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The US is more hands-off than usual in the Middle East. It fears making things worse

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is taking a more hands-off approach than usual during a week of dramatic escalation between Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, with top U.S. officials holding back from full-on crisis diplomacy for fear of making matters worse. The public restraint follows explosions of the militant group’s pagers

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AI is helping shape the 2024 presidential race. But not in the way experts feared

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — With the 2024 election looming, the first since the mass popularization of generative artificial intelligence, experts feared the worst: social media flooded with AI-generated deepfakes that were so realistic, baffled voters wouldn’t know what to believe. So far, that hasn’t happened. Instead, what voters are seeing is far more absurd:

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With immigration and abortion on Arizona’s ballot, Republicans are betting on momentum

Associated Press/Report for America PHOENIX (AP) — Voters will decide ballot measures on abortion and immigration in Arizona, a key battleground state where Republicans are looking to capitalize on concerns about illegal border crossings to counter an expected increase in turnout by people determined to restore and protect abortion rights. And while the abortion initiative

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Weaponizing ordinary devices violates international law, United Nations rights chief says

Associated Press UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations human rights chief says weaponizing ordinary communication devices represents a new development in warfare. He also says that targeting thousands of Lebanese people using pagers, two-way radios and electronic equipment without their knowledge is a violation of international human rights law. Volker Türk told an emergency

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California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction

Associated Press/Report for America SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday. California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to

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Vote count underway in Sri Lanka’s presidential election after years of turmoil

Associated Press COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Voting ended in Sri Lanka’s presidential election Saturday as the country seeks to recover from the worst economic crisis in its history and the resulting political upheaval. The election, contested by 38 candidates, was largely a three-way race among incumbent liberal President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Marxist-leaning lawmaker Anura Kumara

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Court rules nearly 98,000 Arizonans whose citizenship hadn’t been confirmed can vote the full ballot

Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court unanimously ruled Friday that nearly 98,000 people whose citizenship documents hadn’t been confirmed can vote in state and local races, a significant decision that could influence ballot measures and tight legislative races. The court’s decision comes after officials uncovered a database error that for two decades

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Federal judge temporarily blocks Tennessee’s ‘abortion trafficking’ law

Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked Tennessee from enforcing a law banning adults from helping minors get an abortion without parental permission. In a 49-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger argued that the Republican-controlled state cannot “make it a crime to communicate freely” about legal abortion options

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Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli airstrike was top military official on US wanted list

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — The Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs was one of the Lebanese militant group’s top military officials. He was in charge of its elite forces, and had been on Washington’s wanted list for years. Ibrahim Akil was a member of Hezbollah’s highest military body, the

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Wojnarowski one of the first significant sports ‘insiders’ to step away from the spotlight

AP Sports Writer Adrian Wojnarowski’s decision to be one of the first significant insiders to leave on their own and try something new is surprising because some thought it might have happened sooner. Wojnarowski announced his departure from ESPN for the newly created position of general manager of the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball program. The

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Guest lineups for the Sunday news shows

WASHINGTON (AP) — ABC’s “This Week” — National Security Council spokesman John Kirby; Reps. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and Jason Crow, D-Colo. ___ NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and John Fetterman, D-Pa. ___ CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Israeli President Isaac Herzog; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Gov. Jared Polis, D-Colo. ___ CNN’s

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The head of Boeing’s defense and space business is out as company tries to fix troubled contracts

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — Boeing is replacing the head of its defense and space business. That the unit that has been saddled with money-losing government contracts and embarrassing failures by its Starliner space capsule. Boeing said Friday that Ted Colbert was removed immediately as president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. He’s being

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A dozen Tufts lacrosse players were diagnosed with a rare muscle injury

BOSTON (AP) — A dozen Tufts University men’s lacrosse players have been diagnosed with a rare muscle injury following a voluntary, supervised 45-minute workout the team conducted. A university spokesperson said Friday that five of the players who were diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis remained hospitalized. The workout on Monday was led by a graduate of the school who

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An appeals court has revived a challenge to President Biden’s Medicare drug price reduction program

Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A constitutional challenge to the Biden administration program enabling Medicare to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs has been revived by a federal appeals court. Congress created the program as part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The first 10 drugs targeted for negotiations were announced last year.

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Google begins its defense in antitrust case alleging monopoly over advertising technology

AP Business Writer ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — Google has opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government. Testimony Friday afternoon from a Google executive came after the government rested its

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Delaware governor draws criticism from fellow Democrats for vetoing doctor-assisted suicide bill

Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — Democratic Gov. John Carney has vetoed a bill allowing doctor-assisted suicide in Delaware. Carney said in his veto letter Friday that he is “fundamentally and morally opposed” to people killing themselves under the guidance of state law. He also noted that the legislation cleared both the House and Senate

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Federal officials have increased staff in recent months at NY jail where Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs is held

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — The federal Bureau of Prisons says it has increased staffing in recent months to make up for staggering shortfalls at the troubled New York City jail where Sean “Diddy” Combs is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty Tuesday to sex trafficking charges. The agency’s push to fix the Metropolitan

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Secret Service report details communication failures preceding July assassination attempt on Trump

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Communication breakdowns with local law enforcement hampered the Secret Service’s performance during a July campaign rally where former President Donald Trump was shot and wounded, according to a report released Friday that lays out a litany of missed opportunities to stop a gunman who opened fire from an unsecured roof.

