Month: April 2024

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer Expectations are tempered for the financial prospects of summer of 2024 at the movies. There are fewer superheroes than normal in a landscape that was vastly altered by the production shutdowns during last year’s dual Hollywood strikes. Last summer brought a new enthusiasm at theaters, with “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,”

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A far-right Greek lawmaker has been charged with criminal assault for allegedly punching a colleague on the sidelines of a parliamentary debate. If convicted, Constantinos Floros faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Floros is an independent lawmaker who was elected with the small Spartans party in 2023 but later left it.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The names of thousands of people held in Japanese American incarceration camps during World War II have been digitized and made available for free on Ancestry. The genealogy company announced Wednesday it is collaborating with the Irei Project, which has been working to memorialize more than 125,000 detainees. Ancestry is known

By KELVIN CHAN AP Business Writer LONDON (AP) — British competition regulators say they’ll scrutinize recent artificial intelligence deals by Microsoft and Amazon over concerns that the moves could thwart competition in the AI industry. The Competition and Markets Authority said Wednesday it’s looking into Microsoft’s partnership with France’s Mistral AI and the company’s hiring

BERLIN (AP) — The German chancellor says Europe must continue to step up its help for Ukraine even after the approval of a big U.S. aid package. But he is making clear that he’s sticking to his refusal to send Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Kyiv. Olaf Scholz spoke after meeting British Prime Minister Rishi

LONDON (AP) — Police in the U.K. say a teenage girl has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after stabbing a student and two teachers at a secondary school in Wales. Local police said Wednesday that the victims were expected to survive after being taken to a hospital for treatment of stab wounds. Police

By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart. Lisa Pisano’s combination of heart and kidney failure left her too sick to qualify for a traditional

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A team of experts from the U.N. nuclear agency has inspected the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for a review of its discharge of treated radioactive wastewater into the Pacific. The International Atomic Energy  Agency inspection is part of a four-day visit to Japan that started

By JONEL ALECCIA AP Health Writer The nation’s school meals will get a makeover under new nutrition standards that limit added sugars for the first time, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday. The final rule also trims sodium in kids’ meals, although not by the 30% first proposed in 2023. And it continues to

NEW YORK (AP) — Penguin Random House is teaming with Amazon MGM Studios on a series of books based on “Wednesday,” the Emmy-winning Netflix hit about young Wednesday Addams of Addams Family fame. The publisher announced Wednesday — of course — that the series will debut this summer. Upcoming releases include an all-ages coloring book,

By JON GAMBRELL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — A warship — part of a U.S.-led coalition protecting shipping in the Mideast — intercepted an anti-ship ballistic missile fired over the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday, the American military said, marking a new attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels after a recent lull. The Houthis claimed the

By LORNE COOK Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union says it will investigate whether China is using unfair methods to deprive companies in Europe of access to its market for medical devices. The European Commission probe is the latest attempt to help European companies gain equal access to China’s vast markets. The commission

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s government has approved a controversial overhaul of the country’s public radio and television services, a move that critics say would result in the government taking full control of the media. Thousands rallied in the capital last month to condemn the plan, which was widely criticized by local journalists, the opposition,

By DAMIAN J. TROISE AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Relentlessly rising auto insurance rates are squeezing car owners and stoking inflation. Auto insurance rates rose 2.6% in March and are up 22% from a year ago. Premium costs have marched steadily higher since 2022, even as inflation at the consumer level cooled from

ROME (AP) — Tech giant Cisco Systems has joined Microsoft and IBM in signing onto a Vatican-sponsored pledge to ensure artificial intelligence is developed and used ethically. The Cisco Systems chief executive signed the document Wednesday and met privately with Pope Francis. The pledge emphasizes that AI systems must be designed, used and regulated to serve

By ROBERT YOON Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Puerto Rico will hold a Democratic presidential primary, the only opportunity for Democrats on the island to officially weigh in on the race for the White House. Puerto Rico can’t vote in the general election but may participate in presidential primaries and send delegates to both the

By PAN PYLAS Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Five military horses spooked by noise from a nearby building site bolted during routine exercises on Wednesday near Buckingham Palace, unseating four riders and causing chaos as they galloped loose through central London streets and collided with vehicles during the busy morning rush hour. It is believed

JERUSALEM (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s 88-year-old King Salman has entered the hospital Wednesday for what state media described as “routine examinations.” The state-run Saudi Press Agency did not elaborate other than to say that he would be at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah. He later left the hospital. King Salman took the throne in

By KEN MORITSUGU Associated Press BEIJING (AP) — Foreign automakers have been caught flat-footed in China by an electric vehicle boom that has shaken up the market over the last three years. That has left manufacturers like Volkswagen scrambling to develop new models for a very different market than at home. The Volkswagen Group, which

BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Cabinet has approved a 4.57% rise in retirees’ pensionsfrom  this summer, an increase that is well above the current inflation rate. Rises in German pensions are linked largely to wage developments. Although Germany’s inflation rate has subsided over the past year, the outcome of salary negotiations in various sectors lately has

By The Associated Press The patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Chuch has suspended a priest who participated in services for the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Dmitry Safronov took part in Navalny’s funeral as well as presiding at a commemoration on March 26, the 40th day after his death — an important Russian Orthodox tradition. An

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Airline officials say oil sprayed from an All Nippon Airways plane as it landed in northern Japan, but none of the 213 people on board was injured. They say the nonflammable oil from a control system evaporated as it contacted a hot engine, giving the appearance of

LONDON (AP) — The former leader of Northern Ireland’s biggest unionist party was jeered as he left court following his appearance on sexual abuse charges dating back nearly four decades. Jeffrey Donaldson, who’s 61, faces one charge of rape and 10 other counts dating from 1985 to 2006. His wife, Eleanor Donaldson, who’s 58, faces

By DAN FRIO Edmunds If you’ve ever spotted cars with chameleon, chrome-like finishes, patterns such as stripes and camouflage, or just an off-beat pink or lime green, you’ve likely seen a vinyl wrap. Wraps are a fast growing car-customizing trend. They’re durable, relatively affordable and, with good care, can last around five years. And unlike

By SAM METZ and BARBARA SURK Associated Press RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Authorities in Europe have recovered bodies of people who attempted to migrate across both the English Channel and the Mediterranean Sea this week. Such scenes of despair and tragedy complicate efforts to introduce new and tougher measures in Europe’s migration policy. The deaths