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Review: Old-fashion love story blossoms in unlikely setting in ‘Nollywood’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:42:00 GMT

The new play at San Francisco Playhouse is a familiar tale of an inexperienced ingenue who dreams of stardom, suddenly thrust into the intrigues and in-fighting of the movie biz. What distinguishes “Nollywood Dreams” from other star-is-born narratives is that it’s set in the booming Nigerian film industry of the 1990s.Now making its West Coast premiere at S.F. Playhouse, “Nollywood Dreams” premiered off-Broadway two years ago. It’s the Bay Area’s latest sampling of the work of Ghanaian-American playwright Jocelyn Bioh, whose musical “Goddess” premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre last year. Her comedy “School Girls; Or the African Mean Girls Play” was in rehearsals at Berkeley Rep when the 2020 COVID shutdown set in.Bioh’s latest play is full of huge personalities pricelessly embodied by the all-local cast, all but one of whom are making their S.F. Playhouse debut, with accents that sound remarkably solid (at least to this viewer’s relatively untrained ear).Angel Adedokun is...

Teen girl suspected of trying to outrace CHP, crashing into vehicles during Oakland chase

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:42:00 GMT

OAKLAND — California Highway Patrol officers pursued a stolen vehicle arrested a 16-year-old girl who the agency said rammed three of their vehicles and two other cars as she tried to get away early Thursday.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Oakland mother of four dies days after being shot in her sleep Crime and Public Safety | East Bay hospital technician charged with sexual battery of patient, other victims possible police say Crime and Public Safety | The fired Oakland police chief is on a list of candidates to fill his old job. Does he have a chance? Crime and Public Safety | ‘An unconscionable failure’: New evidence shows deputies at East Bay jail ignored man’s failing health as he slowly died Crime and Public Safety | Body camera video shows East Bay cops shot, killed man with rifles from a long distance Officers also arrested a 15-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy...

San Francisco street vendors accused of selling stolen merchandise

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:42:00 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- San Francisco prosecutors filed charges against two people who were nabbed for allegedly selling stolen goods in the Mission District. Veronica Lumbreras-Villanueva, 40, of Daly City, and Deysi Ramirez, 59, of San Francisco, are accused of "fencing" or selling merchandise that had been previously stolen from numerous Bay Area retail stores, according to the District Attorney's Office. The San Francisco Police Department said it officers identified two illegal street vending booths that had suspected stolen merchandise displayed for sale. Branded merchandise at the booths were displayed with retail store tags, security tags, and other identifiable antitheft devices still attached.Police officers said they recovered $16,066 worth of stolen retail merchandise from the duo.Fencing operations fuel organized retail theft rings seeking to profit from crime."Fencing stolen goods incentivizes organized retail theft, commercial burglaries and otherdangerous criminal co...

Israeli Settlers Take Advantage of Gaza Chaos to Attack Palestinians in West Bank

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:42:00 GMT

This article includes graphic images of violence.While the world focuses on the Hamas massacre in Israel and Israel’s bombing of Gaza, settlers in the West Bank are taking advantage of the chaos to attack and expel Palestinians from small villages.Settlers — Israeli Jews living in the occupied West Bank — and soldiers have killed 51 Palestinians in the West Bank since Saturday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah. At least two villages, Al-Qanub and Wadi Al-Sik, have been entirely depopulated as a result of the violence by Israeli settlers.A Palestinian in At-Tuwani, a village in the Masafer Yatta area, is in critical condition after a settler, accompanied by a single Israeli soldier, invaded the community on Friday and shot him at point-blank range. The attack was documented by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.?????: ????? ??? ????? ??? ???????? ???? ?-?????? pic.twitter.com/2K6or6V80j— B'Tselem ???? ?????? (@btselem) October 13, 2023I...

Israel Warns Palestinians on Facebook — but Bombings Decimated Gaza Internet Access

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:42:00 GMT

Amid a heavy retaliatory air and artillery assault by Israel against the Gaza Strip on October 10, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted a message on Facebook to residents of the al-Daraj neighborhood, urging them to leave their homes in advance of impending airstrikes.It’s not clear how most people in al-Daraj were supposed to see the warning: Intense fighting and electrical shortages have strangled Palestinian access to the internet, putting besieged civilians at even greater risk. Following Hamas’s grisly surprise attack across the Gaza border on October 7, the Israeli counterattack — a widespread and indiscriminate bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip — left the two million Palestinians who call the area home struggling to connect to the internet at a time when access to current information is crucial and potentially lifesaving.“Shutting down the internet in armed conflict is putting civilians at risk.”“Shutting down the internet in armed conflict is puttin...

