内容摘要：Merz has thrown himself into diplomacy on Ukraine, traveling to Kyiv with fellow European leaders days after taking office and receiving Zelenskyy in Berlin last week. He has thanked Trump for his support for an unconditional ceasefire while rejecting the idea of “dictated peace” or the “subjugation” of Ukraine and advocating for more sanctions against Russia.

Merz has thrown himself into diplomacy on Ukraine, traveling to Kyiv with fellow European leaders days after taking office and receiving Zelenskyy in Berlin last week. He has thanked Trump for his support for an unconditional ceasefire while rejecting the idea of “dictated peace” or the “subjugation” of Ukraine and advocating for more sanctions against Russia.

This image released by Neon shows Mia Sara, from left, Mark Hamill, and Cody Flanagan in a scene from “The Life of Chuck.” (Neon via AP)This image released by Neon shows Mia Sara, from left, Mark Hamill, and Cody Flanagan in a scene from “The Life of Chuck.” (Neon via AP)

ATLANTA (AP) — Three years after Atlanta rapperand 27 others were indicted on gang and racketeering charges, followed by a long, problem-plagued trial, nobody will be convicted of murder.When Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced the indictment in May 2022, she said her office was cracking down on a violent street gang responsible for multiple killings run by Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffery Williams.

But Willis dropped the only remaining murder charge Monday after defendant Demise McMullen pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of aggravated assault. Young Thug went home Oct. 31 afterto gang, drug and gun charges and remains on probation.

Prosecutors alleged that Young Thug and two others founded the street gang Young Slime Life, which was associated with the Bloods street gang, in 2012. The 33-year-old artist has a record label called Young Stoner Life, which prosecutors alleged was tied to Young Slime Life.

Prosecutors drew ire for using song lyrics and social media posts in their case. Attorney Doug Weinstein, who represented defendant Deamonte Kendrick, who raps under the name Yak Gotti, said prosecutors targeted men who pursued music as a way out of hardship in economically “deprived” Atlanta areas and tried to “claw them back in, hold them back down.”Audiences proved willing to pay: Average ticket prices hovered around $150. Cheaper rush and lottery tickets drew lines hours before the box office opened. Every week but one sold out.

“The show was initially really well sold because we had a cast that appealed to a really specific audience,” said producer Greg Nobile of Seaview Productions. “We continued to see the houses sell out because these audiences came, and they were all over online talking about the ways in which they actually felt seen.”Thomas Laub, 28, and Alyah Chanelle Scott, 27, started Runyonland Productions for that very reason.

“We both felt a lot of frustration with the industry, and the ways that we were boxed out of it as students in Michigan who were able to come to New York sparingly,” Laub said. Runyonland was launched in 2018 with the premise that highlighting new, bold voices would bring change.This spring, Scott, known for playing Whitney in HBO’s