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Exhibits and collectors editions mark 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:53 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — On the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio, rare originals are being displayed and publishers are offering collectors editions of Shakespeare’s plays, including one that sells for $1,500.Scholars believe that between 200-300 copies still survive from the late 1623 release of “Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories & Tragedies.” Presided over by two friends and former colleagues of Shakespeare, who had died in 1616, the Folio ensured that lasting texts existed for “Macbeth,” “Twelfth Night” and other cornerstones of Western literature. In Shakespeare’s lifetime, many of his works were unpublished or available only in cheap paperback editions.“Without the First Folio we would have lost a world of words,” Gregory Doran, artistic director emeritus of the Royal Shakespeare Company, writes in the introduction to “The Complete Plays” of Shakespeare, a new publication.First folios have been on exhibit everywhere from the British M...

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Oct. 29-Nov. 4

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:53 GMT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of Oct. 29-Nov. 4:Oct. 29: Guitarist Denny Laine (Wings, Moody Blues) is 79. Singer-actor Melba Moore is 78. Actor Richard Dreyfuss is 76. Actor Kate Jackson is 75. Actor Dan Castellaneta (“The Simpsons”) is 66. Singer Randy Jackson of The Jacksons is 62. Drummer Peter Timmins of Cowboy Junkies is 58. Actor Joely Fisher (“Ellen”) is 56. Rapper Paris is 56. Actor Grayson McCouch (“Gotham”) is 55. Singer SA Martinez of 311 is 54. Actor Winona Ryder is 52. Actor Tracee Ellis Ross (“black-ish”) is 51. Actor Gabrielle Union is 51. Actor Trevor Lissauer (“Sabrina the Teenage Witch”) is 50. Actor Milena Govich (“Law & Order”) is 47. Actor Jon Abrahams (“Meet the Parents”) is 46. Actor Brendan Fehr (“CSI: Miami,” ″Roswell”) is 46. Actor Ben Foster (“Six Feet Under”) is 43. Bassist Chris Baio of Vampire Weekend is 39. Actor Janet Montgomery (“New Amsterdam”) is 38. Actor India Eisley (“The Secret Life of the American Teenager”) is 30.Oct. 30: Songwriter E...

IAEA officials say Fukushima’s ongoing discharge of treated radioactive wastewater is going well

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:53 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said the discharge of the second batch of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea ended as planned on Monday, and International Atomic Energy Agency officials in Japan for their first safety and monitoring mission since the release began two months ago said “no issues” were observed.Fukushima Daiichi started releasing treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the sea on Aug. 24. The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, said the release of a second, 7,800-ton batch of treated wastewater was completed, with its daily seawater sampling results fully meeting safety standards.A magnitude 9.0 quake on March 11, 2011, triggered a massive tsunami that destroyed the plant’s power supply and cooling systems, causing three reactors to melt and spew large amounts of radiation. Highly contaminated cooling water applied to the damaged reactors has leaked continuously into building basements and mixed with...

Pro-Palestinian activists occupy international court entry, demanding action against Israeli leader

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:53 GMT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch authorities detained 19 activists who occupied the entrance to the International Criminal Court on Monday, denouncing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s actions during the war with Hamas.Activists from the Extinction Rebellion group took over a bridge in front of The Hague-based court just after noon, carrying a banner that read “Netanyahu is a war criminal.” The Dutch branch of the activist group, which was originally set up to campaign against climate change, has staged several other pro-Palestinian actions since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.“The demonstration did not cause any disturbance to the ICC normal activities. The situation was addressed by the ICC security with the police,” said ICC spokesperson Sonia Robla. After police released the 19 following their brief detention, they joined a small pro-Palestinian protest outside the ICC’s grounds.The demonstration took place as Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte arrived in the Middl...

Milwaukee comic shop looking to sell copy of first appearance of Spider-Man, book could go for $35K

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:53 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee comic book shop is looking to sell a rare copy of the first appearance of Spider-Man.Collector’s Edge has acquired a copy of Amazing Fantasy No. 15, the Journal Sentinel reported. The comic book, written by Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee and published in 1962, tells the story of how Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, gained amazing powers and learns that with great power comes great responsibility.The shop’s owner, Steve Dobrzynski, first posted photos of the book on social media last Tuesday. He told the Journal Sentinel a couple found the book among a dead relative’s possessions and brought it to him for help selling it. He did not name the couple.A near-perfect copy of Amazing Fantasy No. 15 sold for $3.6 million at auction in Texas in 2021. The Collector’s Edge copy is worn and the edges have small tears.Dobrzynski sent it to the Certified Guaranty Company, a Florida-based comics and collectibles grading service. Th...

