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Oakland-based podcaster brings empathy and incredible stories to the microphone

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

For the last decade, Whit Missildine has surrounded himself with unbelievable stories. He’s spoken to a man who was hunted by the Japanese mafia. A woman who left a cult and reinvented herself. And a man who, after losing his arm and leg, circumnavigated the globe on a sailboat.It’s all part of This is Actually Happening, Missildine’s weekly podcast, which has exploded in popularity since it was acquired by publishing company Wondery in 2020. Each episode features one individual telling an incredible story, utilizing a format that’s unique from most podcasts today: a single voice with no music, sound effects or back-and-forth conversation. Missildine spends between 15 to 20 hours editing each episode, and once he’s done, over 300,000 people tune into the episodes every week.The Oakland-based Missildine wasn’t always set on being a podcaster: after studying poetry in college, he obtained his PhD in social psychology in New York City. But through his graduate degree and far afte...

No lingering effects on soil after Martinez refinery dust release: officials

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

(KRON) -- Six months after a Martinez refinery released toxic dust into nearby neighborhoods, Contra Costa County health officials say there is no lingering effects to the soil.Officials who collected and analyzed the soil samples say the bigger risk was in the first hours and days after the toxic dust release occurred. The public is now being told it safe to eat vegetables from their gardens again after being advised not to consume them back in March. USPS letter carrier robbed by two armed suspects in Oakland During Thursday's committee meeting, it was made clear that some people are still upset over the toxic dust release and the refinery's failure to notify the county about it. "These results do not excuse the Martinez Refining Company for the lack of notification at the onset of this incident," said Matthew Kaufmann, Contra Costa County Deputy Health Director. "The lack of timely notification negated our ability as health officials to protect our community, including those mo...

Grains, Livstock mixed.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Grain futures were mixed Friday in early trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for Jul. rose 9.25 cents at $6.29 a bushel; Jul. corn fell 4.75 cents at $6.01 a bushel; Jul. oats was up 19.75 cents at $3.65 a bushel; while Jul. soybeans rose 7.50 cents at $13.76 a bushel.Beef lower, pork higher on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.Jun. live cattle lost .05 cent at $1.7975 a pound; Aug. feeder cattle was down .25 cent at $2.4025 a pound; Jun. lean hogs gained .58 cent at $.8775 a pound.Source

Blinken to travel to China next week, carrying out trip postponed after spy balloon incident

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is planning to travel to China next week as the Biden administration pushes to improve ties that hit a new low in February after a Chinese surveillance balloon was shot down over U.S. airspace.U.S. officials say Blinken expects to be in Beijing on June 18 for meetings with senior Chinese officials, including with Foreign Minister Qin Gang and possibly President Xi Jinping.The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because neither the State Department nor the Chinese foreign ministry has yet confirmed the trip. The visit, which was agreed between Xi and President Joe Biden last year at a meeting in Bali, had been initially planned for February but was postponed after the spy balloon incident. Beijing insists the craft was a weather balloon that strayed off course. Since then, there have been contacts between the U.S. and China, but they have been rare as tensions have risen over China’s conduct in the South China Sea, aggre...

Exclusivo: Donald Trump admite en una grabación que no desclasificó “información secreta”

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

(CNN) — El expresidente Donald Trump reconoció en una grabación de una reunión de 2021 que había retenido información militar “secreta” que no había desclasificado, según una transcripción del audio obtenida por CNN.“Como presidente, podría haber desclasificado, pero ahora no puedo”, dice Trump, según la transcripción.CNN obtuvo la transcripción de una parte de la reunión en la que Trump discute un documento clasificado del Pentágono sobre atacar a Irán. En la grabación de audio, que CNN informó anteriormente que los fiscales obtuvieron, Trump dice que no desclasificó el documento al que hace referencia, según la transcripción.Trump fue acusado este jueves de siete cargos en la investigación del fiscal especial Jack Smith sobre el mal manejo de documentos clasificados. Los detalles de la acusación no se han hecho públicos, por lo que se desconoce si alguno de los siete cargos se refiere a la reunión registrada de 2021. Aún así, la cinta es significativa porque muestra que Trum...

