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Jury deliberates in Kevin Spacey’s sexual assault trial in London

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:18 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Jurors in the sexual assault trial of Kevin Spacey retired to begin deliberations on Monday on allegations against the actor by four men that date back two decades.Spacey, 63, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges, including multiple counts of sexual assault and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent.The case went to the jury about a month after the nine men and three women were seated in Southwark Crown Court.Spacey’s defense lawyer said during closing arguments last week that three of the men are liars and he suggested jurors not convict him for making a “clumsy pass” at a fourth man.The prosecutor called Spacey a “sexual bully” who took advantage of his power as a major celebrity and took what he wanted when he wanted it.The acts alleged between 2001 and 2013 range from unwanted touching to aggressive crotch-grabbing and, in one instance, performing oral sex on an unconsci...

With ‘Barbie,’ Greta Gerwig breaks a box office record for female directors

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:18 GMT

“Barbie” didn’t just break the opening weekend record for 2023; It also shattered the first weekend record for a film directed by a woman.With $162 million in ticket sales from North American theaters, according to studio totals Monday, “Barbie” catapulted past both “Captain Marvel,” which was co-directed by Anna Boden and opened to $153.4 million in 2019, and “Wonder Woman,” Patty Jenkins’ 2017 film that debuted to $103.3 million. Boasting a reported price tag of $145 million, “Barbie” also cost less to produce than “Captain Marvel” ($152 million) and “Wonder Woman” ($200 million).Globally, it also far surpassed “Wonder Woman’s” debut with over $337 million versus $228.3 million, though “Captain Marvel’s” global launch was higher at $455 million.“Barbie’s” debut is also significant because its audience was 65% women — not a surprise in and of itself, but as far as box office history is concerned, movies that open over $100 million often have a majority male audience (including both...

Elon Musk reveals new X logo to replace Twitter’s blue bird

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:18 GMT

By KELVIN CHAN (AP Business Writer)LONDON (AP) — Elon Musk has unveiled a new “X” logo to replace Twitter’s famous blue bird as he follows through with a major rebranding of the social media platform he bought for $44 billion last year.The X started appearing at the top of the desktop version of Twitter on Monday, but the bird was still dominant across the smartphone app. In response to questions about what tweets would be called when the rebranding is done, Musk said they would be called Xs.It’s yet another change that Musk has made since acquiring Twitter that has alienated users and turned off advertisers, leaving the microblogging site vulnerable to new threats, including rival Meta’s new text-based app Threads that directly targets Twitter users.Musk had asked fans for logo ideas and chose one, which he described as minimalist Art Deco, saying it “certainly will be refined.” He replaced his own Twitter icon with a white X on a black background and posted a picture of the design...

Police investigating stabbing near Yonge and Dundas that sent 1 to hospital

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:18 GMT

Toronto police are investigating a stabbing near Yonge and Dundas Square on Monday morning that sent one person to hospital.Officers were called to Dundas Street West and Victoria Street just after 8 a.m. for reports of a group of people fighting.One person was located and taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.Police said three males were involved in the fight that led to the stabbing and two suspects fled the area on foot.No suspect descriptions are currently available.STABBING:Dundas Sq + Victoria St8:02 a.m.– Reports of an altercation between 3 males– One male was stabbed– Injuries are non-life-threatening– Two male suspects fled the area on foot– Anyone w/info contact police @TPS51Div#GO1719057^lb— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) July 24, 2023The TTC diverted the 504 Dundas streetcar while police investigated, but normal service has since resumed.No further details were immediately available.

US announces punitive measures over concerns that Cambodia’s elections were ‘neither free nor fair’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:18 GMT

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s longtime ruling party on Monday lauded its landslide victory in weekend elections as a clear mandate for the next five years. The United States said the party’s stifling of the opposition meant the vote could not be considered free or fair and that Washington was taking punitive measures.Autocratic leader Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party won 120 of 125 available seats in Sunday’s elections, according to preliminary results.The 70-year-old, who has been in power for 38 years, has said he plans to hand the prime minister’s job off to his oldest son, 45-year-old Hun Manet, who is Cambodia’s army chief and won his first parliamentary seat on Sunday.The handover is part of what is expected to be a broad generational change in top positions for the CPP. And while it is not yet clear exactly when Hun Manet might take over, Hun Sen has suggested it could be as early as within the next month.On his Facebook pa...

