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‘Barbie’ movie’s pink paint splurge led to global shortage, production designer says

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:52:00 GMT

(CNN) — Creating the perfect backdrop for the upcoming “Barbie” movie required so much pink paint that it led to a global shortage, according to its production designer.“The world ran out of pink,” said Sarah Greenwood in a recent interview with Architectural Digest.Greenwood, who has been nominated for six Academy Awards, including for the art direction of “Pride & Prejudice” and “Atonement,” said constructing the set involved huge amounts of Rosco’s fluorescent pink paint.The live action movie, which hits theaters on July 21, stars Margot Robbie in the titular role and a blond Ryan Gosling as her plastic boyfriend, Ken.Greta Gerwig, who directed and co-wrote the script with Noah Baumbach, told the magazine the color was all-important to the movie.“Maintaining the ‘kid-ness’ was paramount,” she said. “I wanted the pinks to be very bright, and everything to be almost too much.”This was part of what Gerwig described as “literally creating the alternate universe of Barbie Land.”Wh...

Yellowstone urges visitors to protect wildlife after tourists put baby elk in their car and other incidents

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:52:00 GMT

(CNN) — Yellowstone National Park has urged visitors to protect wildlife after a string of incidents that have left animals killed or endangered, including one in which tourists gave a newborn elk a ride in their car.The park issued a plea late last week asking visitors to drive carefully and follow safety regulations after several reports of fatal collisions between vehicles and wildlife.“In recent days, some actions by visitors have led to the endangerment of people and wildlife and resulted in the death of wildlife,” the park said in a press release.“The park calls on visitors to protect wildlife by understanding how their actions can negatively impact wildlife.”On Memorial Day weekend, visitors put a newborn elk calf in their car and brought it to the West Yellowstone Police Department. The calf later ran into the forest. Its condition is unknown, the park said.On May 28, two adult black bears, both dark chocolate brown in color, were struck and killed in separate vehicle collis...

Stabbing leaves 3 injured after domestic dispute in NW Miami-Dade

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:52:00 GMT

Miami-Dade Police Department officers responded to the scene of a stabbing, Sunday night.According to officials, a woman and her estranged husband got into a verbal argument before it escalated into a physical confrontation.The man then stabbed the woman, her brother and another family member before he fled the scene.Miami-Dade Fire Rescue transported the woman to Jackson Memorial Hospital, while the brother was transported to Hialeah Hospital. The other family member was treated at the scene.Authorities announced a Be On The Lookout for 33-year-old Pablo Caballero.

Restaurant review: Kitchen 151

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:52:00 GMT

What’s good? Owner and chef Simona El-Harar says she opened her restaurant when she moved to Brussels a decade ago partly as a way to meet people. “When I opened Kitchen 151 I actually opened a house,” she says. El-Harar is Israeli, but she says her home country’s cuisine “borrows from everybody.” Her menu has influences from Yemen, Georgia, Iraq, Morocco and elsewhere — and she only cooks what she eats herself. The delicious Börek (spinach and feta in filo pastry) and Babka (home-baked cinnamon bun) were highlights of our visit.What’s not? The restaurant’s hours are quite restricted — closed on Saturday night, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday — so you’ll need to book a couple of weeks in advance for a table on Friday night. The tables are also close together and the atmosphere can be loud. So not the place for a discrete or intimate dinner.Vibe: Simple furniture. Mismatched crockery. A forest of pot plants perched on hi...

EU wants Google, Facebook to start labeling AI-generated content

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:52:00 GMT

BRUSSELS — In a bid to clamp down on disinformation online, the European Commission wants tech companies like Google, Facebook and TikTok to start labeling content created by artificial intelligence without waiting for digital laws to come into effect. Text, video and audio created and manipulated by artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E have been increasingly spreading online. The Commission is now calling on dozens of large tech companies that are part of its voluntary anti-disinformation charter to make it easier for people to distinguish facts from fiction. “Signatories who have services with a potential to disseminate AI-generated disinformation should in turn put in place technology to recognize such content and clearly label this to users,” Vice President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová said Monday, as previously reported in Brussels Playbook. Very large online platforms and search engines like Meta, Twitter and TikTok will have to identif...

