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(NEW YORK) — Paramount Pictures was hit with a lawsuit Monday over the blockbuster hit, Top Gun: Maverick.
The widow and son of Ehud Yonay, who wrote a 1983 article in California Magazine titled, “Top Guns,” about fighter pilots and the Navy’s elite Top Gun program, is suing the studio in California federal court and claiming copyright infringement. The lawsuit claims the original film credited the story but that the studio did not have the right to make this year’s blockbuster, which they say is a derivative work of the original article.
“The iconic 1986 film all started with Paramount securing exclusive motion picture rights to Ehud Yonay’s copyrighted story immediately after its publication,” according to the lawsuit filed by Shosh Yonay, his widow, and Yuval Yonay, his son. “In fact, the author’s story was duly credited on the derivative 1986 film, which is widely known to have been based on the story.”
The family also alleges that Paramount “deliberately” ignored their letter sent to recover copyright of the story through a copyright termination notice for Ehud’s initial article, “thumbing its nose at the statute.”
According to the lawsuit, Paramount acquired the copyright to Yonay’s story after it was published in 1983. In 2018, the Yonays allege they sent Paramount a notice that the copyright was terminated with an effective date of Jan. 24, 2020. They claim Paramount did not get a license to make the sequel.
The Yonays claim the film was completed after the effective termination date of Jan. 24, 2020.
“Despite the 2022 sequel clearly having derived from the story, Paramount consciously failed to secure a new license of film and ancillary rights in the copyrighted story following the Yonays’ recovery of their U.S. copyright on January 24, 2020,” the lawsuit states.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Paramount has insisted the sequel was sufficiently completed before that date.
“These claims are without merit, and we will defend ourselves vigorously,” Paramount said in a statement, which was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Top Gun: Maverick, which stars Tom Cruise and Miles Teller, has grossed more than $500 million since it was released over Memorial Day. The Yonays are seeking declaratory and injunctive relief and unspecified damages.
(NEW YORK) — As rising prices continue to impact many across the country, some are turning to TikTok to learn budgeting strategies.
“More and more people are interested in taking control of their finances and you obviously see some of this because of the economy right now,” ABC News Chief Business Correspondent Rebecca Jarvis said. “But you have to be careful if you’re looking at this stuff, because not every size fits every person and every budget and you also have to watch out for scams.”
Based on some of the budgeting strategies that are trending on the popular app, Jarvis said some people are able to save a few hundred extra dollars a month.
To try out some of these strategies, read about them below.
50-30-20 rule
“This is 50% of your spending goes towards your needs. 30% goes towards your wants and 20% goes into your savings,” Jarvis said. “Again, a model that can work really well for people because it creates some structure but it doesn’t necessarily work for every person. But if you’re taking home $2,000, that would basically mean $1,000 goes towards your needs. $600 goes towards your wants and then $400 goes towards your savings. What you do with that savings can really create a big difference, too.”
Cash stuffing
“What cash stuffing is — you look again at your budget, you look at every area of your spending, including where you’re going to put money towards savings and you start putting it into envelopes,” Jarvis said. “You literally cash out and put everything into envelopes each month. And then at the end of the year, you have this nice little savings cash that you can unlock and it can be really fun.”
However, Jarvis said there are risks.
“The thing you have to keep in mind is that when it’s not in a bank when it’s not in an account and it’s literally cash, you can lose that. Some people even hide it to make sure they’re not spending it,” she said. “It’s not necessarily covered by homeowners insurance. So really make sure a.) you know where you’re putting it and b.) that you’re not putting it in a place that can be taken away if someone in the worst-case scenario invades your home. And finally, keep in mind it’s not going to grow.”
Jarvis added, “If you put your money into a bank savings account with a small interest rate on it, or you put your money into the stock market, in an IRA, for example, that has the ability to grow. In the cash situation, it’s not growing but you are capping your spending.”
Other great resources
While these videos may be entertaining and useful, Jarvis warned against following advice that requires you to spend more money upfront.
