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Laura Benanti Slams Broadway Costar Zachary Levi: 'I Never Liked Him'Party City to close its stores as company files for bankruptcy LOS ANGELES (AP) — Party City announced that it's going to “wind down” its retail and wholesale operations as it prepares to shutter nearly 700 stores nationwide. The company said Saturday it has also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection "to maximize value for the benefit of the company’s stakeholders.” The New Jersey-based retailer said it will keep more than 95% of its 12,000 employees to help with the process of closing down. Customers have flocked to Party City for Halloween costumes, favors for children’s birthday parties and decorations for New Year’s Eve celebrations for nearly 40 years. It has faced growing competition from Walmart and Target and from occasion-based pop-up stores such as Spirit Halloween. A million taxpayers will soon receive up to $1,400 from the IRS. Who are they and why now? Approximately 1 million taxpayers will automatically receive special payments of up to $1,400 from the IRS in the coming weeks. The money will be directly deposited into eligible people’s bank accounts or sent in the mail by a paper check. Most people shouldn't get their hopes up about receiving the cash. The IRS says it’s distributing about $2.4 billion to taxpayers who failed to claim a Recovery Rebate Credit on their 2021 tax returns after missing one of the COVID stimulus payments or receiving less than the full amount. The IRS says most taxpayers eligible for the federal stimulus payments received them. Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains — and bots Bluesky has seen its user base soar since the U.S. presidential election, boosted by people seeking refuge from Elon Musk’s X, or wanting an alternative to Meta’s Threads and its algorithms. The platform grew out of the company then known as Twitter and was eventually intended to replace it. While this is still very much a pie in the sky, Bluesky’s growth trajectory could make it a serious competitor to other social platforms. With growth, though, comes growing pains. It’s not just human users who’ve been flocking to Bluesky but also bots, including those designed to create partisan division or direct users to junk websites. 'Sonic 3' bests 'Mufasa: The Lion King' at the box office NEW YORK (AP) — In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” sped past the Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” to take the top spot at the box office. The results came just ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters. According to studio estimates, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend. “Mufasa,” however, was humbled in its opening weekend, coming in notably shy of expectations. It returned just $35 million in domestic ticket sales. Amazon and Starbucks workers are on strike. Trump might have something to do with it Amazon delivery drivers and Starbucks baristas are on strike in a handful of U.S. cities as they seek to exert pressure on the two major companies to recognize them as unionized employees or to meet demands for an inaugural labor contract. Strikes during busy periods like the holidays can help unions exercise leverage during negotiations or garner support from sympathetic consumers. One expert says he thinks workers at both companies are “desperate” to make progress before President-elect Donald Trump can appoint a Republican majority to the National Labor Relations Board. Workers at Starbucks, Amazon and some other prominent consumer brands are fighting for their first contracts after several locations voted to unionize. Farmers are still reeling months after Hurricane Helene ravaged crops across the South LYONS, Ga. (AP) — Farmers in Georgia are still reeling more than two months after Hurricane Helene blew away cotton, destroyed ripened squash and cucumbers and uprooted pecan trees and timber. Agribusinesses in other Southern states saw costly damage as well. The University of Georgia estimates the September storm inflicted $5.5 billion in direct losses and indirect costs in Georgia alone. In rural Toombs County, Chris Hopkins just finished harvesting his ravaged cotton crop and figures he lost half of it, costing him about $430,000. Poultry grower Jeffrey Pridgen in Georgia's Coffee County had four of his 12 chicken houses destroyed and others badly damaged. Farmers say more government disaster assistance is needed. Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI’s strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products. But he grew disillusioned with the company and told The Associated Press this fall he would “try to testify” in copyright infringement cases against it. Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge shows price pressures eased last month WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge that is closely watched by the Federal Reserve barely rose last month in a sign that price pressures cooled after two months of sharp gains. Prices rose just 0.1% from October to November. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, prices also ticked up just 0.1%, after two months of outsize 0.3% gains. The milder inflation figures arrived two days after Federal Reserve officials, led by Chair Jerome Powell, rocked financial markets by revealing that they now expect to cut their key interest rate just two times in 2025, down from four in their previous estimate. Albania to close TikTok for a year blaming it for promoting violence among children TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s prime minister says the government will shut down video service TikTok for one year, blaming it for inciting violence and bullying, especially among children. Albanian authorities held 1,300 meetings with teachers and parents following the stabbing death of a teenager in mid-November by another teenager following a quarrel that started on TikTok. Prime Minister Edi Rama, speaking at a meeting with teachers and parents, said TikTok “would be fully closed for all. ... There will be no TikTok in the Republic of Albania.” Rama says the ban will begin sometime next year. Albanian children comprise the largest group of TikTok users in the country, according to domestic researchers. Stock market today: Wall Street