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Verified chaos: Twitter’s blue check reappears, even for the dead

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:34 GMT

Confusion surrounding Twitter Inc. deepened over the weekend after a number of high-profile accounts saw their prized blue check-marks reinstated — even though some of their owners have been dead for years.Celebrities and public figures took to the platform to deny having paid the $8 a month that yields the colored tick, despite labels stating the “account is verified because they are subscribed to Twitter Blue and verified their phone number.” Unpaid, legacy blue ticks — which once conferred authenticity on accounts verified by the company — were removed last week as part of billionaire owner Elon Musk’s push to boost revenue.“For the curious, I’m not subscribed to Twitter Blue. I haven’t given anyone my phone number,” fantasy author Neil Gaiman wrote. British actor Ian McKellen said he isn’t “paying for the ‘honor.’” Even the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, which also received the blue mark, sought to clarify that it has “never subscribed and paid” for the service.Twitter has dra...

Don Lemon fired from CNN after divisive morning show run

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:34 GMT

By DAVID BAUDER (AP Media Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — CNN fired longtime host Don Lemon on Monday following his short and disastrous run as a morning show host, a little over two months after he apologized for on-air comments about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley being past her prime.The move quickly turned nasty. While CNN chairman and CEO Chris Licht announced, after Lemon had co-hosted the show Monday, that they had “parted ways,” Lemon characterized it as a firing and said it was surprise to him. “After 17 years at CNN I would have thought someone in management would have the decency to tell me directly,” Lemon said. CNN said that Lemon was given the opportunity to meet with management but released a statement on Twitter instead.CNN offered no public explanation for Lemon’s dismissal. During a February discussion on “CNN This Morning” with co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins about the ages of politicians, he said tha...

Tight end? Offensive lineman? Running Back? What will Dolphins do at the top of their draft this week?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:34 GMT

What will the Miami Dolphins do when pick No. 51 of the NFL draft comes up in the middle of the second round Friday night?Will they select one of the draft’s many highly sought tight ends, filling a hole on the roster with just three signed to the team in late April?Will they bring in a young offensive lineman, possibly one who can push Austin Jackson at right tackle and/or provide swing capabilities to back up oft-injured Pro Bowler Terron Armstead on the left side?Will the perfect fit at running back fall to them at that spot, making it difficult for general manager Chris Grier to forego a long-standing history of avoiding tailbacks with early selections?Will the Dolphins even be picking at 51? Are they trading up, targeting a prospect they don’t want to miss out on? Do they instead trade down, adding picks in a draft they enter with just four?All these questions will have answers by week’s end as Miami’s next crop of rookies will be selected for an organiz...

Actor Danny Masterson drugged, raped women, prosecutor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:34 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor Danny Masterson drugged then raped three women at his Hollywood-area home between 2001 and 2003, a prosecutor told jurors Monday in his opening statement in the retrial of the star of “That ’70s Show.” Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller said Masterson put substances into drinks that he gave to a longtime girlfriend and two women he knew through friend circles around the Church of Scientology, all of whom Masterson is charged with raping.“The evidence will show that they were drugged,” Mueller told the jury. Masterson has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers, who will give their opening statement later Monday, have denied any of the assaults took place, saying the accusers’ decades-old accounts are full of inconsistencies and not credible. A mistrial was declared on all three counts at the end of Masterson’s first trial in November when jurors told the judge they were hopelessly deadlocked.Direct discussion of the drug element was missing from the ...

Stocks stand still ahead of raft of earnings, economic data

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:34 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street remained stuck in its standstill Monday, and stocks again moved only modestly ahead of reports that could offer more direction on where the economy and corporate profits are heading. The S&P 500 edged up by 3.52 points, or 0.1%, to 4,137.04 after barely budging last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 66.44, or 0.2%, to 33,875.40, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 35.25, or 0.3%, to 12,037.20. Coca-Cola slipped 0.2% after it reported stronger-than-expected profit for the first quarter but refrained from raising forecasts for sales and other measures for the full year. It was the only company in the S&P 500 to report Monday morning, but more than 170 others are scheduled to follow it this week. The question is whether they can top the low bar that Wall Street has set for them, and what CEOs say about their prospects for profits later this year. Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to report their worst drop in earnings since the spring of...