Two apps that are good resources to help you get started include Digit, an automated savings app that analyzes what goes in and out of your checking account. Then, it periodically moves funds from checking to savings in amounts its algorithms believe are safe to save. Another is Qapital, which aims to help users effortlessly save small amounts of money but with a twist. It lets users set up savings rules. For example, you could set up a “guilty pleasure” rule so the app stashes money into your savings every time you buy takeout.
(NEW YORK) — As a disturbing string of mass shootings focuses the public spotlight on gun violence, the embattled National Rifle Association appears to have suffered another year of diminished membership revenue and cuts to core programs, according to an annual financial report obtained by ABC News.
The 31-page document, distributed to members who attended last week’s annual NRA convention in Houston, shows an organization reining in spending as revenue derived from its members fell 19% between 2020 and 2021.
Brian Mittendorf, an accounting professor at Ohio State University who tracks NRA spending, says the numbers suggest the NRA appears to be at a “real risk of entering a downward spiral.”
“By cutting back on core programs and legislative spending, the risk that the organization runs is that members will suddenly realize that they are paying the same dues for fewer benefits,” Mittendorf said. “If [the NRA] loses some of those members, revenues decline further, they will have to cut even more spending — and the trend continues.”
Mired in a series of lawsuits and scandals, the NRA’s standing as one of America’s most influential lobbying groups has waned in recent years.
Revenue from membership dues has plummeted nearly 43% from a record high in 2018, according to the 2021 financial assessment, pulling in just over $97 million — down from nearly $120 million in 2020. Spending on the areas of “safety, education & training” was cut roughly in half over the past three years, the document shows.
NRA spokesperson Andrew Arulanandam cited disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic for the organization’s reduced spending in 2021, and expressed confidence that the group would rebound in the coming year.
“Despite the global pandemic and the many challenges it created over the past two years, the NRA emerged financially strong and secure,” Arulanandam told ABC News. “NRA members are eager to return to our grassroots activities, participate in firearms education and training, and engage in events and competitions. All of this bodes well for 2022 and beyond.”
Meanwhile, the organization is fighting legal battles on multiple fronts — most notably in New York, where Attorney General Tish James has sued the organization for allegedly diverting money away from its charitable mission. As a result, the group’s legal costs continue to mount.
In 2021, according to its financial records, the organization devoted nearly a quarter of its total expenditures — $52 million — to legal fees. Arulanandam said that “naturally, the association expended significant resources to defend itself from the NYAG’s lawsuit. However, the NRA is winning that fight.” A judge blocked the attorney general’s bid to dissolve the organization in March, but the lawsuit remains active.
The organization’s legislative expenses, which include lobbying and electioneering activities, plummeted by $28.6 million between 2020 and 2021 — a 57% drop, according to the records, which were first reported by The Trace.
While it’s not uncommon for political organizations to spend substantially less during an off-election year following a presidential election, the NRA’s legislative spending cuts last year suggest a gradual downsizing of its legislative and political apparatus over the last few years.
Since the landmark 2010 Citizens United Supreme Court case that allowed corporations and advocacy organizations to spend unlimited funds on elections as long as they’re independent from candidates, the NRA and its super PACs have funneled more than $140 million in independent expenditures into federal elections, according to campaign disclosure data compiled by Washington-based nonpartisan research group OpenSecrets. The organization’s federal election spending peaked in 2016, when the NRA and its committees spent $54 million in independent expenditures, including more than $30 million to support Donald Trump’s defeat of Hillary Clinton, according to campaign disclosure records.
But the NRA’s political spending began to drop during the 2018 election cycle, when it reporting just under $10 million in outside spending — significantly less than the $27 million it spent during the 2014 midterms. Then, during the 2020 presidential election cycle, the NRA’s total outside federal election spending was just over $29 million — nearly half of what it had spent in 2016.
So far in the 2022 election cycle, the NRA’s political apparatus has barely reported any independent expenditures — only $9,600, according to OpenSecrets’ analysis of Federal Election Commission data.
Supporters, however, say that the slim prospects for sweeping gun control legislation — even in the face of the recent mass shootings — suggest that the NRA’s message has become so deeply engrained among gun rights advocates that the organization no longer requires a robust political operation.
