By BRIAN MELLEY and PAN PYLAS, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Actor-comedian Russell Brand was granted conditional bail by a London court on Friday after appearing to face charges of rape and sexual assault involving four women.

Brand, 49, did not enter a plea. He previously denied the allegations made against him.

He was swarmed by photographers as he arrived at Westminster Magistrates’ Court for his first hearing since he was charged last month with one count each of rape, indecent assault and oral rape, as well as two counts of sexual assault.

Russell Brand surrounded by media as he arrives at Westminster Magistrates’ court in London, Friday, May 2, 2025, where he faces, rape and sexual assault charges involving four women. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring told Brand to present himself at the Central Criminal Court, commonly known as the Old Bailey, in central London on May 30 and granted him bail on condition he keeps the court informed of where he is staying, either in the U.K. or in the U.S. He currently lives in Florida but is obliged to attend all future court appearances. If he doesn’t abide by the conditions, he faces being remanded in custody.

The comedian, author and “Get Him To The Greek” actor, who wore an open shirt and jeans, listened intently to the details of the charges as he sat in the dock. He spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth, address and that he understood his bail conditions.

The alleged offenses took place between 1999 and 2005 — one in the English seaside town of Bournemouth and the other three in the Westminster area of central London. The accusers have not been identified.

Brand has been interviewed by police about the allegations, which he denies. Brand has denied engaging in “non-consensual activity.” In a video posted on X after he was charged, Brand said he welcomed the opportunity to prove his innocence.

Brand is alleged to have raped a woman in 1999 at a hotel room in Bournemouth when she attended a Labour Party conference in the town. It is alleged that while the woman went to the bathroom, Brand removed some of his clothing and later pushed her on the bed, removed her underwear and raped her.

A second woman accuses Brand of grabbing her by the forearm and attempting to drag her into a male toilet at a television station in London in 2001.

A third accuser was a television worker Brand met in Soho, central London, in 2004. He is accused of grabbing her breasts before allegedly pulling her into a toilet and orally raping her.

The final complainant is a radio station worker who met Brand while he was working for Channel 4 on a spin-off of the “Big Brother” reality television program between 2004 and 2005. Brand is alleged to have grabbed her by the face with both hands, pushed her against a wall and kissed her before grabbing her breasts and buttocks.

The charges follow a September 2023 joint investigation by British media outlets Channel 4 and the Sunday Times.

Known for his unbridled and risqué standup routines, Brand hosted shows on radio and television and wrote memoirs charting his battles with drugs and alcohol. He has appeared in several Hollywood movies and was briefly married to pop star Katy Perry between 2010 and 2012.

In recent years, Brand has largely disappeared from mainstream media but has built up a large following online with videos mixing wellness and conspiracy theories. He recently said he had moved to the United States.

By ELAINE KURTENBACH, Associated Press Business Writer

China’s Commerce Ministry said Friday that Beijing is evaluating multiple approaches by the Trump administration for trade talks, but steep tariffs imposed by Washington must go.

A ministry statement reiterated China’s stance that is open to talks, but also that Beijing is determined to fight if it must. It said one-sided tariffs of up to 145% remain an obstacle, undermining trust.

“The tariff and trade wars were unilaterally initiated by the U.S., if the U.S. side wants to talk, it should show its sincerity, and be ready to take action on issues such as correcting wrong practices and canceling the unilateral imposition of tariffs,” it said.

FILE – A made in China sticker is displayed on a hat at a store in Chinatown in San Francisco, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

An unnamed ministry spokesperson was cited as saying that Beijing had taken note of various statements by senior U.S. officials indicating a willingness to negotiate over tariffs.

“At the same time, the U.S. has recently taken the initiative to convey information to the Chinese side on a number of occasions through relevant parties, hoping to talk with the Chinese side. In this regard, the Chinese side is making an assessment,” it said.

But it emphasized that China would regard overtures without a change in President Donald Trump’s sharp tariff hikes as insincere.

“Saying one thing but doing another, or even attempting to engage in coercion and blackmail under the guise of talks, will not work on the Chinese side,” it said.

China is in the midst of a public holiday, with government offices and markets closed. But share prices in Hong Kong jumped 1.7% early Friday, while Taiwan’s benchmark index was up 2.2%. U.S. futures also advanced.

FILE – President Donald Trump, left, poses for a photo with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

As of Friday, the Trump administration is ending a duty-free exemption on low-value imports from China. That will mean higher prices and delivery delays when the government starts collecting tariffs on every single shipment.

