World News

WASHINGTON — More than 1.4 million laid-off Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, further evidence of the devastation the coronavirus outbreak has unleashed on the U.S. economy.

LOS ANGELES — Malik B, a rapper and founding member of The Roots, has died. He was 47. The group announced the death of the Philadelphia-born emcee in a social media post Wednesday. The cause of death was not released.

NEW ORLEANS — Comedian Andy Dick told a New Orleans news outlet Wednesday that he’s willing to return to the city and testify against a man accused of knocking him unconscious last year.

NEW YORK — Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey didn't want to write an ordinary celebrity book.

LOS ANGELES — Tracy Morgan and his wife of five years are ending their marriage The actor-comedian’s representative said in an emailed statement Wednesday that Morgan and Megan Wollover have filed for divorce.

LOS ANGELES — Oscar-nominated writer David Hare says he’s turned his COVID-19 illness into a stage monologue about enduring “this quite extraordinary disease.

LOS ANGELES — Acclaimed actor Glenda Jackson will launch the 50th season of PBS’ “Masterpiece” drama showcase next year.

FRANKFURT — Germany’s economy took a massive hit during the pandemic shutdowns, shrinking by 10.1% per cent during the April-June period from the previous quarter, the official statistics agency said Thursday.

SARAJEVO, Bosnia — The bright yellow Hotel Holiday in downtown Sarajevo has seen good times and bad times in its 37-year history. Mostly, it has been a symbol of survival in the once-turbulent Bosnian capital.

NEW YORK — A British socialite charged with recruiting three girls for Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse made a last-minute bid Wednesday to stop the public release of her 2016 testimony in a civil case.