McDonald's store traffic falls unexpectedly as diners grow uneasy about economy

McDonald’s store traffic fell unexpectedly in the first quarter as economic uncertainty weighed on diners. The burger giant said Thursday that it's same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 1% globally in the January-March period. Wall Street had been expecting an increase of nearly 2%. The trouble was particularly acute in the U.S., where same-store sales were down 3.6%. That was their worst performance since 2020. McDonald's has responded by expanding its U.S. value menu. It’s also offering its $5 Meal Deal through this summer. That deal was introduced last June and extended several times.

Australian locals rescue 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."

Man falls from 21-foot Clemente Wall at PNC Park during Pirates game

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A man fell from the 21-foot-high Clemente Wall in right field at PNC Park during Wednesday night’s game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs. Right after Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run double in the seventh inning to put the Pirates ahead 4-3, players began waving frantically for medical personnel. The fan was tended to for approximately five minutes by members of both the Pirates and Cubs training staffs as well as PNC personnel before being removed from the field on a cart. Players from both teams could be seen praying and McCutchen held a cross that hung from his neck while the fan was taken off the field.

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.

NFL fines Falcons and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich following prank call to Shedeur Sanders

ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Falcons have been fined $250,000 and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich has been fined $100,000 as a result of Ulbrich’s son participating in a prank call to Shedeur Sanders during the NFL draft. The NFL confirmed the fines for the roles the Falcons and Ulbrich played in failing to prevent the disclosure of confidential information distributed to the club ahead of the draft. The Falcons, who disclosed the role of Ulbrich’s 21-year-old son Jax in the prank call Friday as the son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was waiting for his name to be called in the draft, said they accept the discipline from the league.

Barcelona and Inter Milan draw 3-3 in thrilling first leg of their Champions League semifinal

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona and Inter Milan have delivered a thrilling 3-3 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal. Marcus Thuram and Denzel Dumfries had Inter up 2-0 before 17-year-old Lamine Yamal sparked the hosts into action with a goal in the 24th. Ferran Torres leveled by halftime. Dumfries put Inter back ahead in the second half before Raphinha's long strike found the net. Except for Inter’s start and strength in set pieces, Barcelona imposed its game and had 66% possession and created seven shots on goal to Inter’s three — but had to settle for a draw. It sets up a must-see second leg in Milan next week.

A town refuses to give up the school's Native American mascot — and gets Trump's support

MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. (AP) — A New York City suburb has become the latest flashpoint in the enduring debate over the place of Indigenous imagery in American sports. President Donald Trump this month ordered the U.S. Department of Education to launch an investigation into the dispute over the Massapequa Chiefs logo and team name. The agency says it's looking into whether New York officials are discriminating against the Long Island school district by threatening to withhold funding over the dispute. Massapequa challenged the state’s 2023 ban on Native American mascots on constitutional grounds, but its lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge last month.