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Stock market today: Wall Street drifts in a tight range as talks on avoiding a U.S. default continue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are movingly tentatively as Wall Street waits to see whether a pivotal meeting in the afternoon will help the U.S. government avoid a potentially disastrous default on its debt. The S&P 500 was little changed in early trading Monday after coming off its best week since March. The Dow and the Nasdaq composite were also flat. The stock market is near its highest level since August, but it’s been mostly drifting within a tight range for weeks as several big worries weigh. The biggest near-term risk is the possibility of a U.S. default, something that could occur as soon as June 1.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street is trading small gains and losses early Monday as a deadline nears to reach a deal to avoid a federal default.Dow and S&P futures rose less than than 0.1% before the bell. There’s a pivotal meeting set for later in the day at the White House between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCar...

Movie Review: Disenchantment under the sea in live-action ‘The Little Mermaid’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:40 GMT

It’s not Rob Marshall’s fault that Disney’s latest live-action retread doesn’t really sing. “The Little Mermaid,” a somewhat drab undertaking with sparks of bioluminescence, suffers from the same fundamental issues that plagued “The Lion King,” “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast.” Halle Bailey might be a lovely presence and possesses a superb voice that is distinctly different from Jodi Benson’s, but photorealistic fins, animals and environments do not make Disney fairy tales more enchanting on their own.The essential problem is that the live-action films have prioritized nostalgia and familiarity over compelling visual storytelling. They try to recreate beats and shots from their animated predecessors, defiantly ignoring the possibility that certain musical sequences and choices were enchanting and vibrant because they were animated, not in spite of it.There was, in the 1989 film, a sparkling awe to everything. The underwater castle. The mermaids. Eric’s ship. Even Ariel’s bright ...

Independent bookselling expanded again in 2022, with new and diverse stores opening nationwide

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Near the end of 2021, Jessica Callahan was living in Columbus, Ohio, working as a social science researcher and wondering if there was a better way to support herself. Her friends Julie Ross and Austin Carter had similar thoughts and a similar solution: Open a bookstore.“I think a lot of people re-evaluated what was important to them during the lockdown and we realized the place we were always happy to be at was a bookstore,” says the 30-year-old Callahan, who with Ross and Carter last year founded the Pocket Books Shop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, close to Carter’s hometown. The roughly 1,000-square foot store is located on the main floor of a Queen Anne style house where Callahan and Ross live upstairs.“We looked at our lives and thought, ‘Why not?’ Nothing else felt guaranteed anymore so why not just try to be happy,” she added. “We’re not getting rich from this, but we’re able to pay our bills and pay ourselves.”The new direction of the Pocket Bo...

3 Palestinian militants killed in Israeli West Bank raid; US slams latest settlement expansion

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:40 GMT

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Three Palestinian militants were killed in an Israeli army raid in a West Bank refugee camp early Monday, Palestinian officials said, while the Biden administration sharply condemned Israel’s latest act of settlement expansion.The Palestinian Health Ministry said the three men were killed during a raid in Balata, a refugee camp near the city of Nablus. Six people were wounded, including one who was in critical condition, the ministry said. The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a militant group with connections to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party, identified the men killed as its members.The army confirmed the raid, saying troops came under fire and killed three Palestinians. Three others were arrested there, the army said. Israel has stepped up raids over the past year in response to a spate of Palestinian attacks and said Monday’s operations netted weapons and an explosives manufacturing operation in a home, which it detonated.Meanwhile, the Bi...

An Iranian nuclear facility is so deep underground that US airstrikes likely couldn’t reach it

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:40 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Near a peak of the Zagros Mountains in central Iran, workers are building a nuclear facility so deep in the earth that it is likely beyond the range of a last-ditch U.S. weapon designed to destroy such sites, according to experts and satellite imagery analyzed by The Associated Press.The photos and videos from Planet Labs PBC show Iran has been digging tunnels in the mountain near the Natanz nuclear site, which has come under repeated sabotage attacks amid Tehran’s standoff with the West over its atomic program.With Iran now producing uranium close to weapons-grade levels after the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers, the installation complicates the West’s efforts to halt Tehran from potentially developing an atomic bomb as diplomacy over its nuclear program remains stalled.Completion of such a facility “would be a nightmare scenario that risks igniting a new escalatory spiral,” warned Kelsey Davenport, the director of nonproliferation ...

