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Tropical Storm Beatriz strengthens off Mexico’s Pacific coast

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:14:37 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Tropical Storm Beatriz strengthened off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast on Friday and was forecast to become a hurricane later in the day as it moves closer to the coast.Beatriz was about 70 miles (115 kilometers) south-southwest of Zihuatanejo on Friday morning and was moving northwest at 13 mph (20 kph) with sustained winds of 65 mph (100 kph), according to the United States National Hurricane Center.Forecasters said Beatriz could move near or over part of Mexico’s coast on Friday night and Saturday.A hurricane warning was in effect from Zihuatanejo to Cabo Corrientes. The storm was expected to slow its forward movement over the weekend and dump heavy rain as it scrapes along several southern Mexican states.Meanwhile, Hurricane Adrian continued to move deeper into the Pacific on Friday. The storm had 100 mph (155 kph) sustained winds and was about 445 miles (715 kilometers) south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California on Friday morning. It was moving w...

Was your flight canceled due to bad weather? What you need to know about rebooking, refunds and more

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:14:37 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of air travelers are facing potential flight cancellations and delays this weekend, the peak of summer travel, as thunderstorms threaten the East Coast, West Coast and points in between.Nearly 270 U.S. flights were canceled early Friday, according to flight tracking service FlightAware, and more than 1,100 U.S. flights were delayed. It’s been a terrible week for United Airlines and it is leading all major domestic carriers again Friday both canceled and delayed flights. Staying calm — and knowing your rights — can go a long way if your flight is canceled, experts say. Here’s some of their advice for dealing with a flight cancellation:MY FLIGHT WAS CANCELED. WHAT NEXT?If you still want to get to your destination, most airlines will rebook you for free on the next available flight as long as it has seats, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.If you want to cancel the trip, you are entitled to a full refund, even if you bought...

Company executives urge Europe to rethink its world-leading AI rules

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:14:37 GMT

LONDON (AP) — More than 150 executives are urging the European Union to rethink the world’s most comprehensive rules for artificial intelligence, saying Friday that upcoming regulations will make it harder for companies in Europe to compete with rivals overseas, especially when it comes to the technology behind systems like ChatGPT.Officials at companies from French planemaker Airbus and carmaker Renault to Dutch beer giant Heineken signed an open letter to EU leaders saying the 27-nation bloc’s groundbreaking legislation may put shackles on the development of generative AI. That technology gives popular AI chatbots like ChatGPT the power to generate text, images, video and audio that resemble human work.“Such regulation could lead to highly innovative companies moving their activities abroad ” and investors withdrawing their money from AI development in Europe, the letter said. “The result would be a critical productivity gap between the two sides of the Atlantic....

Stock market today: Wall Street opens higher after inflation shows signs of easing

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:14:37 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is rising again after reports suggested pressure on inflation may be easing across the country. The stock market is heading for the close of a winning week, month and first half of the year. The S&P 500 was 0.8% higher in early trading Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 214 points, or 0.6%, while the Nasdaq composite was up 1.1%. The market has rallied through 2023 in part because the economy has been able to avoid a long-predicted recession. Wall Street hopes inflation is easing enough for the Federal Reserve to soon halt its hikes to rates. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street pointed toward gains Friday ahead of closely-watched inflation data that could impact the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate decision.Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% before the bell and the S&P 500 gained 0.4%. The government’s consumer spending report that will be released before the...

Pakistan gets a lifeline from the IMF with a new $3 billion bailout to help avoid default

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:14:37 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The International Monetary Fund has agreed to provide $3 billion to Pakistan in badly needed relief to help bail out the impoverished country’s ailing economy. The nine-month agreement must be approved by the IMF’s Executive Board, which is expected to make a final decision in mid-July, a top IMF official, Nathan Porter, said in a statement late Thursday.The announcement followed talks earlier this week between Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the IMF, who both suggested that the sides were close to reaching an agreement.Porter, the IMF’s mission chief to Islamabad, said Pakistan’s economy has faced several heavy blows recently, such as the devastating floods last summer that killed 1,739 people, caused $30 billion in damage and impacted millions of Pakistanis. The country was also hit by an international commodity price spike in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Porter said despite the authorities’ ...