rises to turn a dismal week into just a bad one NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose to turn what would have been one of the market’s worst weeks of the year into just a pretty bad one. The S&P 500 rallied 1.1% Friday to shave its loss for the week down to 2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped nearly 500 points, and the Nasdaq composite gained 1%. A report said a measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use was slightly lower last month than expected. It’s an encouraging signal after the Fed shocked markets Wednesday by saying worries about inflation could keep it from cutting interest rates in 2025 as much as earlier thought.NEW DELHI: Japanese imaging and optical products major Canon believes that it has a good opportunity in India for its semiconductor lithography equipment required for chip fabrication, and it is in negotiations with companies setting up facilities here, said its India President and CEO Toshiaki Nomura. Though Canon did not disclose names, it said there are immense opportunities in this, as many chip manufacturers are now eying India as a new destination for semiconductor manufacturing. "A lot of Chip manufacturers are eyeing India as a new manufacturing place. We are discussing with all those chip manufacturers to give our product and service," Nomura told PTI. This is a "good opportunity for us", and the Tokyo-based group can contribute through its technology, products and services in this segment of the Indian market, he added. "We are installing the equipment for them to manufacture chips through our technology and the product. We help chip manufacturers build a strong facility in India. Once the chip manufacturer sets up the facility in India, we will install our equipment and through our excellent product and the support we can contribute to Indian semiconductor industries," Nomura added. "We are now at the negotiation stage. I cannot disclose this information now, but we have our ground discussion ongoing." For Canon, India is "one of the most important markets" globally, where the company is growing with double digits and expects to continue that pace of growth here supported by tailwinds, such as a growing economy, rapid urbanisation, and young demography, among others. "In 2024, we are quite close to double-digit growth, and for coming years, I am very optimistic and confident to achieve double-digit growth year by year," Nomura said, adding that "all business portfolios for us are showing the growth". Ready to Master Stock Valuation? ET’s Workshop is just around the corner!
Salvation Army and Walmart in Burbank threw a holiday party on Friday, Dec. 6 that included a Red Bull freestyle motorcyclist doing tricks and Walmart employees giving gifts to low-income families who enjoyed live music, food trucks and entertainment. The event included the kickoff of the Red Kettle and Angel Tree campaigns for all West Coast Walmart stores, featuring a $3,000 “Spark Good” check presentation to the Salvation Army. Walmart surprised a local Burbank family by fulfilling their wishlist ahead of Christmas. The family of five lives in a two-bedroom apartment, and for the past seven years has relied on the Salvation Army’s Family Service and Food Pantry program for monthly assistance. The family, whose name was not released, received everything they wished for on a list they gave to Salvation Army several months ago. According to a spokesperson, Walmart gave the family “the entire list, including toys, technology, and several pantry items.” Walmart Senior Vice President Steve Schrobilgen attended, as did hundreds of Walmart store managers and associates, local community members, and Salvation Army officers. Schrobilgen said, “For years, we’ve been proud to partner with the Salvation Army because their unwavering dedication to serving local communities aligns perfectly with our commitment to making a difference. We’re honored to kick off the holiday season by celebrating the incredible efforts of the Salvation Army and our associates, who work tirelessly to give back.” Lt. Colonel Mike Dickinson, Southern California divisional commander of the Salvation Army, said in a prepared statement, “With Walmart’s generous support, we can bring stability, hope, and joy to local families in need.”Jimmy Carter: Many evolutions for a centenarian ‘citizen of the world’WASHINGTON , Dec. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- With a look back at 2024, NASA is celebrating its many innovative and inspiring accomplishments this year including for the first time, landing new science and technology on the Moon with an American company, pushing the boundaries of exploration by launching a new mission to study Jupiter's icy moon Europa; maintaining 24 years of continuous human exploration off the Earth aboard the International Space Station, and unveiling the first look at its supersonic quiet aircraft for the benefit of humanity. The agency also shared the wonder of a total eclipse with millions of Americans, conducted the final flight of its Ingenuity helicopter on the Red Planet, demonstrated the first laser communications capability in deep space, tested the next generation solar sail in space, made new scientific discoveries with its James Webb Space Telescope, completed a year-long Mars simulation on Earth with crew, announced the newest class of Artemis Generation astronauts, and much more. "In 2024, NASA made leap after giant leap to explore, discover, and inspire – all while bringing real, tangible, and substantial benefits to the American people and to all of humanity," said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson . "We deepened the commercial and international partnerships that will help NASA lead humanity back to the Moon and then to the red sands of Mars. We launched new missions to study our solar system and our universe in captivating new ways. We observed our changing Earth through our eyes in the sky – our ever-growing fleet of satellites and instruments – and shared that data with all of humanity. And we opened the doors to new possibilities in aviation, new breakthroughs on the International Space Station, and new wonders in space travel." Through its Moon to Mars exploration approach, the agency continued moving forward with its Artemis campaign, including progress toward