If Sean McVay’s first child arrives on a Sunday this month, the Rams will have to play without him

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:42:00 GMT

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — If Sean McVay’s first child arrives on a Sunday this month, the Los Angeles Rams will have to take the field without him.McVay and his wife, Veronika, are expecting “in the next couple of weeks,” the head coach confirmed Friday.When asked about the Rams’ contingency plans if the big day coincides with a game day, McVay smiled and said: “I won’t be at the game.”McVay didn’t delve into details on the Rams’ plans for his undetermined paternity absence, but defensive coordinator Raheem Morris is a two-time NFL head coach with extensive experience.The Rams (2-3) host Arizona (1-4) this Sunday, and they’re home again next week against Pittsburgh.The 37-year-old McVay has expressed his eagerness to be a father for several years, even citing his desire to spend time with his future children as a reason he might not stick with the Rams for long. After taking extended time to think about quitting in each of the past two offseasons, the youn...

AP PHOTOS: Hong Kong’s hottest summer fell hardest on most vulnerable

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:42:00 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Joe Wong sweats through his days as a cleaner in a Hong Kong housing complex, laboring in narrow, stuffy corridors that this summer and last were the worst he’s known. He finds what relief he can in a resting area where a fan offers a breeze and a refrigerator holds the cool water he drinks — 7 1/2 liters a day — to ward off heatstroke.“All my cleaner friends make fun about my resting place, they call it a palace,” Wong said. “I am very lucky.”As Earth sweltered to its hottest Northern Hemisphere summer ever recorded, Hong Kong shared in the misery. The city, already known for oppressive humidity, endured its own record-breaking summer for heat, including August’s monthly mean temperature of 29.7 degrees Celsius (85.4 Fahrenheit). Residents spent half the month under very hot weather warnings.In the weeks since fall officially began in late September, temperatures have been slowly dropping. But the sweltering summer won’t soon be forgotten, and for many residents th...

The 2020s are starting to feel like the 1990s for the Braves after another playoff flop

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:42:00 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The 2020s are starting to feel like the 1990s for the Atlanta Braves.Another dazzling regular season.Another flop in the postseason.After tying a major league record with 307 homers, the slugging Braves went down meekly to the rival Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series for the second year in a row.Other than a stunning comeback in Game 2, when the Braves overcame a four-run deficit with a pair of two-run homers and a remarkable double play for a 5-4 victory, the Phillies dominated the best-of-five series.They handed the Braves their first shutout all season at Truist Park, 3-0 in the series opener. They blasted six homers in a 10-2 rout in Game 3. And they ended Atlanta’s season far sooner than anyone expected with three more homers for a 3-1 clincher in Game 4.After six months of dazzling play and an MLB-leading 104 wins, it was all over in the space of six days as the Braves and two other division winners, the 100-win Los Angeles Dodger...

Browns tight end David Njoku grateful as he recovers from burns suffered in harrowing home accident

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:42:00 GMT

BEREA, Ohio (AP) — As the severe burns on David Njoku’s face and hands continue to heal, Cleveland’s tight end feels fortunate. He knows things could be so much worse.“I’m still breathing,” he said. “I still got my vision and everything, I mentally feel great.”Njoku spoke Friday for the first time since he sustained burns in an accident at home on Sept. 29, two days before the Browns played Baltimore. Despite his serious injuries and being in extreme pain, Njoku played and had a team-high six catches.The 27-year-old Njoku was reluctant to offer details about the incident.“It was a bonfire accident,” he said. “Trying to have a nice little chill Friday, ended up exploding when I lit it up. So yeah, it happens.”Njoku said his eyes were open when he was hit by the fireball.“So I saw everything and I really should have been blinded,” he said, sitting in front of his locker. “So luckily I’m not.”Njoku said everything happened so quickly, that it was almost impossible for him t...

Flight to Florida returns to Panama over a suspected bomb that turns out to be an adult diaper

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:42:00 GMT

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Airport security at Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport on Friday searched a Copa airline flight bound for Tampa, Florida, for a suspected bomb, only to find an adult diaper.The plane had returned to the Panama City airport earlier Friday following reports of a possible bomb. The Boeing 737-800 landed around 11 a.m. local time and moved to an isolated stretch of the tarmac, where 144 passengers were taken off the plane, Panama’s Civil Aeronautics Authority said on the social media platform X.An anti-explosives team inspected the aircraft.José Castro, the head of the airport’s security team, said a suspicious object in one of the plane’s bathrooms was found to be an adult diaper.“We had it on a secure runway where police special explosives canine units and special forces examined the object, and found it to be an adult diaper, ruling out any risk,” Castro said.Source