‘Bridgerton’ Spinoff About Queen Charlotte Casts Connie Jenkins-Greig As Daughter Of Vivian & Lord Ledger

Yahoo Finance
Wall Street hopes the worst is behind McDonald's ahead of its Q4 earnings report
It was a quarter filled with an E. coli outbreak and tough weather; Wall Street hopes McDonald's fourth quarter is the worst of it.
Associated Press
Amazon to pay nearly $4M to settle lawsuit alleging it took tips from drivers
Amazon has agreed to pay nearly $4 million to settle charges that the e-commerce company subsidized its labor costs by taking tips its delivery drivers received from customers, District of Columbia Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb said Friday. The settlement came four years after Amazon forked over $61.7 million to resolve a complaint the Federal Trade Commission brought over similar accusations. In 2022, the office of DC's attorney general at the time followed up with a lawsuit alleging Amazon violated the District’s consumer protection laws by misleading residents about how tips paid digitally were used.
USA TODAY
Students sue Education Department, allege DOGE is accessing private data
College students in California sued the federal Education Department Friday, alleging Elon Musk's DOGE team viewed their private data.
Yahoo Finance
Goolsbee says Fed 'may be on hold' for now but sees rates going lower in next 12-18 months
Chicago Federal Reserve president Austan Goolsbee told Yahoo Finance Friday that the central bank 'may be on hold' for now, but he still sees interest rates moving lower over the 'next 12-18 months.'
Reuters
Slovaks protest for second time in two weeks against PM Fico
Tens of thousands of Slovaks returned to a central square in the capital on Friday for the second large protest in two weeks, opposing what they see as a policy shift by Prime Minister Robert Fico aimed at moving closer to Russia. Citing a company overseeing security at the rally, news website Dennik N estimated the crowd in Bratislava's Freedom Square at between 42,000 and 45,000 people. This was slightly below the demonstration two weeks ago that attracted an estimated 60,000 people to the capital and below the levels in 2018 when the murder of an investigative journalist sparked rallies that forced Fico's resignation.
Politico
Trump ousted the top Democratic campaign finance regulator. She says it's illegal.
Ellen Weintraub has served on the commission since 2002.
Associated Press
Justice Department says it won't release the names of FBI agents who worked on Jan. 6 riot cases
The Justice Department has agreed to refrain from publicly identifying any FBI agents whose conduct is under review as President Donald Trump’s administration examines the investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters, according to a court filing Friday. Attorneys for FBI employees filed two lawsuits Tuesday to halt the collection and potential dissemination of agents’ names. Many within the FBI feared the Justice Department would use a list of names to conduct mass firings.
Associated Press
Florida's lieutenant governor gets a university post, handing DeSantis another key appointment
Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez has been named the interim president of Florida International University, a move that hands term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis the opportunity to elevate an ally to the powerful position ahead of the 2026 governor's race. Announcing the appointment Friday, FIU Board of Trustees Chair Roger Tovar said he was contacted directly by DeSantis’ office about tapping Nuñez and later had multiple conversations with her. “I can think of no better advocate for FIU than a two-time alumni from South Florida who has the experience of having served in the Florida Legislature and her time as lieutenant governor,” Tovar said.
USA TODAY
Trump sends moon rock back to NASA that had been displayed in White House since 2021
The moon rock signifying NASA's lunar ambitions had adorned Joe Biden's Oval Office throughout his entire presidential administration.
USA TODAY
'BACK TO PLASTIC!': Trump says he will sign executive order ditching paper straws
President Trump said he will sign an executive order next week ending past efforts from Biden for the federal government to embrace paper straws.
Associated Press
Los Angeles sheriff deputy found guilty of excessive force in arrest of woman caught on video
A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy who was recorded violently tackling and pepper-spraying a woman while she filmed a man being handcuffed was found guilty of excessive force Thursday, according to federal prosecutors. Trevor James Kirk, 32, of Santa Clarita, went on trial after being charged with one felony count of deprivation of rights under color of law in the assault of the woman outside a supermarket in Lancaster in June 2023, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Deputies went to the supermarket after receiving reports of robbers at the grocery store in Lancaster, 72 kilometers (45 miles) northeast of Los Angeles.
AFP
Macron says AI should not be 'Wild West'
Development of artificial intelligence (AI) should not be an unregulated "Wild West", French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday ahead of a global summit on the technology in Paris."AI can't be the Wild West," Macron told French regional newspapers including Ouest-France and Le Parisien in advance of the gathering of global political and tech industry leaders on Monday and Tuesday.
AFP
Campaigning ends as violence-weary Ecuadorans eye Sunday vote
Ecuador's dueling presidential campaigns fell silent Friday, as a ban on political rallies and advertising came into force ahead of Sunday's keenly fought election.From Friday midday, a total alcohol ban entered into force, allowing fun-loving Ecuadorans a period of sober -- if slightly grumpy -- reflection.
AFP
Trump slams paper straws, vows 'back to plastic'
President Donald Trump on Friday raged against eco-friendly paper straws promoted by his predecessor Joe Biden, and pledged that the United States would return to plastic ones.Trump pledged action against paper straws, which are unpopular with many consumers but create less plastic pollution.
Associated Press
More GOP-led states seek to follow Trump's lead in defining male and female
Katherine Bartle said she spent her years growing up in Alabama trying anything to “fix" herself and exist as a man. The Alabama legislation, which passed the Senate Thursday, would create legal definitions of male and female based on the reproductive organs at birth. Now Alabama and a small but growing number of other GOP-led states are pushing to enact more laws this year following President Donald Trump’s executive order declaring there are two sexes and rejecting the idea that people can transition to another gender.
Associated Press
What is the International Criminal Court and how will Trump's sanctions impact it?
U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court could jeopardize trials and investigations at the world’s only permanent global tribunal for war crimes and genocide. The order Trump signed Thursday accuses the ICC of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” It cites the arrest warrant the ICC issued last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Politico
Trump considering Blagojevich for ambassador to Serbia
The former governor of Illinois, whose corruption conviction sentence Trump commuted, chaired a group called Serbians for Trump in the 2024 election.
NBC News
Gastrointestinal outbreak on Royal Caribbean cruise ship sickens more than 90 passengers and crew
More than 90 passengers and crew members on a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship which set sail from Tampa, Florida, on Feb. 1 for a weeklong cruise came down with a gastrointestinal illness, causing vomiting and diarrhea.
Reuters
Fed's Kugler says labor market healthy, inflation elevated
A Labor Department report showing the unemployment rate edged down to 4% last month and employers adding 143,000 jobs is "consistent with a healthy labor market that is neither weakening nor showing signs of overheating," Kugler said in remarks prepared for delivery in Miami, Florida. And though inflation has fallen significantly from its mid-2022 peak, she said, "recent progress on inflation has been slow and uneven, and inflation remains elevated," and there is "considerable uncertainty" about the economic impact of new policy proposals.
AFP
US sees slower January job growth, below expectations
The United States added fewer jobs than expected in January although hiring remained healthy, government data showed Friday, marking resilience in the labor market heading into President Donald Trump's new term.The data added to signs that the US economy remained in good shape heading into Trump's second term, which began on January 20, analysts noted.

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