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Live-action “Little Mermaid” largely sticks to what worked in the 1989 animated version

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

At a time when the rapid advancements in artificial intelligence is a major topic of conversation, it’s good to know that sometimes it’s all about the people.Disney’s latest live-action “reimagining” of one of its animated musical classics, “The Little Mermaid,” succeeds largely because of three folks: leads Halle Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King and director Rob Marshall.Let’s start with the latter. Having helmed a couple of impressive musical-theater adaptations — 2002’s Academy Award-winning “Chicago” and 2014’s “Into the Woods” — and most recently delivering with the high-stakes sequel “Mary Poppins Returns” in 2018, Marshall was a safe and smart choice for “Mermaid.” There is the occasional misfire — you may have to work not to laugh out loud at a major moment late in the film — but Marshall has crafted an update that should please fans of the original and those new to the story, as well.More bold are the picks to portray the titular mermaid, Ariel, and Eric, the young human p...

Woman possibly kidnapped by armed man at East L.A. bus stop

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

Authorities are hoping the public can help identify and track down a woman who may have been kidnapped by an armed man while trying to board a bus in East Los Angeles on Monday.The woman was boarding a Montebello Transit bus in the 3800 block of East Third Street at about 8:38 p.m. when she was "confronted from behind" by a man, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a news release.Surveillance footage shows a passenger and the bus driver tried to step in to help, but the man broke a window on the bus and pointed a handgun at the driver, then "appeared to coerce the female into" a nearby white Honda Civic, authorities said.The man then drove off east on Third Street to the 60 Freeway.LASD released surveillance images of the suspect (left) and the woman who was possibly kidnapped (right). May 23, 2023. (LASD)Deputies are searching for the woman, man, and the Civic, which they believe is a four-door car possibly from the 2022 model year.The woman is believed to be in her ...

Walmart to pay $500k over illegal sale of brass knuckles to Californians

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

(KTXL) — Walmart will pay $500,000 to settle allegations that the company and third-party sellers operating on Walmart's website sold brass knuckles to consumers in California, Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Tuesday. California state law prohibits the sale and possession of brass knuckles. •Video Above: Newsom proposes reforms to environmental law CEQA California Attorney General Rob Bonta ‘seriously considering’ run for governor “Illegal weapons have no place in California," said Bonta. "The settlement we have reached with Walmart makes crystal clear that online retailers are responsible for what they are allowing to be offered for sale in our state.” A Walmart representative provided a statement, saying “We are committed to being the most trusted retailer. While we believe our policies and procedures comply with California law and admit no liability or wrongdoing, we believe this agreement is in the best interest of all parties.”NOW: CA Attorney General @AGRobBonta @R...

Italian 'pasta strike' proposed amid soaring prices

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

Whatever you do, don't mess with Italians' pasta.Pasta prices in Bel Paese -- that's "beautiful country" to us non-Italians -- are soaring, much to the chagrin of carb-loving Italians.Pasta costs rose by 17.5% in March and 16.5% in April. That's more than double Italy's roughly 8% inflation rate.The reason is simple: Much of the pasta now making its way to store shelves (and imported here to the U.S.) was manufactured during the pandemic, when commodity costs were higher.As a result, retail costs now reflect the higher production expenses.Even so, that's not sitting well with Italians."High prices are maintained in order to have greater profits," an Italian consumer group called Assoutent told CNBC.The group is seeking a "pasta strike" by consumers lasting at least 15 days to reduce demand and force retailers to lower costs.The situation is so dire that the Italian government convened an "emergency meeting" to discuss the pasta crisis. Pasta makers, government officials and consumer...

Integrative Medicine Guru Dr. Andrew Weil Opens True Food Kitchen in Century City

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

Founded by integrative medicine specialist and creator of the anti-inflammatory food pyramid, Dr. Andrew Weil, True Food Kitchen opens its 44th location this week at the Westfield Century City mall. The chain celebrates 15 years with an expansive, wrap-around indoor/outdoor dining patio and the brand’s first location to feature a stand-alone island bar with a colorful and juicy cocktail program.Once considered a little quirky and avant-garde with his ideas of treating food as medicine back in the ‘70s and ’80s before anyone was throwing around words like gluten-free, vertical farming  or food sustainability, Dr. Weil’s philosophy has become this generation’s mantra. The pioneer of how we view food and the future of how we eat was on hand to celebrate the opening.“One of my motivations in starting this was that there weren’t a lot of places that I could eat out at with foods that met my nutritional needs,” the razor-sharp 81-year-old pescatarian who is the Clinical Professor of...

