Malian singer Amadou Bagayoko dies at age 70

BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Renowned guitarist and singer Amadou Bagayoko of Mali’s music duo Amadou & Mariam has died. He was 70. Mali’s Minister of Culture Mamou Daffé paid tribute to the blind musician in a televised broadcast on state TV. He said that Bagayoko died Friday in the city of Bamako, his birthplace, but didn’t give further details. Bagayoko went blind when he was 15 because of a congenital cataract. He studied music at Mali’s Institute for the Young Blind, where he met his future wife, Mariam Doumbia. They formed a band called Mali’s Blind Couple in 1980, making their mark locally and internationally.

Alex Ovechkin ties Wayne Gretzky's NHL record with his 894th goal

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Ovechkin has tied Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record by scoring the 894th of his career. Ovechkin scored his second goal of the Washington Capitals’ 5-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks with 13:46 left in the third period. Earlier in the night, he got his 893rd to move one away from tying and two from breaking Gretzky’s mark that long seemed unapproachable. The 39-year-old Russian superstar is now one away from breaking it with six left to play this season.

'This has got to be a moment in America,' Cory Booker tells 1st town hall since record speech

PARAMUS, N.J. (AP) — Democratic Sen. Cory Booker is taking a version of his record-breaking Senate floor speech on the road. Booker called on people to find out what they can do to push back on President Donald Trump’s agenda as he held a town hall Saturday in New Jersey. Booker took questions at Bergen Community College the same day as more than 1,200 “Hands Off!” demonstrations were planned around the country. It was Booker's first in-person event in his home state since breaking the record for the longest Senate floor speech. That record had been set by segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Jaguar and Land Rover maker pauses shipments to US as it develops post-tariff plans

LONDON (AP) — The British maker of Jaguar and Land Rover cars is pausing shipments to the U.S. as it works to mitigate the impact of a 25% tax on vehicle imports imposed by the Trump administration. Jaguar Land Rover Automotive, one of Britain’s biggest carmakers, said Saturday that the pause would take place this month. The company says in a statement that the U.S. is an important market for its luxury brands and it is taking short-term actions including a shipment pause in April as it develops plans in response to the new trading terms.

Sean 'Diddy' Combs hit with new sex trafficking charges a month before trial

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors have added two charges to Sean “Diddy” Combs’ indictment, expanding on allegations that the jailed hip-hop mogul engaged in sex trafficking as recently as last year. A superseding indictment filed Friday accuses Combs of using force, fraud, or coercion to compel a woman to engage in commercial sex acts from at least 2021 to 2024. The indictment also alleges Combs was involved in transporting the woman and other people, including commercial sex workers, to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty to his initial set of charges but has yet to be arraigned on the new ones. Trial is scheduled for May 5.

Microsoft employees protest at 50th anniversary party over Israel contract

A pro-Palestinian protest by Microsoft employees interrupted the company’s 50th anniversary celebration Friday, the latest backlash over the tech industry’s work to supply artificial intelligence technology to the Israeli military. The first protest happened as Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman was presenting product updates and a long-term vision for the company’s AI assistant product, Copilot, to an audience that included Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former CEO Steve Ballmer. It follows a February protest that led Microsoft to eject five employees from a meeting with the company’s CEO Satya Nadella.

China hit brakes on TikTok deal after Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs, AP source says

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he is signing an executive order to keep TikTok running in the U.S. for another 75 days. That gives his administration more time to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under American ownership. The order was announced as White House officials believed they were nearing a deal for the app’s operations to be spun off into a new company based in the U.S. and owned and operated by a majority of American investors, with China’s ByteDance maintaining a minority position. That's according to a person familiar with the negotiations who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks. The person added that China hit the brakes after Trump announced wide-ranging tariffs.

An Oklahoma man has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a beloved Kansas priest

SENECA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have charged a 66-year-old Oklahoma man with first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of a Catholic priest at a church rectory in northeast Kansas. Nemaha County Attorney Brad Lippert said Friday in a written statement that Gary Hermesch of Tulsa has been charged in the Thursday afternoon shooting death of Arul Carasala. Hermesch was being held Friday in the Nemaha County Jail on $1 bond. Authorities called to the Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Seneca just before 3 p.m. Thursday found Carasala suffering from gunshot wounds outside the rectory. The 57-year-old priest was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he died.

AI vs. pro gambler's $1 million March Madness bet coming down to Duke and Houston

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The $1 million March Madness wager between a pro gambler and an artificial-intelligence site will be decided by the winner of the Duke-Houston game in the Final Four. The Vegas bookies say the gambler, who picked 5 1/2-point favorite Duke, should win. The AI platform 4C Predictions, which picked Houston, says that’s why its smarter than them. The bottom line: both pro gambler Sean Perry and the 4C’s AI program have done very well over the first 60 games of the tournament. Perry has missed only 13 picks. AI has missed only 10. They both picked all the Final Four teams correctly.

'Time to say goodbye': Kevin De Bruyne to leave Man City

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Kevin De Bruyne says he will leave Manchester City - confirming these are his “final months” with the Premier League champion. The Belgian playmaker, who is out of contract this summer, announced the news in an emotional post on X. De Bruyne joined City in 2015 from Wolfsburg and has won every major honor with the club, including the Premier League and Champions League.