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US companies are picky about investing in China. The exceptions? Burgers, lattes

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:55:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — There’s been no shortage of tough news for China’s economy as some of the world’s biggest brands consider or take action to shift manufacturing to friendlier shores at a time of unease about security controls, protectionism and wobbly relations between Beijing and Washington.Count Adidas, Apple and Samsung among those looking elsewhere. But as a tumultuous 2023 for the Chinese economy comes to a close, there has been at least one bright spot for Beijing when it comes to foreign investment: American fast-food chains have decided a market of 1.4 billion people is simply too delicious to pass up. KFC China’s parent company opened its 10,000th restaurant in China last month and aims to have stores within reach of half of China’s population by 2026. McDonald’s is planning to open 3,500 new stores in China over the next four years. And Starbucks invested $220 million in a manufacturing and distribution facility in eastern China, its biggest project outside the U.S.This i...

Coyotes overcome 4-goal deficit to stun Avalanche in overtime

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:55:48 GMT

TEMPE, Ariz. — The things continued for the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night.First, Nathan MacKinnon kept on scoring, netting a goal and an assist to extend his points streak to 19 games, one short of the Avalanche record set by Paul Stastny in 2006-07. Second, the Avs continued their struggles away from home, falling to 0-3-3 in their last six road games after squandering a four-goal lead to the Coyotes.Jack McBain scored with 20 seconds left in the overtime and the Arizona overcame a 4-0 deficit to beat Colorado 5-4.McBain scored on a scramble in front of the net to give Arizona its fifth victory in six games.With goalie Karel Vejmelka off for an extra attacker, Sean Durzi tied it at 4 with a wrist shot from between the circles with 2:07 remaining in regulation. Durzi also had three assists.Lawson Crouse, Michael Kesselring and Jason Zucker also scored for Arizona, and Vejmelka made 20 saves. The Coyotes overcame a three-goal deficit in a 4-3 victory over Ottawa on Dec....

Familiar problem haunts Sharks as losing streak grows to six games

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:55:48 GMT

The San Jose Sharks had their losing streak extended to six games on Wednesday and once again a disastrous second period proved to be the main culprit.Leading by one, the Sharks allowed three unanswered goals in the second period, including two in 13 seconds, in what became a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena.Fabian Zetterlund scored his 10th of the season in a first-period goal as San Jose took its first lead in a game since beating the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Dec. 12. But the Kings capitalized on two Sharks turnovers near the start of the second period to take a 2-1 lead.Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun had a pass intended for Alexander Barabanov inside the Kings zone intercepted by Kevin Fiala, who cruised in on a breakaway and went backhand-to-forehand to beat goalie Kaapo Kahkonen at the 2:57 mark of the second period.After the ensuing faceoff, the Kings sent the puck deep into the Sharks’ zone where Jack Studnicka played it below the goal line. He sent a pass beh...

Ex-rock musician 'primary person of interest' in possible homicide of girlfriend

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:55:48 GMT

(KRON) -- A Capitola woman is still missing more than three weeks after her disappearance, the Capitola Police Department reported Wednesday. Her boyfriend has been identified as the "primary person of interest," and police say he is not cooperating with the case.Alice “Alyx” Kamakaokalani Herrmann, 61, was last seen in Santa Cruz on Dec. 3. Police believe she may have been the victim of a homicide. Alice "Alyx" Kamakaokalani Herrmann lives in Capitola. "Based on evidence located during the investigation, law enforcement has reason to believe Alive may be the victim of a homicide," Capitola police said. Herrmann's car was found parked in front of Theobald "Theo" Lengyel's El Cerrito house. Lengyel, 54, who was Hermann's boyfriend, played saxophone in the rock band "Mr. Bungle." He also goes by the name Mylo Stone. Herrmann's red 2007 Toyota Highlander SUV was found parked in front of her boyfriend's home. (ECPD photo) Hermann was officially reported missing by her relatives on...