Want to share your Netflix account? That’ll be an extra $8

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

By Michael Liedtke | Associated PressNetflix on Tuesday outlined how it intends to crack down on the rampant sharing of account passwords in the U.S., its latest bid to reel in more subscribers to its video streaming service as its growth slows.To combat password sharing, Netflix said it will limit U.S. viewership of its programming to people living in the same household. Those who subscribe to Netflix’s standard or premium plans — which cost $15.50 to $20 per month — will be able to allow another person living outside their household to use their password for an additional $8 per month, a $2 discount from the company’s basic plan.Without providing details how it authenticates subscriber identities or accounts, Netflix assured that everyone living in the same household of a U.S. customer will still be able to stream TV series and movies “wherever they are — at home, on the go, on holiday.” The company based in Los Gatos, California has roughly 70 million U.S....

VP Kamala Harris leaves her mark on Applied Materials building

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

I haven’t heard if Vice President Kamala Harris got to take home a souvenir from her visit Monday to Applied Materials in Sunnyvale, but she definitely left one for the Silicon Valley company to remember her by.Harris signed her name to a 150-pound cylinder made of 99.999% pure silicon — the same material sliced into thin wafers during semiconductor manufacturing — surrounded by Applied CEO Gary Dickerson, Semiconductor Group President Prabu Raja, California Go-Biz Director DeeDee Myers and Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein. Leaning big time into its Silicon Valley image, Applied officials thought launching the new Epic Center with a “silicon cornerstone” was a lot more cutting edge than turning over some dirt with shovels.The “cornerstone” won’t actually be hidden in the foundation of the building but will be incorporated into the building’s design in such a way that visitors will be able to see it and Harris’ signature.By the w...

Four-bedroom home sells in Palo Alto for $6.2 million

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

842 Boyce Avenue – Google Street ViewA spacious house located in the 800 block of Boyce Avenue in Palo Alto has a new owner. The 3,496-square-foot property, built in 2000, was sold on May 3, 2023. The $6,225,000 purchase price works out to $1,781 per square foot. The property features four bedrooms, four bathrooms, a garage, and one parking space. It sits on a 9,850-square-foot lot, which also has a pool.Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include:On Addison Avenue, Palo Alto, in July 2022, a 823-square-foot home was sold for $2,437,000, a price per square foot of $2,961. The home has 1 bedroom and 1 bathrooms.A 1,045-square-foot home on the 1000 block of Fife Avenue in Palo Alto sold in December 2022, for $2,712,000, a price per square foot of $2,595. The home has 2 bedrooms and 1 bathrooms.In August 2022, a 3,372-square-foot home on Guinda Street in Palo Alto sold for $5,175,000, a price per square foot of $1,535. The home has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.&n...

Tenderloin drug bust yields over 1,000 grams of narcotics, handgun

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Two suspects were arrested last week and a large cache of narcotics and a handgun were seized, according to the San Francisco Police Department on Twitter. The suspects were under surveillance in Oakland. 1 killed, 4 injured after carjacked vehicle plows into SF bus stop Upon arriving in San Francisco, they were arrested by officers from the SFPD Narcotics Unit, Tenderloin Station plainclothes officers and Drug Enforcement Agency agents, who served a search warrant. A photo accompanying the tweet showed several bags of pills and powdered substances that appeared to be packaged for sale, along with a handgun and bullets, and a large roll of bills. A total of 1,095.7 grams of narcotics were seized along with the gun, police said.

Texas man near deadly police shooting during Capitol riot gets nearly 7 years in prison

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:11:32 GMT

A Texas winery operator was sentenced on Tuesday to nearly seven years in prison for storming the U.S. Capitol and joining an attack on the House chamber when police shot and killed another rioter.Christopher Ray Grider also tried to cut power to the Capitol building during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot — “a terrifying act of political and institutional sabotage,” according to prosecutors.U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Grider to six years and 11 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia.Grider, 41, joined the mob’s assault on the House chamber and helped another rioter break the Speaker’s Lobby’s glass doors, “setting in motion the chain of events” that led to an officer fatally shooting fellow rioter Ashli Babbitt, prosecutors wrote in a court filing.Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of seven years and three months for Grider.Grider pleaded guilty ...