The European Central Bank plans to move ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve on Thursday in cutting interest rates, making the eurozone the biggest rich-world economy to start easing borrowing costs for businesses and consumers as the inflation that arose after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine slowly recedes.

ECB President Christine Lagarde and other officials have made it clear that a quarter-point rate cut from the current record high of 4% is more than likely when the bank's 26-member governing council meets at the institution's skyscraper headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.

Global markets rose Thursday after Wall Street barreled to records Wednesday as the frenzy around artificial-intelligence technology keeps sending stocks higher.

European markets opened higher as investors awaited a decision by the European Central Bank. It is expected to cut its key interest rate from a record high of 4% later in the day. France's CAC 40 rose 0.3% to 8,032.86, and Germany's DAX surged 1% to 18,758.43. Britain's FTSE 100 edged up 0.2% to 8,259.40.

After years of stumbles and delays, Boeing has finally launched astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA.

It's the first flight of Boeing's Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.

Manchester City's reported legal action against the Premier League has the potential to change the face of English football.

At a time when the most popular league in the world is trying to clamp down on out-of-control spending, the removal of its Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules could pave the way for never-before-seen excess and, it's feared, ultimately kill competition.

As the sun sets on the D-Day generation, it rose again over Normandy beaches where soldiers fought and died exactly 80 years ago Thursday, kicking off intense anniversary commemorations against the backdrop of renewed war in Europe, in Ukraine.

Ever-dwindling numbers of World War II veterans who have pilgrimaged back to France, and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that has dashed hopes that lives and cities wouldn't again be laid to waste in Europe, are making the poignant anniversary of the June 6, 1944, Allied landings even more so 80 years on.

Ukrainian drones struck an oil refinery and a fuel depot in Russian border regions, officials in the targeted areas said Thursday, in Kyiv's ongoing effort to disrupt the Kremlin's war machine and as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought further Western support in Europe's biggest conflict since World War II.

Zelensky was due to join world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, at D-Day commemorations in France on Thursday. On Friday, he was due to meet with French officials.

A large, brightly colored invasive species called the Joro spider is on the move in the United States. Populations have been growing in parts of the South and East Coast for years, and many researchers think it's only a matter of time before they spread to much of the continental U.S.

But spider experts say we shouldn't be too worried about them.

Polls opened in the Netherlands on Thursday to kick off four days of voting in European Union parliamentary elections across the 27 member states that are expected to deliver gains for the hard right.

Geert Wilders, of the far-right Party for Freedom, or PVV, was among the first senior politicians to cast his ballot. Having sent shockwaves around Europe six months ago by becoming the biggest party in the Dutch national parliament, he now wants to build on that popularity and set the tone for much of the bloc, with calls to claw powers back to national capitals and away from the EU so member states have more autonomy on issues such as migration.

The U.N. nuclear watchdog's board has censured Iran for failing to cooperate fully with the agency, diplomats said, calling on Tehran to provide answers in a long-running investigation and reverse its decision to bar several experienced U.N. inspectors.

Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a late-night statement Wednesday in response to the vote, saying it "strongly condemns" the action taken by the IAEA's board of governors and called the move political.

Month after month, global temperatures are setting new records. Meanwhile, scientists and climate policymakers warn of the growing likelihood that the planet will soon exceed the warming target set at the landmark Paris 2015 climate talks.

Making sense of the run of climate extremes may be challenging for some. Here's a look at what scientists are saying.