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Associated Press STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish prosecutors say they have dropped a rape investigation that was launched in connection with soccer star Kylian Mbappé’s visit to Stockholm in October. In a statement, lead investigator Marina Chirakova says there is not enough evidence to continue the investigation into the allegation at a hotel. Prosecutors never publicly

Selena Gomez is having quite a year, and it’s being capped with an engagement to music producer and songwriter Benny Blanco. The Grammy- and Emmy-nominated performer announced she was off the market in an Instagram post Wednesday of her ring, with the caption “Forever begins now.” Celebrity fans sent their congratulations, with rapper Lil Nas

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has undergone a second procedure to stop a brain bleed. The 79-year-old Lula had surgery at the hospital on Tuesday for a kind of slow bleeding that resulted from a fall at home in October. Thursday’s procedure was to plug an artery that continued

Associated Press When the African Methodist Episcopal Church, arguably the world’s largest independent Black Protestant denomination, held its quadrennial General Conference in Ohio in August, among the agenda items was an issue that the Rev. Jennifer S. Leath had labored over for two decades: same-sex marriage. Leath, 43, self-identifies as “quare” — terminology designed to

Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The town of Asheville, North Carolina, is known for its artists and restaurants. In September, it was devastated by flooding from Hurricane Helene. Even businesses not physically harmed suffered weeks without power and water. And Asheville was essentially closed to tourists during its busiest season. So local artists and

Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — Some European Union countries are doubling down on their decision to rapidly halt asylum procedures for Syrian migrants in Europe. But they said Thursday that it’s too early to consider sending any of the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled since 2011 back home. Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece,

AP Business Writer DoorDash is requiring its drivers to verify their identities more often as part of a larger effort to crack down on unauthorized account sharing. The company has pledged to do a better job identifying and removing dangerous drivers after a flood of complaints of dangerous driving from cities. Officials in Boston, New

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A court in Pakistan has indicted imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife in one of several graft cases they face. Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi pleaded not guilty on Thursday when a judge in the garrison city of Rawalpindi read the charges. The couple is accused of keeping

Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — U.N. experts say there has been a slight drop in the production of opium in Myanmar, the world’s biggest source of the illicit drug from which heroin is derived, but warn there are still strong prospects for future expansion of the deadly trade. The Myanmar Opium Survey 2024 issued by

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Meat from fin whales caught for the first time in nearly 50 years off Japan’s northern coast has fetched up to more than $1,300 per kilogram at auction, as officials try to keep the struggling industry alive. Japan’s Fisheries Agency this year added fin whales to its list of three

AP Business Writer BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese leaders have wrapped up a two-day planning meeting in Beijing with pledges to take a more proactive approach in pepping up the economy, but gave no details on stimulus measures. A state television report on the annual strategy meeting mainly reiterated a strategy outlined earlier in the week

MAPUTO, Mozambique (AP) — Rights and civil society groups say more than 100 people including children have been killed by security forces in post-election protests in Mozambique that have lasted nearly two months. The main opposition leader called Thursday for more demonstrations against what he has says was a rigged vote by the governing party.

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — She’s an Iraq War combat veteran and sexual assault survivor who has advocated for years to improve how the military handles claims of sexual misconduct. But when Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, appeared initially cool to the nomination of President-elect Donald Trump ’s choice of Pete Hegseth to serve as defense

AP Entertainment Writer UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) — Smokey Robinson and Halle Bailey, bridging Motown’s old and new school, will host a a holiday special to honor the groundbreaking record label that changed the music landscape. “A Motown Christmas” airs Wednesday night on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock. The special will celebrate

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — As several of President-elect Donald Trump’s choices for high-level positions in his administration face scrutiny on Capitol Hill, a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that Americans have their own doubts. Relatively few Americans overall approve of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to lead the Department