Two coral species in Florida ‘functionally extinct’ after marine heat wave
CN — Two species of coral in the Florida Reef are now “functionally extinct” as a result of an unprecedented 2023 marine heat wave that caused mass coral bleaching, according to a study from marine researchers that was published on Thursday. The new study paints...
King Charles, Pope Leo pray together in historic first
VATICAN CITY (AFP) — King Charles III on Thursday became the first head of the Church of England to pray publicly with a pope since the schism with Rome 500 years ago, in a service led by Leo XIV. The 76-year-old monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, joined the...
France’s government suspends pensions reform in new budget bill
PARIS (AFP) — France’s government on Thursday moved to delay the application of a controversial 2023 pensions reform, but sparked criticism for seeking to pay for it with increased health insurance taxes and frozen pensions. The measure comes with France mired...
Broadway musicians reach tentative labor deal, averting a strike
NEW YORK (AP) — The union representing Broadway’s musicians reached a tentative labor agreement with commercial producers on Thursday, averting a potentially crippling strike that would have silenced nearly two dozen musicals. The American Federation...
Trump mulls asking Israel to free Palestinian leader Barghouti as US looks to Gaza’s post-Hamas rule
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is suggesting he could call on Israel to release imprisoned Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, the most popular and potentially unifying Palestinian leader, as the United States aims to fill a leadership vacuum...
French court convicts TotalEnergies over misleading climate claims
PARIS (AFP) — A French court Thursday ruled oil and gas giant TotalEnergies had engaged in “misleading commercial practices” by overstating its climate pledges and ordered it to remove some claims, in what activists said was the first such ruling worldwide...
When all-inclusive includes jackhammers: EU court says full refund is fair
(CN) — Travelers can demand a full refund when serious disruptions such as hotel demolitions or construction noise ruin the value of a package trip, the EU’s top court ruled Thursday in a case brought by a Polish couple. The Court of Justice of the European Union made...
Average long-term US mortgage rate drops to 6.19%, lowest level in more than a year
(AP) — The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage fell this week to its lowest level in more than a year, extending a recent trend that’s helped give lagging U.S. home sales a boost. The average long-term mortgage rate fell to 6.19% from 6.27% last week, mortgage...
China to focus on speeding up self-reliance in science and tech in new economic plan
BEIJING (AP) — China’s ruling Communist Party said Thursday it will focus on speeding up self-reliance in science and technology, a long-running push that has become more pronounced as the U.S. has imposed increasingly tight controls on access to semiconductors and...