Parents of transgender youth are suing to block Georgia’s gender-affirming care ban

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:14:37 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Parents of four transgender children have filed a lawsuit challenging a Georgia law set to take effect Saturday that bans most gender-affirming surgeries and hormone replacement therapies for transgender people under 18, their lawyers said.The lawsuit, which the lawyers said was filed Thursday night, asks a judge to immediately prevent enforcement of the law while the legal challenge plays out.The law passed along party lines this year by the Republican-majority General Assembly and signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp was hotly contested, with Democrats, parents and medical providers making impassioned arguments against it. Georgia is one of at least 20 states that have enacted laws that restrict or ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, with most currently facing lawsuits.The Georgia law, Senate Bill 140, does allow doctors to prescribe puberty-blocking medications, and it allows minors who are already receiving hormone therapy to continue.Support...

The key players in last weekend’s armed rebellion in Russia

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:14:37 GMT

The key players in last weekend’s armed rebellion by Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin:YEVGENY PRIGOZHINPrigozhin, 62, owed his position and his fortune to links with President Vladimir Putin. The former convict who became a St. Petersburg restaurateur was dubbed “Putin’s chef” for lucrative Kremlin catering contracts. He expanded into other areas and founded the Wagner Group — a private military contractor that was active in Syria and several African countries. The Kremlin relied on Wagner to help shore up its forces in Ukraine after the regular military suffered humiliating setbacks there. Wagner spearheaded attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and captured it after a long and bloody battle, during which Prigozhin complained of not enough Defense Ministry support.Prigozhin launched his rebellion after the Defense Ministry demanded that all private contractors come under its authority by July 1, a move that would make him lose control over Wagner. He...

TV series put on pause by the Hollywood writers strike

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:14:37 GMT

As a strike by Hollywood writers approaches the two-month mark, late-night talk shows have been put on long-term hiatus and more and more scripted shows are pausing production, with films not far behind. The looming possibility of unionized actors striking alongside them could mean a far larger shutdown.Here’s a selected look at shows in suspension.___SHOWS THAT HAVE CANCELED EPISODES DUE TO WRITERS STRIKE“Jimmy Kimmel Live” — ABC“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” — CBS“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” — NBC“Late Night With Seth Myers” — NBC“Saturday Night Live” — NBC“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” — HBO ___SHOWS THAT HAVE PAUSED WORK DUE TO WRITERS STRIKE“Stranger Things” — Netflix“Cobra Kai” — Netflix “Big Mouth” — Netflix“American Horror Story” — FX “Yellowjackets” — Showtime“Billions” — Showtime “The Chi” — Showtime “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight” — HBO“Hacks” — Max“Penguin” — Max “Duster” — Max “1923” — Paramount+“Severance” — Apple TV+“Me...

Hollywood’s actors may join its writers on strike. Here’s why

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:14:37 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hollywood actors may be on the verge of joining screenwriters in what would be the first two-union strike in the industry in more than six decades, with huge consequences for film and television production. Here is a look at how it could play out, and why it’s happening. WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH ACTORS’ NEGOTIATIONS? The contract between the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Radio and Television Artists and the studios, streaming services and production companies that employ them expires Friday night at midnight Pacific time. Unionized actors have voted overwhelmingly to authorize their leaders to call a strike when it does. But that’s hardly a hard deadline. Both sides have indicated a willingness to talk for what may be several days past the expiration, as happened before resolutions were reached in the same negotiations in 2014 and 2017. Reports have said the talks have been productive. But some actors have expressed worry that the...

Vatican reports income boost in charitable fund, even as donations dip following financial scandals

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 18:14:37 GMT

The Vatican on Friday reported that a key charitable fund, Peter’s Pence, doubled its income in 2022 to 107 million euros, or more than $166 million, even as donations from the faithful dipped slightly following years of scandal over financial mismanagement at the Holy See.Overall, the Peter’s Pence fund, which finances the Vatican bureaucracy and the pope’s charitable projects around the world, ended 2022 with 11.5 million euros in surplus compared to an 18.4 million-euro deficit in 2021. That year, it only brought in 46.9 million euros in income, according to the financial statement.It’s the second year that the Holy See has published a dedicated financial statement for the Peter’s Pence fund, part of Pope Francis’ push for greater financial transparency in a bid to assure the faithful that their contributions are being put to good use.The disclosures follow years of scandal, in particular the Vatican secretariat of state’s 350 million-euro investment in a London real estate...