Beyoncé is back with two new country tracks — "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages."

After a Verizon commercial starring Beyoncé aired during the Super Bowl ended with the superstar saying "They ready, drop the new music," the question became — was she serious? Later, a cryptic Instagram video with country iconography appeared on her page, teasing "act ii" on March 29. (Beyoncé's 2022 album "Renaissance" is frequently referred to as "Act I: Renaissance.")

Just a quarter of business economists and analysts expect the United States to fall into recession this year. And any downturn would likely result from an external shock — such as a conflict involving China — rather than from domestic economic factors such as higher interest rates.

But respondents to a National Association of Business Economics survey released Monday still expect year-over-year inflation to exceed 2.5% — above the Federal Reserve's 2% target — through 2024.

With the run she's having, how could Taylor Swift be on anything other than the winning side?

She embraced her boyfriend Travis Kelce and the couple locked lips on the field at Allegiant Stadium after his Kansas City Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in the Super Bowl.

Nearly half of the world's migratory species are in decline, according to a new United Nations report released Monday.

Many songbirds, sea turtles, whales, sharks and other migratory animals move to different environments with changing seasons and are imperiled by habitat loss, illegal hunting and fishing, pollution and climate change.

Thousands of supporters of Pakistan's imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan and members of other political parties blocked key highways and started a daylong strike in the volatile southwest Monday to protest alleged rigging of last week's elections.

Candidates backed by Khan won more seats than the political parties who ousted him from power nearly two years ago, according to the final tally published Sunday. However, no party won a majority, so the parties will have to hold talks on forming a coalition government. The new parliament chooses the country's next prime minister.

Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk was traveling to Paris and Berlin on Monday in a diplomatic effort to rebuild key alliances as fears grow that former President Donald Trump could return to power in the United States and give Russia a free hand to expand its aggression in Europe.

The meetings on Monday come after Trump shocked many in Europe on the weekend by inviting Russia to invade any NATO member not spending enough on its own defenses.

President Joe Biden is hosting Jordan's King Abdullah II in Washington Monday and the two leaders are expected to discuss the ongoing effort to free hostages held in Gaza, and growing concern over a possible Israeli military operation in the port city of Rafah.

It is the first meeting between the allies since three American troops were killed last month in a drone strike against a U.S. base in Jordan. Biden blamed Iran-backed militias for the fatalities, the first for the U.S. after months of strikes by such groups against American forces across the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

The head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Monday that it's vital that it receives new European Union funding within weeks because Israel appears to be readying a ground assault on Rafah, where many civilians have taken refuge.

The aid agency UNRWA is reeling from allegations that 12 of its 13,000 Gaza staff participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel.UNRWA immediately fired the staff, but more than a dozen countries suspended funding worth about $440 million, almost half of UNRWA's budget for 2024.

With his flowing curls and thrilling attacking play, it was no surprise that Akram Afif was likened to Liverpool star Mo Salah at the Asian Cup.

Over the space of a month the Qatar forward lit up the tournament. With eight goals, including a hat trick in the 3-1 win over Jordan in the final, he was the leading scorer and most valuable player as his team won back-to-back titles.

Turkey's first astronaut returned home to a hero's welcome Monday, portrayed as a symbol of the country's advances in technology and aerospace.

Alper Gezeravci was greeted by bouquet-laden children at Ankara's Esenboga Airport as he returned from a private three-week mission to the International Space Station. In return, he handed out Turkish flags he had carried with him into space.