About 40 passengers left ship hit by Hantavirus outbreak at island of St. Helena

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — About 40 passengers from a cruise ship by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have disembarked on St. Helena, according to Dutch officials

Around 40 passengers, including the wife of a Dutch man who died, left the cruise ship during a stop at St. Helena, a small, craggy island in the South Atlantic Ocean, the Dutch foreign ministry has said.

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In a letter to parliament sent late Wednesday evening local time, foreign minister Tom Berendsen said that those who disembarked on the remote island included a Dutch woman who is hospitalized South Africa and a Swiss man who is also currently being treated.

Authorities did not confirm where the disembarked passengers are now.

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May 08, 2026

About 40 passengers left ship hit by Hantavirus outbreak at island of St. Helena

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — About 40 passengers from a cruise ship by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have disembarked on St. Helena, ac...

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How one German artist's remembrance stones turn Berlin sidewalks into Holocaust memorials

BERLIN (AP) — Artist Gunter Demnig carefully placed a palm-sizedHolocaust memorialbrass plaque into the sidewalk on a busy street corner of Berlin. It said: “Johanna Berger, born in 1893, lived here; deported on Nov. 17, 1941, murdered on Nov. 25, 1941.”

Germany Holocaust Memorial

After Demnig had swiped the sand off Berger's memorial stone and those for her husband and two sons, a dozen relatives drew closer around the four plaques, which are called Stolpersteine, or “stumbling blocks,” in German. They put down white roses and recited the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead, while traffic roared by on a rainy spring day.

Demnig installed the first plaque inthe German capitalthree decades ago. By now, one can find more than 11,000 of his memorial stones all over the city. But Demnig's decentralized Holocaust memorial goes much further than that — the artist and his teams of supporters have laid 126,000 stones in Germany and 31 other countries across Europe.

In a unique way, the shiny brass squares that are embedded in the pavement, make passersby stop and interrupt their daily lives for a moment as they bend down to read the names of those who perished. Small children can often be seen as they examine the Stolpersteine closely and demand answers from their parents.

“My basic idea behind this was that wherever in Europe the German Wehrmacht, the SS, the Gestapo, and their local collaborators committed murders or carried out deportations, symbolic stones should be placed there," the 78-year-old German artist said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The closest thing to a gravestone

Jewish family members oftentimes will travel from all over the world to attend the stonelaying ceremonies, because many of the victims were gassed in the Nazis' concentration camps and these memorial stones are the closest thing to a grave or a burial.

“The Stolpersteine are some kind of substitute for the missing gravestones,” Michael Tischler said after Wednesday's ceremony. The 72-year-old Berliner is a grandnephew of Berger who perished in the Holocaust like several other members of Tischler's family.

“I think this brings the family history to a certain conclusion, or at least a provisional one," Tischler said.

The memorial stones don't only bring solace to the families of the victims, but they have also created some kind of grassroots movement that brings together neighborhood initiatives, schools or religious communities to research the history of their city.

Researching Berlin's Nazi past

Together, old and young browse through archives and check timeworn resident lists to find out if any Jews or others who were persecuted during the Third Reich — such as communists, gays or Roma — used to live in the streets or even homes where they live today.

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Once they can confirm a victim's former place of residence, they arrange for a stonelaying ceremony and make sure the brass plaque is polished periodically, so it won't lose its shine.

On Wednesday, several 10th graders from the Friedrich-Bergius-Schule attended another Berlin stonelaying ceremony on Stierstraße, where many Jews used to live. Demnig's three new stones for the Krein family — Michael, his wife Maria and their daughter Dalila — brought the number of Stolpersteine to 62 on this street.

While Maria and Dalila managed to escape to the U.S. and British-controlled Palestinian territory, respectively, Michael, a musician, died in Berlin in 1940 as a forced laborer under the Nazis.

High school student Sibilla Ehrlich, 16, watched as a group of violinists played solemn melodies and some elderly neighbors talked about the lives of the three Jews under Nazi dictatorship.

“It is just so horrible, all this the hatred of others," she said. “I keep thinking: what if this had been my family."

