Global News

The Jewish state, bowing to mounting international pressure over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israel continues its war against Hamas terrorists, said the move could occur instantaneously. from New York Post https://ift.tt/1Bp7408

Paula Abdul arrives at the CMA Awards in November at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP LOS ANGELES — Paula Abdul has accused former “American Idol” producer Nigel Lythgoe of sexually assaulting her in the early 2000s when she was a judge on the reality competition show, according to a new lawsuit. The lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles also accuses Lythgoe of sexually assaulting Abdul after she left “American Idol” and became a judge on Lythgoe’s other competition show “So You Think You Can Dance.” The Associated Press generally does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault unless they come forward publicly, as Abdul has done. In a statement Saturday, Abdul’s lawyer Douglas Johnson applauded the singer and dancer for speaking out publicly. “It was clearly a difficult decision to make, but Ms. Abdul knows that she stands both in the shoes and on the shoulders of many other similarly situated survivors, and she is determined t...

The year is ending, but the posting never stops. io9 wrote thousands of stories in 2023, from breaking news to analysis and critique of the biggest films, TV shows, comics, and games in our worlds. Here’s a look back at the 100 you, our dear readers, read and shared the most. Thanks for sticking around for another… Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/NHfqCAa

It’s been a predominantly rocky ride for Eric Adams since being sworn in two years ago as New York City’s 110th mayor – one that’s left him midterm facing record-low polling numbers as his administration tries fending off a federal investigation and dealing with a fiscal crisis and other gut-punching problems it inherited. from New York Post https://ift.tt/d7k91QC

The George N Leighton Criminal Courthouse at 2650 S California Ave in Little Village, Monday, May 9, 2022. Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times file A woman has been charged with a hate crime after allegedly defacing a school and other buildings in Rogers Park on the North Side. Mariana Lynch, 30, was arrested around 1 p.m. Thursday in the 7300 block of North Sheridan Road and charged with one felony count of hate crime to a school, two counts of damage to government property and four counts of criminal defacement to property, Chicago police announced Saturday. Within an hour, Lynch allegedly defaced multiple businesses, an apartment building, and park property, according to police, who didn’t describe the vandalism. A detention hearing was scheduled for Saturday. from Chicago Sun-Times - All https://ift.tt/dFlKNiG

Hochul, the Democratic governor, struck down a bill on Friday that was put forth by members of her own party. from New York Post https://ift.tt/FH1UatC

Use the FanDuel promo code to boost your bankroll from Friday's slate. from New York Post https://ift.tt/TEq31OP

The prices of Shiba Inu and PEPE , although there has been movement in both of these assets, have not performed as well as expected. This could be attributed to the muted performance that Ethereum , the parent network of both assets, have put on recently, and thus, they have followed in its footsteps. However, as Ethereum begins to see better upside, things could change for both of these assets according to one analyst. Watch Out For Shiba Inu As Ethereum Begins To Break Out Ethereum has started moving up again and is currently trading above $2,400 at the time of this writing. Naturally, crypto investors expect its ecosystem tokens to follow the same path, and one of those is Shiba Inu, as pseudonymous crypto analyst Crypto Kaleo explains. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the analyst shares their expectations for the Shiba Inu price going forward . Crypto Kaleo warns investors to keep an eye out for the Shiba Inu price especially as Ethereum begins another uptrend. The crypto an...

Leighton Criminal Courthouse at 2650 S California Ave. Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times file Lavette Mayes still feels the effects of her pre-trial detention in Cook County Jail, even though it’s been eight years. Mayes spent 14 months behind bars, awaiting trial for an aggravated battery charge after a fight with a family member. The judge had set her bond at $250,000 during a 30-second court hearing, and Mayes couldn’t come close to paying the 10% up front it would take to be released. Because of her jail stay, she lost her new, small business, almost lost custody of her two kids and had to move back into her childhood home. Now, Mayes is an activist with the Chicago community bond fund, the same group that helped pay her bail securing her pretrial release. She was ecstatic when Illinois became the first state to abolish cash bail three months ago. “People need to see this, because our kids are coming behind this,” Mayes said. “We can’t leave [the old system] to them.” The ...

