DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has returned the bodies of 45 Palestinians, according to the Red Cross. It comes a day after militants returned the remains of three Israeli soldiers killed in a Hamas-led attack in October 2023. The exchange is part of a U.S.-brokered cease fire aimed at ending the conflict between…… MORE
OJAI, Calif. (AP) — Diane Ladd, the three-time Academy Award nominee known for roles in “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” and “Wild at Heart,” has died at 89. Her daughter, Laura Dern, announced Ladd’s death on Monday, saying she passed away at her home in Ojai, California, with Dern by her side. Dern described her…… MORE
Victor Conte has died at 75 years old. He was the architect of a scheme to provide undetectable performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes. They included baseball stars Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Olympic track champion Marion Jones. A sports nutrition company Conte founded said in a social media post that he died Monday. It didn’t…… MORE
Flight delays are continuing at U.S. airports amid air traffic controller shortages as the government shutdown enters its second month. Newark airport in New Jersey was experiencing delays of two to three hours on Sunday. George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Chicago O’Hare were also seeing dozens of delays…… MORE
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for tripling government spending artificial intelligence infrastructure and technology in a budget speech to the legislature. Lee also called for lawmakers to approve a planned 8.2% increase in defense spending next year, which he said would help modernize the military’s weapons systems and…… MORE
Kimberly-Clark is buying Tylenol maker Kenvue in an approximately $48.7 billion cash-and-stock deal, creating a massive consumer health goods company. The combined company will have a huge stable of household brands under one roof, putting Kenvue’s Listerine mouthwash and Band-Aid side-by-side with Kimberly-Clark’s Cottonelle toilet paper, Huggies and Kleenex tissues. It will also generate about…… MORE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Microsoft has announced it will ship Nvidia’s advanced AI chips to the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. Commerce Department approved the deal in September. The company plans to send over 60,000 Nvidia chips, including the advanced GB300 Grace Blackwell chips, for use in UAE data centers. This move seems to contradict former…… MORE
Starbucks is forming a joint venture with Chinese investment firm Boyu Capital to operate Starbucks stores in China. Under the agreement announced Monday, Boyu acquire a 60% interest in Starbucks’ retail operations in China, which is valued at $4 billion. Starbucks will retain a 40% interest in the joint venture and will own and license…… MORE
SEATTLE (AP) — OpenAI and Amazon have signed a $38 billion deal to run OpenAI’s systems on Amazon’s cloud services. OpenAI will access hundreds of thousands of Nvidia’s AI chips through Amazon Web Services. The deal was announced Monday, just days after OpenAI changed its partnership with Microsoft. Last week, California and Delaware regulators allowed…… MORE
WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he plans to take a “ringside seat” at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday. That’s when the justices are set to hear arguments on whether President Donald Trump overstepped federal law in setting many of his sweeping tariffs. Trump had said he wanted to go to the…… MORE
