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Wonka waltzes to $39M opening

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:16 GMT

NEW YORK — “Wonka” debuted with $39 million in box office sales in U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. That made it a strong start for the Timothée Chalamet -starring Willy Wonka musical that underscored the young star’s draw.Musicals have been tough sells in theaters in recent years, so much so that Warner Bros. downplayed the song and dance elements of “Wonka” in trailers. Instead, the studio emphasized Chalamet, the 27-year-old actor who, with “Wonka,” notched his second No. 1 movie following 2021’s “Dune.” The earlier film recorded a $41 million opening.While “Dune” was a sprawling and star-studded sci-fi adventure, “Wonka” relies chiefly on Chalamet’s charisma.“Wonka,” which cost about $125 million to produce and played at 4,203 locations, was also the first big Hollywood release to launch following the end of the SAG-AFTRA actors&...

When is rain expected in San Diego County this week?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:16 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Chances of rain are on the forecast, but when exactly are those showers expected in San Diego County? The short answer -- possibly as early as Monday morning. The National Weather Service said a slight chance of precipitation is slated after 10 a.m. as the week before Christmas begins. A ‘Scrippshenge’ parallel: Crescent moon winks above Oceanside Pier The existing dry layer near the surface, however, should limit any significant rainfall accumulations, according to their expectations. This comes as Pacific moisture increases from the west, weather officials explained. Those chances increase come Tuesday, though mostly light showers are anticipated.Here's a look at regional rain chances for Tuesday, according to NWS:(National Weather Service)Come midweek, NWS said "disturbances arrive along a subtropical jet stream," likely sparking heavier showers and scattered thunderstorms in some Southern California areas. Low pressure dropping south ...

Talks on border security grind on as Trump invokes Nazi-era ‘blood’ rhetoric against immigrants

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Negotiators rushed to reach a U.S. border security deal Sunday that would unlock President Joe Biden’s request for billions of dollars worth of military aid for Ukraine and other national security needs before senators leave town for the holiday recess. The Biden administration, which is becoming more deeply involved in the talks, is facing pressure from all sides over any deal. The administration and Senate negotiators had hoped to reach a framework by the weekend, but that’s deeply uncertain. The talks come as Donald Trump, the Republican presidential frontrunner in 2024, delivered alarming anti-immigrant remarks about “blood” purity over the weekend, echoing Nazi slogans of World War II to cheers at a political rally.“They’re poisoning the blood of our country,” Trump said about the record numbers of immigrants coming to the U.S. without immediate legal status.Speaking in the early-voting state of New Hampshire, Trump, drew on words similar to Adolf ...

A candidate for a far-right party is elected as the mayor of an eastern German town

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:16 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — A candidate for the far-right Alternative for Germany was elected Sunday as the mayor of the eastern town of Pirna, marking another milestone for the party.Official results showed that Tim Lochner — who isn’t a member of Alternative for Germany, or AfD, but ran on its ticket — won 38.5% of the vote in a three-way runoff. Candidates for the center-right Christian Democratic Union, Germany’s main opposition party, and the conservative Free Voters took 31.4% and 30.1%, respectively.Lochner’s win in Pirna, which has about 40,000 inhabitants and is located between Saxony’s state capital, Dresden, and the Czech border, marks the first time that an AfD candidate has been elected as an “Oberbuergermeister,” the mayor of a significantly sized town or city.AfD’s first mayor anywhere in Germany was elected in August in the municipality of Raguhn-Jessnitz, in the neighboring eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt. That came after the party’s first head ...

Florida Republican Party suspends chairman and demands his resignation amid rape investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:16 GMT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The Republican Party of Florida suspended Chairman Christian Ziegler and demanded his resignation during an emergency meeting Sunday, adding to calls by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other top officials for him to step down as police investigate a rape accusation against him.Ziegler is accused of raping a woman with whom he and his wife, Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, had a prior consensual sexual relationship, according to police records.“Christian Ziegler has engaged in conduct that renders him unfit for the office,” the party’s motion to censure Ziegler said, according to a document posted on the social media platform X by Lee County GOP Chairman Michael Thomason.Ziegler tried to defend himself during the closed-door meeting, but the party board quickly took the action against him, Thompson said.“Ziegler on soap box trying to defend himself, not working,” Thompson posted before confirming the votes.The party’s executive committee will ho...

