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Filmfest DC expands beyond E Street Cinema to French Embassy, Politics & Prose, DC public schools

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:32 GMT

toggle audio on and off change volume download audio WTOP's Jason Fraley previews Filmfest D.C. (Part 1) $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); The 37th annual Filmfest DC returns this week at Landmark E Street Cinema in Penn Quarter from April 19 to 30.However, the festival is so much more than brick-and-mortar screenings, expanding with outreach around town.“The city is coming out of COVID, and we knew that in this post-COVID world that we had to do some n...

The Netflix password crackdown may finally be happening

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:32 GMT

(CNN) — Netflix on Tuesday said it will move forward with a broad rollout of its paid account-sharing option in the second quarter, after having delayed it during the prior quarter.Netflix began clamping down on password sharing in four additional countries earlier this year but opted not to expand more broadly after it “found enough improvement opportunities” from early launches.The delayed timing, announced in the company’s latest earnings results, may have added to the company’s challenges in growing its subscriber base during the March quarter.The company reported a net increase of 1.75 million global streaming subscribers, up nearly 5% from the same period in the prior year, but below the more than 3 million Wall Street analysts had expected.Netflix said it has seen a “cancel reaction in each market when we announce the news” about the paid sharing option, but then it sees “increased acquisition and revenue.” By delaying the...

Netflix is winding down its DVD business after 25 years

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:32 GMT

(CNN) — Netflix is officially winding down the business that helped make it a household name.This fall, the streaming giant will officially say goodbye to its DVD rental service and all of the red envelopes that made it possible.“On September 29th, 2023, we will send out the last red envelope,” the company tweeted Tuesday. “It has been a true pleasure and honor to deliver movie nights to our wonderful members for 25 years.”“Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members, but as the DVD business continues to shrink, that’s going to become increasingly difficult,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos wrote in a blog post Tuesday. “Making 2023 our Final Season allows us to maintain our quality of service through the last day and go out on a high note.”The company reported a miss for its second-quarter earnings after market close on Tuesday. Shares fell by around 6%.

Easter Sunday fire at Cambridge church being investigated as arson, FBI asking public for help

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:32 GMT

Authorities believe the large fire that burned in a church in Cambridge on Easter Sunday was intentionally set, the state Department of Fire Services announced on Tuesday. Officials announced the development in a joint statement, asking for the public’s help and seeking any information as well as any photos or video of the scene on the day before the fire, the day of the fire or during firefighting operations. The FBI also shared a flyer seeking information and calling the fire an arson.“We are asking anyone with information on this fire, or who made observations in the area of the church that Sunday evening, to share it with investigators,” Cambridge Fire Chief Thomas Cahill Jr. said. “No piece of information is too small to share.” “We are keenly aware that any place of worship is a cornerstone of the community, and we want to reassure residents that we’re approaching this case with the seriousness and gravity that it deserves,” Cahill continued. The fire happe...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. set to announce presidential campaign in Boston, but can’t count on family support to take on Biden

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:32 GMT

(CNN) — The Kennedys have been through a lot. They don’t want to go through this.No name has appeared on more ballots or lawn signs. Even across branches of the family that have grown distant and divided since the first generation rose to power in the 1960s, they celebrate each cousin’s achievement — whether that’s a seat in the House or a new children’s book or an expansion of the Special Olympics.But Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination — set to be announced Wednesday in Boston — is too much for a family that defined the modern Democratic Party. They’re frustrated, sad and completely opposed.They say they love him. They use words like “heartbroken” and “tragic.”It’s the vaccine skepticism, which includes a book about “The Real Anthony Fauci” and saying Anne Frank was better off than Americans u...

