Top General News

Slovakia's populist prime minister shot in assassination attempt, shocking Europe before elections

May. 15, 2024 15:37 PM EDT

BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot multiple times and gravely wounded Wednesday while greeting supporters at a event in an attempted assassination that shocked the small country and reverberated across Europe weeks before an election. ...

Biden and Trump, trading barbs, agree to 2 presidential debates, in June and September

May. 15, 2024 15:33 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump on Wednesday agreed to hold two campaign debates — the first on June 27 hosted by CNN and the second on Sept. 10 hosted by ABC — setting the stage for their first presidential face-off to play out in just over a month. ...

Netanyahu fends off criticism at home and abroad over his lack of a postwar plan for Gaza

May. 15, 2024 14:06 PM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday fended off criticism that he is not planning for a postwar reality in the Gaza Strip, saying it was impossible to prepare for any scenario in the embattled Palestinian enclave until Hamas is defeated. Netanyahu...

Lies, loyalty and a gag order upheld: Tuesday's Trump hush money trial takeaways

May. 14, 2024 18:47 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump's attorneys started grilling prosecutors' star witness in his hush money trial Tuesday, portraying former attorney Michael Cohen as a media-obsessed liar who's determined to see the former president behind bars. Cohen endured intense questioning by...

On the eve of his visit to China, Putin says Russia is prepared to negotiate over Ukraine

May. 15, 2024 10:37 AM EDT

BEIJING (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin is prepared to negotiate over the conflict in Ukraine in an interview with Chinese media on the eve of visit to partner Beijing that has backed Moscow in its full-scale invasion of its neighbor. “We are open to a...

What is the celebrity 'blockout' over the war in Gaza?

May. 15, 2024 13:53 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Some social media users are calling out celebrities for what they say is inaction in the face of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza — and they've taken to a “blockout” to pressure the stars to take a stand. For the blockout, users put a block on seeing any and all...

Fewer US overdose deaths were reported last year, but experts are still cautious

May. 15, 2024 12:58 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — The number of U.S. fatal overdoses fell last year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data posted Wednesday. Agency officials noted the data is provisional and could change after more analysis, but that they still expect a drop when the final...

Driver said he smoked pot oil, took medication before Florida crash that killed 8 Mexican workers

May. 15, 2024 16:01 PM EDT

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday. ...

Ukrainian troops pull out of some areas and Zelenskyy postpones foreign trips amid Russian offensive

May. 15, 2024 14:00 PM EDT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces withdrew from some parts of the country's northeast and battled Russian troops in other areas Wednesday, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to postpone all his upcoming foreign trips underscored the seriousness of the threat his soldiers face. ...

This, too, could pass: Christian group's rule keeping beaches closed on Sunday mornings may end

May. 15, 2024 15:25 PM EDT

OCEAN GROVE, N.J. (AP) — In this seaside community that calls itself “God's Square Mile at the Jersey Shore,” all the land is owned by a religious group that has for generations enforced an 11th Commandment: Thou shalt stay off the beach on Sunday morning. But there are signs...

Latest General News

Driver said he smoked pot oil, took medication before Florida crash that killed 8 Mexican workers

May. 15, 2024 16:01 PM EDT

OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday. ...

Another politically progressive prosecutor in the San Francisco Bay Area faces recall election

May. 15, 2024 16:01 PM EDT

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco Bay Area voters will weigh in on the recall of another progressive district attorney who ran on a platform of offender rehabilitation and police accountability, and whose critics say is undermining public safety. Alameda County District Attorney...

'Furiosa' debuts in Cannes, giving Anya Taylor-Joy a megawatt movie-star moment

May. 15, 2024 15:57 PM EDT

CANNES, France (AP) — “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” rolled into the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday, returning George Miller's dystopia-on-wheels to the French Riviera festival and lending Anya Taylor-Joy a fairy tale moment on the Cannes red carpet. Taylor-Joy, with her first...

Colorado teen pleads guilty in death of driver who was hit in the head by a rock

May. 15, 2024 15:57 PM EDT

GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — A second teen pleaded guilty on Wednesday in the death of a 20-year-old driver who was hit in the head by a rock that crashed through her windshield in suburban Denver last year. Under a plea deal with prosecutors, Nicholas Karol-Chik, 19, pleaded guilty to...

West Virginia GOP Senate president, doctor who opposed drawing back vaccine laws ousted in election

May. 15, 2024 15:56 PM EDT

CHARLESTON, W.Va (AP) — West Virginia Republican voters ousted the state Senate president during Tuesday's primary elections, as well as an incumbent doctor who drew fire for breaking with his party over school vaccination policy. In the state's eastern panhandle, U.S. Army...

The Latest | Palestinians mark 76 years of their dispossession as more catastrophe unfolds in Gaza

May. 15, 2024 15:53 PM EDT

Palestinians are marking 76 years of dispossession on Wednesday, commemorating their mass expulsion from what is today Israel, as a potentially larger catastrophe unfolds in Gaza where over a quarter of the population has been displaced by fighting in the last few days alone. Israel...

A small plane crashes in Montana, killing the pilot and a passenger

May. 15, 2024 15:46 PM EDT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A single-engine airplane crashed in southeastern Montana, killing the pilot and the passenger, the Federal Aviation Administration reported. The Piper PA-18 crashed near Tillitt Field Airport east of the town of Forsyth at about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, the FAA...

At trial opening, prosecutor calls Sen. Bob Menendez corrupt, saying he traded power for gold, cash

May. 15, 2024 15:45 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — At the opening of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's trial, a prosecutor pointed the finger at him, calling the Democrat corrupt and telling a federal jury in New York on Wednesday that he traded his power in return for bribes of gold bars, cash and a car. Later, Menendez’s lawyer called...

Top US and Chinese officials begin talks on AI in Geneva

May. 15, 2024 15:41 PM EDT

GENEVA (AP) — Top envoys from the U.S. and China huddled in closed-door talks in Geneva on Tuesday to discuss ways to ensure that emerging artificial intelligence technologies don't become existential risks. The talks, which Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping agreed to launch in...

Slovakia's populist prime minister shot in assassination attempt, shocking Europe before elections

May. 15, 2024 15:37 PM EDT

BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia’s populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot multiple times and gravely wounded Wednesday while greeting supporters at a event in an attempted assassination that shocked the small country and reverberated across Europe weeks before an election. ...