Month: May 2024

By MICHELLE CHAPMAN AP Business Writer Artists from Universal Music Group, which include Taylor Swift, Drake, Adele, Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish, will be returning to TikTok as the two parties have struck a new licensing agreement following an approximately three-month long dispute. The two sides said Thursday that they are “now working expeditiously to

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The Norwegian center-left government says it wants to add 7 billion kroner, or $630 million to the Scandinavian country’s armed forces over the next 12 years amid increased tensions in the region. The announcement came on top of plans announced last month of a “historic increase” of $54 billion in the

By ABBY SEWELL Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The European Union has announced an aid package for Lebanon of 1 billion euros — about $1.06 billion — that will mostly go to strengthening border control to halt the flow of asylum seekers and migrants from the small, crisis-wracked country across the Mediterranean Sea to Cyprus

By EVELYNE MUSAMBI Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Human Rights Watch has accused Kenyan authorities of not responding adequately to ongoing floods that have killed more than 170 people since the start of the rainy season. The rights group on Thursday said the government “has a human rights obligation to prevent foreseeable harm from

By SUSIE BLANN and ILLIA NOVIKOV Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia has struck the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa with ballistic missiles in a nighttime attack, injuring 14 people and starting a massive blaze. Local officials and emergency services say the third attack on the city in a week hit a sorting

PARIS (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has unveiled an international framework for regulation and use of generative AI. It adds to global efforts on governance for the rapidly advancing technology. Kishida made the announcement in a speech at the Paris-based OECD on Thursday. He said generative AI has the potential to be a

By JAMEY KEATEN Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest say they reserve the right to remove any Palestinian flags and pro-Palestinian symbols at the show next week in Sweden. The announcement came amid heightened tensions surrounding Israel’s participation in the annual music competition over its military campaign against Hamas in

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish police have arrested a 16-year-old male on suspicion of attacking a synagogue with Molotov cocktails and say they plan to ask prosecutors to open an investigation. The synagogue was attacked around 1 a.m. on Wednesday, sustaining some damage to its facade. Nobody was in the prayer hall at that time

By COLLEEN LONG and STEVE PEOPLES Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is detouring to Charlotte, North Carolina, to meet with the families of law enforcement officers shot to death on the job. The visit comes just a week after he sat down with the grieving relatives of two cops killed in Upstate

By BEN FINLEY and MAKIYA SEMINERA Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Arrest warrants must be served to alleged criminals if society is going to function. But there is no guarantee of safety for police officers knocking on their doors. The grim risks came into stark relief Monday when four law enforcement officers were killed

By The Associated Press If the Israel-Hamas war stopped today, it would still take until 2040 to rebuild all the homes that have been destroyed in nearly seven months of Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in the territory, according to United Nations estimates released Thursday. The United States has pressured Israel to increase aid deliveries

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press ROME (AP) — A European court has upheld Italy’s right to seize a prized Greek statue from the J. Paul Getty Museum in California. The European Court of Human Rights rejecting the museum’s appeal on Thursday and ruled that Italy was right to try to reclaim an important part of

BEIJING (AP) — The death toll has climbed to 48 as search efforts continue in southern China after a highway section collapsed in a mountainous area, sending more than 20 cars down a steep slope. Officials in Meizhou city said Thursday that three other people were unidentified, pending DNA testing. It wasn’t immediately clear if

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — The parliament of Georgia has cancelled its plenary session following massive protests against a proposed law that critics fear will stifle media freedom and endanger the country’s bid for membership in the European Union. The parliament’s announcement said the cancellation was connected to damage the building suffered during Wednesday protests in

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — Toothbrushes used to be simple, powered only by your hand so they never broke down. Nowadays, rechargeable electric toothbrushes are increasingly popular because they make brushing easier and more effective, but they are a headache when they stop working properly. Inside an electric toothbrush’s waterproof housing

By MENELAOS HADJICOSTIS Associated Press NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus has given Chevron another six months to come up with a revised plan to develop a sizeable natural gas deposit off the island nation’s southern coastline after an earlier plan was deemed lacking in a specific timetable. An official with knowledge of the matter says

