WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s defense minister says that since early in Russia’s war against Ukraine he has kept an emergency backpack ready. The comment from a high government official reflects the anxieties in Europe, particularly among those in central and eastern Europe close to the war in Ukraine. But some critics say the comment
Continue ReadingBy ZEN SOO AP Technology Writer HONG KONG (AP) — A top public relations executive from Chinese technology firm Baidu has apologized after she made comments in a series of videos that critics said glorified a culture of overwork. Baidu’s head of communications Qu Jing sparked a public outcry in China after she implied in
Continue ReadingBy ISABEL DEBRE Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina’s biggest trade unions have mounted one of their fiercest challenges to the libertarian government of President Javier Milei. The powerful unions called a mass general strike on Thursday that disrupted key subway and bus lines and led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
Continue ReadingBy JILL LAWLESS Associated Press MALMO, Sweden (AP) — Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators are protesting in Malmo, Sweden against Israel’s participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Protesters waving Palestinian flags packed the historic Stortorget square before a planned march through the city. Chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and “Israel
Continue ReadingBy John Fritze, CNN (CNN) — The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with a man who claimed he had copyrighted music decades ago that was later used in a 2008 single by the rapper Flo Rida. The Flo Rida track “In the Ayer” incorporated elements of “Jam the Box,” created in the 1980s by Tony
Continue ReadingPHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia police have cleared out a homeless encampment in a city neighborhood where drug use has been pervasive for years. But homeless advocates and others have raised concerns about how it was done. The so-called encampment resolution began around 7 a.m. Wednesday in the Kensington neighborhood and was completed by 10 a.m.
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Stormy Daniels returned to the witness stand in Donald Trump’s hush money trial Thursday, two days after she spent hours recounting in sometimes graphic detail the alleged 2006 sexual encounter with the former president that she was eventually paid to keep quiet about during the 2016 presidential election. The former president’s
Continue ReadingPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Puerto Rico has declared a state of emergency following heavy rains, widespread flooding and landslides in the U.S. territory. One person is reported missing. Gov. Pedro Pierluisi also activated the National Guard on Wednesday to help 22 of the island’s 78 municipalities that were hardest hit. More than 10 inches or
Continue ReadingBy KRISTIN M. HALL and GEORGE WALKER IV Associated Press COLUMBIA, Tenn. (AP) — A 10-year-old boy is in grave condition in Tennessee after being swept into a storm drain in a community southeast of Nashville. Now a new wave of dangerous storms is crashing over parts of the region Thursday even as it cleans
Continue ReadingBy LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Andy Serkis is going back to Middle-earth to play Gollum in two new Lord of the Rings films. Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group’s Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy said Thursday that Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, the Oscar-winning team behind the “Lord of the Rings” and
Continue ReadingBy Ted Barrett, Clare Foran and Kristin Wilson, CNN Washington (CNN) — The Senate voted on Thursday to pass a major federal aviation bill ahead of a key Friday deadline. The bipartisan Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill would renew authority for the agency for the next five years and aims to improve aviation safety, enhance protections
Continue ReadingBy MICHAEL R. SISAK, JAKE OFFENHARTZ, JENNIFER PELTZ and COLLEEN LONG Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Stormy Daniels returned to the witness stand Thursday in Donald Trump’s hush money trial as the defense sought to undermine the credibility of the porn actor’s salacious testimony about their alleged sexual encounter and the money she was
Continue ReadingBy SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two men who were instrumental in creating a global seed vault designed to safeguard the world’s agricultural diversity will be honored as the 2024 World Food Prize laureates. Officials announced Thursday that the prize will go to Cary Fowler and Geoffrey Hawtin. Fowler is the
Continue ReadingNEW YORK (AP) — Harvey Weinstein was expected in a New York City courtroom Thursday as authorities consider California’s extradition request to serve his pending sentence for a 2022 rape conviction in Los Angeles. The 16-year sentence Weinstein received in 2023 for raping a woman at a 2013 Los Angeles film festival had been on
Continue ReadingBy ALMA SOLÍS Associated Press Ramón Fonseca, a partner in the Mossack Fonseca law firm at the center of the “Panama Papers” scandal, has died. Lawyer Guillermina McDonald confirmed to The Associated Press in a phone message that Fonseca died late Wednesday. She said he had been hospitalized since two days before last month’s start
Continue ReadingBy Christina Maxouris, Shawn Nottingham, Melissa Alonso and Dakin Andone, CNN (CNN) — A Florida sheriff publicly released bodycam footage from a deputy who fatally shot a Black airman in his home last week – and disputed claims from the victim’s family that the deputy had gone to the wrong apartment. Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric
Continue ReadingBy MATT OTT AP Business Writer The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits jumped to its highest level in more than eight months last week in another sign that the labor market may be softening. The Labor Department reported Thursday that unemployment claims for the week ending May 4 rose by 22,000 to 231,000.
Continue ReadingBy STEVE REED AP Sports Writer CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets have named Charles Lee as their next head coach. The 39-year-old Lee joins the Hornets after serving as the Boston Celtics top assistant coach. Lee will complete the Celtics’ playoff run before joining the Hornets on a full-time basis. Lee spent five
Continue ReadingBy Faith Karimi and Al Goodman, CNN (CNN) — About 9:30 p.m. on February 2, a man in a helmet entered Ana Maria Knezevich Henao’s apartment building in an exclusive neighborhood in Madrid. Henao, who was on vacation in Spain from south Florida, was in the building at the time and planning a trip to
Continue ReadingBy ANNE M. PETERSON AP Soccer Writer The Philadelphia Union have formally announced that they have signed 14-year-old academy prospect Cavan Sullivan to a Homegrown contract that will eventually land him with Manchester City. The long-rumored deal — said to be the richest Homegrown signing in Major League Soccer history, although no details were released
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