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‘Blue Beetle’ unseats ‘Barbie’ from the top of the US box office

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:04 GMT

New York (CNN) — The reign of “Barbie” is over. At least at the box office, anyway.For the first time since its July 21 release, the Greta Gerwig-directed film wasn’t the country’s top-grossing film for the weekend. Instead, DC’s superhero film “Blue Beetle” took its place and grossed an estimated $25.4 million, while “Barbie” slipped to second and brought in $21.5 million, according to studio estimates.“Oppenheimer,” which was also released the same weekend as “Barbie,” fell to third place and made $10.6 million, bringing its total US haul to $285 million.So far, “Barbie” has made $567 million at the US box office. The film ends its place on top smashing several records.Last week, it became Warner Bros.’ highest-grossing domestic release, beating the former title holder, the 2008 film “The Dark Knight.” It’s also still on track to surpass Universal Picture’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” as the biggest domestic release of the year. That movi...

Domino’s Pizza will close all 142 stores in Russia

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:04 GMT

London (CNN) — Domino’s Pizza will close all its outlets in Russia, becoming one of the first major Western fast-food chains to exit the country since McDonald’s and Starbucks left more than a year ago.DP Eurasia — the company that owns franchise rights for the Domino’s Pizza brand in Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia — said Monday that it would file for bankruptcy for its Russian unit, DPRussia.The move highlights the increasingly hard choices facing Western firms that stayed in Russia after the start of the Ukraine war. The Kremlin has made it vastly more difficult and more costly for Western companies to sell their Russian businesses. And it has in some cases seized control of firms’ local assets, as with Danish brewer Carlsberg (CABGY) and French yogurt maker Danone (DANOY).“With the increasingly challenging environment, DPRussia’s immediate holding company is now compelled to take this step, which will bring about the termination of the attemp...

South Boston groom picking up passport today (hopefully) in time for Italian wedding

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:04 GMT

Strike the wedding bells!A South Boston couple’s romantic Italian ceremony will go on as planned next week, and the groom will be in attendance.Donato Frattaroli is heading to the Boston Passport Agency for an appointment today, the North End native told the Herald this morning. He is set to pick up a new passport (hopefully), just days after his Golden Retriever puppy, Chickie, destroyed his old one.U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch’s Office confirmed with the Herald that it had been handling the case ever since Frattaroli’s fiancee Magda Mazri reached out for help from the congressman. A spokesperson said the office secured the appointment for the couple.Frattaroli had previously told the Herald that he also had been in contact with U.S. Sen. Ed Markey. Local dog lover — PR guru George Regan — also assisted in the process. The story, first reported by the Herald on Friday, went national, with Frattaroli and Mazri appearing in a Monday segment on Good Morning America.Chickie, sho...

Tropical Storm Hilary brings record-breaking rainfall to San Diego County

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:04 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Tropical Storm Hilary swept through San Diego County Sunday, with some parts of the region experiencing their wettest August day on record.The National Weather Service is reporting rainfall totals that have not been seen in decades in some areas of the county.Before Hilary, the wettest August day on record in the county was Aug. 17, 1977, when post-hurricane Doreen dropped record-breaking rainfall to most climate stations, NWS said. A quick look at rainfall totals from Hilary The latest rainfall measurements from NWS San Diego show that Tropical Storm Hilary has made Aug. 20, 2023, the wettest August day on record for several areas in the county, breaking the nearly 50-year record.Below is how some reporting station's rain amounts from Sunday stacked up to the previous record, according to weather service officials:StationRainfall for Aug. 20, 2023Rainfall for Aug. 17, 1977San Diego1.82 inches1.80 inchesOceanside Harbor2.38 inches2.20 inchesVista2.12 inches1.45 inches...

Power restored for most as Hilary moves through region

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:04 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- As Tropical Storm Hilary continues its northward movement, the storm continues to batter San Diego County with heavy rain and gusty winds.These conditions have had widespread impacts on residents Sunday afternoon, including power outages for thousands of San Diego Gas & Electric customers. MORE: Tracking Hilary By Monday morning, the majority of outages had been restored, with only 319 customers still being impacted, according to SDG&E's Outage Map.As of 6:30 a.m. Monday, 118 customers in the Julian/ Santa Ysabel/ Morettis communities were still without power due to weather affecting SDG&E equipment.A new outage started around 5:19 a.m. Monday in the south Poway area, with 179 customers losing power, although SDG&E did not say if weather was a factor for this outage.All other outages reported around the county Monday morning were impacting less than 10 customers, according to SDG&E.