South Africa: Man arrested for porn images with president’s face superimosed on them

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:40 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South African police said Monday they have arrested a man for allegedly distributing pornographic images with the faces of President Cyril Ramaphosa, Police Minister Bheki Cele and Cele’s wife superimposed on them.The man will appear in court in the capital, Pretoria, on Tuesday on charges of contravening the Cyber Crimes Act, which relates to unlawfully accessing or processing computer data.The 34-year-old distributed the images to police officers and to the public on social media, police said.Police spokesperson Philani Nkwalase told news website TimesLive that the investigation started in May when the images were first distributed. The man was traced to the eastern city of Pietermaritzburg, where he was arrested.Pornography is legal in South Africa, although its distribution is restricted.___More AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africaMogomotsi Magome, The Associated Press

Not enough Kyles: Texas city falls short in same-name world record attempt

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:40 GMT

KYLE, Texas (KXAN) -- The City of Kyle, Texas, didn't take home a world record Sunday evening, but it did hang out with 1,800 of its same-named friends.City leaders hosted the "Gathering of the Kyles" world record attempt Sunday afternoon at the Kyle Fair A Tex-Travaganza. Anyone with the name "Kyle" -- spelled that exact way -- was asked to attend Sunday afternoon as part of a vie at hosting the largest same-name gathering. The City of Kyle didn't take home a world record Sunday evening -- but it did hang out with 1,800 of its same-named friends. (KXAN Photo/Kelsey Thompson)The City of Kyle didn't take home a world record Sunday evening -- but it did hang out with 1,800 of its same-named friends. (KXAN Photo/Kelsey Thompson)The City of Kyle didn't take home a world record Sunday evening -- but it did hang out with 1,800 of its same-named friends. (KXAN Photo/Kelsey Thompson)The City of Kyle didn't take home a world record Sunday evening -- but it did hang out with 1,800 of its same...

Several shot after dispute at Menards parking lot carries over to The Patio Restaurant in Bridgeview

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:40 GMT

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — Several people were injured after shooting at a Menards parking lot carried over to a restaurant in Bridgeview.The shooting happened Sunday night in the 9100 block of South Harlem.According to spokesperson Ray Hanania, preliminary reports state there was a dispute between two groups in the parking lot of the Menards A bystander attempted to mediate, and one of the people in the group fired a weapon and struck the bystander in the calf.Hanania said the incident then moved east towards The Patio Restaurant, and another person suffered a minor injury. One of the restaurant's windows was shot through by a bullet. Bicyclist, 62, attacked and beaten with construction sign, own bike in South Loop Another person was shot in the finger. Some parked vehicles were also struck.There were two shooters as two different caliber shell casings were recovered, Hanania said.No one is in custody. A shooting investigation is underway.

Man, 18, broke into USPS office in Loop overnight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:40 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are searching for an 18-year-old who broke into a USPS office in the Loop early Monday morning. According to police reports, the man broke into the front doors at the postal office near the 100 block of West Randolph Street around 3:59 a.m. Girl, 17, injured in drive-by shooting in Lakeview It is still unknown if anything was taken and there is no one is in custody. Police are still investigating the incident.

Does God exist? Only half of Americans say a definite yes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:24:40 GMT

(The Hill) -- Only half of Americans now say they are sure God exists. That finding, from the closely watched General Social Survey, stands out among several nuggets of new data about religion in America. Not quite 50 percent of Americans say they have no doubt about the existence of God, according to the 2022 survey, released Wednesday by NORC, the University of Chicago research organization. As recently as 2008, the share of sure-believers topped 60 percent. Thirty-four percent of Americans never go to church, NORC found, the highest figure recorded in five decades of surveys. Another new report, from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI), said that 27 percent of Americans claimed no religion in 2022, up from 19 percent in 2012 and 16 percent in 2006. The PRRI report tracks a historic decline in the nation’s Christian population, especially among white people. The share of Americans who identify as white evangelical Protestants has dwindled from 23 perc...