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☆ It’s Called Eurovision. So Why Is Australia Part of It?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Yan Zhuang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Eurovision is usually held in the country that won the previous year, but Liverpool, England, is hosting the competition on behalf of last year’s champion, Ukraine. Voyager has a lot riding on its performance, given this is the last year Australia is guaranteed to compete in Eurovision. While Australia is not the only non-European country to compete in Eurovision — Israel made its debut in 1973 — it is certainly the most distant. Since Australia started participating in 2015, fans and commentators alike have wondered: Why does a country on the other side of the world participate in what is ostensibly a European song contest?

☆ Ed Sheeran tops UK charts with 'Subtract' after copyright victory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Ed Sheeran performs at the 58th Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards in Frisco, Texas, U.S. May 11, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File PhotoLONDON, May 12 (Reuters) - Pop star Ed Sheeran topped the UK music charts with his latest album, the critically acclaimed "Subtract", on Friday, a week after winning a U.S. copyright trial over one of his biggest hits. "Subtract", the British singer-songwriter's sixth studio album, went straight to no. 1, extending Sheeran's "flawless run of chart-topping albums", the Official Charts Company said. He was also facing a UK copyright trial over his 2017 song "Shape of You", a case he went on to win.

☆ U.S. FDA advisers back OTC use of Perrigo's birth control pill
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 10 (Reuters) - A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Wednesday voted in favor of using Perrigo Co's (PRGO.N) contraceptive without a prescription, paving the way for the country's first approval for an over-the-counter birth control pill. The panel remained positive on the effectiveness of the pill, not only in the general population of women but also in adolescent populations and those with limited literacy. Perrigo's Opill, currently approved for prescription use, would be the first OTC non-estrogen contraceptive pill in the United States if approved by the regulator. The FDA generally follows the advise of its experts, though it is not bound to do so. Reporting by Sriparna Roy and Nandhini Srinivasan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ A Birth Control Pill May Soon Be Available Over the Counter. Here’s What to Know.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Alisha Haridasani Gupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Food and Drug Administration advisers concluded that the benefits outweighed the risks of making a hormonal contraceptive pill — sold under the brand name Opill and produced by the French company HRA Pharma — available without a prescription. follows the nonbinding recommendation of its advisers — and there is a chance the agency might not — Opill would become the first and only birth control pill to be available over the counter since oral contraceptives were introduced in the U.S. in 1960. A 2022 survey found that 77 percent of more than 5,000 female participants favored the idea of getting the birth control pill over the counter, with many saying it would be more convenient and efficient to get it without a prescription. Progestin-only pills have been widely used in the United States since the first one was approved in 1973. Like other oral contraceptives, they require a prescription from a health care provider or, in some states, a pharmacist.

☆ FDA advisors recommend sale of birth control pill without a prescription
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A panel of experts who advise the Food and Drug Administration unanimously recommended Wednesday that the agency for the first time allow women to obtain a birth control pill without a prescription. The panel had been asked whether the benefits of selling HRA Pharma's birth control pill Opill outweighed the risks of consumers improperly using the medication resulting in unintended pregnancy. Medical associations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for years have urged over-the-counter sales of birth control pills be allowedMore than 50 members of Congress in March 2022 called on FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf to ensure the agency reviewed applications for over-the-counter birth control pills without delay. "Despite decades of proven safety and effectiveness, people still face immense barriers to getting birth control due to systemic inequities in our healthcare system." Shrinking access to abortion across the U.S. in turn sparked renewed calls for expanded access to birth control to prevent unwanted pregnancies.

☆ Rare day at Vatican as two popes share stage
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Tawadros, dressed in black robes, was the guest of honour at Francis' general audience in a rainy St. Peter's Square. In his greeting to Tawadros, Francis recalled the 20 Egyptian Copts who were kidnapped and beheaded on a beach in Libya by Islamic State in 2015. Copts comprise about 10 percent of Egypt's mostly Muslim population and there are small Coptic Christian communities throughout the Middle East and Africa. Coptic Orthodox Christians trace their origins to St. Mark the Apostle. Tawadros is due to have a private meeting with Francis on Thursday and visit the Vatican department that promotes Christian unity.