By ZIMO ZHONG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — Asian markets wobbled in Thursday trading after U.S. stocks swung to a mixed finish with the Federal Reserve delaying cuts to interest rates. U.S. futures surged and oil prices were higher. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index dropped 0.1% to 38,236.07. The Japanese yen surged as much as

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s parliament has approved legislation mandating a new, independent investigation into the 2022 Halloween crush in Seoul that killed 159 people. The single-chamber National Assembly passed the bill by a 256-0 vote on Thursday. It will become law after it’s signed by President Yoon Suk

SYDNEY (AP) — A judge has denied bail to a 15-year-old boy alleged to be in a network planning terrorist acts and who claimed to be a friend of another teen accused of stabbing a Sydney bishop. The attack on the bishop last month triggered an investigation that led to the arrests of six teens

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s Defense Ministry says a huge explosion at a military base in the southwest that killed 20 soldiers and injured many others was an accident caused by a “technical issue” from the old and degraded ammunition that was being moved. The army already said on Tuesday that Saturday’s blast was

By MARKO DROBNJAKOVIC and JOVANA GEC Associated Press BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia is preparing to mark the anniversary of a school shooting last year that killed 10 people. Mother Ninela Radicevic lost her 11-year-old daughter in the tragedy on May 3, 2023. Radicevic told The Associated in an interview before Friday’s anniversary that “everyone

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Millions of voters in England and Wales will cast their ballots on Thursday in an array of local elections that will be the last big test before a U.K. general election that all indicators show will see the Conservative Party ousted from power after 14 years. Prime

By MARK LEWIS Associated Press STAVANGER, Norway (AP) — A convicted sex offender is asking the Norwegian Supreme Court to declare social media access is a human right. The case before the court Thursday involves a man who molested a minor and used the Snapchat messaging app to connect with young boys. The unnamed offender

By RYAN KRYSKA AP Sports Writer Gamers’ appetites for immersive sports video games have not changed much since the heyday of EA Sports’ college football. Society, however, has. Video-game developer EA Sports is breaking back into the college football world 11 years after lawsuits over using players’ likeness without compensation froze the franchise. EA Sports

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says the company will invest $2.2 billion over the next four years in new cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure in Malaysia. It marks Microsoft’s single largest investment in the country, as the tech giant seeks to bolster support for AI development in the region and worldwide.

By DAVID KLEPPER and KRUTIKA PATHI Associated Press NEW DELHI (AP) — Bollywood stars seldom weigh in on politics, so videos showing two celebrities criticizing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — and endorsing his main opposition, the Congress party — were bound to go viral. But the clips of A-list actors Aamir Khan and Ranveer

By JEFF AMY Associated Press CONYERS, Ga. (AP) — U.S. Rep. David Scott faces multiple Democratic primary opponents in his quest for a 12th congressional term. He’s running in a sharply reconfigured suburban Atlanta district. With early voting underway ahead of the May 21 primary elections, the 78-year-old is trying to glide to renomination. Challengers

By MARIA CHENG and CHRISTINA MALKIA Associated Press KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Scientists say a new form of mpox detected in a mining town in Congo might more easily spread among people. Already, Congo is seeing its biggest mpox outbreak with more than 4,500 suspected infections and nearly 300 deaths. A new study that will

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A federal judge is scheduled to sentence a California scuba dive boat captain for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel in 2019. The tragedy was the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history. Captain Jerry Boylan’s sentencing hearing is set

By DAVID BAUDER and CHRISTINE FERNANDO Associated Press Writers NEW YORK (AP) — Ordered by police to leave the scene of a UCLA campus protest after violence broke out, Catherine Hamilton and three colleagues from the Daily Bruin suddenly found themselves surrounded by demonstrators who beat, kicked and sprayed them with a noxious chemical. On

By ANITA SNOW and MORGAN LEE Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs is following through on promises to undo a long-dormant law that bans all abortions except those done to save a patient’s life. A signing ceremony was scheduled for Thursday on a bill to repeal the state’s near-total abortion ban.

