‘SNL’ 50th season premiere gets more than 5M viewers, its best opener since 2020

‘SNL’ 50th season premiere gets more than 5M viewers, its best opener since 2020

NEW YORK — The 50th season of “Saturday Night Live” is off to a strong ratings start and is a record-breaker for the streaming service Peacock. NBC said Monday that 5.3 million people watched the premiere live, the best opening for the show since 2020, when Alec Baldwin reprised his role as then-President Donald Trump … Read more

Criminals set up fake online pharmacies to sell deadly counterfeit pills, prosecutors say

Criminals set up fake online pharmacies to sell deadly counterfeit pills, prosecutors say

A network of illegal drug sellers based in the U.S., the Dominican Republic and India packaged potentially deadly synthetic opioids into pills disguised as common prescription drugs and sold millions of them through fake online drugstores, federal prosecutors said Monday. At least nine people died of narcotics poisoning between August 2023 and June 2024 after … Read more

Balenciaga upturns luxury in Paris as McCartney puts on high-octane fashion with playful, eco twist

Balenciaga upturns luxury in Paris as McCartney puts on high-octane fashion with playful, eco twist

PARIS — On an ordinary Parisian market street on an ordinary rainy fall day, Stella McCartney’s high-octane show on Monday was anything but. Guests gasped as the drizzle ceased, the clouds parted, and the sun emerged moments before the show — a heavenly metaphor, perhaps, for McCartney’s optimistic and nature-inspired display. Meanwhile, inside the storied … Read more

Judge strikes down Georgia ban on abortions, allowing them to resume beyond 6 weeks into pregnancy

Judge strikes down Georgia ban on abortions, allowing them to resume beyond 6 weeks into pregnancy

ATLANTA — A Georgia judge on Monday struck down the state’s abortion law, which took effect in 2022 and effectively prohibited abortions beyond about six weeks of pregnancy. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote in his order that the law violates Georgia’s Constitution, finding that “liberty in Georgia includes in its meaning, in … Read more

Jared Goff sets NFL record completing all 18 of his passes in Lions’ 42-29 win over Seahawks

Jared Goff sets NFL record completing all 18 of his passes in Lions’ 42-29 win over Seahawks

DETROIT — Jared Goff threw a perfect game, setting an NFL record by completing all 18 of his passes to help the Detroit Lions beat the Seattle Seahawks 42-29 Monday night. “I just gave the game ball to somebody else, so I feel awful,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “I knew he played a heck … Read more

Hunger in Haiti reaches famine levels as gangs squeeze life out of the capital and beyond

Hunger in Haiti reaches famine levels as gangs squeeze life out of the capital and beyond

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Nearly 6,000 people in Haiti are starving, with nearly half the country’s population of more than 11 million people experiencing crisis levels of hunger or worse as gang violence smothers life in the capital of Port-au-Prince and beyond, according to a new report released Monday. The number of Haitians facing crisis, emergency … Read more

How one preschool uses PAW Patrol to teach democracy

How one preschool uses PAW Patrol to teach democracy

ANNANDALE, Va. — As lawmakers voted on a budget deal at the U.S. Capitol, a different kind of balloting was taking place a dozen miles away in a sun-filled Virginia preschool classroom. At stake: which animated dog was the best character on the cartoon “PAW Patrol.” In a heated primary, the 3-and-4-year-old students in room … Read more

Arkansas sues YouTube over claims that the site is fueling a mental health crisis

Arkansas sues YouTube over claims that the site is fueling a mental health crisis

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas sued YouTube and parent company Alphabet on Monday, saying the video-sharing platform is made deliberately addictive and fueling a mental health crisis among youth in the state. Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office filed the lawsuit in state court, accusing them of violating the state’s deceptive trade practices and public nuisance … Read more

Pete Rose, baseball’s banned hits leader, has died at age 83

Pete Rose, baseball’s banned hits leader, has died at age 83

NEW YORK — Pete Rose, baseball’s career hits leader and fallen idol who undermined his historic achievements and Hall of Fame dreams by gambling on the game he loved and once embodied, has died. He was 83. Stephanie Wheatley, a spokesperson for Clark County in Nevada, confirmed on behalf of the medical examiner that Rose … Read more

Measure to expand medical marijuana in Arkansas won’t qualify for the ballot

Measure to expand medical marijuana in Arkansas won’t qualify for the ballot

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An effort to expand Arkansas’ medical marijuana program fell short of the required signatures and won’t qualify for the November ballot, Secretary of State John Thurston said Monday. Arkansans for Patient Access, the group behind the measure, said it planned to take legal action to appeal Thurston’s decision. Thurston said in … Read more