Beijing has responded to Trump’s tariff hikes by raising its own duties on imports of U.S. products to as high as 125%. It has also tightened restrictions on exports to the U.S. of certain strategically important minerals and stopped importing a wide range of U.S. farm products.

At the same time, China has sought to join with other countries to build a united front against Trump, while ramping up its own countermeasures to the impact of Trump’s tariffs.

Trump has slapped a global 10% import tax, or tariff, to try to compel manufacturers to shift factories back to the U.S. He ordered double-digit “reciprocal” tariffs for many countries but then postponed their implementation for 90 days to allow time for negotiations. He has also hit foreign steel, aluminum and autos.

The toughest measures were reserved for China, the world’s biggest exporter and second largest economy.

His announcements of higher tariffs, suspensions, and then more tariffs have left companies, investors and consumers stymied over what comes next, hitting consumer confidence.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is leading the administration’s approach to China, has said he expects Beijing to call because the tariffs are not sustainable.

In an interview Thursday with Fox Business, Bessent said the main issue with Beijing was not high tariffs but other barriers.

“There’s a whole range of bad behavior by the Chinese,” Bessent said, mentioning theft of intellectual property like trademarks and cyberhacking.”

“So, everything is on the table for the economic relationship,” he said, adding ”I am confident that the Chinese will want to reach a deal.”

Beijing has shown scant willingness to compromise, however, with its foreign ministry posting a strident video on social media this week saying the U.S. has “stirred up a global tariff storm.”

It vowed China would not “kneel down” in the trade war.

“Kneeling only invites more bullying,” it said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aiming to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR as he alleged “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting.

The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and further requires that that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations. The White House, in a social media posting announcing the signing, said the outlets “receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’”

Related Articles

Trump denies disaster aid, tells states to do more

Did Donald Trump — or ABC News — choose who would interview the president? Why does it matter?

Army plans for a potential parade on Trump’s birthday call for 6,600 soldiers, AP learns

Hegseth orders Army to cut costs by merging some commands and slashing jobs

Trump says it’s Biden’s economy, but businesses and economists beg to differ

It’s the latest move by Trump and his administration to utilize federal powers to control or hamstring institutions whose actions or viewpoints he disagrees with. Since taking office, Trump has ousted leaders, placed staff on administrative leave and cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to artists, libraries, museums, theaters and others, through takeovers of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Trump has also pushed to withhold federal research and education funds from universities and punish law firms unless they agreed to eliminate diversity programs and other measures Trump has found objectionable.

The broadcasters get roughly half a billion dollars in public money through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and have been preparing for the possibility of stiff cuts since Trump’s election, as Republicans have long complained about them.

Paula Kerger, PBS’ CEO and president, said in a statement last month that the Trump administration’s effort to rescind funding for public media would “disrupt the essential service PBS and local member stations provide to the American people.”

“There’s nothing more American than PBS, and our work is only possible because of the bipartisan support we have always received from Congress,” she said. “This public-private partnership allows us to help prepare millions of children for success in school and in life and also supports enriching and inspiring programs of the highest quality.”

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting sued Trump earlier this week over his move to fire three members of its five-person board, contending that the president was exceeding his authority and that the move would deprive the board of a quorum needed to conduct business.

Just two weeks ago, the White House said it would be asking Congress to rescind funding for the CPB as part of a $9.1 billion package of cuts. That package, however, which budget director Russell Vought said would likely be the first of several, has not yet been sent to Capitol Hill.

The move against PBS and NPR comes as his administration has been working to dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media, including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which were designed to model independent news gathering globally in societies that restrict the press. Those efforts have faced pushback from federal courts, who have ruled in some cases that the Trump administration may have overstepped its authority in holding back funds appropriated to the outlets by Congress.

AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed.

There’s a technological revolution underway that’s making it faster and easier for scientists to see the molecules that undermine human health — and possibly fight the problem.

The “resolution revolution” involves cryo-electron microscopes, whose ever-improving detectors and software are producing three-dimensional images in unprecedented detail, aiding drugmakers.

They reveal detail so precise that biologist Andrew Ward, of Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, was able to spotlight the Achilles’ heel of several types of coronaviruses in images that he produced in 2016-17.

Related Articles

Lilly star weight-loss drug Zepbound faces coverage challenge from CVS Health

Trump’s health agency urges therapy for transgender youth, not broader gender-affirming health care

What’s that rash? Put some thought into asking Google for medical help

Medicaid cuts may disproportionately affect Black, Latino doctors and their patients

UMN vaccine initiative announces steering committee members

The weaknesses he called out? Spike proteins — the now-familiar elements that allow such viruses to infect cells.

