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How Cord Jefferson’s backstory figures in his hit ‘American Fiction’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:51 GMT

Satire often leans toward one of two directions — a scathing critique where no one gets spared or an outright farce that broadly spoofs the absurdity of a given scenario.Filmmaker Cord Jefferson took a more compassionate path with “American Fiction,” his triumphant adaptation of Percival Everett’s acerbic 2005 novel “Erasure.” In this highly entertaining look at one modern Black American family in the Boston area, and a woke culture that isn’t nearly as woke as Americans like to think it is, Jefferson takes on hot-button issues such as race, ambition, family, sexual preference, academic pretense, the publishing industry, media misrepresentations about being Black, even aging.Whew!Jefferson’s feature debut focuses on a self-centered Black writer/professor (Jeffrey Wright, whom Jefferson envisioned in the role as he read the novel) who’s forced to reunite with — or, at the very least, try to engage with — his dysfunctional, highly intelligent family. He’s...

Disneyland announces fireworks and parade lineup through summer 2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:51 GMT

Fans of Disneyland fireworks will get to see five different pyrotechnic shows between now and the end of summer as the Anaheim theme park rolls out a familiar and somewhat complex lineup of nighttime entertainment for the first half of 2024.Disneyland will host the “Believe in Holiday Magic,” “Mickey’s Mix Magic,” “Together Forever,” “Wondrous Journeys” and Star Wars-themed fireworks shows over the next nine months.ALSO SEE: Look inside Zootopia land pitched for Disneyland expansionYou’ll need to break out a calendar to keep track of all the fireworks shows coming and going from Disneyland. Here’s the breakdown of the schedule.“Believe in Holiday Magic” runs through Jan.7 when the holiday season ends at the Disneyland resort.“Mickey’s Mix Magic” runs Jan. 8 through March 21 at Disneyland.“Wondrous Journeys” takes to the skies March 22 through April 14 with nightly fireworks throughout the run.ALSO SEE: First look inside Tiana’s Bayou Adventure at Disneyland — See photos“Mickey’s Mix...

Suspect in fatal Pacifica stabbing that led to school lockdown still on the loose

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:51 GMT

(KRON) -- The suspect in a fatal stabbing that led to a temporary lockdown at Vallemar Elementary School in Pacifica Thursday morning is still on the loose, the Pacifica Police Department said. Officers responded to a report of domestic violence in the 200 block of Naomi Avenue at around 7:45 a.m.Arriving at the scene, officers located a male and a man and woman both suffering from stab wounds. The suspected killer was seen leaving the area on foot, police said. Serial Bay Area shoplifter arrested 90 times The female victim was transported to the hospital. The male victim was pronounced deceased at the scene. No one else was injured during the incident, police said.Pacifica PD and officers from allied agencies searched the area. Vallemar Elementary, which is just five minutes by foot from the scene of the incident, was placed on lockdown "out of an abundance of caution," police said.Pacifica PD was unable to locate the suspect who they believe has left the area. With no apparent p...

Swastika graffiti discovered on campus of junior high in Los Altos

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:51 GMT

(KRON) -- Several swastikas were discovered on the campus of Blach Intermediate School in Los Altos last week, a representative of the Los Altos School District confirmed. A swastika was found sketched in pen on the boys PE lockers Friday, according to a statement sent out to parents earlier this week.Following further inspection, four other swastikas were found on lockers, including lockers unassigned to students, the school said. Two additional swastikas were found in the boys PE locker room on Tuesday, the district said. Serial Bay Area shoplifter arrested 90 times The swastikas were all "clearly drawn by the same person," a district spokesperson said.The school said it has since cleaned the lockers following its procedures for such incidents. In the letter to parents, the school said it was been in contact with local police to investigate the incidents."I want to assure you that if we find this was perpetrated by any Blach of LASD students, appropriate disciplinary action will...

Denver health department offers holiday mental health care tips

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- The holiday season is notoriously known as merry and bright, cold and cozy, holly and jolly. But the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment notes that with those highs come the lows.“While it is our hope that everyone has a joyful holiday season, it’s easy to forget that this season can drain our mental health,” DDPHE executive director Bob McDonald said in a release. LIST: Mental health resources available in Colorado The department wants to remind the community of healthy habits and resources available during a time that can be stressful, lonely and even frustrating for some.You are not aloneYou've heard it time and time again, but it's true. According to the American Psychiatric Association, about 5% of adults in the U.S. experience seasonal affective disorder (SAD), sometimes known as seasonal depression, and it typically lasts about 40% of the year.A 2021 survey by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) showed that three in five Ameri...