CTA and Metra will be offering free bus and train rides Dec. 31, 2023. Sun-Times file Anyone celebrating the start of 2024 in Chicago won’t have to worry about bus or train fares. CTA will offer free bus and train rides from 10 p.m. New Year’s Eve until 4 a.m. the next morning, the agency announced. Metra will offer free rides on trains arriving or departing downtown stations after 6 p.m. New Year’s Eve, according to the train service. “We are always happy to provide free rides for our customers as they celebrate New Year’s Eve with relatives and friends,” CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. said in a news release. During the free-ride period, customers don’t need to tap their Ventra cards at rail station turnstiles or while boarding buses, the agency said. No refunds will be given to customers who pay during the free-ride period. Miller Lite pays the cost of all rides taken and helps offset the operating costs to run CTA service during the six-hour period. On some Me...

Fans of Game of Thrones will remember that a key character, hunky sellsword Daario Naharis, looked rather different in season four after debuting in season three —and now the two actors who played him, Ed Skrein and Michiel Huisman, are sharing the screen in Zack Snyder ’s new Netflix film Rebel Moon . Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/pjNZF6V

Scientists working on CERN’s Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment have published the latest data in their search for a long-lived exotic particle known as the dark photon. Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/LqTWx4N

Bears tight end Cole Kmet is tackled Sunday. Michael Reaves/Getty Images The Bears could face the Falcons on Sunday without some of their best pass catchers. Bears tight end Cole Kmet won’t practice Wednesday after hurting his knee Sunday against the Cardinals, coach Matt Eberflus said. Receiver Darnell Mooney is in concussion protocol, too, after reporting symptoms on Monday morning. Guard Teven Jenkins remains in concussion protocol after hurting his head against the Browns, though he’ll be able to do some work in practice. Center Lucas Patrick will be limited with a knee injury. Kmet appeared to get hurt when he was tackled after a 29-yard completion with about nine minutes left in the first. He finished the half with four catches for a career-high 107 yards, but did not return for the second half. Coach Matt Eberflus said after the game that the Bears were optimistic about Kmet’s injury. Receiver DJ Moore will practice. he hurt his ankle on the Bears’ first comp...

Being overly worried about getting sick may, actually, help send you to an early grave, new research out this month suggests. The study found that people diagnosed with hypochondriasis were noticeably more likely to die during the study period than those without it. An increased risk was seen across both natural and… Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/AK6LQiN

The couple were first linked in April and confirmed their relationship when they made out at a Beyoncé concert in September. from New York Post https://ift.tt/Rlf8Btc

Data shows the Bitcoin mining hashrate has seen a sharp jump to new all-time highs despite the network difficulty registering a 7% rise recently. 7-Day Bitcoin Mining Hashrate Has Set A New Record The “ mining hashrate ” refers to the total amount of computing power currently connected to the Bitcoin blockchain. This metric is very relevant for the BTC network, as its value can have a direct influence on the chain’s security. A larger hashrate means that there are more nodes for a malicious attacker to go through, as such an attack can only be successful if the attacker can bring under control at least 51% of the hashrate. This benefit on the security from a higher value of the indicator only appears, though, if the new hashrate that’s being added by the miners is sufficiently decentralized. Now, here is a chart that shows the trend in the 7-day average Bitcoin mining hashrate over the past year: From the above graph, it’s visible that the 7-day Bitcoin mining hashrate has regis...

