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Review: The Games are ever in its favor with ‘Songbirds and Snakes’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:45 GMT

By Jake Coyle | Associated PressTwo hours and 37 minutes is pretty long for a “ballad,” but you can’t call it “The Hunger Games: The Three-Cycle Opera of Songbirds and Snakes” now, can you?Concision was never much in favor in the four “Hunger Games” films, which reached a seeming finale with 2015’s “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2.” The intervening years have done nothing to shrink the ambitions of this unapologetically gaudy dystopic series where the brutal deaths of kids are watched over by outrageously styled Capitol denizens with names like Effie Trinket.That clash of YA allegory and color palette is just as pronounced, if not more so, in “The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” a prequel set 64 years before the original books, adapted from Suzanne Collins’ 2020 book of the same name.“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” which opens in theaters Nov. 16, is an origin story o...

Woman suspected of hate-crime vandalism after crashing vehicle through the gates at California synagogue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:45 GMT

A 54-year-old woman was arrested for suspected hate-crime vandalism after using a vehicle to crash through the gates of a Tarzana synagogue early Thursday, Nov. 9, police said.Around 12:30 a.m., a vehicle plowed through two gates at the Eretz Synagogue and Cultural Center, located along the 6100 block of Wilbur Avenue, according to Los Angeles Police Officer Angie Moran. No injuries were reported as a result of the crash.The woman was found near the site of the crash two hours later and was taken into custody, Moran said. The woman was being held on a $25,000 bail.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Investigation finds school administrators failed to respond to antisemitism at East Bay high school Crime and Public Safety | Stanford campus hit-and-run investigated as hate crime after Muslim student struck, injured Crime and Public Safety | In Concord, a push to reopen 1985 case of young Black man found hanging from a tree at BART stati...

Southern California confirms 1st human case of mosquito-borne St. Louis Encephalitis since 1984

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:45 GMT

The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the city’s first case of St. Louis Encephalitis — a mosquito-borne virus with symptoms akin to West Nile virus — on Thursday, Nov. 9.It’s the first documented case of St. Louis Encephalitis, or SLEV, in Long Beach since 1984, the health department said Thursday. The city’s announcement came a little more than a week after it confirmed a case of dengue fever.The person who was infected is recovering after being hospitalized, the announcement said, and no other cases have been identified in the city to date.SLE is rarely seen in Los Angeles or in California generally. The state has identified 12 human cases of the disease in 2023 as of early November, according to the health department.SLE is a disease that is caused by the St. Louis Encephalitis virus and is spread to people by the bites of infected culex mosquitoes. It is in the same virus family as West Nile virus, with similar symptoms and transmission, but is less c...

Man who panicked California mall shoppers with false gunman report sentenced to 7 months in jail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:45 GMT

A man who ran through the Ontario Mills mall on Memorial Day yelling “He has a gun” when no gunman existed — creating a panic that injured some customers — has been sentenced to about seven months in county jail.Angel Morin, 44, of Rancho Cucamonga pleaded no contest to one count of reporting a false emergency causing injury on Monday. Nov. 6, the Ontario Police Department said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Ex-Baltimore prosecutor Mosby convicted of perjury Crime and Public Safety | Torso found in plastic bag leads to SoCal man’s arrest Crime and Public Safety | Spanish politician shot in the face in Madrid Crime and Public Safety | East Bay man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi was caught up in conspiracies, defense says Crime and Public Safety | Bay Area man gets 65 years to life for child sex assaults San Bernardino County Superior Court records show Morin was sentenced to one year an...

Review: ‘The Marvels’ may be something great, eventually

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:45 GMT

By Lindsey Bahr | Associated PressThe stakes feel immensely low in ” The Marvels,” and it’s not because this is a movie that spends a fair amount of time following cats or has an out-of-nowhere musical number. It’s possibly because somewhere along the way, Marvel movies just stopped feeling like events. And this galactic trifle from director Nia DaCosta does not seem to be the one to make them again feel like a must for anyone who has not kept up with all their Disney+ series and who has forgotten what phase the MCU is in and why it matters.Yes, Iman Vellani (as Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan) gets her big moment on the big screen and nails it, as does Teyonah Parris (Monica Rambeau). Yes, there is a new villain, and it’s a woman (Zawe Ashton as Dar-Benn) with a powerful new toy. Yes, Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) will have to face her past to move forward. And, yes, there is plenty of action, butt-kicking, wormhole jumping, glowing eyes and smashing of concrete...

