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Nation and world at a glance

Trump says Epstein ‘stole’ women

from Mar-a-Lago spa, such as Giuffre

WASHINGTON (– President Donald Trump says Jeffrey Epstein “stole” young women who worked at Mar-a-Lago, including Virginia Giuffre, one of the disgraced financier’s most well-known accusers. Trump claims he banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after the incidents. The White House initially said Epstein was banned for acting like a “creep.”

Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend, is willing to answer more questions from Congress if granted immunity, but the House Oversight Committee said it would reject the request. Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in a Florida federal prison.

Why there hasn’t been a formal

declaration of famine in Gaza Strip

The leading international authority on food crises says the “worst-case scenario of famine is currently playing out in Gaza” and it predicts “widespread death” without immediate action.

Yet this authority — the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC — stopped short Tuesday of formally declaring a famine. Even though Israel eased a 2 1/2-month blockade on the territory in May, aid groups say only a trickle of assistance is getting into the enclave and that Palestinians face catastrophic levels of hunger. Still, the IPC has not yet obtained data that would meet its threshold for declaring a famine in Gaza.

Palestinian death toll in war

passes 60,000, Gaza ministry says

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Gaza’s Health Ministry says over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 21-month Israel-Hamas war. Israeli strikes overnight killed more than two dozen people, mostly women and children, health officials said.

Israel’s offensive, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced around 90% of the population and fueled a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Experts warned Tuesday that the territory of some 2 million Palestinians is on the brink of famine, as Israeli restrictions and a breakdown of security have made it nearly impossible to safely deliver aid.

Senate confirms Trump lawyer

Emil Bove for federal appeals court

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed former Trump lawyer Emil Bove for a lifetime appointment as a federal appeals court judge.

The 50-49 vote comes despite Democratic attempts to stop the nomination and whistleblower complaints against Bove. The most recent whistleblower to share evidence with Congress has not come forward publicly but recently provided an audio recording of Bove that contradicts some of his testimony at his confirmation hearing last month, according to two people familiar with the recording.

The people requested anonymity because the whistleblower has not made the recording public.

Iraq leader balances his relations

with United States and Iran

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s prime minister has kept the country on the sidelines as military conflicts raged nearby for almost two years.

This required balancing relations with two countries vital to his power and enemies with each other: the U.S. and Iran.

The feat became especially difficult last month when war broke out between Israel, a U.S. ally, and Iran. Mohammed Shia al-Sudani told The Associated Press on Monday that he used a mix of political and military pressure to stop armed groups aligned with Iran from entering the fray. Al-Sudani, who became prime minister in 2022, will seek a second term in November.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs asks for release

on a $50M bond before sentencing

LOS ANGELES — Sean “Diddy” Combs is asking a judge to release him on a $50 million bond while he awaits sentencing in October. Combs was acquitted of the most serious federal charges he faced, but convicted of lesser prostitution-related offenses. His lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, argued on Tuesday that conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn are dangerous. Agnifilo noted that others convicted of similar offenses were typically released before sentencing. In July, Combs was denied bail after being acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges. Judge Arun Subramanian said Combs hasn’t shown he is not a danger to the community.

At least 27 Ukrainians killed

as Russian missiles strike prison

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Glide bombs and ballistic missiles struck a Ukrainian prison and a medical facility overnight as Russia’s relentless strikes on civilian areas killed at least 27 people across the country, officials said Tuesday, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to soon punish Russia with sanctions and tariffs unless it stops.

Four powerful Russian glide bombs hit a prison in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, authorities said. They killed at least 16 inmates and wounded more than 90 others, Ukraine’s Justice Ministry said.

In the Dnipro region of central Ukraine, authorities said Russian missiles partially destroyed a three-story building and damaged nearby medical facilities, including a maternity hospital and a city hospital ward. authorities said.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Epstein’s hiring of Trump workers

ended friendship, president says

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein ended after Epstein hired people who had worked for Trump. The Republican president said Monday that he had warned Epstein about hiring Trump staff and that when Epstein did it again, “I threw him out of the place.”

The place Trump refers to is his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. Authorities say the disgraced financier killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. The case has dogged Trump after he and his top allies stoked conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death.

Suspect in Walmart knife attack

charged with terror, attempted murder

Matthew Kolakowski was shopping with his daughter at a Michigan Walmart when he heard screams and saw a man with a knife. Authorities have since identified the suspect as Bradford Gille.

He is charged with terrorism and attempted murder, accused of stabbing 11 people at the Traverse City store on Saturday. Kolakowski, a disabled veteran, says he and other shoppers managed to disarm and restrain the man with the knife until police arrived. The victims all are expected to survive. At his arraignment Monday, Gille seemed agitated. A not-guilty plea was entered for him. Bond was set at $100,000.

2 kids killed at Miami sailing camp

after barge collides with their boat

MIAMI — Two kids have died, and two others are in critical condition after a barge reportedly struck their sailing boat near Miami.

Authorities say six people were on the boat Monday, and responders pulled them from the water. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, four were taken to a nearby hospital.

The group included five kids and one adult who were part of the Miami Youth Sailing Foundation. Two of the rescued individuals are in good condition. The Coast Guard is investigating the crash.

Former Colombian President Uribe

found guilty at his bribery trial

BOGOTA, Colombia — Former Colombian President Ulvaro Uribe has been found guilty of witness tampering and bribery charges in a historic trial that gripped the South American nation and threatened to tarnish the conservative strongman’s legacy.

The ruling was announced on Monday by a judge in Bogota, the country’s capital, following a nearly six-month trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that Uribe attempted to influence witnesses who accused the law-and-order leader of having links to a paramilitary group founded by ranchers in the 1990s. Uribe faces up to 12 years in prison and the sentencing will be delivered in a separate hearing. He is expected to appeal the ruling in a high court.

Heavy rains and flooding kill at

least 34 people in and near Beijing

TAISHITUN, China — Chinese state media say that 30 people have died in heavy rains and flooding in and around Beijing, raising the death toll from the flooding in the region to 34.

State broadcaster CCTV said on Tuesday that 28 people had died in Beijing’s hard-hit Miyun district and two others in Yanqing.

That was the toll as of midnight. More heavy rain was falling overnight in the Chinese capital. Reports on Monday said heavy rains and flooding killed four people, with eight others still missing.

The victims were caught in a landslide in Hebei province. That brings the death toll from the storms to at least 34 people.

Authorities search for killer of couple

on walking trail in Arkansas park

WEST FORK, Ark. — Police in Arkansas were searching Monday for a suspect in the deaths of a couple who investigators said were attacked while on a wooded walking trail with their two young daughters.

Clinton David Brink, 43, and Cristen Amanda Brink, 41, were found dead Saturday at Devil’s Den State Park in Washington County in a suspected homicide, Arkansas State Police said.

Their daughters, who are 7 and 9, were not hurt and are being cared for by family members.

Officials described the suspect as a white male wearing dark shorts, a dark ballcap, sunglasses and fingerless gloves. He was seen driving toward a park exit in a black, four-door sedan with a license plate partly covered by tape.

