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South Africa says Putin will skip a Johannesburg summit next month because of his ICC arrest warrant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:28 GMT

By GERALD IMRAY (Associated Press)CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Vladimir Putin has agreed not to attend an economic summit in Johannesburg next month that will include China’s premier and other world leaders because of an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court for the Russian president, South African authorities said Wednesday.Russia and summit host South Africa reached a “mutual agreement” that Putin would not attend the Aug. 22-24 gathering, which brings together a bloc of developing economies known as BRICS, though he was initially invited, the office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said.The development could be viewed as embarrassing for Putin, who is now expected to be the only leader of a country in the bloc not to attend.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Putin “has decided to take part” in the summit via video link, without confirming if he had intended to attend the summit.It ended months of specul...

Long Beach man convicted of killing ex with bomb at Orange County spa

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:28 GMT

A Long Beach man accused of building and planting a bomb at an Orange County spa, killing his ex-girlfriend and seriously injuring two people, has been found guilty in federal court.Stephen William Beal, 64, was convicted of four felony counts related to the explosion at the Aliso Viejo day spa in May 2018.Beal, an amateur rocketry and explosives hobbyist, built and planted the bomb inside Magyar Kozmetika spa, located inside a two-story commercial office building located at 11 Mareblu.The explosion caused major damage to the building and killed the spa's owner, 48-year-old Ildiko Krajnyak of Trabuco Canyon. Two of her clients, a mother and her daughter, were also seriously and "permanently" injured in the blast, according to the United States Department of Justice.Ildiko Krajnyak and Stephen Beal are shown in a photo from his Facebook page on June 11, 2017. Ildiko Krajnyak is seen in a photo posted to her Facebook page on Sept. 13, 2017.Prosecutors say Beal and Krajnyak had a previ...

52-year-old man arrested for fatal stabbing in Orange County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:28 GMT

A 52-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of homicide in Orange County, officials announced on Wednesday.  On July 18, deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department responded to the 9000 block of Canton Avenue in an unincorporated area of Anaheim, at around 3:40 p.m., on reports of a man who had been stabbed in the street.  At the scene, authorities located a 50-year-old man inside a nearby residence suffering from multiple stab wounds, an OCSD news release stated. Deputies rendered medical aid before the victim was taken to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.  Detectives with the O.C. Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Bureau also responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.  At around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, investigators served two search warrants and arrested Effrum Maland Burnett, a resident of Yorba Linda in connection with the fatal stabbing. During their search, authorities also found multiple weapons, though it remains u...

One Another: Arts Calendar July 20-26

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:28 GMT

One book launch party for artsy icons of fashion and style, another for an anti-hero of punk-fueled feminism; screenings of new international queer cinema and modern art documentary; a hands-on cardboard art show and clothes-off abstract nostalgia painting show; art of the grounded present and disembodied future, the great outdoors and the metaverse, esoteric matters of sound and concrete matters of truth, the richness of a generational cultural archive, and the guilty pleasure of gossiping with strangers.Chronicle BooksThursday, July 20Bijou Karman: Style Legends, Rebels, and Visionaries Book Launch at MOCA. Style Legends, Rebels, and Visionaries (Chronicle Books) is an inclusive and eclectic collection of 50 illustrated portraits by artist Bijou Karman. Karman’s colorful and detailed style evokes the distinct sensibility of each influential cultural figure—Harry Styles, Tilda Swinton, Timothée Chalamet, Rihanna, Iris Apfel, David Bowie, Yayoi Kusama—celebrating the distinct fashio...

Boy Airlifted after Bicycle Accident on Baker Hill Road [Bainbridge Island, WA]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:28 GMT

15-Year-Old Boy Hospitalized after Bicycle Collision near Listening AvenueBAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA (July 19, 2023) – Tuesday afternoon, a boy was airlifted to a hospital after a bicycle accident on Baker Hill Road.Police responded to the scene just before 2:00 p.m., near Listening Avenue.At this time, the events leading up to the incident remain unclear. However, reports indicate that first responders located a 15-year-old boy who was riding a bicycle down on the road.Medics airlifted the young boy to Harborview Medical Center with major injuries. Although, authorities have not yet released his identity.Officers are currently searching for two vehicles that were seen in the area at the that time and believed to be involved. Those with further information are asked to contact local authorities as soon as possible.When driving, it is vital to always be alert for pedestrians, bicyclists and other vehicles. This is especially true when you are driving through a residential area, an i...

