‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ now has the 6th biggest opening weekend of all time
“Deadpool & Wolverine” had a better Sunday than anticipated. Disney says the blockbuster film earned $211 million in its first weekend in theaters. That’s $6 million more than was estimated on Sunday, putting “Deadpool & Wolverine” in a different league. The Shawn Levy-directed film starring Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman now boasts the sixth highest opening weekend of all time, surpassing “Jurassic World” which opened to $208.8 million in 2015. It also boosted its global number to $444.3 million. The Walt Disney Co. can now claim five of the six biggest box office openings ever.
Djokovic beats rival Nadal at the Paris Olympics in their 60th and possibly last head-to-head match
PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic dominated rival Rafael Nadal at the start, and then held off a comeback attempt to win 6-1, 6-4 at the Paris Olympics in the second round. Monday’s match was the 60th — and likely last — head-to-head matchup between the two tennis greats. Djokovic claimed 10 of the initial 11 games, with Nadal nowhere near the skilled and ever-hustling version of himself that won a record 14 French Open trophies on the same red clay at Roland Garros that is hosting Summer Games matches. Then, suddenly, the indefatigable Nadal got going, making a push to turn this contest competitive. He got to 4-all in the second set, before Djokovic took the last two games.
Storms bring flash flooding to Dollywood amusement park in Tennessee
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (AP) — Strong thunderstorms brought flash flooding to Dolly Parton’s Dollywood in east Tennessee. Park officials say workers and the Pigeon Forge police and fire departments directed guests to safety on Sunday afternoon and one minor injury was reported. The amusement park says it was supporting guests whose vehicles were affected and cleanup crews were deployed. The Pigeon Forge Police Department said Sunday that a road collapse closed McCarter Hollow Road at the entrance to Dollywood.
Beach volleyball at Eiffel Tower stadium draws the crowds looking for the perfect social media post
PARIS (AP) — Paris’s iconic Eiffel Tower is serving as a backdrop for one of the most photogenic venues of the Paris Olympics. The 13,000-seat stadium was built specifically for the Olympics at Champ de Mars, a garden where Parisians and tourists typically sit on the grass for picnics or July 14 firework displays. The site draws hundreds of people on any regular day, but since the start of the Olympics, people buy tickets to beach volleyball matches just to squeeze through crowds of people for the perfect selfies and videos with the tower and sand in the background.
Triathlon cancels Olympic swim training for the second day over poor water quality in the Seine
PARIS (AP) — Concerns about the water quality in the Seine River led officials to call off the swimming portion of an Olympic triathlon training session for a second straight day. Organizers overseeing the event at the Paris Games are optimistic that triathletes will be able to swim in the city’s famed waterway when the competition starts Tuesday. The sport’s governing body, its medical team and city officials, are banking on sunny weather and higher temperatures to bring the levels of E. coli bacteria below the necessary limits to stage the swim portion of a race that also includes biking and running.
US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas fondly remembered as she lies in state at Houston City Hall
HOUSTON (AP) — Houston area residents are remembering longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas as an advocate for human rights and for her community. On Monday, residents, constituents and others paid their respects to the longtime lawmaker as she lay in state in the rotunda of Houston’s City Hall. Jackson Lee was 74 when she died on July 19. She had been treated for pancreatic cancer. During her career, she helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday. The Democrat had represented her Houston-based district and the nation’s fourth-largest city since 1995. President Joe Biden stopped in Houston Monday evening and paid his respects.
A parody ad shared by Elon Musk clones Kamala Harris’ voice, raising concerns about AI in politics
NEW YORK (AP) — A video using an artificial intelligence voice-cloning tool to mimic the voice of Vice President Kamala Harris saying things she did not say is raising concerns about the power of AI to mislead ahead of November’s elections. Tech billionaire Elon Musk shared the video online Friday. The video uses many of the same visuals as a real ad the Harris campaign released but swaps out the voice-over audio with a convincing impersonation. Musk later confirmed the video was a parody. A Harris spokesperson calls the video “manipulated lies.” AI experts and pro-democracy advocates say the video reveals shortcomings in how AI companies, social media platforms and the federal government regulate use of AI in politics.
Fans swarm hill in Munich, claiming a high perch for watching Taylor Swift concert for free
MUNICH (AP) — Thousands of Taylor Swift fans have gotten free seats to her concerts in Munich on a grassy hill near the concert venue. The Swifties packed the Olympic Hill, one of the highest elevations in the southern German city, for the second day in a row Sunday. They were claiming a high perch for watching the singer’s sold-out concert in the nearby Olympic Stadium. On Saturday, they braved the heat reaching 31 Celsius (88 Fahrenheit) and claimed their spots hours before the concert began. On Sunday thousands of fans again gathered on the hill. This time the temperatures were cooler.
One Extraordinary Photo: Charlie Riedel captures Simone Biles in flight at the Paris Games
PARIS (AP) — Charlie Riedel has been an AP staff photographer in Kansas City, Missouri, for 24 years. This is his eighth Olympic Games. Riedel discusses how he made his extraordinary photo of Simone Biles.
Two meteor showers will flash across the sky around the same time in late July
There will be back-to-back meteor showers in late July. The Southern Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks early Tuesday. And this year, it will coincide with a second smaller meteor shower, the Alpha Capricornids. The Delta Aquariids occur every year in North America’s late summer. At the peak, 15 to 20 meteors are expected to be visible per hour in the Northern Hemisphere. Viewing should be even better in the Southern Hemisphere. A weaker meteor shower, Alpha Capricornids, should produce around five meteors per hour. Multiple meteor showers occur annually and you don’t need special equipment to see them.
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