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Was 2023 a tipping point for movies? ‘Barbie’ success and Marvel struggles may signal a shift

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:03 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Eight years ago, Steven Spielberg predicted that the superhero movie would one day go “the way of the Western.”Spielberg’s comments caused a widespread stir at the time. “Avengers: The Age of Ultron” was then one of the year’s biggest movies. The following year would bring “Captain America: Civil War,” “Deadpool” and “Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.” The superhero movie was in high gear, and showing no signs of slowing down.But Spielberg’s point was that nothing is forever in the movie business. These cycles, Spielberg said, “have a finite time in popular culture.” And the maker of “E.T.,” “Jurassic Park” and “Jaws” might know a thing or two about the ebbs and flows of pop-culture taste.As 2023 draws to a close, no one is sounding the death knell of the superhero movie. The Walt Disney Co.’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” made $845.6 million worldwide and Sony’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” ($691 million) was one of the most acclaimed film...

Cargojet renews shipping partnership with Canadian North airline

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:03 GMT

Cargojet Inc. says it has renewed a partnership with Arctic-focused airline Canadian North to deliver cargo to the region.Mississauga, Ont. based Cargojet says that under the deal, it will be the exclusive provider for air cargo from Winnipeg and Ottawa to Iqaluit, while Canadian North will continue to distribute shipments across Canada’s Arctic.It says the deal aims to increase shipping capacity to the region, and builds upon Canadian North’s recently-announced plans to double the size of its cargo facility in Ottawa by 2026.The five-year deal marks a continuation of a partnership between the two companies that has being going for more than 22 years.Canadian North is a fully Inuit-owned airline that in early December named Shelly De Caria as its first Inuk president and chief executive.Cargojet is also undergoing a leadership change starting Jan. 1, 2024, when current chief corporate officer Pauline Dhillon and chief strategy officer Jamie Porteous will be appointed co-...

The New York Times sues OpenAI, Microsoft over use of its stories used to train chatbots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:03 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Times has filed a federal lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, seeking to end the practice of using its stories to train chatbots. In the suit filed Wednesday in the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, the Times said OpenAI and Microsoft are advancing their technology through the “unlawful use of The Times’s work to create artificial intelligence products that compete with it” and “threatens The Times’s ability to provide that service.” OpenAI and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Media organizations have been pummeled by a migration of readers to online platforms and while many publications have carved out a digital space online as well, artificial intelligence technology has threatened to upend numerous industries, including media. Artificial intelligence companies scrape information available online, including articles published by media organizations, to train generative AI chatbots. Those companies ha...

Amazon Prime Video will soon start showing ads during movies, shows — unless you pay an extra fee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:03 GMT

(WJW) - Amazon Prime Video is moving ahead with plans to introduce advertisements to its content unless users pay an additional fee. In a letter sent to members this week, the streaming service announced that Prime Video movies and TV shows will include "limited ads" starting on Jan. 29.Members will have to pay an extra $2.99 per month for the new ad-free option. Otherwise, your bill won't change. 3-year-old sneaks downstairs to open all family’s presents early Christmas morning The letter goes on to say the company aims to have "meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers.""This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time," the company said in the letter.Ads in Prime Video content will start in the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Canada in early 2024, followed by France, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Australia later in the year. Amazon said that it’s not making changes to the price of Pri...

9@9: The Hamburglar will haunt you, don't bathe this week, a classic SNL holiday sketch and much more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:03 GMT

Wednesday's WGN Morning News 9@9 with Dan Ponce, Lourdes Duarte and Mike Janssen haunts you with an old Hamburglar commercial, tells you not to bathe between Christmas and New Year's and features a classic "Saturday Night Live" holiday sketch about candles. Dean shares recipes for 3 New Years Eve appetizers Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Italian restaurant in Chatham permanently closes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:03 GMT

CHATHAM, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Napoli Pizza & Cucina, located at 10 Main Street in Chatham, has permanently closed its doors. Owner Abad Morales confirmed the closure to NEWS10. Get the latest news, weather, sports and more delivered right to your inbox! On December 15, the restaurant posted on Facebook that they were temporarily closed. However, a message posted on the Napoli website said they were permanently closed."We are permanently closed," read the website. "Thank you for supporting us." ‘The Gilded Age,’ shot in the Capital Region, renewed for season 3 Morales told NEWS10 that the restaurant closed due to a loss of business in the winter and rent being expensive. Napoli Pizza & Cucina initially opened in March.Morales did take over ownership of another restaurant called Picante's in Canaan, Connecticut. The restaurant serves both Mexican and Italian food.

