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SAN FRANCISCO—Monday, January 19 marked the final day that Bay Area residents would have the opportunity to ride the Freedom Train. A three-decade tradition in honor of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., the Bay Area Freedom Train made its final departure at 9:45 a.m. from San Jose's Diridon Station, traveling nonstop to San Francisco's Caltrain Station at Fourth and...

SAN FRANCISCO—Evidence is mounting that a serial arsonist has been operating in San Francisco in the city's Castro neighborhood. On Monday, January 19, three additional early morning fires caused thousands of dollars in damage, destroying a pickup truck and scorching the facade of a home in the region. Firefighters and police officers responded to the first fire, that was reported at...

SAN FRANCISCO—Lane Kiffin may once more be on the move. Formerly a head coach for the Oakland Raiders, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Southern California, Kiffin, currently the offensive coordinator for the University of Alabama, is considered the front-runner to earn the same position with the San Francisco 49ers. Following nearly a month of the churning rumormill that...

What trials face the young Lebanese woman and strapping Irish lad who find themselves in love in the heart of Los Angeles? Born the youngest of four first-generation American children, my siblings and I shared parents with strong, independent cultural values. But in spite of our biracial heritage, my mother's Lebanese values reigned supreme in our upbringing. Cultural clash was commonplace,...

BEL AIR—Freedom and opportunity led my parents to America. Once they arrived, they built an American Dream upon a foundation of their native cultural beliefs and ideals, loads of love, and a sense of liberal freedom. My mother valued the freedom she never experienced in Lebanon. And yet, she remained tied to her cultural secrets. She firmly believed the...

BEVERLY HILLS—It’s the moment critics and movie lovers have been waiting for all year long: The Oscar nominations! Nominees were announced on Thursday, January 15 by AMPAS President Cheryl Boone-Isaacs, actor Chris Pine, and directors J.J. Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater. For the first-time in Oscar-history, all nominees were announced live. Normally, only the contenders in...

SAN FRANCISCO—Local residents gathered at the steps of San Francisco's City Hall on January 11 in an anti-terrorism rally in response to the terrorist attack that took place in Paris on January 7. The massacre left 12 people dead at the hands of two masked gunmen inside the headquarters of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hedbo. The attack is believed to have...

SAN FRANCISCO—Two victims were injured during a shooting that took place in San Francisco's Tenderloin District on Monday, January 12. At approximately 1 p.m., officers from the San Francisco Police Department responded to reports of shots fired near Turk and Leavenworth Streets. ShotSpoter, the San Francisco city-wide gunfire detection system also reported the gunshots. After responding to the scene of the shooting,...

SAN FRANCISCO—A shooting on January 9 at four men that were parked in a stolen vehicle resulted in increased police activity in the Hayes Valley neighborhood. Yalani Chinyamurindi, 19, Harith Atchan, 21, Manuel O'Neal, 22, an David Saucier, 20, were double parked in the stolen Honda at approximately 10 p.m. Friday night, when they were ambushed and shot dead. Witnesses who...

BEVERLY HILLS—The stars were out in Beverly Hills on Sunday, January 11, as the 72nd Annual Golden Globe ceremony was held at the famed Beverly Hilton Hotel. Leading all nominees was the drama “Boyhood” with seven nominations including Best Motion Picture-Drama. So would the tale that was shot over a 12-year period take home the top prize? It was...