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Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown reels in subscribers as it raises prices for its premium plan

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Netflix on Wednesday disclosed summertime subscriber gains that surpassed industry analysts’ projections, signaling the video streaming service’s crackdown on password sharing is converting former freeloaders into paying customers.In an effort to bring in even more revenue, Netflix also announced it’s raising the price for its most expensive streaming service by $2 to $23 per month in the U.S. — a 10% increase — and its lowest-priced, ad-free streaming plan to $12 — another $2 bump. The $15.50 per month price for Netflix’s most popular streaming option in the U.S. will remain unchanged, as will a $7 monthly plan that includes intermittent commercials.It also raised its prices for subscribers in the U.K. and France.The company added nearly 8.8 million worldwide subscribers during the July-September period, more than tripling the number gained during the same time last year when Netflix was scrambling to recover from a downturn in customers during the ...

Thrift store chain case was no bargain for Washington attorney general; legal fees top $4.2 million

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s long-running legal case against the thrift store chain Savers Value Village turned out to be no bargain, as the state has been ordered to pay the company nearly $4.3 million in legal fees.King County Superior Court Judge David Whedbee issued the award on Tuesday, eight months after the state Supreme Court unanimously rejected the attorney general’s claims that marketing practices by the thrift store chain were deceptive. The judge called the state’s lawsuit “needless.”“Defending and fully prevailing in this lawsuit was burdensome and costly,” Richard Medway, Savers Value Village general counsel, said in an emailed statement. “But the result underscored the many positive aspects of our unique business model, which benefits the environment, consumers, and our many nonprofit partners.”Savers Value Village, which is based in Bellevue, Washington, and operates more than 300 stores in the U.S., Canada and Au...

Brazil congressional report recommends charges against Bolsonaro over riots

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A Brazilian congressional panel on Wednesday accused former President Jair Bolsonaro of instigating the country’s Jan. 8 riots and recommended that he be charged with attempting to stage a coup.An inquiry panel of senators and representatives mostly allied with the current leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — who narrowly defeated Bolsonaro in last fall’s election — voted 20-11 to adopt the damning report drafted by Sen. Eliziane Gama.The move was largely symbolic because it amounts to a recommendation for police and prosecutors to investigate, and federal law enforcement officials separately have already been investigating Bolsonaro’s possible role in inciting the Jan. 8 uprising.Bolsonaro has denied involvement in the rioting, which took place more than a week after the right-wing leader had quietly left the country to stay in Florida while refusing to attend Lula’s inauguration.“It’s completely biased,” Bolsonaro said Wednesday of the inquiry, in co...

Concert Review: Lauryn Hill’s 25th ‘Miseducation’ celebration passes with a grade curve

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — “Twenty-five years of support. 25 years of love… it’s our first show, it’s a little challenging because we’re home, and I’ve been emotional.”Those were the words Lauryn Hill spoke to an adoring crowd as she kicked off the “Ms. Lauryn Hill & Fugees: Miseducation of Lauryn Hill 25th Anniversary Tour.” Throughout the night, the artist who now styles herself as Ms. Lauryn Hill, re-lived songs from her iconic album in Newark, New Jersey’s Prudential Center, located about 20 minutes away from her hometown of East Orange.Standing regally with flowy black pants, jeweled sunglasses and a white shirt with oversized balloon sleeves covered by an enormous, reddish floral-like cape, Hill triumphantly proclaimed, “New Jersey, I’m home!”As a packed house stood on their feet, the eclectic singer, flanked by a sizeable band which included a string section, began with a powerful rendition of “Everything is Everything.” Accompanying Hill were marching band students from her alma ma...

Complainant’s ex-husband, mother testify at Peter Nygard sexual assault trial

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

TORONTO — The ex-husband of a woman who has accused Peter Nygard of sexual assault testified Wednesday that he and the complainant agreed she was “absolutely” taken advantage of, but they struggled to determine whether what happened could be considered rape at the time.Societal attitudes were different more than three decades ago, he testified, and they both wondered if her allegations against a powerful fashion mogul could lead to a conviction.  “She asked me point blank, ‘Do you think I was raped?’ And we talked about that a long time. It’s 30 years ago, so society’s attitudes have changed,” he said of the conversation that took place during a date in the early 1990s. “We both knew it was wrong, we both knew she had been absolutely taken advantage of, if not raped, but we both had a hard time wrestling with the fact of if she was or not.”The identities of the complainant and the man are protected by a publication ban. Nyg...

