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‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Set to Break R-rated Box Office Records

27Jul

By Ava AndersonNo Comments

Business

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Set to Break R-rated Box Office Records

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman return to the Marvel Universe in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” a film set to make history this weekend as it debuts with an R rating in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The highly anticipated third installment starring Reynolds’ wisecracking antihero is expected to gross between $160 million and $180 million domestically during its opening weekend. It’s already the highest-grossing film of 2024 in advance, according to Fandango, and is on track to break several records, including the biggest domestic opening of the year and the biggest debut ever for an R-rated film. Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” currently holds the title as the year’s highest-grossing film with $154.2 million, while the original “Deadpool” boasts the best opening for an R-rated film ...

Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian Reaches Runoff in Iranian Presidential Election

27Jul

By Ava AndersonNo Comments

Politics

Reformist Masoud Pezeshkian Reaches Runoff in Iranian Presidential Election

A reformist candidate critical of Iranian government policies, including the mandatory headscarf law, will face a hardline conservative in a presidential runoff next week, Iran’s Interior Ministry announced Saturday. It follows a special vote called after the previous leader, Ebrahim Raisi, died in a helicopter crash last month. The second round of voting, scheduled for July 5, will pit reformist Masoud Pezeshkian against Saeed Jalili, an ultraconservative former nuclear negotiator. The need for a runoff was prompted by low voter turnout and a field of three leading candidates, with Iranian law requiring a winner to win more than 50 percent of all votes cast. According to the Interior Ministry, 60 percent of Iranians did not vote on Friday; analysts and candidates' aides attribute the dec...

Rising Drug Costs: Are Pharmaceutical Benefit Managers to Blame?

27Jul

By Ava AndersonNo Comments

Health

Rising Drug Costs: Are Pharmaceutical Benefit Managers to Blame?

For many Americans, the rising tide of prescription drug prices seems like an unstoppable force, threatening to drown household budgets and access to health care. While pharmaceutical companies often shoulder the brunt of the public blame, the web of influence on drug costs is far more intricate. Today, we shine a spotlight on a critical but usually hidden player in this system: pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs. Rebecca Robbins, a leading investigative reporter specializing in pharmaceuticals for The New York Times, takes us on a deep dive into the world of PBMs. We explore their role as middlemen between drugmakers, insurers, pharmacies and, ultimately, patients. This complex dance can have a significant impact on how much you pay for your medications. Our investigation ...

From Abbott to Biles: The Evolution of Women’s Sports on the Olympic Stage

27Jul

By Ava AndersonNo Comments

Sports

From Abbott to Biles: The Evolution of Women’s Sports on the Olympic Stage

The journey from Margaret Abbott’s unrecognized Olympic victory to Simone Biles’s global stardom epitomizes the extraordinary evolution of women’s sports. The upcoming Games in Paris promise to be a highlight in this transformative journey. Once relegated to the sidelines and often overlooked, female athletes have broken barriers and redefined the Olympic landscape. The 2024 Paris Games mark a historic milestone, with equal numbers of male and female athletes competing for the first time. Trailblazers like Jackie Joyner-Kersee played a pivotal role in paving the way for subsequent generations. Her triumphs in the track and field arena, coupled with her role as a mentor to athletes like Anna Hall, exemplify the lasting impact of these trailblazers. The rise of women's sports...

How to make digital photos from your smartphone look old

26Jul

By Ava AndersonNo Comments

Technology

How to make digital photos from your smartphone look old

Like the allure of vinyl records, classic video games, and even the early Internet, the fascination with old photographic standards like point-and-shoot cameras and 35-millimeter film endures, even among people too young to remember when that equipment was cutting edge. The allure of “vintage” photography extends beyond nostalgia and Instagram filters, judging by the number of apps designed to emulate the film, lenses, and visual quirks of pre-digital photos and films. Despite the irony of using a high-end smartphone camera to produce imperfect images that look oversaturated, shaky, low-contrast, unfiltered, or otherwise analog, going for a retro look can help you practice your compositional skills. If you’re not ready to buy the original equipment, you can still evoke the creative sensib...

UK regulator fines Coinbase’s UK arm .5 million for high-risk customer breaches

26Jul

By Ava AndersonNo Comments

News

UK regulator fines Coinbase’s UK arm $4.5 million for high-risk customer breaches

Coinbase’s UK subsidiary has been fined £3.5 million ($4.5 million) by British regulators for breaching an agreement aimed at preventing the cryptocurrency exchange from taking on high-risk customers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed the fine on CB Payments Limited (CBPL), a subsidiary of Coinbase Group, which operates a global cryptocurrency trading platform. The fine comes after CBPL breached a voluntary agreement it entered into in October 2020 to avoid taking on and offering services to high-risk clients. The FCA reported that CBPL served 13,416 high-risk customers despite the settlement, with 31% of those customers depositing approximately $24.9 million. Those funds were used to make withdrawals and conduct cryptocurrency transactions on other Coinbase entities, amou...