its first mission around the Moon with crew in more than 50 years and advancing plans to explore more of the Moon than ever before. So far in 2024, 15 countries signed the Artemis Accords, committing to the safe, transparent, and responsible exploration of space with the United States . As part of efforts to monitor climate change, the agency launched multiple satellites to study our changing planet and opened its second Earth Information Center to provide data to a wider audience. With the release of its latest Economic Impact Report , NASA underscored the agency's $75.6 billion impact on the U.S. economy, value to society, and return on investment for taxpayers. "To invest in NASA is to invest in American workers, American innovation, the American economy, and American economic competitiveness. Through continued investments in our workforce and our infrastructure, NASA will continue to propel American leadership on Earth, in the skies, and in the stars," said Nelson. Key 2024 agency highlights across its mission areas include: Preparing for Moon, Mars This year, NASA made strides toward the Artemis Generation of scientific discovery at the Moon while validating operations and systems to prepare for human missions to Mars. The agency advanced toward Artemis II, the first crewed flight under Artemis: Observing, Learning About Earth NASA collects data about our home planet from space and on land, helping understand how our climate on Earth is changing. Some of the agency's key accomplishments in Earth science this year include: Exploring Our Solar System, Universe NASA's Europa Clipper embarked Oct. 14 on its long voyage to Jupiter , where it will investigate Europa, a moon with an enormous subsurface ocean that may have conditions to support life. NASA collaborated with multiple partners on content and social media related to the launch, including engagements with the National Hockey League, U.S. Figure Skating, 7-Eleven, e.l.f., Girl Scouts, Crayola, Library of Congress, and others. NASA's 2024 space exploration milestones also include: Living, Conducting Research in Space In 2024, a total of 25 people lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, helping to complete science for the benefit of humanity, open access to space to more people, and support exploration to the Moon in preparation for Mars. A total of 14 spacecraft visited the microgravity laboratory in 2024, including eight commercial resupply missions from Northrop Grumman and SpaceX, as well as international partner missions, delivering more than 40,000 pounds of science investigations, tools, and critical supplies to the space station. NASA also helped safely return the uncrewed Boeing Starliner spacecraft to Earth, concluding a three-month flight test to the International Space Station. In addition: Imagining Future Flight NASA researchers worked to advance innovations that will transform U.S. aviation, furthering the Sustainable Flight National Partnership and other efforts to help the country reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. NASA also unveiled its X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft, the centerpiece of its Quesst mission to make quiet overland supersonic flight a reality. NASA aeronautics initiatives also worked to bring air taxis, delivery drones, and other revolutionary technology closer to deployment to benefit the U.S. public and industry. Over the past year, the agency: Improving Life on Earth, in Space with Technology NASA develops essential technologies to drive exploration and the space economy. In 2024, NASA leveraged partnerships to advance technologies and test new capabilities to help the agency develop a sustainable presence on the lunar surface and beyond, while benefiting life on our home planet and in low Earth orbit. The following are 2024 space technology advancements: Growing Global Partnerships Through the Artemis Accords , almost 50 nations have joined the United States , led by NASA with the U.S. State Department, in a voluntary commitment to engage in the safe, transparent, and responsible exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond. The Artemis Accords represent a robust and diverse group of nation states, representing all regions of the world, working together for the safe, transparent, and responsible exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond with NASA. More countries are expected to sign the Artemis Accords in the weeks and months ahead. Celebrating Total Solar Eclipse During the total solar eclipse on April 8 , NASA helped the nation enjoy the event safely and engaged millions of people with in-person events, live online coverage, and citizen science opportunities. NASA also funded scientists around North America to take advantage of this unique position of the Sun, Moon, and Earth to learn more about the Sun and its connection to our home planet. Highlights of the solar celebration include: Building Low Earth Orbit Economy In August, NASA announced the development of its low Earth orbit microgravity strategy by releasing 42 objectives for stakeholder feedback. The strategy helps to guide the next generation of human presence in low Earth orbit and advance microgravity science, technology, and exploration. NASA is refining the objectives with collected input and will finalize the strategy before the end of the year. Additional advancements include: Inspiring Artemis Generation of STEM Students NASA continues to offer a wide range of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) initiatives and activities, reaching and engaging the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers. The agency's STEM engagements are enhanced through collaborations with partner organizations, the distribution of various grants, and additional strategic activities. Key 2024 STEM highlights include:The Stock Surge You Can’t Ignore
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Thomas Brown insists he's focused on the job at hand and not the one he might have down the line. His immediate task as the interim coach of the Chicago Bears is helping the team finish strong over the final five games, starting this weekend at San Francisco. The rest of his life can wait. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get the latest sports news delivered right to your inbox six days a week.
