AP Trending SummaryBrief at 10:11 a.m. EDT (2024)

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy takes a 7.7% stake in Buzzfeed

Former Republican presidential candidate and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has purchased a minority stake in Buzzfeed. Shares of the company are rocketing higher before the opening bell Wednesday. Ramaswamy acquired a 7.7% stake in Buzzfeed, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Ramaswamy said in the filing that he believes Buzzfeed’s stock is undervalued. He is looking to speak with the company’s board and management.

A UK lawmaker returns to work as 'the bionic MP' after losing his hands and feet to sepsis

LONDON (AP) — A British lawmaker has returned to work six months after sepsis forced the amputation of his hands and feet. Conservative legislator Craig Mackinlay received a standing ovation when he walked into the House of Commons for the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session. Mackinlay says he wants to be known as “the bionic MP” and plans to campaign for greater awareness of sepsis. He recounted in interviews how he was taken to hospital on Sept. 28 after feeling ill. At the hospital, the 57-year-old said, he turned “bright blue” as sepsis caused clotting that stopped blood getting to his limbs. He was put in an induced coma and later his hands and feet were amputated below the joints.

Matthew Perry's death under investigation in connection with ketamine level found in actor's blood

LOS ANGELES (AP) — An investigation has been opened into the death of Matthew Perry and how the “Friends” actor received the anesthetic ketamine, which was ruled contributing factor in his death. Los Angeles Police Capt. Scot Williams says Tuesday that the police department was working with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with a probe into why the 54-year-old star had so much ketamine in his system when he died in October. Perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home. His autopsy released in December found that the amount of ketamine in Perry’s blood was in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs accused of 2003 sexual assault in lawsuit

NEW YORK (AP) — A former model accused Sean “Diddy” Combs of sexually assaulting her at his New York City recording studio in 2003 in a lawsuit filed in the city. It is the latest in a series of allegations against the embattled hip-hop mogul. In the federal lawsuit, Crystal McKinney said she was a successful 22-year-old model when she met Combs during Men’s Fashion Week in Manhattan. Combs’ representatives did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

Lauryn Hill's classic 'Miseducation' album tops Apple Music's list of best albums of all time

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Let the debate begin. Who has the best albums ever? Apple Music certainly has a perspective. The music streaming giant announced on Wednesday its 10 greatest albums of all time, with Lauryn Hill’s 1998 iconic “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” claiming the top spot. Hill’s debut album outpaced other classic records from Beyoncé, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder and Nirvana. The top 10 albums culminated Apple Music’s inaugural 100 best albums. The process started several months ago when the company’s editorial team of editors and music experts generated a list of candidates from the past 65 years.

Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' film 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him

CANNES, France (AP) — Donald Trump’s reelection campaign called “The Apprentice,” a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, “pure fiction” and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. A Trump campaign spokesperson says in a statement that the Trump team will be file a lawsuit “to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers.” “The Apprentice” premiered Monday in Cannes. It stars Sebastian Stan as a young Trump. The central relationship of the movie is between Trump and Roy Cohn, the defense attorney who's played by Jeremy Strong. The director Ali Abbasi on Tuesday offered to screen the movie for Trump.

Mariachis. A flame-swallower. Mexico's disputes between street performers just reached a new high

MORELIA, Mexico (AP) — Mexico’s often violent disputes between street performers reached a new level this week when a group of guitar-toting mariachis tangled with a flame-swallower. Because competition for tips in Mexico is so fierce, performers and windshield washers often stake out and defend lucrative street corners. Street vendor groups in Mexico City often square off with cudgels and sometimes guns over territory. It is not clear how Sunday’s dispute began in the city of Morelia west of the capital. Police said in a statement that nobody was arrested and only the flame-swallower had to be treated at a hospital.

Trump says he is open to restrictions on contraception before backing away from the statement

Former President Donald Trump is seemingly open to supporting regulations on contraception and has said his campaign would release a policy on the issue soon, though he later walked that statement back. During an interview Tuesday with a Pittsburgh TV station, Trump was asked “Do you support any restrictions on a person’s right to contraception?” Trump responded, “We’re looking at that and I’m going to have a policy on that very shortly,” according to a video of the interview that was briefly posted online before it was supposed to air, then taken down. The former president later said the comments were misinterpreted and that he would “never” advocate for restricting birth control.

Graceland is not for sale, Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough says in lawsuit

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Elvis Presley’s estate is fighting what it says is a fraudulent scheme to auction off Graceland to the highest bidder. An auction had been scheduled for this Thursday. But court documents show a Memphis judge blocked it after Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough sought a temporary restraining order and filed a lawsuit. A public notice for a foreclosure sale of the estate in Memphis said the trust that controls the Graceland museum owes $3.8 million after failing to repay a 2018 loan. Keough's lawsuit alleges that Naussany presented fraudulent documents regarding the loan.

A Christian group allows Sunday morning access to a New Jersey beach it closed to honor God

OCEAN GROVE, N.J. (AP) — People will soon be allowed onto the beach on Sunday mornings in one Jersey Shore community where the sand has been closed for generations to honor God. The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association owns the beaches and all the land in Ocean Grove. The Christian group says it is being forced to comply with New Jersey's demands that the beaches be open every day. The group isn't giving up, but says it will allow Sunday morning beach access while the case makes it way through the courts. New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection has threatened Ocean Grove with fines of $25,000 per day.