Theater Camp is a Loving Portrait of Performing Arts Programs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:28 GMT

Early on in Theater Camp, a lovingly observed comedy about a beleaguered performing arts summer camp, the power goes out during auditions, but not even total darkness can deter 15-year-old Christopher (Luke Islam) from nailing the final note of “Defying Gravity.” In a nearby kitchen, the camp cook soldiers on too, adding, by flashlight, a dollop of whiskey to the chili pot before taking a swig for herself. At Camp AdriondACTS, everyone’s on edge since it’s becoming clear that the camp isn’t likely to survive the illness that has beset founder Joan Rubinsky (Amy Sedaris), a malady triggered by an over-produced middle-school production of Bye Bye Birdie.As the young Birdie lead, Sebastian (Alexander Bello), relates the story of Joan’s collapse to his riveted campmates, co-directors/co-writers Nick Lieberman and Molly Gordon (The Bear)–who also stars– cut away just as Sebastian states, “I obviously stayed in character.” Summer theater camp, no surprise, is filled with kids and adults w...

Ninth Circuit overturns political fundraising ban for local government employees

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:28 GMT

A federal appeals court Wednesday overturned a 1970s-era ban on local government employees seeking political donations from each other, a ruling spurred by a group of South Bay public defenders who sued the state while supporting a colleague’s run for Santa Clara County district attorney.At issue was a law signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 1976 that became Section 3205 and loosened rules on state employees turning to each other for political support, fundraising and otherwise, but preserved restrictions for public workers who worked at county and other municipal levels. Wednesday’s written decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which declared Section 3205 unconstitutional, recalled how Brown’s staff questioned the law’s soundness before he enacted it.Judge Martha Berzon, writing for the three-judge panel that reviewed the legal challenge, rejected arguments from state Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office that the two-tiered rules were necessary...

Tornado damages Pfizer plant in North Carolina

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:28 GMT

By Ben Finley and Hannah Schoenbaum | Associated PressRALEIGH, N.C. — A tornado heavily damaged a major Pfizer pharmaceutical plant in North Carolina on Wednesday, while torrential rain flooded communities in Kentucky and an area from California to south Florida endured more scorching heat.Pfizer confirmed that the large manufacturing complex was damaged by a twister that touched down shortly after midday near Rocky Mount, but said in an email that it had no reports of serious injuries. A later company statement said all employees were safely evacuated and accounted for.Parts of roofs were ripped open atop its massive buildings. The Pfizer plant stores large quantities of medicine that were tossed about, said Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone, adding, “I’ve got reports of 50,000 pallets of medicine that are strewn across the facility and damaged through the rain and the wind.”The plant produces anesthesia and other drugs as well as nearly 25 percent of all sterile in...

Amid sharing crackdown, Netflix added nearly 6M subscribers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:28 GMT

By Clare Duffy and Samantha Delouya | CNNNetflix’s crackdown on password sharing appears to be paying off.The streaming giant on Wednesday said it added nearly six million paid subscribers during the three months ending in June, bringing its total to more than 238 million globally.The company said it has now launched paid sharing — its effort to get users to stop sharing accounts with others for free — in more than 100 countries, after beginning its broad rollout earlier this year. Netflix said revenue in those regions is now higher than before the service launched, and that “sign-ups are already exceeding cancellations.”Netflix’s chief financial officer, Spencer Neumann, called the launch of paid sharing Netflix’s “primary revenue accelerator in the year” during the company’s second quarter earnings call.“Most of our revenue growth this year is from growth in volume from new paid memberships and that’s largely driven by our paid sharing rollout,” he said.The results come at a pivot...

Harry and Meghan asked for ride home on Air Force One after queen’s funeral: report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:32:28 GMT

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were preparing to return to the United States after Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September, they tried but failed to get a ride back on Air Force One with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, a new report says.The Daily Mail, citing sources close to the decision, reported that representatives for the California-based Duke and Duchess of Sussex contacted the White House to ask if the couple could fly home on Air Force One with the first couple, who had come to the United Kingdom for the queen’s funeral on Sept. 19, 2022.But the White House immediately said no, sources  told the Daily Mail. The sources said there was barely any discussion on the request, just a general agreement that the issue was a “non-starter.”“It would have caused such a commotion,” a source told the Daily Mail. “It would have strained relations with the palace and the new king.”US First Lady Jill Biden and US Presiden...