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‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ will be a blockbuster — and might shake up the movie business

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:39 GMT

By JAKE COYLE (AP Film Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Greg Marcus has been in the movie business for years but he never expected to be urging moviegoers to take out their phones during a film — let alone to be crafting friendship bracelets in preparation for an opening weekend.But there the chief executive and chair of the Marcus Corporation is in a promotion for his theater chain headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, stringing beads together while humming “Shake It Off.”Movie theaters are readying for an onslaught like they’ve never seen before, beginning Friday when “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” debuts. The concert film, compiled from several Swift shows at Southern California’s SoFi Stadium, is expected to launch with $100 million, or possibly more. Advance ticket sales worldwide have already surpassed $100 million. Swifties will descend. Dancing will be encouraged.“This is different,” says Marcus. “Take your p...

Alex Jones, Ronna McDaniel potential witnesses in Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro’s Georgia trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:39 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia prosecutor who has accused former President Donald Trump and others of trying to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state is seeking to call Republican Party Chair Ronna McDaniel and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones as witnesses in a trial for two of the defendants scheduled to begin later this month.Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro were indicted by a Fulton County grand jury in August along with Trump and 16 others, accused under the state’s anti-racketeering law of participating in a wide-ranging illegal scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. The two attorneys are being tried separately from the others because they invoked their right to have a speedy trial. A group of 450 potential jurors has been instructed to show up on Oct. 20 to begin the process of seating a jury.All 19 defendants initially pleaded not guilty, but one pleaded guilty to lesser charges last month after reaching a deal with prosecutor...

Rep. Santos faces new charges he stole donor IDs, made unauthorized charges to their credit cards

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A new indictment unsealed Tuesday charged U.S. Rep. George Santos with stealing the identities of donors to his campaign and then using their credit cards to ring up tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized charges.Prosecutors said some of that stolen money money ended up in his own bank account.The 23-count indictment replaces one filed earlier against the New York Republican charging him with embezzling money from his campaign and lying to Congress about his wealth, among other offenses.The new charges include allegations that he charged more than $44,000 to his campaign over a period of months using cards belonging to contributors without their knowledge. In one case, he charged $12,000 to a contributor’s credit card and transferred the “vast majority” of that money into his personal bank account, prosecutors said.Santos did not immediately return a text and a phone message seeking comment.Jake Offenhartz, The Associated Press

Walgreens pharmacy staffers stage walkouts over work conditions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:39 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Some Walgreens pharmacy staff walked off the job this week over concerns that working conditions are putting employees and patients at risk.The exact scale of the protest was unclear. Organizers on Tuesday estimated that more than 300 Walgreens locations — out of nearly 9,000 nationwide — were affected by walkouts planned for Monday through Wednesday. A company spokesperson said “no more than a dozen” pharmacies experienced disruptions.A Walgreens pharmacy manager who helped organize the walkouts told The Associated Press that teams were short-staffed and overworked, especially with the additional demands from the COVID-19 pandemic.“It’s led to upset customers,” said the organizer, who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity for fear of being punished by the company. “It’s led to medication errors, vaccination errors, needle sticks.”Many Walgreens workers aren’t unionized and the employees who walked out are organizing online. They shared three main reque...

Brendan Malone, former Detroit ‘Bad Boys’ assistant and father of Nuggets coach, dies at 81

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:39 GMT

Brendan Malone, father of Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone and a driving force behind the Detroit Pistons “Bad Boys” defenses in the late 1980s and early ’90s, has died at age 81.A Nuggets representative told The Associated Press on Tuesday that a family member confirmed his death.“It is with tremendous sadness that we share the passing of longtime NBA coach Brendan Malone, who holds a special place amongst the organization and will be a Denver Nugget forever,” the team wrote on social media.Malone spent three decades as an assistant or head coach in the NBA, working for the Knicks, Pacers, Cavaliers, Magic, Raptors and Pistons. He also served as the lead assistant for his son with the Kings.It was during his time as Chuck Daly’s assistant in Detroit from 1988-95 that the elder Malone championed “The Jordan Rules,” a set of defensive principles designed to curtail Michael Jordan’s offensive prowess.Although Jordan eventually found ways for the Bulls to surpass t...

