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‘Past Lives’: How a real-life meeting forged surreal love story

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:48 GMT

Associated more often as the scenario in which bad decisions go down late at night and logic gets tossed back like a watered-down gin and tonic, an exchange in a bar one night in New York led to something much different — one of the best movies of 2023.“Past Lives,” opening June 9 in Bay Area theaters, centers on two South Korean childhood chums who parted ways meet again on the East Coast after two decades of intermittent Facebook and Skype exchanges. Their tender reunion leads to a soul-shaking encounter that includes, you guessed it, that crucial time spent in a bar.Eloquently told, the story exudes a lived-it experience. While the screenplay was  inspired by personal events, it’s  not entirely autobiographical.But the bar bit did happen.Director Celine Song says “Past Lives” was inspired by an actual awkward meeting in a bar. (Theo Wargo/Getty Image) “I found myself in this very odd situation of sitting between my husband, who I’ve been with fo...

Alameda: Two convicted of murdering East Bay restaurant owner during attempted purse snatching

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:48 GMT

OAKLAND — Five years after a beloved local restaurant owner was tailed to her Alameda business and beaten to death by two robbers, both suspects have been convicted of first-degree murder, court records show.Paul Paez, 43, and Donte Holloway, 44, were convicted of murdering 61-year-old Cindy Le in the April 2018 attack. Jurors also found them guilty of attempted robbery, and convicted Holloway of using a pipe to bludgeon a man who was attempting to defend Le.The verdicts, handed down April 25, came after a relatively short trial that relied on eyewitness accounts and video footage showing part of the attack. Paez and Holloway have not yet been sentenced, court records show.According to witness testimony, Paez and Holloway followed Le from the Pho Anh Dao restaurant in Oakland to a second location of the restaurant in Alameda; Paez then attacked her in the parking lot after Le got out of her car. When Le’s daughter’s boyfriend jumped into the fracas to defend Le, Ho...

Wheat prices jump following dam collapse in Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:48 GMT

By Wyatte Gtantham-Philips | Associated PressWASHINGTON — The collapse of a major dam in southern Ukraine sent global prices of wheat and corn higher early Tuesday.Wheat prices gained 2.4% in early trading Tuesday at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, to $6.39 a bushel. The cost of corn rose more than 1% (to $6.04 a bushel) and oats gained 0.73% ($3.46 per unit). Prices were higher earlier in the day, but faded.The destruction of Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station, which sits on the Dnieper River in an area that Moscow controls, raised anxiety about a potential disruption to global supplies.“Ukraine has historically been one of the major exporters in the world wheat market,” Joe Janzen, assistant professor at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, told The Associated Press, also pointing to the country’s historic corn production. “Anytime there’s news out of that part of the ...

I tried Apple’s new headset. Here’s what it’s like to use

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:48 GMT

By Samantha Murphy Kelly | CNN BusinessIt’s rare to find a new technology that feels groundbreaking. But last night, while sitting on a couch in a private demo room at Apple’s campus wearing its newly announced Vision Pro mixed reality headset, it felt like I’d seen the future — or at least an early and very pricey prototype of it.In the demo, which lasted 30 minutes, a virtual butterfly landed on my finger; a dinosaur with detailed scales tried to bite me; and I stood inches away from Alicia Keys’ piano as she serenaded me in a recording studio. When a small bear cub swam by me on a quiet lake during another immersive video, it felt so real that it reminded me of an experience with a loved one who recently passed away. I couldn’t wipe the tears inside my headset.Apple unveiled the headset, its most ambitious and riskiest new hardware offering in years, at a developer event earlier in the day. The headset blends both virtual reality and augmented reality, a technology that overlays ...

Large fire at Lake Chabot Golf Course clubhouse extinguished overnight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:48 GMT

(KRON) -- A large fire at the Lake Chabot Golf Course clubhouse in Oakland was extinguished overnight, according to the Oakland Fire Department. Forty firefighters were involved in fighting the blaze. Mother and two children found dead in Fremont, police investigating Engine 28 was the first to arrive on the scene and immediately upgraded the original assignment, the department said. The incident commander struck a second alarm. Crews were successful in preventing the fire from spreading to surrounding vegetation.Photos of the fire indicated that the clubhouse suffered significant damage in the blaze. There were no reports of injuries.

