By Jennifer Hansler and Simone McCarthy, CNN Beijing (CNN) — China and the US face a choice between stability and a “downward spiral,” Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told counterpart Antony Blinken on Friday in Beijing, as the American diplomat kicked off a day of meetings with top Chinese officials. Blinken’s trip to China – his second in the space of a year – comes as the two global powers seek to expand communication and stabilize rocky ties, while also navigating a host of thorny issues from China’s support for Russia to its aggression in the South China Sea and toward Taiwan. “Should Ch ..read more

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press “Divest from death” read the bubble letters written in chalk on the sidewalk on Tuesday outside of The New School in New York City. The slogan articulates one of the demands of the antiwar protests on campuses which call on colleges or universities to divest their endowments from companies profiting from the Israel-Hamas war. Campaigns to pressure universities to divest for political or ethical reasons go back decades, at least to the 1970s when students pressured schools to withdraw from investments that benefited South Africa under apartheid rule. More recent ..read more

Dons celebrate a Channel League baseball title SANTA BARBARA Calif. - The Dons scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to beat Ventura 4-3 and capture the Channel League baseball championship. Zeke Adderley blasted a solo home run in the seventh inning to tie the game and Cal Lutheran-commit Liam Keithley singled in the game-winning RBI later in the inning as Santa Barbara finishes first with a 10-4 league mark. San Marcos defeated Rio Mesa 4-1 to claim second place in the Channel League, a half game behind the Dons at 9-4-1. The Royals had won the past three league titles. Landon Jo ..read more

Melissa Velásquez Loaiza (CNN) — Un día salvaje de argumentos jurídicos a menudo extravagantes y de historias sensacionalistas no pudo ocultar lo que está en juego para el país. Sólo Donald Trump podía conjurar un espectáculo legal en dos ciudades que daba igual protagonismo a los pensamientos más profundos de George Washington y a un antiguo editor de National Enquirer conocido por escabrosos escándalos de famosos y dudosos avistamientos de ovnis. El expresidente fue el epicentro de la atención este jueves durante el testimonio clave del magnate de los medios de comunicación David Pecker en s ..read more

By HANNAH SCHOENBAUM Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Republican Party is set to select a nominee in the race to replace Mitt Romney in the U.S. Senate at its annual convention. Observers are closely watching whether the eventual replacement for Romney ends up being a moderate Republican or someone who leans farther right. The winner at Saturday’s convention may get a bump in the race. But Republican voters will ultimately decide the party’s pick since candidates who lose can still gather signatures and face off again in the June 25 primary. The crowded field includes a congress ..read more

By COLLEEN SLEVIN and MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press DENVER (AP) — Almost five years after Elijah McClain died following a police stop in which he was put in a neck hold and injected with the powerful sedative ketamine, three of the five Denver-area responders prosecuted in the Black man’s death have been convicted. Experts say the convictions would have been unheard of before 2020, when George Floyd’s murder sparked a nationwide reckoning over racist policing and deaths in police custody. But McClain’s mother, Sheneen McClain, said justice has not yet been served. Previously, she has said the ..read more

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A selection of South African artworks produced during the country’s apartheid era which ended up in foreign art collections is on display in Johannesburg. The exhibition marks 30 years since the country’s transition to democracy in 1994. Most of the artworks were taken out of the country by foreign tourists and diplomats who had viewed them at the Australian Embassy in the capital, Pretoria. The embassy had opened its doors to Black artists from the townships to be recognized and have their artworks on full display to the public. The art ..read more

By MARTINA REBECCA INCHINGOLO Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Actor Paola Cortellesi has long been a staple on the Italian pop culture scene, mostly known for her work as a comedian. Then she turned to directing and her first feature movie, “There’s Still Tomorrow,” took Italy by storm. The black-and-white film about an ordinary woman trapped in a toxic marriage in post-World War II Italy opened in October. After its whirlwind success at home, the movie launched internationally and opens in the United Kingdom on Friday. Cortellesi is in London this week to promote the film. She told the AP she ..read more

By MOGOMOTSI MAGOME Associated Press JOHANNESBURG (AP) — As 72-year-old Nonki Kunene walks through the corridors of Thabisang Primary School in Soweto, South Africa, she recalls the joy she and many others felt 30 years ago when they voted for the first time. It was at this school on April 27, 1994 that Kunene joined millions of South Africans to brave long queues and take part in the country’s first democratic elections after decades of white minority rule which denied Black people the right to vote. However, as the country gears up for celebrations Saturday to mark 30 years of freedom and de ..read more

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Harvey Weinstein’s landmark New York sexual assault conviction was thrown out by an appeals court Thursday, and most of the dozens of civil cases filed against him since he became a central target in the #MeToo movement in 2017 have either been settled or dismissed. That doesn’t mean the 72-year-old disgraced movie mogul and his lawyers don’t have plenty of court time ahead. Prosecutors in Manhattan say they plan to retry him, and several other cases remain unresolved. Here’s a look at those, and at some that have come and gone: THE L ..read more