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Case dismissed: ‘Wizard of Oz’ dress may soon be auctioned by Catholic University

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:49 GMT

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the ownership of a blue and white gingham dress worn by Judy Garland in 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” that Catholic University in D.C. plans to auction.Catholic University has said Father Gilbert Hartke, the founder of the school’s drama program, accepted the gift on behalf of the school in 1973. The dress was misplaced for years, but was discovered in a shoe box in 2022, years after Hartke’s death in 1986.In May 2022, one day before the university and Bonham’s auction house’s planned offering to the highest bidder, the auction was halted by a federal judge in New York City, when a niece of Hartke filed suit, asserting her family owned the dress, rather than the university.Now, Judge Paul Gardephe has ruled Barbara Hartke has failed to establish that she had legal standing to claim ownership to the Dorothy dress.Father Hartke had received the dress from actress Mercedes McCambridge, a close con...

PGA Tour offered rookies $500K up front. Only 8 of them needed it

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:49 GMT

The PGA Tour approved a new program this season to make sure rookies and most Korn Ferry Tour graduates get $500,000 up front. That money would be recouped from their earnings to make sure no one lost any money.Tour officials are still calculating the “Earnings Assurance Program,” although only eight of the 27 rookies who finished a full season (15 events or more) failed to reach $500,000. All but one of them are back in Q-school this week.How much that cost the tour is still to be determined. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan predicted $2 million to $3 million — money spent making up the difference if players didn’t reach $500,000 — though that’s what is still being computed.Rookies had the option of getting the money up front. But the program was for every fully exempt player, which might have come in handy for Kevin Kisner in a strange year. He was torn between bad play and wanting to be at home with three young children during the summer when he stopped playing in Ju...

Stock market today: Wall Street holds steady as inflation report comes in as expected

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:49 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street is drifting in early trading after a report showed inflation in the United States is behaving pretty much as expected. The S&P 500 edged down 0.1% Tuesday, a day after hitting a 20-month high. The Dow and the Nasdaq composite were little changed. Prices for gasoline, food and other living costs rose 3.1% last month from a year earlier, slightly less than October’s 3.2% rate and in line with expectations. The Federal Reserve is expected to stand pat on interest rates Wednesday. Oracle tumbled after reporting revenue that fell short of forecasts. Crude oil prices fell.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.Wall Street tilted toward small gains early Tuesday ahead of new U.S. inflation data that will likely set the tone for the Federal Reserve’s final meeting of the year.Futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.1% before the bell and they are up about 0.2% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.On Tuesday, the government will release it...

German soccer federation to prosecute perpetrators of online racist abuse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:49 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The German soccer federation will start prosecuting people who direct racist abuse and hate speech at players online. The federation, known as the DFB, said Tuesday it is working with the public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt to identify the perpetrators of online abuse and send their cases to local authorities for prosecution.It comes after a slew of racist and discriminatory comments were directed on social media against Black players on Germany’s team that won the Under-17 World Cup for the first time this month.“We do not accept the inhumane hostility toward our players on the internet, but will combat it actively and consistently,” federation vice president Ronny Zimmermann said. “We hope that the initial identifications and prosecutions of perpetrators will have a deterrent effect. Online hate is a problem for society as a whole that we all have to combat together.”The federation said 14 of the comments aimed at the U17 players were deemed to consti...

US consumer inflation eased slightly last month as gas prices fell, though some costs kept surging

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:49 GMT

File - A woman holding several shopping bags enters a subway station on Black Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, in New York. On Tuesday, the Labor Department issues its report on inflation at the consumer level in November. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie, File)(AP/Peter K. Afriyie) File - A woman holding several shopping bags enters a subway station on Black Friday, Nov. 24, 2023, in New York. On Tuesday, the Labor Department issues its report on inflation at the consumer level in November. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie, File)(AP/Peter K. Afriyie) WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation ticked down again last month, with cheaper gas helping further lighten the weight of consumer price increases in the United States. At the same time, the ...

