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The story behind Barbenheimer, the summer’s most online movie showdown

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:45 GMT

The very online showdown between Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” all started with a date: July 21.It’s not uncommon for studios to counterprogram films in different genres on a big weekend, but the stark differences between an intense, serious-minded picture about the man who oversaw the development of the atomic bomb and a lighthearted, candy-colored anthropomorphizing of a childhood doll quickly became the stuff of viral fodder. There’s even some disagreement over whether it’s “Barbieheimer” or “Barbenheimer” or “Boppenheimer” or yet another tortured portmanteau — a phenomenon on which the AP Stylebook has yet to offer guidance, but for the purposes of this article will be “Barbenheimer.”It didn’t hurt that both Nolan and Gerwig have very passionate and very online fandoms eager to join in. Never mind that many of those fans overlap — the memes, allegiances, and T-shirts were just too fun. Both movies often trend on social media when the other release...

Trump asks top Georgia court to disqualify election probe prosecutor and toss grand jury report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:45 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are asking Georgia’s highest court to prevent the district attorney who has been investigating his actions in the wake of the 2020 election from prosecuting him and to throw out a special grand jury report that is part of the inquiry.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating since early 2021 whether Trump and his allies broke any laws as they tried to overturn his narrow election loss in Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden. She has suggested that she is likely to seek charges in the case from a grand jury next month.Trump’s Georgia legal team on Friday filed similar petitions in the Georgia Supreme Court and Fulton County Superior Court naming Willis and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who oversaw the special grand jury, as respondents. A spokesperson for Willis declined to comment. McBurney did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.Trump’s legal team — Drew Find...

Recipe: This Peanut Butter Fudge has won blue ribbons at county fairs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:45 GMT

Ah, the delicious fun of summer’s county-fair contests. I’ve judged my share of culinary competitions, evaluating everything from canned goods to cheesecakes to pies. I was always impressed with the oh-so-large number of entries, and the enthusiasm that fueled them.Maybe that’s one of the reasons that Linda Skeens’ “Blue Ribbon Kitchen” caught my eye.Skeens, a 75-year-old great-grandmother from Appalachia, won more than 25 blue ribbons last summer at the Virginia-Kentucky District Fair. She swept the awards, and the news of her stunning victories went viral online.The book contains an array of her award-winning and family-favorite recipes, including her formula for Peanut Butter Fudge, a sweet treat that she noted as one of her most-requested dessert recipes.Peanut Butter FudgeYield: One 9-by-13-inch panINGREDIENTS8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk4 cups granulated sugar1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow creme1 teaspoo...

World cycling’s governing body bans female transgender athletes from women’s events

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:45 GMT

AIGLE, Switzerland (AP) — Female transgender athletes who transitioned after male puberty will no longer be able to compete in women’s races, world cycling governing body the UCI said Friday.The International Cycling Union joined the governing bodies in track and field and swimming as top-tier Olympic sports addressing in this way the issue of transgender athletes and fairness in women’s events.The UCI’s decision came after American rider Austin Killips became the first openly transgender woman to win an official cycling event in May. “From now on, female transgender athletes who have transitioned after (male) puberty will be prohibited from participating in women’s events on the UCI international calendar — in all categories — in the various disciplines,” the international federation said in a statement.The UCI said the ban, starting on Monday, was necessary to “ensure equal opportunities.”Killips rode to victory in ...

‘It was a bloodbath’: Rare dialysis complication can kill, and more could be done to stop it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:45 GMT

Brett Kelman | (TNS) KFF Health NewsNieltje Gedney was half-asleep in her West Virginia home, watching murder mysteries over the hum of a bedside hemodialysis machine, when she felt something warm and wet in her armpit.A needle inserted into her arm had fallen loose, breaking a circuit that the machine used to clean her blood. It was still pumping, drawing and filtering blood as designed, but the blood was now spilling into her bed instead of returning to her body.Gedney, a leader of the Home Dialyzors United support group, knew what to do. Armed with a decade of experience with hemodialysis, she calmly applied pressure to her arm and pressed a red button that turned off the pump. Her blood loss stopped. In the seconds her needle was loose, Gedney’s blood had soaked through her pajamas, bedsheets, and quilt.“I sat up and looked down, and I was literally covered in blood,” said Gedney, 71. “It was a bloodbath.”On that frightful night last year, Gedney survived a rare and very dangero...

