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Hollywood plunges into all-out war on the heels of pandemic, streaming revolution

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:37 GMT

NEW YORK — To get a sense of just how much animosity is flying around Hollywood these days, watch how Ron Perlman responded to a report that the studios aimed to prolong a strike long enough for writers to lose their homes.Perlman, the hulking, gravel-voiced actor of “Hellboy,” leaned into the camera in a since-deleted Instagram live video to vent his anger. “Listen to me, mother-(expletive),” Perlman said. “There’s a lot of ways to lose your house.”Three years after the pandemic brought Hollywood to a standstill, the film and TV industry has again ground to a halt. This time, though, the industry is engaged in a bitter battle over how streaming — after advancing rapidly during the pandemic — has upended the economics of entertainment.Having weathered plague, Hollywood is now fully at war in its own “Apocalypse Now” double feature. When tens of thousands Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists hit the picket lines last week, joining 11,000 Writers Gui...

Suspect arrested for investigation of first-degree murder in Denver stabbing

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:37 GMT

A suspect arrested in a Denver homicide is being held for investigation of first-degree murder, police said.Lorenzo Navidad Hernandez, 51, was arrested Tuesday after officers were called at about 10 p.m. Monday to the 2900 block of West 19th Avenue, near Empower Field at Mile High, on a report of a man lying in front of a business. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.“The circumstances regarding what led to the deadly encounter are still under investigation,” police said in a Wednesday news release.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Man faces murder charge in death of boy brought to Aurora hospital in 2017 with severe injuries Crime and Public Safety | A new look at an old clue helps investigators arrest the man accused of Gilgo Beach murders Crime and Public Safety | Man guilty in shooting death of former girlfriend, a homicide witness, in Denver Crime and Public Safety | Fatal stabbing in Aurora,...

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

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:00:37 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 15:00:37 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 15:00:37 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 15:00:37 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 15:00:37 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 15:00:37 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 15:00:37 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 15:00:37 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...