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High-profile Downtown Walnut Creek retail and dining center lands buyer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:50 GMT

WALNUT CREEK — A restaurant and retail complex in downtown Walnut Creek has been bought in a deal that shows investors still thirst for commercial properties in prime locations.Midtown Plaza, a complex at a high-profile downtown Walnut Creek site, has been bought by an affiliate whose controlling entity is the Colorado Public Employees’ Retirement Association, according to documents on file with Contra Costa County and the State of California.The buyer, in separate transactions, paid a combined total of $16.1 million for Midtown Plaza, a retail and restaurant, as well as two adjacent properties, grant deeds filed on July 25 with the Contra Costa County Recorder’s Office show.1422 North California Boulevard in downtown Walnut Creek. (Google Maps)The Colorado employee pension group paid $12.35 million for Midtown Plaza, which has addresses ranging from 1410 through 1444 North California Boulevard in Walnut Creek.In a separate transaction, also on July 25, the Co...

Niger coup leaders reportedly threaten to kill president

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:50 GMT

By Sam Mednick and Chinedu Asadu | Associated PressNIAMEY, Niger — Niger’s junta told a top U.S. diplomat that they would kill deposed President Mohamed Bazoum if neighboring countries attempted any military intervention to restore his rule, two Western officials told The Associated Press.They spoke to the AP shortly before the West African bloc ECOWAS said it had directed the deployment of a “standby force” to restore democracy in Niger, without giving details about its make-up, location or proposed date of deployment.Representatives of the junta told U.S. Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland of the threat to Bazoum during her visit to the country this week, a Western military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.A U.S. official confirmed that account, also speaking on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak to the media.Bazoum, who was deposed on July 26, says he is being held ...

San Jose: Family identifies 6-year-old victim of double stabbing that also killed great-grandmother

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:50 GMT

SAN JOSE — A 6-year-old boy who died alongside his great-grandmother in a double stabbing at their apartment last week — with the killer still being sought — has been identified by family members as Jordan Cam Walker.Jordan was named in a GoFundMe page established Tuesday by his family to help cover funeral expenses, as written by Morian Walker, who is listed as the fundraising organizer.“With heavy hearts, we must come to celebrate the life of Jordan Cam Walker, a beloved 6-year-old child who loved the outdoors, swimming, playing baseball, and basketball. Jordan touched the lives of many in his community,” the page reads. “Jordan was taken from us way too soon, and his absence leaves a void that cannot be filled. During his short time with us, Jordan brought joy, laughter, and love to many people.”The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office has not officially released names of the stabbing victims, but a source familiar with the inve...

‘All of the dream’: How Eurodance parody ‘Planet of the Bass’ became the song of the summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:50 GMT

By Scottie Andrew | CNN“EVERYBODY MOOOOOVEMENT!” Eurodance maybe wasn’t due for a comeback for another few decades. But “Planet of the Bass,” a Eurodance parody track that’s become a TikTok hit and a legitimate banger in its own right, makes a compelling case for a return to a more innocent, synth-heavy time.It’s an uplifting song about glad rhythms and all of the dream. About a world where bass reigns supreme and its people are clapping the hands. About the mysteries of life — “how does it mean?” — and how to survive when danger and dance rule all.It’s nonsense. It’s comedy gold. And somehow, unironically, it’s become the song of the summer in a season devoid of the kinds of Top 40 hits that typically fill that slot. (Billie Eilish’s “Barbie” weepie “What Was I Made For,” anyone?) Oh, and “Planet of the Bass” hasn’t even been officially released on streaming services yet, but its mini music videos have been viewed millions of times across TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter) and I...

Bay Area indie bookstores to celebrate Bookstore Romance Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:50 GMT

Love reading about love? Then mark your calendar for Aug. 19. That’s Bookstore Romance Day, when about a dozen bookstores around the Bay Area will join a national celebration of the romance novel.Bookstore Romance Day, launched in 2019, is aimed at helping independent bookstores connect with romance readers and writers — and it’s coming to independent bookstores across the U.S.This year’s celebration brings a series of bookish events for Bay Area romance readers, including a conversation with two authors at Books Inc. in Campbell, discounts on romance novels at Pegasus Books in Oakland and Berkeley and a queer rom-com book and wine pairing in Mountain View.Campbell’s Books, Inc. will host a discussion between romance authors Evie Blum and Lexie Sloane on Aug. 19. Blum is the author of “Ship It,” a romance novel set at a Silicon Valley start-up. Sloane’s latest, “Broken Summit,” is a romance set during a mountain getaway. Th...