Wanted Oakland man allegedly scammed $56,000 out of elderly person in Virginia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:48 GMT

HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- The Hanover County Sheriff's Office is seeking assistance from the public in finding a suspect wanted for a felony offense.Vatana Nuon, 43, of Oakland, California, is wanted for allegedly obtaining money by false pretenses. According to a spokesperson with the sheriff's office, Nuon allegedly scammed an elderly person out of $56,000.Nuon is described as an Asian man with black hair. He is around 5-foot-9-inches tall and weighs approximately 140 pounds. Gunman opens fire on Oakland carjackers According to authorities, Nuon is believed to still be in the area of Oakland, California. Full extradition has been granted in the event of his arrest.Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Nuon is encouraged to contact Investigator James Baynes with the Hanover County Sheriff's Office at 804-572-7746.

14-year-old stabbed in gang-related fight at Livermore soccer field

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:48 GMT

(KRON) -- A 14-year-old was stabbed during a large fight at a Livermore soccer field last month, according to the Livermore Police Department. Livermore PD responded on Saturday, May 13 to reports of a fight involving several people at the soccer fields at Livermore Downs Park.Arriving on the scene, police discovered the victim, a 14-year-old boy from Livermore, suffering from a stab wound. Police and paramedics rendered aid to the victim. He was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. However, he has since been released, police said. Gunman opens fire on Oakland carjackers The Livermore PD Criminal Investigations Bureau took up the investigation and learned the boy had been assaulted by seven suspects. During the course of the investigation, detectives identified the suspects as boys ranging in age from 15 to 17. All the suspects have ties to Livermore and police say they believe the stabbing was gang-related.The seven suspects in the case were arrested in late May, police sa...

Champions League: Kyle Walker misses training session due to back problem

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:48 GMT

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester City defender Kyle Walker is confident he will be fit for Saturday’s Champions League final despite struggling with a back problem in recent days. The England international did not take part in City’s open training session on Tuesday in preparation for the game against Inter Milan in Istanbul. Walker looked in discomfort as he left the field late on in his team’s FA Cup final win against Manchester United on Saturday. But the 33-year-old full back said he expected to be available to help City in its bid to be crowned champions of Europe for the first time in its history. “I’m completely fine, it’s just an extra day of recovery,” he told Sky Sports News on Tuesday. “I’ve played a lot of minutes over the last number of weeks so the manager said, ‘Just stay inside and come Saturday you will be raring to go.’“I won’t be missing the Champions League final for anything.” Walker was a key figure as City advanced past Real ...

LOCALIZE IT: The nation’s voting landscape 10 years after the Supreme Court’s Shelby decision

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:48 GMT

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:This month marks the 10th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Shelby v. Holder, which dismantled a key provision of the Voting Rights Act requiring certain jurisdictions to submit voting-related changes for federal review.In the ruling, the majority on the Supreme Court found the formula for identifying which jurisdictions would be subject to federal review was outdated and pointed to increased minority participation in voting as a primary reason.The decision, a decade later, continues to reverberate across the country as Republican-led states pass new voting restrictions that, in several cases, would have been subject to federal review. Meanwhile, conservative-leaning justices remain interested in weighing other elements of the landmark 1965 law, with one case pending before the court that could make it harder for minority groups to gain fair representation.Here are some tips for localizing the story:___READ AP’S LATEST Supreme C...

Poland’s state media criticized for its coverage of huge anti-government march

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:07:48 GMT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s state broadcasting authority has received multiple complaints over the way state media covered a huge anti-government protest over the weekend, an official said Tuesday.State broadcaster TVP played down the size and significance of the protest led by the main opposition leader, Donald Tusk. Hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated in Warsaw, making it possibly the largest demonstration in decades in Poland. Organizers estimated that 500,000 people took part. The number is impossible to verify but the march stretched for kilometers through the streets of Warsaw along the main route and down side streets. Protests were also held in other Polish cities.TVP, which has long vilified Tusk in its reports, said there were no more than 150,000 people.Unlike independent broadcasters, TVP didn’t show the march live. At one point, however, it did offer viewers live coverage of the National Parade of the Circles of Rural Areas’ Housewives.It referre...