Zelenskyy arrives to grim Capitol Hill as Biden’s aid package for Ukraine risks collapse

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:49 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived Tuesday on Capitol Hill to a darker mood than when he swooped in last winter for a hero’s welcome, as the Russian invasion is grinding into a third year and U.S. funding hangs in the balance.Zelenskyy’s visit to Washington comes as President Joe Biden’s request for an additional $110 billion U.S. aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security needs is at serious risk of collapse in Congress. Republicans are insisting on strict U.S.-Mexico border security changes that Democrats decry as draconian in exchange for the overseas aid.“It is maddening,” said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a close ally of Biden. “A very bad message to the world, to the Ukrainian people.”The White House said the time was right for Zelenskyy’s trip to Washington as Biden pushes lawmakers to approve the aid package before the year-end holidays. A top spokesman said the U.S. can’t let Ukraine aid lapse, especially ...

Duncan Robinson leads balanced scoring attack as Heat hold on to top Hornets 116-114

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:49 GMT

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Duncan Robinson had five 3-pointers and scored 24 points, Kevin Love provided a big boost off the bench with a season-high 19 points and the Miami Heat overcame a huge game from Charlotte’s Terry Rozier to defeat the Hornets 116-114 on Monday night.Jimmy Butler added 23 points and eight assists and Caleb Martin had 20 points and nine rebounds for Miami, which entered the game having lost five of its last seven. Jaime Jaquez chipped in with 18 points before fouling out late.Rozier scored 34 points with eight 3-pointers for the Hornets, but his halfcourt heave at the final buzzer hit the backboard and bounced away.Robinson was on his game from the outset, eager to bounce back from an 0-for-7 shooting performance in a 111-99 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday night.He finished 8 of 14 from the floor and scored on shot-clock beating 3s and drives to the basket.“I get to have a night like I had tonight when he’s drawing so much attention, and he&...

Florida family demands answers after rivet crashes through windshield

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:49 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WSVN) — A family is demanding answers after an incident left them shaken during a drive on Saturday night. Alex Waddell and his family were traveling in Jacksonville when a rivet crashed through their windshield. Waddell described the experience after he and his family passed under a bridge. “It just kinda landed in her lap, it hit the windshield, then it hit the dash right there, so it kinda popped up into her lap,” he recalled. According to Waddell, there were workers on scissor lifts above, conducting some form of work on the support beams. Suddenly, a loud bang echoed, and a cut-off piece of the rivet or bolt flew through the windshield, landing in Waddell’s wife’s lap.Despite the shock, the family opted not to pull over immediately due to heavy traffic. “There was a lot of traffic behind us, so my wife just wanted to get home, so we just pulled it into the house,” Waddell explained. In response to the incident, the F...

Police searching for missing 16-year-old last seen in east Hollywood

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:49 GMT

Authorities are urgently seeking information regarding the whereabouts of a teenage girl last seen in East Hollywood.Cheyenne Wilkins, 16, was last seen on December 6 leaving her residence in the vicinity of Douglas Road and Taft Street after an argument with her grandmother. There are concerns for her well-being, and the community is urged to come forward with any relevant information.Wilkins may be located in east Hollywood, and her family, along with law enforcement, is actively searching for her. Authorities have released her photo in hopes that the public can assist in locating her.If you have seen Wilkins or have any information about her current location, please contact the Special Victims Unit at 954-431-2200.

80 years after his death at Pearl Harbor, a sailor’s remains are returned home

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:49 GMT

(CNN) — Every December, Deb Conti’s grandmother would pull out the wrinkled letter and faded photograph she received from her brother just weeks before he was killed in Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor over 80 years ago.“Dear ‘little’ Eve,” the letter reads. “I am thinking of the family, every day.”The sailor, Stanley Galaszewski was a family man. Raised by a single mother after his father died, he was one of seven children.Like millions of others, his family struggled during the Great Depression, and he joined the Navy in hopes of sending money home. Seaman 2nd Class Galaszewski was 29 years old when he died.In Pictures: The attack on Pearl HarborIn the letter, he talks of the beauty of the Hawaiian island of Oahu, and its modernity. He says he feels safe, being in the Pacific, and expresses optimism about what the future holds. Six weeks later, Pearl Harbor was attacked.Identifying the sailorsOn December 7, 1941, the USS California – the ship on which Galaszewski was ...