Letter to the editor: No more Iran war without Congress’ authorization
In a letter to the editor, an Aptos resident pushes for Congress to weigh in on President Donald Trump’s war against Iran and urges readers to press their representatives on the issue.
The post Letter to the editor: No more Iran war without Congress’ authorization appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.
Oil crisis? What oil crisis? IT spending de-coupled from wider war shock
A day after the International Energy Agency (IEA) said the US/Israel/Iran war was creating the worst energy crisis ever faced by the world, Gartner increased its growth forecasts for global IT spending by nearly three percentage points.…
How THE BOYS Season 5 Sets Up VOUGHT RISING
The Boys’ episode four takes us deep into the mysteries behind Fort Harmony, a location that’s important to Vought and Soldier Boy’s history. With this show coming to an end and the prequel Vought Rising on the horizon, we knew we would start getting some threads and questions that would likely come up in the future. That really starts to come into focus in this episode. Here’s how The Boys season five sets up Vought Rising.
Sage and Soldier Boy have a quick conversation, in which she reveals that Homelander will soon be on his way to Fort Harmony. Like Butcher and crew, Homelander knows there’s a possibility that V1 is there, a drug that would make him immortal. We also learn that this is where Soldier Boy was injected with V1 by Frederick Vought, which is something we might see happen in Vought Rising.
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THE BOYS’ Laz Alonso on MM’s Big Changes and Fake CigarsSoldier Boy decides to go with Homelander and, on the way there, they have a very uncomfortable conversation about Stormfront, whom Soldier Boy knew better as Clara Vought. Of course, they both had a sexual relationship with her in different decades, but Soldier Boy seemed to have a deeper emotional connection.
Meanwhile, the Boys are crashing out bad at Fort Harmony, which is full of these gross and Stranger Things-esque tentacles. Well, everyone except Frenchie and Annie, who actually goes off on her own trip home. They are angry and volatile, which Frenchie surmises is because of the water/air around them affecting their brains. He’s done so many drugs that he’s the only person acting normal. They end up in an all out rage to kill each other, which isn’t good because Homelander and Soldier Boy are on the scene.
Soldier Boy pulls a fast one on Homelander, locking him in a room with enriched uranium. It’s not enough to kill Homelander but it weakens him significantly. His intention is to not help Homelander but rather find and destroy the V1. Frenchie discovers a man who is stuck to the wall and covered in those tentacles. Soldier Boy arrives and recognizes this person as Quinn, someone who was around him previously and incredibly jealous of him.
Prime VideoIt is Quinn who is radiating hate, and his presence really seems to crack at Soldier Boy’s tough exterior. Frenchie gets into Soldier Boy’s head, making him agitated enough to use his powers to take out Quinn and stop the Boys from nearly killing each other.
Later on, Homelander breaks out and looks like he’s going to laser Soldier Boy, who is despondent and frankly doesn’t care if he dies. Seeing Soldier Boy despondent and crying changes Homelander’s mind, who decides to leave the scene. This all sets up a lot of questions about what happened at Fort Harmony and exactly why Soldier Boy is so deeply affected by this. We will see what happens as The Boys continues to fly through its final round.
The post How THE BOYS Season 5 Sets Up VOUGHT RISING appeared first on Nerdist.
MVC hires experienced coach Joe Sturdivant, 40, to lead football program
Monte Vista Christian School on Tuesday announced it hired 40-year-old Joe Sturdivant as the new head football coach just in time for the upcoming 2026 fall season.
Sturdivant replaced Spencer Ferrari-Wood, who spent the past three seasons at the helm.
According to a press release issued by the school, Sturdivant brings an impressive background of building successful programs at the high school, collegiate and international levels.
“Awesome opportunity to minister the young men and the families,” said Sturdivant on the “Mind of The Mustang” podcast. “It’s an incredible opportunity to build something pretty special.”
In his playing days, Sturdivant attended Parkview High in Lindbergh, Ga. and was a defensive back at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He played defensive back, wide receiver and linebacker for the USA Football men’s national team following stints with professional football teams in Austria and Germany.
