Author: CNN

CNN
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Gwyneth Paltrow has issued a plea to Marvel fans far and wide.

On Wednesday, the Goop founder answered questions from her followers on her Instagram story and responded to one passionate entry that demanded Paltrow “answer the question” about why she stopped appearing in Marvel films.

“Oh. My. God. Stop yelling at me,” Paltrow playfully said in her video response, going on to say “We just stopped doing it because Iron Man died.”

She continued to posit, “Why do you need Pepper Potts without Iron Man? I don’t know…” and then suggested fans “go call up Marvel and yell at them, not me! I’m just sitting here.”

The Oscar-winner hasn’t appeared as Potts in a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie since 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” – the movie wherein Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), aka Tony Stark, indeed died.

Paltrow first appeared in the role of Potts, Stark’s personal-assistant-turned-love interest, in 2008’s “Iron Man,” and went on to portray the character for over a decade in the two “Iron Man” sequels and three of the “Avengers” movies.

She also appeared as Potts in 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” but hilariously admitted to “Iron Man” director Jon Faverau and celebrity chef Roy Choi that she didn’t even remember being in the Tom Holland-led movie during a 2019 episode of Netflix’s “The Chef Show.”

Despite her fuzzy memory and Stark’s demise, Paltrow suggested she’s open to the idea of returning to the MCU earlier this year while speaking with Scarlett Johansson (aka the Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff) on the Goop Podcast.

“I mean I didn’t die, so I guess they can always ask me to (come back),” she said.

So, can we get that number for Marvel? We’d like to make a call…

CNN
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The US government has filed a motion to stop a Titanic expedition planned for 2024, citing a law that protects and preserves the shipwreck as a gravesite.

The expedition has been organized by RMS Titanic Inc., a company that owns the exclusive salvage rights to the remains of the Titanic.

The legal battle comes just a few months after a Titanic tourist submersible vessel went missing and suffered a catastrophic implosion, killing all five passengers on board. The United States’ motion is not related to that incident, which involved just a tour of the wreckage rather than an effort to recover anything from the shipwreck site.

In the motion, filed in a federal court in Virginia, the US argues RMS Titanic Inc. must “obtain an authorization from the Secretary of Commerce” before conducting “any research, exploration, salvage, or other activity that would physically alter or disturb the wreck or wreck site of the R.M.S. Titanic unless authorized by the Secretary of Commerce.”

The remains of the Titanic were first discovered in 1985 on the Canadian continental shelf. In order to protect the wreck site from any potential harm or physical altering caused by American salvors, Congress passed the Titanic Memorial Act in 1986. The act directed the State Department and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration – which is under the Department of Commerce – to negotiate an international agreement, which entered into force in 2019.

RMS Titanic Inc. obtained the salvage rights through an order entered by the US District Court in Norfolk, Virginia, in June 1994, according to the filing.

The US argued in court documents filed Friday, that per the international agreement, “RMST is not free to disregard this validly enacted federal law.”

A similar legal battle took place in 2020.

RMS Titanic Inc. had said they wanted to recover the ship’s radio – a request that was granted in May 2020 by a US district judge. In that filing, the court stated they found that the company’s plan “seeks to minimize disturbance to the rest of the Titanic wreck, including to the hull of the ship and the remains of those 1,500 souls lost in the sinking of the ship.” The US government, however, filed a legal challenge to stop that planned mission, which ultimately never happened.

RMS Titanic Inc. said in a periodic report filed this June that the company is planning for a 2024 expedition but does “not intend to seek a permit,” according to the motion filed by the US government.

The US Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Virginia told CNN, “We are not giving any additional statements beyond what’s contained in the filing at this point.”

CNN has reached out to RMS Titanic Inc. as well as the lawyer representing the company for comment.

The Titanic sank on her maiden voyage on April 14, 1912, after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic. The ship did not have enough lifeboats for the approximately 2,220 people on board. More than 1,500 people lost their lives in the accident, and the Titanic became the most famous shipwreck in history.

CNN
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Hollywood star Florence Pugh has spoken out once again on the criticism she received last year for wearing a sheer dress which left her nipples visible, saying “it’s the freedom that people are scared of.”

