AP National

Associated Press MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Japan and the Philippines have signed a defense pact allowing Japanese forces to deploy in the Southeast Asian country for joint military exercises, including live-fire drills. The Philippines was under a brutal Japanese occupation in World War II but is now building an alliance with Tokyo as they face

Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called South Korea’s recent front-line live-fire drills “suicidal hysteria” as she threatened unspecified military steps if further provoked. Monday’s warning by Kim Yo Jong comes after South Korea performed firing exercises in its tense land and sea

DOWNEY, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say three men were killed in a weekend shooting near a homeless encampment in Southern California. Police say officers responded shortly before 9 p.m. Saturday to reports of gunfire at a dry riverbed near Interstate 105 in Downey, southeast of Los Angeles. They found three men suffering from gunshot wounds.

Associated Press PARIS (AP) — Election results show French voters have chosen to give a broad leftist coalition the most parliamentary seats in pivotal legislative elections. That keeps the far right away from power. Yet no party has won an outright majority, putting France in an uncertain, unprecedented situation. President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist alliance arrived

Associated Press ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay (AP) — The most notable thing about the Mercosur trade bloc’s meetings on Sunday in Paraguay was an absence — that of Argentine President Javier Milei. With the Argentine populist skipping the summit to star at a right-wing rally in Brazil, South America’s biggest trade bloc — politically divided, notoriously slow-moving

Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Essence Festival of Culture has ended in New Orleans with performances by Janet Jackson and a special tribute to Frankie Beverly & Maze. That’s the same soul band that closed the festival for its first 15 years. This year marks the 30th time the event has brought together

PARIS (AP) — The French rugby federation has suspended fullback Melvyn Jaminet from the national team after a video surfaced of the player making a racist remark. He later apologized. The federation condemned the comments as contrary to the sport’s values and said Jaminet is “sidelined with immediate effect, and will leave the French squad

John Cena announced Saturday night that he will retire from professional wrestling next year after two decades in the ring. The wrestler-turned-actor delivered a heartfelt speech to a stadium of World Wrestling Entertainment fans in Toronto, who booed in disappointment as Cena said the 2025 season would be his last. He promised a farewell tour

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — A court in Ecuador has ruled that pollution has violated the rights of a river that runs through the capital, Quito. The city government appealed the unusual ruling, which is based on an article of Ecuador’s Constitution that recognizes the rights of natural features like the Machángara River. Activists who filed

NEW YORK (AP) — Two boys have been shot in a McDonald’s in the Bronx borough of New York City. A New York Police Department spokesman says the shooting occurred around 10 p.m. Saturday. The victims, ages 12 and 13, were hospitalized and listed in stable condition. Authorities say they are searching for a male

Associated Press ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — West Africa’s divided regional bloc has asked Senegal’s President Basirou Diomaye Faye to have a dialogue with the three military junta-led member states to try to reunite the region whose stability has been under threat following their decision to leave the group in January. At its summit in Nigeria’s

Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A federal appeals court in New Orleans is taking another look at its own order requiring a Texas county to keep eight books on public library shelves that deal with subjects including sex, gender identity and racism. Llano County officials had removed 17 books from its shelves amid complaints

AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — After a historically bad first half of the year, the box office is suddenly booming. “Despicable Me 4,” the Illumination Animation sequel, led the way over the holiday weekend with $75 million in ticket sales Friday through Sunday and $122.6 million since opening on Wednesday, according to studio

LEVITTOWN, N.Y. (AP) — A New York man was charged with arson after giving an 11-year-old child fireworks that set a shed and two homes on fire on Independence Day. The Nassau County Police Department on Long Island says 33-year-old Karamjit Singh told the child to light the fireworks Thursday morning outside his home in

Associated Press A dozen people were inside a movie set church the day Alec Baldwin shot and killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza during a rehearsal for the Western film “Rust.” Now, almost three years later and after countless hearings and much legal wrangling, Baldwin is standing trial on a charge of

