Former ‘American Idol’ contestant charged with murder

February 22, 2026

Authorities in Ohio have arrested a former contestant on "American Idol" and charged him with shooting and killing his wife and staging the crime scene to mislead investigators. Caleb Flynn, 39, pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of murder, assault and tampering with evidence. "I just want to take care of my daughters. I'm not a risk," he told Judge Samuel Huffman in a video of his arraignment from jail. The judge set his bond at $2 million. Ashley Flynn, 37, was found dead Monday after officers received a report of a burglary and shooting at a Tipp City home, according to a ...

Loose dog makes Olympic cameo on the cross-country ski course

February 19, 2026

TESERO, Italy (AP) — A surprise participant in Wednesday's action at the Milan Cortina Olympics had four legs and zero concern for race times. As elite cross-country skiers pushed to the finish in the women's team sprint heats, a dog wandered onto the course and ran with athletes down ...

Hollywood groups condemn ByteDance’s AI video generator

February 16, 2026

A new artificial intelligence video generator from Beijing-based ByteDance, the creator of TikTok, is drawing the ire of Hollywood organizations that say Seedance 2.0 "blatantly" violates copyright and uses the likeness of actors and others without permission. Seedance 2.0, which is only ...

Super Bowl halftime show celebrated Americas

February 9, 2026

NEW YORK (AP) — To better understand some of the significance of Bad Bunny's historic Super Bowl halftime performance on Sunday night, start at the end. "God Bless America," were the first and few English-language words uttered by the Spanish-language performer, who then proceeded to ...

Mariah Carey’s Olympic performance is talk of the town

February 7, 2026

MILAN (AP) — The performance by pop star Mariah Carey at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony was the talk of the town — but it also raised a few questions. The rendition by the American singer of Italian classic "Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu" — better known as "Volare" — ...

Pizza Hut closing 250 US stores as parent company considers selling the brand

February 5, 2026

Pizza Hut plans to close 250 U.S. restaurants in the first half of this year as its parent company considers a sale of the chain. Yum Brands said Wednesday it's targeting underperforming Pizza Hut restaurants in its system. Pizza Hut has more than 6,000 locations in the U.S. Louisville, ...