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A lunch host is accused of killing her ex-husband’s parents and aunt with poisonous mushrooms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The host of a weekend family lunch at her Australian country home was charged Thursday with murdering her ex-husband’s parents and aunt with poisonous mushrooms and attempting to murder a fourth guest, police said.Police arrested Erin Patterson, 49, at her home in the Victoria state town of Leongatha, where her former husband’s parents, Gail and Don Patterson, both 70, Gail Patterson’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and Wilkinson’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, 68, were invited for lunch on July 29.All four guests were hospitalized the next day, and only Ian Wilkinson survived.Patterson has publicly denied any wrongdoing.“I’m devastated. I loved them. I can’t believe that this has happened. and I’m so sorry,” she tearfully told reporters two days after the third death.Patterson was also charged with three counts of attempting to murder her ex-husband, Simon Patterson, 48, who became ill after eating three meals in 2021 and 2022, a police statement sai...

‘Mean Girls’ stars Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried and more reunite for Black Friday ad

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

(CNN) — On Wednesdays they still wear pink.Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, Daniel Franzese and Rajiv Surendra reprised their “Mean Girls” roles for a Walmart Black Friday commercial that dropped Wednesday.The gang is all grown up since the beloved 2004 film, and Cady Heron (Lohan) is now a guidance counselor, Karen Smith (Seyfried) a weather reporter, and Gretchen Wieners (Chabert) a stage mom.“Some things never change,” Lohan as Cady can be heard saying.“On Wednesdays we wear pink, but now we shop Walmart Black Friday deals,” she continues in the ad, heralding the arrival of holiday deals just a touch early this year.Gretchen is still trying to make fetch happen even as she tries to help her daughter and the new generation of girls who rule the school out with Walmart products.The ad recreates some of the Tina Fey-scribed film’s most iconic scenes as it revisits North Shore High School’s winter talent show, and that iconic stage performance, among other things....

Missing Pa. pig Kevin Bacon returns home after plea from actor Kevin Bacon

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (KYW) — The bacon has been brought home.Escaped Pennsylvania pig Kevin Bacon has returned home after weeks on the run and shortly after his owner laid out a Benadryl-laced sticky bun hoping to get him sleepy and easily carted back to his pen.But in the end, Kevin just walked back home himself and plopped down.“He’s home,” the Bring Kevin Bacon Home page posted on Facebook.“He is secured in our pen,” the owner said in a follow up message. “Walked in himself.”It was an exhausting orderal that captured the attention of the internet – even reaching the actor after whom he is named.Kevin Bacon’s namesake, the actor and Philadelphia native Kevin Bacon, called for the central Pennsylvania pig to be brought home in a post on Threads this weekend.The Facebook page Bring Kevin Bacon Home posted an update on Tuesday indicating Kevin Bacon The Pig may have chowed down on a snack that will make them very sleepy.“Benad...

The Beatles’ ‘last’ song ‘Now and Then’ is released

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

(CNN) — Described as The Beatles’ final song, “Now and Then” has finally been released, featuring the voice of the late John Lennon decades after he first wrote it.The track featuring the sound of every member of the British rock group was released at 2 p.m. GMT (10 a.m. ET) Thursday.Lennon sings: “I know it’s true. It’s all because of you. And if I make it through, it’s all because of you.”The lyrics that follow poignantly mark this moment of nostalgia for fans of the band.Decades in the makingLennon wrote and recorded the song at his home in New York City in the late 1970s, and his wife Yoko Ono gave the demo to the remaining Beatles members in 1994, explained the band in a short film on the making of the song released on YouTube Wednesday.Lennon died in 1980 at the age of 40 after being shot outside of his apartment building in New York City.Guitarist George Harrison said in the film:“To hear John’s voice, that’s a thing that we should cherish, and I’m sure he would’ve really enj...

Keep your bedbugs, Putin tells the EU

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

Russian President Vladimir Putin is not worried about Western sanctions — quite the opposite, in fact.Faced with the prospect of a 12th round of EU sanctions — which could include trade in anything from diamonds to needles — the Russian leader brushed off the plan as ridiculous and took a jab at Europe and its crawling bedbug problem.“Perhaps the less junk, the better. There is less of a chance of bedbugs coming here from large European cities,” Putin joked on Wednesday, reported Russian state-run news agency TASS.Several European cities, including Paris, are battling an infestation of bedbugs in recent months. The tiny insects have swarmed public transport, raising alarm among residents and public officials, and sending cities into a frenzy.Last month, French intelligence even blamed Russian propaganda for stoking fears about the bedbugs by posting fake articles that looked like they were written by reputable French newspapers. Putin’s comment comes as the EU is prepari...