Texas city settles lawsuit over police response to Trump supporters surrounding Biden bus in 2020

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas city on Wednesday agreed to a $175,000 settlement with passengers on one of President Joe Biden’s campaign buses in 2020, including Democrat Wendy Davis, who accused police of ignoring their calls for help after a caravan of Donald Trump supporters surrounded them on a highway. The episode took place days before the November election as the bus approached Austin. Video that circulated widely on social media at the time showed trucks with large Trump flags driving close to the bus, which had campaign surrogates and staffers on board but not the candidates. A lawsuit filed by Davis, a former state senator who ran for Texas governor in 2014, and the other passengers accused San Marcos police of ignoring “acts of violent political intimidation” and abdicating their responsibility by not sending an escort despite multiple 911 calls made from the bus. Under the settlement, the City of San Marcos also agreed to give officers additional training that inclu...

Armed robbers target Tigers’ Dominican complex in latest robbery of MLB facility in the country

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The Detroit Tigers complex in the Dominican Republic was targeted Wednesday in the latest robbery of a Major League Baseball facility in the country, police said.One man was apprehended and police are searching for four others who entered the complex with guns, restrained the security guard and went to the players’ rooms to steal valuables and cash, Dominican Police spokesman Diego Pesqueira told The Associated Press.The robbery happened days after the St. Louis Cardinals complex in the country was hit. The facilities of the Miami Marlins and Cleveland Guardians were also robbed recently, a person familiar with the robberies told the AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose the details publicly.Nobody was hurt in the Tigers’ and Cardinals’ robberies, authorities said.Dominican police are investigating whether the robberies are connected. Five men also broke into the Car...

US resumes deportation flights to Venezuela with more than 100 migrants on board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

MAIQUETIA, Venezuela (AP) — Deportation flights of Venezuelans from the U.S. resumed Wednesday with a first plane of more than a hundred migrants landing back in their economically troubled country under the Biden administration’s latest efforts to deal with swelling numbers of asylum-seekers. This is the first time in years that U.S. immigration authorities are deporting people to the South American nation, marking a significant concession by the government of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro to a longtime adversary.The first plane, a Boeing 737 jet, took off from the Texas border city of Harlingen and touched down in Miami before arriving hours later outside Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. The roughly 130 passengers were Venezuelan women and men who were shuttled to the plane on buses, and wore wrist and ankle restraints. As they boarded, U.S. immigration officers patted them down.“This flight to Venezuela is the first I’ve seen in my career of an entire charte...

Tropical Storm Tammy forms in tropical Atlantic heading toward group of islands, forecasters say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Tammy formed Wednesday afternoon in the Atlantic Ocean, putting a group of islands on alert for its expected approach.The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said Tammy was centered at 5 p.m. EDT about 625 miles (1,005 kilometers) east of the Windward Islands. It was moving briskly to the west at 23 mph (37 kph) and expected to gradually strengthen in coming days.Tropical storm watches have been issued for Barbados, Dominica, and Martinique and Guadeloupe. Forecasters said tropical storm conditions were possible in the region starting within 48 hours and that further watches and warnings will likely be required Wednesday night or Thursday. Tammy is initially expected to spread heavy rains over the northern Windward and Leeward Islands through Friday and then across the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico over the weekend, according to the hurricane center.The center’s opening advisory on Tammy said total rainfall could measure between ...

Delta Air Lines scales back changes to its loyalty program after a revolt by customers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:43 GMT

Delta Air Lines is backtracking slightly on changes it previously announced in its frequent-flyer program, but it still plans to reshape SkyMiles to favor big spenders over customers who take the most flights.Delta outlined the revisions in an email from CEO Ed Bastian to SkyMiles members on Wednesday. “I have read hundreds of your emails, and what’s been most clear to me is how much you love Delta and the disappointment many of you felt by the significance of the changes,” Bastian wrote.The objections focused on the difficulty of achieving elite status and new restrictions on entering airport lounges.Delta announced the changes in mid-September, saying they were needed to address overcrowding at the lounges and a surge in elite-status customers that was making it harder to score upgrades.The airline proposed to make spending with Delta the only way to reach elite status — no longer counting flights taken or miles flown. In simplifying the path to status, Delta sharply raised spendi...