Top General News

US military says first aid shipment has been driven across a newly built US pier into the Gaza Strip

May. 17, 2024 07:18 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Trucks carrying badly needed aid for the Gaza Strip rolled across a newly built U.S. pier and into the besieged enclave for the first time Friday as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting hindered the delivery of food and other supplies. The...

Hezbollah introduces new weapons and tactics against Israel as war in Gaza drags on

May. 17, 2024 01:25 AM EDT

BEIRUT (AP) — The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah this week struck a military post in northern Israel using a drone that fired two missiles. The attack wounded three soldiers, one of them seriously, according to the Israeli military. Hezbollah has regularly fired missiles across...

Severe storms kill at least 4 in Houston, knock out power in Texas and Louisiana

May. 17, 2024 07:27 AM EDT

HOUSTON (AP) — Fast-moving thunderstorms pummeled southeastern Texas for the second time this month, killing at least four people, blowing out windows in high-rise buildings, downing trees and knocking out power to more than 900,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area. ...

Putin says Russia wants a buffer zone in Ukraine's Kharkiv but has no plans to capture the city

May. 17, 2024 07:22 AM EDT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region aims to create a buffer zone but has no plans to capture the city. Putin’s comments on a trip to China were his first on the offensive launched...

Trump will campaign in Minnesota after attending his son Barron's graduation

May. 17, 2024 00:22 AM EDT

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump will head to Minnesota on a day off from his hush money trial for a Republican fundraiser Friday night in a traditionally Democratic state that he boasts he can carry in November. Trump will headline the state GOP’s annual...

Putin focuses on trade and cultural exchanges in Harbin, China, after reaffirming ties with Xi

May. 17, 2024 02:06 AM EDT

BEIJING (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin focused on trade and cultural exchanges Friday during his state visit to China that started with bonhomie in Beijing and a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that deepened their “ no limits ” partnership as both countries face rising...

French police fatally shoot a man suspected of setting fire to a synagogue

May. 17, 2024 07:57 AM EDT

ROUEN, France (AP) — French police shot and killed a man armed with a knife and a metal bar who is suspected of having set fire to a synagogue in the Normandy city of Rouen early on Friday, the latest apparent act in a storm of antisemitism roiling France amid the Israel-Hamas war. ...

Funeral set for Roger Fortson, the Black US Air Force member killed in his home by Florida deputy

May. 17, 2024 08:01 AM EDT

STONECREST, Ga. (AP) — A funeral will be held Friday for a Black U.S. Air Force senior airman who was shot and killed in his Florida home by a sheriff's deputy, a day after the decorated military member's mother vowed during an emotional news conference to get justice for her son. ...

70 years after Brown v. Board, America is both more diverse — and more segregated

May. 17, 2024 00:02 AM EDT

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court laid out a new precedent: Separate but equal has no place in American schools. The message of Brown v. Board of Education was clear. But 70 years later, the impact of the decision is still up for debate. Have Americans truly ended segregation in...

Brazil picked by FIFA to get soccer's 2027 Women's World Cup, a first for South America

May. 17, 2024 03:49 AM EDT

BANGKOK (AP) — Brazil will host the 2027 Women’s World Cup after a vote of FIFA’s full membership chose the South American bid over a joint proposal from Belgium, Netherlands and Germany. The FIFA Congress on Friday voted 119-78 for Brazil in the reduced field of two candidates...

Latest General News

He feared coming out. Now this pastor wants to help Black churches become as welcoming as his own

May. 17, 2024 08:12 AM EDT

It was daunting when the Rev. Brandon Thomas Crowley, at age 22, replaced a beloved pastor who had ministered to one of suburban Boston’s most famed Black churches for 24 years. It was more daunting — at times agonizing — to reach the decision six years later, in 2015, that God...

Slovak prime minister underwent another operation, remains in serious condition

May. 17, 2024 08:07 AM EDT

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has undergone another operation two days after being shot multiple times and remains in serious condition, officials said Friday. Fico, 59, was attacked as he was greeting supporters after a government meeting in the...

Violence in New Caledonia subsides slightly as France sends reinforcements for security

May. 17, 2024 08:07 AM EDT

PARIS (AP) — The number of violent incidents reported in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia fell slightly on Friday, a day after France imposed a state of emergency as 1,000 promised reinforcements for security services were deployed with increased powers to quell unrest in the...

The Latest | Dozens of Israeli protesters attack a truck in an apparent effort to block Gaza aid

May. 17, 2024 08:04 AM EDT

Dozens of Israeli protesters attacked a truck in the occupied West Bank, beating its driver and setting it on fire in an apparent attempt to prevent aid from reaching Gaza, the Israeli military said Friday. The Israeli military says soldiers arrived at the scene late in the day and...

Vatican revamps norms to evaluate visions of Mary as it adapts to internet age and combats hoaxers

May. 17, 2024 08:03 AM EDT

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican on Friday radically reformed its process for evaluating alleged visions of the Virgin Mary, weeping statues and other seemingly supernatural phenomena, putting the brakes on making definitive declarations unless the event is obviously fabricated. The...

Scheffler detained by police at PGA Championship for not following orders after traffic fatality

May. 17, 2024 08:02 AM EDT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was detained by police Friday morning on his way to the PGA Championship, with stunning images showing him handcuffed as he was led to a police car. ESPN reported he failed to follow police orders during a pedestrian fatality...

Funeral set for Roger Fortson, the Black US Air Force member killed in his home by Florida deputy

May. 17, 2024 08:01 AM EDT

STONECREST, Ga. (AP) — A funeral will be held Friday for a Black U.S. Air Force senior airman who was shot and killed in his Florida home by a sheriff's deputy, a day after the decorated military member's mother vowed during an emotional news conference to get justice for her son. ...

Taiwan’s foreign minister says China and Russia are supporting each other's ‘expansionism’

May. 17, 2024 07:57 AM EDT

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Russia and China are helping each other expand their territorial reach, and democracies must push back against authoritarian states that threaten their rights and sovereignty, Taiwan’s outgoing foreign minister, Joseph Wu, said in an interview with The Associated Press. ...

Bike shops boomed early in the pandemic. It’s been a bumpy ride for most ever since

May. 17, 2024 07:57 AM EDT

For the nation’s bicycle shops, the past few years have probably felt like the business version of the Tour de France. Early in the pandemic, a surge of interest in cycling pushed sales up 64% to $5.4 billion in 2020, according to the retail tracking service Circana. It wasn’t...

French police fatally shoot a man suspected of setting fire to a synagogue

May. 17, 2024 07:57 AM EDT

ROUEN, France (AP) — French police shot and killed a man armed with a knife and a metal bar who is suspected of having set fire to a synagogue in the Normandy city of Rouen early on Friday, the latest apparent act in a storm of antisemitism roiling France amid the Israel-Hamas war. ...