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Stock market today: US markets inch higher before opening bell with a winning week in sight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

TOKYO — U.S. markets were slow to gain traction before the opening bell Friday with global shares mostly higher on news that China’s slowing economy showed signs of stabilizing.Futures for the S&P 500 inched up 0.1% while the Dow Jones industrials rose 0.2%.U.S. markets look to finish with gains after a busy week of economic data hinted at a mostly healthy economy with the Federal Reserve holding its next policy meeting next week. About 13,000 U.S. auto workers stopped making vehicles and went on strike Friday after union leaders and negotiators for Detroit’s three automakers couldn’t reach a deal before the four-year contracts expired at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. Members of the United Auto Workers union began picketing at three different Midwest plants, one each for General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.If the strike lasts a long time, dealers could run short of vehicles and prices could rise, impacting a U.S. economy already under strain from elevated inflation.Boosting m...

Princess Diana’s sheep sweater smashes records to sell for $1.1 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A red sweater adorned with a flock of sheep worn by the young Princess Diana has sold at auction for $1.1 million, many times its presale estimate and a record for an item owned by the late royal.The playfully patterned wool jumper featuring a single black sheep in a grid of white ones was bought by an unidentified bidder at Sotheby’s online Fashion Icons sale.The auction house had valued it at between $50,000 and $80,000 ahead of two weeks of bidding that ended Thursday. With 15 minutes left until the sale closed, the highest offer stood at $190,000, but leapt to $1.1 million after a final flurry of bids.The previous record for a piece of Diana memorabilia was $604,800 for a Victor Edelstein-designed ballgown sold by Sotheby’s in January.The sale also smashed the existing auction record for a sweater, the $334,000 paid in 2019 for Kurt Cobain’s green cardigan from Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged concert.The 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer was photographed in the eye-catc...

A daughter of long-detained activist in Bahrain is blocked from traveling to the island kingdom

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A daughter of a long-detained human rights activist in Bahrain tried to return to the island kingdom on Friday to press for her father’s release but was turned away from her flight in London. Maryam al-Khawaja was accompanied by a phalanx of other activists, including the secretary-general of Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, seeking to prevent authorities from immediately detaining her. But before she could board her British Airways flight, she said she was prevented from checking in as Bahraini immigration officials told the airline not to allow her on the plane.Her attempted trip came as her father, 62-year-old Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, has resumed a hunger strike to protest the conditions of his yearslong imprisonment on internationally criticized charges stemming from him leading 2011 Arab Spring demonstrations in Bahrain. The attempt also renews pressure on Denmark, where both al-Khawajas have citizenship, and the United States, which...

Big Pharma’s Johnson & Johnson under investigation in South Africa over ‘excessive’ drug prices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — U.S.-based pharmaceuticals company Johnson & Johnson is being investigated in South Africa for allegedly charging “excessive” prices for a key tuberculosis drug, the country’s antitrust regulator said Friday.J&J’s Belgium-based subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals is also under investigation, South Africa’s Competition Commission said.The commission, which regulates business practices, said it opened the investigation this week based on information that the companies “may have engaged in exclusionary practices and excessive pricing” of the tuberculosis drug bedaquiline, which is sold under the brand name Sirturo.The Competition Commission declined to give further details of its investigation, but health advocacy groups in South Africa say the country is being charged more than twice as much for bedaquiline than other middle- and low-income countries. Bedaquiline was approved in 2012 and is used to treat drug-resistant TB. It is ...

Americans overwhelmingly support Medicare drug negotiations, but Biden sees little political boost

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is trumpeting Medicare’s new powers to negotiate directly with drugmakers on the cost of prescription medications — but a poll shows that any immediate political boost that Biden gets for enacting the overwhelmingly popular policy may be limited. Three-quarters of Americans, or 76%, favor allowing the federal health care program for the elderly to negotiate prices for certain prescription drugs. That includes strong majorities of Democrats (86%) and Republicans (66%), according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About one in five Americans are neutral on the issue, while 6% outright oppose it. But the poll shows Biden’s approval rating, at 40%, is about where it’s been for the last year. Americans are split on how the Democratic president is handling the issue of prescription drug prices — 48% approve, making it a relative strong point for him, but 50% disapprove.Seven in 10 Democra...

