The White House expects about 40,000 participants at its ‘egg-ucation’-themed annual Easter egg roll

Some 40,000 people are expected to participate in Monday’s “EGG-ucation”-themed White House Easter Egg Roll, about 10,000 more people than last year. A teacher for more than 30 years, Jill Biden is transforming an annual tradition first held in 1878 into an “EGG-ucational” experience. Various stations on the South Lawn and Ellipse will help children … Read more

Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war’s toll on Palestinian children

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned. One toddler died from a brain injury caused by an Israeli strike that fractured his skull. His cousin, … Read more

In Vienna, 2 portraits of Alexei Navalny are painted near a monument to Soviet soldiers

VIENNA — Two large portraits of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been spray-painted on a property owned by the family of a former Czech foreign minister behind a monument to Soviet soldiers in Vienna. The portraits were completed Wednesday on the wall behind the monument, which was already painted in Ukraine’s blue … Read more

West Virginia Gov. Justice breaks with GOP Legislature to veto bill rolling back school vaccine rule

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Republican Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday broke with West Virginia’s GOP-majority Legislature to veto a bill that would have loosened one of the country’s strictest school vaccination policies. West Virginia is only one of a handful of states in the U.S. that offers only medical exemptions to vaccine requirements. The bill would … Read more

Books on the impact of the internet and AI are finalists for the first-ever Women’s Nonfiction Prize

LONDON — Books about the dizzying impact of the internet and artificial intelligence are among finalists for a new book prize that aims to help fix the gender imbalance in nonfiction publishing. The shortlisted six books for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction, announced on Wednesday, include Canadian author-activist Naomi Klein’s “Doppleganger,” a plunge into … Read more

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ lawyer says raids of the rapper’s homes were ‘excessive’ use of military force

LOS ANGELES — Sean “Diddy” Combs’ lawyer said Tuesday that the searches of the rapper’s Los Angeles and Miami properties by federal authorities in a sex trafficking investigation were “a gross use of military-level force” and that Combs is “innocent and will continue to fight” to clear his name. It’s the first public statement from … Read more

A Japanese supplement pill is recalled after two people died and more than 100 were hospitalized

TOKYO — Health supplement products believed to have caused two deaths and sickened more than 100 people have been ordered to be taken off store shelves in Japan. The products from Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., billed as helping to lower cholesterol, contained an ingredient called “benikoji,” a red species of mold. In addition to the products … Read more

Those Godzilla claw shoes on the Oscars red carpet are just one of Hazama’s ‘dark fantasy’ creations

URAWA, Japan — One Japanese creation grabbing attention on the Oscars red carpet wasn’t a movie: the kitsch shoes that seemed to be clenched in Godzilla’s claw. They were the work of Ryosuke Matsui, who recently described his joy at seeing “Godzilla Minus One” director Takashi Yamazaki and his Shirogumi special-effects team walk the red … Read more

The British royal family learns that if you don’t fill an information vacuum, someone else will

NEW YORK — A media frenzy was born on Feb. 27, when the hashtag #WhereIsKate exploded online with speculation about the whereabouts of Britain’s Princess of Wales. It opened a rabbit hole of amateur detective work, memes, bizarre theories and jokes — mixed with genuine concern about Kate’s health — into which thousands of people … Read more

Lawsuit says Ohio’s gender-affirming care ban violates the state constitution

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Two families of transgender minors filed a constitutional challenge on Tuesday to an Ohio law that severely limits gender-affirming health care for youth under 18. The litigation, brought in Franklin County Common Pleas Court by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Ohio and the global law firm Goodwin, alleges the law … Read more