Month: February 2023

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Acclaimed Iranian director Jafar Panahi has been released on bail, two days after going on hunger strike to protest his imprisonment last summer. Panahi was arrested last July and ordered to serve a six-year sentence dating back to 2011 that had never been carried out. He is among several

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Giant panda Le Le has died, the Memphis Zoo announced Friday. The panda, born July 18, 1998, died Wednesday, zoo spokesperson Rebecca Winchester said in an email. His cause of death has yet to be determined as a medical investigation is pending, the zoo said. “Le Le’s name translates to ‘happy

By The Associated Press Ukraine and the three Baltic countries have moved a step closer to boycotting next year’s Paris Olympics because of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. The International Olympic Committee plans to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete as “neutral athletes” despite their invasion of Ukraine. The Olympic body says it

By RONALD BLUM AP Sports Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The first English-language television broadcast of the U.S. men’s soccer team in its new media contract was seen by 416,000 viewers on TNT. Last Saturday’s 0-0 exhibition draw against Colombia was seen by 540,000 in its Spanish-language broadcast on Telemundo for a combined audience of

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When Lukas Dhont was 12, a camera was thrust into his hands. For Dhont, who would come out as gay as a young adult, the camera was an escape from the strains and stereotypes he was beginning to feel pushed on him. “I needed this

By AMY TAXIN Associated Press California officials are considering a plan to make flag football a girls’ high school sport amid soaring popularity of the game and a push to get more female athletes on the field. The California Interscholastic Federation’s federated council is expected to vote Friday on the proposal. If the measure is

By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Biden administration took a first step Friday toward ending federal protections for grizzly bears in the northern Rocky Mountains, which would open the door to future hunting in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said state officials provided “substantial” information that

The Associated Press The music industry ’s Grammy awards made its debut on May 4, 1959, 30 years after the Academy Awards handed out its first Oscar honoring the best in movies. The initial Grammy celebration was bicoastal, with events in Los Angeles and New York. A total of 28 awards were handed out. That’s

DETROIT (AP) — Honda and the U.S. government are urging owners of about 8,200 older vehicles not to drive them until dangerous air bag inflators are replaced. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday issued a “Do Not Drive” advisory for the 2001 through 2003 vehicles with Takata inflators that have a high possibility

Associated Press Wall Street had its eyes Friday on big tech after some of the biggest companies in the world posted lackluster quarterly financial performances. That included Apple Inc. The company posted its first quarterly revenue drop in nearly four years after pandemic-driven restrictions on its China factories curtailed sales of the latest iPhone during

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shania Twain felt the need on her new album to empower herself the same way she has uplifted listeners with hits like “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” and “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face.” So she set aside all feelings of self consciousness

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A man is in custody and recovering from a bullet wound after shooting two St. Louis police officers who returned fire. The shooting happened about 10:30 p.m. Thursday, just south of downtown. In an update Friday afternoon, police said a 24-year-old officer was in stable condition after being shot in the

By JENNA FRYER AP Auto Racing Writer Ford will return to Formula One as the engine provider for Red Bull Racing in a partnership announced Friday that begins with immediate technical support this season and engines in 2026. Red Bull powertrains and Ford will partner on the development of a hybrid power unit that will

MALVERNE, N.Y. (AP) — A street that honored a leader of the Ku Klux Klan in New York has a new name after a yearslong campaign led by high school students. The village board of Malverne, on Long Island, voted last year to rename Lindner Place, named after Paul Lindner, a banker who helped develop

By TERESA DE MIGUEL Associated Press CALAKMUL BIOSPHERE RESERVE, Mexico (AP) — Miguel Ángel Díaz walks slowly so his footfall on dry leaves doesn’t drive away what he’s trying to find in this dense forest of seeded breadnut and sapodilla trees. Coming to a small wetland, a sign warns: Beware of the crocodile. Díaz, a

By JONATHAN LANDRUM Jr. AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — As Lil Wayne was honored for his musical achievements, the rapper opened up about the little he has been recognized previously in his career during a pre-Grammy event that also paid homage to Dr. Dre and Missy Elliott. “I don’t get honored,” Wayne remarked

By HANNA ARHIROVA Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — With next year’s Paris Olympics on the horizon and Russia’s invasion looking more like a prolonged conflict, Ukraine’s sports minister on Friday renewed a threat to boycott the games if Russia and Belarus are allowed to compete and said Kyiv would lobby other nations to join.

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A Kenyan former policeman has been sentenced to death for the murder of a human rights lawyer, his client and a taxi driver. Frederick Leliman and three others on Friday were convicted of carrying out the murders in 2016, in one of a series of cases

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The prime ministers of the three Baltic countries have urged the International Olympic Committee to ban Russian athletes from next year’s Paris Games because of the war in Ukraine and say a boycott is a possibility. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas says they should try to convince others “that the participation

BERLIN (AP) — Ukraine could add old Leopard 1 battle tanks from German defense industry stocks to deliveries of modern tanks that Germany and other governments pledged last week to counter Russian forces in the war. A German government spokesman confirmed Friday that export authorization has been granted but declined to give numbers or other

BRUSSELS (AP) — NATO is calling on Russia to respect the only treaty it has with the United States to keep a lid on nuclear weapons expansion. The 30-nation security organization is urging Moscow to allow on-the-ground inspections of military sites to resume. The New START Treaty was signed by Russia and the U.S. in

LONDON (AP) — A man who was arrested on the grounds of Windsor Castle with a loaded crossbow pleaded guilty to treason on Friday for planning to attack Queen Elizabeth II. Jaswant Singh Chail, 21, admitted to a charge under the Treason Act of intending to “injure the person of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,

MILAN (AP) — Italian news agency ANSA has reported that the bodies of eight migrants have been recovered by the coast guard during an operation overnight that also rescued 42 survivors in the central Mediterranean off the island of Lampedusa. The coast guard in Rome and in Lampedusa on Friday declined to immediately confirm details