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Kevin Spacey says a sexual assault accuser was an intimate pal who stabbed him in the back

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Kevin Spacey took a dramatic pause in his testimony Thursday and appeared to almost choke up as he recalled the “intimate” and “somewhat sexual” friendship he shared with a man now accusing the actor of violently groping him. He said he was “crushed” when he learned of the allegations.“I never thought that (the man) I knew would … 20 years later stab me in the back,” Spacey testified in his own defense in his sexual assault trial in what could be the most consequential speaking part of his life.Spacey spoke in a calm voice and earnest demeanor — humorous, humble and self-deprecating at times — as he breezed over his career and then fast-forwarded to the early 2000s when he was in London working at the Old Vic Theatre. Four men have accused the two-time Oscar winner of sexually assaulting them between 2001 and 2013, describing disturbing encounters that escalated from unwanted touching to aggressive crotch grabbing. One man who called Spacey a “vile sexual predato...

PepsiCo raises 2023 profit expectations as price hikes offset falling sales volume

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

PepsiCo saw lower demand for its drinks and snacks in the second quarter, but higher prices continued to boost its bottom line.The Purchase, New York-based company reported better-than-expected revenue and raised its full-year earnings forecasts.Shares rose more than 2% before the market opened on Thursday. Snack food volumes fell 3% in the April-June period, while beverage volumes dropped 1%, but net pricing rose 15%. It was the sixth consecutive quarter of double-digit price increases from PepsiCo. Pepsi’s revenue rose 10% to $22.3 billion. That beat Wall Street’s forecast of $21.7 billion, according to analysts polled by FactSet.Revenue improved at Frito-Lay North America and the company’s North American beverages unit. PepsiCo also saw revenue growth in Latin America, Europe and Asia.But pricing clearly took a toll. In the company’s Africa, the Middle East and South Asia division, volumes dropped 6% as Pepsi hiked prices 24%. In Latin America, volume was down 3...

Little-known but efficient, a different way to heat and cool your house

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

Summers are famously humid in New York State, but life in the Maioli household has gotten more comfortable since the couple installed a new heating and cooling system — one that isn’t well known yet in the U.S. “My wife is pretty happy because in the summer we can keep it to as cold as we like,” typically 69 or 70 F, said Joe Maioli, in Ontario, New York. In 2021, the couple installed a geothermal or ground source heat pump.The units you see that look like box fans outside homes and businesses are the more common air-source heat pumps. They wring energy out of outdoor air for heat and soak up excess heat indoors and move it out when they’re cooling. Geothermal heat pumps use underground temperatures, instead of outdoor air.A major push is now underway to get people to consider ground-source heat pumps because they use far less electricity than other heating and cooling methods. “Ground-source heat pumps average about 30 percent less electricity use than air-source ...

Video: Frontier Airlines diverts plane to Denver, kicks 2 women off for fighting, disrupting flight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) —  A planeful of Las Vegas-bound passengers ended up being diverted to Denver International Airport Tuesday night after a fight broke out involving some passengers.Frontier Airlines flight 2143 left Philadephia around 10:30 p.m. (ET) Tuesday and was scheduled to arrive in Las Vegas around 8:40 p.m. (PT) but was approximately an hour late because the plane deviated to Denver, and two passengers traveling together were deplaned and met at the gate by Denver police officers, said Michael Konopasek, Frontier Airlines corporate communications manager.A Las Vegas resident on that plane, who was returning from a vacation, took video of the fight. The woman who asked not to be identified said two women began loudly arguing with each other and a flight attendant approached them three times to stop the argument and did end up moving one woman to a different seat. Is more casual dress on flights tied to a rise in unruly passenger behavior? The passenger said the two women c...

How you can watch 'Oppenheimer' on 35mm film in Denver

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Movie fanatics all over the globe are preparing for July 21 when the two most highly anticipated blockbusters premiere in theaters, "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer." However, there is only one movie theater in the Mile High City where you can watch "Oppenheimer" on 35mm film.The Sie FilmCenter located off of Colfax in the Congress Park neighborhood is the only theater in Denver where you can catch Christopher Nolan's latest film on 35mm. A film shown in this format is described as, "35mm anamorphic film screenings project light through the entire 35-millimeter frame to deliver clear, high-resolution images with rich analog color combined with state-of-the-art digital sound in most locations." Christopher Nolan explains best ways to watch a movie, which theater seats to pick "Oppenheimer" follows the story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the creation of the atomic bomb during World War II. So, watching the film on 35mm adds to the novelty of th...