Three die in plane crash in California

MONTEREY, Calif. — Law enforcement officials say all three people aboard a small twin-engine plane that crashed into the Pacific Ocean off California’s central coast have died.

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the fatalities late Sunday.

The plane went down about 300 yards off Point Pinos. Officials have not disclosed the cause of the crash, which happened Saturday. Witnesses reported hearing the aircraft engine revving before a splash. Debris later washed ashore. The plane took off from San Carlos airport and was last seen near Monterey.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Israel begins daily pause in fighting

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s military has begun a limited pause in fighting in three populated areas of Gaza for 10 hours a day as part of humanitarian measures including airdrops as concerns grow over hunger.

The U.N. humanitarian chief says Israel is supporting a “one-week scale-up of aid.” Israel faces international criticism over its conduct in the 21-month war as more reports emerge of starvation deaths.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel has to allow in “minimal” aid. U.N. officials say what’s coming in still isn’t enough.

As the military had warned, combat operations continued otherwise and at least 41 Palestinians were killed.

Train derailment in Germany kills at least 3

BERLIN — A regional passenger train has derailed in southern Germany, killing at least three people and seriously injuring others. The crash happened on Sunday near Riedlingen, about 158 kilometers west of Munich. Federal and local police say the cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Storms passed through the area before the crash and investigators were seeking to determine if the rain was a factor. Photos from the scene show parts of the train on its side, with rescuers climbing atop the carriages.

It is unclear how many people were injured, but roughly 100 people were onboard when at least two carriages derailed. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz mourned the victims and gave his condolences to their families.

US and China to talk in Stockholm on trade

WASHINGTON — U.S. and Chinese officials are meeting in Stockholm to discuss trade tariffs and a potential summit between their leaders. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are holding talks Monday, marking their third meeting this year. Analysts say they are likely to agree on maintaining current tariff levels while working toward a more lasting trade deal.

The U.S. currently taxes Chinese goods at 30%, while China imposes a 10% tariff. The talks may also address issues like China’s industrial overcapacity and fentanyl-related tariffs, with hopes of reaching a deal to be announced when U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping possibly meet later this year.

Trump’s team demand ignores years of data

President Donald Trump has threatened to block a new stadium deal unless Washington’s NFL team reverts its name to a racial slur. Experts say Native American mascots have long been linked to negative mental health outcomes, especially for children. Advocates have been calling for their removal for generations, and researchers say Native mascots reinforce racial bias.

The Washington Redskins changed to the Commanders in 2020. Trump’s spokesperson says “He likes to see results on behalf of the American people” and that sports fans would agree with him about restoring the old name.

More than 1,500 grade schools across the country still use Native mascots.

Passengers flee jet after landing gear problem

Authorities say passengers had to use an emergency slide to evacuate a smoking American Airlines jet at Denver International Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration says the Boeing 737 MAX 8 reported a “possible landing gear incident” during its departure for Miami on Saturday. Local media aired video of passengers — including some with small children — sliding down the chute. Some tripped at the end and fell onto the runway.

One passenger was taken to a medical facility, while five others were evaluated for injuries but didn’t need hospitalization. Firefighters extinguished a fire on the aircraft.

The FAA says it plans to investigate.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

US cuts short Gaza ceasefire talks,

accuses Hamas of lacking ‘good faith’

WASHINGTON — The United States is cutting short Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar, saying the latest response from Hamas “shows a lack of desire” to reach a truce. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Thursday that mediators have made a great effort but Hamas does not appear to be acting in good faith.

Witkoff says the U.S. will “consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.”

The State Department offered no details at a press briefing on those “alternative options.” A breakthrough in talks on a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has eluded Trump’s administration for months.

Dozens of kids, adults in Gaza starve

to death in July as hunger surges

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Health workers and aid groups fear hunger that has been building in Gaza for months under Israel’s blockade is now reaching a tipping point into accelerating death.

The Gaza Health Ministry says that in the past three weeks, at least 48 people died of causes related to malnutrition, including 20 children. That’s up from 10 children who died in the five previous months of 2025. At the main emergency center for malnourished kids in northern Gaza, five children died in rapid succession over four days last week, with staff unable to treat them because key medicines had run out.

France will recognize Palestine as

a state, President Macron announces

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France will recognize Palestine as a state, amid snowballing global anger over people starving in Gaza. Macron said in a post Thursday on X that he will formalize the decision at the U.N. General Assembly in September.

“The urgent thing today is that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved.” The French president offered support for Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks and frequently speaks out against antisemitism, but he has grown increasingly frustrated about Israel’s war in Gaza, especially in recent months.

Trump, Powell feud over Fed building

as president keeps the pressure on

WASHINGTON — After months of criticizing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, President Donald Trump took the fight to the Fed’s front door on Thursday, publicly scorning the central bank chief over the ballooning costs of a long-planned building project.

Powell pushed back, challenging the president’s latest price tag as incorrect. The visit represented a significant ratcheting up of the president’s pressure on Powell to lower borrowing costs, which Trump says would accelerate economic growth and reduce the government’s borrowing costs. Presidents rarely visit the Fed’s offices, though they are just a few blocks from the White House, an example of the central bank’s long-standing independence from day-to-day politics.

Justice Department official meets with

Epstein’s imprisoned former girlfriend

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Justice Department’s No. 2 official has met with Ghislaine Maxwell, the imprisoned former girlfriend of financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The meeting between Maxwell and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is part of a Justice Department effort to cast itself as transparent following backlash from parts of President Donald Trump’s base over an earlier refusal to release additional Epstein records. A lawyer for Maxwell says she “answered all the questions truthfully, honestly and to the best of her ability.”

Maxwell was convicted of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 awaiting trial.

Federal regulators OK Paramount’s

$8 billion merger deal with Skydance

NEW YORK — Federal regulators on Thursday approved Paramount’s $8 billion merger with Skydance, clearing the way to close a deal that combined Hollywood glitz with political intrigue.

The stamp of approval from the Federal Communications Commission comes after months of turmoil revolving around President Donald Trump’s legal battle with “60 Minutes,” the crown jewel of Paramount-owned broadcast network CBS.

With the specter of the Trump administration potentially blocking the hard-fought deal with Skydance, Paramount earlier this month agreed to a $16 million settlement with the president.

UnitedHealth Group cooperating

with civil, criminal investigations

UnitedHealth Group says it is cooperating with federal criminal and civil investigations involving its market-leading Medicare business. The health care giant said Thursday that it had contacted the Department of Justice after reviewing media reports about investigations into certain elements of its business.

The Wall Street Journal has been reporting that federal officials had launched investigations into how the company records diagnoses that lead to extra payments for its Medicare Advantage plans.

Plane crash in Russia kills all 48 aboard

MOSCOW — Officials in Russia’s Far East say a passenger plane has crashed, killing all 48 passengers and crew on board. The Angara Airlines flight disappeared from radar earlier Thursday, and emergency officials say searchers later found the burning wreckage of the plane on a hillside south of its planned destination in the town of Tynda, more than 4,350 miles east of Moscow. Regional Gov. Vasily Orlov said in a statement that all 48 people aboard were dead.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Judge bars ICE from taking Abrego Garcia into custody

A federal judge in Maryland has prohibited the Trump administration from taking Kilmar Abrego Garcia into immediate immigration custody if he’s released from jail in Tennessee while awaiting trial on human smuggling charges, according to an order issued Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the U.S. government to provide notice of three business days if Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to initiate deportation proceedings against him.