AP’s Lawrence Knutson, who covered Washington’s transcendent events for nearly 4 decades, has died

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:16 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawrence L. Knutson, a longtime Associated Press writer whose deep knowledge of the presidency, Congress and American history made him an institution in his own right, has died. He was 87.Knutson, who had prostate cancer and other health problems, died Saturday night in hospice care at a memory care facility in Washington, said his cousin, Katherine Knutson Garrett, who had recently been managing his affairs.Knutson’s AP career spanned 37 years and the terms of eight presidents before his retirement in 2003.In that time, he established himself as an expert on Washington — “a city of inspiration and spite, of spring bloom and eternal ambition, a low-rise marble capital that tourists honor and critics malign,” he wrote. He seemed to carry the soul of the place with him, as soulless as that place could seem to be to some.Born in Chicago, Lawrence Lauder Knutson was raised in Milwaukee and rural Wisconsin before he interrupted his university studies to enlist in ...

Man in custody after bar employee, cop battered in Prospect Heights: police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:16 GMT

PROSPECT HEIGHTS, Ill. -- A 22-year-old man is in custody after an employee at a bar and police officer were battered in Prospect Heights early Sunday morning, police said. Officers were responding to a fight outside HOME Bar around 4:00 a.m. in Prospect Heights. A police officer and employee were attempting to break up an altercation when a man involved got in their car and fled the scene. Chicago police officer injured after car hit while investigating crash on Dan Ryan The employee and officer were transported to a local hospital. The employee suffered serious but nonlife threatening injuries and the officer was sent home after he suffered brusing.About 10 minutes later police said they stopped the same vehicle in Palatine. The driver showed signs of impairment and after a test was administered, officers found he was impaired. The man was taken into custody and police are still investigating the incident.

Powerball jackpot surpasses $500M: How long until the next drawing?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:16 GMT

(NEXSTAR) -- Another near-record Powerball jackpot is growing, just in time for the holidays. There was no winning ticket in Saturday's drawing, pushing the grand prize to an estimated $543 million. The numbers drawn Saturday were 3, 9, 10, 20, 62, and red Powerball 25. The Power Play was 3X. There were two tickets -- one each in New Jersey and Wisconsin -- that matched the five white numbers, landing $1 million prizes, according to Powerball officials. Not sure how to play Powerball? Here’s what you need to know But, without a jackpot winner, the estimated grand prize stands as the fourth-largest of the year. It's been building since the last jackpot was hit in October: a $1.765 billion prize won by a ticket sold in California. The next drawing will be held Monday at 10:59 p.m. ET. Should there be a winner (or winners), they'll have the choice between an annuitized payout or the cash option, which sits at an estimated $272.2 million as of Sunday.Should the jackpot be won this mo...

Houston WR/KR Matthew Golden transfers to Texas Longhorns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Longhorns got a boost to its wide receiving corps and return game with their latest transfer.Houston's Matthew Golden, who finished his sophomore season with the Cougars as one of five returners in FBS to return two kicks for touchdowns, announced his transfer to Texas on social media Sunday. Before Sugar Bowl practices, Texas Longhorns securing recruits before early signing period The Houston native and Klein Cain graduate caught 38 passes for 404 yards with six touchdowns and was a dynamic kick returner averaging 35.7 yards per return this season. He scored from 98 yards against TCU and 100 yards against West Virginia.In two seasons with Houston, Golden has 76 catches for 988 yards with 13 touchdowns in 20 games played. QB Maalik Murphy to transfer from Texas Houston finished 4-8 overall and 2-7 in Big 12 Conference play and didn't qualify for a bowl game, which led to the firing of head coach Dana Holgorsen.Golden is the first player the Longhorns ha...

Ex-Vikings quarterback Jake Browning: ‘They never should have cut me!’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:16 GMT

No matter how reporters framed the question, Bengals quarterback Jake Browning wouldn’t take the bait.Never mind that the Vikings cut him a couple of seasons ago. He claimed Saturday’s game in Cincinnati was like any another game on the schedule.Yet when the Bengals secured their 27-24 victory over the Vikings with a chip-shot field goal in overtime, Browning sought out a camera as the ball sailed through the uprights, screaming, “They never should have cut me!”So much for just like any another game on the schedule.“You can’t say that the whole week and then go lose,” Browning said with a grin. “You kind of just wait until we win and then don’t look like an idiot.”After downplaying the personal importance of Saturday’s game, Browning finally admitted that there was some extra motivation going against his former team. He used it as fuel while leading a big comeback, finishing 29 of 42 passing for 324 yards and a pair of touchdowns.̶...