Year: 2024

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — With politics set aside, well-wishers gathered to wish the Taipei zoo’s oldest giant panda a happy 20th birthday. Visitors crowded around Yuanyuan’s enclosure to take photos of her with a birthday cake in the shape of the number 20. Yuanyuan was born in China and arrived in 2008 with her partner

Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — Germany has deported Afghan nationals to their homeland for the first time since August 2021, when the Taliban returned to power. A government spokesman described the 28 Afghan nationals deported Friday as convicted criminals but did not clarify their offenses. While the deportations have been in the works for months,

AP Sports Writer EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The 2026 World Cup is coming to North America with an ambitious plan, expanding the field by 50% and spreading the soccer spectacle over 16 cities in three countries with multiple climates and elevations. FIFA partnered with turf experts at the University of Tennessee and Michigan State

Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — An Apple TV+ documentary series, “K-pop Idols,” premiering Friday, offers an intimate look at how the K-pop industry is embracing diversity while grappling with challenges in a field that demands perfection. The six-part series features Korean American star Jessi and up-and-coming K-pop bands like Cravity and Blackswan, documenting

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Officials say a tropical storm developing in the Arabian Sea has prompted authorities to shut schools in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. Weather forecasters warned fishermen on Friday not to venture out to sea. The disaster management authority warned that the storm could cause heavy rains in Karachi and elsewhere. A day

AP Business Writer Stocks on Wall Street finished broadly higher Friday as the market closed out its fourth straight winning month with solid gains. A late-afternoon rally helped stocks bounce back from a midafternoon slide. The S&P 500 rose 1%, with about 76% of the stocks in the index notching gains. The benchmark S&P 500

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — A slow-moving tropical storm is having a far-reaching impact in much of Japan, dumping heavy rain around Tokyo and flooding roads and riverside areas in the south. Flooding was reported Friday in a number of areas west of Tokyo, where water blocked roads and stalled cars. Warnings for heavy rain

AP Film Writer VENICE, Italy (AP) — “Babygirl,” an erotic thriller about a female CEO who begins an affair with a younger, male intern, is about sex, certainly. But that’s just part of the story. It’s also about desire, secrets, marriage, truth, power and consent, star Nicole Kidman said Friday at the Venice Film Festival.

Associated Press Racial differences in how schools discipline students received new attention 10 years ago, during a national reckoning with racial injustice. A decade later, change has been slow to materialize. In many schools around the country, Black students have been more likely to receive punishments that remove them from the classroom, including suspensions, expulsions

Associated Press The United States’ longest war is over. But not for everyone. Outside of San Francisco, surgeon Doug Chin has helped provide medical assistance to people in Afghanistan via video calls. He has helped Afghan families with their day-to-day living expenses. Yet he remains haunted by the people he could not save. In Long

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump lamented the growing acceptance of transgender Americans Friday in an appearance at the annual gathering of Moms for Liberty, a national nonprofit that has spearheaded efforts to get mentions of LGBTQ+ identity and structural racism out of K-12 classrooms. Trump said transgender women should not

Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) — The effort to make the peace between Donald Trump and Georgia’s powerful Republican governor began in a sprawling neo-Victorian mansion in the exclusive Atlanta enclave of Buckhead. It was at an Aug. 7 fundraiser hosted by former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler that fellow Republican Lindsey Graham approached Gov. Brian Kemp.

AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A San Diego doctor who has agreed to plead guilty as part of the investigation of the overdose death of Matthew Perry has made his first court appearance. Dr. Mark Chavez appeared Friday in federal court in Los Angeles, where he told a judge he understood his rights.

Associated Press KINGSTON, N.Y. (AP) — On a residential block in upstate New York, college students dig and sift backyard dirt as part of an archaeological project that could provide insights into the lives of African Americans buried there centuries ago. This spot of tightly-packed houses in the city of Kingston was a cemetery for

Associated Press Before he was suspended, Zaire Byrd was thriving. He acted in school plays, played on the football team and trained with other athletes. He had never been suspended before — he’d never even received detention. But when Byrd got involved in a fight after school one day, none of that seemed to matter

Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Several programs of diversity, equity and inclusion are at risk of elimination at North Carolina’s flagship university after the University of North Carolina Board of Governors voted to scrap a previous diversity policy in May and replace it with a new one. Sept. 1 marks the deadline for implementing