Travel

The Harry Potter Studio Tour experience is going to China

Feb. 12, 2025

Warner Bros. Discovery announced its intention Wednesday to build a “Harry Potter Studio Tour” in Shanghai. The company is partnering with Jinjiang International, which made the news official on its WeChat account. The interactive experience is expected to open in 2027 in the existing Jinjiang Action Park. Currently, there are two Harry Potter Studio Tours: the original in London and another in Tokyo. “The Harry Potter Studio Tour will take visitors on a fascinating behind-the-scenes tour,” Jinjiang said in the post, “allowing them to gain a deep understanding of the magical world of Harry Potter.”

Travel

One of Paris’ most popular attractions is closing for 5 years. It’s about to be ‘reinvented’

Feb. 12, 2025

When it first opened in 1977, the Centre Pompidou sent shockwaves through Parisian society. The mammoth cultural center, with its industrial exterior and brightly colored exposed pipes, stood out like a sore thumb on the fringes of the French capital’s historic Marais district. Its inside-out construction could not have been further from the surrounding buildings, created in Georges-Eugène Haussmann’s 19th century renovation of Paris, with their trademark tall windows and wrought iron balconies. But that was the point. When former French president Georges Pompidou laid out his vision for the attraction, which would go on to take his name, he was inspired by the eye-catching architecture of modern museums like the Guggenheim in New York.

International News

Trump says he spoke to Putin about ending the war in Ukraine

Feb. 12, 2025

President Donald Trump said that he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone Wednesday about ending the war in Ukraine and that Putin indicated he would be willing to negotiate directly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "As we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine," Trump wrote on Truth Social about their first known call of his second term.

International News

Pete Hegseth tells NATO that a return to Ukraine's 2014 borders is 'unrealistic'

Feb. 12, 2025

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that it is “unrealistic” to aim for a return to Ukraine’s borders as they were before 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and supported separatists who took over swaths of the country’s east. The remarks are the clearest indication yet that the United States will support negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in which Ukraine cedes territory that’s already been seized by the Kremlin.

International News

Russian missile attack on Kyiv kills one, Ukraine says

Feb. 12, 2025

A predawn Russian missile salvo on the Ukrainian capital killed at least one civilian and injured four others on Wednesday, starting several fires in the city of three million, Ukrainian officials said. A series of powerful explosions shook the capital around 4:30 a.m. local time (9:30 Tuesday ET) as local officials said air defenses were working to thwart the attacks.

Travel

China hopes new fleet of ‘silver trains’ will encourage its elderly to travel, and spend, more

Feb. 12, 2025

China will launch a fleet of special “silver trains” specially built for the comfort and safety of elderly people to encourage its rapidly ageing population to travel – and spend – more, as it grapples with a demographic decline and stuttering economy. Berths in the new trains will be tailored to be more comfortable for elderly travelers and come with features like handrails, oxygen bottles and emergency call buttons, according to state-run national tabloid Global Times.

Travel

United Regional Jet slides off taxiway at an icy St. Louis Lambert Airport

Feb. 12, 2025

A plane carrying 27 passengers, including crew, slid off the taxiway before coming to a stop at St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) late Wednesday morning, according to a news release from the airport. The United Regional Jet operated by GoJet Airlines, which departed from Washington Dulles International Airport, went into a section of grass just before 11 a.m. after landing at the airport on Runway 11-29, according to the release. No injuries were reported, and passengers were placed on airport buses and immediately transported to the airport terminal, the release said.

Entertainment

Prince Andrew s Jeffrey Epstein link has disgraced duke petrified to step foot on US soil expert

Feb. 12, 2025

Disgraced Duke of York reportedly kept in contact with late American financier and convicted sex offender for longer than he claimed

Sports

Last-gasp winner from Jude Bellingham gives Real Madrid advantage in Champions League playoff against Manchester City

Feb. 12, 2025

An 80th-minute penalty converted by Erling Haaland looked to have given City a 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium, but two late goals from Madrid swung the tie in their favor heading into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu in the Spanish capital on February 19. It was England international Jude Bellingham who once again saved the day for Los Blancos, providing the 92nd minute winner in stoppage time with almost the last kick of the game. “It was a complete performance by the team from an attacking point of view, and we showed that with the right levels of commitment, we can do anything,” Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said after the win.

Weather

From coast to coast, winter weather is making a mess of things

Feb. 12, 2025

The second of a pair of major winter storms socked the Midwest and the Plains on Wednesday, blanketing Chicago with snow, causing vehicle crashes and slide-offs in Nebraska and icing roads in Missouri. The winter weather had 100 million people from Colorado to Maine under winter weather alerts and warnings early Wednesday, as one storm that hit the mid-Atlantic on Tuesday eased and the second struck the Midwest.