Before the Holocaust, Berlin had the biggest Jewish community in Germany. In 1933, the year the Nazis came to power, around 160,500 Jews lived in Berlin. By the end of World War II in 1945, their numbers had diminished to about 7,000 through emigration and extermination.

All in all, around 6 million European Jews and others were killed in the Holocaust.

As Germany commemorates theAllied liberationfromthe Nazis81 years ago on May 8, many people in Germany fear that the lessons of the Holocaust may be forgotten asthe far right is quickly gaining influencein Germany again.

Tischler, too, worries about his country's future in times ofrising antisemitism, but he says the memorial stones offer a glimpse of hope.

“I hope that these Stolpersteine will still give some people pause for thought,” he said.

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May 07, 2026

How one German artist's remembrance stones turn Berlin sidewalks into Holocaust memorials

BERLIN (AP) — Artist Gunter Demnig carefully placed a palm-sizedHolocaust memorialbrass plaque into the sidewalk on a busy street corne...

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North Hagerstown sweeps team titles in Washington County track meet

North Hagerstown's boys extended their streak ofWashington CountyPublic Schools outdoor track & field team titles to six, while the Hubs girls snapped Smithsburg's four-year run and completed a North sweep of the team honors during the 2026 county championships at South Hagerstown on May 6.

Boys team scores

North Hagerstown 175; Smithsburg 150.5; Boonsboro 110; South Hagerstown 100.5; Clear Spring 84; Williamsport 37; Hancock 23.

Girls team scores

North Hagerstown 197; Smithsburg 123; Boonsboro 113; Clear Spring 112; South Hagerstown 98; Williamsport 41.

Boys individual results

100-- 1. Byron Snyder (Williamsport) 10.91; 2. Torin Sitter (South) 11.06; 3. Isaiah Seering (North) 11.10.

200-- 1. Torin Sitter (South) 22.41; 2. Byron Snyder (Williamsport) 22.55; 3. Wyatt Hegedus (Boonsboro) 23.09.

400-- 1. Torin Sitter (South) 49.24; 2. Clinton Otinkorang (South) 50.26; 3. Naythan Bwana (Boonsboro) 51.97.

800-- 1. Dylan Herbst (Smithsburg) 2:00.11; 2. Landon Call (North) 2:01.80; 3. Gage Crampton (Clear Spring) 2:02.49)

1,600-- 1. Dylan Herbst (Smithsburg) 4:29.23; 2. Landon Call (North) 4:29.37; 3. Walker Mason (North) 4:29.96.

3,200-- 1, Michael Wynkoop (Smithsburg) 9:54.05; 2. Walker Mason (North); 3. Grayson Wynkoop (Smithsburg).

110 hurdles-- 1. Daniel Apiou (Clear Spring) 14.83; 2. Thomas Owusu (North) 15.59; 3. Jonathan Morris (North) 16.01.

300 hurdles-- 1. Jonathan Morris (North) 43.85; 2. Michael Boller (South) 44.49; 3. Ish Badaki (Boonsboro) 45.24.

4x100 relay-- 1. South (Myles Clottey, Kareem Walton, Jameir Simms, Torin Sitter) 43.95; 2. Boonsboro 44.30; 3. North 45.49.

4x200 relay-- 1. North (Jared Anderson, Jonathan Morris, Carter Naylor, Isaiah Seering) 1:33.07; 2. Smithsburg 1:34.02; 3. Boonsboro 1:35.84.

4x400 relay-- 1. South (Clinton Otinkorang, Jameir Simms, Myles Clottey, Michael Boller) 3:32.94; 2. North 3:40.22; 3. Smithsburg 3:46.61.

4x800 relay-- 1. Smithsburg (Dylan Lowe, Grayson Wynkoop, Ernesto Mellott, Gavin Gross) 8:49.66; 2. North 8:58.73; 3. Clear Spring 9:02.21.

Shot put-- 1. Austin Dinsmore (Boonsboro) 45-8; 2. Brooks Myers (Clear Spring) 41-10 1/4; 3. Garett Forrest (North) 39-8 3/4.

Discus-- 1. Austin Dinsmore (Boonsboro) 136-4; 2. Brooks Myers (Clear Spring) 131-1; 3. Trevor Jessup (Smithsburg) 127-9.