Associated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President Joe Biden urged his supporters to stay unified during a series of stops in critical Pennsylvania on Sunday, even as some leading congressional Democrats privately suggested it was time for him to abandon his reelection bid because of intensifying questions about whether he’s fit for another term. Addressing

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Britain’s new Foreign Secretary David Lammy has held talks with his Polish counterpart as part of his first international trip seeking to tighten U.K. relations with the European Union and stress support for Ukraine in its war against Russia. Lammy said he was visiting Britain’s “key partners” in Europe — Poland,

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state media say a naval destroyer has sunk while it was being repaired in a port near the Strait of Hormuz. The IRNA news agency reported Sunday that the Sahand destroyer lost its balance due to water infiltration into the tanks. The state-run agency added that due to the low

Associated Press ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his willingness to restore ties with Syria and extended an “invitation” Sunday to bring back relations to “how they were in the past.” Over 12 years ago, diplomatic ties between Ankara and Damascus were cut off when protests turned into a civil war in

Associated Press BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Given the choice between a far-right convention to bash his enemies and a presidential summit to discuss regional trade policy, Argentine President Javier Milei preferred the stadium packed with cheering fans. The libertarian leader on Sunday strode onto the stage of Brazil’s CPAC, an extension of the conservative

Associated Press BRUSSELS (AP) — President Joe Biden and his Western counterparts are meeting in Washington this week to mark the 75th anniversary of NATO. The summit, which begins Tuesday, is taking place just as Russia presses its latest offensive in Ukraine. The leaders will focus on ways to reassure Ukraine of NATO’s enduring support

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he would seek to improve the trade deal with the European Union as he began a two-day tour of the U.K. as part of an “immediate reset” with governments in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Starmer said Sunday in Edinburgh, Scotland, that he

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — NATO allies are gathering in Washington for a summit this week, and the prospect that Donald Trump, the military alliance’s most prominent critic, may return to power is dominating discussions. President Joe Biden’s shaky performance in the presidential debate last month has escalated doubts about his chances of reelection. It’s

AP Sports Writer BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — As a boy in Milwaukee, Ziyad Saleem would walk through the house pretending to swim backstroke — arm circling backward along the right ear and over his shoulder, then the other arm doing the same on the left side. Some days he would also propel both arms forward

Associated Press RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Two months ago, before Israeli troops invaded Rafah, the city sheltered most of Gaza’s more than 2 million people. Today it is a dust-covered ghost town. Abandoned, bullet-ridden apartment buildings have blasted out walls and shattered windows. Bedrooms and kitchens are visible from roads dotted with rubble piles

Associated Press TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Marking nine months since the war in Gaza started, Israeli protesters blocked highways across the country Sunday, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down and pushing for a cease-fire to bring back scores of hostages held by Hamas. The demonstrations come as long-running efforts to broker

Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A village in a border region of western Russia was evacuated Sunday following a series of explosions after debris from a downed Ukrainian drone set fire to a nearby warehouse, local officials said. Social media footage appeared to show rising clouds of black smoke in the Voronezh region while

Associated Press MACHAKOS, Kenya (AP) — With dismay, Martha Waema and her husband surveyed their farm that was submerged by weeks of relentless rainfall across Kenya. Water levels would rise to shoulder height after only a night of heavy downpour. The couple had expected a return of 200,000 shillings ($1,500) from their three acres after

Associated Press JOANETES, Spain (AP) — Xavier Pallàs plants his feet on the belfry floor, grips the rope, and with one tug fills the lush Spanish valley below with the reverberating peal of a church bell. Clang-clong! Clang-clong! Clang-CLONG! The swinging bronze bell resonates with each strike of the clapper, filling the small stone tower

Associated Press MATAGORDA, Texas (AP) — Beryl began lashing coastal Texas with rain and intensifying winds Sunday as residents boarded up windows, left beach towns under evacuation orders and prepared for the powerful storm that has already cut a deadly path through parts of Mexico and the Caribbean. Beryl remained a tropical storm late Sunday

