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‘Barbie’ & ‘Oppenheimer’ go head to head at the box office

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

This weekend pits a doll turned improbable movie star opposite an epic three-hour deadly serious biography of the scientist who created the atom bomb.  With little in common, both pictures – “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — are expected to be hits.Both features boast all-star casts.But for “Oppenheimer,” despite having A-listers like Emily Blunt, Matt Damon and Robert Downey, Jr., the biggest “star” is its British writer-director Christopher Nolan who remains most famous for his Batman trilogy with Christian Bale and another  Oscar-nominated historical piece “Dunkirk.”Nolan’s well-known passion for telling this complex story accurately and in such detail easily marks “Oppenheimer” – played with an uncanny resemblance by Ireland’s Cillian Murphy – as this summer’s most serious moviegoing alternative.That it arrives as a global release from Universal Pictures is a story in itself:  Nolan had always been supported through his Hollywood career by Warner Bros.  Until the pandemic arriv...

Dear Abby: She says ‘not tonight,’ he flies into a rage

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Dear Abby: I’m a 37-year-old stay-at-home mother of two teens. I’ve been in a relationship with a guy I’ll call “Doug” for four years. I feel he only wants me here for sex. If I say no, he either tries to force it or verbally abuses me.He tells me if I don’t give him sex, I need to leave so he can bring another woman to do it. He will destroy my belongings or call me names. He says it’s my fault that he does that to me. I’m not sure what to do here. Is it my fault? — Bad Scene in the MidwestDear Bad Scene: When a boyfriend (or husband for that matter) forces their partner to have sex, it isn’t foreplay; it is RAPE. That Doug emotionally abuses you or destroys your property if you refuse to accommodate him is not your “fault.” (“You MADE me do it” is something abusers say when they want to avoid taking responsibility for their actions.)What you need to do now is get out of there as safely as you can. ...

Northwestern hazing scandal puts school in company with schools such as Penn State

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Northwestern has been added to a long list of American universities to face a scandal in athletics and may eventually join the trend of making large payouts following allegations of sexual abuse.A former Wildcats football player filed the first lawsuit against Pat Fitzgerald and members of the school’s leadership on Tuesday, seeking damages stemming from a hazing scandal that cost the former football coach his job.More lawsuits, filed by multiple law firms, are expected to follow from former football and baseball players as well as from student-athletes who played other sports for the private school.The private, Big Ten institution now has another thing in common with other schools in the conference, including Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan and Minnesota, with a scandal tied to sexual abuse.And, connection may be costly.At least eight former Northwestern football players have retained attorneys following recent revelations that led to Fitzgerald’s firing and sharp ...

Chinese livestreamers set their sights on TikTok sales to shoppers in the US and Europe

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — Chinese livestreamers have set their sights on TikTok shoppers in the U.S. and Europe, hawking everything from bags and apparel to crystals with their eyes on a potentially lucrative market, despite uncertainties over the platform’s future in the U.S. and elsewhere.In China, where livestreaming ecommerce is forecast to reach 4.9 trillion yuan ($676 billion) by the year’s end, popular hosts like “Lipstick King” Austin Li rack up tens of millions of dollars in sales during a single livestream. Many brands, including L’Oreal, Nike and Louis Vuitton, have begun using livestreaming to reach more shoppers.But the highly-competitive livestreaming market in China has led some hosts to look to Western markets to carve out niches for themselves. Oreo Deng, a former English tutor, sells jewelry to U.S. customers by livestreaming on TikTok, delivering her sales pitches in English for about four to six hours a day. “I wanted to try livestreaming on TikTok becau...

Officials see promise in a South Carolina prison unit where ‘restorative justice’ has boosted safety

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

TURBEVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina prison unit where older men with lengthier sentences mentor young adults preparing to reenter society is giving officials hope that a different approach to living conditions will reduce violence behind bars.The special housing facility known as a Community Opportunity Restoration Enhancement (C.O.R.E.) unit emphasizes an unorthodox method of prisoner reform called “restorative justice” that prioritizes open communication and self-correction through group engagement and one-on-one meetings.That atmosphere resulted in fewer violent incidents, according to a study of the units inside two state detention centers by the Vera Institute of Justice. Even more, participants who inhabit the unit that features walls covered in colorful murals and natural light commended the new initiative for allowing greater freedom in personalizing their spaces and developing trusting relationships alongside correctional officers.“These guys need to be able to let loo...