The “Oppenheimer” star used an interview with Elle magazine, published Wednesday, to revisit the body-shaming comments she was sent after appearing in the sheer pink, tulle, halter-neck Valentino gown at the brand’s show in Rome in July 2022.

Pugh laid out the thinking behind wearing the dress and her response to the backlash.

“I speak the way I do about my body because I’m not trying to hide the cellulite on my thigh or the squidge in between my arm and my boob: I would much rather lay it all out,” she said.

“I think the scariest thing for me are the instances where people have been upset that I’ve shown ‘too much’ of myself.

“When everything went down with the Valentino pink dress a year ago, my nipples were on display through a piece of fabric, and it really wound people up. It’s the freedom that people are scared of; the fact I’m comfortable and happy,” added Pugh.

“Keeping women down by commenting on their bodies has worked for a very long time. I think we’re in this swing now where lots of people are saying, ‘I don’t give a sh*t,’” she continued. “We need to keep reminding everybody that there is more than one reason for women’s bodies [to exist].”

Pugh was speaking to Elle after being named “British Icon” at the magazine’s Style Awards.

It’s not the first time the 27-year-old actress has responded to the reaction her outfit last July received. She opened up about the “aggressive” and “vulgar” comments that were made about her breasts and nipples in an Instagram post at the time.

“What’s been interesting to watch and witness is just how easy it is for men to totally destroy a woman’s body, publicly, proudly, for everyone to see,” she said.

“It isn’t the first time and certainly won’t be the last time a woman will hear what’s wrong with her body by a crowd of strangers, what’s worrying is just how vulgar some of you men can be.”

Pugh went on to question: “Why are you so scared of breasts?”

CNN
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Hurricane Idalia roared across Florida’s Big Bend Wednesday morning as a dangerous and record-breaking Category 3 storm, leaving a deadly trail of destruction from powerful winds, pounding rain, and catastrophic storm surge.

Many organizations began preparing ahead of the storm’s arrival and are already on the ground responding to the disaster. You can help support relief efforts via the form below or click HERE.

Impact Your World will continue to monitor and vet ways to help and update as information comes in.

London
CNN
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Microsoft will allow business customers in Europe to buy its video and chat app Teams separately from its Office software, it said Thursday, a month after the European Union opened an antitrust investigation into the company’s bundling of the products.

The change will take effect from October 1, affecting business customers in the EU and four other European countries that use Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites.

Microsoft (MSFT) will also make it easier for other companies — for example, Zoom and Slack, which is owned by Salesforce — to integrate their products with Microsoft 365, the new name for Office 365.

“We believe these changes balance the interests of our competitors with those of European business customers, providing them with access to the best possible solutions at competitive prices,” Nanna-Louise Linde, the company’s vice-president for European government affairs, said in a blog post.

Microsoft will continue to engage with the investigation and “remain open to exploring pragmatic solutions that benefit both customers and developers in Europe,” she added.

The company will charge “core enterprise customers” €2 ($2.2) less per month for Microsoft 365 and Office 365 — which include Word, Excel and Outlook among other apps — without the popular Teams app.

New customers in Europe will be able to buy Teams, best-known for its video-conferencing feature, separately for €5 ($5.4) per month.

“Existing enterprise customers who already have a suite with Teams can choose to stay with their current productivity suite or to move to a without-Teams suite,” Linde said.

The EU launched its probe into possible anticompetitive practices by Microsoft following a 2020 complaint by Slack that alleged Microsoft illegally tied Teams to its dominant workplace software.

CNN
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Oliver Anthony is continuing to make his voice heard after becoming an overnight sensation thanks to his viral working-class anthem, “Rich Men North of Richmond.”

In a YouTube video shared on Friday, the singer addressed his song having been played at this week’s 2024 Republican presidential primary debate, saying that he found it “funny” because the song “is written about the people on that stage.”

“The one thing that has bothered me is seeing people wrap politics up into this,” Anthony said. “It’s aggravating seeing people on conservative news try to identify with me, like I’m one of them. It’s aggravating seeing certain musicians and politicians act like we’re buddies and act like we’re fighting the same struggle here, like that we’re trying to present the same message.”