Stock market today: Wall Street rises ahead of what’s hoped to be the last Fed rate hike in a while

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:18 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is ticking higher Monday to start a week full of updates on where interest rates and profits for some of the stock market’s most influential companies are heading.The S&P 500 was 0.3% higher in morning trading, coming off its eighth winning week in the last 10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 158 points, or 0.5%, at 35,386, as of 10:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.1% higher.Becton Dickinson jumped 7.5% for the largest gain in the S&P 500 after it said it will return to full commercial operations for its updated Alaris infusion system after earlier recalls. It received a clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the system, which delivers medications and other products to patients.Domino’s Pizza was 0.1% higher after swinging between gains and losses on a mixed earnings report for the spring. Its profit for the latest quarter topped expectations, but its revenue fell short after customers ordered less tha...

TC Energy selling 40 per cent stake in Columbia gas and gulf pipelines

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:18 GMT

CALGARY — TC Energy Corp. is selling 40 per cent of its Columbia Gas Transmission and Columbia Gulf Transmission systems to New York City-based Global Infrastructure Partners for $5.2 billion.The Calgary-based company says in a press release it will continue to operate the pipelines, while both companies will jointly fund annual maintenance, modernization and growth to further capacity and reliability.It says it expects Global Infrastructure Partners’ share of capital expenditures to average more than $1.3 billion annually over the next three years.The pipelines span more than 24,000 kilometres across North America, delivering a substantial portion of daily U.S. natural gas demand, including approximately 20 per cent of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export supply.TC Energy president and CEO François Poirier says the sale marks a “major milestone” in achieving the company’s 2023 strategic priorities, which includes divesting more than $5 billion in assets b...

Greta Thunberg defiant after Swedish court fines her for disobeying police during climate protest

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:18 GMT

MALMÖ, Sweden (AP) — A Swedish court on Monday fined climate activist Greta Thunberg for disobeying police during an environmental protest at an oil facility last month.Thunberg, 20, admitted to the facts but denied guilt, saying the fight against the fossil fuel industry was a form of self-defense due to the existential and global threat of the climate crisis.“We cannot save the world by playing by the rules,” she told journalists after hearing the verdict, vowing she would “definitely not” back down.The court rejected her argument and fined her 2,500 kronor (about $240).Charges were brought against Thunberg and several other youth activists from the Reclaim the Future movement for refusing a police order to disperse after blocking road access to an oil terminal in the southern Swedish city of Malmö on June 19.“If the court sees our actions of self-defense as a crime, that’s how it is,” said Irma Kjellström, a spokesperson for Reclaim the Future who was also present at the June pro...

Eight people burn to death in southern Nigeria after gasoline tanker explodes, authorities say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:18 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A tanker exploded in Nigeria’s southern Ondo state on Monday, burning eight people to death, the road safety agency said.The tanker was carrying gasoline and exploded while the victims were trying to extract the much sought-after fuel, according to Ezekiel Sonallah, head of the Federal Road Safety Corps in Ondo.Sonallah said the driver lost control of the tanker on Sunday and veered off the road and crashed in Ondo’s Odigbo district. Both the driver and his assistant escaped unscathed. He said that the “problem was the scooping,” hinting it was the reason for the explosion.Authorities said all the victims were burned beyond recognition and couldn’t be identified.Scooping fuel from tanker accident scenes has often resulted in deaths in parts of Nigeria. It has continued this year with the price of gasoline more than doubling since June 1 after the West African nation’s new President Bola Tinubu ended the decades-long gasoline. Fatal truck accidents are als...

An Arizona woman died after her power was cut over a $51 debt. That forced utilities to change

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 17:18:18 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Stephanie Pullman died on a sweltering Arizona day after her electricity was cut off because of a $51 debt.Five years later, the 72-year-old’s story remains at the heart of efforts to prevent others in Arizona from having their power cut off, leaving them without life-saving air conditioning in temperatures that have topped 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius) on every day this month.“Stephanie Pullman was the face of the fight that helped put the disconnect rules in place for the big, regulated utilities in Arizona,” said Stacey Champion, an advocate who pushed for new regulations. “But we need more.”Arizona Public Service, known as APS, disconnected Pullman’s power in September 2018 at a time when outside temperatures in her retirement community west of Phoenix reached 107 degrees Fahrenheit (41.6 Celsius). Just days before, a $125 payment was made toward Pullman’s past-due bill of $176.Her body was found inside her home during a subsequent ...