Britney Spears’s choreographer says it’s ‘impossible’ to reach her during Lorraine appearance

Reuters
France's Le Pen expects clear far-right win and power over Macron
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen is confident her party will win an absolute majority in parliament, form a government and impose limits on what President Emmanuel Macron can do to support Ukraine, she said days before voting starts. Macron will remain president after a snap legislative election on June 30 and July 7, which he called after Le Pen's National Rally (RN) trounced his centrist Together alliance in European elections, but may have to share power with his foes. "On the choice of prime minister, the president has understood he doesn't have much of a choice, as Jordan Bardella will have a mandate from the French people," Le Pen told regional newspaper Le Telegramme de Brest, referring to her party's pick for the job of head of government.
Associated Press
Indonesia detains 103 foreigners in a raid in Bali involving suspected cybercrime
Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 foreign nationals after a raid at a villa on the resort island of Bali, officials said Thursday. Immigration authorities said they conducted the raid on Wednesday at a villa in Kukuh village in Tabanan district and detained 91 men and 12 women.
Yahoo Finance
There's something odd about the stock market's concentration: Morning Brief
It's no secret that a handful of tech stocks are powering the S&P 500 to record highs. But while that concentration isn't unusual, the lack of even correlation in the broader market is.
Reuters
Drought-hit lakes in Chile come back to life after downpours
Recent torrential rains in Chile have brought back to life - for now at least - reservoirs and lagoons that had all but dried up after years of drought, with dramatic images of cracked lake beds replaced by mirror-like still waters. A severe years-long drought had decimated water supplies and hit local industries from mining to agriculture and bees in the Andean nation, while exacerbating tensions over water use. The Aculeo Lagoon became a symbol of the crisis, as dead cattle and fish carcasses lay on its cracked and dry surface where there had once been a huge body of water.
AFP
H&M shares tumble over profitability concerns
Shares in H&M slid Thursday after the world's second biggest fashion retailer warned that the conditions to meet its profitability target for this year have become "more challenging".However, he added, "the conditions for achieving that level this year have become more challenging".
Reuters
Wall Street wants drama-free presidential debate, watching comportment as much as policy
Investors watching the first live debate of the 2024 election race on Thursday hope to hear U.S. President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump argue thoughtful positions on fiscal policy, tariffs and taxes, while closely monitoring their mental acuity. For the debate at CNN studios in Atlanta without an in-person audience, many on Wall Street are looking for the ageing candidates to prove they are sharp enough for four years in the White House. Democrat Biden and Republican Trump are the oldest-ever major party White House contenders, noted TS Lombard managing director Grace Fan, who wrote that if either candidate seems less than capable it could "shake up a dead-heat race."
Associated Press
Experts warns that 755,000 people at risk of famine in the coming months in war-torn Sudan
International experts portrayed a grim picture for war-torn Sudan, warning in a report Thursday that 755,000 are facing famine in the coming months, amid relentless clashes between rival generals. The latest findings come from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, an initiative first set up in 2004 during the famine in Somalia that now includes more than a dozen U.N. agencies, aid groups, governments and other bodies. The report said that 8.5 million people are facing extreme food shortages after 14 months of conflict in Sudan.
NBC News
We watched 19 Trump and Biden debate performances. Here's what to expect Thursday.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will face off Thursday for their first 2024 presidential debate, but the two will be well familiar with each other’s tactics and styles.
NBC News
Kristen Welker: 5 things to watch for in the first 2024 presidential debate
The first 2024 debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will provide plenty of moments of opportunity and potential peril for both candidates.
Reuters
Georgian parliament gives initial approval to sweeping curbs on LGBT rights
Georgia's parliament on Thursday gave its initial approval to a set of bills containing sweeping curbs on LGBT rights, including bans on the "propaganda" of same-sex relationships and gender reassignment surgery. The package, which was proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party and which could outlaw Pride events and public displays of the LGBT rainbow flag, was approved by a majority of deputies. Parliamentary speaker Shalva Papuashvili said earlier this month that lawmakers would only vote on the bills' second and third readings during the autumn parliamentary session, in the immediate run-up to a general election scheduled for Oct. 26.
Reuters
Arctic wildfire emissions rise as blazes sweep Russia's North
Wildfires above the Arctic Circle in June have unleashed carbon emissions that are the third highest for the time of year in two decades of monitoring, European scientists said on Thursday. As climate change raises Arctic temperatures, wildfires have shifted north where they blaze through boreal forest and tundra, releasing vast amounts of greenhouse gases from carbon-rich organic soils. The latest data from European Union's Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) showed some 6.8 megatonnes of carbon have been released this month, only less than in June 2019 and June 2020, which saw roughly double the emissions.