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Did Middle East device attack violate international law? Advocates want an investigation

Associated Press GENEVA (AP) — Human rights advocates are calling for an independent investigation into the deadly explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon and Syria, suggesting the blasts may have violated international law if the devices were fashioned as booby traps. The explosions that have been widely blamed on Israel killed at least 37

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Why does ‘The Babadook’ still haunt? Its director, Jennifer Kent, has some answers

AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Jennifer Kent’s directorial debut “The Babadook” is one of them. Ten years after it became an unexpected sensation and helped elevate that much-debated term “elevated horror,” “The Babadook” is back in theaters to frighten

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Jury deliberations begin in civil trial over ‘Trump Train’ encounter with Biden-Harris bus in Texas

Associated Press/Report for America AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Closing arguments have begun in Texas in a civil trial over a so-called “Trump Train” that surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus days before the 2020 election. A federal jury was set Friday to start deliberating over whether the encounter on a Texas highway amounted to political intimidation.

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What to know about Mark Robinson, the embattled Republican nominee for North Carolina governor

Associated Press North Carolina’s Republican candidate for governor is at the center of a national news story. That’s because of the salacious nature of a series of posts by Mark Robinson, unearthed by CNN, from a pornography web site’s discussion board. The posts by the socially conservative candidate have not been independently confirmed by The

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Haiti’s insecurity is worsening as gangs seize more territory, UN rights expert says

Associated Press PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A U.N. human rights expert says that gang violence is spreading across Haiti as a U.N.-backed mission targeting criminals remains underfunded and understaffed. William O’Neill said on Friday that Haiti’s National Police still lack the “logistical and technical capacity” to fight gangs, which he said are encroaching on new

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Mali officials close livestock markets over suspected links to militants

Associated Press BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Following a deadly attack in Mali’s capital by al-Qaida linked militants, authorities there have temporarily closed livestock markets that typically are run by an ethnic group that authorities associate with the militants. The al-Qaida-linked militant group JNIM claimed responsibility for the attacks Tuesday on a military training camp and

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An ancient Greek vase gifted to an Italian leader is returned by his family to Greece

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — As Italian prime minister, Alcide De Gasperi oversaw the post-World War II return to Greece of Rhodes and the other Dodecanese islands. A grateful Greek government presented him with an ancient vase. Now, De Gasperi’s grandson has voluntarily returned the 2,500-year-old artifact to Greece, whose culture minister has praised what she

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New Zealand’s army chief: Pacific nations need tailored military training

Associated Press WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand’s army chief, Maj. Gen. Rose King, has highlighted the challenges Pacific Island nations face with foreign military training in an interview with The Associated Press. She explained Friday that larger nations often provide support that isn’t always helpful. New Zealand has built trust through soft power

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Wisconsin officials ask state Supreme Court to decide if RFK Jr. stays on ballot

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Election officials in Wisconsin are asking the state’s liberal-controlled Supreme Court to decide whether independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name should stay on the presidential ballot without waiting for an appellate ruling. Kennedy suspended his campaign in August and endorsed former President Donald Trump. He’s been trying to get his name

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North Carolina’s governor vetoes private school vouchers and immigration enforcement orders

Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper has vetoed a bill that allocates hundreds of millions of dollars to expanded private school vouchers. The Republican plan that Cooper rejected Friday also orders sheriffs to cooperate with federal immigrant agents looking for people in the country illegally who have been brought

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The Navy’s highest-ranking military officer is treated successfully for breast cancer

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Navy says its highest-ranking military officer has been successfully treated for early-stage breast cancer. The service said Friday that Adm. Lisa Franchetti’s stage 1 breast cancer was discovered during a routine mammogram in June and she underwent outpatient surgery in July at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. She

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Penn State removes its student newspaper racks over concerns about political ads

Associated Press Penn State removed nearly three dozen racks containing its independent student-produced newspaper from on-campus this week because politics-related ads on the racks violated school policy. The Daily Collegian reports they were not notified of the racks’ removal Wednesday night and were not told where they are being stored. The newspaper said there were

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Gucci touts ‘casual grandeur,’ Tod’s focuses on Artisanal Intelligence and Versace plays it safe

AP Fashion Writer MILAN (AP) — The fashion palate cleanser of the season: white. Milan fashion houses, more often than not this season, are opening their runway preview shows for next spring and summer with all-white looks. Tod’s put the emphasis on white with tables of artisans constructing white driving shoes inside the showroom, and