Ahead of NASA’s long-awaited return to crewed Moon landings , the space agency is testing an elevator that will carry astronauts from their spacecraft to the lunar surface. If all goes as planned, this elevator will be ready for the Artemis 3 and 4 missions, ambitiously set for 2025 and 2028. Read more... from Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com/nasa-astronauts-test-out-moon-elevator-for-2025-landing-1851124048

No matter how you felt about the first part of Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon, odds are you’re curious about what happens next. Kora (Sofia Boutella) has assembled a team of heroic warriors and brought them back to Veldt. The evil Admiral Atticus (Ed Skrein) has a renewed purpose . And it all seems to be building to a… Read more... from Gizmodo https://gizmodo.com/rebel-moon-2-trailer-scargiver-zack-snyder-netflix-scif-1851124163

Out of eight major theatrical releases from Disney this year, seven of them significantly underperformed with audiences not just in the U.S. but overseas as well.  from New York Post https://ift.tt/P6xX0oJ

Olivia Dunne made sure boyfriend Paul Skenes' recent New York City adventure was merry and bright. from New York Post https://ift.tt/VASm2k8

"I'll tell you one thing," the retired NFL great captioned one pic, "it's always better when we're together." from New York Post https://ift.tt/7elHDzR

North Korean Freedom Coalition challenges 'godless' dictator with teachings from Jesus from New York Post https://ift.tt/CDrgjbN

Though the Insomniac Games hack and the information gleaned from it overwhelmed video game news for the entire week, it was the second “leak” to hit this week. Shortly before, big plot spoilers for Rocksteady’s upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League were posted online and quickly circulated. But for as far as… Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/kbQTCo5

Ben Johnson's agent pushed back on a report that the Lions’ offensive coordinator will demand a $15 million salary from the team that hires him. from New York Post https://ift.tt/nduoBgw

Kate Cox, a 31-year-old mother of two from Dallas-Fort Worth, sued the state of Texas on Dec. 5 to get an abortion for a pregnancy that she and her doctors say threatens her life and future fertility. HANDOUT, Getty Try as I may, I simply cannot comprehend the thinking of Texas Republican officials who forced a 31-year-old mother of two to flee the state to secure a legal abortion to spare the doomed fetus in her womb from terrible suffering, preserve her ability to bear a third child and possibly save her life. Kate Cox, the Dallas woman who sued the state over its impossibly vague law forbidding her doctors from administering life-saving care, could simply have gotten on an airplane in the first place. But after four emergency room visits due to cramping and pain from her high-risk pregnancy — she was 20 weeks along, and her baby had been diagnosed with trisomy 18, a fatal genetic disorder that often kills mothers, too — she may have felt she couldn’t risk it. Columni...

A moment can make a movie. You’re sitting there, you’re watching something, it’s fine, and then boom: a scene or shot happens, and instantly something you thought was just okay becomes amazing. Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/AiFebIx

St. Patrick’s AJ Thomas (11) looks on during the game against Benet. Kirsten Stickney/For the Sun-Times Please send scores and corrections to preps@suntimes.com . Thursday, December 21, 2023 CENTRAL SUBURBAN NORTH Maine East at Vernon Hills, 7:00 Niles North at Highland Park, 7:00 CENTRAL SUBURBAN SOUTH Glenbrook North at Maine South, 6:00 Glenbrook South at Deerfield, 7:00 New Trier at Evanston, 7:30 CHICAGO PREP Rochelle Zell at Holy Trinity, 7:00 NOBLE GOLD Hansberry at Johnson, 7:00 RIVER VALLEY St. Anne at Illinois Lutheran, 7:00 SOUTHLAND Kankakee at Thornton, 6:30 NONCONFERENCE Back of the Yards at Mansueto, 6:00 Bremen at Ag. Science, 7:00 Chesterton at Aurora Christian, 6:00 Chicago Military at Woodlawn, 7:00 DRW Prep at Raby, 7:00 Eisenhower at Hubbard, 5:00 Englewood at Thornwood, 6:30 Gary Lighthouse, Ind. at Harlan, 5:00 Glenbard East at Wheaton Academy, 7:30 Grayslake Central at Cary-Grove, 7:00 Grayslake North at Johnsburg, 7:30 H...

Florida State players celebrate after defeating Louisville in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game. Erik Verduzco/AP Florida State announced it will hold a Board of Trustees meeting on Friday and a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press the future of the athletic department and its affiliation with the Atlantic Coast Conference will be discussed. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school had not yet published an agenda for the meeting. Florida State leaders have made it known they are displeased with the school’s current situation in the Atlantic Coast Conference, where revenue distributions lag behind in the Southeastern Conference and Big Ten. That gap is likely to grow substantially in the near future as new media rights deals kick in for the SEC and Big Ten while the ACC is locked into a deal with ESPN that still has more than a decade left. Earlier this month, Florida State won the ACC football title game but ...

