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Blinken heads to China this weekend on mission to salvage sinking ties and keep communications open

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:40 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to China this weekend as part of the Biden administration’s push to repair deteriorating ties between Washington and Beijing and keep lines of communication open, the State Department said Wednesday. Blinken will be the most senior U.S. official to visit China since President Joe Biden took office. His visit had initially been planned for earlier this year but was postponed indefinitely after the discovery and shootdown of what the U.S. said was a Chinese spy balloon over the United States.Since then, however, there have been lower-level engagements between the U.S. and China despite ongoing hostility and recriminations over both sides’ actions in the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, China’s refusal to condemn Russia for its war against Ukraine, and allegations from Washington that Beijing is attempting to boost its worldwide surveillance capabilities, including in Cuba.The State Department said Blinken had spok...

Weapons expert in Alec Baldwin case was hungover on set, prosecutors say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:40 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The weapons supervisor on the film set where Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer was drinking and smoking marijuana in the evenings during the filming of “Rust,” prosecutors are alleging, saying she was likely hungover when she loaded a live bullet into the revolver that the actor used. They leveled the accusations Friday in response to a motion filed last month by Hannah Gutierrez-Reed’s attorneys that seeks to dismiss her involuntary manslaughter charge. The prosecutors accused her of having a history of reckless conduct and argued that it would be in the public interest for her to “finally be held accountable.”Jason Bowles, Gutierrez-Reed’s attorney, said Tuesday that the prosecution has mishandled the case.“The case is so weak that they now have chosen to resort to character assassination claims about Hannah,” Bowles told The Associated Press. “The prosecution has abandoned the idea of doing justice and getting to the actual truth apparently.”...

Klimt portrait ‘Lady with a Fan’ up for sale with $80M estimate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:40 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A late-life masterpiece by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt could become the most expensive painting ever sold in Europe when it is auctioned later this month.Auctioneer Sotheby’s said on Wednesday that “Dame mit Fächer” — Lady with a Fan — will go up for sale June 27 in London, with an estimated price of 65 million pounds ($80 million).The last portrait Klimt completed before his death in 1918, the painting shows an unidentified woman against a resplendent, China-influenced backdrop of dragons and lotus blossoms.It was last sold in 1994, going for $11.6 million at an auction in New York.Sotheby’s head of impressionist and modern art department, Helena Newman, said the portrait was “a technical tour de force, full of boundary-pushing experimentation, as well as a heartfelt ode to absolute beauty.”Famed for his bold, daring art nouveau paintings, Klimt was a key figure in artistic modernism at the start of the 20th century. His work has fetched some of the highest prices fo...

Kuwait strikes $367 million deal to acquire Turkish-made combat drones

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:40 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait reached an agreement worth $367 million with Turkish drone giant Baykar to purchase its increasingly sought-after TB2 combat drones, the Kuwaiti army said.The drone, Bayraktar TB2, boasts unmanned aerial vehicles that can carry lightweight, laser-guided bombs, and fly for up to 27 hours at a time, which, according to the company, was “a record,” it had set while testing the drone in Kuwait in 2019.The announcement, on Tuesday, would set Kuwait to become the 28th country to procure the TB2 drones.Demand for the drones has surged due to their successful deployment in conflict zones such as Libya, Syria and Ukraine.Kuwaiti Air Force operations chief brigadier, General Fahad Al-Dosari, said in a video posted on their Twitter account that the drone fleet can support the navy and coast guard, as well as monitor maritime and land borders. He said the drones can also “carry out reconnaissance and targeted missions” in addition to supporting search a...

What you should know as the Fed nears the peak of its rate-hiking cycle

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s likely decision Wednesday afternoon to leave interest rates alone for the first time in 11 meetings will raise hopes that it may be nearing the end of its rate-hiking campaign to cool inflation.That’s not to say the Fed is done raising rates. Most economists foresee another increase or two, starting as soon as next month. And even after the Fed has stopped hiking, it’s likely to keep borrowing rates at a peak for months to come. Consumers would still have to bear the weight of higher-cost auto loans, mortgages, credit cards and other forms of borrowing.Still, some people may feel encouraged by the possibility that loan rates are approaching a peak. And in the meantime, people with savings accounts are enjoying higher yields than they have in years. Fortunately, that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.HOW WILL BORROWERS BE AFFECTED BY ALL THIS?Though the Fed may not have reached the absolute top of its rate-raising cycle,...

