Jill Sobule, the singer-songwriter known for 'I Kissed a Girl,' has died in a fire

Jill Sobule, the award-winning singer-songwriter whose witty and poignant writing first attracted widespread attention with the gay-themed song “I Kissed a Girl,” has died in a house fire. She died Thursday. She was 66. The fire was in Woodbury, Minnesota, about 19 miles east of Minneapolis. It was not immediately clear how it started. During her more than three decades of recording, she released 12 albums that addressed such complex topics as the death penalty, anorexia nervosa, reproduction and LGBTQ+ issues. Sobule was scheduled to perform in Denver on Friday night. Instead, there will be an informal gathering hosted by her friend.

The man who fell over a railing at PNC Park is in critical condition. Police say it was an accident

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man who fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during a game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs remains in critical condition. Pittsburgh Public Safety, which includes Pittsburgh Police and EMS, posted on X says that the “incident is being treated as accidental in nature.” The man appeared to fall while celebrating as Pittsburgh star Andrew McCutchen delivered a go-ahead two-run single. McCutchen said the team is focusing on the man's health. The fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel. The Southern Alleghany School District identified the man as 2022 graduate Kavan Markwood.

Brazilian nun who was the world's oldest person has died at 116

SAO PAULO (AP) — Sister Inah Canabarro, a Brazilian woman who was the world’s oldest person, has died at age 116. The Company of Saint Teresa of Jesus, a Teresian nun congregation, said Canabarro died at home Wednesday of natural causes. The wake will take place on Thursday in Porto Alegre, the capital of southern state of Rio Grande do Sul. Canabarro was confirmed in January as the world’s oldest person by LongeviQuest, an organization that tracks supercentenarians. She was born in 1908 and would have turned 117 on May 27.

Soviet-era spacecraft is set to plunge to Earth a half-century after its failed launch to Venus

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A Soviet-era spacecraft meant to land on Venus in the 1970s is expected to soon plunge uncontrolled back to Earth. It's too early to know where the half-ton mass of metal might come down or how much of it will survive reentry. A Dutch scientist predicts the craft will reenter around May 10. The Soviet Union launched the spacecraft in 1972, one of a series of Venus missions. But it never made it out of Earth orbit because of a rocket malfunction. Experts believe the lander portion has been circling the world for 53 years, gradually dropping in altitude.

Over 2 million Ninja-branded pressure cookers are recalled after reports of serious burn injuries

NEW YORK (AP) — SharkNinja is recalling more than 2 million pressure cookers sold in the U.S. and Canada — after consumers reported over 100 burn injuries spanning from a hazard that can cause hot food to spew out. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Ninja-branded “Foodi OP300 Series Multi-Function Pressure Cookers” have a lid that can be opened while the cooker is in use. That can cause hot contents to escape, posing serious burn risks. SharkNinja has received 106 reports of burn injuries — including more than 50 reports of second or third-degree burns. Consumers in possession of these products are urged to immediately stop using the pressure-cooking function and contact SharkNinja for a free replacement lid.

Australians rescue a 10-foot great white shark stranded in shallow water

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tourist Nash Core admits he felt some fear when he and his 11-year-old son waded into the ocean off the Australian coast to help rescue a 10-foot great white shark stranded in shallow water. Three local men managed to return the distressed shark from a sand bank into deeper water after an almost hour-long rescue effort on Tuesday near the coastal town of Ardrossan in South Australia state. Core, who was visiting from Gold Coast in Queensland state, said Thursday: “It was either sick or … just tired. We definitely got it into some deeper water, so hopefully it’s swimming still.” He added: “To be honest, I did have some thoughts about, oh, why am I going out here?”

UK counterterror police say they will investigate comments by Irish rap group Kneecap

LONDON (AP) — British counterterrorism detectives will investigate comments by Irish hip-hop group Kneecap. The Irish-language rappers from Belfast were reported to police over footage from a 2024 concert in which a band member appears to say: “The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.” Footage from another concert appears to show a member of the trio shouting “up Hamas, up Hezbollah.” London’s Metropolitan Police force said Thursday that “there are grounds for further investigation into potential offenses linked to both videos.” Several Kneecap gigs have been canceled because of the controversy. Kneecap said it did not support violence and accused “establishment figures” of trying to “manufacture moral hysteria."

UNC's Belichick defends Hudson as 'doing her job' after interjecting during CBS interview

North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick has defended girlfriend Jordon Hudson for interjecting during a CBS interviewer’s questions about their relationship and said she was “simply doing her job.” The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach issued a statement through UNC on Wednesday. That followed an appearance on "CBS News Sunday Morning” to promote his upcoming book on his coaching life. In the interview, Hudson objected to a question about how the two had met. The 73-year-old Belichick said in his statement that the segment presents “selectively edited clips” to “suggest a false narrative" that the 24-year-old Hudson tried to control the interview.

Giannis Antetokounmpo enters this offseason with a big question awaiting him. Stay or go?

Giannis Antetokounmpo had to have known the question was coming. “Do you think that you can still win that second championship here in Milwaukee after a third straight first-round exit?” It was a more than fair question posed to the Bucks star after the Bucks’ season ended in Indianapolis on Tuesday night. Antetokounmpo is surely asking himself the same question right about now. Antetokounmpo didn’t have a public answer for it following the 119-118 overtime, season-ending loss in Game 5 of Round 1 against Indiana. He probably doesn’t have a private answer to it, either. But he needs that answer sometime over the coming days or weeks.

The home of Elon Musk's SpaceX could become an official Texas city called Starbase

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Elon Musk has for years made Texas his business home and playground as he launches rockets and builds cars in the Lone Star state. Now, a new Musk project is taking shape. A vote is scheduled Saturday to turn the South Texas home of his SpaceX rocket company into an official city known as Starbase. Approval is likely. Most of the eligible voters are SpaceX workers. But that vote and other proposals to give the city new authority to close beaches for rocket launches has drawn critics who say the change would give Musk and his company town too much power.