The NRA’s influence “does not come from some guy sitting on K Street,” NRA board member Phillip Journey said in reference to Washington lobbyists — but instead from its place in the hearts of American gun owners.
Journey, a Kansas judge, has nonetheless waged an aggressive and public campaign to oust Wayne LaPierre, the longtime NRA chief who oversaw the organization’s rise over the past three decades. Journey said the organization’s financial position reflects years of mismanagement — and has opened the door for other gun advocacy groups to fill the void.
“There’s blood in the water, and it comes from a self-inflicted wound,” Journey said. “NRA leadership has nobody to blame but themselves for the decisions they’ve made.”
The National Association of Gun Rights and the Gun Owners of America, two competing longtime gun-rights groups, have beefed up their operations in recent years and are gearing up for the 2022 midterm elections through their super PACs — while other gun advocacy groups like the National Shooting Sports Foundation and Safari Club International continue their active engagement in federal elections through campaign contributions.
Additional super PACs like the Gun Owners Action Fund and Hunter Nation Action — funded largely by top GOP donors such as the Ricketts family, Charles Schwab, Ken Griffith and Warren Stephens — popped up in late 2020 to promote pro-Second Amendment messaging while providing an 11th-hour boost for Republican incumbent Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in the Georgia Senate runoffs in January 2021.
More recently, Donald Trump Jr. launched his own gun-rights group called the Second Amendment Task Force, with the aim of fighting Democratic gun control proposals and promoting Republicans in the 2022 midterm elections.
Still, compared to the NRA, all these groups have much smaller budgets and staffs. And some gun-control advocates say that could open the door for more compromise on gun control.
“The fact that in recent years it has been slashing spending on programs like safety and education while pouring tens of millions into legal fees shows exactly how deep this crisis is for the NRA,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Smaller groups might try to fill that vacuum, but they’re no match for a gun safety movement that is bigger, stronger, and louder than ever.”
(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. saw a slight slowdown in job growth in May, as the economy added 390,000 jobs and the unemployment rate remained at 3.6%, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday.
This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
(NEW YORK) — The next generation Dyson Airwrap has arrived.
The Dyson Airwrap multi-styler combines everything you love from the 2018 version with some highly requested upgrades.
“The advancements in the Dyson Airwrap multi-styler build on the success of its predecessor, through relentless research, user trials and advancements in computational fluid dynamics,” Dyson founder James Dyson said in a press release.
New attachments include a smoothing dryer, firm and soft brushes and new barrels that switch airflow directions.
According to Dyson, the tool aims to be suitable for many different hair types without extreme heat.
Existing Dyson Airwrap users can also get in on these new upgrades as the brand will be also be selling the attachments separately.
“The Dyson Airwrap is a styling revolution and unlike any other tool — back when it first launched and still today,” Dyson global styling ambassador Jen Atkin said in a press release. “Now, the tool does even more, allowing owners to personalize to suit their styling preferences, personalized for their hair type. You can ensure every attachment in your box delivers your desired style, specific to your hair type. Something you thought couldn’t get better, just did.”
The new tool is available to shop now on Dyson’s website.
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(NEW YORK) — If you’ve ever watched a culinary competition show and wished you could dig into the winning dish at home, that dream is finally a reality.
Grubhub and MasterChef have teamed up to create a delivery-only virtual restaurant featuring recipes from the show’s winners and fan-favorite cheftestants.
“The dishes we create on ‘MasterChef’ are enjoyed by a few legendary judges, but as a chef, I always want as many people as possible to experience my culinary creations,” season 11 winner Kelsey Murphy said. “With MasterChef Table, Grubhub is giving me and a few of my favorite Chefs the special opportunity to share our unique twists on comfort foods with fans and diners all over the country.”
MasterChef Table will be available in over 20 market and features 11 gourmet dishes that embody American comfort foods crafted by Murphy as well as season 10 winner Dorian Hunter, season 9 winner Gerron Hurt and season 10 fan-favorite winner, Michael Silverstein.
