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20 years on, a transformed New Zealand looks back at ‘Lord of the Rings’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:13 GMT

Kevin Baxter | Los Angeles Times (TNS)WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand was primarily known abroad for its sheep, its wine and its rugby team on the September day in 1998 that filmmaker Peter Jackson’s helicopter landed on a sprawling family farm about 100 miles south of Auckland.The country’s film industry was another matter: Though New Zealand had produced crossover successes like Jackson’s “Heavenly Creatures” and Jane Campion’s Oscar winner “The Piano,” it was nearly as far from the thinking of Hollywood studios as it was from Hollywood itself.But that was about to change.The lush farmland on which Jackson’s crew alighted would soon become the backdrop for “The Lord of the Rings,” one of the most ambitious, influential and profitable film series ever made. And in the two decades since the release of “The Return of the King,” the Oscar-winning final film in Jackson’s trilogy, New Zealand has b...

X says Walmart pulled ads in October, weeks before Media Matters hate speech report and Musk rant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:13 GMT

By BARBARA ORTUTAY (AP Technology Writer)Walmart is the latest company to publicly join the growing flock of major advertisers to pull spending from X, Elon Musk’s beleaguered social media company, amid concerns about hate speech — as well as reaching a sizeable audience on the platform. “We aren’t advertising on X as we’ve found some other platforms better reach our customers,” Walmart said in a statement. While Walmart went public with the pullout on Friday, Joe Benarroch, head of operations at X, said the company has not advertised on the platform since October. The company, he added, “has just been organically connecting with its community of more than one million people on X.”Walmart did not immediately respond to a message for further comment on Friday afternoon.The announcement comes two days after Musk went on an expletive-ridden rant in an on-stage interview with journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin about companies halting spending o...

Court orders Texas to move floating buoy barrier that drew backlash from Mexico

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:13 GMT

McALLEN, Texas (AP) — Texas must move a floating barrier on the Rio Grande that drew backlash from Mexico, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, dealing a blow to one of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s aggressive measures aimed at stopping migrants from entering the U.S. illegally. The decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals requires Texas to stop any work on the roughly 1,000-foot (300-meter) barrier and move it to the riverbank. The order sided with a lower court decision in September that Abbott called “incorrect” and had predicted would be overturned.Instead, the New Orleans-based court handed Texas its second legal defeat this week over its border operations. On Wednesday, a federal judge allowed U.S. Border Patrol agents to continue cutting razor wire the state installed along the riverbank, despite the protests of Texas officials. For months, Texas has asserted that parts of the Rio Grande are not subject to federal laws protecting navigable waters. But the judg...

Ontario Liberals set to pick new leader on Saturday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:13 GMT

The Ontario Liberals will choose a new leader on Saturday that they hope will bring the party into the future.Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie has been tagged as the frontrunner in the field of five candidates, including Toronto MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Ottawa MP Yasir Naqvi, and Kingston and the Islands MPP Ted Hsu.Liberal MP and former provincial cabinet minister Yasir Naqvi and Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith have urged supporters to select each other as their number two choice, to stop Crombie from winning the leadership.Interim Liberal leader John Fraser has been the glue holding the party together after the last two disastrous elections but said it was time to move on.“I couldn’t steal any more time away from my grandkids and my kids. And I did that because I was interim leader and also caring for my mom for five years. So it was just that’s the decision,” said Fraser.“And I think it’s time for another generation. You have to make space for...

Mississippi sheriff changes policies after violent abuse. Victims say it’s to escape accountability

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:13 GMT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Attorneys for the victims of a racist episode of police torture say new policies unveiled by a Mississippi sheriff’s department this week were introduced so the sheriff can escape liability in a civil lawsuit and forestall a new federal probe. With criminal sentencing for six former law officers scheduled for January and a $400 million lawsuit against them and the sheriff pending, the Rankin County Sheriff’s Department unveiled a new policy manual Tuesday. The policies took effect on Nov. 20, the same day attorneys for Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker amended their June lawsuit.The new complaint incorporates findings federal prosecutors unsealed from their criminal probe. In a news release, Sheriff Bryan Bailey outlined some of the changes his department has adopted, including hiring an internal affairs investigator, requiring officers to wear body cameras and adding an online submission page for civilian complaints. The policies were ...