The song, in which Anthony sings about working hard and paying taxes just to “waste (his) life away,” has been embraced by conservatives.

Anthony, though, was critical in the video toward both sides of the political spectrum and said his ballad “has nothing to do” with Democratic President Joe Biden.

“It’s hard to get a message out about your political ideology or your belief about the world in three minutes and some change,” he said,”but I do hate to see that song being weaponized.”

“I see the right trying to characterize me as one of their own, and I see the left trying to discredit me, I guess in retaliation. That sh*t’s gotta stop,” he continued.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier, who served as one of the debate moderators, told Politico in an interview published Friday that the network had approval to air the song during its debate.

“Rich Men North of Richmond” has racked up millions of views on social media in less than a week and debuted No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Of his sudden success and dealing with the “music industry,” Anthony noted in Friday’s video “how dirty everything is. It’s worse than you think.”

He also observed that according to the YouTube reaction videos to “Rich Men North of Richmond,” it’s not just conservative people who have been moved by the song, saying it’s a much more diverse group of people.

The track has received praise from country stars like Travis Tritt and John Rich of Big & Rich – though it has also courted controversy for its lyrics referring to politicians who “look out” for “minors on an island” and “obese” welfare recipients “milking” the system.

As for his personal politics, Anthony previously said a separate video that he sits “pretty dead center down the aisle” and finds fault with leaders on both the left and the right.

New York
CNN
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Dollar General slashed its sales and profit outlook for the year on Thursday, blaming headwinds including weaker consumer spending on non-essential purchases and increasing theft.

Dollar General shares tumbled nearly 17% in pre-market trading Thursday.

The discount store’s challenges are yet another sign of American consumers pulling back on shopping as inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

“One of the key reasons for this is because Dollar General’s core customers are feeling the acute pressure of the cost-of-living-crisis,” Neil Saunders, retail analyst and managing director at GlobalData, said in a report Thursday.

“This has been exacerbated by cuts in SNAP payments as temporary pandemic benefits came to an end. As a result, lower-income shoppers are cutting back on non-consumable and indulgent purchases from the chain in a bid to save money,” he said. “Unfortunately, this dynamic will not change any time soon as, if anything, finances will tighten over the second half of the year.”

The discount retailer now expects sales for the full year to rise between 1.3% to 3.3%, down from its previous forecast of a 3.5% to 5% increase. It expects full-year earnings to decline 22% to 34% from its previous estimate of a flat-to-8% decrease.

The retailer said its same-store sales (or sales at stores open at least a year) are expected to range from a decline of about 1% to an increase of 1% for the year, compared to its previous expectation of a 1% to 2%. increase.

For its second quarter, Dollar General logged a 1% drop in its same-store sales. It said weaker customer traffic to its stores hurt sales in the period, combined with budget-conscious shoppers pulling back on higher-priced discretionary purchases such as home items and clothing in favor of lower-priced everyday necessities.

The Consumer Price Index rose 3.2% for the year through July, adding pressure on shoppers looking for bargains.

In addition, food stamp recipients started to receive about $90 a month less in benefits, on average, starting in March, as a pandemic hunger relief program comes to an end nationwide three years after Congress approved it.

Meanwhile, close on the heels of Dick’s Sporting Goods sounding the alarm on store theft eating into its profit this year, Dollar General also flagged an increase in product theft, among other factors, hurting its profit.

The company said “an increase in expected inventory shrink for the second half of 2023” factored into its lower guidance. Shrink is an industry term encompassing inventory losses caused by external theft, including organized retail crime, employee theft, human errors, vendor fraud, damaged or mismarked items and other losses.

Retailers large and small say they are struggling to contain an escalation in store crimes — from petty shoplifting to organized sprees of large-scale theft that clear entire shelves of products. Target warned earlier this year that it was bracing to lose half a billion dollars because of rising theft. It reported a large number of incidents of shoplifting and organized retail crime in its stores nationwide.

