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Hollywood actors vote to join screenwriters in historic industry-stopping strike as contract talks collapse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:49 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Leaders of a Hollywood’s actors union voted Thursday to join screenwriters in the first joint strike in more than six decades, shutting down production across the entertainment industry after talks for a new contract with studios and streaming services broke down.It’s the first time two major Hollywood unions have been on strike at the same time since 1960, when Ronald Reagan was the actors’ guild president.In an impassioned speech as the strike, which begins at midnight, was announced, actors’ union president and former “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher chastised industry executives.“Employers make Wall Street and greed their priority and they forget about the essential contributors that make the machine run,” Drescher said. “It is disgusting. Shame on them. They stand on the wrong side of history.”Hours earlier, a three-year contract had expired and talks broke off between the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists&nb...

Kentucky man arrested in connection with case of stolen body parts from Harvard Medical School

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:49 GMT

A 40-year-old man has been arrested at his Kentucky home, accused of participating in a ring of purchasing and selling stolen human remains from Harvard Medical School, officials said. The man was arrested on Wednesday after the FBI said it found dozens of human bones, including 40 skulls in his residence in Mount Washington, Kentucky.Officials said some of the body parts were tied back to the Harvard Medical School scandal. A former morgue manager at the medical school has been accused of moving, selling and purchasing body parts that were donated for educational purposes. Several other people are also facing charges.Harvard is working with federal authorities in the case.

Illinois surveys storm damage after tornadoes hit Chicago area

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:49 GMT

By CLAIRE SAVAGE and RICK CALLAHAN (Associated Press)CHICAGO (AP) — National Weather Service teams were surveying storm damage Thursday in the Chicago area and northeast Illinois, where fierce winds from tornadoes ripped roofs from buildings, downed trees and sent residents scrambling for safety as sirens sounded.Four teams from the weather service headed out Thursday morning to inspect storm damage reported Wednesday across numerous areas of the Chicago metropolitan area and points farther west to determine if tornadoes caused that damage, said Zachary Yack, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Chicago area office.As of Thursday afternoon, the weather service confirmed at least seven low-grade tornadoes, including one that touched down in the Cicero area, near O’Hare International Airport. The twister sent passengers dashing for shelter at the airport and disrupted hundreds of flights, but no injuries were reported.Teams continue to examine damage, the weath...

Gov. Moore, Orioles’ John Angelos promise new Camden Yards lease ‘soon’ after falling short of ‘All-Star break gift’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:49 GMT

Both baseball season and the calendar year have passed their respective midpoints. The Orioles remain without a long-term lease to keep them at Camden Yards.In February, Orioles CEO and Chairman John Angelos said he would “love to have [a new lease] as an All-Star break gift for everybody, really, in the community.” The All-Star break ends Friday, when the Orioles begin the second half of their season against the Miami Marlins, but no new deal has been struck between the team and the Maryland Stadium Authority, which serves as its landlord at Oriole Park.In a joint statement Thursday from Democrat Gov. Wes Moore and Angelos, the two sides did not provide particulars on lease negotiations, but said progress is being made on their “vision to expand and revitalize the Camden Yards campus.”“We are determined to make it happen, and soon,” said the statement, which was originally credited to Moore and the Orioles before the team issued an amendment abou...

Steph Curry vouches for new Knicks signee Donte DiVincenzo: ‘They got a good one’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:49 GMT

The Knicks “got a good one” in Donte DiVincenzo, who fulfilled his aspirations in Golden State, earned a substantial new contract, and was showered with praise Thursday by former teammate Steph Curry.“We had a good conversation last offseason when he was trying to figure out what he was going to do,” Curry said at the American Century Championship. “I know he was coming off of an injury and trying to find a situation that could help him establish who he is as NBA player and how much value he brings to winning teams.“And he proved that above and beyond with us all year. He knows how to play the game. You can tell he won at the highest level in college. The Knicks got a good one and I’m happy that he got his fair share of that CBA, too. So it was good.”DiVincenzo’s stint as Curry’s teammate lasted just one season and officially ended last week when the Villanova guard signed a four-year, $47 million deal with the Knicks. The ...

