AP-National

By BRIAN WITTE Associated Press ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told U.S. Naval Academy graduates that they will be leading future sailors and Marines “through tension and uncertainty.” Austin noted in his speech Friday how two graduates from last year were just aboard the USS Carney in the Red Sea, where they

By JULIE CARR SMYTH Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A battle is under way for the future of Ohio’s $94 billion teacher pension fund. The State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio is facing intense scrutiny, including state investigations and a lawsuit. Would-be reformers are attempting to deliver long-promised benefits to retirees, but the governor

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to eastern Europe next week as concerns mount about Russia’s advances in Ukraine, potential Russian interference in neighboring Moldova and pro-Moscow legislation being promoted in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The State Department said Friday that Blinken would

By PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press MASSAPEQUA PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Investigators in the New York City suburbs continue to scour the home of a Manhattan architect charged in a string of slayings known as the Gilgo Beach killings. Friday marked the fifth straight day of the renewed search at Rex Heuermann’s dilapidated, single-family home in

By DIARLEI RODRIGUES and MAURICIO SAVARESE Associated Press RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — At the rear of Rio de Janeiro’s polluted Guanabara Bay, thousands of mangroves rise as tall as 13 feet, or about 4 meters, from a previously deforested area. The 30,000 trees were planted by non-profit organization Instituto Mar Urbano over four years

By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Boeing is now aiming for its first astronaut launch at the beginning of June, after spending the past few weeks struggling with more problems on the space capsule. Officials for the company and NASA said Friday that intensive reviews indicate the Starliner capsule can

By JIM VERTUNO Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Families in Uvalde took more legal action Friday on the second anniversary of the Robb Elementary School attack, suing Meta Platforms, which owns Instagram, and the maker of the video game Call of Duty over claims the companies bear responsibility for products used by the teenage

NEW YORK (AP) — The NewsNation television network completes its transition to an all-news outlet next week. When acquired by Nexstar, the former WGN America network began its shift to news in 2020. Starting June 1, a three-hour news block anchored by Adrienne Bankert on Saturday and Sunday afternoons will displace reruns of the drama

By GARY GERARD HAMILTON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — If truth has the power to set one free, then Rapsody’s new album, “Please Don’t Cry,” has removed her from emotional imprisonment and gifted her immeasurable liberation. The three-time Grammy nominee is not only frequently lauded by critics as the best female lyricist, but also

By JIM HEINTZ Associated Press TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited his Belarusian counterpart and close ally for talks in Minsk. After their meeting on Friday, Putin questioned in remarks to reporters whether Volodymyr Zelenskyy would have the legitimacy to negotiate on Ukraine’s behalf in potential peace talks. According to Putin,

By DÁNICA COTO and EVENS SANON Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A U.S. missionary couple and a Haitian man who worked with them were shot and killed by gang members in Haiti’s capital after they were attacked while leaving a youth group activity held at a local church, a family member said Friday. The

MIAMI (AP) — A federal immigration officer has been convicted of using a cellphone to record a video and take photos under the skirt of a flight attendant as he escorted an immigrant who was being deported. Billy Olvera was convicted Wednesday in Miami’s federal court of interfering with a flight crew. He faces up

Associated Press The dog that skyrocketed to internet fame and became the face of the cryptocurrency dogecoin has died. The Shiba Inu named Kabosu passed away in Japan at 18 years old, a number of outlets reported. The dog’s owner, Atsuko Sato, said in a post that Kabosu died in her sleep. The account for

HONG KONG (AP) — China’s latest artificial intelligence chatbot is trained on President Xi Jinping’s doctrine in a stark reminder of the ideological parameters that Chinese AI models should abide by. China’s cyberspace academy CAC earlier this week announced the chatbot trained on Xi Jinping Thought. It said the doctrine promotes “socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer All seven members of BTS are currently serving South Korea’s compulsory enlistment for men of a certain age. In what should feel like an absence, the K-pop boy band is keeping their fans occupied with a steady release schedule of eclectic solo material. Next up is rapper RM’s second

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer Both the Beach Boys and “The Beach Boys” — the new documentary dropping Friday on Disney+ — are all about blending a range of voices. The three Wilson brothers — Brian, Carl and Dennis — along with cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine, brought a harmonic revolution to

By The Associated Press This week’s new streaming entertainment releases include a new album from Willie Nelson, Benedict Cumberbatch playing a curmudgeon puppeteer in “Eric” on Netflix and home improvement gurus Chip and Joanna Gaines fix up a mid-century modern lake house on HGTV. There’s also a documentary about Muppet creator Jim Henson, George Clooney’s

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say they have arrested two men suspected of plotting a knife attack on worshippers at a synagogue in the southwestern city of Heidelberg. The suspects, who are 24 and 18 years old, were detained during separate police operations in the state of Baden-Wuerttember earlier this month. Police and prosecutors say

By JESSE BEDAYN Associated Press/Report for America DENVER (AP) — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed two bills into law Friday that overhaul state oversight of the funeral home industry after a series of gruesome discoveries, including 190 discomposing bodies in a facility, families being sent fake ashes and the unauthorized sale of body parts. The

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has paved the way for the canonization of the first saint of the millennial generation, attributing a second miracle to a 15-year-old Italian computer whiz who died of leukemia in 2006. Carlo Acutis, born on May 3, 1991, in London and then moved with his Italian parents to Milan as