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What to watch: ‘Blindspotting’ back with more laughs, drama and Bay Area scenery

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

The Bay Area takes center stage in two series dropping this week, the second season of “Blindspotting” and the Apple TV+ thriller “The Last Thing He Told Me.”We also have what might be the best animated feature of 2023, and a Michelle Williams performance that deserves Oscar chatter. We even have a cult classic in the making.Here’s our roundup.“Blindspotting Season 2”: From summoning up the energy to throw a birthday party for her son Sean (Atticus Woodward) in Tilden Regional Park to a challenging 48-hour visit with her husband Miles (Rafael Casal) at San Quentin, Ashley (Jasmine Cephas Jones) is trying to keep from unraveling. That’s at the soul of the second season of Starz’ Oakland-set “Blindspotting,” a Bay Area favorite that succeeds where previous series have failed — showing the everyday struggles of families with loved ones in prison. And it does so with a mix of drama and comedy. East Bay natives Casal and Daveed Diggs are the creators behind the show as well a...

California announces multi-state settlement with Juul over marketing vaping to kids

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

California and five other states announced a nearly half-billion-dollar settlement Wednesday with e-cigarette giant Juul Labs to resolve accusations that the company promoted addictive nicotine vaping to teens.California will receive a total of $175.8 million — the highest amount of any state settlement yet reached with Juul — of the $462 million total settlement amount, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said. The money will help the state pay for e-cigarette research, education, and enforcement efforts, and Juul will also will be barred from targeting youths in its advertising and promotions under the terms of the deal.“Today is another step forward in our fight to protect our kids from getting hooked on vaping and nicotine,” Bonta said. “By using advertising and marketing strategies to lure young people to its products, JUUL put the health and safety of its vulnerable targets and the California public at risk. Today’s settlement holds JU...

Bay Area senator’s social media addiction bill advances in narrower form

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

By Joel Rosenblatt | BloombergA California bill seeking to hold social media companies legally responsible for addicting young users to their platforms advanced, clearing an initial hurdle after it was amended to allow lawsuits only by public prosecutors.The legislation, which has drawn strong opposition from the tech industry, would prohibit companies such as Meta Platforms Inc., Snap Inc., TikTok Inc. and Google from designing social media to hook users younger than 18 years old and provides for penalties of up to $250,000 for each violation.Tuesday’s 8-0 vote by a Senate committee in the state capitol in Sacramento is just the first of several needed to get the measure on the desk of California Governor Gavin Newsom. As introduced in February by Nancy Skinner, a Democratic senator whose district is in Berkeley and Oakland, the bill would have let parents sue the companies within four years of alleged harms.But Skinner agreed during Tuesday’s hearing to a revision that authorizes ...

Prince Harry will attend king’s coronation, Meghan to stay in California with their children, palace says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Prince Harry will attend the coronation of King Charles next month, but his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, will remain in the United States with the couple’s children, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday following months of speculation.“Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that The Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on May 6th. The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet,” the palace said in a statement.There had been widespread speculation over whether the Sussexes would travel to the United Kingdom for the historic occasion.In March, the duke’s spokesperson told CNN that the couple had received an invitation to the coronation but had not yet confirmed their attendance.In his memoir, “Spare,” which hit bookshelves in January, Prince Harry launched a series of incendiary accusations against members of his family, revealed a number of private confrontations between him and other senior royals and detaile...

Taste-Off: The best cinnamon-raisin bagels on supermarket shelves

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

A freshly made cinnamon raisin bagel is a perfect morning bite. It’s fragrant, moist, chewy and just a tiny bit sweet. Add butter or cream cheese, and it’s a satisfying and substantial breakfast.The problem is that a lot of bagels — particularly those sold in grocery stores — are simply not all that they should be, mainly because manufacturers of packaged bagels often omit critical steps in the bagel-making process.Great bagels require good gluten development, adequate resting time, a boiling water or steam bath and a high-temperature bake. Skip one step, and the result is a bad bagel — a round of bland, soft, cakelike bread, or a dense, dry puck that’s hard to choke down.When shopping for bagels, look for plump, non-wrinkly rounds with a shiny, glossy surface and just a small hole in the center. If it’s properly made, it will not only have a shiny skin on the outside, but it will bounce back to shape readily when gently squeezed. It’s also a good idea to check for high protein cont...