Sturdivant’s coaching experience includes assistant coach at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., head coach at Parkview and Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School in Georgia, and head football coach for professional football organizations in Europe.
According to the press release, Sturdivant coached 11 professional football players, including nine who reached the NFL while helping numerous student-athletes earn NCAA Division I opportunities.
“I enjoyed being part of building things, and investing,” said Sturdivant on the podcast. “There’s a way to do something, it’s just a way to go about winning programs.”
In Georgia, Sturdivant accumulated a perfect 52-0 record while coaching at Parkview and Rabun Gap-Nacoochee high schools.
Sturdivant said on the podcast he was the first coach hired at IMG Academy by former professional quarterback Chris Winkie, who served as director of football at the time.
IMG Academy is a renowned private school with the reputation of having the nation’s best facilities.
“There’s no magic wand when you talk about building a program,” Sturdivant said. “What are we going to do that’s different at Monte Vista? One, it starts with an attitude. Somebody’s going to hoist a trophy up at the end of the year, why not us?”
In addition to leading the Mustangs football program, Sturdivant will serve as a physical education teacher.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Joe to MVC,” said MVC Athletic Director Dustin Mones in the press release. “He brings the experience and leadership to build a high-level football program, but more importantly he understands our mission.”
Mones added, “At Monte Vista Christian we believe athletics is a training ground for life. We are looking for leaders who will develop young men of character, competitors who pursue excellence, and teams that represent Christ well. Joe is exactly that kind of leader.”
Mones mentioned on the “Mind of The Mustang” podcast the school had upwards of 50 resumes submitted for the vacant job.
“We were blessed with unbelievable options, and in the end we found the man for the job,” Mones said. “Super excited, he’s a wonderful man of God who’s also a really well tenured football coach.”
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Clean Water Violations Alleged
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Letters
Pie of the Tiger
Haters Get Happy
Surfin’ Safari
Mythos found 271 Firefox flaws – but none a human couldn’t spot
The Mozilla Foundation has revealed it tested Anthropic’s bug-finding “Mythos” AI model and feels the results it experienced represent a watershed moment for software defenders.…
Jessica Jones Finally Appeared on DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN
Speaking for myself as well as for a portion of the internet, season two of Daredevil: Born Again has been such a step up from season one. While the first season wasn’t bad, per se, season two has ironed out the tonal inconsistencies and focused the narrative in a satisfying way. That much has been a surprise, but one thing that we all knew was coming before the beginning of the season was the return of Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones. She appeared in the early promos for the season. But she sure took her sweet time to show up! Episode six of the eight-episode season. However, Jessica sure made an impact.
Welcome back, Jessicaaaaaaaaaaaa! While we don’t find out much about what Jessica did between the end of her own Netflix series and now, we can piece a few things together. One, she lives somewhere in suburbia. Two, she has a daughter. And three, it does not appear she has a co-parent living with her. So that’s very interesting. Some goons show up at her idyllic, sunny home and she beats the crap out of them. Someone clearly thought they could mess with her and get away with it. But given Jessica’s wounds, it seems her powers are not as powerful as they once were.
Marvel StudiosJessica heads to New York City and catches up with Daredevil on the roof of a building. She’s mad as hell that Fisk’s people came to her home, where her daughter plays with her toys. Matt notices she has more injuries than she ought to. Interesting. She doesn’t want to get involved, for the sake of her daughter, but she also knows she’s one of the few people who can do something. So, while she doesn’t (at this time at least) agree to go full Team DD, she does assist her old Defenders buddy in raiding the AVTF’s weapons cache. They do a very good job; that place blows up real good.
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How Foggy Nelson Returns in DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN Season 2While that’s really all we get of Jessica in this episode, seeing her team up with Daredevil again was pretty great. Now, we just need to know where Luke Cage and Iron Fist went. At least one of those.
Daredevil: Born Again airs every Tuesday on Disney+.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.
