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Instagram and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. posted better-than-expected results Wednesday for the first quarter thanks to strong advertising revenue on its social media platforms. Meta’s stock climbed in extended trading after the results came out. The company earned $16.64 billion, or $6.43 per share, in the January-March period, up 35% from $12.37 billion, or $4.71 per share, in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 16% to $42.31 billion from $36.46 billion a year earlier. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $5.23 per share on revenue of $41.34 billion, according to a poll by FactSet. For the current quarter, Meta forecast revenue in the range of $42.5 billion to $45.5 billion. Analysts are expecting $43.84 billion. The Menlo Park, California-based company also raised its capital expenditures estimate for 2025 to $64 billion-$72 billion, up from its prior outlook of $60 billion-$65 billion. Meta said the new guidance “reflects additional data center investments to support our artificial intelligence efforts as well as an increase in the expected cost of infrastructure hardware.” “We’ve had a strong start to an important year, our community continues to grow and our business is performing very well,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a statement. “We’re making good progress on AI glasses and Meta AI, which now has almost 1 billion monthly actives.” Zacks Investment Research analyst Andrew Rocco said that while many companies have not been providing guidance amid tariff concerns and an uncertain economic environment, the fact that Meta did is a “bullish sign.” On Tuesday, Meta released a standalone AI app, called Meta AI, that includes a “discover” feed that lets users see how others are interacting with AI. Meta shares jumped $24.20, or 4.4%, to $573.20 in after-hours trading. The stock is down about 8% year-to-date. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

This is a photo collection curated by AP photo editors. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

NEW YORK (AP) — Martin Scorsese is a producing a documentary made with Pope Francis that will chronicle the late pontiff’s work with cinema in the global educational movement he founded before his death. “Aldeas — A New Story” will feature conversations between Pope Francis and Scorsese, including what the filmmakers say are the Pope’s final in-depth on-camera interview for a film. The documentary will detail the work of Scholas Occurrentes, a non-profit, international organization founded by the Pope in 2013 to promote the “Culture of Encounter” among youth. Part of that organization’s work has included filmmaking, under the Aldeas initiative. The documentary will show young people in Indonesia, Gambia and Italy participating in the Aldeas program and making short films. Aldeas Scholas Film and Scorsese’s Sikelia Productions, which announced the film Wednesday, said the film is “a testament to the enduring belief that creativity is not only a means of expression but a path to hope and transformation.” Before his death, Pope Francis called Aldeas “an extremely poetic and very constructive project because it goes to the roots of what human life is, human sociability, human conflicts… the essence of a life’s journey.” No release date was announced for the film. “Now, more than ever, we need to talk to each other, listen to one another cross-culturally,” Scorsese said. “One of the best ways to accomplish this is by sharing the stories of who we are, reflected from our personal lives and experiences. It helps us understand and value how each of us sees the world. It was important to Pope Francis for people across the globe to exchange ideas with respect while also preserving their cultural identity, and cinema is the best medium to do that.” Scorsese met numerous times with Pope Francis over the years, and their conversations sometimes informed work undertaken by the 82-year-old filmmaker of “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Silence.” Francis died on April 21 and a conclave to elect a new pope is scheduled to begin on May 7. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Following the lead of several conservative states and the president himself, North Carolina Republican lawmakers have advanced their own bills that target diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The North Carolina House passed a bill restricting DEI practices within state government on Wednesday after votes on it stalled for a few weeks. The state Senate pushed forth its own legislation on the issue earlier this month. If combined, the two bills would enforce DEI limitations at colleges, universities, state agencies, local governments and public schools — a move Republican proponents say would ensure fairness for students and government workers. The bills also clear a pathway for North Carolina public entities to be more in line with President Donald Trump’s goal of dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion practices. But the legislation will have a tougher time becoming law than it did a year ago. Democratic Gov. Josh Stein will likely veto the legislation, and Republicans now lack a supermajority in the House that allowed them to override vetoes with relative ease last session. Getting a Democrat to join Republicans in overriding a veto would be a tough sell, as Democratic Party members have been outspoken in saying the bills are too vague and put unnecessary scrutiny on state employees. “It’s an attack on the very legacy of those who sacrificed to bring us this far. It’s an attack on the reality that we are a diverse nation,” Democratic Rep. Brandon Lofton said amid more than two hours of debate on the House floor. Since taking office earlier this year, the Trump administration has embarked on a crusade against what it calls “illegal and immoral discrimination programs,” resulting in action ranging from federal investigations of universities for alleged racial discrimination to purges of photos and mentions of minority and female military heroes from government websites. The administration has also threatened to cut funding for local school systems that don’t disavow DEI — a move met by resistance from Democratic states and