This helped drugmakers to know exactly what to target when SARS-CoV-2 — the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 — emerged in late 2019.

Ward produced an even clearer snapshot of the proteins in 2020, further helping scientists create vaccines.

With additional help from him, effective vaccines were quickly produced.

“That was just the beginning,” said Ward. “Now, this technology is opening doors that help us understand the roots of diseases like cancer and neurodegeneration, including Alzheimer’s.”

“It routinely lets us see life’s tiniest machines — proteins, viruses and the atoms they combine — with breathtaking clarity,” he added.

The research isn’t widely known to the public, partly because it’s hard to conceive of how any microscope — let alone one that’s 10 feet tall — can flash-freeze moving molecules, exposing their structure and purpose.

Ward offered a simple analogy to explain the matter.

“Imagine walking into a dark room,” he said. “You can roughly tell where the furniture is, and see shadowy outlines of a couch or a table. But once the lights are on, you can visualize color, texture, size and fine details.”

That’s what cryo-electron microscopes do — and with great speed.

Ward could only produce about 200 images per day when he was earning his doctorate at Scripps from 2003 to 2008, when he was using a far less powerful type of cryo-electron microscope. And he had access to it only a day or two each month.

Today, he can generate 1,500 images per second on Titan Krios, the largest and most powerful of Scripps’ seven cryo-electron microscopes.

If you were able to stack up the images he takes during a six-hour period, they would rise as high as Mount Everest, said Ward, who has been collaborating with institutes on SARS-CoV-2, Lassa, HIV, malaria and the H5N1 bird flu.

Lab manager Hannah Turner shows the Titan Krios electron microscope at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, on Friday, April 11, 2025. (Hayne Palmour IV / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)

To the unfamiliar eye, the images look bizarre. Some resemble bumpy, frozen lava, others crinkly Christmas wreaths. Still others look like the knotty cords on old landline telephones.

But their importance is understood by scientists, especially those focused on preparing the world for whatever pandemic could come next.

It’s a bit of a fluke that Ward is a rising star at an institute that has helped develop more than 15 FDA-approved drugs and treatments, including Humira, which is used by people who suffer from arthritis.

He was interested in science growing up outside Boston — less so when he entered Duke University as a freshman.

Things quickly changed when he took a work-study job in a campus lab, where cell biologists Michael and Mary Reedy let him tinker. Before long, Ward was helping build the components of microscope cameras and detectors, and was dazzled by what they could do.

“I began to see molecules and atoms,” said Ward, now 46. “It kind of blows your mind to follow things at that resolution.”

Electron microscopes have existed since the 1930s, and they’ve played a vital role in revealing the structure of proteins and viruses and how they work. But the instruments didn’t start to enter their current golden age until roughly 2001, the year Ward arrived at Scripps as a lab technician.

The advancements have come especially quickly over the past decade, starkly improving image resolution and enabling scientists to see individual atoms. Software has also made it easier to see molecules interact with prospective drugs, helping determine which ones should go on to large-scale clinical trials.

The boom, locally and worldwide, didn’t go unnoticed. In 2017, three European scientists won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for helping transform cryo-electron microscopes into indispensable tools to explore the life sciences.

Ward says he’s happy to be in the background. But he has emerged as a leader in the field — mostly through his use of Titan Krios.

“Big Daddy,” as Ward calls it, is highly sensitive. The towering microscope sits on stabilizers to prevent something as simple as a slammed door from producing vibrations that could mess up image-taking. It operates in silence for the same reason.

Lab manager Hannah Turner holds grids, a single one used to hold a sample, placed into the Titan Krios electron microscope at Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, on Friday, April 11, 2025. (Hayne Palmour IV / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)

In plain terms, the microscope freezes biological samples, then hits them with electron beams that create images.

“Once you see the arrangement of atoms, the connectivity of molecules, you can become an engineer,” Ward said. “You can move things around and manipulate the building blocks of life to make new therapeutics and vaccines that have much higher likelihood of success compared to engineering without blueprints.

“We’ve sped up the process of choosing which one should be a go, or no-go, for clinical trials,” Ward said.

That doesn’t mean scientists are close to flooding the market with new means of prevention.

“The potential vaccines will collectively have to go through five to seven years of trials in humans,” he added. “But we are no longer shooting in the dark or relying on empiricism.

“We can now shine a light — or rather a very powerful electron beam — on the science driving vaccine research.”