Eric Andre Is a Megachurch Pastor in New Trailer for The Righteous Gemstones Season 2: Watch

NBC News
Mom of captured U.S. soldier Gordon Black says girlfriend 'lured' him to Russia
The worried mother of a U.S. soldier in Russian custody said Wednesday that her son “was lured” there by a Russian woman he had been seeing in South Korea for over a year and that he’s being held on trumped-up charges of stealing roughly $100 from her. Melody Jones said she thinks her son, Staff Sgt.
Associated Press
California's budget deficit has likely grown. Gov. Gavin Newsom will reveal his plan to address it
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will update his budget proposal on Friday, and the news likely won't be good. Newsom, in his last term as governor and widely seen as a future presidential candidate, announced a nearly $38 billion deficit in January, driven by declining revenues. State officials needed a big rebound in tax collections to improve things, but it hasn't happened.
AFP
Israel qualifies for Eurovision grand finale
Israel qualified for this weekend's Eurovision song contest grand finale, defying thousands of demonstrators marching on Thursday in host country Sweden over the Gaza war.At the end of March, contestants from nine countries, including Swiss favourite Nemo, called for a lasting ceasefire.
Associated Press
California is testing new generative AI tools. Here's what to know
Generative artificial intelligence tools will soon be used by California's government. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's administration announced Thursday the state will partner with five companies to develop and test generative AI tools that could improve public service. California is among the first states to roll out guidelines on when and how state agencies can buy AI tools as lawmakers across the country grapple with how to regulate the emerging technology.
Associated Press
A West Bank village feels helpless after Israeli settlers attack with fire and bullets
Charred homes and cars dotting this hilltop village surrounded by olive groves are a searing reminder of Palestinians' vulnerability to rising violence from Israeli settlers. It was one of nearly 800 settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since Hamas attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, according to the U.N. The burnt remains in Duma also highlight the village's limited resources to clean up and rebuild, let alone defend itself from future incursions, which seem inevitable as gun-toting settlers patrol the area roughly 20 miles north of Jerusalem.
Associated Press
Scores of starving and sick pelicans are found along the California coast
Scores of sick and starving pelicans have been found in coastal California communities in recent weeks and many others have died. Lifeguards spotted a cluster of two dozen sick pelicans earlier this week on a pier in coastal Newport Beach and called in wildlife experts to assist. Debbie McGuire, executive director of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, said the birds are the latest group that they've tried to save after taking in more than 100 other pelicans that were anemic, dehydrated and weighing only half of what they should.
Associated Press
How far has Spain moved past Catalonia's secession crisis? Voters will decide in regional election
The image plays on another one imagined from six years prior when Puigdemont hid in the trunk of a car as he was snuck across the French border, fleeing Spain’s crackdown on a failed illegal 2017 secession attempt that he had led as Catalan regional president. Sunday’s elections will be a test to see if Catalonia wants him back as leader or if the wealthy region has moved on from secession and has more pressing worries.
Associated Press
One man was a Capitol Police officer. The other rioted on Jan. 6. They're both running for Congress
For Derrick Evans, being part of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol wasn’t enough. The former West Virginia lawmaker wants to make his path to the halls of Congress permanent. On the other side of the metal barricades that day, Police Officer Harry Dunn couldn't stand what he saw as he defended the Capitol and its inhabitants from rioters on Jan. 6, 2021.
Associated Press
Shunned for centuries, Vodou grows powerful as Haitians seek solace from unrelenting gang violence
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The Vodou faithful sing, their voices rising above the gunfire erupting miles away as frantic drumbeats drown out their troubles. Shunned publicly by politicians and intellectuals for centuries, Vodou is transforming into a more powerful and accepted religion across Haiti, where its believers were once persecuted. The violence has left more than 360,000 people homeless, largely shut down Haiti’s biggest seaport and closed the main international airport two months ago.
Associated Press
Third week of testimony in Trump's hush money trial draws to a close, with Michael Cohen yet to come
The third week of testimony in Donald Trump’s hush money trial draws to a close Friday after jurors heard the dramatic, if not downright seamy, account of porn actor Stormy Daniels, while prosecutors gear up for their most crucial witness: Michael Cohen, Trump's former attorney. Daniels' story of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump was a crucial building block for prosecutors, who are seeking to show that the Republican and his allies buried unflattering stories in the waning weeks of the 2016 presidential election in an effort to illegally influence the race.
