NEWSMAKERS

NEWSMAKERS

Groundhog forecasts aren’t in agreement

MARION, OHIO

Ohio’s weather forecasting groundhog Buckeye Chuck says spring will be here soon. Amid a steady snowfall Sunday morning, Buckeye Chuck predicted the end of winter after he did not see his shadow.

According to The Marion Star, Paul James with WMRN radio says Buckeye Chuck is right “about 70 percent of the time.”

Pennsylvania’s better-known Punxsutawney Phil disagreed with Chuck’s forecast. He saw his shadow, forecasting six more weeks of winter.

More than 150 attended the Marion Groundhog Day ceremony in north-central Ohio.

‘Ride Along’ is No. 1 for the third week

LOS ANGELES

With Super Bowl XLVIII weekend in full swing, “Ride Along” remained strong, steering Universal Pictures into the No. 1 slot in a surprising three-week takeover at the box office.

Topping multiplex sales since setting a January debut record with $48.6 million, the buddy cop comedy, starring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube, made $12.3 million, as it nears a $100 million domestic total, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Disney’s “Frozen,” now the fourth-highest-grossing domestic animated release, is in second place with $9.3 million.

“That Awkward Moment,” starring Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller, took third place in its opening weekend with $9 million.

In fourth place was “The Nut Job” with $7.6 million; in fifth place was “Lone Survivor,” with $7.2 million.

Rowling: ‘Potter’ ending may be wrong

LONDON

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is having second thoughts about having ended the series with heroine Hermione Granger paired up romantically with Ron Weasley.

The hugely successful author tells Wonderland magazine she chose the red-haired Ron for Hermione for very personal reasons having little to do with literature.

She told the magazine she “wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment” and said the couple might eventually need relationship counseling.

The soon-to-be published interviewed was reported in The Sunday Times, which also quoted actress Emma Watson, who played Hermione, expressing doubts about the viability of her character’s relationship with Ron.

She told the newspaper that many fans doubt Ron can make Hermione happy over time.

Many fans had hoped Harry and Hermione would become a couple.

Associated Press