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Y. Geng: A Rising Star of Narrative Innovation in Film and Documentary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:55 GMT

Acclaimed director and producer, W. Y. Geng is rapidly gaining recognition and respect within the entertainment industry, seamlessly traversing the domains of theater and film. Her distinguished background and a trail of accolades bear testament to her commitment to storytelling and her adeptness at crafting diverse and compelling narratives. Geng’s journey has earned her acclaim and recognition from prestigious institutions, underscoring her promising potential in the cinematic landscape.A graduate of Rice University, where she immersed herself in the study of Visual and Dramatic Arts, Geng further refined her directorial prowess through the acquisition of an MFA in Film & TV Production from the esteemed USC School of Cinematic Arts. Her skills were further honed at the Yale School of Drama. Geng’s exceptional talents were not merely acknowledged, but celebrated, as evidenced by her receipt of the Irvin Kershner Fund for Documentary Filmmaking, the Alfred P. Sloan P...

The Money Manager Behind LA’s Millionaire Content Creators

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:55 GMT

From the outside looking in, a typical afternoon for financial advisor Ian Alvarez might not seem much different from any other white-collar worker’s day. You would find him in his West LA office with a view, natural light flooding in while he takes calls or meets with clients.But, if you were a fly on the wall listening in, you’d learn that Alvarez’s day-to-day managing the finances of LA’s top-earning content creators is anything but traditional.As the man on his clients’ speed dial to answer texts and calls about what to do with the influx of cash from their latest viral post or whether it’s okay to buy a Rolex while vacationing in Miami, Alvarez has made a name for himself in the creator space.He says he was in the right place at the right time, having recognized the boom in a new class of young millionaires that the rest of the rather outdated financial services industry didn’t understand and had been ignoring.“The financial services industry is designed around a 9 to 5 employ...

Letters: Water consumers | Property crime | Medi-Cal coverage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:55 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Rein in egregiouswater consumersRe: “Snowpack level at 10-year low” (Page A1, Jan. 3).The unpredictability of the winter snow season is certainly having an effect on California’s water supply, but that is not the only risk to our increasingly unreliable water supplies.Food & Water Watch has found that oil and gas operators devoured 3 billion gallons of freshwater between 2018 and 2021. Expanded nut crop acres required more than 520 billion gallons more water in 2021 than just four years prior, and alfalfa irrigation guzzles around 945 billion gallons of water per year. Mega-dairies use more than 142 million gallons per day.Gov. Newsom must use his executive and emergency powers to stop the egregious misuse of California water by both preventing the expansion of large-scale farming operations and oil and gas drilling, and investing in truly sustainable climate projects. If we don’t do so q...

Supreme Court to decide if ER docs can perform necessary abortions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:55 GMT

By Devan Cole | CNNThe Supreme Court said Friday that it will decide whether emergency room doctors can perform medically necessary abortions in states that prohibit them, bypassing the court of appeals to resolve on an expedited basis a lawsuit brought by the United States against Idaho.It’s the second major abortion case the court will consider this year amid the fallout from the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022. The justices are already set to hear a case about access to the abortion drug mifepristone – even in states where the procedure is legal.Idaho’s Defense of Life Act is a near total ban on abortion, but there is an exception to prevent the mother’s death. The law imposes penalties on doctors who perform prohibited abortions unless the “physician determined in good faith medical judgement and based on the facts known to the physician at the time, that the abortion was necessary to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.” Physicians who violate the law could face criminal pe...

Volunteers needed for Alameda County's annual point in time homeless count

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:55 GMT

(BCN) -- Oakland and Alameda County are asking for volunteers to help with the annual "point in time" count of homeless residents. The count is scheduled for Jan. 25 and officials are looking for 350 volunteers -- so far 230 people have signed up as of this week."The annual Point in Time count enables us to better allocate resources and implement effective programs to tackle this issue head-on," Mayor Sheng Thao said in a news release. "Together, as One Oakland, we can create a compassionate and inclusive Oakland where no one is left behind." Moraga murder-suicide victim identified The count includes individuals and families sleeping outside, in vehicles, in emergency shelters and transitional housing and is intended to be a snapshot of homelessness on a single night in Alameda County, according to organizers.Volunteers will help conduct surveys, collect data and interact directly with homeless residents and will receive training prior to the event. People can sign up by visiting...