Associated Press The scammers are winning. Sophisticated overseas criminals are stealing tens of billions of dollars from Americans every year, a crime wave projected to get worse as the U.S. population ages and technology like AI makes it easier than ever to perpetrate fraud and get away with it. Internet and telephone scams have grown

Associated Press PARIS (AP) — A coalition of the French left won the most seats in high-stakes legislative elections Sunday, beating back a far-right surge but failing to win a majority. The outcome left France, a pillar of the European Union and Olympic host country, facing the stunning prospect of a hung parliament and political

Associated Press Hawaii Gov. Josh Green says President Joe Biden could decide within days whether to remain a candidate for reelection. And Green told The Associated Press on Saturday that if Biden drops out, he expects Vice President Kamala Harris to replace Biden at the top of the ticket. Green says he thinks Biden will

Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — As President Joe Biden tries to revive his embattled reelection bid, Vice President Kamala Harris led a parade of Black Democrats who warned Saturday that the threat of another Donald Trump presidency remains the most important calculation ahead of November. Yet in more than 20 minutes on stage at

Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The National Urban League has honored and recognized the accomplishments of four Black women who have made significant marks in the community. The Women in Harmony Awards Luncheon was held Saturday amid the backdrop of the 30th Anniversary of the Essence Festival of Culture. Honorees were Faith Jenkins, an

Associated Press BARINAS, Venezuela (AP) — The chant is concise, but it could not be more meaningful for millions of Venezuelans in 2024: “Freedom!” Members of the country’s political opposition shout it with tears in their eyes, or red angry faces, or with hopeful ear-to-ear smiles. They shout it with Venezuelan flags in their hands

Associated Press NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans group Tank and the Bangas got a big boost when they won a 2017 National Public Radio contest for “undiscovered bands.” Since then, the group has scored Grammy nominations in 2020 for “Best New Artist,” in 2023 for “Best Progressive R&B Album” and this year for “Best

TABERNACLE, N.J. (AP) — Authorities say a fast-moving forest fire that has burned thousands of acres in southern New Jersey is now 65 percent contained. The blaze in the Wharton State Forest was reported early Friday. Officials believe it began in the area of the Batona Campground in Tabernacle, which was evacuated as a precaution.

HAMMOND, Ind. (AP) — Crews are searching Lake Michigan for two suburban Chicago men who went missing while a large group of people were boating along northwestern Indiana’s coastline. Indiana conservation officer Alex Neel says strong winds and high waves were hampering Saturday’s search. He says 12 people were on the boat Friday afternoon off

AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Jon Landau, an Oscar-winning producer who worked closely with director James Cameron on three of the biggest blockbusters of all time, “Titanic” and two “Avatar” films, has died. He was 63. Landau’s family announced his death Saturday. No cause of death was given. Landau’s partnership with Cameron led

NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y. (AP) — An off-duty New York Police Department officer who was among four killed when a drunk driver plowed into a nail salon on Long Island last month has been laid to rest. Hundreds gathered Saturday at a funeral home in New Hyde Park for the memorial service for Emilia Rennhack.

Associated Press NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Military junta leaders of Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have ruled out returning their nations to the West Africa regional bloc whose division could further jeopardize efforts to undo coups and curb violence spreading across the region. The leaders of the three countries announced that position during their first

Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — NASCAR has unveiled its first electric racecar in Chicago. It doesn’t thunder when the race grand marshal says “drivers, start your engines,” it hums. The motorsports organization and its partners Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota and electrification company ABB hope to demonstrate an ultra-performance electric vehicle and gauge fans’ interest in

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The U.K. has its first change in government in 14 years after the Labour Party won a resounding victory in a general election. It is the Conservative Party’s biggest defeat ever. The new government faces huge challenges, including fixing the country’s sluggish economic and social malaise resulting in part from

Associated Press PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Japan’s foreign minister has announced a joint project with Cambodia to share knowledge and technology on land mine removal with countries around the world, including Ukraine. Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa made comments during a visit Saturday to the Cambodian Mine Action Center, which was formed in the 1990s