Aurora Cannabis reports Bevo acquisition helps boost Q3 revenue higher

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:40 GMT

EDMONTON — Aurora Cannabis Inc. reported revenue in its latest quarter rose compared with a year ago, helped by its acquisition of Bevo Agtech Inc., a supplier of vegetable seedlings and flowers, last year.The company says the increase came as its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization totalled $310,000 for the quarter ended March 31 compared with a loss of $10 million a year earlier.Net revenue totalled $64.0 million for what was the company’s third quarter, up from $50.4 million in the same quarter last year.Aurora says medical cannabis revenue for the quarter totalled $38.0 million, down from $39.4 million, due to limited supply of high-demand products in certain European markets as the company had production issues at its Nordic production facility. The company says it made a decision in May to close the Nordic facility and to return to providing European supply from Canada, a change it expects to improve reliability of supply and increase ...

Golden Knights Stanley Cup title makes NHL history

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:40 GMT

LAS VEGAS — Fans of the newest expansion team in the National Hockey League didn't have to wait long to see their team win one of the most coveted trophies in all of sports.Thanks to a 9-3 win over the Panthers on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Golden Knights captured their first Stanley Cup title in just their sixth year of existence.That's the quickest in NHL history, besting the previous mark set by the Philadelphia Flyers. Starting play in the 1967-1968 season, that franchise won its first Stanley Cup in the 1973-1974 season, their seventh year of play in the NHL.It's the fastest rise to a championship for a major sports franchise since the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, who won the World Series in their fourth season. With their win, the Golden Knights become the second professional franchise in Las Vegas in less than a year to win a title, joining the WNBA's Aces, who won a championship in the fall of 2022.Since they started play in the 2017-2018 season, the Gol...

Dean's Home Video: 'Black Mirror,' 'The Full Monty,' 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds'

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:40 GMT

CHICAGO — As a new season of the latest in the "Star Trek" series begins, another show on Netflix is entering its sixth season while a 1997 film is being adapted into a miniseries on Hulu.These are just a few of the streaming options that were spotlighted "Dean's Home Video" on Wednesday's WGN Morning News. Dean Richards previewed season two of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," season six of "Black Mirror," and "The Full Monty."Along with those programs, he also discussed "Pretty Freekin Scary," "Extraction 2," "Jagged Mind," a documentary on Stan Lee, and more.You can watch this edition of "Dean's Home Video" from June 14's WGN Morning News in the video above. Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!

How COVID set back the fight against cancer, and why it’s only getting worse

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:40 GMT

(The Hill) -- When COVID lockdowns began in early 2020, millions of people went without cancer screenings they otherwise would have gotten. The full cost of this lapse in cancer surveillance is only starting to come into focus, but early data suggests it could be immense.And physicians fear this screening gap could continue getting wider in the years ahead because of other factors exacerbated by the pandemic, such as health care workforce shortages and altered patient habits. Screenings for cancer vary vastly in how they're performed and how often they should be done, but many can only take place in a doctor’s office. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimated about 9.4 million people missed cancer screenings they normally would have gotten in 2020. This screening gap has been particularly extreme for certain forms of cancer.A study published in May found that colorectal cancer screenings fell by 85 percent in the U.S. in the first couple of months of lockdown. Screenin...

Texas Space Commission launches; how it could benefit local aerospace businesses

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:21:40 GMT

CEDAR PARK, TX (KXAN) - The space industry is getting a little extra oversight in Texas. Tuesday, Governor Greg Abbott signed HB3447 into law, establishing the creation of the Texas Space Commission. The group will distribute $350 million in taxpayer dollars towards the development of the space industry in Texas."Having a space commission, like the Texas space bill, allows industry partners like us to be able to tap into those dollars and expand even more," said Stephen McCall, Director of Government Relations for Firefly Aerospace.Firefly Aerospace, called Austin area's "secret" aerospace company by the group's CEO, is based in Cedar Park. They're currently in a period of expansion, building a new mission control locally and facilities in Briggs, TX.McCall said that the funding the Commission provides could play a major role in their expansion. "(It) allows us to have innovative ideas funded in addition to research opportunities." Texas isn't the first state to have a commission d...