18 hours Ago By AP
'More than brick and mortar:' DC begins removing 'Black Lives Matter' plaza near the White House WASHINGTON (AP) — Crews have begun work to remove the large yellow “Black Lives Matter” painted on the street one block from the White House. D.C.
Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the change last week in response to pressure from activist Republicans in Congress. The work is expected to take about six weeks and the words will be replaced by an unspecified set of city-sponsored murals. The painting of those words was an act of government-sponsored defiance during President Donald Trump’s first term.
Their removal amounts to a public acknowledgement of just how vulnerable D.C. is now that Trump is back in the White House and Republicans control both houses of Congress.
Music flows in Roberta Flack 'Celebration of Life' memorial featuring Lauryn Hill and Stevie Wonder NEW YORK (AP) — Music including a surprise appearance by Lauryn Hill and performances by Stevie Wonder featured in a memorial ceremony for Grammy-winning singer and pianist Roberta Flack in New York. Flack died last month at age 88. Her intimate vocal and musical style made her a top recording artist of the 1970s and influential long after.
On Monday, a “Celebration of Life” memorial for Flack featured Hill covering two of Flack's top hits and Wonder doing of his own, “If It's Magic." The public “Celebration of Life” for Flack took place at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. Michelle Obama and her brother to launch a podcast with weekly guests NEW YORK (AP) — Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, will host a new weekly podcast series starting this month featuring a special guest pulled from the world of entertainment, sports, health and business.
“IMO with Michelle Obama & Craig Robinson” will address “everyday questions shaping our lives, relationships and the world around us,” according to a press release. IMO is slang for “in my opinion.” Some of the guests slated to speak to the former first lady and Robinson, the executive director of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, include the actors Issa Rae and Keke Palmer and psychologist Dr.
Orna Guralnik. Guatemala's Volcano of Fire erupts and forces evacuations SAN JUAN ALOTENANGO, Guatemala (AP) — Guatemala’s Volcano of Fire is erupting, and authorities have evacuated nearly 300 families while warning that another 30,000 people in the area could be at risk. The eruption started overnight.
There is no immediate report of casualties. The 12,300-foot high volcano is one of the most active in Central America. It last erupted in June 2023.
A 2018 eruption killed 194 people and left another 234 missing. The volcano is 33 miles from Guatemala’s capital. Elon Musk claims X being targeted in 'massive cyberattack' as service goes down Hours after a series of outages that left X unavailable to thousands of users, Elon Musk is claiming that the social media platform is being targeted in a “massive cyberattack.
" Musk said on a post Monday that the attacker is either a large, coordinated group or a country. Complaints about outages spiked Monday at 6 a.m.
Eastern and again at 10 a.m, with more than 40,000 users reporting no access to the platform, according to the tracking website Downdetector.com .
A sustained outage appeared to begin just after noon Eastern. AI made its way to vineyards. Here's how the technology is helping make your wine LOS ANGELES (AP) — As AI continues to grow, experts say that the wine industry is proof that businesses can integrate the technology efficiently to supplement labor without displacing a workforce.
New agricultural tech like AI can help farmers to cut back on waste, and to run more efficient and sustainable vineyards by monitoring water use and helping determine when and where to use products like fertilizers or pest control. AI-backed tractors and irrigation systems can minimize water use by analyzing soil or vines, while also helping farmers manage acres of vineyards by providing more accurate data on the health of a crop or what a season’s yield will be. The cute whiskers are back on.
Rare Mediterranean monk seals are cared for in a Greek rehab center ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A Greek charity has been treating dozens of orphaned, sick and injured Mediterranean monk seals, rare marine mammals whose population had dwindled so dramatically that the species at one point faced extinction. Panagis, an orphaned seal pup found a few days after his dead mother's body was located along the coast of Cyprus, is its latest ward. He was flown to Athens for specialist care and is making enough progress to soon be released back into the wild.
Overall, Monachus monachus — with their big, round eyes and prominent whiskers — are enjoying a remarkable comeback thanks to conservation efforts. Nearly half of their estimated global population of 800 live in Greek waters. US biochemist researching treatment of HIV and coronaviruses wins Israel's Wolf Prize JERUSALEM (AP) — An American biochemist whose research has helped scientists make inroads on treating coronavirus and HIV has won this year’s Wolf Prize, a major Israeli award in the arts and sciences.
The Wolf Fund said Professor Pamela Björkman of Caltech has “unlocked the secrets of how the immune system identifies and battles pathogens, developing game changing approaches to combat some of humanity’s most formidable viral enemies.” Eight others also received the state-funded prize, which has been awarded annually for 47 years. Many of the award winners have gone on to receive Nobel prizes.
India’s official Oscar entry, which failed to make the cut, wins big at major Bollywood awards show JAIPUR, India (AP) — The film that was submitted as India’s official Oscar entry but failed to make the final list of nominees has swept the International Indian Film Academy Awards. The critically acclaimed “Laapataa Ladies” emerged as the biggest winner at the 2025 IIFA Awards, bagging 10 wins, including best picture and best direction. The 2023 comedy is about two veiled brides who are accidentally swapped during a train ride, and tackles issues of patriarchy and gender roles, a shift from decades of male-centered mainstream Indian movies.
The annual ceremony of the IIFA, which recognizes outstanding work in the Indian film industry, began in the western city of Jaipur on Saturday and concluded Sunday. Micro-wineries in Cyprus hope to give the world's oldest named wine a comeback NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Praised by the ancient Greek giants Homer and Euripides for its superb quality nearly 3,000 years ago, Cyprus’ Commandaria is the world’s oldest recorded and named wine. Despite its rich heritage, the sweet wine has struggled to find its niche in the global market.
Now a number of micro-wineries in this east Mediterranean island nation are reviving traditional wine-making techniques and giving Commandaria a chance at a long-awaited comeback. Makers hope to tap rich legends around the ruby red wine..