High jump-- 1. Daniel Apiou (Clear Spring) 6-2; 2. Ish Badaki (Boonsboro) 6-0; 3. tie, Kareem Walton (South) and Michael Jackson (Smithsburg) 5-8.

Pole vault-- 1. Elias House (North) 11-0; 2. Brady Bruette (North) 11-0; 3. Derek Rummel (Smithsburg) 10-6.

Long jump-- 1. Byron Snyder (Williamsport) 20-11 1/2; 2. Jacob Tyler (Smithsburg) 20-9 1/2; 3. Landyn Clark (Hancock) 19-7.

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Triple jump-- 1. Daniel Apiou (Clear Spring) 44-2; 2. Naythan Bwana (Boonsboro) 40-6 1/2; 3. Rittenhouse Shuster (Smithsburg) 39-7 1/2.

Girls individual results

100-- 1. Annabelle Schaberl (North) 12.34; 2. Taraji Nartey (North) 1245; 3. Trinity Savage (South) 12.45.

200-- 1. Taraji Nartey (North) 25.94; 2. Annabelle Schaberl (North) 26.56; 3. Abigayle Fluharty (Boonsboro) 26.70.

400-- 1. Mackenzie Philp (North) 1:00.16; 2. Abigayle Fluharty (Boonsboro) 1:00.73; 3. Juliet Hodge (Clear Spring) 1:00.73.

800-- 1. Mackenzie Philp (North) 2:22.73; 2. Juliet Hodge (Clear Spring) 2:27.11; 3. Emily Franko (Boonsboro) 2:30.53.

1,600-- 1. Caroline Philp (North) 5:14.54; 2. Anna Ramanan (North) 5:34.47; 3. Emily Franko (Boonsboro) 5:41.98.

3,200-- 1. Anna Ramanan (North) 12:18.84; 2. Charlee Hajel (North) 13:22.62; 3. Madeline Schaberl (North) 13:34.51.

100 hurdles-- 1. Brielle Morales (Clear Spring) 15.97; 2. Anna Chamberlin (North) 15.99; 3. Kristen Gyamfi (South) 17.45.

300 hurdles-- 1. Dayanah Brunson (North) 50.45; 2. Brielle Enow (Clear Spring) 52.64; 3. Kristen Gyamfi (South) 52.82.

4x100 relay-- 1. Smithsburg (Acasia Todd, Melyssa Bard, Lilian Hade, Skyla Mastronardi) 49.91; 2. South 50.52; 3. Boonsboro 50.84.

4x200 relay-- 1. South (Chloe Gietka, Ajayah Alexander, Wynter Cephus, Trinity Savage) 1:45.34; 2. Smithsburg 1:47.70; 3. Boonsboro 1:52.26.

4x400 relay-- 1. North (Taraji Nartey, Dayanah Brunson, Anna Ramanan, Caroline Philp) 4:24.79; 2. Clear Spring 4:35.04; 3. Smithsburg 4:37.89.

4x800 relay-- 1. North (Caroline Philp, Brianna Mathews, Anabelle Myers, Mackenzie Philp) 10:51.13; 2. Boonsboro 11:08.49; 3. Smithsburg 12:08.16.

Shot put-- 1. Sarah Mohler (Boonsboro) 35-9 1/2; 2. Katelyn Moffitt (Clear Spring) 35-8 1/2; 3. Sidney Turner (Boonsboro) 32-10 1/2.

Discus-- 1. Sidney Turner (Boonsboro) 122-3; 2. Sarah Mohler (Boonsboro) 113-5; 3. Katelyn Moffitt (Clear Spring) 98-3.

High jump-- 1. Skyla Mastronardi (Smithsburg) 5-4; 2. Hadley Elwood (Clear Spring) 5-4; 3. Anna Chamberlin (North) 5-0.

Pole vault-- 1. Evelyn Briggs (Boonsboro) 9-6; 2. Audrey Roberts (Clear Spring) 9-0; 3. Lilian Hade (Smithsburg) 8-6.

Long jump-- 1. Trinity Savage (South) 17-7 1/2; 2. Chloe Gietka (South) 16-11; 3. Alyssa Merriman (Williamsport) 15-3 1/2.