The judge also ordered the government to restore the federal supervision that Abrego Garcia was under before he was wrongfully deported to his native El Salvador in March. That supervision had allowed Abrego Garcia to live and work in Maryland for years, while he periodically checked in with ICE.

“Defendants have done little to assure the Court that absent intervention, Abrego Garcia’s due process rights will be protected,” Xinis wrote in her order.

Court says climate change matter of international law

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The United Nations’ top court in a landmark advisory opinion Wednesday said countries could be in violation of international law if they fail to take measures to protect the planet from climate change, and nations harmed by its effects could be entitled to reparations.

Advocates immediately cheered the International Court of Justice opinion on nations’ obligations to tackle climate change and the consequences they may face if they don’t.

“Failure of a state to take appropriate action to protect the climate system … may constitute an internationally wrongful act,” court President Yuji Iwasawa said during the hearing. He called the climate crisis “an existential problem of planetary proportions that imperils all forms of life and the very health of our planet.”

The non-binding opinion, backed unanimously by the court’s 15 judges, was hailed as a turning point in international climate law.

More than 100 aid groups warn of starvation in Gaza

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — More than 100 charity and human rights groups said Wednesday that Israel’s blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip toward starvation, as Israeli strikes killed another 29 people overnight, according to local health officials.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s Mideast envoy, Steve Witkoff, was set to meet with a senior Israeli official about ceasefire talks, a sign that lower-level negotiations that have dragged on for weeks could be approaching a breakthrough.

Experts say Gaza is at risk of famine because of Israel’s blockade and the offensive launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack. The head of the World Health Organization said Gaza is “witnessing a deadly surge” in malnutrition and related diseases, and that a “large proportion” of its roughly 2 million people are starving.

Israel says it allows enough aid into the territory and faults delivery efforts by U.N. agencies, which say they are hindered by Israeli restrictions and the breakdown of security.

Hamas has said it will only release the remaining 50 hostages it holds, around 20 of them believed to be alive, in exchange for a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal.

Zelenskyy faces backlash as Ukrainians protest law

KYIV, Ukraine — Activists on Wednesday called for more protests of a new law that they say weakens Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs, following the first major anti-government demonstration in over three years of war.

The legislation, which has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups, has put increased pressure on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and endangered his public support at a critical phase of the war.

Also on Wednesday, delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul for a third round of talks in as many months. The talks appeared to have lasted less than an hour and yielded no breakthroughs.

The two sides, however, agreed to exchange more prisoners of war.

In the morning, Zelenskyy convened the heads of Ukraine’s key anti-corruption and security agencies in response to the outcry against his decision to approve the law that was passed by parliament.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

House ending its session early as

Republicans clash over Epstein vote

WASHINGTON — The House is leaving Washington early as Republicans clash over the Jeffrey Epstein files.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is rebuffing pressure to act on the investigation into Epstein as some Republicans push for a vote on the matter.

Johnson said Tuesday that he wants to give the White House “space” to release the Epstein information on its own. The speaker’s stance seemed unlikely to satisfy many Republicans who are threatening to support a bipartisan bill to pry information from the Justice Department. Even before Johnson spoke, a Republican-controlled committee was advancing a resolution to subpoena Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

Trump rehashes years-old grievances

on Russia probe after new report

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is rehashing longstanding grievances over the Russia investigation that shadowed much of his first term.

The Republican president lashed out Tuesday following a report from his intelligence director aimed at casting doubt on long-established findings about Moscow’s interference in the 2016 election.

Trump was not making his claims for the first time but delivered them when administration officials are harnessing the machinery of the federal government to investigate the targets of Trump’s derision.

A representative for former President Barack Obama, who Trump accused of treason, said the “bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”

US to impose 19% tariff on imports

from Philippines in deal with Marcos

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he’s reached a trade agreement with Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos Jr. following a meeting at the White House.

Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. will slightly drop its tariff rate for the Philippines without paying import taxes for what it sells there. The online announcement of a loose framework of a deal comes as the countries are seeking closer security and economic ties in the face of shifting geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region.

Marcos’ government had indicated ahead of the meeting he was prepared to offer zero tariffs on some U.S. goods.

Witkoff plans to visit the Mideast

in push for Israeli-Hamas ceasefire

WASHINGTON — The State Department’s spokesperson says President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is planning to head to the Middle East as the U.S. tries once again to solidify a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters Tuesday that Witkoff was going to the region with a “strong hope” that the U.S. can deliver another ceasefire deal as well as a new humanitarian corridor for aid distribution.

Three U.S. officials said Witkoff is traveling to Europe this week to discuss Gaza and other issues but had no details about Middle East stops.

US Olympic and Paralympic officials

bar transgender women from games

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has barred transgender women from competing in women’s sports. The committee is citing an executive order from President Donald Trump.

The order, signed in February, threatens to cut funding for organizations allowing transgender athletes in women’s sports.

The policy is listed under the USOPC Athlete Safety Policy and follows a similar move by the NCAA earlier this year. National governing bodies for various sports like swimming and track and field are expected to comply with the directive.

Driver accused of ramming into crowd

faces 37 counts of attempted murder

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles prosecutors have announced charges in connection with a car crash outside a nightclub over the weekend that injured 37 people and led to the driver being shot.

LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman on Tuesday charged the driver, who was identified as 29-year-old Fernando Ramirez. Partygoers were leaving the Vermont Hollywood venue at the end of a reggae hip-hop event early Saturday when a vehicle rammed into the crowd. Injuries ranged from minor to serious fractures and lacerations, and some people were briefly trapped beneath the vehicle.

A phone number for Ramirez could not be found and the public defender’s office said that they are not representing him.

Trump administration withdraws

from UNESCO for the second time

UNITED NATIONS — The Trump administration has announced that it will once again withdraw from the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO.

The move Tuesday was expected and has the U.S. further retreating from international organizations.

The decision to pull U.S. funding and participation from UNESCO comes two years after the Biden administration rejoined following a controversial, five-year absence that began during President Donald Trump’s first term.

The White House cited similar concerns as it did in 2018, saying it believes U.S. involvement is not in its national interest and accusing the agency promoting anti-Israel speech. The UNESCO chief said she “deeply” regrets the U.S. decision but said the agency “has prepared for it.” She denied accusations of anti-Israel bias.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Off-duty Border Protection agent

shot in a park in New York City

NEW YORK — A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer has been shot in a Manhattan park in what authorities said was an apparent botched robbery.

Police said the officer was shot Saturday night after being approached by two men on a moped.

The officer returned fire, hitting one of the men before the suspects fled. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Sunday there was no indication the officer, who was not in uniform, was targeted because of his employment.

He was in stable condition and expected to survive. Tisch says a 21-year-old undocumented immigrant with a criminal history was taken into custody as a person of interest in the case after showing up at a hospital with gunshot wounds.

