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‘Blue Beetle’ soars as fun, family-focused superhero flick

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:00 GMT

An above-average origin tale with an appealing cast, Warner Bros.’s DC entry “Blue Beetle” has two things that differentiate it from other superhero movies. It’s a Latino story with a Mexican hero and his family, and it has a hissing Susan Sarandon as its super-villain. Jaime Reyes (a very likable Xolo Mariduena) is a recent college graduate who returns to the embrace of his family in fictional waterfront Palmera City only to learn that they are about to be evicted due to gentrification, that his beloved father Alberto (Damian Alcazar, “Narcos”) has had a heart attack, that his little sister Milagro (a very charismatic Belissa Escobedo, “Hocus Pocus 2”) has no ambition and that his Uncle Rudy Reyes (key to the ensemble George Lopez) is still crazy. The family is held together by Jaime’s mother Rocio (Elpidia Carrillo) and his beloved Nana (Mexican acting luminary Adriana Barraza).Jaime and Milagro get jobs taking care of the grounds of the powerful Kord Industries ...

Dear Abby: Life unbearable under neighbor’s stompathon

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:00 GMT

Dear Abby: I am having an issue with the lady who lives above me. I moved into my apartment a month ago because it seemed so quiet in the complex. Before signing the lease, I asked my landlord if the tenant above me is quiet because when you live on the first floor, you can sometimes hear everything going on above you. The landlord assured me that it was pretty quiet. A couple of weeks went by, and it was quiet until one Friday I heard this stomping noise above me. I thought it would go away.Little did I know, the lady upstairs watches her two grandsons and another boy. Abby, this stomping around goes on all weekend, and it drives me crazy. I was tapping the ceiling to let her know it was getting too loud. She called our landlord and complained! My landlady is also a client of my daughter’s, who is a hairstylist, so I caught heck from my daughter, too. Must I just grin and bear it, or should I say something to the lady upstairs? — Can’t Live Like This in MichiganDe...

The Marine Room is one of the most popular US restaurants on TikTok: Thrillist

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Have you ever experienced fine dining on a cruise ship? Well that's what The Marine Room in La Jolla offers, but on land.Diners are able to catch satisfying sights of the ocean, cove or sunset.The uniqueness of The Marine Room's atmosphere helped make it to No. 3 on Thrillist's top 10 most popular TikTok restaurants in the U.S.With more than four million views on TikTok, the coastal eatery is famous for its eye-level dining view of waves crashing against the restaurant's windows."The high tide dinner was super special, we had a blast and enjoyed the show with the sunset and the waves!! Amazing staff made the night very enjoyable. Great drinks at the bar and during dinner! Fun times were had to celebrate a great time with family!!" Yelper Sean G. commented. UCSD ranked 7th best public university in US: CWUR "The marine room is a beautiful experience. The best view in all of San Diego probably," Yelper Danielle A. said.Built in 1916, the structure was originally a four-...

A nation of new Matildas fans salutes Australia’s run to the Women’s World Cup semifinals

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:00 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Sam Kerr looked up at the Stadium Australia crowd for the last time at this Women’s World Cup, and it just compounded the gnawing disappointment that she and her Matildas had fallen one game before the final.In what has been an immense shift in the Australian public’s sporting consciousness, nine out of 10 people who watched domestic television on Wednesday night tuned in to see the national women’s soccer team’s 3-1 loss to England in the semifinals.That figure — an audience reach of 11.5 million and an average audience of 7.13 million reported by the free-to-air host broadcaster — excludes those who gathered at dedicated fan zones, where some over-exuberant revelers let off flares, and in pubs and clubs around the country. “We’ve kind of captured the nation,” a visibly dejected Kerr said after walking off the pitch. “The support we’ve had has been amazing and we’ll do everything we can on the weekend to get them a third place.”The 29-year-old Kerr has won the g...

Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston found not guilty of concealing his father’s child sex crimes

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:00 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Hillsong Church founder Brian Houston was ruled not guilty Thursday of an Australian charge of concealing his father’s child sex crimes.Houston, 69, was the Sydney-based church’s senior global pastor when police charged him two years ago with concealing a serious indictable offense. He resigned from his church roles months later.Sydney Magistrate Gareth Christofi ruled Brian Houston had a reasonable excuse for not reporting Frank Houston’s offenses to police. Christofi accepted that Houston believed the victim did not want the abuse in the 1970s reported to police.Brett Sengstock testified in the trial that began in December that he never told Houston not to report the abuse.Sengstock told reporters outside court that the verdict blamed him for the church’s failure to report the elder Houston to police.“Frank Houston was no pioneer for Christianity. His legacy remains a faded memory of a pedophile,” Sengstock told reporters.The Associated Press does not us...

Lotto 649 winning numbers for Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:00 GMT

TORONTO — The winning numbers in Wednesday’s Lotto 649 draw for an estimated $5 million: 02, 03, 06, 07, 17 & 27.Bonus: 24The winning number for the guaranteed $1 million: 29325338-01In the event of any discrepancy between this list and the official winning numbers, the latter shall prevail. The Canadian Press

Hawaii governor vows to block land grabs as fire-ravaged Maui rebuilds

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:00 GMT

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) — Hawaii Gov. Josh Green vowed “to keep the land in local people’s hands” after a deadly wildfire that incinerated a historic Maui community, as the island’s schools began reopening and traffic resumed on a major road. Green said at a Wednesday news conference that he had instructed the state attorney general to work toward a moratorium on land transactions in Lahaina, which he acknowledged will come with legal challenges. “My intention from start to finish is to make sure that no one is victimized from a land grab,” Green said. “People are right now traumatized. Please do not approach them with an offer to buy their land. Do not approach their families saying they’ll be much better off if they make a deal. Because we’re not going to allow it.”Also Wednesday, the number of dead reached 111, and Maui police said nine victims had been identified, and the families of five had been notified. A mobile morgue unit with additional coroners arrived Tuesday t...

Britney Spears’ husband files for divorce, source tells AP

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:00 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Britney Spears ‘ husband Sam Asghari has filed for divorce from the superstar 14 months after a they were married, a person familiar with the filing said late Wednesday.The person, who is close to Asghari but not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed the filing happened Wednesday, hours after several outlets including TMZ and People magazine reported the couple had separated.An email sent to a Spears representative was not immediately returned. Court records in Los Angeles and Ventura counties did not show where the case had been filed.Spears married Asghari at her home in Thousand Oaks, California, on June 9, 2022 in front of guests including Selena Gomez, Drew Barrymore, Paris Hilton and Madonna, in a wedding seen as a milestone in her newly reclaimed life after the dissolution just six months earlier of the court conservatorship that controlled her life for more than 13 years. The pop superstar met and began dating Asghari, a model and actor, when he ap...

Biden will use Camp David backdrop hoping to broker a breakthrough in Japan-South Korea relations

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Camp David, the rustic presidential retreat in the mountains of Maryland, has been a backdrop for signal moments in U.S. foreign policy, perhaps none more notable than the peace accord President Jimmy Carter brokered between Egypt and Israel in 1978. On Friday, President Joe Biden will reach for his own place in Camp David lore, hoping that walks on leafy trails and necktie-free talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol will encourage the U.S. allies, who have been thawing their frosty relationship, to cooperate more given their shared concerns about aggression from China and North Korea.It will be the first time that Biden has hosted world leaders at the secluded retreat nestled in Maryland’s Catoctin Mountains, about an hour’s drive northwest of the White House.Run by the Navy, guarded by Marines and less imposing than the White House, Camp David was a deliberate choice by a president who puts a premium on face-to-fa...

Biden’s approval rating on the economy stagnates despite slowing inflation, AP-NORC poll shows

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 10:12:00 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has devoted the past several weeks to promoting the positive impacts of his policies — but his efforts have yet to meaningfully register with the public.Only 36% of U.S. adults approve of Biden’s handling of the economy, slightly lower than the 42% who approve of his overall performance, according to the new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.Both figures are close to where Biden’s approval numbers have stood for about the past year and a half, including just two months ago. Signs of an improving economic outlook have done little to sway how people feel about the Democratic president as he gears up for a 2024 reelection campaign that could pit him against his predecessor and 2020 opponent, Republican Donald Trump. Job growth has stayed solid with the unemployment rate at 3.5%, while the pace of inflation has slowed sharply over the past year to the annual rate of 3.2%.Both Biden and Trump have weaknesses as ol...