Was 2023 a tipping point for movies? ‘Barbie’ success and Marvel struggles may signal a shift

Was 2023 a tipping point for movies? ‘Barbie’ success and Marvel struggles may signal a shift

NEW YORK — Eight years ago, Steven Spielberg predicted that the superhero movie would one day go “the way of the Western.” Spielberg’s comments caused a widespread stir at the time. “Avengers: The Age of Ultron” was then one of the year’s biggest movies. The following year would bring “Captain America: Civil War,” “Deadpool” and … Read more

Teenager Najiah Knight wants to be the first woman at bull riding’s top level. It’s an uphill dream

Teenager Najiah Knight wants to be the first woman at bull riding’s top level. It’s an uphill dream

LAS VEGAS — Najiah Knight drops her 100-pound frame onto a snorting 1,300-pound bull and adjusts her ropes, warming the sticky rosin. Music blares across the arena, but Najiah can hear only her dad, in the chute with her, and her mom, cheering from the stands. She nods to indicate she’s ready, and a cowboy … Read more

States are trashing troves of masks and pandemic gear as huge, costly stockpiles linger and expire

States are trashing troves of masks and pandemic gear as huge, costly stockpiles linger and expire

When the coronavirus pandemic took hold in an unprepared U.S., many states like Ohio scrambled for masks and other protective gear. Supplies were so limited in 2020 that the state bought millions of medical gowns from a marketing and printing company and spent about $20 million to try to get personal protective equipment made in-state. … Read more

Wisconsin prosecutor appeals ruling that cleared way for abortions to resume in state

Wisconsin prosecutor appeals ruling that cleared way for abortions to resume in state

MADISON, Wis. — A Republican district attorney has appealed a court ruling that determined that an 1849 Wisconsin law does not ban abortions, a decision that cleared the way for abortions to resume in the state. Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski on Tuesday appealed the ruling from a Dane County judge that said there … Read more

Burning Man survived a muddy quagmire. Will the experiment last 30 more years?

Burning Man survived a muddy quagmire. Will the experiment last 30 more years?

RENO, Nev. — The blank canvass of desert wilderness in northern Nevada seemed the perfect place in 1992 for artistic anarchists to relocate their annual burning of a towering, anonymous effigy. It was goodbye to San Francisco’s Baker Beach, hello to the Nevada playa, the long-ago floor of an inland sea. The tiny gathering became … Read more

Actor Lee Sun-kyun of Oscar-winning film ‘Parasite’ dies

Actor Lee Sun-kyun of Oscar-winning film ‘Parasite’ dies

SEOUL, South Korea — Actor Lee Sun-kyun of the Oscar-winning movie “Parasite” has died, South Korea’s emergency office said Wednesday. Lee was found dead at a car in a central Seoul park on Wednesday, it said. Police earlier said an unconscious Lee was discovered at an unidentified Seoul location. South Korean media outlets including Yonhap … Read more

Homeless people who died on US streets are increasingly remembered at winter solstice gatherings

Homeless people who died on US streets are increasingly remembered at winter solstice gatherings

PHOENIX — With his gap-tooth smile, hip-hop routines and volunteer work for a food charity, Roosevelt White III was well known in the downtown Phoenix tent city known as “The Zone.” But like many homeless people, White suffered from diabetes and cardiovascular disease. He died unexpectedly one sweltering September day at age 36. Thousands of … Read more

Disney says in lawsuit that DeSantis-appointed government is failing to release public records

Disney says in lawsuit that DeSantis-appointed government is failing to release public records

ORLANDO, Fla. — Disney has filed a lawsuit claiming that the oversight government for Walt Disney World, which was taken over by appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this year, has failed to release documents and properly preserve records in violation of Florida public records law. Disney said in the lawsuit filed Friday that the … Read more

Pharmacist refused emergency contraception prescription. Court to decide if that was discrimination

Pharmacist refused emergency contraception prescription. Court to decide if that was discrimination

MINNEAPOLIS — Attorneys for a woman who was denied emergency contraception in 2019 told the Minnesota Court of Appeals Thursday that the pharmacist who refused to fill the prescription discriminated against her on the basis of her sex. But an attorney for George Badeaux, the pharmacist at Thrifty White in central Minnesota, said his refusal … Read more

A lawsuit challenging Alabama’s transgender care ban for minors will move forward, judge says

A lawsuit challenging Alabama’s transgender care ban for minors will move forward, judge says

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A federal judge declined Tuesday to pause litigation challenging Alabama’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors as similar cases wind upward toward the U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. District Judge Liles Burke said no to a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to put the Alabama case on hold until appellate courts … Read more