Ishiba’s coalition loses majority

in Japan’s upper house election

TOKYO — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ‘s ruling coalition failed today to secure a majority in the 248-seat upper house in a crucial parliamentary election, NHK public television said.

Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito needed to win 50 seats on top of the 75 seats they already have to retain their majority. With just one more seat to be decided, the coalition had 47 seats.

The loss is another blow to Ishiba’s coalition, making it a minority in both houses following its October defeat in the lower house election, and worsening Japan’s political instability. It was the first time the LDP has lost a majority in both houses of parliament since the party’s foundation in 1955.

Despite the loss, Ishiba expressed determination to stay on and not create a political vacuum to tackle challenges such as U.S. tariff threats, but he could face calls from within his party to step down or find another coalition partner.

“I will fulfill my responsibility as head of the No. 1 party and work for the country,” he said.

Texas Republicans aim to redraw

House districts at Trump’s urging

AUSTIN, Texas — U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, a Texas Democrat who represents a slice of the Rio Grande Valley along the border with Mexico, won his last congressional election by just over 5,000 votes.

That makes him a tempting target for Republicans, who are poised to redraw the state’s congressional maps this coming week and devise five new winnable seats for the GOP that would help the party avoid losing House control in the 2026 elections. Adjusting the lines of Gonzalez’s district to bring in a few thousand more Republican voters, while shifting some Democratic ones out, could flip his seat.

Gonzalez said he is not worried. Those Democratic voters will have to end up in one of the Republican districts that flank Gonzalez’s current one, making those districts more competitive — possibly enough so it could flip the seats to Democrats.

“Get ready for some pickup opportunities,” Gonzalez said, adding that his party is already recruiting challengers to Republicans whose districts they expect to be destabilized by the process. “We’re talking to some veterans, we’re talking to some former law enforcement.”

Volunteers flock to immigration courts to support arrested migrants

SEATTLE — After a Seattle immigration judge dismissed the deportation case against a Colombian man — exposing him to expedited removal — three people sat with him in the back of the courtroom, taking his car keys for safe-keeping, helping him memorize phone numbers and gathering the names of family members who needed to be notified.

When Judge Brett Parchert asked why they were doing that in court, the volunteers said Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers were outside the door, waiting to take the man into custody, so this was their only chance to help him get his things in order. “ICE is in the waiting room?” the judge asked.

As the mass deportation campaign of President Donald Trump focuses on cities and states led by Democrats and unleashes fear among asylum-seekers and immigrants, their legal defenders sued last week, seeking class-action protections against the arrests outside immigration court hearings. Meanwhile, these volunteers are taking action.

A diverse group — faith leaders, college students, grandmothers, retired lawyers and professors — has been showing up at immigration courts across the nation to escort immigrants at risk of being detained for deportation by masked ICE officials. They’re giving families moral and logistical support, and bearing witness as the people are taken away.

Agreement for permanent ceasefire

signed by Congo and Rwanda rebels

DAKAR, Senegal — Congo and Rwanda-backed rebels have signed a declaration aiming for a permanent ceasefire in eastern Congo.

The African Union called Saturday’s Qatar-facilitated agreement a significant step toward peace in a region plagued by ethnic tensions and conflict over minerals.

However, disagreements emerged immediately with Congo demanding rebel withdrawal from seized territories, including Goma, while the M23 rebels refused.

The declaration includes prisoner exchanges and restoring state authority, setting the stage for a final peace deal by Aug. 18. The conflict, rooted in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, has killed millions, driven by both ethnic divisions and competition over Congo’s vast mineral wealth.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Trump enacts stablecoin regulations,

a major milestone for crypto industry

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Friday signed into law new regulations for a type of cryptocurrency, a major milestone for an industry that has spent heavily to strengthen its legitimacy and political might.

The GENIUS Act sets initial guardrails and consumer protections for stablecoins, which are tied to assets like the U.S. dollar to reduce price volatility compared with other forms of cryptocurrency. It passed both the House and Senate with wide bipartisan margins.

The new law is meant to bolster consumer confidence in the crypto industry, which has quickly become a major power player in Washington thanks to massive campaign donations and spending on lobbying. Its passage comes as Trump had repeatedly pledged to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”

“For years you were mocked and dismissed and counted out,” Trump told crypto industry executives at a White House bill signing attended by about 200 people, including several top GOP lawmakers. “This signing is a massive validation of your hard work and your pioneering spirit.”

Venezuela frees 10 jailed Americans

in deal that frees its migrants

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela released 10 jailed Americans on Friday in exchange for getting home scores of migrants deported by the United States to El Salvador months ago under the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, officials said.

The complex, three-country arrangement represents a diplomatic achievement for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, helps President Donald Trump in his goal of bringing home Americans jailed abroad and lands Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele a swap that he proposed months ago.

“Every wrongfully detained American in Venezuela is now free and back in our homeland,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement in which he thanked Bukele, a Trump ally.

Bukele said El Salvador had handed over all the Venezuelan nationals in its custody. Maduro described Friday as “a day of blessings and good news for Venezuela.” He called it “the perfect day for Venezuela.”

Brazil’s former President Bolsonaro

ordered to wear electronic monitor

SAO PAULO — Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to wear an ankle monitor, authorities said on Friday, in a move he described as “a supreme humiliation.”

The development came as federal police conducted searches at his home and his party’s headquarters in Brasília, in compliance with a Supreme Court order.

Bolsonaro is currently on trial at the Supreme Court accused of leading an alleged attempt to stage a coup to overturn the 2022 election in which he was defeated by left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Blast at training facility kills 3 LA

deputies in one of worst losses of life

LOS ANGELES — A Friday blast at a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department training facility killed three members of its arson and explosives unit, marking one of the department’s worst losses of life from a single incident, the sheriff said.

All three were veteran deputies. The department hasn’t said what they were doing at the time of the blast or what caused it.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said the arson and explosives team undergoes in-depth training and responds to more than 1,000 calls a year. The deputies had served 19, 22 and 33 years in the department, Luna said.

“They have years of training,” the sheriff said at a news conference. “They are fantastic experts and, unfortunately, I lost three of them today.”

The explosion was reported about 7:30 a.m. at the Biscailuz Training Facility, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Nicole Nishida said.

Christian patriarchs make rare visit

to Gaza after Israeli strike on church

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Top church leaders visited Gaza on Friday after its only Catholic church was struck by an Israeli shell the day before, an attack that killed three people and wounded 10, including a priest who had developed a close friendship with the late Pope Francis.

The strike drew condemnation from the pope and U.S. President Donald Trump, and prompted statements of regret from Israel, which said it was an accident. Since ending a ceasefire in March, Israel has regularly launched far deadlier strikes across Gaza against what it says are Hamas militants, frequently killing women and children. Strikes killed 18 people overnight, health officials said Friday.

Pope Leo XVI meanwhile renewed his call for negotiations to bring an end to the 21-month war in a phone call Friday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who offered condolences to the victims.

The religious delegation to Gaza included two Patriarchs from Jerusalem — Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Greek Orthodox Patriarch Theophilos III. The rare visit aimed to express the “shared pastoral solicitude of the Churches of the Holy Land,” a statement said.