British Deputy PM throws backing behind open source AI, downplays risks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

BLETCHLEY, England — Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has said there should be a “high bar” on restrictions to open source artificial intelligence. Speaking to POLITICO on the sidelines of Rishi Sunak’s AI Safety Summit in Bletchley Park on Thursday, Dowden said he saw “huge potential” in open source AI in driving innovation and economic growth. “It’s not just economies like the U.K. and other European countries that benefit from open source. I see it in so many applications that are being created right now. I see tiny startups that are already billion dollar plus companies within a matter of literally months off the back of open source.“It’s also the case if we want to make sure it spreads globally, in terms of the developing world. So I think there was a very high bar to restrict open source in any way,” said Dowden.The battle between open and closed source AI has emerged as one of the key fault lines from the summit. Closed system companies like OpenA...

Special counsel accuses Trump legal team of trying to manipulate courts with requests to delay trials

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

(CNN) — Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith’s office have accused former President Donald Trump’s legal team of seeking to manipulate the courts in their bid to delay his trials past the 2024 presidential election.Fresh off a Florida hearing where Trump appeared to gain traction in his effort to delay one of his criminal trials, his attorneys asked Wednesday night for a second trial he faces next year in Washington, DC, to be put on hold.But Trump’s emboldened attempts to delay facing federal juries – on his national security records mishandling and 2020 election cases – while he is running for president were quickly called out by prosecutors who accuse him of manipulating the courts.“Defendant Trump’s actions in the hours following the hearing … confirm his overriding interest in delaying both trials at any cost. This Court should [not] allow itself to be manipulated in this fashion,” the Justice Department said in a court filing Thursday with Judge...

Ravens vs. Seahawks scouting report for Week 9: Who has the edge?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

The Ravens hung on to beat the Arizona Cardinals, 31-24. The Seahawks rallied late to defeat the Cleveland Browns, 24-20. Who will have the edge when these playoff contenders meet Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium?Ravens passing game vs. Seahawks pass defenseLamar Jackson struggled to find open targets against an Arizona defense that rushed three or four and dropped seven or eight in coverage to take away his primary reads. Instead of consistently hitting his check down receivers, Jackson held the ball, giving the Cardinals time to disturb him. He averaged 5.8 yards per attempt, 2 yards below his season average. Jackson did niftily adjust his arm angle to connect with tight end Mark Andrews for Andrews’ team-leading sixth touchdown of the season. Jackson’s other favorite target, rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers, caught five passes for just 19 yards against Arizona, finding no space to get loose on quick screens. On the plus side, 2021 first-round pick Rashod Bateman flashed...

Child luring suspects brought candy, toys to meet officers posing as children: OPP

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

They were allegedly trying to lure children for sex with baseball cards, candy and toys. Instead, undercover OPP officers posing as children online lured them into handcuffs.Ten people are facing a total of 39 charges as part of Project Limestine — a four-day luring investigation led by Ontario Provincial Police in tandem with several other police forces, including Durham and York Regional Police.“Investigators utilized undercover techniques to access online chatrooms and social media applications designed for children in order to identify, locate and arrest persons looking to sexually exploit children,” the OPP said in a release.The investigation took place between September 12-15, and also resulted in the seizure of 55 devices.Police say six of the suspects were arrested after they showed up to meet with who they thought were children, but were really officers.Even more disturbingly, police say some of the accused arrived with candy, toys and sexual paraphernalia...

Nutrien optimistic on potash demand as earnings continue to take hit from volatility

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:58:44 GMT

SASKATOON — Nutrien chief executive Ken Seitz says the unprecedented volatility in fertilizer markets that’s contributed to the company’s lower earnings so far this year is stabilizing.He says demand for potash has been strengthening through the second half of the year, and he expects it to return closer to 2021 levels at some point next year.His comments came after the Saskatoon-based fertilizer company reported significantly lower earnings for its third quarter, coming in at US$82 million in the third quarter, down from US$1.6 billion a year earlier.The volatility in fertilizer markets led Nutrien to announce in August that it was indefinitely pausing its planned ramp-up of potash production.Seitz says he feels comfortable with Nutrien’s current capacity, but that the company will be ready to hit play on that ramp-up again when it seems appropriate. Despite BHP’s large potash project currently under construction in Saskatchewan, Seitz expects Nutrien to maintain its market share a...