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democrats released a letter from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Wednesday saying a Republican's decision to hold military nominations harms national security, intensifying a dispute over the military's abortion policy. "Delays in confirming our general and flag officers pose a clear risk to U.S. military readiness, especially at this critical time." "This indefinite hold harms America's national security and hinders the Pentagon's normal operations," Austin wrote. Senior military nominations are approved by the committee and eventually the Senate. He said he would continue to hold the nominees until the Pentagon changes its policy or Congress changes the law.

☆ FDA may allow birth control pill without prescription this summer as experts weigh data
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Food and Drug Administration could approve the sale of birth control medication without a prescription for the first time by this summer. The FDA approved prescription sales of HRA Pharma's birth control pill in 1973. Medical associations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for years have supported over-the-counter access to birth control without age restrictions. In March 2022, more than 50 members of Congress urged FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf to review applications for over-the-counter sales of birth control without delay. "Despite decades of proven safety and effectiveness, people still face immense barriers to getting birth control due to systemic inequities in our healthcare system."

☆ Weird and wonderful trains that break the rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Ben Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Here’s a selection of unusual railways that break the rules in order to reach the places other trains can’t roll. The single rails carrying the trains are supported by a series of 486 steel portals weighing almost 20,000 tonnes in total. It is the oldest continuously operating pier railway in the world. Six miles of the route are along a rural railway line, with the rest in bus mode. Katoomba Scenic Railway, AustraliaNot far from the wonderful city of Sydney is a railway experience unlike anything else in the world.

"This is the right's best chance for people to pick a Pinochet constitution without Pinochet's signature," said Patricio Navia a political scientist at New York University. "The political climate in Chile isn't the same as in 2019 or 2020," said political analyst Cristobal Bellolio. An estimated 3,200 Chileans were murdered and another 28,000 tortured by the state during Pinochet's rule. Many of the victims were affiliated with the socialist government of Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a 1973 coup. "The issue is that if it's more right then Pinochet's constitution, people are going to reject it," Navia added, who added the loss for Boric left the leader who once promised to bury Chile's market-led model sorely wounded.

☆ Associated Press, New York Times win Pulitzers for Ukraine coverage
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] The New York Times building is seen in Manhattan, New York, U.S., August 3, 2020. Eli Saslow, now with the Times, won the feature writing award for the Post. The annual Pulitzer awards, first presented in 1917, are the most celebrated honors in U.S. journalism. "The Pulitzer Prize board joins the many organizations around the world demanding Evan's immediate release," Brown said. In addition to the international reporting prize, the New York Times took the award for illustrated reporting and commentary.

May 8 (Reuters) - A case brought by anti-abortion groups seeking to ban the abortion pill mifepristone nationwide will be heard next week by a panel of three deeply conservative judges hostile to abortion rights, a federal appeals court revealed on Monday. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in New Orleans on May 17 to overturn a court order that suspended the federal government's approval of mifepristone. The U.S. Supreme Court put that order on hold, meaning that mifepristone remains available while the case is appealed. In 2021, Ho was in the majority in a 2-1 ruling refusing to block Texas's six-week abortion ban. Wilson, another Trump appointee, as a state legislator voted to ban abortion once fetal cardiac activity is detected, around six weeks.

☆ Biden, while defending a presidential reelection bid in his 80s, says he's 'acquired a hell of a lot of wisdom' and knows 'more than the vast majority of people'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

President Biden defended his 2024 reelection bid during an interview with MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle. "I have acquired a hell of a lot of wisdom and know more than the vast majority of people," he said. Biden, who's now 80, would be 82 at the start of a second presidential term in 2025. Ruhle asked: "Why would a 82-year-old Joe Biden be the right person for the most important job in the world?" "I have acquired a hell of a lot of wisdom and know more than the vast majority of people," he told Ruhle.