CBS argues decision to cancel

‘Colbert’ rooted in finance, not politics

CBS says its decision to end Stephen Colbert’s late-night comedy show is financial, not political. Yet even with the ample skepticism about that explanation, there’s no denying the economics were not working in Colbert’s favor.

The network’s bombshell announcement late Thursday that the “Late Show” will end next May takes away President Donald Trump’s most prominent TV critic and the most popular entertainment program in its genre.

The television industry’s declining economic health means similar hard calls are already being made with personalities and programming, with others to be faced in the future. For the late-night genre, there are unique factors to consider.

As recently as 2018, broadcast networks took in an estimated $439 million in advertising revenue for its late-night programs, according to the advertising firm Guidelines. Last year, that number dwindled to $220 million.

Late-night TV was a particular draw for young men, considered the hardest-to-get and most valuable demographic for advertisers. Increasingly, these viewers are turning to streaming services, either to watch something else entirely or catch highlights of the late-night shows, which are more difficult for the networks to monetize.

The Associated Press

NATION AND WORLD AT A GLANCE

Stephen Colbert says CBS is ending

his nightly ‘Late Show’ in May 2026

CBS is axing “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” in May 2026, the host told an audience at a taping Thursday.

The announcement came two days after Colbert spoke out against Paramount Global, parent company of his network CBS, settling with President Donald Trump over a “60 Minutes” story.

“I am offended,” Colbert said in his monologue Monday night. “I don’t know if anything — anything — will repair my trust in this company. But, just taking a stab at it, I’d say $16 million would help.”

He said the technical name in legal circles for the deal was “big fat bribe.”

Paramount and CBS executives said in a statement the cancellation “is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the show’s performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount.”

Trump checked for lower leg swelling,

diagnosed with a common condition

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump recently had a medical checkup after noticing “mild swelling” in his lower legs and was found to have a condition common in older adults that causes blood to pool in his veins, the White House said Thursday.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt said tests by the White House medical unit showed that Trump has chronic venous insufficiency, which occurs when little valves inside the veins that normally help move blood against gravity gradually lose the ability to work properly.

Leavitt also addressed bruising on the back of Trump’s hand, seen in recent photos covered by makeup that was not an exact match to his skin tone. She said the bruising was “consistent” with irritation from his “frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.” Trump takes aspirin to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.

She said during her press briefing that her disclosure of Trump’s medical checkup was meant to dispel recent speculation about the 79-year-old president’s health. Nonetheless, the announcement was notable given that the Republican president has routinely kept secret basic facts about his health.

Trump in April had a comprehensive physical exam with more than a dozen medical specialists. The three-page report released then by the White House did not include a finding of chronic venous insufficiency. At the time, Trump’s doctor, Sean Barbabella, determined that the president’s joints and muscles had a full range of motion, with normal blood flow and no swelling.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, treatment can include wearing compression stockings, elevating the legs and achieving a healthy weight. Also exercise, especially walking, is recommended — because strong leg muscles can squeeze veins in a way that helps them pump blood. Medications and medical procedures are available for more advanced cases.

‘Fear is the tool of a tyrant’, fired

federal prosecutor Comey says

WASHINGTON) — Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey who as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan worked on cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, said in a note to colleagues that “fear is the tool of a tyrant” and that her firing without reason should fuel “a fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power.”

“If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain,” Comey said in the note, which was obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday. “Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.”

“Instead of fear,” she added, “let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims. Of dedication to truth above all else.”

Until her firing Wednesday, Comey had been a veteran lawyer in the Southern District of New York, long considered the most elite of the Justice Department’s prosecution offices. Her cases included the sex trafficking prosecution of Epstein, who killed himself behind bars in 2019 as he was awaiting trial, and the recent case against Combs, which ended earlier this month with a mixed verdict.

Syrian forces who fought Druze

militias leave Sweida under ceasefire

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the southern province of Sweida on Thursday after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that threatened to unravel the country’s post-war transition.

The conflict had drawn airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel in defense of the Druze before a truce — mediated by the U.S., Turkey and Arab countries and announced Wednesday — halted most of the fighting.

However, Syrian state media said Thursday that Druze militiamen had launched revenge attacks on Sunni Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of their displacement. There were some reports of renewed clashes.

Bedouin clans had fought on the government side, while the Israeli military came to the assistance of the Druze, who form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the Israeli military.

Severe weather in tropical storm’s wake triggers NC state of emergency

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina can seek federal funding to help its overloaded response efforts to Tropical Storm Chantal, which killed at least six people and left damage from flooding in its wake, as Gov. Josh Stein announced a state of emergency Thursday.

A one-two punch from Chantal followed by severe weather in the state’s center has “overwhelmed the response and recovery efforts of local governments,” according to Stein’s executive order.

Some rivers reached record-breaking levels from the storm, including the Eno River in Durham, one of several cities where some residents lost access to safe drinking water because of damage to the water system. In some places, the storm dumped as much as 9 to 12 inches of rain, according to the governor’s office.

The Associated Press

Chantal hit at the end of the July Fourth weekend, and several days of severe weather

Nation and world at a glance

Trump to meet

leader of NATO

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is set to meet President Donald Trump this week on the heels of the U.S. leader announcing plans to sell NATO allies weaponry that they can then pass on to Ukraine.

Rutte will be in Washington today and Tuesday and plans to hold talks with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as well as members of Congress.

“I’m gonna have a meeting with the secretary general who’s coming in tomorrow,” Trump told reporters as he arrived in Washington on Sunday night. “But we basically are going to send them various pieces of very sophisticated (weapons) and they’re gonna pay us 100% for them.”

Nursing homes

face shortages

NEW YORK — Nursing homes already struggling to recruit staff are now grappling with President Donald Trump’s attack on one of their few reliable sources of workers: immigration.

Facilities for older adults and disabled people are reporting the sporadic loss of employees who have had their legal status revoked by Trump. But they fear even more dramatic impacts are ahead as pipelines of potential workers slow to a trickle with an overall downturn in legal immigration.

“We feel completely beat up right now,” says Deke Cateau, CEO of A.G. Rhodes, which operates three nursing homes in the Atlanta area, with one-third of the staff made up of foreign-born people from about three dozen countries. “The pipeline is getting smaller and smaller.”

US budget bill

to be focus of

midterm races

WASHINGTON — Debate over President Donald Trump’s sweeping budget-and-policy package is over on Capitol Hill. Now the argument goes national.

From the Central Valley of California to Midwestern battlegrounds and suburban districts of the northeast, the new law already is shaping the 2026 midterm battle for control of the House of Representatives. The outcome will set the tone for Trump’s final two years in the Oval Office.

Democrats need a net gain of three House seats to break the GOP’s chokehold on Washington and reestablish a power center to counter Trump. There’s added pressure to flip the House given that midterm Senate contests are concentrated in Republican-leaning states.

Former president

of Nigeria dies

LAGOS, Nigeria — Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who led the country twice as a military head of state and a democratic president, has died aged 82, his press secretary said Sunday.

Buhari died Sunday in London, where he had been receiving medical treatment.