Worcester police arrest break-in suspect after woman finds ‘strange male’ in her closet

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:52:00 GMT

A man with warrants for his arrest was taken into custody over the weekend after Worcester police say he allegedly broke into an apartment and was found in a closet by a resident.The Worcester Police Department said Jonathan Feliciano, 34, was arrested on Saturday, June 3, after authorities responded to Millbury Street for a reported break-in.There, a witness told officers that when she had arrived home to her apartment, she found her door damaged and a “strange male was in her closet,” according to a Worcester PD news release.Police said the woman was able to take a picture of the male suspect before he fled the scene. The photo was then shared amongst police and, four hours later, an officer on patrol in the area of Vernon Street recognized the suspect from the picture, noting that he was “still wearing the same outfit.”Authorities then approached the suspect, later identified as Feliciano, and confirmed he was the subject in the closet photo.The 34 year ol...

Prince Harry is set to give evidence as he takes on UK newspaper publisher in court. Here’s what you need to know

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:52:00 GMT

London (CNN) — Prince Harry’s years-long battle against Britain’s tabloid media reaches its most dramatic stage so far this week, as the royal prepares to face questions in a London court as part of his case against a major newspaper publisher.The latest hearing in the Duke of Sussex’s case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) began Monday at the High Court. Harry will give evidence in person Tuesday, his lawyer told the court.The appearance of a British royal in a witness box will be an exceptionally rare event. But Harry has long railed against the tactics of the tabloid media in covering his life, and he will now have the opportunity to lay out his arguments, under oath, during cross-examination from MGN’s lawyers.It’s likely to be a tense and defining appearance for the Duke as he forges his own path further from the rest of the royal family.Here’s what you need to know about the trial.What is the case about?The Duke of Sussex and three other claimants repre...

Russia says Ukraine is launching major attacks; Kyiv accuses Moscow of misinformation

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:52:00 GMT

By SUSIE BLANN (Associated Press)KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces were making a major effort to punch through Russian defensive lines in southeast Ukraine for a second day, a Moscow-installed official said Monday as Russia’s Defense Ministry declared that it had foiled an assault in an illegally annexed region of the invaded country. Kyiv authorities suggested the attack reports were a Russian misinformation ruse as the Ukrainian military prepares for a widely anticipated counteroffensive. Vladimir Rogov, an official in the Russia-backed administration of Ukraine’s partly occupied Zaporizhzhia province, said that fighting resumed on its border with the eastern Donetsk region on Monday after Russian defenses beat back a Ukrainian advance the previous day.“The enemy threw an even bigger force into the attack than yesterday (Sunday),” and the new attempt to break through the front line was “more large-scale and organized,” Rogov said, addi...

Stock market today: Wall Street drifts in early trading as oil rises

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:52:00 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are drifting to begin what could be a quiet stretch following several weeks of gains and fireworks. The S&P 500 was up 0.1% in early trading Monday. The benchmark index is coming off its best week since March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 27 points, or 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.1%. Some of the sharpest action was in the oil market, where crude rose 2% after Saudi Arabia said it would cut back production in hopes of boosting its price. Exxon Mobil and Chevron both rose at least 1%. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street is relatively flat Monday following last week’s last surge propelled by U.S. jobs data that raised new questions about if or when a recession might arrive. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average are essentially unchanged heading into a week with little new data expected from major U.S. corporations or economic indicators from Washington. Ener...

Saudi Arabian soccer league to get more state funding from policy backed by crown prince MBS

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 18:52:00 GMT

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo is already in Saudi Arabia. Karim Benzema looks sure to be next. And as the oil-rich kingdom pursues Lionel Messi as well, it is making sure that money continues to flow into the domestic soccer league.Saudi Arabia on Monday made its already obvious intentions in world soccer even clearer by announcing a “privatization project” for companies to spend more on clubs — part of the Vision 2030 national development policy promoted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is also prime minister. Saudi public sector organizations also will be encouraged to invest in sports with teams in the national soccer league a top priority.“The Saudi Pro League … will be supported in its ambition to be amongst the top 10 leagues in the world,” the state-owned Saudi Press Agency said in a news release.Ronaldo has been the headline attraction so far, joining the Al Nassr club in January on a reported salary of $200 million a year.Benzema’s move to join...