John Legend praises fan-favorite contestant: 'You deserve more than The Voice'

Reuters
New York state sues group over abortion pill reversal claims
New York state's top prosecutor on Monday sued Heartbeat International, an anti-abortion group, and 11 crisis pregnancy centers, accusing them of misleading and potentially endangering women by claiming that they can provide a treatment reversing the effect of the abortion pill mifepristone. In the lawsuit, New York Attorney General Letitia James asked a state court in Manhattan to block Heartbeat International and the centers, located across New York state and whose mission is to discourage women from having abortions, from advertising abortion pill reversal on their websites or anywhere else and award an unspecified amount of money damages.
Politico
Hamas accepts cease-fire proposal for Gaza after Israel orders Rafah evacuation ahead of attack
There was no immediate comment from Israel on the deal, and details of the proposal have not yet been released.
NBC News
'Where do we go?' Palestinians flee parts of Rafah after Israeli military order
Palestinian civilians rushed to flee parts of Rafah on Monday after the Israeli military told some 100,000 people to leave the southern Gaza city, a possible signal that a long-feared ground offensive could be imminent with talks for a last-ditch truce deal stalled.
Associated Press
Fake ashes and rotting bodies prompt Colorado lawmakers to pass funeral home regulations
Colorado lawmakers passed a sweeping bill Monday to overhaul the state’s lax oversight over funeral homes after a series of horrific incidents, including sold body parts, fake ashes and the discovery of 190 decaying bodies. The cases have devastated hundreds of already grieving families, and encouraged lawmakers to pass the bill, which now goes to Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ desk for a signature. If signed, the law would give regulators far greater enforcement power over funeral homes and require routine inspections of facilities including after one shutters.
Reuters
German chancellor backs EU plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine arms
Around 90% of the revenues generated from Russian frozen assets should be spent on arms purchases for Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday, supporting an earlier EU proposal to use Russian assets' interest payments to boost Ukraine defence. "It is important that we also agree that this money can be used for arms purchases not only in the EU, but for purchases worldwide," Scholz told journalists after a meeting with members of the three Baltic countries governments in Riga. In March, the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell proposed taking take 90% of revenues from Russian assets frozen in Europe and transfer them to an EU-run fund that finances weapons for Ukraine.
Associated Press
Twyla Tharp dance will open 700-seat amphitheater at New York's Little Island park in June
The 700-seat amphitheater at Little Island, a park in Manhattan built above the Hudson River on a series of tulip-shaped concrete columns, will open June 6 with Twyla Tharp’s “How Long Blues” in the choreographer’s first full-length work in a decade. Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo will sing all the major roles in a 90-minute remix of Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)” running from Aug. 30 to Sept. 22. Zack Winokur, a 35-year-old director, choreographer and dancer, was announced as producing artistic director on Monday.
Yahoo Finance
Current rates should be enough to bring inflation down: Fed's Barkin
Richmond Fed president Tom Barkin said the current level of interest rates will be enough to eventually bring inflation down.
Yahoo Finance
Stock market today: Stocks gain as Fed rate hopes fuel continued rally
Stocks rallied at the end of last week, getting a boost from a "Goldilocks" jobs report.
CBS News
Boeing's Starliner spacecraft to lift off tonight on first piloted test flight
Two astronauts will put the Boeing Starliner through its paces to verify it's ready to begin launching operational crew ferry flights to the space station.
Yahoo Finance
Companies are having their best earnings season in nearly 2 years
Earnings for the S&P 500 are growing at their fastest rate since 2022 and analysts see that trend continuing into next quarter, setting up a positive backdrop for stocks.
Associated Press
The UN says there's 'full-blown famine' in northern Gaza. What does that mean?
The head of the United Nations World Food Program says northern Gaza has entered “full-blown famine” after nearly seven months of war between Israel and Hamas. Cindy McCain in an NBC interview broadcast Sunday said severe Israeli restrictions on humanitarian deliveries to the territory that has long relied on outside food assistance have pushed civilians in the most isolated, devastated part of Gaza over the brink. Famine was now moving south in Gaza, she said.
Reuters
Brazil officials eye curbs on pension spending, but Lula may resist
Senior officials in Brazil's economic team are signaling a need to curb pension spending in order to shore up public accounts, although their biggest challenge may be convincing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to take such a measure. Despite a sweeping 2019 pension reform, spending on retirements and pension benefits continues to surge, affected by an aging population and Lula's policy of boosting benefits by more than inflation. Treasury Secretary Rogerio Ceron said last week that pension expenses "still deserve attention" and may require "measures that allow the dynamics of this expenditure to have growth compatible with medium- and long-term fiscal sustainability."
Reuters
US financial markets watchdog to collect data on bilateral repo
The Office of Financial Research (OFR), a U.S. Treasury Department-based research powerhouse, said on Monday it has adopted a final rule that will allow it to collect data on certain transactions in the repurchase agreement (repo) market. Most hedge fund activity in repo markets - where banks and other players such as hedge funds borrow short-term loans backed by Treasuries and other securities - is done bilaterally between brokers and customers. By establishing data collection for non-centrally cleared bilateral transactions, regulators want to improve visibility into this opaque but vital funding market for Wall Street.
CBS News
An unexpected gesture of kindness lifts grieving barista
A Starbucks barista in Little Rock, Arkansas, was deeply moved thanks to the kindness and generosity of a customer.
CNN
Gazans start leaving eastern Rafah as Israeli military orders evacuations
Gazans packed their belongings on pick-up trucks, cars and donkey-drawn carts after Israel’s military issued a call for residents there to “evacuate immediately.”
AFP
Columbia axes graduation ceremony as US colleges counter Gaza protests
Columbia University, the epicenter of US student protests against the war in Gaza, on Monday cancelled its main graduation ceremony, as colleges seek to contain the demonstrations that have rocked campuses for weeks.- 'Order must prevail' - For many students who graduated from high school during the Covid pandemic, it will be the second such ceremony that is canceled due to external disruption.
NBC News
Judge finds Trump further violated gag order and again threatens him with jail 'if necessary'
Judge Juan Merchan on Monday again cited former President Donald Trump for violating the gag order he imposed on the trial and warned he could face jail "if necessary" for continuing to ignore it.
CNN
Putin orders tactical nuclear weapons drills in response to Western ‘threats’
Since invading Ukraine in 2022, Putin has repeatedly made veiled threats to use tactical nuclear weapons against the West.
AFP
Israel's Rafah evacuation order heightens global alarm
Israel called on Palestinians to leave eastern Rafah Monday ahead of a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city, amid increasing global alarm about the consequences of such a move.The Palestinian Red Crescent said "thousands" of Gazans were on the move, leaving eastern Rafah.
Associated Press
Trump Media fires auditing firm that US regulators have charged with 'massive fraud'
Trump Media and Technology Group, the owner of social networking site Truth Social, has fired an auditor that federal regulators recently charged with “massive fraud.” The former president's media company dismissed BF Borgers as its independent public accounting firm on Friday, according to a securities filing — which also notes that Trump Media engaged with Arizona-based accountant Semple, Marchal & Cooper as BF Borgers’ replacement over the weekend. BF Borgers' dismissal arrived on the same day that the Securities and Exchange Commission charged the firm and its owner Benjamin F. Borgers with “deliberate and systematic failures” in more than 1,500 audits.

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