• Scientists dive deep to find Arctic and Antarctic's many secrets
  • Brent Crude Tops $125 a Barrel
  • Ukraine Provides Saudi Arabia With Drone Expertise
  • King Charles III Honors Victims at 9/11 Memorial
  • World Happiness Report highlights social media's negative impact
Hegseth faces second day of Democrats grilling him over Iran war

WASHINGTON (AP) – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will face a second day of grilling from Democrats on Capitol Hill, with senators getting their first opportunity on Thursday to confront or praise the Pentagon chief over his handling of the Iran war.

Poland withdraws from treaty banning antipersonnel mines

WARSAW, Poland (AP) – Poland will use antipersonnel as well as anti-tank land mines to defend its eastern border against the growing threat from Russia, Poland’s deputy defense minister told The Associated Press on Friday, as the country officially left an international convention banning the use of the controversial weapons.

China's factory activity expands for a second month

HONG KONG (AP) – China’s factory activity expanded for a second straight month in April, according to an official survey on Thursday, as its economy remained resilient despite higher energy prices due to the Iran war.

Amazon reports increased in profits and sales for 1Q

New York (AP) – Amazon on Wednesday reported a strong increase in profits and revenue during its fiscal first quarter, helped by surging growth in its prominent cloud computing unit. The e-commerce and technology company said that sales in its cloud computing unit were up by 28%, the fastest increase in 15 quarters.

Meta beats revenue expectations, boosts capital spending

Instagram and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. posted results Wednesday for the first quarter that exceeded expectations, showing growth in earnings, but the social media giant also increased its forecasted capital expenditures for the year.

Elon Musk tells his side of OpenAI's trial pitting him against Sam Altman

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) – Elon Musk took the stand for the second day Wednesday in the landmark trial that pits the world’s richest man against Sam Altman, a fellow OpenAI co-founder he accuses of betraying promises to keep the company as a nonprofit dedicated to humanity’s benefit.

Brent crude tops $125 a barrel on Iran war worries

HONG KONG (AP) – The price of Brent crude oil surged past $125 a barrel early Thursday as stalled U.S.-Iran talks raised doubts over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a permanent end to the Iran war.

Supreme Court weakens a key tool of the Voting Rights Act

The Supreme Court has weakened a key tool of the Voting Rights Act that has helped root out racial discrimination in voting for more than half a century in a case concerning a Black majority congressional district in Louisiana. The court’s conservative majority found that the district, represented by Democrat Cleo Fields, relied too heavily on race.

Defying protocol, Trump relays private conversation with King Charles III

LONDON (AP) – In the world of diplomatic faux pas, it could have been a lot worse. At Tuesday’s state dinner honoring King Charles III and Queen Camilla, U.S. President Donald Trump said that during a private meeting earlier in the day the British monarch had agreed with him that Iran should never be allowed to have nuclear weapons.