☆ Here’s something most racing fans agree on: 50 years later, Secretariat is still the GOAT.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Melissa Hoppert | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Coming off a stunning loss in the Wood Memorial, Secretariat, who was named the 2-year-old champion, was suddenly the beneficiary of doubt among the horse racing faithful, despite having won 10 of 11 races going into the derby. Rumors swirled: he was injured, he lost a step during his 3-year-old season, he just wasn’t the superhorse everyone thought he was, his Wood rival Sham would be the true king of 1973. He broke a step slow, a Secretariat trademark, and settled in behind his 12 challengers. His rival Sham sat near the lead and made his move to catch the leader, Shecky Greene, at the top of the homestretch. Then, and only then, did Turcotte ask his horse for more, and Secretariat, like the finest of racecars, found another gear.

☆ Kentucky Derby Live Updates: Scratch of Favorite Forte Shakes Up Already Chaotic Derby
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Melissa Hoppert | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Secretariat, with jockey Ron Turcotte up, passed his rival, Sham, in the homestrech and ran away with the 99th Kentucky Derby in record time on May 5, 1973. Rumors swirled: he was injured, he lost a step during his 3-year-old season, he just wasn’t the superhorse everyone thought he was, his Wood rival Sham would be the true king of 1973. His rival Sham sat near the lead and made his move to catch the leader, Shecky Greene, at the top of the homestretch. Then, and only then, did Turcotte ask his horse for more, and Secretariat, like the finest of racecars, found another gear. Nearly half of the horses in Saturday’s Derby have Secretariat in their bloodlines.

☆ ‘Chile ’76’ Review: Resistance and Paranoia Under Pinochet
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Kyle Smith | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Aline Küppenheim Photo: Kino LorberA woman is choosing colors in a paint store when there’s a disturbance outside. After some sounds of struggle and another, unseen woman crying out, everything goes silent again. There is an awkward pause. Then customers and clerks carry on with their business. None of them discuss what they have just heard.

May 5 (Reuters) - A federal judge in Idaho on Thursday dismissed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against Kochava Inc alleging that the data broker unfairly sold geolocation data but gave the regulator an opportunity to revise its case. In a 35-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Lynn Winmill granted a motion the Idaho-based company filed in October by ruling the FTC complaint lacks sufficient allegations to state a claim. The FTC failed to allege Kochava's data sales created "significant risk" of concrete harm, order said, allowing the trade regulator 30 days to amend its arguments. The FTC sued Kochava in August for selling geolocation data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices that could be used to track consumers. The lawsuit sought to stop Kochava from selling sensitive geolocation data and require it to delete related information it has collected.

☆ Expert Picks: Who Will Win the 2023 Kentucky Derby
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Joe Drape | Melissa Hoppert | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The horses in the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby are listed in order of post position, with comments by Joe Drape and Melissa Hoppert of The New York Times. The morning-line odds were set by Mike Battaglia of Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., where the race will be held. Skinner was scratched Friday, and the morning-line favorite, Forte, was scratched Saturday, reducing the field to 18 horses. The last time four entrants were scratched from the Derby was 2015. Because of the scratches, more than half the horses in the field will break from post positions that don’t match their program numbers.

People around the 51-year-old former governor of South Carolina, the daughter of two Indian immigrants, say her willingness to discuss the topic represents a calculated risk while other candidates dodge it. They say it is in part a deliberate bid to seize some attention away from front-runners Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Supporters, donors and some party stalwarts praised Haley for her speech addressing an issue that divides the party. Roberts said she hoped New Hampshire's Republican governor, Chris Sununu, a self-described supporter of abortion rights, jumps into the race. Governor DeSantis, Trump's closest rival who is expected to announce a run within weeks, signed a ban on abortions after six weeks in Florida last month.

