What Becomes a Star Most? For Tom Cruise, It’s Control.

Sheer force of will is now part of his potent mix of athleticism and charisma. That combination goes a long way to explain why “Top Gun: Maverick” is a hit.

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By Calum Marsh

US Reports 4938 New Covid Cases

With 4938 new cases reporting on Sunday, the total number of people infected with coronavirus in the United States has risen to 87,849,552, as per Johns Hopkins University’s latest data.

The total U.S. Covid casualties increased to 1,017,856.

New Jersey reported the most number of cases – 6195 – and deaths – 8.

Deaths have increased by 23 percent in the last two weeks, New York Times’ latest tally shows.

More than 33000 people are currently in American hospitals with the coronavirus, an increase of 11 percent over the last two weeks. More than 3,700 of these patients are admitted in intensive care units, marking 11 percent rise in a fortnight.

85,172,852 people have so far recovered from the disease, the Worldometer tally shows.

597 additional deaths were reported globally on Sunday, taking the total number of people who lost their lives due to the pandemic so far to 6,339,358.

DHL to create 3,500 jobs in UK by boosting sites and new depots

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The German logistics firm is spending more than £190million on the new collection and delivery hubs.

One of them, at SEGRO Park Coventry Gateway, south of the West Midlands city’s airport, can hold up to 500,000 items a day.

It will create more than 600 jobs in administration and manufacturing. It is part of a £482million plan to expand its e-commerce operation, DHL Parcel UK.

I-70 closed in JeffCo because of serious crash

Wheat Ridge police closed a portion of eastbound Interstate 70 in Jefferson County Monday after two-car collision on the highway.

The interstate is closed between Ward Road and Kipling Street, the Wheat Ridge Police Department tweeted. Police do not know when I-70 will reopen. Traffic was being diverted to Ward Road.

Police described the crash as serious with a possible fatality.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

U.S. Construction Spending Unexpectedly Edges Down 0.1% In May

Reflecting a decrease in spending on public construction, the Commerce Department released a report on Friday showing an unexpected dip in U.S. construction spending in the month of May.

The report showed construction spending edged down by 0.1 percent to an annual rate of $1.780 trillion in May after climbing by 0.8 percent to an upwardly revised rate of $1.783 trillion in April.

The modest decrease came as a surprise to economists, who had expected construction spending to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.2 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

The slight pullback in construction spending came as spending on public construction slid by 0.8 percent to an annual rate of $343.8 billion.

Spending on educational construction fell by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of $78.4 billion, while spending on highway construction tumbled by 2.3 percent to an annual rate of $98.1 billion.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said spending on private construction came in at an annual rate of $1.436 trillion in May, virtually unchanged from the previous month.

While spending on residential construction edged up by 0.2 percent to an annual rate of $938.2 billion, spending on non-residential construction decreased by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of $497.8 billion.

German GfK Consumer Sentiment Hits New Record Low

Germany’s consumer confidence dropped to a new record low in July as consumers see the risk of the economy slipping to a recession, survey results from the market research group GfK showed on Tuesday.

The consumer confidence index fell to -27.4 in July from revised -26.2 in June. The score was forecast to fall to -27.6.

The ongoing war in Ukraine and disrupted supply chains are lifting energy and food prices in particular, and make the consumer climate gloomier than ever, Rolf Bürkl, GfK consumer expert said.

Bürkl said the European Central Bank should adopt appropriate monetary policy to curb inflation. At the same time, such measures should not push the ailing Germany economy into a recession, the expert added.

All the three components of the consumer confidence index weakened in June. The economic expectations index dropped 2.4 points to -11.7 in June.

Consumers see the risk of recession. Supply chain problems and the war dampen production and high inflation is weighing on private consumption.

The income expectations index declined more sharply by 9.8 points to -33.5 in June, the lowest score in almost 20 years.

Amid falling economic and income expectations, the propensity to buy slid 2.6 points to -13.7 in June. Households have to pay more for energy and food, leaving less financial resources for larger purchases.

The survey results are based on the responses of around 2,000 consumers, carried out on behalf of the EU Commission.