He first took power in Africa’s most populous nation in 1983, after a military coup, running an authoritarian regime until fellow soldiers ousted him less than 20 months later. When he was elected in 2015 on his fourth attempt, he became the first opposition candidate to win a presidential election there.

Democrats blast

detention center

OCHOPEE, Fla. — Democratic lawmakers condemned Florida’s new Everglades immigration detention center after visiting Saturday, describing it as crowded, unsanitary and bug-infested. Republicans on the same tour said they saw nothing of the sort at the remote facility that officials have dubbed ” Alligator Alcatraz.”

The state-arranged tour came after some Democrats were blocked earlier from viewing the 3,000-bed detention center that the state rapidly built on an isolated airstrip surrounded by swampland. So many state legislators and members of Congress turned up Saturday that they were split into multiple groups.

“There are really disturbing, vile conditions and this place needs to be shut the hell down,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat, told reporters after visiting the agglomeration of tents, trailers and temporary buildings.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

US is selling weapons to NATO

allies to give to Ukraine, Trump says

WASHINGTON — The United States is selling weapons to its NATO allies in Europe so they can provide them to Ukraine as it struggles to fend off a recent escalation in Russia’s drone and missile attacks, President Donald Trump and his chief diplomat said.

“We’re sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons, 100%,” Trump said in an interview with NBC News late Thursday. “So what we’re doing is, the weapons that are going out are going to NATO, and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons (to Ukraine), and NATO is paying for those weapons.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday that some of the U.S.-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with NATO allies in Europe. Those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine, with European countries buying replacements from the U.S., he said.

Trump considers deporting more

third-party nationals to Africa

DAKAR, Senegal — South Sudan has accepted eight third-country deportees from the U.S. and Rwanda says it’s in talk with the administration of President Donald Trump on a similar deal, while Nigeria says it’s rejecting pressure to do the same.

Although few details are known, these initiatives in Africa mark an expansion in U.S. efforts to deport people to countries other than their own. The United States has sent hundreds of Venezuelans and others to Costa Rica, El Salvador and Panama but has yet to announce any major deals with governments in Africa, Asia or Europe.

While proponents see such programs as a way of deterring what they describe as unmanageable levels of migration, human rights advocates have raised concerns over sending migrants to countries where they have no ties or that may have a history of rights violations.

Appeals court throws out plea deal

for mastermind of Sept. 11 attacks

WASHINGTON — A divided federal appeals court on Friday threw out an agreement that would have allowed accused Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to plead guilty in a deal sparing him the risk of execution for al-Qaida’s 2001 attacks.

The decision by a panel of the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., undoes an attempt to wrap up more than two decades of military prosecution beset by legal and logistical troubles.

It signals there will be no quick end to the long struggle by the U.S. military and successive administrations to bring to justice the man charged with planning one of the deadliest attacks ever on the United States.

Boeing settles with man whose family

died in a 737 Max crash in Ethiopia

CHICAGO — Boeing reached a settlement Friday with a Canadian man whose wife and three children were killed in a deadly 2019 crash in Ethiopia, averting the first trial connected to a devastating event that led to a worldwide grounding of Max jets.

The jury trial at Chicago’s federal court had been set to start Monday to determine damages for Paul Njoroge of Canada. His family was heading to their native Kenya in March 2019 aboard Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 when it malfunctioned and plummeted to the ground. The wreck killed all 157 people on board.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Trump increases tariff rate for Canada

President Donald Trump has announced in a letter on social media that Canadian goods will be subject to a 35% tariff rate starting Aug. 1.

It marks an aggressive increase to the 25% tariff first announced by Trump in February. Trump justified the tariffs as necessary to manage America’s opioid crisis, which he said was partially due to fentanyl being smuggled into the U.S. via Canada.

Trump closed the letter by suggesting if Canada assists the U.S. in preventing fentanyl from entering the country, then he would “perhaps” consider adjusting the tariff rates.

Study: 1 in 3 US teens have prediabetes

A new federal estimate shows that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. adolescents had prediabetes in 2023, far higher than a previous estimate of 1 in 5.

The finding is spurring concerns about the health of America’s children and also the way Trump administration officials are conducting research and communicating information.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a 600-word online summary of the new findings, but no raw data and no peer-reviewed paper. CDC researchers changed the methodology used to calculate the estimate.

Scientists say that raises questions about the accuracy of information released by the CDC. Still, they note confirmed rates of obesity and diabetes among kids are rising.

Head Start to block immigrant students

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration says it will restrict immigrants in the country illegally from enrolling in Head Start, a federally funded preschool program.

The move is part of a broad effort to limit access to federal benefits for immigrants who lack legal status. People in the country illegally are largely ineligible for federal public benefits such as food stamps, student loans and financial aid for higher education.

But for decades they have been able to access some community-level programs such as Head Start and community health centers. The changes were announced Thursday by the Health and Human Services department.

Khalil files $20M claim against Trump

NEW YORK (AP) — Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, whose role in campus protests against Israel led to his detention for over three months in immigration jail, is now seeking $20 million in damages from the Trump administration.

His lawyers filed a claim Thursday, alleging false imprisonment and malicious prosecution after his March arrest by federal agents. Khalil, a legal U.S. resident, said he suffered severe anguish in jail, and continues to fear for his safety.

The government has accused him of leading protests aligned with Hamas, but has not provided any evidence of a link to the terror group.

Protesters, agents clash in California

A confrontation erupted between protesters and federal agents outside a Southern California farm while a raid took place Thursday.

Vehicles from Border Patrol and U.S. Customs and Border Protection blocked the road in a largely agricultural area of Camarillo, California.

Glass House Farms said it was visited by officials for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and “fully complied with agent search warrants.”

A witness whose father works on the farm says she showed up to protest, and agents sprayed the crowd with deterrents. The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Ousted leader of Bangladesh indicted

DHAKA, Bangladesh — A special tribunal has indicted Bangladesh’s ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina by accepting charges of crimes against humanity filed against her in connection with a mass uprising in which hundreds of students were killed last year. A three-member panel on Thursday indicted Hasina, former Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and former police chief Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun on five charges. A lawyer appointed by the state for Hasina and Khan — who are being tried in absentia — appeared Thursday and filed a petition to drop their names from the case, but the tribunal rejected the plea.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Trump hopes for different outcome

with new rounds of tariffs this week

WASHINGTON — The last time President Donald Trump rolled out tariffs this high, financial markets quaked, consumer confidence crashed and his popularity plunged. Only three months later, he’s betting this time is different.

In his new round of tariffs being announced this week, Trump is essentially tethering the entire world economy to his instinctual belief that import taxes will deliver factory jobs and stronger growth in the U.S., rather than the inflation and slowdown predicted by many economists. There are three possible outcomes. Trump could prove most economic experts wrong and the tariffs could deliver growth as promised. Or he could retreat again on tariffs before their Aug. 1 start. Or he could damage the economy.

Trump caught off guard by Pentagon move to pause Ukraine weapons

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s decision to send more defensive weapons to Ukraine came after he privately expressed frustration with Pentagon officials for announcing a pause last week in the delivery of some critical weapons to Ukraine.

