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Fascist Autocrats as Vampires make for Messy Metaphors in El Conde

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:07 GMT

Via our sister publication, The Village Voice: Pablo Larrain’s latest imagines Pinochet as a bloodsucker (it’s not as inspired as it sounds). Larrain has become one of global film culture’s most capricious voices — brooding biopic here; ironic ethical-political nightmare there; movies that flit poetically around angsty women like a moth, unable to settle. (He’s gearing up a Maria Callas project next.) You expect to be surprised by him, but exactly where Larrain thought he was going with this new film is a chin-scratcher that somehow adds to its flighty, impulsive character. Like, okay, bloodthirsty fascist autocrats are like vampires? It’s a thick, loose sweater of a metaphor, and El Conde (The Count) wears holes in it going for the gusto, envisioning a cowled elderly Pinochet flying over cities like Superman, eating hearts out of victims’ chests and at last pining to die for real.Shot in spectral gray tones by Ed Lachman, Larrain’s film, narrated in suspiciously Thatcheresque ...

With time running out, Congress moves into crisis mode

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:07 GMT

By Lisa Mascaro and Stephen Groves | Associated PressWASHINGTON — Congress is rushing headlong into crisis mode Tuesday with a government shutdown days away, as Speaker Kevin McCarthy faces an insurgency from hard-right Republicans eager to slash spending even if it means halting pay for the military and curtailing federal services for millions of Americans.There’s no clear path ahead as lawmakers return with tensions high and options limited. The House is expected to launch an evening vote on a package of bills to fund parts of the government, but it’s not at all clear that McCarthy has the support needed as holdouts demand steeper spending cuts.“It’s easy,” McCarthy quipped Tuesday when asked about keeping the government open.But with just five days to go before Saturday’s deadline, McCarthy is reviving his plan for a stopgap measure to prevent a federal shutdown that was already rejected outright by a handful of hard-right Republicans who say t...

Antioch woman charged with child porn distribution was working as family’s nanny

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:07 GMT

MARTINEZ — Contra Costa County prosecutors on Tuesday charged an Antioch woman working as a nanny inside a home with seven felony counts related to possessing and distributing child pornography, authorities said.Investigators with the Contra Costa County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force arrested Michelle Nicole Hidalgo, 28, on Friday after serving a search warrant at her home, according to a statement from District Attorney Diana Becton.The task force had been notified by a social media company on Sept. 21 that the images had been shared on their platform.Officers seized undisclosed equipment that Becton said Hidalgo used to produce the pornographic images and the distribution of them.The woman was working part-time as a nanny. Becton said the victim in the child porn distribution was part of the family.Hidalgo remained in custody at the county jail Tuesday afternoon in lieu of $800,000 bail, according to jail records. She is scheduled to make her first court appear...

Boogaloo follower guilty of murder, attempted murder in 2020 Oakland ambush of federal officers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:07 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — A follower of the anti-government Boogaloo movement has been convicted of murder and attempted murder in the May 2020 drive-by shooting that targeted court security officers outside Oakland’s federal building, authorities said.Robert Alvin Justus Jr., 33, of Milbrae, was found guilty by a jury that deliberated for several hours over a two-day period. He now faces a mandatory life sentence.Justus was the driver of a modified white van owned by fellow Boogaloo follower Steven Carrillo, who was the impetus behind the murder plot. The two met up at a BART station in San Leandro, immediately drove to Oakland, and gunned down Federal Protective Service Officer Dave Patrick Underwood outside the Ron Dellums Federal Building in downtown Oakland. A second FPS officer was wounded by the gunfire.According to the FBI, the two were influenced by the so-called Boogaloo movement, a loosely organized anti-government group that believes a second Civil War is looming. Duri...

Seven-bedroom home sells in Fremont for $1.9 million

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:07 GMT

38322 Parkside Court – Google Street ViewA 3,836-square-foot house built in 1965 has changed hands. The spacious property located in the 38300 block of Parkside Court in Fremont was sold on July 24, 2023, for $1,860,000, or $485 per square foot. This two-story home presents a roomy floor plan, featuring seven bedrooms and four baths. In addition, the home includes a three-car garage. The property’s backyard also includes a pool.Additional houses that have recently been purchased close by include:In July 2023, a 2,524-square-foot home on Inez Avenue in Fremont sold for $2,075,000, a price per square foot of $822. The home has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.On Acacia Street, Fremont, in June 2023, a 1,601-square-foot home was sold for $1,600,000, a price per square foot of $999. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.A 1,860-square-foot home on the 2600 block of Forrest Court in Fremont sold in June 2023, for $1,780,000, a price per square foot of $957. The home has 4 bedrooms and 2 bath...

