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Over 100 Church members beaten and arrested at the Turkish Border

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:49:42 GMT

KAPIKULE, TURKEY, May 24th, 9:00 GMT]- Over 100 members of The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, a persecuted religious minority, who have presented themselves at the Turkish-Bulgarian border claiming asylum this morning have just been refused entry, violently beaten, pushed back and taken to Edirne public safety office. Gunshots were fired at them, they were threatened and their belongings were thrown away. The group includes women, children and the elderly. The 103 individuals have been subjected to extreme and systematic forms of religious persecution all across Muslim-majority countries because of their faith. They had been beaten, imprisoned, kidnapped, humiliated and terrorized in countries like Iran, Iraq, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Azerbaijan and Thailand. They had gathered in Turkey and were on their way to the Turkish-Bulgarian border to assume their human right to request asylum directly from the Bulgarian Border Police, in line with Article 58(4) of the Law on Asylum and...

Tina Turner dies at 83

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:49:42 GMT

Music icon Tina Turner has died at the age of 83.The singer's team announced her passing in a post on Instagram Wednesday."It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Tina Turner. With her music and her boundless passion for life, she enchanted millions of fans around the world and inspired the stars of tomorrow," the post read. "Today we say goodbye to a dear friend who leaves us all her greatest work: her music. All our heartfelt compassion goes out to her family. Tina, we will miss you dearly."The rock and soul singer died on Wednesday after a long illness at her home in Küsnacht near Zurich, Switzerland, Deadline reports.“With her, the world loses a music legend and a role model,” her spokesperson, Bernard Doherty, said in a statement to the publication.This is a developing story. Please return for updates.

Melina Griset Alvarez Killed in Pedestrian Accident on Gerber Road [Sacramento, CA]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:49:42 GMT

39-Year-Old Woman Fatally Struck near Waterman RoadSACRAMENTO, CA (May 24, 2023) – Friday night, a pedestrian-auto collision along Gerber Road left Melina Griset Alvarez fatally injured.The deadly crash happened on May 19th, shortly after 10:30 p.m. at Waterman Road in South Sacramento.Based on the initial investigation, an eastbound white 2019 Toyota Prius on Gerber Road passed the intersection of Waterman Road at a green light.However, a pedestrian ran directly in front of the Prius for unknown reasons. Police said the impact sent the pedestrian 20 inches east and into an embankment.Unfortunately, the responding emergency personnel declared the woman dead at the scene. Meanwhile, the 23-year-old male Prius driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with the investigators.Additionally, a Tesla driver who captured the incident also showed the pedestrian who went over the media and into the eastbound Gerber Road.Sacramento Officials later identified the deceased pedestrian as 39...

Typhoon Mawar brings heavy rain, winds to Guam

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:49:42 GMT

By Elizabeth Wolfe and Rob Shackleford | CNNGuam residents were urged to stay home until the island is declared safe for travel, as the strongest storm in decades brought hurricane-force winds and heavy rain to the US territory.The eye of Typhoon Mawar passed just north of Guam, but the eyewall – the strongest part of the storm – pelted the US territory with powerful winds and heavy rain.Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero urged residents to stay at home until conditions are declared safe for travel in a Facebook address Wednesday evening.“Stay calm, stay informed and stay safe. We will get through this storm as we have in many, many other storms,” she said.The governor said the strongest winds from the storm were currently being felt throughout the island, particularly in the north. These conditions will likely persist until the winds begin to decrease from around 8 or 9 a.m. Thursday, she said.The Guam International Airport recorded sustained winds of 71 mph with a gust of 105 mph Wednesd...

Apple plans to turn locked iPhones into smart displays with iOS 17

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:49:42 GMT

By Mark Gurman | BloombergApple Inc. is planning a new interface for iPhones that shows information such as calendar appointments, the weather and notifications in the style of a smart-home display, part of a flurry of new features coming in its iOS 17 software update.The view will appear when an iPhone is locked and positioned horizontally, operating similarly to dedicated displays offered by Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Amazon.com Inc., according to people familiar with the project. The idea is to make iPhones more useful when they’re, for example, lying on a person’s desk or nightstand.The move is part of a broader push to embed live information in more parts of the company’s software — an approach that also includes the Apple Watch’s interface. The new view is one of several changes planned for iOS 17, codenamed Dawn, which will be released to consumers later in 2023. Apple plans to unveil the software alongside its mixed-reality headset at the Worldwide Developers Conference on J...

