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Musician Ryuichi Sakamoto dies at 71; won Oscar for ‘The Last Emperor’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

By Yuri Kageyama and Mari Yamaguchi | Associated PressTOKYO — Ryuichi Sakamoto, a world-renowned Japanese musician and actor who composed for Hollywood hits such as “The Last Emperor” and “The Revenant,” has died. He was 71.Japan’s recording company Avex said in a statement Sunday that Sakamoto died on March 28 while undergoing treatment for cancer.He was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014. In 2022, he revealed that he had terminal cancer, a year after he disclosed suffering from rectal cancer.Sakamoto was a pioneer of the electronic music of the late 1970s and founded the Yellow Magic Orchestra, also known as YMO, with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi.Takahashi died in January.Despite his battle with cancer, Sakamoto released a full-length album “12” on his 71st birthday in January, stating that composing had a “small healing effect on my damaged body and soul,” according to the official statement released with the ...

Tanya Tucker, Patty Loveless, Bob McDill to join Country Hall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

By Kristin M. Hall | Associated PressNASHVILLE, Tenn. — Grammy winners Tanya Tucker and Patty Loveless, along with hit country songwriter Bob McDill, will be the newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.The Country Music Association announced the 2023 inductees on Monday in Nashville, Tennessee, with Tucker, the “Delta Dawn” singer, entering in the veteran era artist category, while Loveless, who beautifully blended bluegrass and country, joins as the modern era artist. The three will be formally inducted during a ceremony in the fall.The bold husky-voiced Tucker is finally receiving her flowers from the Hall of Fame, an overdue honor after a career of 10 No. 1 hits, more than 40 songs in the top 10 and earning two Grammys for her 2019 comeback album “While I’m Livin’.”For years, Tucker had also wondered when she’d finally get the honor.“I figured I get it when I was dead or something,” she told The Associated Press on Mo...

Rendon suspended 5 games for altercation with A's fan

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

(KRON) -- MLB handed down discipline to Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon after he got into an altercation with an A's fan Thursday night in Oakland. Rendon was suspended for five games and fined an undisclosed amount.Video of the incident shows Rendon, 32, grabbing the fan by his shirt and accusing the fan of calling him a "b****." Video also shows him call the fan a "motherf****r." Before walking into the clubhouse, Rendon took a swing at the fan with his left arm. He did not connect. Klay Thomspon pays visit to SF rec center, plays pickup with kids The Oakland Police Department confirmed to KRON4 that it is investigating the altercation as battery. Rendon declined to comment on the incident when asked about it on Saturday.The Los Angeles Times reported that Rendon is appealing his suspension. He will begin serving a suspension when the matter is resolved, MLB said. In 2022, Rendon was also suspended for five games for his involvement in a brawl with the Seattle Ma...

San Ramon firefighters get new firefighting drone

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

SAN RAMON, Calif. (KRON) -- In San Ramon, the fire protection district has a new drone that they plan to use for more than just fighting fires. The San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District has received a new drone which has a 48 megapixel camera, 16x magnification, and thermal imaging.   Google cutting back on staplers, laptops, services: Report The fire district hopes to immediately begin using it to improve their ability to respond to and monitor structure fires and wildfires.The Alamo Improvement Association was able to secure $60,000 in grant money to purchase and maintain the drone. That includes a grant of more than $21,000 from the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.  Back in 2018, a grass fire west of Pittsburg in Contra Costa County spread to a large pipeline vault. That incident triggered the evacuation of 1400 homes. In order to bring the fire under control, a drone -- capable of heat detection -- was used to monitor the vault until the flame...

126 inches of snow recorded in Sierra Nevada mountains

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

(KRON) -- A 40-year record was shattered this winter and the California Department of Water Resources conducted its fourth snow survey of the season in the Sierra Nevada mountains Monday. Water scientists' manual survey at Phillips Station recorded a snow depth of 126.5 inches, with a snow water equivalent of 54 inches. That's 221 percent of average for this location, state water officials said. The critical Northern Sierra snowpack, home the state’s largest surface water reservoirs, is currently at 192 percent of its April average, according to CDWR. The Southern Sierra snowpack is at a mind-blowing 300 percent of average, and the Central Sierra is 237 percent of average.Snow is measured on April 3, 2023. (Kenneth James / California Department of Water Resources)Results from the CDWR's statewide snow sensor network are higher than any other readings since the network was established in the mid-1980s. "This year’s result will go down as one of the largest snowpack years o...

