Top General News

Judge in Trump's hush money trial threatened to throw witness out of court for behavior on stand

May. 20, 2024 20:06 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The judge in Donald Trump's hush money trial cleared the courtroom of reporters Monday and then threatened to remove the defense's witness from the trial altogether because of his behavior on the stand, a court transcript later showed. Judge Juan M. Merchan told...

War crimes prosecutor seeks arrest of Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Netanyahu

May. 20, 2024 19:48 PM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The chief prosecutor of the world's top war crimes court sought arrest warrants Monday for leaders of Israel and Hamas, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over actions taken during their seven-month war. While Netanyahu and his defense minister,...

What is the ICC and why it is considering arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders

May. 20, 2024 17:15 PM EDT

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Criminal Court could soon issue arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, more than seven months into the war between the two sides, based on a request by the court’s chief prosecutor. ...

What's next for Iran's government after death of its president in helicopter crash?

May. 20, 2024 13:38 PM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — The death of Iran's president is unlikely to lead to any immediate changes in Iran's ruling system or to its overarching policies, which are decided by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash Sunday, was seen as a...

Judge blocks Biden administration from enforcing new gun sales background check rule in Texas

May. 20, 2024 19:42 PM EDT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge has blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a new rule in Texas that would require firearms dealers to run background checks on buyers at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores. The decision by U.S. District Judge...

Top U.S. drug agency a notable holdout in Biden's push to loosen federal marijuana restrictions

May. 20, 2024 20:15 PM EDT

In an isolated part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters known as the 12th-floor “bubble,” chief Anne Milgram made an unusual request of top deputies summoned in March for what she called the “Marijuana Meeting”: Nobody could take notes. Over the next half...

The White House says FDIC chairman to step down following report on agency's toxic workplace culture

May. 20, 2024 18:27 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The White House said Monday that the chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will step down, a departure that follows the release earlier this month of a damning report about the agency’s toxic workplace culture. The White House said Martin Gruenberg...

US says cyberattacks against water supplies are rising, and utilities need to do more to stop them

May. 20, 2024 20:12 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cyberattacks against water utilities across the country are becoming more frequent and more severe, the Environmental Protection Agency warned Monday as it issued an enforcement alert urging water systems to take immediate actions to protect the nation's drinking water. ...

Haiti’s main international airport reopens nearly three months after gang violence forced it closed

May. 20, 2024 19:55 PM EDT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s main international airport reopened Monday for the first time in nearly three months after relentless gang violence forced authorities to close it. The reopening of the Toussaint-Louverture airport in the capital of Port-au-Prince is expected...

Is that 'Her'? OpenAI pauses a ChatGPT voice after some say it sounds like Scarlett Johansson

May. 20, 2024 18:57 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — OpenAI says it plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices after some users said it sounded like Scarlett Johansson, who famously voiced a fictional, and at the time futuristic, AI assistant in the 2013 film “Her.” In a post on the social media platform X...

Latest General News

UN Security Council rejects Russia-backed resolution on banning weapons in space

May. 20, 2024 20:25 PM EDT

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States said Monday that Russia last week launched a satellite that could be part of weaponizing space, a possible future global trend that members of the United Nations Security Council condemned even as they failed to pass a measure against it. The...

Family of Black teen wrongly executed in 1931 seeks damages after 2022 exoneration

May. 20, 2024 20:21 PM EDT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The family of the youngest person ever executed in the state of Pennsylvania — a Black 16-year-old sent to the electric chair in 1931 and exonerated by the governor in 2022 — is suing the county that prosecuted him. Alexander McClay Williams was convicted of...

Israeli and Hamas leaders join list of people accused by leading war crimes court

May. 20, 2024 20:17 PM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — By accusing the heads of Israel and Hamas of war crimes, the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor placed them among world leaders infamous for heinous acts against humanity. The chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced arrest warrants Monday against two...

Top U.S. drug agency a notable holdout in Biden's push to loosen federal marijuana restrictions

May. 20, 2024 20:15 PM EDT

In an isolated part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters known as the 12th-floor “bubble,” chief Anne Milgram made an unusual request of top deputies summoned in March for what she called the “Marijuana Meeting”: Nobody could take notes. Over the next half...

Iran's president and foreign minister die in helicopter crash at moment of high tensions in Mideast

May. 20, 2024 20:14 PM EDT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the country’s foreign minister were found dead Monday hours after their helicopter crashed in fog, leaving the Islamic Republic without two key leaders as extraordinary tensions grip the wider Middle East. ...

US says cyberattacks against water supplies are rising, and utilities need to do more to stop them

May. 20, 2024 20:12 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cyberattacks against water utilities across the country are becoming more frequent and more severe, the Environmental Protection Agency warned Monday as it issued an enforcement alert urging water systems to take immediate actions to protect the nation's drinking water. ...

Judge in Trump's hush money trial threatened to throw witness out of court for behavior on stand

May. 20, 2024 20:06 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The judge in Donald Trump's hush money trial cleared the courtroom of reporters Monday and then threatened to remove the defense's witness from the trial altogether because of his behavior on the stand, a court transcript later showed. Judge Juan M. Merchan told...

Inmate wins medical release order hours after being rushed to hospital, put on life support

May. 20, 2024 20:06 PM EDT

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — An ailing prison inmate serving a life sentence in Pennsylvania for killing a man during a 1975 robbery won a medical release order from a judge Monday, although the decision came hours after he was put on life support. Ezra Bozeman, 68, won the release from...

Americans in alleged Congo coup plot formed an unlikely band

May. 20, 2024 19:59 PM EDT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Three Americans involved in a brazen weekend attack on Congo's presidential palace formed an unlikely band under the leadership of eccentric opposition figure Christian Malanga, who dabbled in gold mining and used cars before persuading his Utah-born son to join in the...

Haiti’s main international airport reopens nearly three months after gang violence forced it closed

May. 20, 2024 19:55 PM EDT

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s main international airport reopened Monday for the first time in nearly three months after relentless gang violence forced authorities to close it. The reopening of the Toussaint-Louverture airport in the capital of Port-au-Prince is expected...