At the same time, it’s not clear that store crime is growing significantly more serious. Within the industry, at least one major player has argued that the problem is being overhyped.

A version of this story first appeared in CNN Business’ Before the Bell newsletter. Not a subscriber? You can sign up right here. You can listen to an audio version of the newsletter by clicking the same link.

CNN
 — 

After roaring higher for most of this year, the rally in tech stocks sputtered in August as investors grew increasingly worried about how long the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates high.

The pain in tech could continue.

Strong economic data in recent months has investors betting that the Fed will keep interest rates higher for longer. Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting released earlier this month revealed that officials worried over whether inflation would cool further without additional easing in the economy and labor market.

The odds of another rate hike later this year or early next have increased over the past month, even though the majority market view is still (narrowly) that the Fed is done. Hopes for a rate cut have been pushed back to May 2024, at the earliest.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note closed at about 4.32% on August 21, its highest since early November 2007. The same day, the 30-year yield notched its highest close since late April 2011 — about 4.46%.

That yield spike put pressure on stocks, since investors tend to favor bonds when they have attractive yields. Higher yields also mean companies will need to pay more interest on their debt in the future, eating into future cash flows.

Sustained, lofty yields could particularly pose a problem for tech stocks, which often trade at a premium because of the promise of rapid growth.

Any sell-off in tech could reverberate across the broader market, since those stocks are largely responsible for propelling this year’s rally.

Already, a cooldown in the tech rally has weighed on stocks.

The Nasdaq Composite index is on pace to notch its worst monthly performance this year and break its five-month winning streak. The benchmark S&P 500 index is also on track to snap a string of monthly gains for the same duration.

Still, some tech bulls aren’t deterred by the possibility of higher rates.

Ivana Delevska, founder and chief investment officer of Spear Invest, says she expects strong earnings from tech companies to offset potential pressure from elevated yields.

Her firm’s largest position is Nvidia, which has soared more than 200% this year largely on artificial intelligence enthusiasm. Spear also invests in other chipmakers such as Advanced Micro Devices and Marvell Technology among other tech names.

While stocks, including tech, have rallied a little again in recent days on cooler-than-expected economic data, two pieces of important economic data later this week will test the market: The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index for July, expected Thursday, and Friday’s August jobs report.

The US economy grew more slowly in the second quarter than previously estimated. That’s a good sign for the Federal Reserve, which is attempting to cool demand to bring down price increases, reports my colleague Bryan Mena.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of economic output, rose at an annualized rate of 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the Commerce Department’s second estimate, released Wednesday morning. That’s a slightly slower pace than the 2.4% the department initially estimated.

The second estimate factored in greater consumer spending, government outlays and exports, compared with the initial estimate. Meanwhile, business investment and inventories were revised lower. Business investment — referred to as nonresidential fixed investment — was revised to a 6.1% rate of growth, compared with a 7.7% rate in the first estimate.

Read more here.

The latest aviation employees to vote in favor of a strike are American Airlines flight attendants, reports CNN’s Gregory Wallace.

The union representing them, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, reported a 99.47% vote in favor of a strike authorization with 93% of union membership casting ballots.

“We’re pushing back and we’re fighting corporate greed, and corporate greed is alive here at American Airlines,” union president Julie Hedrick said Wednesday. The union says it represents more than 26,000 workers.

“We’re proud of the progress we’ve made in negotiations with the APFA, and we look forward to reaching an agreement that provides our flight attendants with real and meaningful value,” an American Airlines spokesperson said in a statement.

The vote doesn’t mean a strike is imminently expected, however. Airline workers and their employers face a series of lengthy steps before any actual strike could take place.

Read more here.

CNN
 — 

Military officers in Gabon have declared they were seizing power from President Ali Bongo Ondimba in a stunning coup, threatening the family’s half-century rule over the central African nation.

Men in army uniform appeared on national television Wednesday to announce the president’s house arrest during the military takeover, prompting celebrations and reports of gunfire on the streets of the capital – but condemnation overseas.

“It is brought to the attention of the national and international community that Ali Bongo Ondimba is being kept under house arrest,” an unnamed junta spokesperson said on state TV on Wednesday morning, adding that the ousted president is surrounded by his “family and doctors.”