cities. Eradicating DEI efforts predates Trump’s second term, though. As of a year ago, officials in about one-third of the states had taken some sort of action against DEI initiatives. North Carolina lawmakers took some action last session, such as enacting a law that prohibited the promotion of certain beliefs that GOP legislators likened to critical race theory in state government workplaces. But for the most part, legislators deferred to others such as the state’s public university system to implement changes that stifled certain diversity, equity and inclusion programs at its 17 schools. Last year, the University of North Carolina Board of Governors voted to repeal and replace its diversity policy with one that emphasized institutional neutrality — the prevention of universities from taking stances on debated political issues. The decision resulted in staff cuts, funding reallocations and unease among some faculty on the policy’s implementation. This year, House Republicans have targeted state agencies — largely run under Stein — as places to eradicate workplace DEI policies and programs. Employees who violate the ban could face civil penalties and be removed from their agency. State agencies, local governments and public schools also couldn’t apply for federal assistance that requires them to comply with DEI mandates, according to the bill. “It puts an end to the idea that background should outweigh ability. It stops public jobs, promotions and contracts from being awarded based on political agendas,” said House Majority Leader Brenden Jones, one of the bill’s primary sponsors. On the other hand, the Senate’s legislation passed a few weeks ago does much of what was already implemented by the UNC System, aside from explicitly outlining the “divisive concepts” and “discriminatory practices” to be avoided within higher education — such as treating someone differently “solely to advantage or disadvantage” compared to others, according to the bill. It also includes North Carolina’s community colleges. A similar bill for K-12 public schools was passed by the Senate last month. House Republicans were expected to pass their DEI bill at the same time as the Senate. But House Speaker Destin Hall had said pending amendments and absences delayed the vote. —— Associated Press writer David A. Lieb in Jefferson City, Missouri, contributed to this report. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina appeals court ruled Wednesday that a law stripping the governor’s authority to appoint State Board of Elections members can take effect for now, even though trial judges struck it down as unconstitutional just last week. Three judges on the intermediate-level Court of Appeals unanimously granted the request of Republican legislative leaders to suspend enforcement of that ruling. If left intact, the decision means provisions otherwise slated to take effect Thursday would shift the appointment duties from new Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to GOP State Auditor Dave Boliek, at least temporarily. Barring a contrary ruling by the state Supreme Court, the decision means Boliek could imminently appoint the board’s five members from slates of candidates provided by the state Democratic and Republican parties. Stein’s lawyers asked the Supreme Court late Wednesday to halt temporarily the Court of Appeals decision. For over a century, the governor has picked the five board members, three of whom are traditionally members of the governor’s party. Under the new law, the expectation is that Republicans would assume a majority on the board. Wednesday’s order provided neither an explanation for the decision nor the names of the three Court of Appeals judges who ruled — the court releases the names after 90 days. The court has 15 judges — 12 registered Republicans and three Democrats. Stein and gubernatorial predecessor Roy Cooper sued over the law finalized by the GOP-dominated General Assembly in December, saying the appointment transfer in part unlawfully interfered with the governor’s responsibility in the state constitution to take care that laws were “faithfully executed.” Legislative leaders contend that the constitution allows the General Assembly to disperse executive branch powers to several other statewide elected officials, including the auditor. Republicans have complained that a governor has too much control over elections, resulting in one-party decision-making and a lack of voter confidence. But Democrats say the laws are a GOP power grab designed to give Republicans an unfair advantage in elections in the battleground state. The board’s importance has been apparent in the still-unresolved election for a state Supreme Court seat. In a 2-1 decision on April 23, a panel of trial judges hearing the lawsuit sided with Stein and permanently blocked the power transfer and other provisions, including one that would have directed Boliek to choose the chairs of election boards in all 100 counties. The dissenting judge would have upheld the law, saying the General Assembly had the final, constitutional authority to assign new powers to the state auditor. Attorneys for House Speaker Destin Hall, Senate leader Phil Berger and Boliek quickly asked the Court of Appeals to allow the challenged law to take effect as planned while the court hears further arguments over the trial judges’ ruling. The legislative leaders’ lawyers wrote that the two judges making up the majority — one registered Republican and one Democrat — got their legal conclusions wrong. But Stein’s attorneys said in a legal brief earlier Wednesday that the lawmakers’ demand to permit the law’s implementation failed to justify “overturning more than a century of historical precedent and practice, numerous binding Supreme Court decisions, and last week’s presumptively correct ruling.” Terms for the current five board members otherwise would have expired in 2027. Since late 2016, the Republican-dominated legislature has sought to erode or eliminate a governor’s authority to appoint the board that administers elections in the ninth-largest state. Four previous laws targeting Cooper were blocked by courts. Voters in 2018 also rejected a constitutional amendment that would have forced the governor to pick members recommended by legislative leaders. Brought to you by www.srnnews.com