US surgeon general declares gun violence a public health crisis

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. surgeon general on Tuesday declared gun violence a public health crisis, driven by the fast-growing number of injuries and deaths involving firearms in the country. The advisory issued by Dr. Vivek Murthy, the nation's top doctor, came as the U.S....

France bans extreme-right and radical Islamic groups ahead of polarizing elections

PARIS (AP) — France’s government on Wednesday ordered the dissolution of extreme right and radical Muslim groups, four days before the first round of high-stakes legislative elections that may see a surge in support for political extremes. Snap national elections called by...

UN-backed contingent of foreign police arrives in Haiti as Kenya-led force prepares to face gangs

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The first U.N.-backed contingent of foreign police arrived in Haiti on Tuesday, nearly two years after the troubled Caribbean country urgently requested help to quell a surge in gang violence. A couple hundred police officers from Kenya landed in the...

More than 500 people have been charged with federal crimes under the gun safety law Biden signed

WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 500 people — some linked to transnational cartels and organized crime rings — have been charged with gun trafficking and other crimes under the landmark gun safety legislation President Joe Biden signed two years ago Tuesday. A White House report...

US ambassador visits conflict-ridden Mexican state to expedite avocado inspections

MORELIA, Mexico (AP) — United States Ambassador Ken Salazar praised Mexico’s effort protect American agricultural inspectors in the conflict-ridden state of Michoacan on Monday, a week after the U.S. suspended avocado and mango inspections following an attack on inspectors. ...

Mass shootings across the US mark the first weekend of summer

The first weekend of summer brought a tragic yet familiar pattern for American cities wracked by gun violence as mass shootings left dozens dead or wounded at a party in Alabama, an entertainment district in Ohio and a grocery store in Arkansas. It was the second straight weekend...

President Joe Biden 'appalled' by violence during pro-Palestinian protest at Los Angeles synagogue

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Opponents of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza staged a protest that evolved into brawling and one arrest outside a Los Angeles synagogue over the weekend in violence condemned on Monday by President Joe Biden and the city's mayor, who called for more police patrols. ...

New Caledonia independence group demands Indigenous leader's release from custody in mainland France

NICE, France (AP) — Members of a pro-independence movement in the French Pacific territory of New Caledonia demanded on Monday the "release and immediate return” of the Indigenous Kanak leader who was flown to mainland France for pretrial detention after recent deadly unrest. ...

Dagestan, in southern Russia, has a history of violence. Why does it keep happening?

Over the years, Russia's southern republic of Dagestan, located in the North Caucasus region, has been beset by extremist violence. This weekend, there was more bloodshed. Officials say five gunmen in the regional capital of Makhachkala and the city of Derbent opened fire at Orthodox...

The Supreme Court upholds a gun control law intended to protect domestic violence victims