Triple jump-- 1. Chloe Gietka (South) 36-8 1/2; 2. Binta Macalou (North) 33-8; 3. Hadley Elwood (Clear Spring) 32-3 1/2.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail:2026 Washington County Public Schools Track & Field meet results

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May 06, 2026

North Hagerstown sweeps team titles in Washington County track meet

North Hagerstown's boys extended their streak ofWashington CountyPublic Schools outdoor track & field team titles to six, while...

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'The Bear' officially ending after surprise episode drop. Here's when.

So long, chef: "The Bear" is getting ready to serve its last course.

One day after dropping asurprise new episodeof "The Bear," FX has confirmed the Emmy-winning series is coming to an end next month. The show, starringJeremy Allen White, will return June 25 for its fifth season, which will be the series' last.

The final season will consist of eight episodes, all of which will be available to stream on June 25.

Since 2022, White has starred alongsideAyo EdebiriandEbon Moss-Bachrachon "The Bear" as a chef who heads back home to Chicago after his brother's death to take over a sandwich shop, eventually seeking to transform it into a classy, five-star restaurant called The Bear.

Fans suspected "The Bear" was near the end of its run after the fourth season in 2025concluded with White's Carmy Berzatto shockingly announcinghe planned to leave the restaurant.

StarJamie Lee Curtislater appeared to confirm the series was ending in a FebruaryInstagram post. The actress shared a photo with costar Abby Elliott and wrote that they "FINISHED STRONG" and completed "the story of this extraordinary family that we have all fallen in love with."

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'The Bear':Is that shocking finale the end of the series, or is more on the menu?

'The Bear' Gary surprise bonus episode stuns fans

FX confirmed the end of "The Bear" after, in an unusual move, releasing an entirely new episode of the show on May 5, with no prior announcement that it was coming.

Surprise!'The Bear' shocks fans by dropping secret new episode

Titled "Gary," the surprise episode is a standalone, one-hour flashback that takes place before the events of Season 1 and centers on Moss-Bachrach's Richie going on a work trip to Gary, Indiana, with Mikey (Jon Bernthal). Moss-Bachrach and Bernthal cowrote the episode, which is listed on Hulu separate from the main show and is not considered part of a season. Fans can find it by searching "Gary" on Hulu.

"The Bear" has racked up 21 Emmy wins, andnearly 50 nominations, throughout its run, including a win for outstanding comedy series in 2024. It will be the latest Emmys comedy darling to wrap its run after HBO Max's "Hacks," starringJean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, which is scheduled to air its series finale on May 28.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Is 'The Bear' ending? Show's future confirmed after surprise episode

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May 06, 2026

'The Bear' officially ending after surprise episode drop. Here's when.

So long, chef: "The Bear" is getting ready to serve its last course. One day after dropping asurprise new episodeof ...

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Factbox-What we know about US stress tests of Google, xAI and Microsoft AI models

By Courtney Rozen and Jody Godoy

WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday announced it had expanded a program to give U.S. government scientists access to unreleased artificial intelligence models to conduct risk ‌assessments to include Google’s DeepMind, xAI andMicrosoft.

ChatGPT makerOpenAIand Claude owner Anthropic had already been voluntarily ‌working with the U.S. Center for AI Standards and Innovation, the team of U.S. government scientists, to test unreleased models for vulnerabilities, according to the ​companies.

Here is what we know about the reviews:

WHAT RISKS ARE THE U.S. FOCUSED ON?

U.S. government scientists are focused on "demonstrable risks," such as the risk that advanced models can be used to launch cyberattacks on American infrastructure, according to the CAISI website. They want to limit opportunities for U.S. adversaries to use AI to develop chemical or biological weapons, or corrupt the data used to ‌train American AI models.

WHAT WILL COMPANIES HAND ⁠OVER?

OpenAI is working with the group to test GPT-5.5-Cyber, said Chris Lehane, head of global affairs at OpenAI, in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday. GPT-5.5-Cyber is a variant of its latest ⁠model designed for defensive cybersecurity work.

Microsoft will work with the scientists to build shared datasets and workflows to assess advanced AI models, the company said in a statement. Microsoft did not specify which models.