The menu is complete with appetizers, sides and main courses from specific MasterChef alumni. Check out the full lineup below:
Dorian Hunter: Down South Quesadilla; Bangin Buffalo Chicken Fries; Italian Hoagie Burger (The Dorian Burger)
Gerron Hurt: Southern Horsey Slaw; Nashville Hot Mac n’ Cheese; Nashville Hot Shrimp Tacos
Michael Silverstein: Loaded Blue Cheese Lovers’ Steakhouse Wedge; Queso-Smothered Texas Fajitas; Triple-Stacked Smash Burger
Marnie Boyer, vice president of restaurant acquisition at Grubhub, said the company is always looking to deliver new experiences for diners. The new MasterChef partnership, Boyer said, “gives them exactly that, a seat at the table in the comfort of their home.”
The virtual restaurant concept and first-of-its kind partnership with Fox Entertainment comes just in time for the launch of MasterChef season 12.
“Across Fox Entertainment, we take pride in creating impactful, relevant, and highly customized opportunities that enable our partners to authentically reach the audiences they most value,” Suzanne Sullivan, executive vice president of ad sales at FOX Entertainment, said in a statement.
Ahead this season on MasterChef, chefs will be given a Grubhub-themed Mystery Box challenge, where they must create a gourmet version of the most popular dishes on the online food delivery marketplace.
Find more information about MasterChef Table, including the menu, the chefs and availability in your area at grubhub.com/mastercheftable.
(NEW YORK) — Kim Kardashian is back on the beauty scene with a brand new launch.
The reality star and businesswoman will debut a line of skin care products, SKKN BY KIM, on June 21. The collection will include nine products, meant to mirror her own daily skin care routine.
“I’ve been so privileged to learn about skin and skincare over the years from the world’s top dermatologists and estheticians, and every bottle from my new line is filled with the knowledge I’ve accumulated along the way,” Kardashian said in an Instagram post.
“You will experience refillable packaging, and clean, science-backed ingredients designed to nourish all skin types, tones, and textures at all stages of maturity,” she added.
According to a press release from the brand, Kardashian’s passion to create a skin care line was born out of her dream to bridge the gap between the world’s most renowned dermatological experts and people at home seeking high-performance skin care products.
The collection features a cleanser, toner, exfoliator, serum, face cream, eye cream and two face oils ranging between $43 – $95.
Unique standouts from the upcoming launch include the Vitamin C8 Serum, which targets fine lines, pigmentations and wrinkles, and the Oil Drops, which have Vitamin C and reduce the look of pores, the brand said.
“What began as a psoriasis diagnosis became the catalyst for my journey of skincare discoveries, inspiring me to learn more about my skin and how to care for it,” Kardashian said in a statement. “Working with some of the top dermatologists and estheticians over the years has given me the incredible opportunity to learn from their expertise — and I knew I had to share my learnings.”
Together with Coty Inc., the new skincare-focused brand has kept sustainability top of mind by using minimalistic refillable packaging, with refills also housed inside eco-friendly materials.
News of the skin care line comes approximately one year after Kardashian announced that her former cosmetics line KKW Beauty was temporarily shutting down.
The reality TV star is also the founder of solutionwear brand SKIMS, which offers a range of undergarments, accessories and loungewear.
(NEW YORK) — Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced Wednesday she is stepping down from her position with the company. She had held the role since 2008.
“Sitting by Mark’s side for these 14 years has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime,” Sandberg wrote in a post on Facebook announcing the decision.
She and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will work to transition her responsibilities over the summer and officially hand off the role in the fall. She will continue to serve on the board of directors.
Javier Olivan, Meta’s vice president of central products, will take over the COO role.
Sandberg, a former Google executive who helped optimize that company’s ad business, joined Facebook when the social media platform still lacked a “like” button.
She led a dramatic increase in Facebook’s revenue by revamping its advertising business, turning the operation into an industry powerhouse that helped small and large businesses target users through data collected by the platform.