New setback for efforts to protect Californians living near oil wells

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:49:42 GMT

From storming the stage at a Shell shareholders meeting to filing lawsuits over anti-racketeering claims, climate activists are trying a wide range of tactics in attempts to shame fossil fuel companies and hold them financially responsible for the harms their operations can cause.Oil companies are pushing back, spending big money and counting on support from legislators, courts and voters — so far with mixed results.But big oil just scored another big win in California.State Sen. Anthony Portantino, a Democrat from La Cañada Flintridge who chairs the Appropriations Committee, last week declined to let Senate Bill 556 advance for a full vote in the legislature.The bill from Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, cited research on how pollution from oil wells that leaks into the air, water and soil increases the risks that nearby residents might develop cancer, respiratory illnesses and birth defects. And it would have given the more than 1 million Californians who live within 3,200 feet o...

Harry and Meghan skip awards gala, ‘shocked’ their credibility is under siege

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:49:42 GMT

Meghan Markle reportedly skipped a start-studded awards show in Beverly Hills Tuesday night, which would have provided another headline-making opportunity for the American duchess to be seen in the company of other accomplished female celebrities and to get some positive PR for her media projects that empower women.Instead, she and Prince Harry continue to deal with the fall-out from their disputed claims about surviving a “near-catastrophic” two-hour car chase with “relentless” paparazzi  through in the streets of New York City. They reportedly are “shocked” that people think they “exaggerated” their tense encounter with photographers last week, which occurred after they and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, attended a gala for the Ms. Foundation, during which the former TV actor received another honor for her work on behalf of empowering women.In this image from video, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan exit Manhattan’s Ziegfeld Ba...

Dark chapter in history inspires a lively SF jazz concert

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:49:42 GMT

Given just days to pack up after President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066 in February 1942 empowered the military to detain and relocate Japanese Americans living on the West Coast, 19-year-old George Yoshida grabbed his most precious possessions.“We could take to the camp only what we could carry,” the late drummer, educator and historian told me in a 2001 interview for the Contra Costa Times. “I took a box of 78 rpm records. I still have them — Glenn Miller, Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Duke Ellington. My sister was very upset because here we’re taking bedrolls and utensils and clothing and I’m taking my records, but I couldn’t part with them.”In the years after World War II, when Japanese Americans reintegrated into American society, many of Yoshida’s fellow internees resisted talking about their experiences in the camps. Not Yoshida, who died in 2014 at the age of 92. At the urging of bassist/composer Mark Izu, he documented the history ...

Pick-your-own cherries season has arrived in the Bay Area; here’s where to go

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:49:42 GMT

It’s been a wait, thanks to the cold and foul weather, but the most joyful time of the year for fruit lovers is finally here: the annual start of the pick-your-own-cherries season.Two major cherry-growing orchards have released dates for self-picking late this May: the Borello Family Farms aka U-Pick Orchards location in Morgan Hill (opening May 26) and Mike’s U-Pick in Brentwood (opening May 31). Here’s the Facebook announcement and website for Mike’s, which has two locations, and the Facebook announcement and website for Borello, which is opening one of its many locations from May 25-May 29 (with other locations opening soon). A few other places recently announced openings, too, including G&S Farms and Nunn Better Farms in Brentwood, the latter which was the site of much pickin’ last weekend ($4 a pound, two varieties).“Our farming region has had weird weather this year – not doing exactly what’s needed to ripen the fruit as quickly as...

Donald Trump, allies plan effort to steal Ron DeSantis’ 2024 moment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:49:42 GMT

By Kristen Holmes | CNNDonald Trump and his allies are planning a coordinated effort to upend the media cycle around the presidential campaign launch of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, which will include videos and a social media blitz leaning on high-profile, Trump-aligned conservative commentators, sources familiar with the plans told CNN.The messaging strategy will involve some Trump surrogates appearing in Miami, where DeSantis is set to gather with donors beginning Wednesday. Make America Great Again, Inc., the Trump-aligned super PAC, will also have a presence in the city. The group plans to have a box truck playing a new attack ad as it circles the Miami hotel where DeSantis will be. The 60-second digital ad hits DeSantis on his tenure as a congressman in Washington, painting the Florida governor as a Washington “swamp creature” who was trying to cut entitlements while Trump was entering the White House. The ad presents a side-by-side comparison of Trump’s and DeSantis’ time in DC...