Online magazine Salon, an early staple of internet discourse, announces it will shut down
WASHINGTON (AP) — Salon is shutting down after 31 years. That ends one of the early internet’s most influential websites that featured sharp voices and political and social journalism backed by a liberal sensibility. The statement cited the fact that “the business realities of independent digital journalism have changed profoundly over the years.” It did not immediately indicate what would become of its employees, though some reported they had lost their jobs. Nineteen full-time employees were affected. Salon said there were no immediate plans to take down its online archives, which include three decades of stories from across the world and across topics and genres.
Rockefeller Center Christmas tree headed to New York City
NEW YORK (AP) — This year's Rockefeller Center Christmas tree has been cut down and is heading to New York City to mark the beginning of the holiday season in the city. The 76-foot Norway spruce is expected to arrive Saturday after making the 200-mile trip from West Edmeston, New York. The tree will be wrapped with over 50,000 multicolored LED lights and crowned with a 900-pound Swarovski star before lighting up during a live broadcast ceremony on Dec. 2. The tree will be on display until Jan. 9, after which it will be milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity.
Wendy's rejects buyout bid and girds itself for a hostile takeover campaign
Wendy’s rejected a $1.4 billion buyout offer from an activist investor, saying Thursday that the bid was too low. The burger chain also adopted a “poison pill” plan that would make it more difficult to engineer a hostile takeover of the company. Investor and former Wendy's chairman Nelson Peltz made an offer last week to buy the company, which has been struggling with high beef prices and aging stores. But Wendy's said a committee of independent directors unanimously rejected the offer. Wendy's said the offer didn't take into account a turnaround program under the company's new CEO, which is focused on improving food quality and store operations.
Row house fire in Brooklyn kills 6 people and injures 9
NEW YORK (AP) — A fire in a multifamily row house in New York has killed six people and injured nine others. The city's fire department reports the blaze broke out early Thursday in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood. More than 200 first responders arrived at the scene. The fire was controlled in about three hours. Some people were trapped and were rescued by firefighters. Those who were hurt suffered non-life-threatening injuries. They included three firefighters and two police officers. Fire marshals are investigating. A lithium-ion battery was found at the scene, but it is not known if that caused the fire.
Bingo, Care Bears, Pokémon cards and the classic playground slide make it into the Toy Hall of Fame
NEW YORK (AP) — The National Toy Hall of Fame has inducted bingo, Care Bears, the Pokémon Trading Card Game and the humble playground slide. These toys join classics like Mr. Potato Head and G.I. Joe. Experts at The Strong National Museum of Play, which hosts the Hall of Fame, highlight bingo's global popularity and its appeal to young adults. Care Bears gained support through social media, while Pokémon cards were boosted by anime and manga fans. The slide is praised for helping children develop motor skills. To be inducted, toys must be iconic and engage multiple generations.
Lady Gaga, Shakira, Jack White and Boy George lead the 2027 Songwriters Hall of Fame nominees
NEW YORK (AP) — Lady Gaga, Shakira, Pink, Boy George, Jack White, Sia, Vince Gill, Ne-Yo, Blondie’s Debbie Harry and Chris Stein are among the impressive list of nominees for the 2027 Songwriters Hall of Fame class. Also on the ballot are America’s Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell, Grandmaster Melle Mel as well as members of ZZ Top and War. Eligible voting members have until midnight Eastern Standard Time on Dec. 14 to turn in ballots with their choices of up to three nominees from the songwriter category and up to three from the performing-songwriter category. The 2027 inductees will be announced in early 2027. Last year's class included Taylor Swift, Kiss’s Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and more.
Canadian authorities say multiple grizzlies may have attacked mother and daughter found dead
Authorities in British Columbia say more than one grizzly may have been involved in a bear attack that relatives say left a mother and daughter dead along the province’s central coast. One body was found Monday and the other the next day. Family members of the women reported them missing on Sunday. Efforts to capture the bear or bears involved continue. The attack comes nearly a year after a grizzly attack on a group of 20 elementary school students and teachers in the same area, which left one adult and three children badly hurt.
Bob Dylan comes knockin' on pope's door as Leo welcomes legend to Vatican
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Bob Dylan has come knockin’ on Pope Leo XIV’s door. The American singer-songwriter and poet visited with the American pope at the Vatican during a break between concert dates in Italy. The Vatican said the encounter was brief, with Leo giving Dylan a rosary and Dylan presenting the pope with a copy of his autobiography, “Chronicles: Volume One.” Leo had quoted from Dylan’s 1963 protest song “Go Away You Bomb” in his 2026 book “Disarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift.” Leo was warning against the race to rearm and the recourse to nuclear weapons and quoted the lyric “I hate you cause yer man-made and man-owned, an’ man-handled.”
NASA space telescope plunges to Earth after two decades studying cosmic explosions
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — One of NASA's premier space telescopes has plunged to Earth, ending its 22-year investigation of the universe's biggest explosions. The Swift Observatory's demise on Wednesday came less than three months after a long-shot rescue mission failed. The U.S. Space Force confirmed Swift's reentry near Indonesia after years of tracking its sinking orbit, the result of intense solar activity. NASA hired a private company to whip together an orbit-boosting effort. But the three-armed robotic craft ran into trouble following its July launch and came crashing down in September.
McDonald's plans new value bundles next year after US traffic falls in third quarter
McDonald’s plans to introduce new value-oriented meal bundles early next year after a disappointing third quarter that saw lower traffic at U.S. restaurants. McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Chris Kempczinski said Wednesday that the company recently began an eight-week test of mix-and-match and fixed-price bundles at 1,900 U.S. restaurants. Those bundles might feature a McChicken sandwich and small fries for $3.50, for example. But around 4,000 franchisees have decided not to wait for the test results and have launched meal bundles of their own, he said. McDonald's U.S. same-store sales fell 0.2% in the July-September period. It was the first retreat for McDonald’s since early 2025.
