SAG Awards 2024: See the complete list of nominees
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The nominations for the 30th Screen Actors Guild Awards have been announced. Wednesday's announcement heaped honors on “Oppenheimer,” “Barbie” and “American Fiction,” while snubbing Leonardo DiCaprio for best actor. The nominees for the guild’s top award, best ensemble are: “American Fiction,” “Barbie,” The Color Purple,” “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Oppenheimer.” On the television side, the nominees for best drama ensemble are: The Crown”; “The Gilded Age”; “The Last of Us”; “The Morning Show” and “Succession.” The SAG Awards are closely watched as an Oscar bellwether. The awards ceremony will take place Feb. 24 and be streamed live on Netflix.
Alabama's Nick Saban retires after 7 national titles, most in major college football history
Alabama coach Nick Saban is retiring after winning more national championships than any other major college football coach. Saban won seven national championships and turned Alabama back into a national powerhouse that included six of those titles in 17 seasons. He made the announcement Wednesday. Saban led the Tide to nine Southeastern Conference championships and won his first national title at Alabama with a 14-0 season in 2009. Titles came again in 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017 and 2020. He also won a national title with LSU in 2003.
Pat McAfee announces Aaron Rodgers' appearances are over for the rest of this NFL season
Aaron Rodgers’ Tuesday appearances on “The Pat McAfee Show” are over for the rest of this NFL season, possibly longer. McAfee announced at the beginning of his Wednesday show on ESPN that his fourth season of doing a weekly segment with the New York Jets quarterback had concluded. As his staff applauded in the background, McAfee said a lot of people would be happy to hear that news, including himself. Rodgers implied during a Jan. 2 appearance on McAfee’s show that comic Jimmy Kimmel’s name might appear on a list of associates of Jeffrey Epstein, a millionaire accused of sex trafficking involving underage victims before he died by suicide.
The largest great ape to ever live went extinct because of climate change, study finds
WASHINGTON (AP) — A study suggests an ancient species of great ape was likely driven to extinction by environmental changes. Scientists in China and Australia reported Wednesday on the demise of a great ape that once lived in southern China. The apes survived for around 2 million years and were the largest great ape known to scientists. They stood 10 feet tall and weighed up to 650 pounds. They munched on fruits and flowers in the tropical forests until the environment began to change. Then their preferred foods weren't available during the dry seasons. The giant species couldn't adapt as smaller apes did by climbing trees for more food. The study's findings were published in the journal Nature.
Police investigation finds Colorado US Rep. Lauren Boebert didn’t punch ex-husband as he claimed
DENVER (AP) — Police say U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert has been cleared of domestic violence allegations made by her ex-husband. Police said Wednesday that Jayson Boebert recanted his claim that she punched him during an altercation in a restaurant on Saturday. They'd gone there to try to get on better terms, according to police and court documents, but the conversation became heated. Jayson Boebert was arrested Tuesday on misdemeanor charges stemming from the incident in the rural Colorado town of Silt after he allegedly refused to cooperate with police and then had to be forcibly removed from the restaurant. He is also accused of getting into a physical fight with the couple’s 18-year-old son on Tuesday.
Alaska Airlines cancels flights on certain Boeing planes through Saturday for mandatory inspections
Alaska Airlines is canceling all flights on Boeing 737 Max 9 planes until Saturday while it waits for new instructions on how to inspect and fix the planes. The airline said Wednesday that could mean canceling up to 150 flights a day. Federal officials grounded Boeing Max 9s after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines jet in midflight on Friday night. Alaska and United Airlines are the only U.S. carriers affected by the grounding.
Engine maker Cummins to repair 600,000 Ram trucks in $2 billion emissions cheating scandal
DETROIT (AP) — Engine maker Cummins Inc. will recall 600,000 Ram trucks as part of a settlement with federal and California authorities that also requires the company to remedy environmental damage caused by illegal software that let it skirt diesel emissions tests. New details of the settlement, reached in December, were released Wednesday. Cummins had already agreed to a $1.675 billion civil penalty to settle claims – the largest ever secured under the Clean Air Act – plus $325 million for pollution remedies. That brings Cummins’ total penalty to more than $2 billion, which officials from the Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board and the California Attorney General called “landmark” on Wednesday.
Amazon's Twitch cuts more than 500 jobs attempting to turn expensive platform profitable
Twitch, the video game streaming platform acquired by Amazon a decade ago for close to $1 billion, is laying off more than 500 employees as the company tries to turn the tremendously expensive division profitable. Twitch CEO Dan Clancy in an email to employees said that even with cost cuts and growing more efficient, the platform “is still meaningfully larger than it needs to be given the size of our business.” Twitch was built for a generation of people raised with video games and like to watch some of the best gamers in the world as many people watch professional sports.
Nearly 10,000 died from COVID-19 last month, fueled by holiday gatherings and new variant, WHO says
GENEVA (AP) — The head of the U.N. health agency says holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December, while hospital admissions during the month jumped 42% in nearly 50 countries — mostly in Europe and the Americas — that shared such trend information. He says the JN.1 variant is now the most prominent in the world and it's certain that COVID cases are rising in countries that didn't report data to WHO. Agency officials expect COVID and other respiratory diseases to continue spreading through the northern hemisphere's winter.
Kentucky Derby purse raised to $5 million for 150th race in May
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Derby purse has been raised to $5 million for the 150th edition in May. The increase of $2 million was announced Wednesday by Churchill Downs. The 1 1/2-mile race will be May 4. Previously, the Derby purse had been $3 million since 2019. It was $2 million from 2005-18 and $1 million from 1996-2004. This year’s winner will receive $3.1 million. The runner-up will earn $1 million; third is worth $500,000; fourth is $250,000; and fifth is $150,000. Churchill says the hikes are possible because of its investment in historical horse racing, which boosts funding for purse money.