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Magnificent irony as Meta staff unhappy about running surveillance software on work PCs
Meta, the company built on watching everything its billions of users do online so it can keep them clicking on ragebait and targeted ads, is reportedly now installing surveillance software on employees’ work computers.…
DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN Introduces a Future Captain America
The street-level Defenders family of Marvel Television, which includes Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and The Punisher (tangentially), has very few connections to the larger MCU. Back in the Netflix days, we’d get a reference here and there to the events of the first Avengers, or a mention of Thor. Matt Murdock finally appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home, essentially confirming the Netflix shows as MCU canon. But the sixth episode of Daredevil: Born Again has just introduced us to a future Captain America. Only right now, she’s just a toddler. And this future Cap is Danielle “Dani” Cage, the daughter of heroes Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.
Jessica Jones Returns as a Mother in Daredevil: Born AgainMarvel Television/Marvel ComicsIn episode six, “Requiem,” we see that Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter), since the events of the third season of her own series, is now living in a suburban home, and raising a young daughter named Danielle. The suggestion here is that she’s living a low-key life, trying to stay out of the government’s way. Danielle appears to be no more than three or four at this point. Some Marvel Comics fans watching may know that Danielle is the offspring of Jessica and Luke Cage. It seems that in the years since their respective Netflix series ended, these two got together for real, not just friends with benefits, and produced a child. Although, at least from this episode, Luke seems MIA. But that’s a mystery for another day.
Danielle Cage in the Pages of Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsDanielle, or Dani for short, was born in The Pulse #16, published in 2006. Danielle’s name was a tribute to Danny Rand, the Iron Fist, Luke Cage’s best friend. With the birth of their daughter, Jessica more or less semi-retired from adventuring to raise her. Danielle played a role in the aftermath of the 2009 event series Secret Invasion. Yes, the comic that Marvel Studios later adapted into a rather infamous Disney+ series. A Skrull version of Edwin Jarvis, the Avengers’ butler, kidnapped her. But Dani was ultimately rescued. Thus far, that’s Dani’s biggest Marvel storyline (hey, she’s just a kid). In the comics, she’s still a small child, stuck in the same eternal toddler mode as the Fantastic Four’s Franklin Richards was for decades.
Dani Cage Becomes the Future Captain AmericaMarvel ComicsHowever, we have been introduced to her future adult self, first in 2015’s Ultron Forever mini-series. And we learned that Danielle inherited her mother’s super strength and her father’s invulnerable skin. She becomes the new Captain America. This future Danielle Cage hails from the alternate future of Earth-15061, roughly thirty years in the future of Earth-616. In her future, most of Earth’s heroes die in a battle with Thanos, including her parents. Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, is one of the survivors, and begins a new A.V.E.N.G.E.R.S initiative. She rescues and raises Danielle and trains her how to fight. When she reaches adulthood, with her powers she inherited and Nat’s training, she becomes the future Captain America. In Dani’s own words, because of her impenetrable skin, she doesn’t just carry a shield. She is a shield.
Marvel ComicsThe Danielle Cage Captain America eventually travelled to the past to meet the U.S.Avengers on Earth-616, as well as 400 years in the future to battle a version of Doctor Doom. A variant of her also exists in the dystopian future of the Old Man Logan series, where she discovered she could wield Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, just like her namesake, Steve Rogers. After many temporal adventures, the Dani of Earth-15061 eventually went back to her own reality/timeline. Meanwhile, in the main Earth-616 timeline, Dani is still a toddler. Her parents remain unaware of her destiny as a future Cap. But comic book readers know her future as a legacy hero likely comes to pass.
The MCU Future of Danielle CageMarvel ComicsWhat does this mean for MCU Dani Cage? Well, the MCU has been known to give us large time-jumps. It’s entirely possible we get a future version of the Avengers at some point, with an aged-up Danielle Cage taking over the Captain America role from Sam Wilson. Unlike Sam, Dani actually has powers comparable to Steve Rogers. At some point, the MCU will age up young T’Challa II, and maybe even Morgan Stark, so who knows? Maybe we’ll see a future Avengers someday, with the adult kids of the heroes who once saved all of reality from Thanos. Certainly, Daredevil: Born Again has just planted those seeds. Now to see if they will actually grow into anything.