☆ ‘Chile ’76’ Review: Domestic Unease That Twists Into Intrigue
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Teo Bugbee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 1973, the socialist government of Chile was overthrown by a military junta led by Gen‌‌. Thousands were killed, and hundreds of thousands fled the country under Pinochet’s dictatorship, which lasted for 17 years and was maintained through violence. The protagonist of “Chile ’76” is Carmen (Aline Küppenheim), a regal woman of middle age. She’s a grandmother and a career flight attendant who now lives a comfortably bourgeois lifestyle with her husband in Santiago. Carmen occupies her time alone with charitable work, guided by the sanguine priest of the town, Father Sánchez (Hugo Medina).

☆ North Carolina House passes 12-week abortion ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

If the state Senate passes the bill on Thursday as expected, Democratic Governor Roy Cooper will almost certainly veto it. Under the North Carolina proposal, elective abortions after the first trimester would be banned except in instances of rape, incest, life-limiting fetal anomalies and medical emergencies. Key to the North Carolina House Republicans' veto-proof majority is former Democratic state Representative Tricia Cotham, who in April changed her party affiliation to Republican. Abortions in North Carolina rose by 37%, more than any other state, in the first two months after the Supreme Court revoked federal abortion rights in June 2022, according to a study by the Society of Family Planning, a nonprofit organization that promotes abortion rights and research. In the six months after the ruling, there were 3,978 monthly abortions on average in North Carolina, up 788 from the average in the two months beforehand, the society said.

[1/4] Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives Tim Moore listens on the floor of the state Senate to debate over the bill limiting most abortions to the first trimester of pregnancy, a sharp drop from the state’s current limit of 20 weeks gestation, at the State Capitol in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. May 4, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan DrakeMay 4 (Reuters) - North Carolina's Republican-controlled legislature on Thursday passed a bill limiting most abortions to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a sharp drop from the state's current limit of 20 weeks' gestation. The state Senate approved the bill 29-20 along party lines, a day after the state House of Representatives passed it in a similar party-line vote. The measure now heads to Democratic Governor Roy Cooper, who has vowed to veto it. Reporting by Julia Harte Editing by Colleen JenkinsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Ed Sheeran didn't steal from Marvin Gaye's 'Let's Get It On,' jury rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Stefan Sykes | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Musician Ed Sheeran leaves federal court in New York, US, on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. A Manhattan federal jury ruled Thursday that pop star Ed Sheeran didn't infringe on the copyright of Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On." Upon hearing the verdict, Sheeran stood up and hugged his lawyers, according to NBC News. The plaintiffs first filed the civil suit in 2017 and alleged that Sheeran, Warner Music Group and Sony Music Publishing stole from the soul classic, violating federal copyright law. Sheeran told jurors that he composed "Thinking Out Loud" independently with British songwriter Wadge, who was not named in the lawsuit.

Programming note: The full interview with Richard Glossip will air Friday, May 5, on “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” which starts at 4 p.m. Lea Glossip, left, wife of death row inmate Richard Glossip, listens with death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean, right, during a news conference on Thursday, May 4, in Oklahoma City. Sneed admitted to killing Van Treese, but at trial, prosecutors portrayed the killing as a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by Glossip. Ultimately, Reed Smith concluded “that no reasonable juror hearing the complete record would have convicted Richard Glossip of first-degree murder,” said Stan Perry, a partner at the firm. The Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, where Richard Glossip is set to be executed, is seen in 2015.

Townsend's heirs sued Sheeran for copyright infringement in 2017, contending that "Thinking Out Loud" copied the "heart" of Gaye's song including its melody, harmony and rhythm. Testifying during the trial, Sheeran denied the copyright infringement claims, telling the jury, "I find it really insulting to devote my whole life to being a performer and a songwriter and have someone diminish it." The heirs said in a court filing that they received 22% of the writer's share of Gaye's song from Townsend. I am not and will never allow myself to be a piggy bank for anyone to shake," Sheeran said after the verdict. Sheeran won a trial in London last year in a separate copyright case over his hit "Shape of You."

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