Dig if you will this Prince guitar from Purple Rain era, yours for a not-too-low price (2024)

A Missouri fifth grader has won praise and had an award named for him after he raised more than $7,000 to erase school meal debt in his district. Daken Kramer posted a video last month challenging friends, family, strangers and businesses to pay off the meal debt at Thomas Ultican Elementary School in Blue Springs. He raised enough money not only to help students at his school but also at the high school. Now the Daken Kramer Legacy Award will be given to honor students like him who go above and beyond.

Hungary’s top diplomat has visited Belarus for talks on expanding ties despite the European Union’s sanctions against the country. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó declared Wednesday that “our position is clear: the fewer sanctions, the more cooperation!” The EU has slapped a sweeping array of sanctions on Belarus for the repression that followed mass protests fueled by the 2020 presidential election. The vote was widely seen by the opposition and the West as rigged. Belarus’ isolation further deepened after authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to use his country’s territory to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya criticized Szijjártó's visit as "unacceptable and immoral.”

Despite a long string of recalls that began more than two decades ago, about 6.2 million vehicles with potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators remain on U.S. roads today. On Wednesday, Nissan warned drivers of about 84,000 older Nissan and Infiniti vehicles not to drive them because the front passenger inflators can explode with too much force in a crash, spewing metal fragments that could kill or injure people. In all, 67 million front driver and passenger inflators were included in what turned out to be the largest automotive recall in U.S. history. About 100 million inflators were recalled worldwide. But despite years of publicity, recall letters and phone calls from automakers, about 9% of the recalled vehicles remain on the road without repairs.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee had its toughest day of competition with the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. Wednesday began with 148 spellers on stage and by early afternoon, more than 100 had been eliminated. Among them were some veteran spellers who hoped to improve on their previous performances and qualify for Thursday night's finals. Spellers say a lot of luck can come into play as Scripps pulls from more than half a million words in Webster's Unabridged dictionary. And those who've performed well in prior years often fall short of expectations.

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Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has filed an election complaint alleging CNN is colluding with Democratic President Joe Biden and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump to exclude him from a debate the network is hosting next month. CNN says the complaint is without merit. A lawyer for Kennedy laid out his argument in a filing Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission. The Kennedy campaign says the requirements to participate in the June 27 debate were designed to ensure only Biden and Trump would qualify. Kennedy still has time to meet the requirements, but the window is narrowing.

Baseball players and fans alike are learning more about the Negro Leagues after the statistics for more than 2,300 players — historic figures like Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige and Mule Suttles — were incorporated into the major league record book following a three-year research project. A 17-person committee chaired by John Thorn, Major League Baseball’s official historian, met six times as part of the meticulous process of examining statistics from seven Negro Leagues from 1920-1948. Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Greene calls the move “long overdue.” Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen says he is doing some “deep diving” into some Negro Leagues players that he hadn't heard of before.

NEW YORK — Donald Trump lashed out at actor Robert De Niro in a middle-of-the-night rant posted to Truth Social.

A nurse was fired by a New York City hospital after she referred to Israel’s war in Gaza as “genocide” during a speech accepting an award. Hesen Jabr was being honored by NYU Langone Health for her compassion in caring for mothers who had lost babies when she drew a link between her work and the suffering of mothers in Gaza. Jabr said that Palestinian women are going through unimaginable losses "during the current genocide in Gaza,” She was fired the next time she reported for work. A spokesperson for NYU Langone said some of Jabr's colleagues were upset by her comments.

Facing a tidal wave of pushback from community groups, the Seattle City Council voted Tuesday to table a proposal that would withhold new funding for development projects in areas where many people of color and low-income people live.

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 29, 2024--

CHICAGO — The Illinois legislature has passed a bill that would require more health care facilities to report allegations of patient abuse to the state— a measure that follows a Tribune investigation into the issue.

CHICAGO — A Chicago-area man who made a national media splash when he filed a lawsuit against dozens of women who allegedly bad-mouthed him on a tell-all Facebook dating page was sentenced Wednesday to a year in federal prison for a tax fraud that the judge called “patently outrageous.”

A criminal court in Argentina has postponed to Oct. 1 the start of a trial in a criminal negligence case brought against eight people allegedly involved in the death of soccer star Diego Maradona. The 1986 World Cup winner died at age 60 on Nov. 25, 2020 due to a cardiorespiratory arrest. The criminal court in San Isidro, in the outskirts of Buenos Aires, said in a decision published by local media Tuesday night that “several questions have been raised” by all parts involved in the homicide case, adding that “at this date they are still to be resolved.” The court did not elaborate.

