NEW YORK (AP) — Speakers at a panel on Tuesday disagreed over whether a correspondent for The Associated Press who defied military censors by reporting that the Germans had surrendered unconditionally in World War II had acted properly.

Edward Kennedy was fired by the AP in 1945 after he became the first journalist to send a firsthand account of the surrender in Reims, France, that he and 16 other journalists witnessed. As a condition of seeing it, they made a pledge to keep it secret for a time, as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Harry Truman had agreed to suppress news of the capitulation for a day. That was to allow Russian dictator Josef Stalin to stage a second surrender ceremony in Berlin.

After it was reported on the radio in Europe, Kennedy defied military officials and sent his account to AP’s London bureau, without briefing his editors about the embargo situation.

Retired foreign correspondent John Darnton said Tuesday that he questioned why Kennedy took that tack.

“Why didn’t he let AP know what he was doing?” Darnton asked, adding that by not doing so Kennedy “was kind of usurping that decision-making power, which in my mind should have been left to people higher up inside AP.”

But former AP foreign correspondent George Bria said Kennedy made the right decision in the competitive news atmosphere.

“He had to have it first and right, and he did the right thing as far as I’m concerned,” Bria said.

The panel was held at AP headquarters.

AP President and CEO Tom Curley recently apologized for the news agency’s decision to fire Kennedy, and on Tuesday he said, “His conduct was absolutely the right thing to do and beyond reproach.”

Curley, who is retiring this year, has also co-written an introduction to Kennedy’s newly published memoir, “Ed Kennedy’s War: V-E Day, Censorship & The Associated Press.”

After Kennedy broke the news, the military briefly suspended the AP’s ability to dispatch any news from the European theater. When that ban was lifted, more than 50 of Kennedy’s fellow war correspondents signed a protest letter asking that it be reinstated. The military expelled Kennedy from France.

AP’s management at the time condemned him as well, leading to his firing.

Kennedy later took a job as managing editor of the Santa Barbara News-Press in California and then went on to become publisher of the Monterey Peninsula Herald. He died at age 58 in 1963, when he was hit by a car.

Others on the panel included Louisiana State University Provost Jack Hamilton, Virginia Commonwealth University Professor Richard Fine and AP Washington Bureau Chief Sally Buzbee.

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s a scream that’s still reverberating around the world.

One of the most iconic images in art history — Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” — has become the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.

During an intense 12 minutes, the 1895 artwork — a modern symbol of human anxiety — was sold at Sotheby’s in New York City on Wednesday for a record $119,922,500. Neither the buyer’s name nor any details about the buyer was released.

The previous record for an artwork sold at auction was $106.5 million for Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust,” sold by Christie’s in 2010.

NEW YORK (AP) — Look! Up in the sky! It’s a … space shuttle?

An unusual flying object is scheduled to arrive in the city’s airspace Friday. The space shuttle Enterprise will be riding on top of a modified jumbo jet.

The shuttle prototype is going to make its new home in New York City at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.

Its journey to the city is planned to include low-altitude flyovers over parts of the city and landmarks including the Statue of Liberty and the Intrepid on Manhattan’s west side.

It won’t arrive at its new home just yet, though. That won’t happen until June. It’s scheduled to be open to the public in mid-July.

In the meantime, the Enterprise will be kept at Kennedy Airport.

NEW YORK (AP) — Any new arrival to New York City wants to see the sights — and the space shuttle Enterprise is no different.

Enterprise is scheduled to arrive in the city Friday, riding on top of a modified jumbo jet. Its trip was to include low-altitude flyovers over parts of the city and landmarks including the Statue of Liberty and the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum on Manhattan’s west side.

The shuttle had been scheduled to arrive earlier in the week but NASA pushed it back because of bad weather.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Pulitzer Prizes are showcasing journalism’s power to shine a powerful light on the forgotten or unknown corners of people’s lives.

The awards were announced Monday at Columbia University. The winners included The Associated Press, which won a Pulitzer for investigative journalism for stories revealing the New York Police Department’s widespread spying on Muslims.

Other winners included The New York Times; The Huffington Post; The Seattle Times; The Philadelphia Inquirer; The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News; The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pa.; The Stranger, Seattle; The Boston Globe; the Chicago Tribune; Politico; Agence France-Presse, and The Denver Post.

The prizes are given out annually. Each award carries a $10,000 prize except for the public service award, which is a gold medal.

There are 14 journalism awards and seven arts awards.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Associated Press has won a Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting for a series of stories on a secret New York Police Department program that spied on Muslims.

The Pulitzer for public service has been awarded to The Philadelphia Inquirer for its reporting on pervasive violence in the city’s schools.

The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., has won the Pulitzer in local reporting for breaking the Penn State sexual abuse scandal that eventually brought down legendary football coach Joe Paterno.

The Pulitzers are the most prestigious awards in journalism.