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An early version of Mickey Mouse is now in the public domain

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:57:30 GMT

(CNN) — Mickey Mouse no longer belongs solely to the Walt Disney Company.On January 1, 2024, an early version of the entertainment company’s mascot, featured in Walt Disney’s 1928 short film, “Steamboat Willie,” entered the public domain for the first time.The good-humored rodent, which has been synonymous with the Disney brand for nearly a century, has grown into one of the most iconic characters in American pop culture. But since US copyright law, last updated by Congress in 1998, allows copyright to be held for 95 years, Disney’s sole claim to the character has officially ended.While we might start seeing more of Mickey, there are caveats.In a statement to CNN, a Disney spokesperson said “More modern versions of Mickey will remain unaffected by the expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright, and Mickey will continue to play a leading role as a global ambassador for the Walt Disney Company in our storytelling, theme park attractions, and merchandise.”There are dif...

More Americans can now get insulin for $35

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:57:30 GMT

(CNN) — More Americans with diabetes will get a break on their insulin costs in 2024.Sanofi is joining the nation’s two other major insulin manufacturers in offering either price caps or savings programs that lower the cost of the drugs to $35 for many patients. The three drugmakers are also drastically lowering the list prices for their products.The moves were announced in the spring, but some didn’t take effect until January 1.Drugmakers have come under fire for years for steeply raising the price of insulin, which is relatively inexpensive to produce. The inflation-adjusted cost of the medication has increased 24% between 2017 and 2022, and spending on insulin has tripled in the past decade to $22.3 billion in 2022, according to the American Diabetes Association.Some 8.4 million Americans rely on insulin to survive, and as many as 1 in 4 patients have been unable to afford their medicine, leading them to ration doses – sometimes with fatal ramifications, according to th...

New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu suggests Chris Christie should drop White House bid

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:57:30 GMT

(CNN) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu suggested Sunday that Chris Christie should drop out of the 2024 presidential race before his state’s primary, declaring the former New Jersey governor has reached a “dead end.”Sununu, who has endorsed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the Republican primary, told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” that “the only person that wants Chris Christie to stay in the race is Donald Trump.”“I think all these candidates know it’s always kind of a long shot. And at the end of the day the only person moving is Nikki Haley. Chris Christie isn’t going to make up 30 points in the next three weeks, right?” Sununu said.Haley, Sununu added, is the candidate who “can make up five or 10 points and kind of give Trump that defeat that no one thought was possible in the next few weeks. And I think that’s very likely to happen. So, again, I think the voters are going to come Nikki’s way. I think, ultimately, hopef...

The night sky will have a multitude of delights in store for stargazers in 2024. What to look for

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:57:30 GMT

(CNN) — The night sky will have a multitude of delights in store for stargazers in 2024.Full moons and meteor showers will light up the sky. An increase in solar activity is expected to cause auroras that will create colorful displays. And eclipse chasers have been counting down to 2024 since the “Great American Eclipse” of 2017 — because a total solar eclipse will travel across the United States in April.Many nights, there will be opportunities to spot different planets or look for the International Space Station as it orbits Earth.Keep your telescopes and binoculars at the ready, and don’t forget to snag a pair of eclipse glasses so you can safely watch the total solar eclipse.Full moons and supermoonsTwelve full moons will occur during 2024, and September and October’s lunar events will also be considered supermoons, according to EarthSky.Definitions of a supermoon can vary, but the term generally denotes a full moon that is close...

Hours before dawn, police find man dead in Boston’s first fatal shooting of 2024

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:57:30 GMT

The sun had not yet risen and less than 6 hours of the new year passed before the city of Boston recorded its first shooting death of 2024.According to the Boston Police Department, officers assigned to District 11 in Dorchester were sent to High Street around 5:30 a.m. in response to reports a person had been shot.“On arrival the officers located an adult male victim outside that address suffering from a gunshot wound. The victim was pronounced deceased at the scene,” police said in a statement.Other than to say the department’s Homicide Unit “is actively reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident,” no other information was offered. Police did not release the name of the deceased man.Anyone with information about the shooting death is “strongly urged” to call the Boston Police Homicide Unit at 617-343-4470.According to data provided by the BPD, the shooting followed an otherwise quiet holiday in the city. The department recorded 138 incidents in the 24 hours af...

