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Only one Chuck E. Cheese animatronic band will remain, and it’s not in San Jose

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

In the Chuck E. Cheese restaurant, the bright green digital floor pulsated in sync with the kid’s pop music. Two-year-old Julian was busting out some good moves, until the curtains started to rise on a stage across the dance floor and his mom, Marcela Alvarez, scooped him up in her arms.Related ArticlesRestaurants, Food and Drink | Map: The last Shakey’s in Northern California, and other disappearing restaurants of your childhood “Look at that, who is that? It’s Chuck E.! Say ‘Hi, Chuck E.,’” the 34-year-old Northridge mother told her son as Munch’s Make Believe Band was revealed. The fictional group is the animatronic house band that has rocked out in front of generations of fans in the chain’s hundreds of restaurants.And this particular animatronic group, in a Northridge restaurant, will be the last band standing.Chuck E. Cheese recently announced it will be removing the feature from all other locations, leaving Munch’s Make Believe Band in permanent residenc...

Woman arrested in connection to deadly wrong-way crash in South San Francisco

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — Police arrested a woman last week in connection to a deadly wrong-way collision on Airport Boulevard in South San Francisco, according to authorities.Related ArticlesCrashes and Disasters | Daly City woman arrested on suspicion of robbery, child endangerment Crashes and Disasters | Suspect arrested in double stabbing at San Mateo bar Crashes and Disasters | Coast Guard calls off search for man swept into ocean near Half Moon Bay Crashes and Disasters | Don Horsley, former San Mateo County sheriff and supervisor, dies Crashes and Disasters | Redwood City man arrested on suspicion of trying to meet teen for sex The 40-year-old Antioch woman was driving on the wrong side of the road when she collided with another vehicle around 3:24 a.m. on Nov. 21. The crash killed one person, according to police.The man killed was identified by the San Mateo County Coroners Office as 56-year-old Daly...

BottleRock announces massive new Latin music Festival La Onda in Napa

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

Organizers behind the popular BottleRock Napa Valley festival on Tuesday announced plans to present a massive Latin music festival in 2024 at the same location a week after BottleRock wraps.The inaugural Festival La Onda By BottleRock is set to take place June 1-2 at the downtown Napa Valley Expo. It’s envisioned as an annual event taking place one week after and on the same site as BottleRock.La Onda — which translates to “The Wave” but is also used in reference to a vibe or for something that is cool or hip — reportedly will be the only major multi-day festival to focus exclusively on Latin music in Northern California. It follows in the footsteps of such successful Latin music events as Besame Mucho in Los Angles and Sueños in Chicago.“There are some great Latin music festivals out there, but none in Northern California,” says Dave Graham, one of the partners of Latitude 38 Entertainment, the organization behind both events. “We’re fortunate to...

Chevron refinery in Richmond issued violation notices for flaring event

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

(KRON) -- The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued four notices of violation to the Chevron Richmond Refinery for a flaring event on Monday. Three of the notices were for visible emissions and one was for public nuisance violation.Monday's flaring incident saw smoke visible in parts of the East Bay and beyond. The flaring was due to a loss of power at the facility, according to Chevron. A safety mechanism activated on the refinery's internal electrical system at about 3:30 p.m. Monday, Chevron said in a news release Tuesday. Concord teen who donated his heart to be honored at Rose Parade "This caused a loss of power to a portion of the facility, including a steam generation plant," the release stated. "Subsequently, our safety flares were activated as we worked to stabilize the operating units impacted by the outage."Loss of steam also impacted other equipment at the facility, Chevron said, which contributed to the flaring.Both Chevron and the BAAQMD are continuing ...

Jewish groups sue UC Berkeley over ‘unchecked’ antisemitism

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

(The Hill) -- A pair of Jewish organizations filed suit against the University of California (UC) system, the University of California, Berkeley, and school administrators on Tuesday over allegations of a "longstanding, unchecked spread of antisemitism" at the school. The 37-page suit, filed Tuesday in the Northern District of California by the Louis D. Brandeis Center and the Jewish Americans For Fairness In Education (JAFE), claims antisemitism has been allowed to "take root and grow" at the UC Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) for over a year. The suit argues intervention is needed, especially in the wake of the militant group Hamas' surprise incursion against Israel last month that killed over 1,200 people and sparked an ongoing conflict in Gaza. In the weeks that followed Hamas's Oct. 7 attack, a surge in antisemitic incidents was reported in several parts of the U.S. and in Europe.The suit accuses nearly two dozen student organizations at UC Berkeley Law of practicing poli...