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Anthropic gave CAISI access to both publicly available and unreleased models, ​allowing researchers ​to probe for vulnerabilities in a process known as "red-teaming," or simulating ​the behavior of malicious actors, the company said ‌in September. The company also gave CAISI detailed documentation on known vulnerabilities and safety mechanisms.

Google DeepMind, Alphabet’sAI researcharm, will provide access to its “proprietary models” and data, a spokesperson said.

xAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

WHAT HAS THE U.S. FOUND SO FAR?

Anthropic's work with CAISI revealed that tricks such as claiming that human review had occurred, or substituting characters, could get around safety mechanisms, the company said, adding that it had patched the vulnerabilities.

OpenAI said in ‌September that it worked with CAISI to probe vulnerabilities in its ​ChatGPT Agent that could have allowed sophisticated actors to bypass OpenAI's cybersecurity ​measures. The exploit would have allowed the attacker to "remotely ​control the computer systems the agent could access for that session and successfully impersonate the user ‌for other websites they’d logged into," the company ​said.

The companies, along with Meta, Amazon ​and Inflection AI, agreed in 2023 to allow independent experts to check their models for biosecurity and cybersecurity risks.

The U.S. government scientists, organized under a different name during former U.S. President Joe Biden's tenure, also released voluntary ​guidelines to protect against the risk ‌of AI models leaking private health information or producing incorrect answers.

The scientists are now working on guidelines for ​critical infrastructure providers, such as the communications and emergency services sectors, to test their AI systems, according ​to their website.

(Reporting by Courtney Rozen; Editing by Stephen Coates)

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May 06, 2026

Factbox-What we know about US stress tests of Google, xAI and Microsoft AI models

By Courtney Rozen and Jody Godoy WASHINGTON, May 5 (Reuters) - The Trump administration on Tuesday announced it had expanded a pr...

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Surprise! Rihanna arrives at the Met Gala fashionably late with A$AP Rocky

Rihannaknew theMet Galawouldn't be complete without a grand entrance from her.

The singer made a surprise appearance at the May 4 event, with the first photos from the night showing her leaving New York City's Carlyle Hotel in a metallic gown that covered her neck to the tops of her feet.

And just like last year,she arrived fashionably late, strolling in well after it seemed like co-chairBeyoncé shut down the carpetwith husbandJay-Zand daughterBlue Ivy.

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Rihanna's partner, A$AP Rocky, had been an anticipated guest; heco-chaired the 2025 installment.

At last year's Met Gala, Rihanna – no stranger to dramatic reveals –showed off her baby bump, confirming she was pregnant with her and Rocky's third child,Rocki Irish Mayers,who was born on Sept. 13.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Rihanna makes surprise Met Gala appearance

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May 06, 2026

Surprise! Rihanna arrives at the Met Gala fashionably late with A$AP Rocky

Rihannaknew theMet Galawouldn't be complete without a grand entrance from her. The singer made a surprise appearance at the Ma...

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Multiple people injured after car hits crowd in Leipzig

Multiple people have been injured after a driver plowed into acrowdin the centre of the ⁠eastern ​German city ⁠ofLeipzigon Monday, local ⁠broadcaster MDR reported, citing police.

A driver has been arrested, Saxony Police said, after Leipzig police confirmed to Reuters that there were injuries from a car but could not give more details. Local media has reported two deaths from the incident; these reports remain unconfirmed.

A damaged Volkswagen SUV ⁠with a person on top of the vehicle was seen speeding through a pedestrian zone, local broadcaster Radio Leipzig reported.

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The ‌broadcaster cited eyewitnesses ​as saying there ‌were several bodies ⁠reportedly covered with ⁠sheets as well as ‌a stabbing.

Saxony Police said on social media that a police operation was taking place in central Leipzig, asking citizens to keep emergency routes clear and follow the instructions of the emergency services on site.

“A car struck several people in Grimmaische Straße and fled. The driver has been apprehended, and there is currently no further danger emanating from him. We will continue to provide updates.”

This is a breaking news story. More to follow.

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May 05, 2026

Multiple people injured after car hits crowd in Leipzig

Multiple people have been injured after a driver plowed into acrowdin the centre of the ⁠eastern ​German city ⁠ofLeipzigon Monday, loca...

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