Biden to attend first 2024 rally in Pennsylvania next week, as campaign plots flurry of fundraising

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden next week is set to attend his first political rally since launching his 2024 reelection bid in April, as he steps up his political activity before the end of the fundraising quarter.Biden will attend the rally in Philadelphia on June 17, which will be hosted by area unions, campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said, a key constituency in a city and state that are crucial to his 2024 prospects. Biden’s campaign isn’t expected to host its own large-scale rallies until next year, following the timetable followed by former President Barack Obama in 2012. The event comes as Biden is launching on a flurry of fundraising trips this month ahead of the June 30 second quarter fundraising deadline, with stops in Connecticut, Illinois and California. Biden, who has declined to reveal information on his fundraising haul since launching his candidacy, will report his totals next month to the Federal Election Commission.Source

Top UN court allows a record 32 countries to intervene in Ukraine’s genocide case against Russia

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Court of Justice has accepted requests from 32 countries to back Ukraine in a genocide case against Russia, the United Nations’ highest court said Friday. It’s the largest number of countries to join another nation’s complaint at the world court based in The Hague, Netherlands.Ukraine’s government filed the legally creative case days after Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022. The Kremlin snubbed hearings held the next month, while protesters holding Ukrainian flags chanted antiwar slogans outside the court building’s gates. Latvia was the first country to intervene in the complaint, which alleges Russia violated the 1948 Genocide Convention by falsely accusing Ukraine of committing genocide in its eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and using that as a pretext for the invasion.A record 33 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia and every European Union member nation except Hungary req...

US announces new $2.1 billion package of military aid to Ukraine

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon announced Friday that it will provide an additional $2.1 billion in long-term weapons aid for Ukraine. The new assistance package will include funding for more Patriot missile battery munitions, Hawk air defense systems and missiles, and small Puma drones that can be launched by hand.The latest infusion of funding, one of the larger packages the U.S. has provided, comes as there are signs that Ukraine is beginning — or about to begin — the much anticipated counteroffensive to try to take back territory that has been seized by Russia. Unlike the U.S. equipment, weapons and ammunition that are more frequently sent from Pentagon stocks and delivered quickly to Ukraine, this money would be provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative and is meant to be spent over the coming months or even years to ensure Ukraine’s future security needs.In a statement, the Pentagon said the package shows America’s continued commitment “to both Ukraine’s c...

Stock market today: Wall Street edges higher; Big Tech climbs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks rose modestly in morning trading on Wall Street Friday and are on track to close out a relatively quiet week higher.The S&P 500 rose 0.4% and is headed for a fourth straight week of gains. Slightly more stocks rose in the index than fell. Big technology companies were doing much of the heavy lifting.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 94 points, or 0.3%, to 33,928 as of 10:59 a.m. Eastern. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.5%.European markets were lower and Asian markets closed higher overnight.Trading has been listless throughout the week amid a lack of any big market moving reports or news. The benchmark S&P index still gained enough ground by Thursday to close 20% above its October low, entering a new bull market.Technology stocks, which have been responsible for much of Wall Street’s gains, helped lead the way on Friday. Microsoft rose 0.7% and chipmaker Nvidia rose 2%. The S&P 500 gives more weight to many Big Tech companies because of thei...

Chief suspect in Natalee Holloway disappearance pleads not guilty to extortion charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:15:32 GMT

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Joran van der Sloot, the chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges that he attempted to extort money from the missing teen’s mother.Van der Sloot was extradited to the United States on Thursday from Peru, where he is serving a 28-year prison sentence after confessing to killing a Peruvian woman. He was arraigned before a federal judge in Birmingham, not far from the suburb where Holloway grew up, in his first court appearance in the case.U.S. prosecutors say that in 2010, van der Sloot reached out to Beth Holloway, seeking $250,000 to disclose the location of the young woman’s body. A grand jury indicted him that year.Natalee’s mother watched the proceeding from the third row of the courtroom.“For 18 years, I have lived with the unbearable pain of Natalee’s loss,” Beth Holloway said in a statement Thursday. “Each day has been filled with unanswered questions and a longing for justice that ...