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Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore in later 'Harry Potter' films, dies at 82: publicist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:52 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Veteran actor Michael Gambon, who was known to many for his portrayal of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight “Harry Potter” films, has died, his publicist said Thursday. He was 82.A statement by his family, issued by his publicist, said he died following “a bout of pneumonia.”“We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon. Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside,” his family said.No matter what role he took on in a career that lasted more than five decades, Gambon was always instantly recognizable by the deep and drawling tones of his voice. He was cast as the much-loved Dumbledore after the death of his predecessor, Richard Harris, in 2002.

Donald Trump: UAW negotiations ‘don’t mean as much as you think’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:52 GMT

By Craig Mauger | The Detroit NewsClinton Township — Republican Donald Trump railed against electric vehicles during a campaign stop in suburban Detroit Wednesday night, saying they’re too expensive, aren’t capable of traveling far enough and would spur job losses for Americans.Trump, a former president who’s seeking to challenge current Democratic President Joe Biden next year, made the comments during a speech at Drake Enterprises, a parts supplier in Clinton Township. Amid a historic strike by the United Auto Workers against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, Trump said: “Your current negotiations don’t mean as much as you think.”Trump argued that regardless of the outcome of the strike, the bigger threat to employees was the shift to electric cars and trucks, which he described as a “hit job” on Michigan and Detroit.“You can be loyal to American labor or you can be loyal to the environmental lunatics,” Trump said at one poi...

Opinion: Who decided the world should be disrupted by AI? Not voters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:52 GMT

Who decided the world should be disrupted by AI? Do you recall receiving a voter pamphlet on the pros and cons of AI development and deployment? Was I the only one who missed election day?The truth of the matter is that the most impactful decisions about AI are being made by a few people with little to no input from the rest of us. That is a recipe for unrest if I’ve ever heard one.A couple dozen AI researchers think there’s a chance that AI could lead to unprecedented human flourishing. So, they have taken it upon themselves to develop ever more advanced AI models.At the same time, they have freely admitted that they increasingly have limited control over the technology itself and its potential side effects.Is it any surprise that more than a few folks feel disenchanted with a governing system that purports to give power to the people but, in practice, empowers computer scientists to more or less unilaterally throw society into a potential doom loop?It’s as if we&...

Here are the takeaways from the second GOP presidential debate, according to social media

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:52 GMT

Seven GOP candidates gathered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for the second Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday night as thousands of voters tuned in to watch the presidential hopefuls — and post about it.Related ArticlesNational Politics | Minus Trump, Republican presidential candidates spar over education, economy, more at Reagan Library National Politics | Goldberg: Senate Democratic leaders need to break with Menendez. Now National Politics | Republicans face urgency to stop Trump as they enter second debate National Politics | White House: GOP has all the control over potential shutdown National Politics | Poll: 87% of Californians say U.S. is in a mental health crisis. But how do they feel about themselves? Present were North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mi...

Minus Trump, Republican presidential candidates spar over education, economy, more at Reagan Library

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:52 GMT

Seven Republican presidential candidates stood inside a library named after a former president revered in the party and argued policies related to immigration, economy, health care costs and education, among other issues.They also just argued at times when they weren’t going after the GOP frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, who skipped the debate, and President Joe Biden.The second GOP presidential primary debate was held on a muggy Wednesday evening at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, a sprawling complex that has hosted numerous presidential debates, influential Republicans and world leaders.For two hours, with Reagan’s Air Force One hanging above them, candidates debated parental rights in education, protections for farmers and ranchers and the opioid epidemic.Not on the stage was Trump, the Republican frontrunner who has skipped the debates as he appears set to focus on the general election, rather than the primary. On Wednesday, Trump was in Michiga...

Man arrested on suspicion of murder in California teen’s fentanyl death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:52 GMT

A 21-year-old Perris man was arrested on suspicion of murder, accused of selling fentanyl to a teenager who later overdosed and died, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday.The teenager was hospitalized after being found unresponsive on May 21 at the 2500 block of Spectacular Bid Street in Perris. The teen died a few days later from fentanyl poisoning, according to the coroner.Details on the teenager were unavailable.On Sep. 25, authorities located and arrested the suspect in Moreno Valley. Deputies also executed a search warrant in Perris at the 80 block of East Jarvis Street, where they found narcotics believed to be for sale.The suspect, Daniel Ramirez, was later booked at the Cois Byrd Detention Center on three charges, including possessing narcotics for sale and murder, jail records show.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Woman pleads guilty to firing shotgun at San Jose police during February 2019 chase Crime and Public Safety | ...

