Sunday tweet as evidence Hollywood is conspiring to force socialism on the youth of the United States. Roth suggested, “if you hate capitalism, you hate freedom” and went on to say young Americans, particularly millennials, are simply ignorant of history and economics, which has prompted recent polls showing a vast majority of millennials support socialist practices....

Trump and his supporters have baselessly claimed that widespread voter fraud has resulted in Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden pulling ahead of the incumbent Republican president in key battleground states, propelling him to the lead in the Electoral College. Fox News and the Associated Press currently give Biden 264 electoral votes—just six votes shy of the 270 required for victory. Meanwhile, results show Biden narrowly ahead in Nevada, Pennsylvania and Georgia—any of which would push the Democrat over the required threshold....

“That would be a bridge too far,” Napolitano said of federal insurrection charges. “You can charge these people—first of all…before you charge them, you have to exclude their constitutional rights, meaning if they’re there expressing an opinion, they can’t be charged.” “If their expression of an opinion turns to violence, then they can be charged for the act of violence, for destruction of property, for inciting a riot, for harming individuals, for attacking government buildings,” the judge continued....

France possess one of the best squads in international football and were expected to cruise through qualification as a result, but Group A has proved tough. Didier Deschamps’ men lead the group with two games remaining, but they are not yet assured of qualification or a play-off berth, with each of the top four nations still able to win the group. France, who are a point ahead of Sweden at the summit, face a potentially tricky trip to Bulgaria on Saturday, before hosting Belarus on Tuesday....

And, crazy as it may sound, his decision to remain as a draft early entrant is the best possible news for Duke basketball. OK, well maybe not the best possible news. The best news for Duke fans would be elite recruit Trevon Duval reacting to this development by committing to join the 2017-18 Blue Devils. MORE: Way-too-early Top 25 for 2017-18 There likely was not going to be room for both of them on next year’s roster — figuratively, at least — and Duval is the better fit for Duke’s needs....

But critics have accused Ocean of trying to rewrite history and of taking funding from PrEP manufacturers Gilead Sciences for the invite-only club night, Pitchfork reported. With the announcement of the club night, people took to Twitter to express disappointment, calling in the presentation of the evening “uncomfortable.” Gay activist Peter Staley criticized Ocean’s assumptions about the New York club scene and the party’s exclusivity. In a tweet, he wrote: “Actually, the NYC club scene was amazing during ACT UP’s heyday....

3 UP Todd Frazier, 3B, Reds. Frazier cranked a pair of home runs Thursday, a solo shot and a three-run blast in a loss to the Cardinals. Frazier’s first homer, also his first of the season, was estimated at 474 feet. Chris Colabello, OF, Twins. Colabello went 2-for-5 with six RBIs to help the Twins past the White Sox on Thursday. He did all the damage with a pair of doubles and an RBI-groundout....

It’s not difficult for anyone to imagine being isolated due to this pandemic. Going to the movies isn’t even an option because every theater has shut down. This writer has kept his mind busy by reading Stephen King novels, but it won’t take long to identify with Jack Torrance in The Shining. So hopefully, coloring will take the edge off of things. Back in August, executive director Martha Dorn, from the nonprofit The Art Therapy Project, recommended coloring to Today, “Coloring books have been shown to reduce stress and promote relaxation due to their inherent qualities, such as the ability to remain present and focused on the image and provide temporary relief from life stressors....

Activists from SOS Racisme, a national association of anti-discrimination groups, called 69 temporary employment agencies in the Paris area posing as employees from a construction firm. The activists said their fake company was looking to hire only “European” workers, implying that it did not want to consider people of color. The campaign group said that 39 percent of the companies called agreed to “weed out” people based on their race....