S&P/TSX composite ticks down as energy stocks balance softness, U.S. markets mixed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:34 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index edged downward to start the week as strong energy stocks helped balance out softness in financials, tech and battery metals, while U.S. markets were mixed.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 16.41 points at 20,676.74.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 66.44 points at 33,875.40. The S&P 500 index was up 3.52 points at 4,137.04, while the Nasdaq composite was down 35.26 points at 12,037.20.“Markets seem to be waiting for the big earnings that are coming up,” said Allan Small, senior investment adviser at iA Private Wealth.In the U.S., some of the biggest tech names are reporting this week, said Small, including Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta. “That’s going to set the stage for how the market performs,” he said. It’s these companies that have seen some of the biggest growth so far this year after underperforming the market last year, he said: “These are the names that got hit the hardest, and many people are betting tha...

Central Technical School locked down after reports of person with gun

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:34 GMT

Central Technical School is in lockdown after reports of a person with a gun, police said in a tweet on Monday.Police were called to the high school in the Bathurst Street and Bloor Street West area at around 3:09 p.m.No further details were immediately available.Police remain on scene. There are no reports of injuries.More to comeCentral Technical School3:09 pm-reports of person with a gun-school is in lockdown-police o/s-no reports of injuries-will update#GO908697^sc— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) April 24, 2023

Sen. Ron Johnson renews call for Wisconsin abortion vote

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:34 GMT

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson on Monday renewed his call for a statewide vote in Wisconsin on abortion rights, saying he thought most voters would support a ban after 12 weeks of pregnancy. Johnson declined to say how he would vote, however. Johnson won reelection to a third term in November, one of only two Republicans to win statewide in Wisconsin since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Johnson said Monday at the Milwaukee Press Club that abortion has been an “important factor” in Democrats’ recent wins.During the campaign, after the Supreme Court’s ruling, Johnson called for a statewide referendum on abortion. He wanted the question framed as: “At what point does society have the responsibility to protect the life of an unborn child?” The options would range from the moment of conception to never.Wisconsin law does not allow for citizens to place such a question on the ballot. The Republican-con...

CN Rail rides higher grain volumes, oil prices to record first-quarter revenue

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:34 GMT

MONTREAL — Canadian National Railway Co. says it reaped record first-quarter revenues due to a bumper grain crop and higher oil prices.CN is reporting revenues of $4.31 billion for the quarter ended March 31, a 16 per cent boost from $3.71 billion a year earlier.The Montreal-based company says net income jumped to $1.22 billion in its first quarter from $918 million in the same period last year.On an adjusted basis, diluted earnings increased 38 per cent to $1.82 from $1.32 a year ago, beating analyst expectations of $1.72 per share, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.CN is also boosting its forecast for the year, predicting adjusted diluted earnings per share growth in the mid-single digits compared with 2022, up from a low single-digit target set in January.The company says its board approved a second-quarter dividend of 79 cents per common share, to be paid after markets close on June 30.This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2023.Companies in thi...

Biden thanks ‘Tennessee three’ for ‘standing up’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:25:34 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Monday thanked three Tennessee lawmakers for “standing up” after they faced expulsion for participating in gun control protests at their statehouse.“You’re standing up for our kids, you’re standing up for our communities,” Biden told Rep. Justin Pearson, Rep. Justin Jones and Rep. Gloria Johnson during an Oval Office meeting. Flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris, Biden described the expulsion votes as “shocking” and “undemocratic.”“Nothing is guaranteed about our democracy — every generation has to fight for it,” he said.The episode has turned the lawmakers, known as the “Tennessee three,” into Democratic heroes. Harris already visited Nashville earlier this month to show her support.The statehouse protest took place days after the shooting at the Covenant School, a private Christian school where three children and three adults were killed. The three lawmakers — Rep. Justin Pearson, Rep. Justin Jones and Rep. Gloria Johnson — approached th...