FTC reportedly investigating ChatGPT creator OpenAI over consumer protection issues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:49 GMT

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into ChatGPT creator OpenAI and whether the artificial intelligence company violated consumer protection laws by scraping public data and publishing false information through its chatbot, according to reports in the Washington Post and the New York Times.The agency sent OpenAI a 20-page letter requesting detailed information on its AI technology, products, customers, privacy safeguards and data security arrangements, according to the reports. An FTC spokesman had no comment.OpenAI founder Sam Altman tweeted disappointment that news of the investigation started as a “leak,” noting that the move would “not help build trust” but added the company will work with the FTC.“It’s super important to us that out technology is safe and pro-consumer, and we are confident we follow the law,” he wrote. “We protect user privacy and design our systems to learn about the world, not private individuals.”The FTC’s move represents th...

People rescued from cars and homes as torrential rain causes flash flooding in central Mississippi

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:49 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Miss. (AP) — Torrential rain fell for several hours Thursday in central Mississippi, flooding roads, homes and businesses in Winston County and Louisville, where the mayor declared a state of emergency.“Please do not travel anywhere in Louisville or Winston County unless it is an absolute emergency,” Mayor Will Hill said Thursday morning on Facebook. “This is not a typical flash flood and like no thing we’ve experience(d) in our area, maybe ever.”Winston County Sheriff Jason Pugh said law enforcement officers rescued at least eight people from vehicles and removed several others from homes as the water rose.Swift water washed one car into a ditch, but the driver escaped before it submerged. The man stood knee-deep in the floodwater on top of his car as officers rescued him, Pugh told The Associated Press.About 17,500 people live in Winston County. Louisville, the largest town, is about 95 miles (150 kilometers) northeast of Jackson. No deaths or serious injuries had been...

Work resumes at B.C. ports after tentative deal is reached to end strike

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:49 GMT

VANCOUVER — Work has resumed at British Columbia ports after a tentative deal was reached to end a strike that had halted cargo movements for 13 days and prompted fears that trade worth billions had been stalled.A spokesman for the B.C. Maritime Employers Association said work began again with Thursday’s 4:30 p.m. Pacific-time shift.The Canadian Press saw workers in safety gear hosing off equipment and walking among containers at a Port of Vancouver cargo yard around 5:30 p.m.“Between the current 16:30 shift and the 01:00 graveyard shift tonight, we’ve dispatched over 120 jobs just in Local 500 Vancouver (inner harbour) and demand is ramping up with over 500 workers for the 08:00 shift tomorrow morning,” the spokesman wrote in a message.The employers association earlier announced it had reached a four-year agreement with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, which represents 7,400 workers in the job action that began July 1.The union has not comme...

Climate activists block runways at 2 German airports, disrupting flights for hours

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:49 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — Climate activists blocked flights at two German airports for several hours Thursday in protest against the most polluting form of transportation, and to demand tougher government action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.The group Last Generation said several of its members entered the grounds of Hamburg Airport around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) and glued themselves to the runway on the first day of the school vacation in the north German city.Dozens of flights were canceled and 10 arrivals had to be diverted to other airports, Germany’s dpa news agency reported.Members of the group also cut through a security fence at Duesseldorf Airport in the west and blocked an access route to the runway, disrupting several flights before operations resumed.In a statement, the group accused the German government of lacking a strategy to tackle the climate crisis and called for immediate measures to cut emissions in the transportation sector, including ending tax exemptions for airline...

New Mexico revokes license of local marijuana retailer for selling cannabis from California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:15:49 GMT

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico has revoked the license of a marijuana retailer in Albuquerque for selling out-of-state cannabis in violation of state law, the state cannabis control division announced Thursday.Regulators allege that the Paradise Exotics Distro cannabis store on a central shopping thoroughfare sold cannabis products imported from California and marked with a California stamp of origin. Representatives for the business could not immediately be reached by phone or social media.New Mexico is among at least 21 states that have legalized recreational marijuana for adults, while a federal marijuana ban still precludes interstate cannabis trade or trafficking. Amid a persistent glut of cannabis on the West Coast, the states of Oregon, California and Washington have adopted so-called trigger bills that would authorize interstate cannabis trade agreements should the U.S. government someday allow it. New Mexico prohibits the local sale of out-of-state cannabis products, with...