Man charged for shooting two women working at Domino’s

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:03 GMT

ST. LOUIS – A Spanish Lake man has been charged with the shooting of two women who were working at Domino's. The victims survived their injuries and were able to identify the shooter.Youree Hall, a 52-year-old resident of Spanish Lake, faces five felonies in connection with the shooting that occurred on December 23, 2023, at Domino’s in Dellwood. According to an investigation, Hall went to the victims’ place of employment on December 23, 2023, and shot both of them due to an argument they had with Hall's girlfriend.One victim had a gunshot wound to the abdomen, while the other was shot in the hand, hip, and thigh, resulting in the loss of a finger. Both victims identified Hall as the shooter.Hall had previously been convicted in a 1991 murder case. As a felon, he is not allowed to have a gun.

Japanese American New Year’s food traditions transcend time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:03 GMT

By Khushbu Shah, The New York TimesJane Matsumoto’s family is so eager to eat their annual ozoni that they gather around the table at 2 in the morning, right after they’ve cleaned the confetti, streamers and Champagne glasses from their New Year’s Eve festivities. Matsumoto, who is sansei, or third-generation Japanese American, and the executive culinary director of the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center in Los Angeles, looks forward to the brothy soup bobbing with mochi pieces every year.Ozoni is standard New Year’s Day fare for many Japanese Americans, whether they are nisei, the children of Japanese immigrants, or hansei, fourth-generation Japanese Americans. Starting in the 1880s, the first major wave of Japanese immigrants arrived in the United States, and although many New Year’s Day tables have evolved to include dishes from other cultures, customary Japanese dishes remain.As a child, chef Charles Namba patiently toasted squares of mochi every New Year’s Day ov...

Colorado weather: Blizzard conditions on the plains wind down Wednesday

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:03 GMT

Colorado got an after-Christmas special with a blizzard that hit the eastern side of the state Tuesday, but the weather is calming down Wednesday as snow resides and winds die down.Snow showers will linger until about midmorning across the Palmer Divide and the eastern plains, with just an inch of additional accumulation possible in some areas. Winds that had reached up to 60 mph on the plains are now generally in the 25 to 35 mph range, with some gusts reaching 40 mph.Forecasters warned the existing snow on the ground across the plains could still cause some travel problems with blowing snow, but visibility across the region has increased to about 10 miles.Most highways in the northeast are still closed due to the potentially dangerous conditions.Blizzard warnings expired at 5 a.m. Wednesday, but forecasters said drivers and residents should still be prepared for cold weather emergencies. Temperatures will be about two to four degrees warmer Wednesday than Tuesday, with highs in th...

Police break window of stolen Tesla to get to suspect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:11:03 GMT

Officers broke the window of a stolen Tesla to get to the suspect who appeared to be sleeping Wednesday morning in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.The incident occurred around 3 a.m. when police located the stolen vehicle near the intersection of James M Wood Boulevard and South Union Avenue. Police break the glass of a stolen Tesla in the Westlake neighborhood on Dec. 27, 2023. (OnScene.TV)The owner of the vehicle had been tracking it and informed police after noticing that it had not moved for a while, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson confirmed. Officers tried to get the suspect to exit the vehicle, but the person did not comply because they were either sleeping or under the influence, the spokesperson said.Video showed officers using a window-breaking tool and a baton to shatter the driver's side glass. They were eventually able to peel the window far enough to unlock the door and pull the suspect out of the Tesla.The suspect was then handcuffed and placed in...