The Spritz isn’t new, but it’s a phenomenon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:07 GMT

If you make it to Italy this year, be sure to try an Aperol Spritz. It will certainly be easy to find.The Aperol Spritz is a phenomenon like no other. Drinks come and go. Some like the Cosmopolitan bask in popularity for years, and others, like the Martini, are perennial. But we have never seen anything reach the popularity of the Aperol Spritz. Never. It is on almost every single table in Italy, everywhere. And it has spread out from there.Created in 1919 by brothers Luigi and Silvio Barbieri in Padua, Italy, Aperol’s softer, sweeter taste and pinkish-orange color pose a regional challenge to the powerhouse of Piedmont’s bitter, carmine-hued Campari. Aperol is half the strength of Campari and derives its flavor primarily from gentian, cinchona and rhubarb. It was quite popular when it was first introduced but began fading after World War II, so much so that Gruppo Campari purchased the brand in 2003.And then, along came the Aperol Spritz.A Hugo Spritz combines elderflower liqueur, ...

San Jose: Man dies weeks after collision on South White Road

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:07 GMT

SAN JOSE — A man died Saturday from the injuries he sustained in a collision earlier this month in San Jose, police said on Tuesday.A man identified by the Santa Clara County Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner as 83-year-old San Jose resident Tung Chau was driving an Acura sedan on Sept. 8 when he suffered the fatal injuries.According to police, a woman driving a BMW sedan made an unsafe lane change into the left turn lane on South White Road near the intersection with Quimby Road, hitting Chau, who was already in the turn lane. The crash forced Chau to hit the center median before continuing into a curbside tree.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Pedestrian killed in East San Jose traffic collision Crashes and Disasters | Driver hits, kills pedestrian in Willow Glen Crashes and Disasters | Motorist, horse killed in California collision Crashes and Disasters | Hit-and-run in Oakland kills two East Bay residents in t...

Striking actors vote for walkout against video game makers

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:07 GMT

By Andrew Dalton | Associated PressLOS ANGELES — Striking actors have voted to expand their walkout to include the lucrative video game market, a step that could put new pressure on Hollywood studios to make a deal with the performers who provide voices and stunts for games.The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists announced the move late Monday, saying that 98% of its members voted to go on strike against video game companies if ongoing negotiations are not successful. The announcement came ahead of more talks planned for Tuesday.Acting in video games can include a variety of roles, from voice performances to motion capture work as well as stunts. Video game actors went on strike in 2016 in a work stoppage that lasted nearly a year.Some of the same issues are at play in the video game negotiations as in the broader actors strike that has shut down Hollywood for months, including wages, safety measures and protections on the use of artificial intell...

Target closing stores in San Francisco, Oakland due to theft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:07 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Target announced it will permanently close three stores in the San Francisco Bay Area before Halloween. The retail giant said organized retail crime rings have become so rampant that store employees are no longer safe."We cannot continue operating these stores because theft and organized retail crime are threatening the safety of our team and guests, and contributing to unsustainable business performance. We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all," the company wrote in a statement Tuesday. The following Target stores will close effective October 21:SF Folsom and 13th St: 1690 Folsom StOakland Broadway & 27th: 2650 BroadwayPittsburg: 4301 Century BlvdThirty-two Target stores remain open in the San Francisco and Oakland region.Target said it did not take its decision lightly, and the company made unsuccessful efforts to stop thieves. T...

Bay Area native Devin Haney to fight in San Francisco for city's first major boxing event in years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:07 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Undisputed lightweight boxing champion Devin Haney is coming home. Haney is moving up a weight class to challenge Regis Prograis on Dec. 9 at Chase Center in San Francisco, the boxer announced on social media Tuesday.The Oakland native is coming back to the Bay Area for his first fight in his hometown since turning pro in 2015. Haney, 24, was born in San Francisco and raised in Oakland.He teased a fight in his hometown earlier this month by tweeting "Bay Area... December I'm coming!" It was made official when Haney, promoter Matchroom and broadcaster DAZN announced the fight on social media.Haney (30-0, 15 KOs) holds all four major world titles at lightweight (135 lbs). He is moving up to 140 pounds for Prograis' WBC super lightweight title. Haney last fought in May and defeated two-time gold medalist Vasiliy Lomachenko via controversial unanimous decision. It was dubbed as Haney's biggest win in his career thus far.Prograis, 34, last fought in June at his ho...