In 2007, the year before Sandberg arrived, the company’s revenue barely exceeded $150 million. Last year, the company brought in about $117 billion.
Meta has faced public scrutiny and legal challenges over its business operations.
In December 2020, the Federal Trade Commission sued Meta over allegedly sustaining a monopoly through anticompetitive practices. In January, a federal judge allowed the lawsuit to proceed past a procedural hurdle.
A separate lawsuit, filed by state attorneys general in December as well, accuses Facebook of colluding with Google to dominate the online advertising business.
Facebook has challenged the allegations in both lawsuits.
“The debate around social media has changed beyond recognition since those early days,” Sandberg wrote. “To say it hasn’t always been easy is an understatement. But it should be hard. The products we make have a huge impact, so we have the responsibility to build them in a way that protects privacy and keeps people safe.”
Sandberg is also the chair of the board of directors at the Sheryl Sandberg and Dave Goldberg Family Foundation, which she established in 2013. The organization focuses its work on empowering women in the workplace as well as helping individuals and communities build resilience.
In the announcement on Wednesday, Sandberg said she plans to devote more time to the foundation.
“I am not entirely sure what the future will bring – I have learned no one ever is,” she wrote. “But I know it will include focusing more on my foundation and philanthropic work, which is more important to me than ever given how critical this moment is for women.”
ABC News’ Mary Kathryn Burke contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — With more travelers ready to take to the skies this season, the Transportation Security Administration predicts a summer of record-breaking proportions.
According to the agency, it could screen more than 3 million people in a day with the summer surge demand.
Airfare, ticket prices soar
Scott Keyes, who dedicates his life to helping travelers find cheap flights with his brand, Scott’s Cheap Flights, told Good Morning America that “It’s not just your imagination — summer flights right now are indeed extraordinarily expensive.”
His suggestion? Book sooner than later.
“Don’t wait to book your flights until the very last minute, because last-minute flights are generally going to get more expensive, not less expensive,” he said.
One family said their recent cross-country trip to California was astronomical compared to years past.
“A flight [to] the San Francisco for us would typically be about $1,600. And it was about $2,800,” Karen Brennan told Good Morning America.
Brennan said she saved and paid for the flights, “but then all the hotels and everything else that would normally be in our usual budget just added into it.”
According to experts, the July 4 holiday is the most expensive summer weekend to fly with domestic airfares averaging $412.
When to Find Cheaper Summer Deals
Waiting until the end of summer can save travelers. Hayley Berg, an economist for the flight savings and booking app Hopper, told GMA.
“If you’re willing to wait until late August to take your summer vacation. You can save as much as $118 off of domestic airfare and more than $100 off a three-night hotel stay,” she said.
Destinations That Don’t Break the Bank
Berg also said that some of the most expensive stays include Seattle, San Diego and Portland. But some less expensive places include Houston, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
Other Money Saving Tips
For families, try booking just one ticket at a time, rather than all together, Keyes suggested .
“A few months ago, we had a flight from Portland to New York, and we were searching for four tickets. And those tickets came back at $187 per person,” Keyes said. “When I reduced it down to one ticket, all of a sudden the price dropped to $113 per person.”
Keyes said what’s happening is “the airline will only sell you four tickets if they are in the same — ‘fare bucket’ — so maybe they only had three tickets available at that $113 rate. And so by searching for four tickets, I got bumped up to $187 rate.”
Another savings option is to try searching for one-way ticket fares. While one airline may have a good offer for your departure, another airline could have a good option for the return flight. Once you book, travelers can periodically go back and check the flight’s current price, so if it drops you can call the airline and ask to get a credit.
(NEW YORK) — The crackdown on Russian oil is helping push gas prices in the U.S. to record highs.
For the first time ever, seven states — Alaska, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, Oregon and Washington — have gas prices averaging over $5 a gallon.
Nationally, the average for a gallon of regular unleaded gas now stands at $4.67.
As much of the world tries to put pressure on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, experts believe gas prices will continue to soar.
The U.S. has already banned Russian oil imports and now, the European Union is saying that it will also embargo the vast majority of oil imports from Russia.