Free speech advocacy group accuses SFSU of ‘mob censorship’ in wake of Gaines incident

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

(KRON) -- An incident involving former Division 1 swimmer Riley Gaines at San Francisco State University has sparked controversy over whether or not the First Amendment was honored on campus. Gaines made a speech on behalf of Save Women's Sports, an organization that aims to keep trans women from competing in women's sports, and said she was verbally and physically attacked afterwards.“I was ambushed and physically hit twice by a man,” Gaines tweeted.  ‘Death of Downtown’ study: San Francisco ranks last Gaines also posted video where students can be heard chanting, "Trans rights are human rights," at her as she makes her way down a hallway following the speech.SFSU president Lynn Mahoney called the April 6 "disturbance" "deeply traumatic" for trans students on campus and insisted that the First Amendment right to free speech was honored on campus. Mahoney offered praise to those on campus who “rallied quickly to host alternative inclusive events, protest peacefully and p...

Britain, Ireland confirm stadiums in joint bid for Euro 2028

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Britain and Ireland confirmed the 10 stadiums they would use to stage the European Championship in 2028, but their joint bid submitted Wednesday excluded Manchester United’s Old Trafford and Liverpool’s Anfield.The proposal by the soccer associations of England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales included Wembley Stadium, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.UEFA confirmed bid dossiers had also been submitted by the Turkish Football Federation to host either Euro 2028 or 2032 and the Italian Football Federation for 2032.The UEFA Executive Committee will vote in October to decide the hosts of both tournaments, the governing body said Wednesday.Britain and Ireland said their bid would “take the tournament to new heights” and was a “a world-class stadia concept tailor-made for Euro 2028.”“High-capacity, world-famous football grounds and state-of-the-art new venues will provide the platform for the biggest and most commercially succ...

Airline stocks shares fall on American’s so-so 1Q outlook

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Airline stocks tumbled Wednesday after American Airlines issued a lackluster outlook that appeared to amplify fears that travel demand, which has surged for the past year, could finally be slowing in the face of inflation and economic uncertainty.American said that it expects to report a small profit for the first quarter, but one that could easily be below Wall Street expectations. American indicated that demand is still about as strong as it predicted in January, but the stay-the-course update came as analysts cautioned investors about a slowdown in travel bookings.Bank of America analyst Andrew Didora said this week that his bank’s data shows that airline bookings have slowed since mid-March, “and we have become a bit more cautious on 2Q23 revenues.” He lowered second-quarter revenue estimates for the big airlines by up to 2%.JPMorgan analyst Jamie Baker said the slowing is primarily in bookings for travel within the United States, which were runnin...

El presidente de Colombia, Gustavo Petro, anuncia cambios en cúpula policial

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

(CNN Español) — El presidente de Colombia, Gustavo Petro, informó este miércoles cambios en la cúpula policial. En un tuit, señaló que el nuevo director de la Policía Nacional será el general retirado William Salamanca, un mayor general de la reserva “con más de 37 años de experiencia en la institución”.Hasta que Salamanca se reincorpore, el general Tito Castellanos asumirá en calidad de encargado. Este se desempeña como jefe del Servicio Nacional de Policía, agregó el mandatario.Atacan con ácido a defensora de los derechos de las mujeres en ColombiaPetro agradeció el “arduo” trabajo del hasta ahora director Henry Sanabria y la subirectora Yackeline Navarro.Agradezco el arduo trabajo del General Henry Sanabria y la General Yackeline Navarro en la @PoliciaColombia. El nuevo director de la Policía será el General (R) William Salamanca, es un mayor general de la Reserva, con más de 37 años de experiencia en la institución.— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) April 12, 2023The-CNN-Wire...

‘Where’s my Roy Cohn?’ Ed Gero tackles AIDS crisis in ‘Angels in America’ at Arena Stage

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews 'Angels in America' at Arena Stage (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); It’s been three decades since playwright Tony Kushner shook up the world by tackling the AIDS crisis with his epic seven-hour play “Angels in America,” staging Part 1 in San Francisco in 1991, Part 2 in Los Angeles in 1992 and finally hitting Broadway in 1993 to win both the Pulitzer ...