While 2023 was a big year in consumer tech and had some clever innovations to show off, not everything was a smash hit, to say the least. Whether it was subpar performance, a troubled launch, or a glaring design flaw, these products disappointed us the most. This year’s picks, like the Apple iMac or the GoPro Hero 12,… Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/fc1RwXb

Tinder isn’t the best at reading the room or taking a hint. Even though its announcement of the outrageous $500-a-month tier , Tinder Select, led to considerable backlash back in September, the company has recently been expanding the membership offering by inviting additional users to apply for it. Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/NIz85RS

Experimental rockets, Moon landers, planetary flybys, breathtaking spacewalks, and vintage boosters—these are just a few of the many stories that contributed to the most striking and memorable images of 2023. Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/ZD4u9TQ

Four astronauts are getting ready to travel to the Moon and back for NASA’s Artemis 2 mission, and the space agency is making sure that the crew is well-prepared in case things go wrong during the 10-day journey through space. Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/q9Glb0F

When the sunglasses go on, Ryan Gosling disappears and becomes just Ken. Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/5ekr9pH

Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/aXiwmjD

A trepidatious Iceland has waited for this moment for over a month: a large crack in the ground has started to spew up lava. In mid-November, hundreds of tremors—earthquakes that portended the eruptions to come— forced the evacuation of the nearby Icelandic village of Grindavík and at least one famous tourist… Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/hID23aT

After over a year of being grounded, Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket embarked on its first cargo mission since a fiery anomaly led to a mission failure in September 2022. Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/OD5yApG

People looking for their lost luggage line up outside Southwest Airlines’ office near the baggage carousel at Midway Airport, December 27, 2022, after Southwest Airlines flights were cancelled and delayed during winter storm Elliott. Pat Nabong/Sun-Times DALLAS — Southwest Airlines will pay a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million settlement to resolve a federal investigation into a debacle in December 2022 when the airline canceled thousands of flights and stranded more than 2 million travelers over the holidays. Most of the settlement will go toward compensating future passengers, which the U.S. Department of Transportation considers an incentive for Southwest to avoid repeating last winter’s mess. The government said the assessment was the largest it has ever imposed on an airline for violating consumer protection laws. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the settlement demonstrates his agency’s resolve to make airlines take care of their passengers. “Th...

Hasbro’s Haslab series —a crowdfunding drop line that lets the toymaker make some truly wild toys it could never feasibly release to the mass market, should enough collectors actually want them —is meant to be a one and done thing. The campaign starts, and if it hits its goals, when it ends pretty much all that’s ever… Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/54YsuAe

Yes, that’s Uranus. The giant icy orb looks more like an agatized dinosaur egg than a planet in this new image by the Webb Space Telescope. Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/VL6EczH

There’s already a niche streaming service for nearly every appetite , but indie film fans searching beyond the mainstream now have yet another new resource : Film Movement Plus , which launched on December 15 as an add-on subscription channel for Prime Video customers. Read more... from Gizmodo https://ift.tt/bQR47SH

Judge Lauren Edidin brushes away a tear during a ceremony marking the graduation of four participants in the Skokie Mental Health Court, one of three “problem-solving courts” in the system. Edidin is also retiring from the bench. Neil Steinberg/Sun-Times You don’t often see a judge cry. But Cook County Circuit Court Judge Lauren Edidin was repeatedly brushing away tears on Thursday — though she would be quick to point out it was not in her own courtroom but at a decidedly emotional event: the latest graduation ceremony of the Skokie Mental Health Court. “I’m really going to try not to cry,” she told those gathered at the 2nd Municipal District courthouse in Skokie. Opinion bug Opinion Mental Health Court is one of three types of what are called “problem-solving courts.” Rather than trying to punish felons — the accused must plead guilty to participate — they try to help offenders solve the problems that paved the way for criminality. The other two are veterans cour...