Lawmakers in at least 22 states are considering legislation to legalize sports gambling this year. Seven states joined Nevada and legalized it last year after the Supreme Court's decision. An Associated Press review of all sports gambling bills introduced this year — more than 100 so far — found high interest among lawmakers, primarily as a source of revenue, but also many questions about how legalized sports betting would be handled. Casino companies, sports leagues, fantasy sports companies and others are lobbying lawmakers in the hopes of getting the legislation tailored to their liking.

The Iron Curtain was more than just a figure of speech: Communist regimes set up thousands of miles of heavily-guarded, electrified barbed wire fencing to completely isolate Eastern Europe from the West. That still didn’t stop many from desperately attempting to flee the totalitarian East. Some succeeded but many lost their lives. “Technology in Dictatorships” is a new exhibition at the National Technical Museum in Prague, now capital of the Czech Republic, one of the two countries into which Czechoslovakia split after communism. The display marks the 30th anniversary of the 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution by looking back at the surreal repression the nation underwent and at how it resisted.

The Iron Curtain was more than just a figure of speech: Communist regimes set up thousands of miles of heavily-guarded, electrified barbed wire fencing to completely isolate Eastern Europe from the West. That still didn’t stop many from desperately attempting to flee the totalitarian East. Some succeeded but many lost their lives. “Technology in Dictatorships” is a new exhibition at the National Technical Museum in Prague, now capital of the Czech Republic, one of the two countries into which Czechoslovakia split after communism. The display marks the 30th anniversary of the 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution by looking back at the surreal repression the nation underwent and at how it resisted.

World Economic Forum executives say Germany's Angela Merkel, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Shinzo Abe of Japan will be among dozens of heads of state and government attending its annual Davos event. President Donald Trump had planned to attend but withdrew amid the U.S. government shutdown. Other top U.S. officials are expected including heads of the Commerce, State and Treasury departments.

World Economic Forum executives say Germany's Angela Merkel, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Shinzo Abe of Japan will be among dozens of heads of state and government attending its annual Davos event. President Donald Trump had planned to attend but withdrew amid the U.S. government shutdown. Other top U.S. officials are expected including heads of the Commerce, State and Treasury departments.

The first keg was tapped, and the beer started flowing as the 186th Oktoberfest got underway Saturday in the southern German city of Munich. Mayor Dieter Reiter inserted the tap in the first keg with two blows of a hammer and the cry of "O'zapt is" — "it's tapped." As tradition demands, he handed the first mug to Bavarian governor Markus Soeder.

The U.S. Embassy in Berlin unveiled a statue of Ronald Reagan on Friday at a site overlooking the location of the former president's iconic speech imploring the Soviet Union to remove the Berlin Wall.

Tens of thousands have been marching through Berlin in celebration of Christopher Street Day, one of Germany's largest LGBT pride observances.

Diplomats and climate experts gathered Monday in Germany for U.N.-hosted talks on climate change amid growing public pressure for governments to act faster against global warming. The talks are taking place against a backdrop of mounting concerns about global warming that have been heightened by extreme weather events and other signs that man-made climate change may already be leaving its mark on the planet.