Top General News

Police and pro-Palestinian demonstrators clash in tense scene at UCLA encampment

May. 02, 2024 09:14 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police removed barricades and began dismantling pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles, after hundreds of protesters defied orders to leave, some of them forming human chains as police fired flash-bangs...

As Hamas considers cease-fire, question hangs: Will Israel end war without the group's destruction?

May. 02, 2024 07:19 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — Hamas on Thursday was considering the latest proposal for a cease-fire with Israel that the United States and other mediators hope will avert an Israeli attack on the Gaza town of Rafah. But chances for the deal are entangled with the question of whether Israel can accept an end to...

Trump faces prospect of additional sanctions in hush money trial as key witness resumes testimony

May. 02, 2024 09:10 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump faces the prospect of additional sanctions in his hush money trial as he returns to court Thursday for another contempt hearing followed by testimony from a lawyer who represented two women who have said they had sexual encounters with the former president. ...

Abortion is still consuming US politics and courts 2 years after a Supreme Court draft was leaked

May. 02, 2024 00:14 AM EDT

Two years after a leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion signaled that the nation's abortion landscape was about to shift dramatically, the issue is still consuming the nation's courts, legislatures and political campaigns — and changing the course of lives. On Wednesday, a...

No safety in retreat: Ukrainian soldiers say rear defensive lines barely exist amid Russian advance

May. 02, 2024 00:05 AM EDT

KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — During pitched battles with far better-armed Russian forces, Ukrainian soldier Batyar’s unit has few options. Devastating Russian aerial glide bombs that can drop up to 1.5 tons of explosives out of range of most of Ukraine's air defenses are gnawing away...

Death toll jumps to at least 48 as a search continues in southern China highway collapse

May. 02, 2024 05:51 AM EDT

BEIJING (AP) — The death toll from a collapsed highway in southeastern China climbed to 48 on Thursday as searchers dug for a second day through a treacherous and mountainous area. One side of the four-lane highway in the city of Meizhou gave way about 2 a.m. on Wednesday after a...

Faceless people, invisible hands: New Army video aims to lure recruits for psychological operations

May. 02, 2024 00:32 AM EDT

FORT LIBERTY, N.C. (AP) — The video is unsettling, with haunting images of faceless people, fire and soldiers. The voiceover is a cascade of recognizable historical voices as the screen pulses cryptic messages touting the power of words, ideas and “invisible hands.” Hints of...

As India votes, misinformation surges on social media: 'The whole country is paying the price'

May. 02, 2024 01:15 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Bollywood stars seldom weigh in on politics, so videos showing two celebrities criticizing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi — and endorsing his main opposition, the Congress party — were bound to go viral. But the clips of A-list actors Aamir Khan and...

At time of rising antisemitism, Holocaust survivors take on denial and hate in new digital campaign

May. 02, 2024 00:15 AM EDT

DUESSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Herbert Rubinstein was 5 years old when he and his mother where taken from the Jewish ghetto of Chernivtsi and put on a cramped cattle wagon waiting to take them to their deaths. It was 1941, and Romanians collaborating with Germany's Nazis were rounding up tens of...

Student journalists are put to the test, and sometimes face danger, in covering protests on campus

May. 02, 2024 00:55 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Ordered by police to leave the scene of a UCLA campus protest after violence broke out, Catherine Hamilton and three colleagues from the Daily Bruin suddenly found themselves surrounded by demonstrators who beat, kicked and sprayed them with a noxious chemical. On...

Latest General News

Police and pro-Palestinian demonstrators clash in tense scene at UCLA encampment

May. 02, 2024 09:14 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police removed barricades and began dismantling pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the University of California, Los Angeles, after hundreds of protesters defied orders to leave, some of them forming human chains as police fired flash-bangs...

Senators want limits on the government's use of facial recognition technology for airport screening

May. 02, 2024 09:12 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of senators is pushing for restrictions on the use of facial recognition technology by the Transportation Security Administration, saying they are concerned about travelers' privacy and civil liberties. In a letter Thursday, the group of 14...

Czech central bank cuts a key interest rate again with inflation down and the economy on the mend

May. 02, 2024 09:12 AM EDT

PRAGUE (AP) — The Czech Republic’s central bank on Thursday cut its key interest rate for the fourth straight time as inflation dropped and the economy showed signs of recovery. The cut by a half-percentage point brought the interest rate down to 5.25%. The move was expected by...

Trump faces prospect of additional sanctions in hush money trial as key witness resumes testimony

May. 02, 2024 09:10 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump faces the prospect of additional sanctions in his hush money trial as he returns to court Thursday for another contempt hearing followed by testimony from a lawyer who represented two women who have said they had sexual encounters with the former president. ...

The Latest | Hamas will send a delegation to Cairo to continue cease-fire talks

May. 02, 2024 09:07 AM EDT

Hamas said Thursday it will send a delegation to Cairo as soon as possible to continue cease-fire talks, in response to Egypt's latest proposal. In a statement, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said he had spoken to Egypt’s intelligence chief and “stressed the positive spirit of the movement in...

Mary J. Blige enlists Taraji P. Henson, Tiffany Haddish and more for women's summit in New York

May. 02, 2024 09:03 AM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mary J. Blige is bringing her mission to empower women beyond her music to her hometown — with the help of the singer's superstar friends. Taraji P. Henson, Tiffany Haddish and Jill Scott and other stars and experts will join Blige for her Strength of a Woman...

The Latest | Police break up protests, make arrests at UCLA, Dartmouth, New York schools

May. 02, 2024 09:02 AM EDT

Arrests continue on campuses around the U.S. as police dismantle camps of students protesting Israel’s war in Gaza. At UCLA, officers removed barricades and moved in on hundreds of protesters who defied orders to leave, scuffling with protesters and detaining some. Other arrests...

Number of Americans applying for jobless claims remains historically low

May. 02, 2024 09:00 AM EDT

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits was unchanged last week and remains historically low as the labor market continues to show resiliency in the face of high interest rates and elevated inflation. The Labor Department reported Thursday that unemployment claims...

Paris inaugurates giant water storage basin to clean up the River Seine for Olympic swimming

May. 02, 2024 08:41 AM EDT

PARIS (AP) — French officials inaugurated on Thursday a huge water storage basin meant to help clean up the River Seine, set to be the venue for marathon swimming at the Paris Games and the swimming leg of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons. Sports minister Amélie...

EU announces 1 billion euros in aid for Lebanon amid a surge in irregular migration

May. 02, 2024 08:06 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The European Union announced Thursday an aid package for Lebanon of 1 billion euros — about $1.06 billion — that will mostly go to boost border control to halt the flow of asylum seekers and migrants from the small, crisis-wracked country across the Mediterranean Sea to Cyprus...