Sony cancels ‘The Interview’ Dec. 25 release
NEW YORK (AP) — Sony Pictures has canceled the Dec. 25 release of “The Interview” after hackers threatened terrorists attacks and the largest multiplex chains in North America pulled the film from its screens.
In a statement Wednesday, Sony said it was cancelling “The Interview” release “in light of the decision by the majority of our exhibitors not to show the film.” The studio, which has been shaken by hacker leaks over the past several weeks, said it respected and shared in the exhibitors’ concerns.
“We are deeply saddened at this brazen effort to suppress the distribution of a movie, and in the process do damage to our company, our employees, and the American public,” read the statement. “We stand by our filmmakers and their right to free expression and are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”
Earlier Wednesday, Regal Cinemas, AMC Entertainment and Cinemark Theatres — the three top theater chains in North America — announced that they were postponing any showings of “The Interview,” a comedy about a TV host (James Franco) and producer (Seth Rogen) tasked by the CIA to assassinate North Korea leader Kim Jung-un (played by Randall Park).
Regal said in a statement that it was delaying “The Interview” ”due to wavering support of the film … by Sony Pictures, as well as the ambiguous nature of any real or perceived security threats.”
14 employees at ‘filthy’ pharmacy charged in meningitis outbreak
BOSTON — Mold and bacteria were in the air and on workers’ gloved fingertips. Pharmacists used expired ingredients, didn’t properly sterilize them and failed to test drugs for purity before sending them to hospitals and pain clinics. Employees falsified logs to make it look as if the so-called clean rooms had been disinfected.
Federal prosecutors leveled those allegations in bringing charges Wednesday against 14 former owners or employees of a Massachusetts pharmacy in connection with a nationwide meningitis outbreak that killed 64 people.
U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz called it the biggest criminal case ever brought in the U.S. over contaminated medicine.
The 2012 outbreak was traced to tainted drug injections manufactured by the now-closed New England Compounding Pharmacy of Framingham.
Barry Cadden, a co-founder of the business, and Glenn Adam Chin, a supervisory pharmacist, were slapped with the most serious charges, accused in the racketeering indictment of causing the deaths of 25 patients in seven states by acting with “wanton and willful disregard” of the risks.
Stocks gain most in more than a year on Fed, oil
The U.S. stock market had its best day in more than a year after the Federal Reserve said it would remain “patient” in its approach to raising interest rates.
Stocks rose from the open on Wednesday, led by energy companies, as oil prices showed signs of stabilizing from a big slump. The market’s gains were extended after Fed policymakers released a statement following the end of a two-day meeting.
A near six-year bull run for the U.S. stock market has been helped by the Fed’s huge stimulus, which has pushed down borrowing costs. At the start of the month, investors worried that signs of a strengthening economy would lead policymakers to bring forward the start of rate increases. But on Wednesday, the central bank said it foresaw no rate hike in the first three months of 2015.
“The Fed is going to be our friend for a very long time,” said Burt White, chief investment officer for LPL Financial. “Growth continues to be good and corporate America is healthy. If you mix all that together it translates to rising stock prices.”
The Standard &Poor’s 500 index rose 40.15 points, or 2.04 percent, to 2,012.89. That was the biggest gain for the index since October 2013.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 288 points, or 1.7 percent, to 17,356.87. The Nasdaq composite climbed 96.48 points, or 2.1 percent, to 4,644.31.
McConnell wants to stop coal rules
WASHINGTON — Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., pledged on Wednesday to do all he can to stop President Barack Obama’s coal plant regulations, saying a White House “crusade” has devastated his state’s economy.
The Environmental Protection Agency “has created a depression in my state and it’s done a lot of damage to the country all across the country with these efforts to essentially eliminate coal fired generation,” he said in an Associated Press interview.
“I couldn’t be angrier about it and whatever we can think of to try to stop it we’re going to do. … I know it won’t be easy with Barack Obama in the White House.”
McConnell takes over the Senate leadership and its new Republican majority in January. He reaffirmed plans to make approving the Keystone XL pipeline, which would run from Canada to Texas, as the first order of business. He said other moves to counter Obama’s environmental policies await, but he did not offer details.
The Obama administration is trying to get fossil-fuel fired power plants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. The White House also recently announced a deal with China to curb the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.
Asked if the Senate had any obligation to address global warming, McConnell said, “Look, my first obligation is to protect my people, who are hurting as the result of what this administration is doing.”
By wire sources