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Journalist Hodding Carter III dies; during Iran hostage crisis, he was State Department spokesman

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:08 GMT

Associated PressCHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Hodding Carter III, a Mississippi journalist and civil rights activist who updated Americans on the Iran hostage crisis as U.S. State Department spokesman and won awards for his televised documentaries, has died. He was 88.His daughter, Catherine Carter Sullivan, confirmed that he died Thursday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.Before moving to Washington in 1977, Carter was editor and publisher of his family’s newspaper, the Delta Democrat-Times, in Greenville, Mississippi.Carter had been co-chair of the Loyalist Democrats, a racially diverse group that won a credentials fight at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, unseating the all-white delegation by Mississippi’s governor, John Bell Williams.Carter’s campaign work in 1976 for Jimmy Carter, no relation, helped secure him a job as assistant secretary of state for public affairs. It was in this role that he was seen on television news during the 444 days that Iran h...

Second person dies after two-car collision on Highway 4 in Martinez

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:08 GMT

MARTINEZ — A second driver involved in a two-car collision on Highway 4 earlier this week has died from his injuries, authorities said Friday.The wreck on Tuesday happened about 10:40 p.m. in the westbound direction between the Morello and Center Avenue exits, according to a statement from California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Lane. A driver of a Honda Civic died at the scene. The driver of a Toyota Corolla died Wednesday at a hospital.The crash was the fifth fatal one on the highway in 2023, and the first that has resulted in more than one death. There have been nine fatal crashes on the highway since November 16, 2022, when three children were among five people killed in a head-on collision in Pittsburg.Authorities identified the Honda driver as 18-year-old Diana Zuniga, of San Pablo. They identified the Toyota driver as 49-year-old Jeremiah Smeby, of Antioch.Lane said Zuniga drove a gray Honda Civic into the white Toyota that Smeby drove as the two traveled west on the hig...

United pilots picket for higher pay ahead of summer season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:08 GMT

By David Koenig | Associated PressDALLAS — Just ahead of what could be a record-breaking summer travel season, pilots from one of the nation’s biggest airlines marched in picket lines at major airports on Friday as they push for higher pay.The United Airlines pilots have been working without a raise for more than four years while negotiating with airline management over a new contract.The pilots are unlikely to strike anytime soon, however. Federal law makes it very difficult for unions to conduct strikes in the airline industry, and the last walkout at a U.S. carrier was more than a decade ago.The coast-to-coast protests by United pilots come on the heels of overwhelming strike-authorization votes by pilots at American Airlines and Southwest Airlines. United pilots could be the next to vote, according to union officials.Pilots at all three carriers are looking to match or beat the deal that Delta Air Lines reached with its pilots earlier this year, which raised pay rates by 3...

Google co-founders gain $17 billion as AI boost lifts stock

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:08 GMT

By Biz Carson | BloombergGoogle’s co-founders are reaping the rewards of the artificial intelligence frenzy, adding more than $17 billion to their combined wealth as the company unveiled a revamped search engine.Larry Page’s net worth increased by $8.7 billion this week to $106.2 billion, while Sergey Brin’s rose $8.3 billion to $101.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. That puts them on track for their biggest weekly gain since February 2021.Google will start experimenting with a more conversational search engine and has made its AI-powered chatbot available more broadly, the Mountain View, California-based company said at its annual developer conference on Wednesday. That’s helping the firm assert dominance in an increasingly competitive field. Shares of its parent, Alphabet Inc., were little changed at 10:57 a.m. in New York after surging 8.6% in the two days through Thursday.Page and Brin, who’ve been helping with the AI push and are more involved in the com...

Ukraine says it has made gains near key city of Bakhmut

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:08 GMT

By Samya Kullab | Associated PressKYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian military commanders said Friday that their troops had recaptured more territory from Russian forces at the scene of the war’s longest and bloodiest battle, for the eastern city of Bakhmut, but it wasn’t clear if this marked the start of Kyiv’s long-expected counteroffensive.Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said Ukrainian forces had stepped up attacks north of the region while denying speculation by Russian military bloggers that the Kyiv forces had achieved “defense breakthroughs.”The 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) of territory that Ukrainian forces south of Bakhmut retook this week represented a significant gain and will protect an important supply chain, according to commanders of Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, a special forces unit that led the attack.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met with the top military commanders Friday, noting that Gen. Oleksandr Sy...