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House backs measure to overturn Biden auto emissions rule that Republicans say would force EV sales

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-controlled House approved a resolution Friday that would overturn a new Biden administration rule on automobile emissions that Republicans say would force Americans to buy unaffordable electric vehicles they don’t want. The rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency in March would impose the most ambitious standards ever in

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New York magazine says its star political reporter is on leave after a relationship was disclosed

AP Media Writer New York magazine says that its highly regarded Washington correspondent, Olivia Nuzzi, is on leave after disclosing that she violated the publication’s standards by having a personal relationship with a former reporting subject. The newsletter Status, which broke the story, and The New York Times both cite unnamed sources in identifying Robert

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Robinson won’t appear at Trump’s North Carolina rally after report on online posts, AP sources say

Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson will not appear at former President Donald Trump ’s rally on Saturday in the battleground state following a CNN report about Robinson’s alleged disturbing online posts, an absence that illustrates the liability the gubernatorial candidate poses for Trump and downballot GOP candidates. Robinson

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Japan and China reach deal over Fukushima water release and move closer to resolving seafood ban

Associated Press TOKYO (AP) — Japan and China said Friday they have reached a deal toward resolving their disputes over the discharge of treated radioactive wastewater from the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea and Beijing’s ban on Japanese seafood. China is calling for strict monitoring of the move. Beijing says the

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Supreme Court leaves Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein off the ballot in Nevada

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected an emergency appeal from Nevada’s Green Party seeking to include presidential candidate Jill Stein on the ballot in the battleground state. The court’s order Friday allows ballot preparation and printing to proceed in Nevada without Stein and other Green Party candidates included. The outcome is a victory

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Militants in Pakistan kill 9 troops in separate attacks in the northwest

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani security officials say nine troops have died in separate militant attacks. The assaults happened in the tribal districts of North and South Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban,

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AI may breathe new life into Three Mile Island to supply power to Microsoft’s data centers

Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant says it plans to restart the reactor under a 20-year agreement that calls for tech giant Microsoft to buy the power to supply its data centers. Friday’s announcement by Constellation Energy comes five years after its then-parent company

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Takeaways from AP report on risks of rising heat for high school football players

Associated Press BRANDON, Mississippi (AP) — The beginning of high school football season has seen a string of deaths. Players are most at risk in August of suffering heat-related illnesses due to searing temperatures and high humidity. Those conditions have worsened in recent decades due to climate change. Fifty-eight players have died from exertional heat

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Woman whose company was linked to exploding pagers in Lebanon has received threats, her mother says

Associated Press ROME (AP) — The mother of the woman whose company was linked to thousands of pagers that exploded in Lebanon and Syria says her daughter has received threats and been advised by the Hungarian secret services not to talk to media. Cristiana Bársony-Arcidiacono has not appeared publicly since the deadly simultaneous attack that

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Takeaways from AP’s report on churches starting schools in voucher states

Associated Press Some churches are launching new Christian schools on their campuses, seeking to give parents more education options that align with religious values. State school voucher programs are not the driving reason, but they are making the start-up process easier, pastors and Christian education experts say. In Florida, Ohio and other states, there is

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Rare Israeli airstrike in Beirut kills Hezbollah commander and more than a dozen others

Associated Press BEIRUT (AP) — Israel launched a rare airstrike that killed a senior Hezbollah military official in a densely populated southern Beirut neighborhood on Friday. It was the deadliest such strike on Lebanon’s capital in decades, with Lebanese authorities reporting at least 14 people killed and dozens more wounded in the attack. The Israeli

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Ukraine bans Telegram messenger app on state-issued devices because of Russian security threat

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has banned government officials, military personnel and other defense and critical infrastructure workers from installing the popular Telegram messaging app on state-issued devices. The move, announced Friday, came after Ukrainian intelligence services and the military said the app was being widely used by Russia for cyberattacks. An exception to the

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Australian judge rules that a case against alleged Russian spies must be finalized by December

BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — An Australian judge has given prosecutors until December to finalize their case alleging that an army private and her husband are Russian spies. Russian-born couple Kira and Igor Korolev in July became the first suspected foreign operatives to be charged under Australia’s modernized espionage laws. Prosecutor Ellie McDonald told Magistrate Peter

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GM recalling more than 449,000 SUVs, pickups due to issue with low brake fluid warning light

General Motors is recalling more than 449,000 of its SUVs and pickup trucks because the electronic brake control module software may fail to display a warning light when a loss of brake fluid takes place. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday that the recall includes certain 2023-2024 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESVs, 2023

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Iran’s top leader pardons prisoners, including foreigners and people accused of anti-state crimes

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s top leader has pardoned thousands of prisoners, including foreigners and people accused of anti-state crimes. The state-run IRNA news agency reported Friday that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei pardoned and commuted the sentences of 2,887 prisoners. It says those pardoned included 39 people who were convicted of anti-state crimes and 40 foreign

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