Walters: Will Newsom become one of California’s unpopular ex-governors?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:45 GMT

Sooner or later, some California governors wear out their welcome and leave office in clouds of popular disdain.It’s not a universal syndrome. Republican Ronald Reagan maintained his popularity, so much so that five years after departing in 1975, California voters strongly endorsed his challenge to Democratic President Jimmy Carter.The arc of Reagan’s successor, Democrat Jerry Brown, was very different. He enjoyed strong support in the early stages, but two failed efforts to become president and other miscues dragged down his popularity and voters rejected his bid for the U.S. Senate in 1982.It mirrored the experience of Brown’s father, Pat Brown, who had overstayed his welcome, tried to win a third term in 1966 and lost to Reagan.“I believe the people of California would like a respite from me and in some ways I would like a respite from them,” Jerry Brown said after his Senate defeat. Decades later, he won two more terms as governor and retired in 2019 with his legacy and populari...

Soho House: Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:45 GMT

LONDON (AP) — LONDON (AP) — Soho House & Co Inc (SHCO) on Friday reported a loss of $42.4 million in its third quarter.The London-based company said it had a loss of 22 cents per share.The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 11 cents per share.The operator of members-only luxury hotels and clubs under the Soho House brand posted revenue of $301 million in the period, also missing Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $307 million.Soho House expects full-year revenue in the range of $1.13 billion to $1.16 billion._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SHCO at https://www.zacks.com/ap/SHCOSource

Desplomada en el piso: la acusan de matar a tiros a sus dos hijos de 6 y 9 años

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:45 GMT

Una madre fue acusada de matar a tiros sus dos hijos pequeños dentro de su casa en Kentucky, según las autoridades. La sospechosa fue identificada como Tiffanie Lucas, quien presuntamente disparó contra sus dos hijos de 6 y 9 años y ahora enfrenta cargos de asesinato. Los nombres de las víctimas no se han divulgados.Las autoridades respondieron a un informe de un tiroteo alrededor de las 11 a. m. del miércoles en una casa de la pequeña ciudad de Shepherdsville, en donde encontraron a los niños con heridas de bala. Impresionante antes y después: habla médico hispano que lideró el primer transplante de ojo en el mundo Joven lanzó un mensaje en una botella en 1997; acaba de recibir una respuesta desde Francia Según medios locales, un vecino entró a la casa y encontró a los dos menores en una de las habitaciones y un arma sobre una de las camas. La madre de los niños estaba afuera de la casa y se desplomó en el césped, de acuerdo con ...

Top US and Indian diplomats and defense chiefs discuss security issues, Israel-Hamas war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:45 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — The top diplomats and defense chiefs from India and the United States met Friday to discuss security issues in the Indo-Pacific, China and the Israel-Hamas war.U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. and India are continuing to “deepen our partnership, deepen our collaboration on everything from emerging technologies to defense to people-to-people ties, as well as our shared diplomacy to try to advance an Indo-Pacific region that’s free, that’s open, that’s prosperous, that’s resilient.”He said the two sides discussed the crisis in the Middle East and “we appreciate the fact that from day one India has strongly condemned the attacks of Oct. 7. And as our joint statement makes clear, India and the United States stand with Israel against terrorists.”Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the situation in the Middle East was a big concern.While India has condemned the Hamas attack on Israel, it has also tried to balance i...

MAG Silver: Q3 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:43:45 GMT

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — MAG Silver Corp. (MAG) on Friday reported third-quarter net income of $8.9 million.The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company said it had profit of 9 cents per share.The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 18 cents per share._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on MAG at https://www.zacks.com/ap/MAGSource