Shot fired, protesters pepper sprayed outside pro-Israel rally in Chicago suburbs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:53 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Police arrested two people after one of them allegedly fired a shot and another pepper-sprayed protesters outside a pro-Israel rally in Chicago’s northern suburbs. The rally took place Sunday evening at a Skokie banquet hall, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. About 1,000 people attended to show solidary with Israel, according to organizers.A group of about 200 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the hall. A man allegedly drove his car into the group, got out and fired a shot before police took him into custody. A witness told the newspaper that the man’s car had been covered in Israeli flags.A man coming out of the banquet hall wearing an Israeli flag as a cape sprayed the crowed with pepper spray before he was arrested. No one was seriously hurt in the melee.Police in U.S. cities as well as federal authorities have been on high alert for violence driven by antisemtic or Islamophobic sentiments as the war between Israel and Hamas continues. The Skokie rall...

The yield on a 10-year Treasury reached 5% for the 1st time since 2007. Here’s why that matters

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:53 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The yield on the 10-year Treasury has reached 5% for the first time since 2007. That matters for everyone, not just Wall Street. Treasury yields have been climbing rapidly, with the 10-year yield rallying from less than 3.50% during the spring and from just 0.50% early in the pandemic. Monday morning, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.96% after hitting 5.02% earlier. The jump means the U.S. government must pay more to borrow money from investors to cover its spending.It also directly affects people around the world, because the 10-year Treasury yield is the centerpiece of the global financial system and helps set prices for all kinds of other loans and investments. Besides making it more expensive for U.S. homebuyers to buy a house with a mortgage, higher yields also put downward pressure on prices for everything from stocks to cryptocurrencies. Eventually, they could help cause companies to lay off more workers. Higher yields mark a sharp turnaround for a g...

Bishan Bedi, India cricket great who claimed 266 test wickets with dazzling spin, dies at 77

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:53 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Bishan Bedi, the India cricket great whose dazzling left-arm spin claimed 266 test wickets, has died. He was 77.The death of Bedi, who underwent multiple surgeries over the last two years that included a knee operation a month ago, was confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Monday.“The BCCI mourns the sad demise of former India Test Captain and legendary spinner, Bishan Singh Bedi,” the BCCI wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and fans in these tough times. May his soul rest in peace.”Bedi was part of the famous Indian spin quartet with Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and Srinivas Venkataraghavan in the 1970s.He grabbed his 266 wickets in 67 test matches, but played only 10 ODIs between 1974-79, picking up seven wickets. He took 1,560 first-class wickets — the most by any Indian bowler ever — playing for various teams including Delhi and Northern Punjab in India and Northamptonshire in Engl...

JetBlue plane tilts back after landing at JFK Airport in New York but no injuries are reported

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:53 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — JetBlue officials say a plane rocked back with its nose pointed skyward after landing at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport because of a shift in weight on the aircraft.Videos posted on social media show Flight 662 from Bridgetown, Barbados, at the passenger gate and tilted backward at about a 30-degree angle after landing Sunday night.JetBlue officials said in a statement Monday that the jetliner tilted back “due to a shift in weight and balance during deplaning.” The plane eventually leveled, the officials said, and no injuries to passengers were reported.The aircraft has been taken out of service for inspection, JetBlue said.The Associated Press

California governor visits China and says his state will always be a partner on climate change

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:36:53 GMT

HONG KONG (AP) — The governor of California opened a week-long trip to China on Monday with an assurance that his state will always be a partner on climate issues no matter how the U.S. presidential election turns out next year.Democrat Gavin Newsom’s visit comes as U.S.-Chinese relations witnessed a sharp deterioration in recent years due to trade disputes, U.S. support for self-governing Taiwan and human rights concerns, among other contentious issues.Attempting to reinforce his state’s role as a global leader on climate change, Newsom began his visit with a climate-themed discussion at the University of Hong Kong. He told the audience they “can rely on California,” while addressing claims that the United States is not a reliable ally.“I want you to know, regardless of what happens nationally, sub-nationally, you have a partner in the state of California,” he said. Climate remains one area where collaboration is seen as possible and necessary. Both countries appear to ...