Takeaways from Friday’s events at UN climate conference known as COP28

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:13 GMT

Friday was a day for speechmaking at the United Nations annual climate conference known as COP28, as heads of state each gave short speeches to deliver their views on the planet’s climate crisis, what their nation is doing and what they think others should do.It was also a day of sadness, as not far away in the Middle East, Israeli airstrikes and ground fighting resumed in the Gaza Strip after a week-long truce in the Israel-Hamas war to exchange hostages and prisoners.And it was a day for nations to announce deals or pledges aimed at demonstrating their commitments to take action to stem climate change.Some takeaways from Friday’s events in Dubai:LEADERS SUMMITWorld leaders focused on the scale and imminent threat of climate change and the drastic action needed to curtail global warming before it becomes an even worse catastrophe. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres took aim at fossil fuels. That industry is in the spotlight at these talks. COP28 is hosted...

‘Disturbing video’: Witnesses describe unsettling scene after woman assaulted at Brampton mall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:13 GMT

A video showing a woman violently assaulted inside a Brampton mall has generated significant attention as investigators continue to search for the suspect involved in the altercation.Peel Regional Police said at around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 23, 2023, a woman was at Bramalae City Centre shopping mall in the area of Queen Street and Central Park Drive when she was approached by an unknown suspect accusing her of filming him. The Brampton woman attempted to walk away when the suspect approached her again, slapped her phone out of her hand and punched the victim several times. He then leaves the store.Police tell CityNews the suspect and woman did not know each other.“This is a very disturbing video,” Const. Richard Chin told CityNews. “She was not [recording him]. The information we have is that she was on a FaceTime call with one of her friends.”Onlookers seen standing outside of the store watching the assault unfold appear shocked and disturbed by the incident. Me...

New California mental health court sees more than 100 petitions in first two months

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:13 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — An alternative mental health court to compel treatment for people with severe mental illness has received more than 100 petitions since launching in seven California counties in October, state officials said Friday.The state believes between 7,000 and 12,000 people statewide will eventually be eligible for “CARE Court,” which launched on a limited basis before Los Angeles County became the latest and largest county to start the program on Friday.“This is exactly where we want to be,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.Ghaly told reporters he’s optimistic about the early results and that the number of referrals reflects the small population eligible until now. Only those who are at least 18 years old and have schizophrenia or a related disorder would qualify. Severe depression, bipolar disorder and addiction by itself do not qualify.“We’re in good shape. We’re providing the time to our local partners to cr...

Female athletes sue the University of Oregon alleging Title IX violations by the school

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:13 GMT

Thirty-two female athletes filed a lawsuit against the University of Oregon on Friday that alleges the school is violating Title IX by not providing equal treatment and opportunities to women. The plaintiffs, who are all either on the varsity beach volleyball team or the club rowing team, are accusing the school of “depriving women of equal treatment and benefits, equal athletic aid, and equal opportunities to participate in varsity intercollegiate athletics.”The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Eugene, Oregon, seeks correction of the alleged violations and unspecified damages. The lead counsel for the women is Arthur H. Bryant of Bailey & Glasser, who is known for legal efforts to enforce Title IX, the federal law that prohibits gender inequality by educational institutions receiving federal funds.The beach volleyball players say they do not have facilities for practicing or competing. Instead, the team must practice and compete at a public park with inadequate fac...

Klete Keller, Olympic gold medalist swimmer, gets 6 months in home detention for Jan. 6 Capitol riot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:13 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Olympic gold medalist swimmer Klete Keller, who threw his USA team jacket in a trash can after he stormed the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced on Friday to six months of home detention for joining the mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the seat of American democracy.At 6-foot-6, Keller towered over police officers guarding the Capitol and other Donald Trump supporters who breached the building, and he was quickly identified by authorities. He pleaded guilty in 2021 to a felony charge and was one of the first rioters to publicly agree to cooperate with authorities investigating the Capitol attack.Video captured Keller leading profane chants directed at then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, both Democrats. He also joined a chorus of rioters in singing the national anthem in the middle of the Capitol. He resisted efforts to remove him from the Capitol, ripping an elbow away and shaking off a police officer, prosecutors said. U.S. Distri...