Ravens draft preview: With offensive line help needed, it’s time to think big

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:32 GMT

The countdown to the NFL draft is underway.The first round begins April 27 in Kansas City, but until then, the Ravens have plenty to figure out. Most notably, their contract stalemate with star quarterback Lamar Jackson, who has requested a trade while under the $32.4 million nonexclusive franchise tag. If he gets his wish, the Ravens’ draft could look a lot different.Baltimore owns five picks: Nos. 22 (first round), 86 (third round), 124 (fourth round), 157 (fifth round) and 199 (sixth round). A blockbuster deal for Jackson would significantly increase the size of that haul, but the Ravens are guaranteed at least one additional first-rounder this year if Jackson signs an offer with another team before the draft and Baltimore declines to match it.As we get closer to the draft, The Baltimore Sun will examine which players at each position of need (quarterback, wide receiver, cornerback, defensive line, edge rusher and offensive line) could be available in the early, middle and ...

Stock market today: Global shares slip ahead of earnings

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:32 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly declined Wednesday, as investors took a wait-and-see stance ahead of earnings reports and possible moves by central banks. The price of food in the U.K. rose at the fastest pace in 45 years last month, keeping inflation above 10% for a seventh straight month amid a cost-of-living crisis that has fueled a wave of strikes by government workers.The 10.1% figure was slightly below the previous month’s 10.4%, but still shows the British government and Bank of England are struggling to prevent price increases triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from becoming embedded in the economy.France’s CAC 40 edged nearly 0.1% lower to 7,527.32 in early trading, while Germany’s DAX dipped almost 0.2% to 15,857.23. Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.3% to 7,886.11. The future for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.3% lower while the S&P 500 future fell 0.4%. In Asian trading, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2% to finish at 28,...

Chinese panda on long-term loan to Thailand dies suddenly

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:32 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — A giant panda on long-term loan from China died in a zoo in northern Thailand on Wednesday, six months before she was due to return home, officials from the Chiang Mai Zoo said.The cause of Lin Hui’s death was not immediately clear but she appeared to have become ill Tuesday morning, and her nose was seen bleeding when she laid down after a meal, said Wutthichai Muangmun, the zoo director.She was rushed into the care of a joint Thai-Chinese veterinarian team but her condition deteriorated and she died early Wednesday morning, he said.Tewarat Vejmanat, a veterinarian who spoke at a news conference broadcast live on the zoo’s Facebook page, said the panda, who had a health check every day, was already at an advanced age at 21, and there had been no sign of illness or any difference in her behavior before she became sick.“China is saddened by the death of the giant panda Lin Hui,” Wang Wenbin, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in Beijing.Wang said that after China le...

Supreme Court poised to rule on abortion pill restrictions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:32 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is deciding whether women will face restrictions in getting a drug used in the most common method of abortion in the United States, while a lawsuit continues.The justices are expected to issue an order on Wednesday in a fast-moving case from Texas in which abortion opponents are seeking to roll back Food and Drug Administration approval of the drug, mifepristone.The drug first won FDA approval in 2000, and conditions on its use have been loosened in recent years, including making it available by mail in states that allow access.The Biden administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, the maker of the drug, want the nation’s highest court to reject limits on mifepristone’s use imposed by lower courts, at least as long as the legal case makes it way through the courts. They say women who want the drug and providers who dispense it will face chaos if limits on the drug take effect. Depending on what the justices decide, that could include requ...

German police release description of gym attack suspect

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:48:32 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German police released an initial description Wednesday of a suspect wanted in connection with a knife attack at a gym in the western city of Duisburg that left four men seriously wounded.Police said that witnesses interviewed after the attack late Tuesday described the man as being about 30 years old, 180cm (5 feet 11 inches) tall, of normal build and with a long black beard. They added that witnesses said he had “southern” appearance — a term sometimes used in Germany to describe people of Mediterranean origin — and wore a long-sleeved pullover, dark trousers and a black baseball cap.Police said the four victims are German citizens aged 21, 32 and two aged 24. One of the victims remains in a life-threatening condition, police said. They added that officers were not yet able to interview any of the victims, meaning the description of the suspected attacker couldn’t yet be verified.Authorities have asked members of the public with any information about the attack...