MANAWA, Wis. (AP) — A police chief says people living downriver of a Wisconsin dam that was breached by floodwaters have been allowed back into their homes following an evacuation order and many of them now face the mess of cleaning up flooded basements. Manawa Police Chief Jason Severson says the dam along the Little

AP Entertainment Writer A judge’s ruling Friday abruptly ended the involuntary manslaughter case against actor Alec Baldwin. Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer dismissed the case based on the misconduct of police and prosecutors over the withholding of evidence from the defense in the shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film “Rust.” The

UTICA, N.Y. (AP) — A 13-year-old boy shot to death by police in upstate New York after he pointed what turned out to be a BB gun at officers has been laid to rest. Hundreds of mourners came out Saturday for the funeral of Nyah Mway in Utica. A burial ceremony was then held at

Associated Press With its unprecedented tear through the ultrawarm waters of the southeast Caribbean, Beryl turned meteorologists’ worst fears of a souped-up hurricane season into grim reality. Now it’s Texas turn. Beryl hit Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as a Category 2 hurricane on Friday, then weakened to a tropical storm. It’s expected to reach southern Texas

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says a controversial Conservative policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is “dead and buried.” Starmer said Saturday that the plan was done before it started. Starmer said in his first news conference that it’s never acted as a deterrent. The move was one of Starmer’s first

Associated Press DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza (AP) — Hamas has given its initial approval of a U.S.-backed proposal for a phased cease-fire deal in Gaza, dropping a key demand that Israel commit up front to a complete end to the war, a Hamas official and an Egyptian official said Saturday. The apparent compromise by the militant

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese media reports that five people were confirmed dead after tornadoes struck a city in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong. Tornadoes struck parts of the city of Heze on Friday afternoon, including the counties of Dongming and Juancheng, injuring 88 people. That includes five who were later confirmed dead, according to

PARIS (AP) — Voters in France’s overseas territories and living abroad have started casting ballots in parliamentary runoff elections that could hand an unprecedented victory to the nationalist far right. Marine Le Pen’s anti-immigration party National Rally came out on top of first-round voting last Sunday. It was followed by a coalition of center-left, hard-left

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian strikes overnight left over 100,000 households without power in northern Ukraine and cut off the water supply to a regional capital, Ukrainian authorities reported Saturday, while civilian casualties rose sharply in the country’s embattled east. The northern Sumy region, which borders Russia, was plunged into darkness after Russian strikes late

NEW DELHI (AP) — In March, Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani threw a three-day prenuptial bash for his son that included a 1,200-person guest list, including former world leaders, tech tycoons and Bollywood’s megastars, and a performance by renowned singer Rihanna. It was only the start of their months-long lavish pre-wedding celebrations, which have grabbed

Associated Press PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron could awake — if he has slept at all — with clipped wings on Monday morning. The high-stakes second round of the legislative election on Sunday will almost certainly impact the French leader’s sway in the areas of defense and foreign affairs. It could diminish his

Associated Press MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — For the first time since 2020, three female suicide bombers attacked the Nigerian border town of Gwoza, where Boko Haram extremists declared a short-lived caliphate 10 years ago, signaling that the world’s longest war on militancy is still ongoing. This came two days after officials touted success in their

Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Texas officials urged coastal residents to brace for a looming hit by Beryl, which was a tropical storm on Saturday but was expected to regain hurricane strength as it moves across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A hurricane warning was declared for a stretch of the state’s

The message to NATO from President Vladimir Putin was simple and stark: Don’t go too far in providing military support for Ukraine, or you’ll risk a conflict with Russia that could quickly turn nuclear. As the war in Ukraine turns slowly in Moscow’s favor, Putin declared he doesn’t need nuclear weapons to achieve his goals.

In a story published Jul. 6, 2024, about pongamia trees, The Associated Press misspelled the name of Ponova culinary oil, which is made from pongamia trees.

