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Billowing smoke from Canadian wildfires wafts into the U.S.

The Manitoba wildfires have forced 17,000 people to flee the province. Plumes of heavy smoke are expected to drift into the United States over Friday and Saturday, affecting millions of Americans.

Taylor Swift buys back the rights to her first 6 albums

The pop star's early catalog was acquired in 2019 and sold again in 2020, igniting a years-long saga in which Swift set out to re-record new versions of the albums to compete with the originals.

Former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams wins libel case against BBC over spy murder claim

Adams sued over an allegation in a 2016 documentary that he sanctioned the 2006 killing of a British spy in Ireland. A jury in Dublin's High Court awarded Adams damages of 100,000 euros ($113,000).

French health ministry extends smoking ban

France to ban smoking at beaches, parks and outside schools from July 1st to protect children.

Supreme Court allows Trump administration to end humanitarian status for some migrants

The move to grant a stay in the case means that the Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who were granted temporary parole under the program known as CHNV would lose their temporary legal status to be in the U.S.

Wes Anderson peers into the hollowness of extreme wealth in ‘The Phoenician Scheme’

Benicio Del Toro plays a globe-trotting tycoon trying to convince his estranged daughter (Mia Threapleton) to be his heir. The film is darker, angrier and more violent than Anderson's usual fare.

Russell Brand pleads not guilty to rape, sexual assault charges in U.K.

On Friday, Brand pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape and assault that date back more than 25 years. He says the charges are politically motivated. His trial is set for 2026.

Can this nasal spray slow down Alzheimer’s? One couple is helping scientists find out

Joe Walsh is the first Alzheimer's patient to be treated with an experimental nasal spray designed to reduce inflammation in the brain.

Oil companies face a wrongful death suit tied to climate change

Julie Leon died of hyperthermia in Seattle on June 28, 2021 — the hottest day in the city's history. A lawsuit claims she was a victim of oil companies' "misrepresentations" about climate change.

Are you smarter than a 13-year-old? Take our Scripps Spelling Bee test and find out

If you weren't playing along at home during Thursday night's final, take our mini-Bee quiz, which uses words from the real thing.

Will I get refunds? Small businesses wonder as courts rule on Trump tariffs

Court rulings against President Trump's tariffs could spell relief for many American importers — if the decisions hold. For now, the uncertainty remains.

Which Biden-era case is the FBI NOT reexamining? Find out in the quiz

This week, vaccines took a hit from the Trump administration, some reality TV stars got pardoned, and there was a media frenzy around a certain French interaction. Were you paying attention?

Google and the DOJ wrap up a historic tech monopoly case: What to know

The Justice Department and Google have one final chance to convince a federal judge how the tech giant should change its practices so it can no longer monopolize the search market.

Elon Musk is leaving the federal government. What’s next for DOGE?

Elon Musk is leaving the Department of Government Efficiency effort. His 130 day tenure was marked by legal setbacks, overstated savings claims and little evidence DOGE made things more efficient.

Federal workers keep America’s farms healthy. What now under Trump?

More than a thousand people who worked to keep American agriculture free of pests and disease have left the federal workforce in President Trump's massive government downsizing.

AI-enabled ‘vibe coding’ lets anyone write software

You no longer need to be a software engineer to build software — you can "vibe code" it by prompting chatbots to build apps and websites. Could that put programmers out of a job?

‘Succession’ creator’s new moguls are tech gods gazing down from ‘Mountainhead’

Following his HBO series Succession, Jesse Armstrong's latest project, Mountainhead, is a film about four tech billionaires whose mountain retreat is disrupted by a global catastrophe.

After 529 days alone in the Australian bush, Valerie the mini dachshund is home

Valerie ran off while she was on a camping trip with her owners back in 2023 on a remote island in Australia. They had lost hope until locals spotted her more than a year later, surviving in the wild.

Bernard Kerik, who led NYPD on 9/11 before prison and pardon, has died at 69

Kerik, an Army veteran, was hailed as a hero after the 9/11 attack and eventually nominated to head the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, before a dramatic fall from grace that ended with him behind bars.

Argentine court declares a mistrial in the death of soccer star Maradona

One of the judges stepped down over criticism surrounding her participation in a documentary about the case. Seven health professionals are accused of negligence in the death of the soccer legend.

White House acknowledges problems in RFK Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ report

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" report cited hundreds of studies, but a closer look by the news organization NOTUS found that some of those studies did not exist.

As the Scripps spelling bee turns 100, former champions reflect on its evolution

Previous winners say the spelling bee has become much more competitive and credit television with making it a cultural phenomenon each year.

Supreme Court limits environmental reviews of infrastructure projects

The decision makes it easier to win approval for highways, bridges, pipelines, wind farms, and other infrastructure projects.

The White House is sued over lack of sign language interpreters at press briefings

The National Association of the Deaf says the White House's failure to provide ASL interpreters during press briefings leaves some deaf and hard of hearing people without information.

Market Basket CEO is put on leave in new spat at family-controlled supermarket chain

The board alleges that CEO Arthur T. Demoulas has been planning a work stoppage at the Massachusetts-based retailer. It also says he has "resisted an appropriate succession plan for Market Basket."

Why giant statues of snakes popped up in Geneva

These colorful snakes aren't just works of art. Erected for the World Health Assembly, they're meant to draw attention to an extremely neglected health issue: snakebite.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Kenyan literary giant who fought colonialism, dies at 87

The Kenyan author championed local African languages and was imprisoned for his work. His name was often mentioned in discussions about the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Al Foster, drummer for Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins, has died

The superbly alert and flexible drummer formed a swirling current in modern jazz for more than 60 years. He was 82.

Drag artists are getting attacked. This safety handbook aims to help.

As Pride Month approaches, a group of drag artists and their allies are releasing guidelines to help performers navigate a landscape of online harassment and physical violence.

Judge blocks Trump administration’s effort to bar Harvard from enrolling international students

The preliminary injunction would prevent the federal government from revoking Harvard's ability to enroll international students.

Her parents died 9 days apart, but Sarah Silverman gets the last laugh in ‘PostMortem’

Silverman's father and stepmother are buried under one tombstone that reads: "Janice and Donald, who loved to laugh." The loss was a starting point for Silverman's "cathartic" Netflix comedy special.

Harrison Ruffin Tyler, grandson of the 10th U.S. president, dies at 96

Harrison Ruffin Tyler was just three generations from the White House, since his father and grandfather both fathered children in their 70s. The chemical engineer helped preserve his family's legacy.