Rosalynn Carter’s intimate funeral is being held in the town where she and her husband were born

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Rosalynn Carter received her final farewells Wednesday in the same tiny town where she and Jimmy Carter were born, forever their home base as they climbed to the White House and traveled the world for humanitarian causes.The former first lady, who died Nov. 19 at the age of 96, had her intimate funeral at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, where she and her husband spent decades welcoming guests and where a wooden cross Jimmy Carter fashioned in his woodshop is displayed. Earlier tributes were held in nearby Americus and in Atlanta.The former president was in attendance in his wheelchair.Rosalynn Carter will be buried in a plot she will one day share with her husband of 77 years. The former president, now 99, left home hospice care to attend Tuesday’s memorial, where two other presidents and all the living first ladies joined the extended Carter family before Wednesday’s more intimate hometown funeral.Vernita Sampson, a school bus driver and Plains native, ...

Nigeria’s leader presents $34 billion spending plan for 2024, prioritizing the economy, security

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria’s leader on Wednesday presented a 27.5 trillion naira ($34.8 billion) spending plan for 2024 to federal lawmakers, with a focus on stabilizing Africa’s largest but ailing economy and tackling the nation’s deadly security crisis.The primary objective next year is to sustain the “robust foundation for sustainable economic development” that the new government has set in motion, President Bola Tinubu said in Abuja, the capital. Now lawmakers will deliberate and vote on the plan.Tinubu projected that the economy would grow by at least 3.76% next year and listed infrastructure and social welfare programs among the government’s priorities to reduce hardship in the country of more than 210 million people.In his six months in office, Tinubu introduced economic reforms that the government said would grow the economy and attract more foreign investment. Those reforms — including the removal of costly gas subsidies — have instead worsened the hardship f...

Finland closes last crossing point with Russia, sealing off entire border as tensions rise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

HELSINKI (AP) — NATO member Finland on Wednesday closed its last remaining border crossing with Russia after the government decided to seal the entire border with its eastern neighbor amid rising political tensions.The Cabinet of Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo decided to temporarily close the entire 1,340-kilometer (830-mile) border between the two countries a day earlier over concerns that Moscow was using migrants to destabilize the Nordic country in an alleged act of “hybrid warfare.” The Raja-Jooseppi crossing point in Finland’s Arctic Lapland region, located some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the northern Russian city of Murmansk, closed at 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to the checkpoint’s normal November schedule.Ville Ahtiainen, a deputy commander with the Finnish Border Guard in Lapland, told reporters that the remote border crossing, located in the middle of rugged wilderness, was quiet during the four hours it remained open Wednesday, with a handful of vehicles passin...

US sanctions financial network tied to Iranian oil sales

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. on Wednesday said it imposed a new round of sanctions on a group of 20 people and firms allegedly involved in a financial facilitation network for the benefit of the Iranian military.The Treasury Department sanctions impact firms and people spanning Hong Kong to the United Arab Emirates.Included in the sanctions package are employees, brokers and purchasers from Iranian firm Sepehr Energy, which is also subject to sanctions.The U.S. alleges that Sepehr acts as a front company for the Iranian government’s oil sales, which “fund its destabilizing regional activities and support of multiple regional proxy groups,” including Hamas and Hezbollah, according to a Treasury statement.A representative from Sepehr Energy did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment. The sanctions block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prevent the targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans.Iran engages in “illicit finance sc...

Autoworker strike cost GM $1.1B, which it says it can absorb as it announces massive stock buyback

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:13:28 GMT

FILE - The General Motors logo is seen, Jan. 27, 2020, in Hamtramck, Mich. The venture capital arms of General Motors and Stellantis are among investors sinking $33 million into a Minnesota company with technology to make magnets for electric vehicle motors without using expensive rare-earth metals. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)(AP/Paul Sancya) FILE - The General Motors logo is seen, Jan. 27, 2020, in Hamtramck, Mich. The venture capital arms of General Motors and Stellantis are among investors sinking $33 million into a Minnesota company with technology to make magnets for electric vehicle motors without using expensive rare-earth metals. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)(AP/Paul Sancya) DETROIT (AP) — General Motors s...