The 10 most expensive reported home sales in Danville, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton the week of May 1

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:08 GMT

A house in Danville that sold for $3.6 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in Danville, San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton in the past week.In total, 21 residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past week, with an average price of $2.3 million. The average price per square foot ended up at $729.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of May 1 even if the property may have been sold earlier.10. $2 million, detached house in the 6400 block of Paseo Santa MariaThe 2,588 square-foot single-family house in the 6400 block of Paseo Santa Maria, Pleasanton, has now been sold. The transfer of ownership was settled in March and the total purchase price was $2,040,000, $788 per square foot. The house was built in 1988. The house features 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.9. $2.5 million, single-family home in the 2800 block of Tulare Hills DriveThe 4,266 square-foot single-family resi...

Bay Area councilwoman calls for censure of colleague following incident

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:08 GMT

Brentwood City Councilmember Jovita Mendoza this week called for the censure of fellow Councilman Tony Oerlemans for his actions at a previous meeting.During the April 25 meeting, Oerlemans got into a heated exchange with Mayor Joel Bryant and then left the meeting briefly. The exchange happened when the councilman tried to pull two consent calendar items while a different motion was already on the floor, which was then seconded and unanimously passed.Orelemans, hearing that the items he wanted pulled – a contract for a soundwall and expense adjustment for the police dispatch system – had been approved, became upset, accusing the mayor of unfairly pushing the items forward.Brentwood Councilman Tony Oerlemans becomes angry over a consent calendar item on a sound wall that was not pulled for discussion and gets into a heated exchange with Mayor Joel Bryant and later walks out on April 25, 2023. “You don’t understand anything. I am disgusted with the ability for you to push someth...

Concord, San Jose: Would you sign a waiver to eat spicy chicken at new Angry Chickz restaurants?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:08 GMT

Angry Chickz, a SoCal-based chain that’s fired up about Nashville-style chicken, has just doubled its Bay Area footprint with new restaurants in Contra Costa and Santa Clara counties.These are the third and fourth Angry Chickz locations for the the Bay Area. The first opened on San Jose’s Saratoga Avenue during the pandemic and the second in Brentwood earlier this year. This new San Jose location takes over the former home of Blue Rock BBQ on Meridian Avenue, and the Concord one is on Ygnacio Valley Road.Founder David Mkhitaryan first discovered Nashville hot chicken in 2017 and set about perfecting his recipe for a spicy, juicy chicken tender. He, his wife and a friend opened the first Angry Chickz in Hollywood in 2018. Since then, the business owners have been on a tear, opening 21 fast-food restaurants in California, Nevada and Arizona.Heat levels range from Country style (no heat), up through Mild, Medium, Hot, to X-Hot and then — if you are willing to sign a w...

Northern California receives 5.2-magnitude jolt early Friday, following a 5.5 earthquake Thursday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:08 GMT

EAST SHORE — Mother Nature got the attention of a lot of people Thursday with a 5.5-magnitude earthquake with an epicenter about 3½ miles below Lake Almanor’s eastern portion. The shake took place at 4:19 p.m.; people in the Chico, Sacramento and Reno areas, and elsewhere, reported feeling the movement.According to the U.S. Geological Survey earthquake tracker website, Earth’s action continued through the night and into Friday, though imperceptibly in many cases, with aftershocks in the Lake Almanor area registering below 3.0 on the scale nine times. Only shakes of 3.0 at 5:06 p.m. and 10:45 p.m., and a 3.8 at 7:54 p.m., were likely to get anyone’s attention.A 5.2-magnitude temblor at 3:18 Friday morning undoubtedly awakened many people in Plumas County and beyond, with aftershocks of 3.1, 3.0, 3.0 and 3.1 peppering the mix starting at 5:42.A woman who answered the phone at the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office said the department had not received any reports of damage nor of injuries ...

Best Bingo Sites in the UK (Updated List) – Ranked for Online Bingo Room Variety, Promos, and More

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:52:08 GMT

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