The junta later announced that General Brice Oligui Nguema would act as a transitional leader. Speaking on national television surrounded by fellow soldiers on Wednesday evening, a spokesman for the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) said that Oligui had been “unanimously” designated as “president of the transition.”

The junta’s spokesperson said authorities will investigate charges against the president’s son, Nourredin Bongo Valentin, who was arrested alongside six other individuals for “high treason.”

The Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency aired a video of the president asking his “friends” to “make noise,” following his house arrest.

“My son is somewhere, my wife is another place,” he said.

“I am at the residence,” Bongo added, seated in what looks like a library. “Nothing is happening, I don’t know what’s going on.”

It was not immediately clear under what circumstances the film had been made.

Meanwhile, AFP showed video footage of soldiers in the capital Libreville celebrating in support of coup leader general Brice Oligui Nguema. He was seen on the shoulders of army personnel, who were shouting “president.”

Oligui told French newspaper Le Monde that military generals would meet on Wednesday to elect a leader for the transition of power, adding that he has not “yet” declared himself the new head of state in Gabon.

He said President Ali Bongo Ondimba, also known as Ali Bongo, has been “retired” and is enjoying “all his rights” as a “normal Gabonese” citizen. He refused to confirm if the president is under house arrest, following the announcement from the junta spokesperson. Ali Bongo, was earlier deemed the victor of a contested election.

The officers, claiming to represent “defense and security forces” in the country, made the announcement in a televised address on news channel Gabon24. It was viewed by CNN on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“On behalf of the Gabonese people and guarantor of the protection of institutions, CTRI [the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions] has decided to defend peace by putting an end to the regime in place,” a military officer said on the broadcast.

CNN cannot independently confirm the video, and has yet to reach Gabon’ government for comment.

In the broadcast, the military officer said the election results would be voided and the country’s borders would be shut. The officer added that all institutions in the country had been shut down, calling on Gabonese people to “remain calm.”

Loud sounds of gunfire could be heard in the capital Libreville, a Reuters reporter said, following the television appearance.

People in Gabon were seen dancing and celebrating on the streets of its capital, according to videos shared with CNN and posted on social media.

In one video obtained by CNN, people can be seen shouting “liberated!” and waving the Gabon flag in the Nzeng Ayong district of the capital, alongside military vehicles. 

The chair of the African Union’s Peace and Security Council, Willy Nyamitwe, convened an emergency meeting with representatives from Burundi, Cameroon and Senegal, following the coup.

In a statement on Wednesday, the African Union said the president of its commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat condemned the deposition and called on the coup actors to “return to democratic constitutional order.”

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu is “watching developments in Gabon very closely,” according to his spokesman, and is speaking to other heads of state within the African Union to decide “on the next steps forward.”

Criticism started to come in from around the world. France condemned the “military coup d’etat that is underway in Gabon,” government spokesperson Olivier Veran told journalists Wednesday.

The US Embassy advised its citizens in the capital to shelter, while the French foreign ministry urged its citizens in Gabon to “avoid or limit” travel.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday also condemned the “ongoing coup attempt as a means to resolve the post-electoral crisis” in Gabon, according to his spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric.

Guterres called on “all actors involved to exercise restraint” and urged the army and security forces to “guarantee the physical integrity of Ondimba and his family.

There have been nine coups in the past three years in former French colonies – Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Niger, Tunisia and now Gabon – that have undermined democratic progress in recent years.

Earlier Wednesday, Gabon’s election body said Bongo had won the presidential election with 64.27% of the vote, Reuters reported, after a delay-plagued general election that the opposition denounced as fraudulent.

Bongo’s main challenger, Albert Ondo Ossa, came in second place with 30.77%, said the election body. Bongo’s team had rejected Ondo Ossa’s allegations of electoral irregularities.

Ali Bongo, 64, took over from his father, Omar Bongo, who died of cardiac arrest while receiving treatment for intestinal cancer in a Spanish clinic in 2009, following nearly 42 years in office.