Jamaican politician charged with abducting and raping a 16-year-old girl

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:39 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A government official in Jamaica was arrested and charged with abducting and raping a 16-year-old girl, police said Tuesday.Tyrone Guthrie, 45, is councilor of the Truro division in the parish of Westmoreland and was charged after turning himself into police on Monday.Authorities said the girl went to Guthrie’s home in June to help do his hair and was allegedly raped after she was prevented from leaving upon finishing the job.Guthrie could not be immediately reached for comment.The People’s National Party has removed Guthrie from his position.The Associated Press

What to know on fourth day of latest Israeli-Palestinian War

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:39 GMT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli warplanes hammered neighborhoods in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, reducing buildings to rubble and sending people scrambling to find safety, as humanitarian groups pleaded for the creation of corridors that would allow them to deliver aid, saying hospitals were overwhelmed with wounded people and running out of supplies. Israel has stopped entry of food, fuel and medicines into Gaza in response to Hamas’ bloody incursion into Israel on Saturday. The sole remaining access from Egypt shut down Tuesday after airstrikes hit near the border crossing.The war, which has claimed at least 1,900 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate. New exchanges of fire over Israeli’s northern borders with militants in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday pointed to the risk of an expanded regional conflict. The Israeli military said more than 1,000 people have died in Israel since Saturday’s incursion. In Gaza, at least 900 people have been killed, according to authorities there....

Florida’s Republican attorney general will oppose putting abortion rights amendment on 2024 ballot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:39 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s Republican attorney general will oppose putting a proposed amendment protecting the right to an abortion on next year’s ballot, she told the state Supreme Court when she advised justices Monday that a petition has reached enough signatures to trigger a language review.A group called Floridians Protecting Freedom has gathered just more than 400,000 of the nearly 900,000 voter signatures it needs to make the ballot, which requires the Supreme Court to make sure the ballot language isn’t misleading and applies to a single subject.Attorney General Ashley Moody notified the court of its responsibility and said she will eventually argue the language isn’t valid, though she didn’t explain why.Republicans have dominated state politics and controlled the governor’s office and both branches of the Legislature since 1999. In that time, the state has consistently chipped away at abortion rights, including creating a waiting ...

Biden confirms Americans among hostages captured in Israel, condemns 'sheer evil' of Hamas militants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:39 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday confirmed that U.S. citizens are among the hostages captured by Hamas as he condemned the militant group for the “sheer evil” of its shocking weekend assault on Israel.“Our hearts may be broken but our resolve is clear,” said Biden, who compared the brutality of the Hamas militants to that of the Islamic State terrorist group. He added: “Let there be no doubt. The United States has Israel’s back. We’ll make sure the Jewish and democratic state of Israel can defend itself today, tomorrow as we always have.”The president coupled his unflinching defense for Israel with only a glancing reference to the suffering that innocent Palestinians are enduring from Israel's barrage of retaliatory fire on the Gaza Strip, where the Hamas attack was launched. That hardline approach could prove more difficult to sustain going forward if, as expected, the humanitarian crisis for the Palestinians worsens as Israel expands its military operatio...

Charges filed against north suburban man accused of beating family member, hitting police K9

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:39 GMT

LAKE COUNTY, Ill, — Charges have been filed against a Round Lake Beach man accused of violently beating a family member and hitting a police dog.According to officers, 36-year-old Sanjuan Reyes allegedly drove to a relative's home early Saturday morning while he was covered in blood and intoxicated. Police say relatives contacted Joliet police after Reyes left the home, as they were concerned he may have killed a family member he lives with. Man killed after attempted armed robbery leads to shooting on West Side Round Lake Beach police responded to Reyes' home but were unable to locate him. Shortly after, officers received word that Reyes was in an area near Route 83 and Rollins Road, in Round Lake Beach. Officers responded to the scene and located the suspect's vehicle, which police say had a "significant amount of blood inside of it."According to police, after arriving in the area near Route 83, officers learned that Reyes had allegedly battered the family member he lives with. ...