Associated Press
Lithuania holds a presidential vote as anxieties rise in the Baltics over Russia and war in Ukraine
Lithuania is holding a presidential election on Sunday at a time when Russian gains on the battlefield in Ukraine are fueling greater fears across all of Europe about Moscow's intentions, but particularly in the strategically important Baltic region. The popular incumbent, Gitanas Nausėda, is favored to win another five-year term. The president's main tasks in Lithuania’s political system are overseeing foreign and security policy, and acting as the supreme commander of the armed forces.
Associated Press
Pro-Palestinian protesters demand endowment transparency. But its proving not to be simple
Now some are winning the first of those two demands: Promises to provide information about how much university endowment money is invested in companies profiting from the Israel-Hamas war. As part of that effort, the University of Minnesota, for one, disclosed this week that about $5 million of its $2.27 billion endowment investments — or less than a quarter of 1% — are tied to Israeli companies or U.S. defense contractors. To Ali Abu, a 19-year-old University of Minnesota student and member of Students for Justice in Palestine, the disclosure is a first step in what he described as "just the beginning of our fight.”
Reuters
UN General Assembly set to back Palestinian bid for membership
The United Nations General Assembly on Friday is set to back a Palestinian bid to become a full U.N. member by recognizing it as qualified to join and sending the application back to the U.N. Security Council to "reconsider the matter favorably." The Palestinians are reviving their bid to become a full U.N. member - a move that would effectively recognize a Palestinian state - after the United States vetoed it in the 15-member U.N. Security Council last month. The vote by the 193-member General Assembly on Friday will act as a global survey of support for the Palestinians.
AFP
India vote a chance for Kashmiris to signal opposition to Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign speeches claim his quelling of an insurgency in Kashmir as one of his greatest achievements, but many in the disputed region see India's election as a chance to signal their disagreement. India's powerful home minister Amit Shah, a close acolyte of Modi, said at a campaign rally last month the party had made a tactical decision not to field candidates.
Associated Press
PR executive reportedly departs China's Baidu after comments glorifying overwork draw backlash
A top Baidu public relations executive has reportedly departed the Chinese technology company after she drew public outcry over her comments that were seen as glorifying a culture of overwork. Baidu’s head of communications Qu Jing had implied in a series of videos that she was not concerned about her employees as she was “not their mom” and said she only cared about results. The backlash was swift, with many on social media platforms like Weibo saying Qu lacked empathy.
Associated Press
UC president recommends UCLA pay Cal Berkeley $10 million per year for 6 years
The University of California Board of Regents is expected to accept a recommendation that UCLA pay University of California at Berkeley $10 million a year for six years as a result of the Bruins' upcoming move to the Big Ten and the demise of the Pac-12. The recommendation was made by UC president Michael Drake and will be voted on during a regents meeting Tuesday at UC Merced. In order for the Regents to affirm UCLA's move to the Big Ten in December, 2022, the university agreed to pay UC Berkeley between $2 million and $10 million because of how the move would affect the Cal athletic program.
CNN
Inside Biden’s decision to go public with his ultimatum to Israel over Rafah
President Joe Biden’s decision this week to make public his ultimatum that a major Israeli offensive in the city of Rafah would result in a shut-off of some US weapons did not come easily or lightly.
CNN
Oakland changes airport name to ‘San Francisco Bay Oakland International’ despite San Francisco trademark lawsuit
Oakland’s airport has changed its name from “Metropolitan Oakland International” to “San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport” after a unanimous vote by the city’s Board of Port Commissioners on Thursday – despite a trademark lawsuit from neighboring San Francisco.
AFP
Panama president-elect pledges to deport migrants who cross Darien Gap
Panama will deport US-bound migrants who enter the country through the notoriously dangerous stretch of jungle known as the Darien Gap, president-elect Jose Raul Mulino said Thursday.Mulino's election comes as the Central American country grapples with deep-rooted corruption, a severe drought that has hobbled the economically critical Panama Canal, and a stream of US-bound migrants passing through its jungles.
Reuters
Factbox-Who is Russia's Mikhail Mishustin?
Mishustin, 58 (born March 3, 1966), was appointed by Putin as head of government in January 2020, replacing Dmitry Medvedev. Along with other members of the Russian elite, Mishustin has been targeted by Western sanctions in connection with the war in Ukraine.

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