Live Maui Map: Here’s where the deadly wildfires are raging now

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:50 GMT

Maui wildfires, which first sparked on Tuesday, have burned through 13,000 acres, killed 36 people, and raged through the costal town of Lahaina, which is the biggest on the Western coast of the island.The live map above shows fire hotspots recorded by an array of satellites operated by NOAA, NASA and other organizations. Each hotspot includes information on the intensity of the blaze, the confidence of the reading, and the amount of time since each was detected.Hundreds of homes and other buildings have been destroyed on Maui, many have had their power shut off, and thousands are planning to evacuate as the wildfires continue to spread. The embers spread fast starting on Tuesday as strong winds from Hurricane Dora far to the south hit Maui. Officials say that the death toll may continue to climb.Related ArticlesEnvironment | Maui surveys the burned wreckage caused by the deadliest US wildfire in years Environment | Wildfire devastates Lahaina, historic Ma...

Virgin Galactic flies first tourists to the edge of space

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:50 GMT

By Susan Montoya BRyan and Marcia Dunn | Associated PressTRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. — Virgin Galactic rocketed to the edge of space with its first tourists Thursday, including a former British Olympian who bought his ticket 18 years ago and a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean.The space plane glided back to a runway landing at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert, after a brief flight that gave passengers a few minutes of weightlessness.This first private customer flight had been delayed for years; its success means Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic can now start offering monthly rides, joining Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the space tourism business.“That was by far the most awesome thing I’ve ever done in my life,” passenger Jon Goodwin told the crowd after his flight.Goodwin, who was among the first to buy a ticket in 2005, said he had faith that he would someday make the trip. The 80-year-old athlete — he compete...

Just making water more accessible has an impact on kids’ weight, Bay Area study shows

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:50 GMT

By Madeline Holcombe | CNNMaking water more accessible to kids leads to an increase in hydration and a decrease in children being overweight, according to a new study. And the change didn’t require a focus on children’s weight.The study, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, included more than 1,200 students across 18 schools in California’s Bay Area.“The study was conducted in racially and ethnically diverse and low-income elementary schools, where students are at most risk for chronic health problems, including overweight and obesity,” said lead study author Dr. Anisha Patel, professor of pediatrics at Stanford University.RELATED: How much are you spending on back-to-school shopping for your kid? Is $800 enough?Half of the schools were gifted water dispensers in the cafeteria and water-bottle filling stations in areas of high traffic, Patel said. The other half didn’t make any changes. The group that gained more access to water were also given cups or bottles as well as educ...

Northwest Biotherapeutics: Q2 Earnings Snapshot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:50 GMT

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — Northwest Biotherapeutics Inc. (NWBO) on Wednesday reported a loss of $14.4 million in its second quarter.On a per-share basis, the Bethesda, Maryland-based company said it had a loss of 1 cent.The cancer drug developer posted revenue of $201,000 in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on NWBO at https://www.zacks.com/ap/NWBOSource

UN Security Council to hold first open meeting on North Korea human rights situation since 2017

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:50 GMT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council will hold its first open meeting on North Korea’s dire human rights situation since 2017 next week, the United States announced Thursday.U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters that U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk and Elizabeth Salmon, the U.N. independent investigator on human rights in the reclusive northeast Asia country, will brief council members at the Aug. 17 meeting.“We know the government’s human rights abuses and violations facilitate the advancement of its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles program,” Thomas-Greenfield said, adding that the Security Council “must address the horrors, the abuses and crimes being perpetrated” by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s regime against its own people as well as the people of Japan and South Korea.Thomas-Greenfield, who is chairing the council during this month’s U.S. presidency, stood with the ambassadors from Albania, Japan and South Korea wh...