It was a move that Trump felt wasn’t properly coordinated with the White House. That’s according to three people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss the private deliberations. The Pentagon announced that it would hold back delivering to Ukraine some weapons because of what U.S. officials said were concerns that stockpiles were in short supply. Trump later effectively reversed the move.

One of the people described Trump as being caught “flat footed” by the announcement.

Militants kill 5 Israeli soldiers;

Israeli strikes kill 51 Palestinians

TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military says five soldiers have been killed in an attack in northern Gaza. Health officials in the Palestinian territory say Israeli strikes killed 51 people.

The bloodshed came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting the White House on Tuesday for talks with President Donald Trump about a ceasefire plan.

There was no announcement of a breakthrough from that meeting. But there were signs of progress toward a deal. The soldiers’ deaths could add to pressure on Netanyahu to strike a deal in Israel where polls have shown widespread support for ending the 21-month war.

Residents still shaken a day after

US authorities march in LA park

LOS ANGELES — A day after federal officers and National Guard troops descended on MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, immigrant residents of the surrounding neighborhood were coming to grips with the operation that local officials said seemed designed to sow fear.

The Department of Homeland Security wouldn’t say what the purpose of the operation was, why it ended abruptly, or whether anyone had been arrested on Monday. Fernando Rodriguez closed down his variety store near the park after seeing flyers warning of immigration enforcement.

“You look Latino, they take you. Even if you show papers, they say they’re fake,” he said. “What they’re doing is evil.”

Impostor uses AI to impersonate

Rubio, contact foreign a officials

WASHINGTON — The State Department is warning U.S. diplomats of attempts to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio and possibly other officials using AI-driven technology. That’s according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates.

The warning came after the department discovered that an impostor posing as Rubio had tried to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. senator and a governor. Those details were laid out in a July 3 cable first reported by The Washington Post.

the cable shared with The Associated Press. The State Department says it’s investigating.

Italy horrified by dog killed

by eating food with nails in it

ROME — The horrific killing of a police bloodhound has outraged Italians and sparked a criminal investigation to find his killers. Bruno found nine people during his sniffer-dog career. He was found dead Friday in his shed in southern Tar

anto. Bruno’s trainer Arcangelo Caressa said that he had been fed dog food laced with nails. Caressa urged police in a social media post Tuesday to “find the killers before I do.” Premier Giorgia Meloni was photographed with Bruno after one of his rescues. She said that his slaughter was “vile, cowardly, unacceptable.” Lawmaker Michael Vittoria Brambilla filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors under a new law that she helped push through stiffening penalties for anyone who kills or mistreats an animal.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs to be sentenced

Oct. 3 after earlier request denied

NEW YORK — Sean “Diddy” Combs will be sentenced in his federal criminal case on Oct. 3. A judge confirmed the schedule on Tuesday after probation officials rejected the defense and prosecution’s plan to move the date up by about two weeks. Combs remains jailed after a split verdict last week. The hip-hop mogul’s lawyers had been urging Judge Arun Subramanian to sentence him as soon as possible. Combs’ lawyers want less than the 21 to 27 months in prison that they believe the sentencing guidelines recommend. Prosecutors contend that because of Combs’ violent history, the guidelines call for at least four to five years in prison.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Details emerge on proposal to end Israel-Hamas war

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — New details have emerged of the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal submitted by mediators to Hamas, while Israel has sent a negotiating team to Qatar ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s White House visit. U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Netanyahu today.

The document shared with The Associated Press outlines plans for a 60-day ceasefire. During that time, Hamas would hand over 10 living and 18 dead hostages, Israeli forces would withdraw to a buffer zone along Gaza’s borders with Israel and Egypt, and significant amounts of aid would be brought in. Negotiations for a permanent ceasefire would take place.

Bodies of seven found at

fireworks factory after blast

ESPARTO, Calif. — Authorities say they’ve found the bodies of all seven people who had been missing since an explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Northern California. The explosion shook the tiny farming community of Esparto last week. The fireworks that exploded Tuesday caused a massive blaze and led to other spot fires in Yolo County, northwest of Sacramento. The blast also collapsed the building. The county said Sunday that all human remains have been recovered, but the identities of the deceased are being withheld pending family notification. The cause of the explosion is under investigation.

Trump puts pressure on fortrade deals; deadline looms

WASHINGTON — The United States is stepping up pressure on trading partners to quickly make new deals before a Wednesday deadline when a tariff pause by President Donald Trump expires.

There are plans for the U.S. to start sending letters today warning countries that higher tariffs could kick in Aug. 1.

That furthers the uncertainty for businesses, consumers and America’s trading partners.

And questions remain about which countries will be notified, whether anything will change in the days ahead and whether Trump will once more push off imposing the rates. Trump could extend the time for dealmaking, as he has done before.

Drone attacks continue as

Ukraine boosts production

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged drone strikes, disrupting air travel and causing fatalities and damage.

Photos on social media showed crowds huddling at Russian airports including key international hubs in Moscow and St. Petersburg as hundreds of flights were delayed or canceled due to Ukrainian drone strikes.

The attacks followed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s announcement of deals with Western partners to boost drone production. Ukraine has increasingly relied on drones to counter Russia’s offensives. Zelenskyy said he also discussed joint drone production with U.S. President Donald Trump in a recent phone call.

Dalai Lama celebrates 90thbirthday, hopes to live to 130

DHARAMSHALA, India — The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, has turned 90.

He celebrated his birthday Sunday, capping a week of festivities during which he spoke about his hope to live beyond 130 and reincarnate after dying.

Thousands of Tibetan Buddhists, including red-robed monks and nuns gathered in Dharamshala, India, to celebrate the Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s birthday.

Earlier last week, the Dalai Lama announced plans to reincarnate after his death, following Buddhist traditions, ending speculation about his succession.

Living in exile since fleeing Chinese rule in 1959, he remains a global symbol of Tibetan culture and resistance. China, which views him as a separatist, insists on controlling his succession, raising fears among Tibetans of Beijing’s interference.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Hamas gives ‘positive’

response to ceasefire plan

DEIR al-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Hamas says it has given a “positive” response to the latest proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza but says further talks are needed on implementation.

It was not clear if Hamas’ statement meant it had accepted the proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump for a 60-day ceasefire. Hamas has been seeking guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war, now nearly 21 months old.

In a statement issued late Friday, Hamas said it has “delivered the response to the mediators, which was positive.”

Russia launches biggest

missile barrage of war

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched 550 drones and missiles across Ukraine overnight in the largest aerial assault since the war began. The capital Kyiv was the primary target.

Authorities said one person was killed and at least 26 people, including a child, were injured. Hours after the barrage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a “very important and productive” phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump. ‘The Kyiv attack came hours after Trump held a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.”I’m very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin because I don’t think he’s there. I don’t think he’s looking to stop (the fighting), and that’s too bad,” Trump said.

Judge blocks immigrants’

deportation to South Sudan

Eight immigrants the Trump administration has been trying to send to the war-torn country of South Sudan can now be relocated after a federal judge briefly halted the action Friday. District Judge Randolph Moss in Washington ordered the deportations held for a few hours Friday while he evaluated the case. He eventually decided to send it to a judge in Boston whose rulings led to the initial halt of the administration’s effort to begin deportations to South Sudan. That judge ruled that he couldn’t stop the removals after the Supreme Court has overturned an earlier ruling of his. The immigrants and their federal guards have been waiting in the African nation of Djibouti for weeks.