Associated Press
Former Chinese defense minister expelled from ruling Communist Party over graft allegations
Former Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu was expelled from the ruling Communist Party and is being investigated for corruption and bribery, the official Xinhua news agency reported Thursday. Li was removed from office in October 2023 after disappearing from public view for almost two months. China’s former defense minister Li Shangfu has been expelled from the ruling Communist Party and accused of corruption, likely setting up a trial that could lead to his getting life in prison.
Reuters
US FDA declines to approve Merck-Daiichi's 'guided missile' cancer drug
The FDA cited findings from an inspection of a third-party manufacturing facility in its so-called complete response letter, the companies said late on Wednesday. The companies said they will work with the FDA and the third-party manufacturer to address the feedback. The treatment, called patritumab deruxtecan, is one of three antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) that were part of Merck's up to $22-billion joint development and commercialization deal with Daiichi Sankyo signed last year.
Reuters
Germany may hold more basic training for Ukraine army recruits, says EU commander
More Ukrainian army recruits could receive basic training in Germany from next year if Kyiv moves some further military education back to Ukraine, an EU commander told Reuters, as the requirement for troops grows amid the ongoing war with Russia. "We have received more training requests as Ukraine continues to mobilise, in particular for basic training which is mainly being done by Britain," Lieutenant-General Andreas Marlow, head of the EU's special training command near Berlin, said in an interview on Thursday.
CNN
Authorities find cell phone of Chicago woman who has been missing in the Bahamas for a week after attending a yoga retreat
The family of a Chicago woman missing in the Bahamas says they are “deeply concerned” for the safety of the 41-year-old, who traveled to the islands for a yoga retreat.
Reuters
Rivian investors to seek details on path to profits at investor day
Rivian shareholders will seek details on the company's upcoming models and progress in cutting costs at an investor day event on Thursday, two days after the US electric vehicle maker announced a $5 billion investment from Volkswagen. The JV, which will give VW access to Rivian's electrical architecture and software, is a "vote of confidence" in the American automaker's prospects as it looks to produce and sell less expensive R2 and R3 crossovers to compete with Tesla's bestselling Model Y SUV. "Rivian will be sharing more about the R2 and R3 models, as well as details on the deal with Volkswagen," said Michael Shlisky, analyst at D.A. Davidson.
Reuters
Ghazouani seeks re-election in Mauritania on the cusp of energy and mining boom
Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani has promised to accelerate investments to spur an energy and mining boom as he takes on six challengers in the June 29 presidential election. Increased investments in energy and mining could boost Mauritania's economy and solidify the 67-year-old former army chief's grip at the helm of the soon-to-be gas producer. Widely expected to win due to the ruling party's dominance in the West African desert nation, Ghazouani faces an opposition field that includes anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid, who came second in the 2019 election with over 18% of the vote.
Reuters
Factbox-Who are the candidates in Mauritania's presidential election?
Mauritania, a largely desert country straddling Arab and Black Africa, has suffered six military coups since independence in 1960. Since taking office five years ago, Ghazouani has presided over a period of relative stability. Ghazouani is seeking a second term after five years marked by challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic but also the prospect of accelerated economic growth fuelled by offshore gas.
Reuters
Futures dip as Micron drags down chip stocks ahead of economic data
Other semiconductor stocks including Nvidia, Arm Holdings, Qualcomm and Advanced Micro Devices were down between 0.8% and 1.1%. With a handful of expensive heavily weighted stocks supporting Wall Street's ascent since the last leg of 2023, market participants have highlighted concerns over the rally's sustainability and have called out for the need to diversify portfolios to hedge against possible sharp losses. Focus now shifts to a slate of economic data including durable goods for May, weekly jobless claims and first-quarter PCE and GDP figures before markets open, just a day ahead of the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge- the monthly personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index.
Reuters
Micron tumbles as AI revenue surge falls short of lofty expectations
The chipmaker forecast fourth-quarter revenue of $7.6 billion, plus or minus $200 million, in line with analysts' average estimate even as the company said it had "sold out" its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips for this year and the next. Micron is one of the few providers of HBM chips that power the world's most advanced AI systems, allowing the company to cash in on surging demand for semiconductors and driving up its stock 67% so far this year. "Anything less than fantastic is not good enough when your share price got multiplied by three in just about 18 months," said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank in a note.

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