How the ‘Coach Prime’ effect is radically changing life in Boulder, Colorado

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:52 GMT

LOS ANGELES — There is exactly one soul food restaurant in Boulder, Colorado, a mom-and-daughter catering company located a mile from the University of Colorado campus.And ever since Deion Sanders came to town, Isha Rae has been hell-bent on getting him and the Buffs to try her grub.Recently, she looked up Colorado’s new-look football roster and sent an email to just about every Black person she could find, complete with pictures of offerings from her restaurant: Rae’s and Kay’s Melting Pot, offering a mix of soul food and Puerto Rican cuisine cooked by Rae and mom Char Kay. Collard greens. Ribs. Cornbread. Somebody was going to respond once they saw this, Rae figured, in a town where the next-nearest search for a soul food place rumbles you well up Route 36 to Gunbarrel.Sure enough, it worked. So Rae and Kay found themselves in an elevator on Colorado’s Boulder campus on Tuesday, invited to come drop off some food for Sanders’ staff to try to set up a catering arrangement. Marvelin...

Goldberg: Senate Democratic leaders need to break with Menendez. Now

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:52 GMT

Hopefully, Democratic leaders in the Senate will do the right thing, and this column will be obsolete by the time you read it. I would have written it earlier, but I thought that at any moment, the dam would break and Bob Menendez, the recently indicted senator from New Jersey accused of spectacular acts of treachery and corruption, would be pushed out. Yet here we are, four days after the Department of Justice gave us all a look at Menendez’s cash-stuffed jacket and 1-kilogram gold bars, and a united front of condemnation has yet to materialize. As I write this, more than a dozen Democratic senators have called on him to step down. Every other Democratic senator — especially the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer — should join them.It’s true, of course, that an indictment is not a conviction. (Menendez knows this as well as anyone, having been charged with corruption once before but spared by a hung jury.) While he is entitled to another fair trial, he is not entitled to a seat ...

Qué pasará con Travis King, el soldado estadounidense expulsado de Corea del Norte

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:52 GMT

El soldado estadounidense que entró corriendo en Corea del Norte tras atravesar la fortificada frontera entre las dos coreas llegó el jueves de madrugada a Estados Unidos.Corea del Norte anunció de improviso el miércoles que expulsaría al soldado Travis King. Su regreso se organizó con ayuda de la aliada Suecia y la rival China, indicó el miércoles la Casa Blanca. Aunque las autoridades dijeron que King, de 23 años, estaba bien de salud y que la prioridad sería atenderle y reintegrarle en la sociedad estadounidense, sus problemas estaban lejos de terminar.King, quien había servido en Corea del Sur, cruzó a la carrera hacia Corea del Norte mientras se encontraba en un recorrido turístico en una aldea fronteriza el 18 de julio, convirtiéndose en el primer estadounidense confirmado en ser detenido en Corea del Norte en casi cinco años. Corea del Norte expulsa a soldado estadounidense que cruzó al país; ya está bajo custodia de Washington En ese momento se supo...

Eslovaquia, un país de la OTAN, pronto podría tener un líder prorruso

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:19:52 GMT

(CNN) — Eslovaquia se está preparando para elegir a su quinto primer ministro en sólo cuatro años, y con el partido de oposición del simpatizante del Kremlin, Robert Fico, liderando las encuestas, el país está siendo observado con alarma en Occidente.Desde que Rusia invadió Ucrania en febrero pasado, Eslovaquia ha sido uno de los aliados más firmes de Kyiv. Los dos países comparten frontera y Eslovaquia fue el primer país en enviar defensas aéreas a Ucrania y acogió a decenas de miles de refugiados.Pero todo eso podría cambiar si Fico llega al poder. El ex primer ministro no oculta sus simpatías hacia el Kremlin y ha culpado a los “nazis y fascistas ucranianos” de provocar al presidente de Rusia, Vladimir Putin, para que lanzara la invasión, repitiendo la narrativa falsa que Putin ha utilizado para justificar su invasión.Fico le pidió al Gobierno eslovaco que deje de suministrar armas a Kyiv y ha dicho que si se convirtiera en primer ministro, Eslovaquia “no enviaría otra rond...