AP Film Writer Richard Curtis is known for his contributions to romantic comedies with “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill” and “Love, Actually.” But writing and directing some of modern cinema’s most quotable scenes only occupy a portion of his professional life. Since a trip to Ethiopia in 1985 during the famine, Curtis has
Continue ReadingBy Tami Luhby, Tierney Sneed and Rene Marsh, CNN (CNN) — President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk have big ambitions for making the federal government leaner and more efficient by reviewing its budget and operations from top to bottom. Musk, the world’s richest person who owns or runs several companies, has warned that his goals
Continue ReadingAP Auto Racing Writer Roger Penske on Thursday added the most prestigious street race in North America to his portfolio with the purchase of the Grand Prix of Long Beach. He bought the race from Gerry Forsythe, who owned half the event with the late Kevin Kalkhoven. Forsythe bought Kalkhoven’s shares earlier this year amid
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO and the European Union are ramping up pressure on China. They want Beijing to persuade North Korea to stop sending troops to Russia in support of its war on Ukraine. Up to 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia’s Kursk border region to help beat back Ukrainian
Continue ReadingAssociated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The Democrat looking to unseat an incumbent Republican in a close Iowa congressional race has asked for a recount. Democrat Christina Bohannan is requesting the recount in her bid against incumbent Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks to represent Iowa’s 1st District. The race is one of a handful yet
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Katie Gavin is self-proclaimed “gay famous.” The frontwoman of the pop band Muna, Gavin burst onto the scene three years ago with “Silk Chiffon,” an anthem to queer joy. She goes on tour Nov. 18 with her debut solo record “What a Relief,” which was released in October. Gavin’s
Continue ReadingBy Mostafa Salem and Eyad Kourdi, CNN (CNN) — Fifteen people were killed and 16 others injured in Israeli strikes on Damascus in Syria, state media SANA said, citing a military source and marking one of the deadliest strikes in months to hit the Syrian capital. The strikes targeted several residential buildings in the upscale
Continue ReadingAP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Those ever-present TV drug ads showing patients hiking, biking or enjoying a day at the beach could soon have a different look: New rules require drugmakers to be clearer and more direct when explaining their medications’ risks and side effects. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration spent more than
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer Americans are fed up with the price of food, and many are looking to President-elect Donald Trump to lower their grocery bills. Trump often railed on the campaign trail against hefty price increases for bacon, cereal, crackers and other items. “We’ll get them down,” he told shoppers during a September visit to
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BEIRUT (AP) — An Israeli airstrike killed at least 12 Lebanese rescue workers on Thursday inside a civil defense center in the eastern city of Baalbek, according to health and rescue officials, hours after state media in Syria said Israeli strikes in and around the capital killed at least 15 people. Lebanese emergency
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Veteran NBC host and news anchor Craig Melvin has been tapped to replace Hoda Kotb as co-host of the 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. hours of “Today.” Melvin is a familiar face to “Today” show viewers. He currently hosts the show’s third hour and is the news anchor during
Continue ReadingAssociated Press ROME (AP) — The ancient Roman Colosseum will be the venue of gladiator fights — albeit staged — for the first time in two millennia under a $1.5 million sponsorship deal with Airbnb that aims to promote “a more conscious tourism.” But some visitors to the monument Thursday, as well as housing activists,
Continue ReadingAssociated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — In a Cypriot National Guard camp, Ukrainians are being trained on how to identify, locate and dispose of landmines and other unexploded munitions that litter huge swaths of their country, killing and maiming hundreds of people, including children. Analysts say Ukraine is among the countries worst affected by landmines
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — European Union regulators issued their first antitrust fine to Facebook parent Meta on Thursday with a penalty of nearly 800 million euros for what they call “abusive practices” involving its Marketplace online classified ads business. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive branch and top antitrust enforcer, issued the
Continue ReadingAssociated Press The satirical news publication The Onion was named the winning bidder for Alex Jones’ Infowars at a bankruptcy auction Thursday, backed by families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims whom Jones owes more than $1 billion in defamation judgments for calling the massacre a hoax. The purchase would turn over Jones’ company,
Continue ReadingBy Pierre Bairin, CNN (CNN) — French prosecutors have asked for prison time and a five-year ban from politics for far-right leader Marine Le Pen, potentially derailing her bid to become president in 2027. Le Pen, her National Rally (RN) party and more than 20 of its members are accused of using European Parliament money
Continue ReadingLOS ANGELES (AP) — California has seen its share of bears breaking into cars. But bears caught on camera entering luxury cars tipped off insurers that something wasn’t quite right. In what it has dubbed “Operation Bear Claw,” the California Insurance Department said four Los Angeles residents were arrested Wednesday, accused of defrauding three insurance
Continue ReadingAssociated Press LONDON (AP) — Zookeepers have blamed fireworks on the annual Bonfire Night celebrations for the death of a baby red panda named Roxie. Edinburgh Zoo said the three-month old died after choking on vomit that was believed to be caused by stress from explosions that could be heard on Guy Fawkes Day. The
Continue ReadingAssociated Press BLOOMINGTON, Indiana (AP) — When composer Mason Bates approached Michael Chabon about turning his novel “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay” into an opera, he said the writer told him frankly that “opera was not his thing.” Chabon did give his blessing for the adaptation, which premieres Friday in Bloomington, Indiana, and
Continue ReadingAP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — European Union regulators issued their first antitrust fine to Facebook parent Meta on Thursday with a penalty of nearly 800 million euros for what they call “abusive practices” involving its Marketplace online classified ads business. The European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s executive branch and top antitrust enforcer, issued the
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