By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer Melanie, a singer-songwriter behind 1970s hits including “Brand New Key,” has died. Melanie’s publicist tells The Associated Press that she died Tuesday. She was 76. Born Melanie Safka, the singer rose through the New York folk scene and was one of only three solo women to perform at Woodstock.
Continue ReadingBy Rikki Klaus, CNN (CNN) — Lanny Smoot has been an inventor for as long as he can remember. He told CNN one of his fondest childhood memories was the day his dad brought home a light, batteries, a bell and wire. “I probably was five or six years old, and he got the light to light up, the bell to ring – and
Continue ReadingBy Steve Contorno, Kristen Holmes, Daniel Strauss and Alayna Treene, CNN (CNN) — The first two Republican presidential nominating contests have validated what has been apparent for nearly eight years: Donald Trump remains a singular, dominant force within his party. But Iowa caucusgoers and New Hampshire primary voters also exposed noticeable chinks in Trump’s electoral
Continue ReadingBy DANICA KIRKA Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Two British museums are returning gold and silver artifacts to Ghana under a long-term loan arrangement — 150 years after the items were looted from the Asante people during Britain’s colonial battles in West Africa. The British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, together
Continue ReadingWARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s new pro-European Union government and conservative opposition disagree on whether two opposition politicians pardoned this week can still serve as lawmakers. Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government has moved to reverse policies of his predecessors that led to conflicts with the EU. The previously ruling right-wing Law and Justice party, frustrated
Continue ReadingBy SAMUEL PETREQUIN Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The number of antisemitic acts registered in France and Belgium have risen sharply since Hamas’ attack on Israel triggered the war in Gaza. That’s according to figures released on Thursday in both countries. In France, data from the Interior ministry and the Jewish Community Protection Service watchdog
Continue ReadingBy MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A man has been charged with 76 counts of murder and 86 counts of attempted murder for allegedly causing a fire at an apartment building in South Africa last year that was one of the country’s worst disasters. The suspect was also charged on Thursday with arson
Continue ReadingBy JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Billy Idol normally takes advantage of riding his motorcycle on the open road knowing there’s hardly any traffic because millions are usually glued to watching the Super Bowl. But this year, Idol’s bike won’t be leaving his garage on game day. Instead, the legendary
Continue ReadingBy KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — China has accused the U.S. of abusing international law with its military maneuvers in the western Pacific, one day after an American naval destroyer sailed through the politically sensitive Taiwan Strait. Defense Ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said Thursday that U.S. warplane and warship activity “on China’s doorstep”
Continue ReadingBy JIWON SONG Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean police say a governing party lawmaker is being treated for lacerations at a Seoul hospital after being attacked by an unidentified man who struck her in the head with a rock-like object. A police official says a suspect was arrested at the scene
Continue ReadingBy SUZAN FRASER Associated Press ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank has raised its key interest rate by another 2.5 percentage points. The move was the latest in a series of rate increases aimed at combating inflation that reached nearly 65% in December. The bank on Thursday brought its benchmark rate to 45%. Turkish
Continue ReadingPARIS Protests by French farmers are snowballing and creeping closer to Paris, ratcheting up pressure for government measures to protect the influential agricultural sector from foreign competition, red tape, rising costs and poverty-levels of pay. Traffic-snarling drive-slows, barricades of straw bales, stinky dumps of agricultural waste and other expressions of anger have rapidly blown up
Continue ReadingBy DAVID SHARP Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine’s top court is declining to weigh in on former President Donald Trump’s ballot status, keeping intact a judge’s decision that the U.S. Supreme Court must first rule on a similar case in Colorado. Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows concluded last month that Trump didn’t
Continue ReadingTALLINN, Estonia (AP) — The Moscow City Court has convicted a former Ukraine rebel leader who called President Vladimir Putin cowardly of extremism and sentenced him to four years in prison. Igor Girkin was the most prominent leader of Russian-backed separatist fighters in Ukraine’s Donetsk region in 2014, when rebellion arose after the ouster of
Continue ReadingBy BINAJ GURUBACHARYA Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal’s top diplomat says his country has asked Russia to send back hundreds of Nepali nationals who were recruited to fight in Ukraine and repatriate the bodies of those who were killed in the conflict. Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud said Thursday in an interview with
Continue ReadingBy Rob Picheta, Sebastian Shukla and Anna Chernova, CNN (CNN) — Igor Girkin, a prominent Russian pro-war blogger who criticized President Vladimir Putin’s handling of the war on Ukraine, has been found guilty on extremism charges and sentenced to four years in prison by a Moscow court. Moscow City Court convicted Girkin, also known under his pseudonym,
Continue ReadingBy MUNIR AHMED Associated Press ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Pakistani Taliban have pledged not to attack election rallies, saying their targets are limited to the military and security forces, as political parties and independent candidates ramp up their campaigns ahead of the Feb. 8 vote. Other militant groups have not made similar pledges, and some
Continue ReadingBy Arlette Saenz and Betsy Klein, CNN Superior, Wisconsin (CNN) — President Joe Biden needled former President Donald Trump while heralding a major infrastructure investment during a visit to the critical battleground state of Wisconsin Thursday. The trip comes as the president and his team are going on offense this week on the heels of
Continue ReadingBy JOSH DUBOW and HOWARD FENDRICH AP Sports Writers Joe Theismann won one Super Bowl and played in a second with Washington after entering the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick with another franchise. He starred for a coach Joe Gibbs, whose path to the Hall of Fame featured three championships with three starting QBs
Continue ReadingBy ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — The French president arrived in India on Thursday, where he is expected to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and will be the chief guest at the country’s national day celebrations. Emmanuel Macron began his visit with some sightseeing in the western city of Jaipur, a
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