Controversial proposals to double the populations of Hillcrest and University City by allowing more high-rise housing will be debated this week by San Diego's Planning Commission.

After nearly two dozen witnesses, 16 days of testimony and hours of lawyers’ closing arguments, it’s time for jurors to have their say in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial. Jury deliberations began Wednesday in the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. The discussion of a potential verdict is taking place behind closed doors in a room reserved for the jury. The deliberations are secret, though jurors can communicate a bit by having a court officer deliver notes from them to the judge. The seven-man, five-woman, anonymous jury is tasked with deciding whether Trump is guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying his company’s records. The presumptive Republican nominee has pleaded not guilty.

South Carolina is adding Arkansas forward Maryam Dauda to its national championship roster. The 6-foot-4 Dauda announced her commitment to join the Gameco*cks on social media. Dauda is a former McDonald's All-American from Bentonville, Arkansas, who started all 33 games last season and averaged 10.1 points a game. She bolsters a front court for the Gameco*cks, who lost their biggest post presence in leading scorer Kamilla Cardoso. Dauda joins an already strong group of forwards returning for the Gameco*cks in Ashlyn Watkins, Sania Feagin and Chloe Kitts.

A noose that was used in the largest mass execution in U.S. history will be returned to a Dakota tribe. The Minnesota Historical Society plans to repatriate what is known as the Mankato Hanging Rope to the Prairie Island Indian Community after the required 30-day notice period under federal law. It was used to hang Wicanhpi Wastedanpi, also known as Chaske. He was one of 38 Dakota men executed in Mankato following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. The noose was stolen from his grave. It has been in the society’s collection since 1869. It is not on public display out of sensitivity to the Dakota people.

Yale University has named its 24th president. Maurie McInnis will take over on July 1 and succeed Peter Salovey, who is retiring to take a faculty position after leading the New Haven, Connecticut, school for the past decade. McInnis is the first woman to be appointed permanently as Yale's president. She is president of Stony Brook University on Long Island in New York, and has previously served in leadership positions at the universities of Texas and Virginia. McInnis is not new to New Haven. She earned her master's degree and doctorate at Yale while studying art history and is a Yale trustee.

Charges against Scottie Scheffler will be dropped after the world’s top golfer was arrested outside the PGA Championship.

Criminal charges against Scottie Scheffler have been dismissed, ending a legal saga that began with images of the world’s top male golfer being arrested and handcuffed in Louisville during the PGA Championship. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell, a local prosecutor, asked a judge Wednesday afternoon to drop the four charges against Scheffler. Scheffler was not required to be in the courtroom Wednesday. Scheffler was charged with a felony for assaulting a police officer with his vehicle, along with three misdemeanors. Scheffler has said he simply misunderstood the commands coming from traffic officers.

Major League Baseball said Tuesday that it has incorporated records for more than 2,300 Negro League players following a three-year research project. Players like Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston and Satchel Paige now hold significant standing on MLB’s career and season leaderboards. Here’s a look at some of the stats most affected.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois House Democrats early Wednesday approved a $53.1 billion election-year budget that boosts spending by $400 million from what Gov. J.B. Pritzker proposed earlier this year and slightly reduces the governor’s tax hike plan.

Longtime goalie guru Mitch Korn is back with the Nashville Predators to oversee their operation at the most important position in hockey. The team hired Korn as director of goaltending a decade after his first 15-season stint with the Predators came to an end. Korn reunites with now-general manager Barry Trotz, with whom he worked for over several stops around the NHL. Korn's biggest task could be turning top prospect Yaroslav Askarov into the elite netminder the organization hopes he will become. Juuse Saros has one year left on his contract.

Jessica Lange has won two Oscars, two Emmys and been nominated this year for her second Tony. But she remains underappreciated. At the very least, she deserves one of those Kennedy Center Honors. At most, her hometown of Cloquet, Minnesota, should erect a statue of her in the parking lot of …

Women’s Super League champion Chelsea has hired Lyon manager Sonia Bompastor as its new head coach. It's a four-year deal. The 43-year-old Bompastor takes over from Emma Hayes, who for more than 12 years led the Blues to 14 major trophies including a fifth straight league title on the final day of the recently concluded season. Hayes left to become the U.S. women’s soccer coach. Bompastor won seven trophies in her three years in charge of Lyon and begins her new role on July 1. She called Chelsea “an institution in English football” and said she hopes ”to live up to Emma’s legacy."

