LOS ANGELES — Hollywood stars, including multiple actresses who have accused Harvey Weinstein of assault, reacted with shock and outrage Thursday, April 25, after the former movie producer’s New York sex crimes conviction was overturned. Rosanna Arquette, Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino were among those to speak out as Weinstein’s 2020 conviction for rape and sexual assault was reversed by the city’s highest court on Thursday. Weinstein – who is also serving a separate 16-year rape sentence handed down in California – has been ordered to face a new trial in New York. Here are some key reacti ..read more

Philadelphia big man Joel Embiid scored 50 points to power the 76ers to a vital 125-114 victory over the New York Knicks on Thursday, the Sixers clawing back a game in their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series. The 76ers had dropped the first two games of their best-of-seven first-round series at Madison Square Garden, Embiid defiantly insisting they were the “better team” and would right the ship at home. He made sure they did, and the Orlando Magic also bounced back in a big way after going 0-2 down against the Cavaliers in Cleveland, routing the Cavs 121-83 to trim the ..read more

BEIJING, China — TikTok parent ByteDance has said it has no intention of selling it, after the US Congress passed a law forcing it to sell the hugely popular video platform or get banned in the United States. ByteDance’s comment came after the tech business-focused news site The Information reported that the Chinese tech giant was looking at potential scenarios for selling TikTok without the coveted recommendation algorithm that powers it. READ: Bill to ban TikTok in US clears Congress “Foreign media reports about ByteDance exploring the sale of TikTok are untrue,” the company posted late Thur ..read more

TOKYO, Japan — The Bank of Japan kept its ultra-low interest rates unchanged Friday and stopped short of signaling another hike, pushing the yen to a fresh 34-year low against the dollar. Officials last month announced the first increase in borrowing costs for 17 years as inflation continued to stick above their two percent target but warned they would take a steady approach to normalizing monetary policy. While widely expected, Friday’s decision had been keenly awaited to see if decision-makers would respond to a drop in the yen that has pushed it to levels not seen since 1990. READ: Weak ..read more

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Authorities have already identified persons of interest in the shooting that resulted to the death of a 14-year-old girl who was answering her school modules inside her home in Barangay Cansojong, Talisay City, Cebu on early Friday morning, April 26. This was according to Police Lieutenant Colonel Epraem Paguyod, chief of Talisay City Police Station, in an interview with CDN Digital. READ MORE: 14-year-old girl shot dead while answering school module in Talisay, Cebu DepEd-7 condemns tragic killing of grade 7 student in Talisay City, Cebu Hotel shooting: Murder raps fi ..read more

ORLANDO, FLORIDA— After never even having a lead in Cleveland, the Orlando Magic came back with the biggest postseason victory ever over the Cavaliers. Paolo Banchero had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Suggs added 24 points and the Magic rolled to a 121-83 rout on Thursday night, cutting the Cavaliers’ lead to 2-1 in their NBA Eastern Conference playoffs first-round series. Franz Wagner finished with 16 points and eight assists for the Magic, who led by 43 points on the way to the third-largest margin of victory in a playoff game. They earned their first playoff victory since 2020 […]... Ke ..read more

DAVAO CITY — The police in Davao region has a new leader. Brigadier General Aligre Martinez assumed his post on Friday as the new regional police director, replacing Brigadier General Alvin Delvo, who retired from the service on Thursday. Delvo had reached the mandatory retirement for uniformed personnel of 56, and had been in the service for 34 years. Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, formerly the country’s top police official, graced the retirement honors for Delvo and the change of command rites. READ: Former president Duterte claims pal Quiboloy still in sect’s Davao turf Martinez, who hails fro ..read more

MANILA, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said it is ready to manage any “excessive” weakness of the peso, which has fallen to 17-month lows. In a statement, BSP Governor Eli Remolona Jr. said the peso’s weakness stemmed from a strengthening dollar, as geopolitical risks and diverging US rate outlook stoke capital flight to safety. ”The story has been one of dollar strength rather than peso weakness. Escalating tensions in the Middle East led to safe-haven flows into the US dollar at the expense of most other currencies,” Remolona said. READ: Peso sinks to 17-month low vs dollar ”N ..read more

    MANILA, Philippines — A total of 6,680 out of 17,010 passed the April 2024  Civil Engineering Licensure Exam (CELE), the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) announced on Friday. The PRC said the results were released four days after the exams were conducted at testing centers in Metro Manila, Baguio, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Calapan, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Koronadal, Legazpi, Lucena, Pagadian, Palawan, Pampanga, Rosales, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga from April 20 to 21. Ryan Sylvester Sy Chan and Cedric Jerome Carl Donguines from De La Salle University—Manila topped ..read more

OLONGAPO CITY — A dangerous level of heat index is expected to prevail in this city for two more days as local officials continue to caution residents about the health-related impact of the rising temperature. Records from the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) showed that the heat index in the city would peak again at 45 degrees Celsius on Friday, April 26. The city also experienced the same heat index (45 °C) on Thursday, which is forecast to prevail until Saturday. According to Pagasa, a heat index is categorized as “dangerous” when it reac ..read more