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Virginia Dems Just Won a Major Battle in Trump’s Redistricting War
Last summer, when Donald Trump began pressuring GOP-controlled states to redraw their congressional maps mid-decade, Republicans had a lofty goal: pick up a dozen or more seats in an effort to fend off a coming blue wave and retain the House in the midterms.
Trump scored early wins in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina. But the gerrymandering arms race he started hasn’t resulted in the lopsided victory the White House envisioned. The approval by voters in Virginia on Tuesday of a new congressional map that could net Democrats up to four new seats shows how Democrats have fought Trump to a surprising draw in the redistricting wars.
Right now, the parties are basically even in the states that have redrawn their maps since last summer. The new map in Virginia makes it even more likely that Republicans will lose the House in November, given Trump’s tanking approval numbers and the fact that Cook Political Report forecasts that Republicans have to win three-quarters of toss-up races to remain in control, calling Democrats “substantial favorites.”
This is not how Trump and his allies envisioned things going. After easily securing the new maps in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina, Trump suffered a humiliating defeat when Indiana Republicans refused to redraw their districts. Other GOP-controlled legislatures, including Kansas and Nebraska, also balked. Ohio passed a compromise map that, while favoring Republicans, could have been much worse for Democrats. The courts in Utah struck down the state’s existing map, leading to a likely Democratic pickup. And Missouri voters could have a chance to block that state’s new gerrymander at the polls in November, all of which helps Democrats.
Democrats in California, meanwhile, pulled off an improbable ballot measure to offset the Texas gerrymander by redrawing the Golden State’s maps. Now, Virginia Democrats have followed suit, despite the fact that the process in Virginia was actually much trickier. Democrats had to retake control of the legislature and governorship last November in order to kickstart the redistricting process. Then they had to convince voters in a state that is much less blue than California to pass a constitutional amendment authorizing the very type of partisan gerrymandering that Virginia voters had sought to limit just six years earlier, when they passed a separate constitutional amendment giving a bipartisan commission the power to draw congressional maps. The takeaway is that voters dislike gerrymandering, but they now seem to hate Trump even more.
That said, the redistricting wars are far from over. Florida is planning to convene a special session next week to redraw its congressional map, which could net Republicans between two and five more seats. The Supreme Court could issue a decision any day now striking down the key remaining section of the Voting Rights Act, which could shift a handful of seats toward the GOP—though whether those maps would take effect before November’s elections depends partly on the timing of the decision. (It’s probably too late for most Southern states to draw new maps before the midterms.) And the Virginia Supreme Court could still strike down the new voter-approved map; the court allowed the referendum to proceed after Republicans challenged it but has yet to issue a final decision on the constitutionality of the redistricting effort.
Trump has threatened to “take over” the election system, and the mid-decade gerrymandering spree he started is part of a multi-faceted plan to interfere in the midterms. But while that has deeply destabilized American democracy, the president hasn’t succeeded in stopping Democrats from racking up a series of electoral victories over the past year. The passage of the redistricting referendum in Virginia is the latest sign of Democrats successfully fighting back.
Santa Cruz city leaders may seek to end safe parking program for homeless people
The city is open to changes to a 24/7 safe parking program that could impact dozens in the area who rely on the program for long-term parking and hygiene services. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
SANTA CRUZ >> The California Coastal Commission could allow city officials to end a 24/7 safe parking program for people who live in their vehicles, redirecting the money to other services for homeless people.
The program was discussed at a commission meeting on April 16 as part of a report on the city’s oversized vehicle ordinance, which bans large vehicles from parking on city streets between midnight and 5 a.m. and is up for renewal.
Both the oversized vehicle ordinance and the safe parking program were implemented in 2023 with a Coastal Commission permit. The parking program was required by the commission to try to ensure that the oversize vehicle ordinance wouldn’t limit coastal access for homeless or low-income people.
The power to renew and to change the permit, including the safe parking program, lies with the Coastal Commission Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge. Huckelbridge is expected to renew the permit, which expires next month. Any changes to the 24/7 parking program would be decided by Huckelbridge through discussions with Santa Cruz city staff and would not come before the Coastal Commission for a vote.
