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NBCUniversal CEO Shell ousted over ‘inappropriate conduct’

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Jeff Shell, the chief executive of NBCUniversal, is departing the company after an investigation into inappropriate conduct, Comcast announced Sunday.In a brief statement, Shell said Sunday would be his last day after what he called “an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company.”“I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down, they are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them the last 19 years has been a privilege,” Shell said.Shell, who had been with the company since 2004, was named CEO of NBCUniversal in January 2020. He oversaw the company’s portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premiere motion picture company, significant television and sports production operations and a leading television stations group, according to the company website. He also oversaw the company’s theme parks and a premium ad-supported streaming service.Previously, Shell was chairman of NBCUniver...

Torchlight march marks mass deaths of Armenians

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:57 GMT

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — About 10,000 people bearing torches on Sunday night marched through Armenia’s capital to commemorate the estimated 1.5 million Armenians killed in Ottoman Turkey more than a century ago.The march from a central square to a sprawling memorial complex began with activists burning the flags of Turkey and Azerbaijan. Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan have spiraled in recent months since the blockage of the road leading to the ethnic Aremenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan.Historians estimate that, in the last days of the Ottoman Empire, up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in what is widely regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century.Armenians have long pushed for the deaths to be recognized as genocide.While Turkey concedes that many died in that era, the country has rejected the term genocide, saying the death toll is inflated and the deaths resulted from civil unrest during the Ottoman Empire’s collapse.Armenia o...

Dragon bursts into flames during popular Disneyland show

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:57 GMT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Spectators at Disneyland’s popular “Fantasmic!” show got a shock this weekend when the feature’s fire-breathing animatronic dragon suddenly burst into flames. No injuries were reported following the blaze Saturday night at the Southern California theme park, the Anaheim Fire Department said. Ryan Laux, a frequent Disneyland visitor, said fire has always been a part of the “Fantasmic!” presentation. But he said he knew something was awry when when flames didn’t come from where they usually do. “The head started going on fire instead of the fire projecting out,” said Laux, who lives in Los Angeles and captured the blaze on video.The show was stopped almost immediately “and then right after that, the dragon started catching fire and the whole body was up in flames,” he told The Associated Press on Sunday. The show takes place twice nightly near the park’s famous Tom Sawyer Island. The climax features Mickey Mouse battling a giant dra...

Chicago police identify young boy

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:57 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police have identified a young boy found in Austin.The boy, who is between 2 and 3 years old, was found in the 100 block of North Lotus Avenue, Chicago police said.Read more: Latest Chicago news headlinesAdditional information hasn't been released.

9 teenagers shot at after-prom party in Texas

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:57 GMT

JASPER COUNTY, Texas (KETK) - Authorities say nine people were found with gunshot wounds at an after-prom party near Jasper, Texas early Sunday morning. A second shooting that happened within the city the same night may also be connected, according to the sheriff's office. Shortly after midnight, the Jasper County Sheriff's Office responded to a disturbance where shots had been fired north of Jasper, roughly 30 miles west of the Texas-Louisiana border. According to authorities, the nine victims' gunshot wounds were not life threatening. The shooting broke out at an "after-prom party" being held at a home. Speaking to local media Sunday afternoon, Jasper County Sheriff Mitchel Newman said the victims range in age from 15 to 19 years old. Officials said most of the victims were transported to Jasper Memorial Hospital but at least one had to be taken to Christus St. Elizabeth in Beaumont for further treatment. At least one victim was undergoing surgery for a gunshot wound to the arm on...

Missed chances cost Austin FC in 2-0 road loss to LA Galaxy

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:57 GMT

LOS ANGELES (KXAN) — The early season blues continued for Austin FC on Saturday, falling to the previously winless LA Galaxy 2-0 at Dignity Health Sports Park.As one of the best goal-scoring teams in Major League Soccer last season, it hasn't carried over to this season. Austin FC has come up empty on the scoresheet for the third consecutive match. Verde and Black haven't scored since Jon Gallagher's goal in the fifth minute against the Colorado Rapids on March 25.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersAustin FC head coach Josh Wolff said the club isn't taking the opportunities they get to score. "You have to be resourceful when the opportunities come. You truly do," Wolff said. "It doesn't matter if it's LA Galaxy, or if it's in Salt Lake or anywhere else on the road. You got to take those opportunities and we need to create more chances."Not having midfielder Diego Fagundez...

Missing Austin dog reunited with family nearly 1 year later

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — After 301 days separated from her family, an Austin dog reunited with her owners last week.Austin Animal Center received a missing dog — named "Juicee" by shelter staff — in June 2022. This past December, AAC posted on its Spanish-language Facebook page, "Mascotas de Austin," 100 dogs available for adoption.From there, the post was shared onto the FB group "Cubanos de Austin," where someone spotted a "unique-looking pitbull mix" that reminded them of their friend's old dog."A simple share can be part of a miracle," said Luis Herrera, AAC's public health educator, in a release. "Today we had an amazing example of the importance of social media for Spanish speakers and their pets."That miracle FB share helped track Juicee — actually named Kardashian — with her owners. They had been told she had passed away, not knowing she'd actually been brought to AAC as a stray.Formerly living in Austin, Kardashian's owner Dellys had since moved to Miami. But once they saw Kardashia...

Bailey Ober helps Twins past Nationals in series finale

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:57 GMT

The three walks Bailey Ober gave issued in the first two innings of his start on Sunday matched a career high, but they didn’t mark a sign of things to come. While Ober was bitten by some early-inning control problems, he quickly settled in and gave the Twins a performance they needed, helping them stop a three-game slide.Ober’s 5 2/3 innings, some solid defense and just enough offense helped the Twins to a 3-1 victory on Sunday afternoon in the series finale against the Nationals at Target Field, staving off a sweep in the process.Making his first start of the season, Ober issued a walk to a pair of batters in the first inning before allowing a double to Keibert Ruiz, giving the Nationals the lead at the time.But for the remainder of his outing, he didn’t allow a runner to reach second base. Ober did allow a pair of hits in the fifth inning — he only gave up three in his start — but some good defense helped him out of the inning. Catcher Ryan Jeffers corralled a short bunt, rifling...

Fox's settlement with Dominion unlikely to cost it $787.5M

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:57 GMT

(AP) — Fox Corp.'s $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation charges is eye-popping, but the ultimate cost to the media company is likely to be much lower. On Tuesday, Fox settled with Dominion over charges that Fox News baselessly accused the company of rigging its voting machines against former President Donald Trump in 2020. It was the most-watched media libel case in decades. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Fox had about $4 billion of cash on hand as of December 2022, and MoffettNathanson analyst Robert Fishman expects the company to pay the settlement during the current quarter. How much the lawsuit will actually end up costing Fox is unclear because there are ways it can defray some of the expense, primarily through insurance and the use of tax deductions. Fox can deduct the Dominion settlement from its income taxes as an expense necessary for the cost of doing business. Fox Chief Communi...

The front door, threshold of welcome—and perilous border

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 11:00:57 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The American front door is a place where the welcome mat offers friendly greetings, where affable neighbors knock or ring, where boxes brimming with possibility are delivered. An American front door is where signs trumpet words of warning, where cameras monitor visitors in high definition, where intruders find an entry point. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! It is where home meets a world full of potentially good things. It is where only a hunk of wood or metal separates the innermost spaces of home from a world full of chaos. They can and do exist together—usually peacefully but sometimes, particularly of late, contentiously.Both conceptions are real. In a land where private property is venerated and “get off my lawn” has become a mantra of jokey crankiness, the American front door is the landscape’s most intimate and personal of borders, the place where the public sphere encounters private space—occasionall...