Connor Bedard scores 1st overtime goal, powers Blackhawks past Jets 2-1

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:55:48 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Connor Bedard scored his second goal of the game at 2:15 of a frantic overtime, leading the Chicago Blackhawks to a 2-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday night.Bedard, who leads NHL rookies in scoring, sent a wrist shot under the glove of Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck for the first OT goal of his career and his 15th of the season as Chicago earned just its second win in eight games.Bedard has three goals in his last two games and extended his points streak to five games. The 18-year-old center has three goals and five assists in the span and 14 goals and 32 points in 34 games overall.Morgan Barron scored in regulation for Winnipeg, which lost for the second time in 11 contests (8-1-2).Petr Mrazek made 37 saves for Chicago as Winnipeg built a 38-25 advantage in shots on goal.Hellebuyck finished with 23 shots. The Jets dominated early and took the first eight shots on goal. The sellout crowd of 20,540 groaned a derisive cheer when Chicago’s Anthony Beauvillie...

Jack McBain scores in OT, Coyotes overcome 4-goal deficit to stun Avalanche 5-4

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:55:48 GMT

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Jack McBain scored with 20 seconds left in the overtime and the Arizona Coyotes overcame a four-goal deficit to beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-4 on Wednesday night.McBain scored on a scramble in front of the net to give Arizona its fifth victory in six games.With goalie Karel Vejmelka off for an extra attacker, Sean Durzi tied it at 4 with a wrist shot from between the circles with 2:07 remaining in regulation. Durzi also had three assists.Lawson Crouse, Michael Kesselring and Jason Zucker also scored for Arizona, and Vejmelka made 20 saves. The Coyotes overcame a three-goal deficit in a 4-3 victory over Ottawa on Dec. 19.Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and an assist for Colorado to extend his points streak to 19 games, one short of the franchise record set by Paul Stastny in 2006-07. MacKinnon also has an NHL-high 27 points in December, a career high for a month, and is a point short of Stastny’s team record for points in a month.Mikko Rantanen also had a goal and an...

The best champagne (and other bubbly alternatives) for New Year’s Eve

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:55:48 GMT

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Today in History: December 28, U.S. Afghan war formally ends

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:55:48 GMT

Today in HistoryToday is Thursday, Dec. 28, the 362nd day of 2023. There are three days left in the year.Today’s Highlight in History:On Dec. 28, 2014, the U.S. war in Afghanistan, fought for 13 bloody years and still raging, came to a formal end with a quiet flag-lowering ceremony in Kabul that marked the transition of the fighting from U.S.-led combat troops to the country’s own security forces.On this date:In 1612, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei observed the planet Neptune, but mistook it for a star. (Neptune wasn’t officially discovered until 1846 by Johann Gottfried Galle.)In 1895, the Lumiere brothers, Auguste and Louis, held the first public showing of their movies in Paris.In 1908, a major earthquake followed by a tsunami devastated the Italian city of Messina, killing at least 70,000 people.In 1912, San Francisco’s Municipal Railway began operations with Mayor James Rolph Jr. at the controls of Streetcar No. 1 as 50,000 spectators looked on. In 1945, Congress officially...

Stock market today: Asian shares power higher following slight gains on Wall Street

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:55:48 GMT

BANGKOK (AP) — Asian shares powered higher on Thursday, with Chinese benchmarks up more than 1%, after Wall Street logged modest gains in this holiday-shortened week. U.S. futures edged higher and oil prices were mixed. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index was an outlier in the region, shedding 0.5% to 33,519.61. Speculation over whether and when the Bank of Japan might ease its longstanding lax monetary policy and raise its key interest rate from minus 0.1% has kept stocks wobbling in the world’s third-largest economy.BOJ policymakers are waiting to see what sort of wage gains might come in 2024 as part of the central bank’s strategy of keeping credit easy to try to spur stronger growth. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 1.5% to 16,876.69 on heavy buying of technology and property shares. It has lost about 14% this year as China’s economy has sputtered despite the country’s reopening after it loosened COVID-19 precautions. Online food delivery company Meitu...

Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams lead Thunder past Knicks 129-120

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 10:55:48 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams each scored 36 points, and Williams hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter Wednesday night as the Oklahoma City Thunder held on to beat the New York Knicks 129-120.Chet Holmgren added 22 points for Oklahoma City (20-9), which beat Western Conference-leading Minnesota on Tuesday night and was playing its third back-to-back this season.“I thought we really got into our depth in the first half and we were able to keep the minutes under control and still have control of the game,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, whose team committed just four turnovers. “We played a lot of different guys and we had a very balanced rotation minutes-wise in the first half, which allows you to hit the gas in the second half with the higher-minute guys.”Williams did most of his damage in the fourth, scoring 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including eight points and two 3s during a 10-2 run after New York pulled within 111-106 o...