Associated Press YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio (AP) — When the Little Art Theatre set out to land a $100,000 grant to fund a stylish new marquee, with a nod to its century-long history, the cozy Ohio arthouse theater had some talented help. Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Steve Bognar is a resident of Yellow Springs, the bohemian

Associated Press LONDON (AP) — New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer doesn’t get to take a breather. After a draining six-week election campaign, the center-left politician must get straight to work assembling his government, tackling a mountain of domestic problems and putting his stamp on the U.K.’s relations with the rest of the world. It’s

Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Forced labor, same-sex marriage and shoplifting are among the 10 statewide ballot measures California voters will consider. The California secretary of state finalized the ballot Wednesday. Two measures set to be on the ballot in November ask voters for permission to borrow a combined $20 billion to pay for

Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans are off to a quicker, more united start this year when it comes to funding the federal government, passing four of 12 annual appropriations bills before the end of June compared to zero at this time last year, when the new majority got off to a rocky start.

Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A Native American tribe in North Dakota will soon grow lettuce in a giant greenhouse complex that when fully completed will be among the country’s largest, enabling the tribe to grow much of its own food decades after a federal dam flooded the land where they had cultivated corn,

Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The stances of Iran’s President-elect Masoud Pezeshkian reflect the dualities of being a reformist politician within Iran’s Shiite theocracy. They are always pushing for change but never radical reforms to the system overseen by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. After becoming Iran’s 69-year-old president-elect on Saturday, Pezeshkian

Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The highest camp on the world’s tallest mountain is littered with garbage that is going to take years to clean up, according to a Sherpa who led a team that worked to clear trash and dig up dead bodies frozen for years near Mount Everest’s peak. The Nepal government-funded

AP National Political Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Biden sat down with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday for one of the most important interviews of the Democratic president’s decades-long political career. The 22-minute session came a full eight days after Biden’s disastrous debate performance last week, when the 81-year-old president struggled to spar with

Associated Press DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian won Iran’s runoff presidential election Saturday, besting hard-liner Saeed Jalili by promising to reach out to the West and ease enforcement on the country’s mandatory headscarf law after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic. Pezeshkian promised no radical changes to

Associated Press FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — An Arizona man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in his wife’s death less than a week after he first reported her missing to police in Flagstaff. Authorities announced Daniel Paduchowski’s guilty plea Friday while also acknowledging the unusually swift resolution to a homicide investigation that began just six

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Thousands of displaced Palestinians in northern Gaza have sought refuge in one of the territory’s largest soccer arenas, where families now scrape by with little food or water as they try to keep one step ahead of Israel’s latest offensive. Their makeshift tents hug the shade below the stadium’s

PARIS (AP) — Paris’ famed Moulin Rouge cabaret got its red windmill back Friday during a special ceremony that featured can-can dancing on the plaza outside. The mill’s huge sails inexplicably collapsed after a show in April at the iconic venue, an emblem of the surrounding Montmartre neighborhood. Part of the cabaret’s illuminated sign also

Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — For years it’s been a Republican scare tactic. A vote to reelect President Joe Biden, the GOP often charges, is really a vote for Vice President Kamala Harris. It’s an attack line sometimes tinged with racist and misogynist undertones and often macabre imagery. But after Biden’s dismal performance at

Associated Press DOVER, Del. (AP) — A Delaware judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit filed by former business advisers to the late pop music icon Prince against two of his siblings and other heirs in a dispute over his estate. The judge on Friday also agreed with plaintiffs L. Londell McMillan and Charles Spicer

Associated Press PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Records tumbled across the West as a slow-moving heat wave of potentially historic proportions tightened its grip from the Pacific Northwest to Arizona on Friday, sending many residents in search of a cool haven from the dangerously high temperatures. The Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S. were also

Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court says Republican legislators are improperly blocking conservation projects. The 6-1 ruling Friday marks a victory for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and environmentalists. Evers maintains that the GOP-run Joint Finance Committee has too much power to kill funding for initiatives. That includes University of Wisconsin employee