Document shows church’s

opposition to slavery in US

GROTON, Mass. — A volunteer searching the archives of the American Baptist Church in Massachusetts has found a nearly 180-year-old document shedding light on the church’s support for ending slavery.

The 5-foot-long scroll is a handwritten declaration signed by 116 New England ministers saying they “disapprove and abhor the system of American slavery.” The document was signed two years after the issue of slavery prompted

Baptists in the south to break away and form the Southern Baptist Convention. Church officials consider the scroll one of the most important abolitionist-era Baptist documents.

The Associated Press

The Associat3ed Press

Nation and world at a glance

US added 147,000 jobs in June,

new Labor Department report says

WASHINGTON — The U.S. labor market delivered another upside surprise last month, churning out a surprisingly strong 147,000 jobs. The unemployment rate ticked down unexpectedly, too.

But the headline numbers masked some weaknesses as the U.S. economy contends with fallout from President Donald Trump’s economic policies, especially his sweeping import taxes and the erratic way he rolls them out.

June hiring was up modestly from May’s 144,000 increase in payrolls and beat the 118,000 jobs economists had forecast for last month. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.1% from 4.2% in May as the ranks of the unemployed fell by 222,000. Forecasters had expected the jobless rate to inch up to 4.3%.

First immigration detainees arrive

at Florida center in the Everglades

The first group of immigrants has arrived at a new detention center deep in the Florida Everglades that officials have dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” Florida Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier said on social media Wednesday that “hundreds” of immigration detainees were to arrive at the center.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis says the facility will have a capacity of about 3,000 detainees when fully operational. The center was built in eight days and features more than 200 security cameras, 28,000-plus feet of barbed wire and 400 security personnel. And the area features alligators, pythons and other dangerous wildlife.

Guilty plea by Kohberger doesn’t

end quest for more details in slayings

Bryan Kohberger has admitted guilt in the slayings of four students at the University of Idaho. But the public still doesn’t know what motivated Kohberger to commit the knife attacks and how he chose his victims in 2022. More details could emerge when Kohberger returns to court for his life prison sentence on July 23. Some answers could also be in the hundreds of documents filed by prosecutors and defense lawyers that have been sealed and out of public view since his arrest more than two years ago.

Michael Madsen, ‘Reservoir Dogs’

and ‘Kill Bill’ star, dies at 67 in Calif.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Madsen, whose menacing characters in “Reservoir Dogs” and “Kill Bill” made him a standout in Quentin Tarantino’s films, has died. He was 67.

Madsen’s manager says the actor was found unresponsive in his home in Malibu, California, on Thursday and was declared dead from what appeared to be cardiac arrest. Madsen’s career spanned more than 300 credits stretching back to the early 1980s, many in low budget films. But his most memorable screen moment may have been the sadistic torture of a captured police officer in 1992’s “Reservoir Dogs.” He would become a Tarantino regular, appearing in the “Kill Bill” films and “The Hateful Eight.”

Trump: US gave far too many

weapons to Ukraine under Biden

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is complaining that the United States provided too many weapons to Ukraine under the previous administration. Trump gave his first public comments Thursday on the pause in some shipments as Russia escalates its latest offensive.

Trump told reporters that “we have to make sure that we have enough for ourselves” and added that “we’ve given so many weapons.” The U.S. is withholding some air defense missiles and other munitions from Ukraine.

Trump also spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier Thursday but expressed frustration that he “didn’t make much progress” in ending the war.

The Kremlin described the call as “frank and constructive.”

US applications for jobless aid

fell to 233,000 last week, report says

Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as layoffs in the U.S. remain low despite uncertainty about how tariffs will impact the economy.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims for the week ending June 28 fell by 4,000 to 233,000, less than the 241,000 that analysts forecast. The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, fell by 3,750 to 241,500. Applications for unemployment aid are considered a proxy for layoffs. The total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits the week of June 21 held steady at 1.97 million.

China shows signs of tackling price wars that take toll on its EV industry

BEIJING — The Chinese government is signaling enough is enough when it comes to the fierce competition in the country’s electric car market. China’s industrial policy has engineered a remarkable transformation to electric vehicles. In so doing, it has spawned far more makers than can possibly survive. Now, long-simmering concerns about oversupply and debilitating price wars are coming to the fore. The government is trying to rein in what is called “involution.” It’s a term initially applied to the rat race for young people in China and that has been extended to companies and industries engaged in meaningless competition that leads nowhere.

The Associated Press

Nation and world at a glance

Trump says Israel agrees on terms

for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza war

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says Israel has agreed on terms for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and warned Hamas to accept the deal before conditions worsen.

Trump announced the development Tuesday as he prepares to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at the White House on Monday. The U.S. leader has been increasing pressure on the Israeli government and Hamas to broker a ceasefire and hostage agreement and bring about an end to the war in Gaza. Trump says, “I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this Deal, because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE.”

US won’t send weapons pledged

to Ukraine after Pentagon review

WASHINGTON — The U.S. is halting some shipments of weapons to Ukraine amid concerns that its own stockpiles have declined too much. The munitions were previously promised to Ukraine under the Biden administration to aid its defenses during the more than three-year-old war.

The pause reflects a new set of priorities under President Donald Trump. A U.S. official says a Pentagon review determined that stocks were too low on some weapons previously pledged, so pending shipments of some items won’t be sent.

A White House spokesperson said the decision was made “following a review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe.” The Pentagon’s top policy adviser stressed the need to keep “preserving U.S. forces’ readiness.”

Trump tours Florida immigration

lockup and jokes about escapees

OCHOPEE, Fla. — President Donald Trump toured an isolated new immigration detention surrounded by alligator-filled swamps in Florida’s Everglades. He suggested during Tuesday’s tour that the site could be a model for future lockups nationwide, as his administration races to expand the infrastructure necessary for increasing deportations. Trump called the lockup “Alligator Alcatraz.” That’s a moniker that has alarmed immigrant activists but appeals to the White House’s aggressive approach to deportations. Trump delighted in the area’s allegators. He even said of migrants that will soon be held at the center, “We’re going to teach them how to run away from an alligator if they escape prison.”

UPenn to update swimming records

set by Thomas in transgender case

WASHINGTON — The University of Pennsylvania says it will update records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

The college says it also will apologize to female athletes it says were “disadvantaged” by Thomas’ participation on the women’s swimming team. The moves were part of a resolution of a federal civil rights case that found the school violated the rights of female athletes. Thomas, a transgender swimmer who last competed for the Ivy League school in Philadelphia in 2022, was the first openly transgender athlete to win a Division I title.

Idahoan’s decision to accept plea came after negotiations failed

MOSCOW, Idaho — Bryan Kohberger has agreed to plead guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students as part of a deal with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty.

A change of plea hearing is set for tosday. The 30-year-old Kohberger is accused in the stabbing deaths of Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings.

He had been a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University.

The Associated Press

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