Boston City Council selects Ruthzee Louijeune as new president

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:57:30 GMT

After weeks of speculation, Ruthzee Louijeune’s November claim that she had the votes to become the next Boston City Council president turned out to be correct, as her colleagues selected her to lead the body in the first meeting of the new year.While multiple councilors were jockeying for the position, the final vote of 13-0 on Monday was unanimous, with at-Large Councilor Louijeune garnering overwhelming support to succeed Ed Flynn as the next council president.Louijeune was nominated by Councilor Gabriela Coletta, and officially took control of the meeting from Liz Breadon, who as the oldest city councilor, presided over the beginning, as Flynn’s term ended Dec. 31.“I am just overcome with emotion, with gratitude,” Louijeune said after the New Year’s Day vote. “We have real work to do, and I’m so excited to do it alongside each and every one of you.”In her speech, she noted that she wasn’t the first Black woman to lead the Council, while thanking now-Attorney General Andrea Campb...

Japan lowers tsunami warning after a series of earthquakes but tells people to stay away from coast

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:57:30 GMT

By YURI KAGEYAMA (Associated Press)TOKYO (AP) — Japan dropped its highest-level tsunami alert after issuing one following a series of major earthquakes Monday but told residents of coastal areas not to return to their homes as deadly waves could still come.The quakes, the largest of which had a magnitude of 7.6, started a fire and collapsed buildings on the west coast of Japan’s main island, Honshu. It was unclear how many people might have been killed or hurt.The Japan Meteorological Agency reported more than a dozen strong quakes in the Japan Sea off the coast of Ishikawa and nearby prefectures starting shortly after 4 p.m. local time.At least six homes were damaged by the quakes, with people trapped inside, government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said. A fire broke out in Wajima city, Ishikawa Prefecture, and electricity was out for more than 30,000 households, he said. The meteorological agency initially issued a major tsunami warning for Ishikawa and lower-level tsun...

These San Diego-area Rose Parade floats earned the judges' top honors

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:57:30 GMT

SAN DIEGO — The Pasadena Tournament of Roses marched through Pasadena for the 135th year on New Year's Day, and San Diego still had quite a presence in the parade.While no cities in the county participated this year, there were a handful of floats representing America's Finest, as well as a exciting band and equestrian performances — all tied into the parade's theme, "Celebrating a World of Music: The Universal Language."But two floats with a San Diego connection particularly stood out to the judges, taking home some of the top trophies for the year.The San Diego Zoo's float, called "It Began With A Roar," snagged the coveted "Sweepstakes" award for the most beautiful entry in the parade. The honor encompasses float design, floral presentation and entertainment.Featuring a design inspired by its 107-year history, the float from the San Diego Zoo was adorned with thousands of seeds, bark, flowers and other organic materials to bring some of the most iconic wildlife residing in the zo...

Mexican actor Ana Ofelia Murguía, who voiced Mama Coco in ‘Coco,’ dies at 90

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:57:30 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican actor Ana Ofelia Murguía, who gave voice to the character of “Mama Coco” in the popular Pixar film “Coco,” has died, Mexican officials said. She was 90.Mexico’s National Fine Arts Institute announced Murguía’s death Sunday without providing a cause of death.“She leaves an enormous void on our country’s sets,” Culture Secretary Alejandra Frausto Guerrero said in a statement.“Coco,” which was released in 2017, brought Murguía to an international audience late in life. But the actor had a long acting career in Mexican film and television, and on the stage. She appeared in some 70 plays and 90 movies, including ‘Life Sentence’ (1979) and ’The Queen of the Night’ (1994).In the animated “‘Coco,” she voiced the soft-spoken great-grandmother of a boy discovering his family’s musical history.In April, the National Autonomous University of Mexico awarded Murguía its Ingmar Bergman Medal for leaving “an indelible mark” on Mexican film and theater.In her a...

Peter Magubane, a South African photographer who captured 40 years of apartheid, dies at age 91

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 13:57:30 GMT

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Peter Magubane, a fearless photographer who captured the violence and horror of South Africa’s apartheid era of racial oppression, and was entrusted with documenting Nelson Mandela’s first years of freedom after his release from prison, has died. He was 91.Magubane died Monday, according to the South African National Editors’ Forum, which said it had been informed of his death by his family.He was a “legendary photojournalist,” the editors’ forum said. The South African government said Magubane “covered the most historic moments in the liberation struggle against apartheid.”Magubane photographed 40 years of apartheid South Africa, including the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, the trial of Mandela and others in 1964, and the Soweto uprising of 1976, when thousands of Black students protested against the apartheid government’s law making the Afrikaans language compulsory in school.The Soweto uprising became a pivotal moment in th...