Guatemala’s pick of independent anti-corruption progressive as president may face challenge

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:04 GMT

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Guatemalans overwhelmingly picked an independent progressive to be the country’s next president but his opponent remained silent Monday morning, leaving open the possibility of a challenge to landslide results that resoundingly rejected the country’s elite. With 100% of votes counted, anti-corruption crusader Bernardo Arévalo got 58% of the vote to 37% for former first lady Sandra Torres in her third bid for the presidency. The results still have to be certified to become official, an open question as the attorney general’s office attempts to suspend his party’s legal status.“We know that there is a political persecution underway that is being carried out through the institutions and prosecutor’s offices and judges that have been corruptly co-opted,” Arévalo said Sunday night. “We want to think that the force of this victory is going to make it clear that there is no place for the attempts to derail the electoral process. The Guatemalan people have ...

Haiti and Dominican Republic warn of floods and landslides as Tropical Storm Franklin nears

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:04 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Tropical Storm Franklin churned through the Caribbean Sea on Monday as authorities in Haiti and the Dominican Republic warned residents to prepare for floods and landslides.The storm was located some 240 miles (390 kilometers) south of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic and had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 kph). It was moving west at 6 mph (9 kph) and was forecast to make a sharp turn north late Monday or early Tuesday.Franklin is expected to strengthen before making landfall late Tuesday in Hispaniola, the island shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The storm is forecast to drop up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) of rain in both countries, with up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) in isolated areas. Heavy rainfall is of great concern to Haiti, given that the country floods easily in many places due to severe erosion. More than 40 people died in June following a day of heavy rain from a thunderstorm.“The mudlslide risk there i...

Smoke aids B.C. fire fight, as BC Wildfire Service warns about Hurricane Hilary

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:04 GMT

VANCOUVER — The BC Wildfire Service says weather across British Columbia will be impacted by a hurricane in Southern California, challenging firefighters already battling hundreds of fires that forced 30,000 people from their homes and caused a provincial state of emergency.It says the Bush Creek East wildfire in the Columbia Shuswap region, which merged and encompassed the Adams Lake wildfire this weekend, is now about 410 square kilometres in size. The Service warns that Hurricane Hilary is expected to bring 20 kilometre per hour winds moving east across the province, with gusts up to 40 kilometres per hour.But, it says wildfire smoke may help temper the flames as 2 to 3 millimetres of rain is forecast in the region tonight.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is closely monitoring the fires in B.C. and the Northwest Territories, noting that will be a main topic at his cabinet retreat this week.He says the federal government is also hosting another Incident Re...

Greece hosts meeting of several Balkan leaders; Ukraine’s Zelenskyy also will attend

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:04 GMT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — The leaders of several Balkan countries gathered in the Greek capital Monday along with top European Union officials to discuss the region’s European future, and Ukraine’s president was to join them later in the day.Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was to host an informal dinner Monday evening in Athens for the top officials from nine Balkan nations as well as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Charles Michel.Mitsotakis’ office said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also would attend the dinner, following talks with the Greek prime minister. Zelenskyy also was scheduled to have talks with Greece’s figurehead president, Katerina Sakellaropoulou.Zelenskyy was in Denmark earlier Monday, where he thanked Danish lawmakers for helping his country resist Russia’s invasion, a day after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they will provide Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.The Athens dinner was being host...

Stock market today: Wall Street is mixed as rising bond yields keep cranking up the pressure

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:55:04 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is mixed on Monday and holding a bit steadier after sliding for three straight weeks through what’s been a dismal August.The S&P 500 was virtually unchanged in midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 183 points, or 0.5%, at 34,317, as of 11:15 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.4% higher.Putting more pressure on the stock market were rising yields in the bond market, where the 10-year Treasury yield touched its highest level since 2007 and rose above 4.34% That’s up from 4.25% late Friday and from less than 0.60% in 2020.Higher yields are good for bond investors, who get paid more in interest for their investments. But it also makes investors less willing to pay high prices for stocks and other investments that are less steady than U.S. government bonds.A swift rise for yields globally has shaken stock markets worldwide. It’s added to concerns that stock prices overshot during their strong run earlier...