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‘Elemental’: Pixar’s High-tech animation tells age-old story of belonging

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:25 GMT

Pixar’s new movie “Elemental” presented its Emeryville-based team with one of its toughest technical challenges yet – in a history of challenging assignments — anthropomorphizing those nebulous classical elements of nature: fire, water, air and earth.But it was even harder than that. The staff then had to do the bulk of the painstaking character creation during the COVID-19 shutdown.“It was honestly not till late last year that frankly I was (like) OK, we can get it done,” said producer Denise Ream.But while it was an intense feature to pull off due to various reasons, it was also of primary importance for director and co-writer Peter Sohn and Ream to get the details right and reflect the large diversity of the immigrant experience.Yes, you read that right. A story about classical elements of nature reflects on immigration and the struggle to feel like you belong.It starts with the fantastical realm of Element City, a bustling and vibrant place where an anger-prone fire elemen...

East Bay man sentenced to life for murder of Safeway worker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:25 GMT

A Martinez man has been sentenced to life in prison in the shooting death of a Safeway delivery worker in American Canyon in 2020, the Napa County District Attorney’s office said Friday.Nathan Garza, 18, of Fairfield (Courtesy photo) Christopher “Roly” Young, 26, was convicted of first-degree murder on May 11 for killing Nathan Gabriel Garza, 18, of Fairfield.Garza was shot twice in the back on Aug. 16, 2020, while fulfilling curbside delivery orders at Safeway in American Canyon, according to the prosecutor.The shots were fired from a Cadillac sedan later found abandoned nearby on Cattail Drive, the district attorney’s office said.Napa County Sheriff’s deputies captured Young after receiving reports of a man hopping fences and entering the back yards of neighborhood homes, prosecutors said.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Police standoff near BART Coliseum station after suspect rams police car Crime and Public Safety | ...

Cruise addresses self-driving vehicle criticism after Mission District shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:25 GMT

(KRON) -- A Cruise vehicle was spotted near the chaos of the emergency response to the Mission District mass shooting on Friday night, and the self-driving vehicle company spoke out about the incident on Twitter. One teenager dead, six other people injured in Antioch birthday party shooting Cruise faced criticism on social media over the weekend after some users claimed the company's vehicle prevented emergency responders from getting to the scene. However, Cruise says that's not what happened. The car stopped as it approached the emergency scene, and then made a u-turn before pulling over, Cruise said. "Throughout this time, all vehicles, including emergency response vehicles, were able to proceed around our car," the company wrote on Twitter. KRON On is streaming now.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; ...

New York City will implement minimum wage for app-based workers, marking national first

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — New York City will implement a minimum pay rate for food delivery workers on apps like Uber Eats and DoorDash — marking a first for the U.S., officials said this week.The new rule could nearly triple average earnings for app-based delivery workers in the coming years. New York’s more than 60,000 delivery workers currently make an average of $7.09 an hour, according to the city. But on July 12, an increased pay rate of $17.96 an hour will take effect — and that minimum wage is set to rise to $19.96 by April 2025, the city said. For years following, the minimum pay rate will be adjusted annually for inflation.“Our delivery workers have consistently delivered for us — now, we are delivering for them,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a Sunday statement announcing the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection’s new rule. “This new minimum pay rate, up by almost $13.00/hour, will guarantee these workers and their families can earn a living, ac...

Amazon’s appetite for Northern Virginia: $52 billion and counting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:25 GMT

Amazon’s HQ2 headquarters build out in Arlington County, Virginia, has been a high-profile project for the company, but over the past decade and a half, it has quietly been building out a huge network of data centers in Northern Virginia as well.In a recent report, Amazon said since 2011, it has invested $51.9 billion in Virginia. That includes spending on data centers, the Amazon Web Services corporate office in Fairfax County and the HQ2 campuses in Arlington’s National Landing.The report said Amazon contributed $8.2 billion in total gross domestic product to Virginia’s economy between 2011 and 2022.Amazon Web Services construction, operations and on-site maintenance has created 11,180 full- and part-time jobs in Virginia in 2021.Amazon Web Services paid $334 million in business personal property taxes in connection with its Virginia data centers in 2022, the Amazon report said.Amazon also said it remains on track to power all of its operations, including data centers, with 100% r...

