Month: June 2024

By ROD McGUIRK Associated Press MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian leaders are cautiously welcoming an expected plea agreement that could set free WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The U.S. Justice Department said in a court filing that Assange had left a London prison and was expected to plead guilty to a charge under the Espionage Act.

By BINAJ GURBACHARYA Associated Press KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A court in southern Nepal has convict a controversial spiritual leader known as “Buddha Boy” on charges of sexually assaulting a minor. Ram Bahadur Bamjan, who’s believed by some to be the reincarnation of the founder of Buddhism, was arrested by police in January on charges

By HUIZHONG WU Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — China’s Chang’e 6 probe returned on Earth with rock and soil samples from the little-explored far side of the moon in a global first. The probe landed in the Inner Mongolian region in northern China on Tuesday afternoon. “I now declare that the Chang’e 6 Lunar Exploration

By ARMANDO SOLIS Associated Press MORELIA, Mexico (AP) — United States Ambassador Ken Salazar has 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. Salazar traveled to the state, plagued by violence linked to

By KANIS LEUNG Associated Press HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court on Tuesday began to hear pleas for lenient sentences from some prominent pro-democracy activists who were found guilty in the city’s biggest national security case and now face up to life in prison. The activists were among 47 democracy advocates who were

By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER and ERIC TUCKER Associated Press BANGKOK (AP) — A plane carrying Julian Assange landed Tuesday in Bangkok for refueling, as the WikiLeaks founder was on his way to enter a plea deal with the U.S. government that will free him and resolve the legal case that spanned years and

By The Associated Press Six candidates have been approved by Iran’s theocracy to run in Friday’s presidential election to replace the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash with several other officials in May. Among them, Iran’s parliament speaker stands out as the most recognizable figure. A little-known politician and heart surgeon

By HALELUYA HADERO Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon is partnering with hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion to boost sales for its 10th annual Prime Day discount event. On Tuesday, the rapper unveiled a new original song called “It’s Prime Day.” An accompanying music video shows her purchasing a pink dog collar, fake eyelashes

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press DEDHAM, Mass. (AP) — Jurors in the murder trial of Karen Read must decide whether she was a callous girlfriend who drove off after killing her Boston police officer boyfriend with her SUV, or whether police framed her to cover a brutal beatdown by his fellow officers. Lawyers are to

By JOSH FUNK, TOM KRISHER AND PATRICK ORSAGOS Associated Press EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (AP) — Eastern Ohio residents will learn more Tuesday about the fiery Norfolk Southern train wreck that derailed their lives when the National Transportation Safety Board holds another hearing in their hometown about last year’s disaster. The hearing is expected to disclose

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN Associated Press As residents return to a fire-ravaged village in the mountains of southern New Mexico, the mayor on Monday warned them that some parts of Ruidoso remain off limits as special search and rescue teams comb the charred rubble along the hardest-hit streets. They’re looking for the remains of people

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Alec Baldwin’s defense attorneys argued Monday that damage done during FBI testing to a revolver that killed a cinematographer on the set of the Western “Rust” has stripped them of the ability to put on a proper defense at the actor’s forthcoming trial, and asked a New Mexico judge to

By AUDREY McAVOY Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — The mayor of Maui County in Hawaii wants to stop owners of thousands of vacation properties from renting to visitors. Instead, he wants the units rented long-term to people who live on Maui to address a chronic housing shortage that intensified after last August’s deadly wildfire. The

By MARGERY A. BECK, HANNAH FINGERHUT and JOHN HANNA Associated Press NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. (AP) — More storms are possible in parts of the deluged Midwest, where flooding after days of heavy rains has killed at least two people, sent a river surging around a dam and forced evacuations and rescues. Severe storms were

By MARK THIESSEN Associated Press A well-known Hawaii lifeguard who was killed in a shark attack while surfing off Oahu’s North Shore was a former professional surfer with acting credits to his name, including a role in one of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. Tamayo Perry, 49, was killed Sunday near Goat Island, Shayne

By ERIC TUCKER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — News that the U.S. Justice Department has reached a plea deal that will lead to freedom for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange brings a stunning culmination to a long-running saga of international intrigue that spanned multiple continents. Its central character is a quixotic internet publisher with a profound

By ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press One of the most liberal members of Congress is trying to fight off a strong challenge from a political moderate in a Democratic primary north of New York City. Rep. Jamaal Bowman faces Westchester County Executive George Latimer in Tuesday’s primary election. The race has centered on the candidates’ diverging

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL Associated Press HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese automaker VinFast has a big problem: It just can’t sell enough cars. Idle factories bleed money and the company’s financial health is at stake. Vinfast is hoping its tiniest and cheapest car yet — a roughly 10-foot-long mini-SUV priced at $9,200 and called the VF3

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLEHER Associated Press HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii authorities say the death toll from last year’s wildfire in Lahaina on the island of Maui has risen to 102. The Maui Police Department said Monday the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s office found 68-year-old Claudette Heermance succumbed to injuries suffered in the fire. She died in

By KEN RITTER Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada judge is being asked to decide if a former Los Angeles-area gang leader will be freed from jail to house arrest on $750,000 bail ahead of his murder trial in the 1996 killing of hip-hop music legend Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas. Duane “Keffe

By JOHN HANNA Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Federal judges in Kansas and Missouri on Monday together blocked much of a Biden administration student loan repayment plan that provides a faster path to cancellation and lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers. The judges’ rulings prevent the U.S. Department of Education from helping many

By JACK DURA and RICHARD LARDNER Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has emerged as a serious contender to be Donald Trump’s running mate. He’s one of the president’s most loyal and vocal backers and brings executive experience, business savvy and close connections to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump wants

By RICHARD LARDNER and JACK DURA Associated Press BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is one of Donald Trump’s most visible and vocal backers, sprinting around the country to drum up support for the former president’s comeback bid while auditioning to be his running mate. Far from the glare of the campaign

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Joe Biden and Donald Trump won’t be alone at Thursday’s debate. Moderators Dana Bash and Jake Tapper of CNN will be on camera, too, and there’s a lot on the line for their network as it fights for relevance in a changing media environment. CNN

By HYUNG-JIN KIM Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Forensic and other experts are combing through the charred ruins of a factory building near South Korea’s capital to find the cause of a fire that killed 23 people, mostly Chinese migrant workers. It was one of the country’s deadliest blazes in years. More than