The process to decide if and how to change or eliminate the 24/7 parking program would involve a meeting of the ordinance stakeholder group, which meets roughly twice a year, said Lee Butler, director of the city’s Housing and Community Development Department.
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At Thursday’s meeting, some commissioners expressed support for a potential change or end of the program, noting that the commission is not responsible for coordinating homeless services. Others were more dubious, asserting that any changes or replacement of the program would have a high bar to ensure it doesn’t lead to less coastal access for homeless people.
“To remove that program while also continuing those regulations in the Coastal Zone, seems to me to really be specifically excluding a particular class of people from our coast,” said Coastal Commission Chair Meagan Harmon. “If we say ‘in lieu of access to the coast, we’re providing you with an extra caseworker’ — I don’t think that lives up to our obligations of providing access for all under the Coastal Act.”
Harmon said she trusted Huckelbridge, the commission director, to ensure any changes to the permit don’t compromise coastal access.
An RV is parked near West Cliff in 2021. The California Coastal Commission regulates development and protects coastal access. About 20% of Santa Cruz County falls within the ‘Coastal Zone’ and is subject to Coastal Commission authority on certain issues. (Stephen Baxter — Santa Cruz Local file)
Discussion of the 24/7 parking program was initiated by Santa Cruz city officials, who wanted feedback from commissioners on whether they’d be open to the city redirecting the roughly $500,000 they spend each year on the program to other support services for homeless people.
The 24/7 parking program, located outside the National Guard Armory near Delaveaga Golf Course, is used by about a dozen RV owners at a time for safe, legal parking. There are also bathrooms, showers, water, charging outlets, trash, mail services and case managers to help people find long-term housing.
The possibility of changes or an end to the 24/7 program comes as the city is scrambling to find a replacement for homeless services that have been slashed in recent months, in particular nonprofit Housing Matters’s day services program.
Safe parking program a ‘Godsend’ for RV dwellersMilitary veteran John Connell, 67, has lived in his RV at the 24/7 parking program since January. After experiencing many problems with landlords and other city services, he calls the program a “Godsend” for providing him safety.
The program’s caseworkers are helping him with paperwork to access other services. Since the program started, 28 people have found permanent housing, according to the city.
John Connell has lived in his RV at the Armory safe parking site since January. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
Residents regularly report there are not enough spaces at the 24/7 lot for all who want to stay there. The city said maximum capacity is 15 RVs. Alicia Kuhl, president of the Santa Cruz Homeless Union, said at the commission meeting that there are more than 150 people living in RVs in Santa Cruz.
The city also operates an overnight-only safe parking program in parking lots downtown near Cedar and Lincoln streets. Open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m, accessibility is an issue for many, who cite car problems preventing moving vehicles frequently, the time required to drive back and forth each day, and limited options for parking during the day.
The overnight parking has handwashing stations and portable toilets, but no showers or other services.
While the city is not at this time proposing any changes to the 24/7 program, many fear it will eventually be removed altogether.
“A vehicle is not just transportation. It is home. It is shelter. It is most often a person’s most valuable possession, and the only thing standing between many people and their absolute displacement,” said Dr. Graham Pruss, executive director of nonprofit National Vehicle Residency Coalition, at the commission meeting.
“I wouldn’t have anywhere to go,” said 67-year-old Barbara Jaime, who has lived in her RV parked at the 24/7 site for about a year. “I’d probably be out there trying to scavenge a place to stay.”
Matt Barnett, left, is director of program operations at People First, a local nonprofit that runs the 24/7 safe parking program. Tommy Zabonik is the program manager. (Amaya Edwards — Santa Cruz Local/CatchLight Local)
Nik Altenberg contributed reporting.
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Learn about membership Santa Cruz Local’s news is free. We believe that high-quality local news is crucial to democracy. We depend on locals like you to make a meaningful contribution so everyone can access our news. Learn about membershipThe post Santa Cruz city leaders may seek to end safe parking program for homeless people appeared first on Santa Cruz Local.