How will the streaming wars end? With cable TV, all over again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

In today’s Big Story Podcast, you’ve probably noticed there are a lot of streaming platforms available these days. There are the traditional big players like Netflix, Amazon and Apple. There’s Disney, with decades of family content, as well as superheroes and Star Wars. But there are also streaming platforms that cater to … everything: Horror films, British TV, Major League Soccer, professional tennis, theatrical performances, documentaries, influential classic films and the list goes on.All of those cost money. Add ’em up and you have something approaching or exceeding a traditional cable bill. So it’s not serving most consumers well, and the streamers are currently struggling to gain market share, which is contributing to the cancellation of expensive projects and now, a push to introduce advertising.Angela Watercutter is a senior editor at WIRED. She says even watching live sports, the sole reason why many people retain their cable subscription...

TikTok is hit with $368 million fine under Europe’s strict data privacy rules

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

LONDON (AP) — European regulators slapped TikTok with a $368 million fine on Friday for failing to protect children’s privacy, the first time that the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe’s strict data privacy rules.Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies whose European headquarters are largely in Dublin, said it was fining TikTok 345 million euros and reprimanding the platform for the violations dating to the second half of 2020. The investigation found that the sign-up process for teen users resulted in settings that made their accounts public by default, allowing anyone to view and comment on their videos. Those default settings also posed a risk to children under 13 who gained access to the platform even though they’re not allowed. Also, a “family pairing” feature designed for parents to manage settings wasn’t strict enough, allowing adults to turn on direct mess...

Johnson & Johnson is ditching its script logo for all-new design after 136 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

(AP) – Johnson & Johnson is signing off on a new logo.The health care giant said Thursday that it will replace the well-known signature script it has used since 1887 with a modern look that reflects its sharpened focus on pharmaceuticals and medical devices.This image, provided by Johnson & Johnson, shows the company's new logo unveiled on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. (Johnson & Johnson via AP)The original script — based on co-founder James Wood Johnson's signature — will still be seen for now on consumer products like baby shampoo from Kenvue, a new company recently spun off from J&J.Johnson & Johnson itself narrowed its focus to pharmaceuticals and medical devices. The new look, which includes a different shade of red, aims to recognize J&J’s shift into a “pure play health care company,” said Vanessa Broadhurst, a company executive vice president. It doesn’t say ‘pickles’ on most pickle jars. Why is that? The signature logo was “one of the longest-used compa...

The return of 'Riot Fest' highlights 'Dean's Weekender'

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

CHICAGO — The last of Chicago's music festivals for 2023 is about to get underway, continuing its yearly stop on the west side."Riot Fest" is back on Friday through Sunday with a strong lineup to entertain the fans who'll make their way to Douglass Park, including the Foo Fighters, The Cure, and Death Cab for Cutie. That's one of the many things going on over the next few days and was featured in "Dean's Weekender" on Friday's WGN Morning News.Dean Richards also took a look at 50 Cent, Fantasia, the return of "Hamilton," "Ring of Fire," "This is Important: Live," "Picasso: 50 Years Later," and more events happening in the Chicago area.At the same time, Dean also had a movie review of "A Haunting in Venice."You can watch the entire "Weekender" from the September 15 show in the video above.Get Dean's reviews and A-List interviews delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for Dean's Downloads weekly newsletter. You'll also get his Dean Cooks recipes too!

LIST: Here are the Texas semifinalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:27:01 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — More than 1,500 high school students in Texas have been named semifinalists in the 2024 National Merit Scholarship Program.The scholarship program announced Wednesday more than 16,000 semifinalists nationwide. Of those, 1,543 are in Texas, roughly 10% of the nationwide total.Scholarships worth nearly $28 million combined will be awarded to 7,140 students in the spring.To be considered, students must take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in their junior year. The highest-scoring students in each state are named semifinalists, and the number from each state is proportional to the state's percentage of all graduating students nationwide.The semifinalists are now competing to advance to the finalist stage. They must submit a detailed application, including information about their academic record and participation in school and community activities. They also report any employment, honors and awards and demonstrated leadership ab...