‘Night of Science’ at USPTO in Alexandria exposes students to creativity, career exploration

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

Alexandria, VA — November 6, 2019 — The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), in collaboration with the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) hosts Noche de Ciencias (Night of Science) in the Clara Barton Auditorium. The event draws hundreds of area students and their families. (Courtesy USPTO)At the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia, find out how a night of science can make “intellectual property” synonymous with the words “fun” and “awesome.”Juan Valentin, an education program adviser with the USPTO, said that the annual “Night of Science” or “Noche de Ciencias” on April 12 will feature exhibitors from federal agencies, such as NASA, the Department of Energy and others who create hands-on experiences for kids from kindergarten through high school.More Local NewsMore Virginia NewsMore Alexandria NewsIn past years, Valentin said, students got to create slime, make ...

Syria says Israeli strikes in Damascus area kill 2 civilians

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

BEIRUT (AP) — Israel staged airstrikes on the southern suburbs of the Syrian capital of Damascus early Tuesday, killing two civilians and causing some material damage, Syrian state media reported.Damascus residents said strong explosions were heard in the capital and its southern suburbs as Syrian state television reported that the country’s air defenses were confronting “an Israeli aggression.” State TV, quoting an unnamed military official, said two civilians were killed in the strikes near Damascus and southern Syria, adding that some of the missiles were shot down by Syria air defenses before they reached their targets. It that the strikes also caused some material damage. Israel’s shadow war with Iran in Syria intensified over the past days with four strikes on the Damascus area and the central province of Homs killing two Iranian military advisers since last week. Hours after strikes on central Syria Sunday, the Israeli military said it shot down an “aircraft” that crossed fro...

FACT FOCUS: Manhattan DA’s record distorted amid Trump case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

Ahead of former President Donald Trump’s expected booking and arraignment in New York City on Tuesday, social media users are accusing Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, of having poor prosecutorial judgment in other cases.But some posts distort Bragg’s decisions, from falsely accusing him of ignoring a case his office is prosecuting to misleadingly suggesting he should investigate a case outside his jurisdiction.Here’s a closer look at the facts.CLAIM: News footage about the unprovoked and deadly shooting of a man on the New York City subway in May 2022 provides an example of the “real crime in Manhattan” that Bragg should be prosecuting.THE FACTS: The Manhattan DA’s office is prosecuting the suspect in this case, according to records and communications from Bragg’s office.Bragg announced in June 2022 that a grand jury had indicted the suspect, Andrew Abdullah, on murder and weapon possession charges after he allegedly killed 48-year-old Daniel Enriquez aboard a Manhatta...

California AG: 54 ghost guns seized in unique state program

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California law enforcement took away 54 so-called ghost guns last year from people who can’t legally own firearms, a 38% jump in the number of the hard-to-trace weapons seized since 2021 under a unique state program, officials said Monday.The ghost guns, which are privately made firearms without a serial number, were part of nearly 1,500 guns taken statewide last year through an only-in-California program called the Armed and Prohibited Persons System, known as APPS. The California registry cross-matches databases to find people who legally purchased weapons but are now banned from ownership because they have been convicted of felonies or a violent misdemeanor, or have a history of domestic violence or mental illness. State and local authorities then can move to seize the weapons under the program, which began in 2006.Generally, firearms manufactured by licensed companies are required to have serial numbers that allow officials to trace the gun back to the manufac...

Lawsuit seeks records of toxic exposures at Uzbek air base

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:33 GMT

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Veterans’ advocacy groups sued the U.S. Department of Defense on Monday seeking records of toxic conditions at an air base in Uzbekistan blamed for causing cancer and other illnesses among American troops who served there in support of the war in Afghanistan.The lawsuit filed in federal court in Connecticut accuses military officials of withholding information about hazardous materials — including uranium, chemical weapons and asbestos — that were on the Karshi-Khanabad Air Base, known as K2, during U.S. operations there from 2001 to 2005.The contaminants included pools of “black goo” that caused military servicemembers to pass out, according to the lawsuit. At least around 15,800 troops served at the base, and personnel there became ill and died at higher-than-usual rates, the lawsuit says.The legal filing seeks information about the toxic substances and troop exposures so that sickened veterans can obtain accurate medical diagnoses and treatment and he...