The elder Bongo came into power in 1967, seven years after the country’s independence from France.

He ruled over the small nation with an iron fist, imposing a one-party system for years and only allowing multi-party rule in 1991, though his party retained its grip on government.

Ali Bongo began his political career in 1981, serving as foreign minister and congressman from 1989 to 1991, according to the Gabonese embassy website in the US. He was defense minister from 1999, before becoming president in 2009.

In this week’s election Ali Bongo had 18 challengers, six of whom had backed Ondo Ossa, a former minister and university professor, in an effort to narrow the race. Many in the opposition were pushing for change in the oil-rich but poverty-stricken nation of 2.3 million.

Tensions were running high amid fears of unrest after Saturday’s vote, with international observers complaining of a lack of transparency.

Ahead of the election, the non-profit Reporters Without Borders condemned the Gabonese government for obstructing foreign press coverage of the event.

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Wednesday that “if (the situation in Gabon) is confirmed (that) it’s another military coup,” it would “increase instability in the whole region.”

This is far from the first time Gabon has seen a power struggle or unrest over Bongo’s rule, which has frequently been disputed by critics.

In 2016, the parliament building was torched when violent street protests erupted against Bongo’s contested re-election for his second term. The government shut down internet access for several days at the time.

A coup attempt came in 2019, when a group of soldiers and military officers stormed the state radio and television headquarters, took staff hostage, and declared they had taken control of the nation.

They cited their dissatisfaction with Bongo as president, vowing to “restore democracy” in the country – before Gabonese defense and security forces moved in to end the takeover and rescue the hostages. Two soldiers were killed and eight military officers arrested as a result.

CNN
 — 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused deep disruptions in the global food supply, raising prices and increasing the risk of food insecurity in poorer nations in the Middle East and North Africa, America’s top spy agency said in an unclassified report released by Congress on Wednesday.

The direct and indirect effects of the war “were major drivers of one of the most disruptive periods in decades for global food security,” the eight-page report found – in large part because Ukraine and Russia were among the world’s largest pre-war exporters of grain and other agricultural products.

Although food security concerns have abated since the start of this year, according to the report, the future trajectory of global food prices likely will depend in part on what happens with the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Russia ended in July. The deal, facilitated by the United Nations, had allowed Ukrainian agricultural shipments to safely exit Black Sea ports and reach the international market.

How much acreage Ukraine is able to cultivate as the war continues to rage and the cost and availability of fertilizers will also have an impact on global food prices, the report found. Global fertilizer prices reached near-record levels in mid-2022 as global oil and natural gas prices rose.

“The combination of high domestic food prices and historic levels of sovereign debt in many countries – largely caused by spending and recessionary effects of the COVID-19 pandemic – has weakened countries’ capacity to respond to heightened food insecurity risks,” the report said. “These factors probably will undermine the capacity of many poor countries to provide sufficient and affordable food to their population through the end of the year.”

Droughts last year in Canada, the Middle East, South America and the United States also compounded the war-related stress on global food supplies, according to the report.

Intelligence officials have accused Russia in the past of weaponizing food supplies by blocking Ukrainian exports, destroying infrastructure and occupying Ukrainian agricultural land.

Citing satellite imagery and open-source reporting, the report said that Russia stole nearly 6 million tons of Ukrainian wheat harvested from occupied territories in 2022. Cargo ships used to transport the stolen grain out of Russian-occupied territories in 2022 would steer along the coast of Turkey to deliver shipments to ports in Syria, Israel, Iran, Georgia and Lebanon, the report said.

“We cannot confirm if the buyers of the Russian cargoes were aware of the grains’ Ukrainian origin,” the report said.

The report was mandated by the annual intelligence authorization bill and released by the House Intelligence Committee.

“This report casts light on the war’s broader disruption to global food security and reveals how (Russian President Vladimir) Putin has intentionally used food security and the threat of starvation as a negotiating chip,” committee leaders Reps. Mike Turner and Jim Himes said in a statement. “Russia’s recent refusal to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative will worsen this crisis, driving vulnerable nations into food shortages that could leave millions struggling to eat.”