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San Francisco couple is optimistic Pope Leo will promote inclusion:

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San Francisco couple is optimistic Pope Leo will promote inclusion:


SAN FRANCISCO — While Catholics around the world celebrated the election of Pope Leo XIV, a couple in San Francisco is hopeful that he will bring about change that they say is long overdue.

Jim Laufenberg and Michael Daly are starting to see the day when who you love doesn’t determine whether you’re worthy of God’s love. They met decades ago after mass at a time when the church didn’t recognize their love for each other. Now they are married, and they have hope that the Catholic Church will soon welcome them with open arms.

“I was thrilled when he spoke and one of the first things he said was ‘God loves all of you’ at St Peter’s Square,” Laufenberg said. “He loves everyone.”

That message resonated with this San Francisco couple. They feel the late Pope Francis laid the groundwork for acceptance. He appointed a number of bishops who are believed to be supportive of the LGBTQ + community. Daly thinks their support to elect the new pope is a sign that the church may be more open to progressive values.

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“I was sure it was going to be Friday or Saturday,” Daly said. “I felt that it happened with that many people voting, I thought it happened very quickly and for me, that is hope.”

New Ways Ministry, a Maryland-based group, is urging the LGBTQ+ community to take a wait-and-see approach with Pope Leo. In a 2012 speech made to fellow bishops, the pope reportedly criticized the positive portrayal of the homosexual lifestyle in Western media. Daly, though, is optimistic the pope will promote inclusion.

“My faith is my own accountability to be a good Catholic,” he said. “We’re in a long-term relationship, we do good things, and I want to be respected.”

Laufenberg and Daly never expected to see same sex marriage in their lifetime. They are encouraged by what they’ve heard so far about Pope Leo that a change in the Catholic Church will be next.

“I think it’s going to move faster than my husband thinks because I think it’s the right thing to do,” Laufenberg said. “This new Pope, from what we hear from his family, he’s really very smart and he knows what’s right.”

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San Francisco, CA

San Francisco 49ers 2025 schedule: Will a last-place schedule help produce a bounce back?

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San Francisco 49ers 2025 schedule: Will a last-place schedule help produce a bounce back?


The NFL will release the 2025 schedules for all 32 teams at 8 p.m. (ET) Wednesday. Here is what we know about the San Francisco 49ers’ schedule so far.

The 49ers will play each team from the NFC South and AFC South, as well as the 2024 fourth-place teams from the NFC North, NFC East and AFC North. San Francisco also will see its NFC West division rivals twice, once on the road and once at Levi’s Stadium, as part of its 17-game schedule.

Here is the lineup of home and road opponents, listed alphabetically.

Home Road

Arizona Cardinals

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Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

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Chicago Bears

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Los Angeles Rams

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New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

New York Giants

Tennessee Titans

Seattle Seahawks

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Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The 49ers went 6-11 in 2024 as injuries and a Super Bowl hangover again got the best of them. San Francisco has reached the Super Bowl twice in Kyle Shanahan’s eight seasons, and both times followed up that appearance with a last-place finish (the 49ers went 6-10 in 2020 after losing quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and defensive end Nick Bosa to early-season injuries).

After a roster reset this offseason ahead of Brock Purdy’s anticipated massive contract extension, the 49ers, with the benefit of playing a last-place schedule, will need to show they can bounce back and re-establish themselves as one of the NFC’s contenders.

Come back Wednesday night for the 49ers’ week-to-week schedule, plus season analysis and predictions.

(Photo of Brock Purdy: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images)

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San Francisco police searching for suspect in fatal hit and run

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San Francisco police searching for suspect in fatal hit and run


Police are searching for the driver in a hit-and-run crash that killed a pedestrian Monday morning in San Francisco’s Bayview District, according to SFPD.

The collision was reported shortly after 6 a.m. in the area of Bayshore Boulevard and Jerrold Avenue, where officers arrived and found the victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene, San Francisco police said. The man’s name was not immediately available.

As of midday Tuesday, investigators did not make any arrests or release any suspect information in connection with the hit-and-run.

The pedestrian advocacy group Walk San Francisco on Tuesday said the man who died was 47 years old.

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“We are heartbroken and angry for another life lost on our streets. We are sending our deepest condolences to the victim’s loved ones,” Walk SF executive director Jodie Medeiros said in a statement.

The group is planning a protest on the steps of City Hall next week to call on San Francisco leaders to take action to prevent traffic deaths.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444 or to send a tip by text message to TIP411 with SFPD at the start of the message.



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Cal State East Bay students are earning cannabis certifications

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Cal State East Bay students are earning cannabis certifications


In an effort to relieve the job vacancies in the state’s marijuana industry, one California-based cannabis certification program is partnering with Cal State East Bay to boost the workforce.

Gina O’Hara, who lives in Pacifica, recently completed Green Flower’s cannabis certification course.

“When it became legalized here, a lot of friends were going to dispensaries and stuff and trying things. But I was interested in the medicinal aspects of it,” Gina O’Hara told CBS News Bay Area.

She’s been working as a consultant and technical writer for traditional pharmaceutical companies for the past 30 years, when she wanted to change things up a bit. That is when she discovered the school’s online, six-month program.

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“You learn about the cannabis plant itself and how it works in the body. After everyone takes that, you specialize into different fields,” she said.

Students can learn about the agricultural cannabis business, medical applications, product development and compliance.

“For people that are looking for a new career in a new career, a new sector they are passionate about, I think cannabis is a great place to look,” Max Simon, the CEO of Green Flower, told CBS News Bay Area.

The company is optimistic that their educational program will help boost the cannabis industry statewide. According to one recent report, there were more than 78,000 cannabis market jobs in the state last year.

“There is some compression happening in the cannabis industry here in California but it doesn’t mean there is a real dearth of opportunity. We have 65,000 people that work in the industry and thousands of employers throughout the ecosystem. And there are always new brands and new providers showing up,” Simon said.

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“We still have a federal contradiction to the state laws, and that creates all sorts of challenges from a banking, compliance or fundraiser standpoint. I actually think we are very close to some federal reform which will fundamentally change the industry in pretty dramatic ways,” he added.

According to the 2024 California Cannabis Market report, the number of active licenses decreased by 18% last year. Some of those reasons, officials site, are increased costs, regulatory compliance and competition with unlicensed cannabis markets.

The report states, however, that licensed cannabis production is up nearly 12%.

“We also have a lot of people who take these programs from other sectors. Whether you’re a lawyer, or a doctor, or a finance specialist, an investment banker, they take these programs and add cannabis to their practice,” Simon said.

As for O’Hara, she said as she is working in biotech, she is actively looking for contract jobs in the cannabis industry.

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“I’ve updated my LinkedIn, I got this certification. I put it on my resume, I’m looking at jobs here and there, and I’m hoping to get contract jobs going forward,” she said.

Both Simon and O’Hara said they are optimistic about the full legalization of marijuana nationwide, and hope that it will improve the future of the cannabis industry.



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