Ex-cop gets 14 months in jail in death of Elijah McClain, whose mom calls him ‘bully with a badge’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:55 GMT

FILE - Former Aurora, Colo., Police Department officer Randy Roedema leaves the courtroom after being convicted of charges in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain during a trial in the Adams County, Colo., Courthouse, Oct. 12, 2023, in Brighton, Colo. The only police officer convicted of killing McClain faces anywhere from probation to several years behind bars when a judge decides his punishment Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)(AP/David Zalubowski) FILE - Former Aurora, Colo., Police Department officer Randy Roedema leaves the courtroom after being convicted of charges in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain during a trial in the Adams County, Colo., Courthouse, Oct. 12, 2023, in Brighton, Colo. The only police officer convicted of killing McClain ...

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake shakes a wide area of Southern California. No injuries are reported

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:55 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A magnitude 4.2 earthquake was felt widely across the nation’s second largest city Friday and shook things off shelves near the epicenter in a small mountain community east of Los Angeles, but there were no reports of major damage or injuries.The U.S. Geological Survey said the 10:55 a.m. quake was centered about a mile (1 kilometer) northwest of Lytle Creek, in the San Gabriel Mountains about 45 miles (70 kilometers) east of downtown Los Angeles. The depth was put at 5.5 miles (8.8 kilometers).It came less than a week after a similar quake with a magnitude of 4.1 also hit the Los Angeles area and was felt by people watching the Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Year’s Day.Michael Guardado, who works at the front desk of the San Bernardino National Forest’s Lytle Creek Ranger Station, said after Friday’s quake the “building shook hard” and he had heard that “a lot of rocks” had fallen onto Lytle Creek Road.Cari Torguson, a bartender at M...

NY seeks $370 million in penalties in Trump’s civil fraud trial. His response: ‘They should pay me’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:55 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — New York state lawyers increased their request for penalties to over $370 million Friday in Donald Trump’s civil business fraud trial. He retorted: “They should pay me.” The exchange came as lawyers for both sides filed papers highlighting their takeaways from the trial in court filings ahead of closing arguments, set for next Thursday. Trump is expected to attend, though plans could change. It will be the final chance for state and defense lawyers to make their cases. The civil lawsuit, which accuses the leading Republican presidential hopeful of deceiving banks and insurers by vastly inflating his net worth, is consequential for him even while he fights four criminal cases in various courts. The New York civil case could end up barring him from doing business in the state where he built his real estate empire. On top of that, state Attorney General Letitia James is seeking the $370 million penalty, plus interest — up from a pretrial figure of $250 million, nu...

Feds to investigate entire New York City subway system after derailment injures more than 20 people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:55 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal transit safety investigators will be reviewing all of New York City’s subway operations in response to a collision and derailment that caused minor injuries to more than 20 people, the chairperson of the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday.Chair Jennifer Homendy said the NTSB was expanding its investigation beyond Thursday’s collision between two trains in Manhattan because there have been two serious episodes in just over a month involving the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. On Nov. 29, an MTA subway worker was dragged under a train and killed while working as a rail safety flagger.“This is the second accident on New York City transit’s property in 37 days. That’s not typical,” Homendy said at a news conference at the 96th Street station, where Thursday’s collision happened. “The NTSB has been very focused on system safety … so coming here we are going to want to look at the entire system including how ...

US fugitive accused of faking his death to avoid rape charges is extradited to Utah from Scotland

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 19:00:55 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — An elusive U.S. fugitive accused of faking his own death and traveling the globe to avoid rape charges has been extradited to Utah from Scotland, the Utah County prosecutor’s office said Friday.The man known in the U.S. as Nicholas Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, is charged with sexually assaulting a former girlfriend in Orem, Utah, in 2008, according to local prosecutors. He also faces multiple complaints against him in Rhode Island for alleged domestic violence.Rossi, 36, was Utah-bound on Friday and will stand trial in Utah County for felony rape charges, county prosecutor David Leavitt said.“This is a great day,” Leavitt said in a statement thanking his staff for working with U.S. and international authorities to identify Rossi and bring him to justice more than a decade after his alleged crimes.In response to an inquiry from The Associated Press about Rossi’s return, Police Scotland would only confirm it assisted other law enfo...