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Placards are gathered together at the close of a picket by members of The Writers Guild of America outside Walt Disney Studios, Tuesday, May 2, 2023, in Burbank, Calif. Chris Pizzello/AP hide caption

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Chris Pizzello/AP

Writers will return to work on Wednesday, after union leadership votes to end strike

The 148-day Hollywood writers strike will end just after 12:01 a.m. PT on Wednesday, thanks to a new three-year deal the Writers Guild of America made with major Hollywood studios.

Customers at SolDias ice cream shops in Texas are encouraged to pay with cash instead of credit cards. Owner Victor Garcia is backing a legislative effort that aims to lower credit card processing fees through increased competition. Victor Garcia/Courtesy of Victor Garcia hide caption

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Victor Garcia/Courtesy of Victor Garcia

Why many business owners would love it if you stopped using your credit card

The fees merchants pay for accepting credit cards are much higher in the U.S. than in Europe. Ice cream shop owner Victor Garcia, for example, paid more than $25,000 in swipe fees last year.

Why many business owners would love it if you stopped using your credit card

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A woman marks her ballot at a polling center in Albuquerque, N.M., on Nov. 8, 2022. Republicans in the state are challenging the congressional map that was used for that election. Andres Leighton/AP hide caption

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Andres Leighton/AP

New Mexico's Republican Party takes the state's congressional map to trial

KUNM

A trial begins Wednesday over New Mexico's congressional map. Unlike some other active fights over redistricting, it's the state's Democratic lawmakers who are accused of crafting illegal districts.

A government shutdown is looming even though House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and President Biden made an agreement earlier this year that was supposed to prevent this exact outcome. Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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Bloomberg via Getty Images

Senate takes a first step in a new plan to pressure House on spending

The Senate voted 77 to 19 to start the process for considering a stop-gap spending bill with funding for Ukraine and disaster relief. Even if the Senate is able to pass it, House action is unclear.

Staten Island residents protest outside a closed Catholic school-turned-migrant shelter on Staten Island, N.Y., on Aug. 28. Spencer Platt/Getty Images hide caption

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Spencer Platt/Getty Images

On N.Y.'s Staten Island, anti-immigration protests intensify as migrants stream in

New York City has been housing migrants in makeshift shelters throughout the city. In some areas, it has led to protests and court challenges.

On N.Y.'s Staten Island, anti-immigration protests intensify as migrants stream in

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Yeganeh and Jason Rezaian in 2016. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

They were wrongfully imprisoned 9 years ago. For Yeganeh, the pain is still fresh

Journalist Yeganeh Rezaian speaks about her time being imprisoned in Iran with her husband, Jason Rezaian, in 2014 and how that experienced has shaped the rest of her life.

They were wrongfully imprisoned 9 years ago. For Yeganeh, the pain is still fresh

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Olivia Rodrigo's second album, the follow-up to her 2021 breakthrough Sour, is called Guts. Photo by Nick Walker/Courtesy of the artist/Illustration by Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption

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Photo by Nick Walker/Courtesy of the artist/Illustration by Jackie Lay/NPR

Olivia Rodrigo wants you to decide what her songs are about

On Guts, the 20-year-old pop phenom is a little louder and funnier than the teenager on her debut — and even more fascinated with what the best songwriters leave out of the picture.

Olivia Rodrigo wants you to decide what her songs are about

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an interview in Sacramento, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2023. Newsom signed a bill on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, to ban school boards from rejecting textbooks based on their teachings about the contributions of people from different racial backgrounds, sexual orientations and gender identities, calling the measure "long overdue." Rich Pedroncelli/AP hide caption

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Rich Pedroncelli/AP

New California law bars schoolbook bans based on racial and LGBTQ topics

Gov. Gavin Newsom called the new measure "long overdue," saying that the banning binge of diversity materials has to come to an end.

A screen in a Moscow courtroom shows jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny as he arrives to listen to a hearing via video on Tuesday. An appeals court has upheld his 19-year prison sentence. Tatyana Makeyeva/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Tatyana Makeyeva/AFP via Getty Images

Russian appeals court upholds opposition leader Alexei Navalny's 19-year prison term

Navalny, a fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, says the charges against him are politically motivated.

Barry Manilow looks on at his concert in Las Vegas on September 21. Ethan Miller/Getty Images hide caption

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Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Barry Manilow just broke Elvis's Las Vegas record

Barry Manilow has just overtaken The King himself, Elvis Presley, for the most shows at Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino.

Barry Manilow just broke Elvis's Las Vegas record

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Former Baltimore Orioles third baseman Brooks Robinson speaks during a ceremony to unveil a statue of him in Baltimore on Sept. 29, 2012. Robinson, whose deft glovework and folksy manner made him one of the most beloved and accomplished athletes in Baltimore history, has died. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption

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Patrick Semansky/AP

Brooks Robinson, Hall of Fame Orioles third baseman, dies at 86

Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson, whose deft glovework and folksy manner made him one of the most beloved and accomplished athletes in Baltimore history, has died. He was 86.

"Obviously, it's very disheartening to be accused of cheating," chess grandmaster Hans Niemann said. Asked about a bizarre idea that vibrating anal beads could signal players about the best moves, he replied, "That is not a serious theory." Tim Vizer/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Tim Vizer/AFP via Getty Images

Hans Niemann pooh-poohs a chess cheating theory that's based on vibrating beads

Chess prodigy Hans Niemann is competing in the World Junior Chess Championship — but he's also answering questions about an outlandish cheating theory.

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