As playoff push begins, Orioles’ baseball future looks bright despite off-field uncertainties

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:45 GMT

Sitting in the left field corner of T-Mobile Park, Alex Cobb marveled at not only how far the Orioles had come since trading him away, but also how quickly they had done so.An All-Star pitcher this year with the San Francisco Giants, Cobb was part of Baltimore’s last-gasp push to keep its previous window of contention open, signing a contract in the spring of 2018 that covered the next four seasons. In each of them, the Orioles were one of the major leagues’ worst teams, finishing with a bottom-five record every year and twice in last.After the first season, they revamped their front office, bringing in an analytically driven group helmed by Houston Astros assistant general manager Mike Elias that gave Cobb, a former member of the data-focused Tampa Bay Rays, confidence “they were going to have their correct pieces in place to create a winning organization.”He never got to be a part of it. Baltimore traded Cobb to the Los Angeles Angels in 2021, part of the r...

Architect charged with killing 3 women in connection with Long Island serial killings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:45 GMT

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and JAKE OFFENHARTZ (Associated Press)RIVERHEAD, NY (AP) — A Long Island architect has been charged with murder in the deaths of three of the 11 victims in a long-unsolved string of killings known as the Gilgo Beach murders.Rex Heuermann, 59, has lived for decades across a bay from where the remains were found. He is charged with first and second degree murder in connection with the deaths of three victims, Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. Authorities say he is also the “prime suspect” in another killing.Heuermann was taken into custody in Massapequa late Thursday, near where investigators were seen searching his home Friday. He is expected to be arraigned Friday afternoon in state court in Riverhead.A message seeking comment was left with his lawyer. Voice and email messages were left at Heuermann’s Manhattan office and at possible numbers for his home and family Friday.Suffolk County prosecutors are asking that Heuer...

House Republicans push through defense bill limiting abortion access and halting diversity efforts

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:45 GMT

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed a sweeping defense bill Friday that provides an expected 5.2% pay raise for service members but strays from traditional military policy with Republicans add-ons blocking abortion coverage, diversity initiatives at the Pentagon and transgender care that deeply divided the chamber.Democrats voted against the package, which had sailed out of the House Armed Services Committee on an almost unanimous vote weeks ago before being loaded with the GOP priorities during a heated late-night floor debate this week.The final vote was 219-210, with four Democrats siding with the GOP and four Republicans opposed. The bill, as written, is expected to go nowhere in the Democratic-majority Senate.Efforts to halt U.S. funding for Ukraine in its war against Russia were turned back, but Republicans added provisions to stem the Defense Department’s diversity initiatives and to restrict access to abortions. ...

Bankrate: What is the difference between a backdoor Roth IRA and a mega backdoor Roth?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:45 GMT

Bob Haegele | Bankrate (TNS)A Roth IRA is a great way for savers and investors to grow wealth. The advantages include tax-free growth on money withdrawn after age 59 1/2, assuming the account has been open for at least five years.But high earners often can’t contribute to a Roth IRA. If your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is more than $153,000 in tax year 2023 ($228,000 if married, filing jointly), you can’t contribute to a Roth IRA at all.This situation gave rise to the backdoor Roth and the mega backdoor Roth. They sound similar, but there are many differences between the two strategies. If you’re a high earner, one of them might be worth pursuing.What is a backdoor Roth IRA?A backdoor Roth IRA is fairly straightforward. If you make too much to contribute to a Roth IRA, you contribute to a traditional IRA instead. While you can only contribute up to $6,500 to an IRA in 2023 ($7,500 for those 50 and over), there is no specific conversion limit.Suppose you’ve been contributin...

Long Island architect charged in deaths of 3 women in connection with Gilgo Beach serial killings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:10:45 GMT

RIVERHEAD, NY (AP) — A Long Island architect has been charged with murder in the deaths of three of the 11 victims in a long-unsolved string of killings known as the Gilgo Beach murders.Rex Heuermann, who has lived for decades across a bay from where the remains were found, is charged with killing Melissa Barthelemy, Megan Waterman and Amber Costello. He is also considered the prime suspect in another killing, authorities said.Heuermann, 59, was arrested late Thursday in Massapequa amid a renewed investigation that tied him to a pickup truck that a witness reported seeing when one of the victims disappeared in 2010. Detectives eventually recovered his DNA and matched it to genetic material recovered from the bodies, which were bound up and hidden in thick underbrush along a remote beach highway.In recent months, authorities said, Heuermann sought to keep tabs on the probe, conducting hundreds of internet searches for the names of women he’s accused of killing, as well as podca...