Voting fraud claims spread ahead of Spanish election

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Days before Spain holds a pivotal election, misleading claims about mail ballots and election fraud are spreading on social media and casting doubts about the results even before the votes have been counted. The allegations, amplified by supporters of the center-right Popular Party and the far-right Vox Party, bear striking similarities to the baseless claims spread by then-President Donald Trump ahead of his 2020 U.S. election defeat, and offer a reminder that the distrust of elections that has marred U.S. politics has taken root in Europe, too.Sunday’s general election could tilt Spain in favor of the populist right, as the Popular Party looks to take power away from the Spanish Socialist Worker’s Party and its far-left coalition partner, Unidas Podemos (“United We Can”).Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the early election after his left-leaning coalition lost big in this year’s local and regional elections that were also marked by...

Israeli president’s speech to Congress highlights ‘unbreakable bond’ despite US unease

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel’s figurehead president speaks to Congress in an appearance Wednesday aimed at demonstrating what he calls the “unbreakable bond” between Israel and the United States, despite U.S. concerns over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial judicial overhaul and ongoing settlement construction in the West Bank.Isaac Herzog becomes the second Israeli president, after his father, Chaim Herzog, to address Congress. His speech will mark modern Israel’s celebration of its 75th year. But the Israeli president’s visit also is exposing the difficulties that Democrats face in balancing longstanding U.S. support for ally Israel with disapproval of some actions by Netanyahu’s government, a coalition of ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties.The House on Tuesday passed a Republican-led resolution reaffirming its support for Israel with strong bipartisan approval — an implicit rebuke of a leading Democrat who, over the weekend, called the country a “r...

IRS whistleblowers to testify to Congress as they claim ‘slow-walking’ of Hunter Biden case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Whistleblowers claiming the Justice Department improperly interfered with a yearslong investigation into Hunter Biden will testify before Congress on Wednesday as House Republicans accelerate their probes into the president and his family.Leaders of the House Judiciary, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means committees will lead a hearing with two Internal Revenue Service employees — Greg Shapley and an as-yet-unnamed “whistleblower x” — who claim there was a pattern of “slow-walking investigative steps” into Hunter Biden, including delayed enforcement actions in the months before the 2020 election won by Joe Biden.It will be the first public testimony from the two IRS agents assigned to the federal case into President Joe Biden’s youngest son, Hunter, which was focused on tax and gun charges. The second agent, whose name was withheld in interview transcripts released by Republicans, is expected to have his identity revealed at the hearing.The congression...

A key part of Biden’s strategy to control immigration at the US-Mexico border gets a court hearing

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A judge will hear arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit opposing an asylum rule that is a key part of the Biden administration’s immigration policy. Critics say the rule endangers migrants trying to cross the southern border and is against the law, while the administration argues that it encourages migrants to use lawful pathways into the U.S. and prevents chaos at the southern border.The new rule took effect May 11 with the expiration of a COVID-19 restriction known as Title 42 that had limited asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border. The new rule makes it extremely difficult for migrants who come directly to the southern border to get asylum unless they use a government app to get an appointment or they’ve already tried to seek protection in another country before coming to the U.S. It includes room for exceptions and would not apply to children traveling alone.The lawsuit threatens to undermine a key tool that President Joe Biden’s administration has relied on...

DeSantis fights to reset his stagnant campaign as Trump dominates the 2024 conversation

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — For Ron DeSantis, it was supposed to be an important opportunity to help reset his stagnant Republican presidential campaign. But yet again, the moment was overshadowed by Donald Trump.The former president’s new legal challenges dominated much of the day as DeSantis spoke at a brief press conference and sat for a highly anticipated interview designed to reassure anxious donors and primary voters alike that he’s still well-positioned to defeat Trump. And again, DeSantis offered mixed messages when asked about Trump, training his most aggressive criticism at federal law enforcement officials instead of his chief Republican rival, who could soon be charged over his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.“We look at institutions, unfortunately, like our own FBI and Department of Justice, and we’ve seen the politicization of those institutions. We’ve seen them be weaponized against Americans,” DeSantis said. A few minutes later, he added a modest jab when ...