United expects to serve a million passengers at DIA during end of year holiday travel

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — The end-of-the-year holiday travel rush has begun. Between Thursday, Dec. 21, and Tuesday, Jan. 2, the Transportation Safety Administration expects to screen 850,000 travelers departing from Denver International Airport. FOX 31’s Nicole Fierro got a behind-the-scenes look at how crews, from TSA checkpoints to the control tower, are working to make trips take off smoothly. Colorado measles case confirmed days after patient flew into Denver airport “Yesterday, we screened 74,000 departing travelers,” Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Lorie Dankers said, adding “Today’s at 79,000 and tomorrow's 82,000.”New scanning technology and all-hands-on-deck staffing for TSA are part of the equation for trying to make the airport rush smoother.“We know hour by hour the number of passengers that we expect so we staff for that as well,” Dankers said.United Airlines expects more people will travel for the Christmas holiday than they did for Thanksgiving.“We’re pla...

Tyler Herro scores 28 points as the Miami Heat beat the Orlando Magic 115-106

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:51 GMT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Tyler Herro had 28 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, helping the Miami Heat beat the Orlando Magic 115-106 on Wednesday night.Bam Adebayo had 18 points and seven rebounds for Miami, which scored 32 points in a 6 1/2-minute stretch of the second quarter and won for the fourth time in six games.Playing in his 10th game of the season, Herro was 10 for 17 from the field. He went 4 for 5 from 3-point range.“I feel like the more games I play, the more comfortable I’m going to be,” Herro said. “I’m not in midseason form yet. I would like to say there’s another level I can take it to.”Haywood Highsmith, one of four Miami reserves who scored in double figures, made four of the Heat’s 15 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 15 points.“Our bench really drove us to this win,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They finished the second quarter and they finished the game, for the most part.”Miami played without Jimmy Butler, who has a strained left calf, and Kevi...

Two Rhode Island men charged with assault and battery in death of Patriots fan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:51 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Two Rhode Island men have been charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct by Foxborough Police in connection with the recent death of a fan at a New England Patriots game.John Vieira, 59, and Justin Mitchell, 39, both of Warwick, R.I., were charged with assault and battery and disorderly conduct earlier this month after investigators said they punched 53-year-old Dale Mooney, of Newmarket, New Hampshire.Mooney was struck during an altercation at the Sept. 17 game, which ended in a 24-17 win by the visiting Miami Dolphins, investigators said. Mooney was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.Criminal complaints filed earlier this month said both Vieira and Mitchell “did assault and beat Dale Mooney.” A lawyer for Mitchell did not immediately return a phone call. Court records didn’t indicate an attorney for Vieira.The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner provided preliminary indications that did not suggest traumatic injury, but did identif...

From fugitive to shackled prisoner, ‘Fat Leonard’ lands back in US court and could face more charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:51 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — A defense contractor at the center of one of the biggest bribery scandals in U.S. military history is expected to face additional charges following his return to the United States from Venezuela as part of a broader prisoner swap between the two countries, a federal prosecutor said Thursday.Leonard Glenn Francis, who is nicknamed “Fat Leonard,” faced a federal judge for the first time since snipping off his ankle monitor last year and disappearing weeks before a sentencing hearing on charges that he offered more than $500,000 in cash bribes to Navy officials, defense contractors and others.He was later arrested in Venezuela and had been in custody there since, but was returned to the U.S. in a large swap that also saw the release of 10 American detainees by Venezuela in exchange for the Biden administration freeing Alex Saab, a Colombian-born businessman and close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was facing money laundering charges in Miami.Francis, shac...

Indictments on murder, robbery charges handed down in fatal Worcester State shooting case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:11:51 GMT

A grand jury has handed down multiple indictments in the case of a shooting on Worcester State University’s campus that left a man dead and another paralyzed from the waist down.Massachusetts State Police announced this week that Kevin Rodriguez, 18, was indicted by a Worcester County Grand Jury on murder and firearms-related charges, months after the shooting death of Randy Armando Melendez Jr. of Southbridge.Both Melendez and a 21-year-old man were shot the morning of Oct. 28 after authorities said a confrontation took place between two groups who were visiting the campus at the time.State police said Rodriguez, a Lawrence resident, allegedly shot Melendez before fleeing to New York, where he was found and arrested in a Brooklyn apartment soon afterwards.Indictments were were also handed down for Richard Nieves, 19, of Spencer, and Kenneth Doelter, 20, of Southbridge. Before shots were fired, authorities say the suspects allegedly robbed the 21-year-old man who survived the ...