Who took Peppa Pig? Ocean City police ask for help finding suspects

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:25 GMT

After being stolen from her “home” at an Ocean City, Maryland, candy store, Peppa Pig is safe, but police continue to search for suspects Monday.Police are now asking the public for help in identifying three suspects who police say swiped the Peppa Pig figure from the candy store in the 120th Street area.The suspects were seen on surveillance footage walking down the sidewalk with Peppa near the store at around 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, police said. They were last seen in the area of 126th street.The suspects are male, police said, but their ages are unclear.Police did not say how they were able to retrieve Peppa but posted a photo of officers after they recovered the statue.It’s unclear if Peppa has returned to her post at the candy store just yet.Police are asking anyone who can identify the suspects in the photos to contact the department by emailing [email protected] or calling 410-723-6610. Anonymous tipsters can call 410-520-5136.Source

Rusia arresta y acusa de narcotráfico a músico estadounidense

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:25 GMT

MOSCÚ, Rusia – Un músico estadounidense que lleva más de una década viviendo en Rusia fue arrestado bajo sospecha de narcotráfico, informó el sábado la prensa rusa.Los reportes señalan que Michael Travis Leake es sospechoso de vender mefedrona, cuyos efectos son similares a los de la cocaína y MDMA. Una corte de Moscú ordenó que fuera detenido dos meses previo al juicio, según reportes.Se enfrenta a cargos de producción o distribución de drogas, que conllevan una sentencia de hasta 20 años en prisión.Una cuenta de Instagram bajo el nombre de Travis Leake Instagram lo identifica como el cantante de la banda Lovi Noch (Aprovecha la noche). Según la prensa, Leake antes era paracaidista en el ejército de Estados Unidos y vive en Moscú desde 2010. Putin anuncia el envío de armas nucleares tácticas a Bielorrusia Zelenskyy: al menos 500 niños ucranianos han muerto durante la invasión rusa Las leyes antidrogas de Moscú son estrictas...

Wisconsin’s alcohol industry gets behind update, greater enforcement of laws

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:25 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s smallest craft brewers, including the maker of the popular Spotted Cow beer, large retailers like the Kwik Trip convenience store franchise and other producers, wholesalers and retailers are getting behind a rapidly moving proposal that would overhaul the state’s alcohol laws and lead to stricter enforcement efforts.The measure, hammered out in secret the past five years largely between Republican lawmakers and the multi-billion dollar alcohol industry, is moving quickly through the GOP-controlled Legislature. It was introduced on Friday and was scheduled for a public hearing on Tuesday. The Legislature is expected to pass it in two weeks.Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration has also been involved with negotiations.Most of the changes would not be noticeable to average alcohol consumers in the state, those who worked closely on the bill said. But the creation of a new division to oversee liquor laws could lead to the enforceme...

Trump travels to Florida as history-making court appearance approaches in classified documents case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump traveled to Florida on Monday ahead of a history-making federal court appearance this week on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally hoarding classified documents and thwarting the Justice Department’s efforts to get them back.Trump’s Tuesday afternoon appearance in Miami will mark his second time since April facing a judge on criminal charges. But unlike a New York case some legal analysts derided as relatively trivial, the Justice Department’s first prosecution of a former president concerns conduct that prosecutors say jeopardized national security, with Espionage Act charges carrying the prospect of a significant prison sentence.Ahead of his court date, he and his allies have been escalating efforts to undermine the criminal case against him and drum up protests. He’s ratcheted up the rhetoric against the Justice Department special counsel who filed the case, calling Jack Smith “deranged” as he repeated without any evi...

Woman shot 11 times in Pinellas County expected to survive

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:40:25 GMT

PINELLAS COUNTY, Florida (WFTS) — The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) opened an investigation that began early Sunday morning in Pinellas County when a woman was shot many times by a family member.PCSO responded to a call at approximately 1:30 am to the home on 134th Street North after the woman made it out of the house and into a neighbor’s house to call 911.According to Chief Deputy Paul Halle, the woman was shot about 11 times, most of which were to the chest and head and several in the legs.The sheriff’s office said that the man, who they believe to be the suspect, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was later identified as Wayne Lovell Dew, 65.“It’s amazing, you think of somebody who’s been shot that many times, that is still able to walk out of her house, walk across the street to a neighbor and tell them what happened,” Chief Deputy Paul Halle said.Police said the situation is now resolved but did not ...