By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press FORT LIBERTY, N.C. (AP) — A haunting new video released in the early morning hours is the latest effort by the Army to lure soldiers to some of its more secretive units. Hints of its origin are tucked into the frames as they flash by touting the power of

By CHEVEL JOHNSON RODRIGUE and KEVIN McGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival is usually akin to a 14-ring musical circus — a variety of musical acts playing simultaneously on stages spread throughout the sprawling infield of a historic horse racing track. That changes Thursday afternoon, when 13

By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is staying mum about student protests and police crackdowns as Republicans try to turn campus unrest over the war in Gaza into a campaign cudgel against Democrats. Tension at colleges and universities has been building for days as some demonstrators refuse to remove encampments

By BRUCE SCHREINER Associated Press GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) — Michael Blowen can step outside his house anytime and visit retired racehorses at Old Friends, the thoroughbred retirement farm he founded in Kentucky two decades ago. The farm is dedicated to providing dignity and comfort to retired racehorses. Blowen’s favorite resident is 30-year-old Silver Charm. The

By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s 1864 abortion ban will soon be gone from the law books, but not from the campaign trail. Even after the state Legislature voted Wednesday to repeal a law banning nearly all abortions, Democrats running in the battleground state, from President Joe Biden on down, have

By KIRSTEN GRIESHABER Associated Press DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Herbert Rubinstein was 5 years old when he and his mother where taken from the Jewish ghetto of Chernivtsi and put on a cramped cattle wagon waiting to take them to their deaths. It was 1941, and Romanians collaborating with Germany’s Nazis were rounding up tens

By LISA MASCARO AP Congressional Correspondent WASHINGTON (AP) — Without wielding the gavel or holding a formal job laid out in the Constitution, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries might very well be the most powerful person in Congress right now. The minority leader of the House Democrats, Jeffries and the House Democratic leadership team decided this week

By SAMYA KULLAB Associated Press KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian soldiers say they are worried fortifications are not being built quicky enough as Russian forces continue to advance along the front lines. Poorly built defensive lines, including trenches, foxholes and firing positions, are part of the reason outgunned Ukrainians forces have had to withdraw, because

By MICHAEL R. SISAK, JENNIFER PELTZ, ERIC TUCKER and JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump faces the prospect of additional sanctions in his hush money trial as he returns to court for another contempt hearing followed by testimony from a lawyer who represented two women who have said they had sexual

By KRYSTA FAURIA, ETHAN SWOPE, JAKE OFFENHARTZ and JOSEPH B. FREDERICK Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tensions are growing on the UCLA campus as law enforcement officers order a large group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators to disperse. The heavy police presence comes as administrators and campus police are facing intense criticism for failing to act

PHOENIX (AP) — WNBA star Brittney Griner says she thought about killing herself during her first few weeks in a Russian jail after her 2022 arrest on drug-related charges. Griner spoke for the first time about her monthslong detention in Russia during an hourlong interview that aired Wednesday night on ABC. Her memoir, “Coming Home,”

By CARLOS MUREITHI Associated Press NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — African climate-tech startups are increasingly raising money from private sources, but while those funds for climate solutions are growing, a huge gap remains in meeting the actual financial needs for climate action in Africa. Africa requires an estimated $277 billion annually to implement its climate goals.

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former Nickelodeon producer Dan Schneider is suing the makers of the documentary “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV” for implying that he sexually abused children. The defamation suit was filed Wednesday in a Los Angeles court aainst Warner Bros. Discovery and other

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Solomon Islands lawmakers have chosen former Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manale  as the new prime minister of the South Pacific island nation that has grown closer to China in recent years. The withdrawal of pro-Beijing former Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare from the contest to remain head of

By ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has rejected a bid to release from jail a former FBI informant who is charged with fabricating a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden’s family. Alexander Smirnov’s lawyers had urged the California-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a

By GENE JOHNSON Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday rejected a long-running lawsuit brought by young Oregon-based climate activists who argued that the U.S. government’s role in climate change violated their constitutional rights. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals previously ordered the case dismissed in 2020, saying that

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press Student journalists on the Columbia University campus knew what was coming long before police with riot shields arrived to begin arresting the pro-Palestinian protesters. They had watched the situation spiral as the protesters stood their ground, refusing to abandon Hamilton Hall and using a pulley system to bring supplies into