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By The Associated Press

The winner in China’s panda diplomacy: the pandas themselves

WASHINGTON (AP) — China’s giant panda loan program has long been a tool of diplomacy, but its significance for species conservation has proved important, too. That could have been an important reason why Beijing is renewing its cooperation with U.S. zoos and sending new pandas while bilateral relations are otherwise low. The number of giant pandas in the wild has risen to 1,900, and the animal is no longer considered at risk of extinction but is given the safer status of vulnerable. Americans can take some credit for this accomplishment, because conserving the bear species has been not purely a Chinese matter but a global effort where U.S. scientists and researchers are indispensable.

EA Sports College Football 25, among most anticipated sports video games in history, hits the market

EA Sports College Football 25, among the most highly anticipated sports video games of all time, has flooded the market. The game officially launched Friday, with EA Sports increasing its server capacity during early access to handle the crush of players. EA Sports has said its goal for the game was “to feel like a love letter to college football and its fans.” Gamers waited more than a decade for the franchise’s next installment after it was halted in 2013 amid questions about compensating athletes depicted in the game.

Paris Olympic competition nears total gender parity. Take a look at the athlete gender breakdown

GENEVA (AP) — The founder of the modern Olympics and former IOC president, Pierre de Coubertin, once said women competing in the Games would be “impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic and improper.” Over a century later, the 2024 Paris Olympic Games are targeting gender parity in the same city where women made their Olympic debut in 1900. The IOC set a goal of a 50-50 split among the more than 11,000 men and women registered to compete from July 26 to Aug. 11, although the latest numbers from the IOC suggest organizers might fall just short of that goal.

Daniel Brown makes late birdies for a 1-shot lead over Shane Lowry in wind-challenged British Open

TROON, Scotland (AP) — Daniel Brown delivered the biggest surprise of them all at the British Open. The wind changed direction at Royal Troon and seemed to fool everyone except Shane Lowry. He played the links a few weeks ago and knew how to handle the wind from the opposite direction. Lowry had a 66 for his best start ever in a major. And then came Brown, a 29-year-old from England. Playing in the second-to-last group, he birdied two of the last three holes for a 65 to lead in his major championship debut. Tiger Woods had a 79. Rory McIlroy shot 78.

Lou Dobbs, conservative pundit and longtime cable TV host for Fox Business and CNN, dies at 78

NEW YORK (AP) — Lou Dobbs, the conservative political pundit and veteran cable TV host who was a founding anchor for CNN and later was a nightly presence on Fox Business Network for more than a decade, has died. He was 78. His death was announced Thursday in a post on his official X account, which called him a “fighter till the very end – fighting for what mattered to him the most, God, his family and the country.” He hosted “Lou Dobbs Tonight” on Fox from 2011 to 2021, following two separate stints at CNN. No cause of death was given.

Meet Crush, the rare orange lobster diverted from dinner plate to aquarium by Denver Broncos fans

The Downtown Aquarium in Denver has a new resident — a rare orange lobster that was rescued from a shipment of crustaceans delivered to a Red Lobster restaurant in Pueblo, Colorado. A long-term employee spotted the orange lobster while unpacking the shipment last Friday and alerted restaurant managers. The staff named it Crush after the Denver Broncos’ legendary Orange Crush defense from 1976 to 1986. A restaurant manager delivered Crush to the aquarium on Wednesday. Crush will be quarantined for 30 days, with a Denver Broncos helmet in its tank, and will be examined by a veterinarian. After that, it will be placed in an exhibit that houses other cold water North Atlantic Ocean species.

Netflix’s subscriber and earnings growth gather more momentum as password-sharing crackdown pays off

Netflix’s subscriber and earnings growth accelerated in its latest quarter as the video streaming service benefits from a crackdown on freeloading viewers, an expansion into advertising and an acclaimed programming lineup. The results announced Thursday painted a portrait of a company still gathering momentum after a jarring decrease in subscribers during the first half of 2022 prompted a change in direction. Netflix added 8 million subscribers during the April-June period, that gain marked a 37% increase over the same time last year. It was Netflix’s sixth consecutive quarter of year-over-year subscriber growth. The company’s earnings also exceeded analyst projections, but Netflix shares still fell in extended trading.

Shannen Doherty finalized divorce hours before death

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shannen Doherty finalized her split with husband, Kurt Iswarienko, just hours before her death at age 53. Doherty, the star of “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Charmed,” died Saturday after years with breast cancer. In an agreement with Iswarienko filed Friday, Doherty got to keep the couple’s Malibu home, a Salvador Dali painting, several cars and all earnings from her acting. A Los Angeles County judge signed off on the agreement Monday, two days after her death. Doherty had no children, and it’s not yet clear to whom her assets will go. Doherty and Iswarienko married in 2011. She filed for divorce last year.

Over 3 million steam cleaners are under recall because they can spew hot water and cause burns

NEW YORK (AP) — Some 3.3 million steam cleaners are being recalled across North America due to a burn hazard that has resulted in consumers reporting more than 150 injuries. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, select models of Bissell-branded “Steam Shot Handheld Steam Cleaners” can spew hot water or steam while the products are in use or being heated. Bissell has received 183 reports of hot water or steam expelling from the products, including 157 reports of minor burns. Impacted consumers are urged to immediately stop using the now-recalled steam cleaners and contact Michigan-based Bissell for a refund or store credit.

After crash that killed 6 teens, NTSB chief says people underestimate marijuana’s impact on drivers

DETROIT (AP) — A horrific crash that killed six high school girls in Oklahoma two years ago has the head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board urging parents to warn teenagers about the risk of driving after using marijuana. Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy made the appeal to parents Thursday as her agency released the final report on the March 22, 2022 collision between a tiny Chevrolet Spark hatchback and a gravel-hauling semi in the small town of Tishomingo. The board determined that the crash was caused by the 16-year-old driver slowing for an intersection, then accelerating through a stop sign because she likely was impaired by recent marijuana use and was distracted by having five teen passengers in the car.