We’ve been saying Taylor Lautner’s name wrong

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

(CNN) — Thank you, Taylor Lautner, for taking the blame.You probably just read his name in your head wrong, because, according to Lautner, we have been pronouncing it incorrectly for years.During a recent conversation on the podcast “The Unplanned Podcast with Matt & Abby,” along with his wife Taylor Dome, the “Twilight” star explained his name is not supposed to be pronounced “Lawt-ner.”“It’s technically Lowt-ner,” he said.We are forgiven for getting it wrong, however.“It is my fault that nobody knows how it’s actually pronounced,” he said. “Because I never corrected anybody, for decades.”No worries if you keep getting it wrong, as the actor said he still doesn’t correct people.Lautner recently made headlines when his former girlfriend, Taylor Swift, invited him onstage at her Kansas City “Eras” tour stop. He costars in the new music video for her song, “I Can See You.”

Top EU court whacks Poland on judiciary’s lack of independence, again

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

The top court of the European Union on Thursday took another swing at Poland’s lack of judiciary independence by ruling in favor of a Polish judge who had opposed his own suspension.The European Court of Justice said the removed judge should “be able to continue to exercise jurisdiction in the criminal proceedings before him” and added that cases must be reassigned to him.The court was examining two cases related to the judge’s 2020 suspension at the Warsaw regional court, which had raised questions over the independence of its judiciary and a disciplinary chamber that suspended the judge. The disciplinary chamber was monitoring what judges did on or off their jobs, and has since been abolished. Pekka Pohjankoski, a researcher in European law from the law faculty at the University of Helsinki, said, “This case is empowering the national judges.” “The EU court is saying that Polish judges themselves have the right under EU law to not apply th...

Still reeling from catastrophic flooding, Vermont braces for another round of rain

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

(CNN) — Another round of rain could bring fresh flooding to Vermont as the state begins the long road to recovery from devastating floods that ravaged the region earlier this week.Southern Vermont is facing a moderate risk of excessive rainfall, and thunderstorms expected Thursday afternoon will last through the night, the National Weather Service said. Much of the already waterlogged state is under a new flood watch.The rainfall totals for Vermont, New Hampshire and parts of New York could reach 1.5 to 2 inches, the weather service warned. While rainfall totals for Vermont are expected to be lower than they were earlier in the week, the soil is saturated and rivers are still running high, making the region more prone to flooding.“This may not be over. With rain in the forecast – and nowhere for it to go – we could see waters rise again,” Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said Wednesday.Vermont is still reeling from catastrophic flooding that turned streets into river...

One year after launch, 988 mental health crisis line still building awareness and staffing

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

(CNN) — Thanks to a trio of digits — 988 — the past year has been “transformative” in the United States’ ongoing efforts to tackle the nation’s mental health crisis, according to health officials. But as it heads into its second year of existence, the three-digit number for the country’s mental health crisis lifeline still has some hurdles to overcome when it comes to awareness, staffing and routing.The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, transitioned last year from 1-800-273-TALK to a simpler dial code, 988. Those three numbers are intended to be easier to remember, like 911 for emergency medical services.Sunday marks the first anniversary of 988’s launch, and there have been nearly 5 million calls, texts and online chat messages answered through 988 in the year since its launch, according to data released Thursday by the US Department of Health and Human Services.“That is well over a million, close t...

Alleged serial rapist Matthew Nilo faces 7 additional rape, assault charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:30:23 GMT

New York Lawyer and alleged serial rapist Matthew Nilo has been charged with seven additional assault and rape charges in the proceedings against him at Boston’s Suffolk Superior court.Nilo appeared in court Thursday morning where he pleaded not guilty to the additional charges.Magistrate Clerk Edward Curley also imposed an additional $50,000 bail on Nilo. That comes on top of the $500,000 previously assessed by the court.In addition to the four victims in the Charlestown area, the new charges allege he assaulted or raped four additional victims across five incidents in the North End.One of the victims was attacked twice, 11 days apart. The attacks occurred in January 2007, July 2007, January 2008, and July 2008, a time frame similar to the alleged Charlestown assaults.The new seven charges are: one count of rape, one count of aggravated rape, three counts of assault with intent to rape, and two counts of indecent assault and battery.Nilo, 35, who now lives in New Jersey, had been p...