Jocelyn Erickson might have more friends than anyone at the Women’s College World Series. Florida’s standout catcher and the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year spent last season at Oklahoma and helped the Sooners win a third consecutive national championship. Now, though, she will try to prevent the first four-peat in the history of the college softball. Erickson and the Gators open world series play Thursday against Oklahoma State in Oklahoma City. Florida insists it won't be looking ahead, but no one would blame Erickson for keeping an eye on that other team from Oklahoma that’s playing in the opposite side of the bracket.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore are assessing the country’s bridges after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The team includes students and faculty. They hope to determine whether other structures are similarly vulnerable. University officials say they hope policymakers will use the findings of their assessment to inform future investment decisions and prioritize infrastructure safety upgrades. Baltimore’s Key Bridge crumbled in an instant after the container ship Dali lost power and crashed into one of its supporting columns on March 26. Six members of a roadwork crew died.

Seattle police Chief Adrian Diaz is being removed from his post as the city's top cop, sources said Wednesday morning.

Community groups filed a federal civil rights complaint Tuesday against Baltimore City’s Department of Public Works, arguing that it has failed to create an effective plan to wean the city off of the air-polluting trash incinerator in South Baltimore.

California lawmakers have advanced a host of artificial intelligence proposals that would protect jobs, build public trust, fight algorithmic discrimination, and outlaw deepfakes involving elections or p*rnography. Corporations have been weaving the rapidly evolving technologies into the daily lives of Americans without much oversight. California touts itself as a global hub for artificial intelligence development. The state is exploring ways to leverage the powerful technologies for public good while also cracking down on AI abuses such as discrimination in hiring. Experts say California's strong privacy laws put it in a good position to enact AI regulations even as efforts elsewhere fall short.

A judge overseeing a challenge brought by unions trying to undo Wisconsin’s law that bans nearly all collective bargaining for public workers appears to have signed a petition in 2011 to recall then-Gov. Scott Walker from office because of anger over that law. Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost’s name and signature appears on the petition matching an address he lived at during that time, according to property records. Frost presided over a hearing Tuesday afternoon in response to a motion filed by the Republican-controlled Legislature seeking to dismiss the lawsuit. He said he would issue a decision in the coming weeks.

Thanks to heavy use of nitrogen fertilizer, tiny organisms that flourish in farm fields emit nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas that can warm the planet more than carbon dioxide and stay in the atmosphere for over a century. Now some researchers think they've found a bacteria that can help. Writing in this week's Nature journal, they say extensive lab and field trials showed the naturally derived bacteria reduced the nitrous oxide without disrupting other microbes in the soil. It also survived well in soil and would be relatively cheap to produce. Further trials are needed, but they hope farmers could start using the bacteria within the decade.

All the justices on South Carolina’s Supreme Court are going to be white for the first time in nearly two decades. Circuit Judge Jocelyn Newman was the lone Black candidate for the state Supreme Court seat coming open. The only African American on the high court is Chief Justice Don Beatty. He has to leave because he has reached the mandatory retirement age of 72, and Newman has dropped out of next week's election. Diversity on the bench is a big topic in a state where African Americans and Hispanics make up a third of the population. South Carolina will soon join 18 other states with all-white high courts.

CHICAGO — Lina Yamin and six other musicians found themselves breathing heavily as they held back tears while performing Monday for a special crowd.

LOS ANGELES — In an escalation of the criminal probe against music legend Sean "Diddy" Combs, federal prosecutors are preparing grand jury subpoenas for witnesses to testify in the sex trafficking investigation against him, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Wednesday

Colombian cyclist Miguel Ángel López has been banned for four years for doping. He finished third in the Giro d’Italia and Spanish Vuelta races in 2018 and also fourth in the 2022 Vuelta. López won the toughest mountain stage at the 2020 Tour de France. The International Cycling Union says López was caught in the Operation Ilex investigation led by Spanish authorities concerning a doctor who worked in the sport. López was found guilty by the UCI’s anti-doping tribunal of using and possessing a female fertility drug that stimulates production of testosterone in men. His ban expires in July 2027.

Heat-related howler monkeys deaths in Mexico have been recorded in a total of four states, environmental authorities said. The Environment Department said late Tuesday that monkey deaths have now been recorded in a total of four states, mostly on the Gulf of Mexico. The department also said tests confirmed the primates died of heat stroke. Experts said the country's current drought also probably played a role noting “a lack of water in the streams and springs in the areas where the monkeys live.” The department did not give the latest estimate on the number of deaths, but earlier said at least 157 monkeys had perished since the die-off began in early May.

DETROIT — The U.S. House Democrats' campaign arm announced Wednesday that it's adding a Michigan candidate in a crucial swing district to its battlefield program for top 2024 recruits.